Roland HP507

Description

Discontinued 15/01/2014, Replaced by Roland HP508

 

 

Roland HP507 Reviews

1) “What a beautiful piano this is! But it is a piano that needs a space behind it”

Before this piano i had Yamaha digital CLP 240. I puzzled with Yamaha first to make it sound right for me but then
i liked the sound (i set it for piano grand with variation). But i bought that piano some time ago already so i decided
to make an update for a better sounding piano and better technics. My first choice was the new CLP 470 and when
i went to the music shop i didn’t even want to choose and went directly to the salesman to ask how i can pay. But
then he advised me to try some Roland piano’s too. Especially the hp-507 seemed to sound great and very close
to the acoustic.

The sound is deep and spacious unlike the yamaha which seemed a bit flat sounding. The touch of the keys was j
ust excellent compared to my old yamaha too. So i decided to buy the Roland this time. When i brought the piano
home and played the piano i was very dissapointed at first. It sounded not even close to what it was in the shop.

What i heard was just booming and very dull sound even after trying to adjust the sound with the “sound designer”
and setting the lid to maximum. I was so hopeless that i wanted to call the shop the next day to bring the piano back..
BUT i tried to think what could it be that changed the sound of the same piano so dramatically. And what came to
my mind is the acoustics of the room the piano was in.

The piano stood in quite a little room, right against the wall and the sound waves kept bouncing to the opposite walls,
making it sound dull and very unpleasant. What i did is I rearranged the furniture and placed the piano diagonally in
the corner of the room so that there was space behind it and no direct walls in front of it. And the result was above
all expectations! I got the rich, deep sound i heard in the music shop! What a beautiful piano this is! But it is a piano
that needs a space behind it, the sound has to travel freely thru the room the piano is in. I am very happy with the
piano and very glad i didn’t make the mistake of bringing it back!

Review by Vladimir, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (13/08/2012)

2) “The feel of the action is amazingly good”

Dear Graham,

The new piano – a Roland HP507 in shiny black – arrived yesterday.
I bought it from UK Pianos and chose the Roland guided by your advice and after listening to various other
digital pianos.

It was quite easy to assemble but reassuringly heavy. There’s
nothing flimsy or lightweight about it. Even the music stand is excellent – sturdy, large and set quite high
which helps prevent slouching.

My keyboard skills are not great (yet) but the feel of the action is amazingly good. So too is the sound from
the internal speakers.

All loudspeakers need a period of playing in and the ones in this piano are no exception.  They sounded a bit tight
at first but I can already hear an improvement in them after 24 hours. With hifi speakers you can just leave a cd
on repeat and that will do the job. What I am doing with the Roland is to play some midi files I got from the internet
(Rachmaninoff recorded on an Ampico piano). This way the speakers get run in and I get a recital from Rachmaninoff
on my own piano; how good can things get?

All in all I’m delighted. Thanks for your help and advice.

Review by Gordon Jones (31/10/2012)

3) “The Roland HP507 is a very good investment for the price”

Whilst I was looking for a replacement acoustic piano I had the opportunity to try out the Roland HP507 and fell in love with it. Firstly, I liked the sound quality of the Concert Piano, which is what I was really after. I tried other makes but they didn’t suit me. Of course we each having our own hearing and touch satisfactions to contend with, therefore, I am not in any way decrying the others. The fact that there are many other orchestral voices is an added bonus. I received the Roland HP507 in two cartons and, with the help of the explicit instructions, assemble it in about an hour. The amazing thing was it worked for me without any outside influence!!! I could go into quite some detail about the voices and facilities on the instrument but feel it would take too long and be, perhaps, a boring read. I am more than satisfied with the instrument and would recommend it to anyone. The only drawback is, as with other electronic instruments, what do you do in a power failure? My old acoustic piano never let me down. However, I did not let that cloud my judgment in this instance.
Finally, for me, this is a very good investment for the price and with sound and touch adjustments that can be made, by you, your every mood is catered for.

Hope this is of use though not, perhaps, in as much depth as you would have liked. Please feel free to use any comments I have made in this regard.

Review by Barry Jenbar (10/10/2013)

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Questions and Comments (Email your questions to grahamhoward@ukpianos.co.uk)

“HP507: How many levels of Touch Sensitivity?”

Graham,
The Roland HP507 looks good. My daughter bought an earlier model in this range (HP203) and I have tried that
briefly. She is fairly happy with it.

I have also looked at the Roland LX15. The specifications look almost identical. The only things I have discovered
that are different are that the LX15 is taller (and looks more like a real piano) and I believe it has additional
speakers. What effect this has on the overall feel and sound of the piano is something I don’t know yet. The price
premium seems huge for something which seems to have the same electronics and mechanics as the cheaper model. If
you have any views on this they would be appreciated.

The other aspect of the HP507 which I am confused by is the number of ‘Key Touch’ levels. The Roland HP503/505
(which I am NOT considering) have 5 levels. The spec for the HP507 says it has 100 levels! It seems strange to go
from 5 to 100 in the same range, so I am not sure I understand what this means. If you could explain this it would
be appreciated.

I might research the Yamaha CLP480, although again I am confused by what is meant by its touch sensitivity. I am
not sure if this is the equivalent of the Roland ‘Key Touch’ levels.

What I really want to know is how many levels of ‘Touch Sensitivity’ (as used in your excellent book) each of the
above two pianos (HP507, CLP480) have.

Regards,

Dave

Reply/ Hi Dave

The Yamaha CLP480 and Roland HP507 have
5 levels of touch sensitivity on each note.

There aren’t any digital pianos that have
more than 5 levels.

The LX-15 looks really nice. It’s designed in
the style of a real piano (but with smaller overall
dimensions). But, you pay a LOT MORE for the
privilege of beauty, without any notable
improvement in sound.

I recommend going for the Roland HP507.
This is one of my favourite digital pianos…

I could quite happily sit down on it for a
couple of hours a night playing Bach. The crisp,
responsive key action reacts nicely and is a must
for technical pieces. The responsiveness also allows
for greater musical expression.

What’s more, the Roland sound is big and round.
It has great depth of tone in the central region of
the keyboard. The bass is resonant and the treble
sweet – although I prefer the Yamaha top end (last
two octaves).

Yours pianistically,

Graham Howard