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I guess this wasn't covered yet.

Well, the table isn't without mistakes.

PHA4 Standard vs. others vary (at least) in the key length. So, in the table PHA4 Standard should be in the "Slightly long" category.

And "Ivory Feel S" should be in the "Long" category. It's a variant of the older PHA3 family and was last used in the already discontinued FP80. The "short" version of PHA3 was the Ivory Feel G.

(Or something like that. Maybe they are only related by their lifetimes.)

That was supposed to say PC4.


I agree, though you can add better to the MODX (e.g. the purgatory creek EPs I linked to), whereas you can't add new sounds to the Kawai. But the Kawai is a great board, and yes, the action is better than MODX as well. It also has a better clonewheel organ implementation, and a pretty nice interface all around. MODX has generally better non-piano sounds and more total flexibility, and of course, is a lot lighter to carry around. As for MIDI zones, MP7 series supports 4, MODX supports 8, PC4 supports 16.

I'm not comparing MODX with MP7SE. I'm comparing MP7SE with CP-4 and CP-88.

MODX only has the edge for FM based sounds. Yamaha never had good pads and synth sounds in its recent synths. Good fat synths and pads can be found in other brands like Roland or Korg.

I would personally buy a keyboard that has satisfying onboard sounds in it already. It is very unlikely that I can find better samples. I never purchased any library for my MOTIF as I found the internal samples good or better.

MP7SE is a nice stage piano with an emphasis on “piano”. It excels in piano duties due to a fantastic action and excellent acoustic and Rhodes piano sounds. I remember I loved the Rhodes in my MP6. However in terms of pads and leads it has around 10 of each. And it has one insert effect per part with 4 total parts. I know I’ve bashed the MODX and to a certain extent I *hate* it but it’s much more of a synth/workstation. And despite being kind of awkward and difficult to program it is light years ahead compared to MP7SE in terms of flexibility, sounds, effects and features for the music I currently play where I’m not sure I even need weighted action and acoustic piano sounds. Even Rhodes sounds are used more as a dreamy kind of sound with a lot of effects rather than any jazz/pianistic instrument.

I think the RD-88 might come as a good middle ground although three parts are way too low but on the other hand it has so many sounds it might not even need many parts (on the MODX many patches are multi part in order to sound thick but they could have been internally represented/programmed as single-part instruments if the architecture allowed it and that would have solved what I complain most about: splits/layers between multi-part instruments).

There was also the idea of going with two boards, which hasn't really been discussed. Since hammer action is not necessarily essential, the Vox Continental could be a good foundation. Or maybe even the less expensive Numa Compact 2X, which also has a MIDI controller function that would make it easy to add, for example, a sound from an iPad to your splits/layers. Then maybe any of a number of lead synths above it. Food for thought...

And while we’re eating/thinking, I’m also wondering whether the RD-88 will have particle board underneath, like some of its predecessors (but not the RD-800, or the FA 08 I believe).

I have the same opinion about you regarding the difference, however the CP73 (which uses BHS) is targeted more to the stage piano segment while FP30 is a "portable" digital piano. A closer comparison to the FP30 would be the CP88 which uses NW-GH, which I like the feel of under my fingers. But alas I had just purchased my FP-30 when these CPs came out.



BHS has the same resistance across the board, i.e. not very piano-like. That said, being piano-like is not the CP73's targeted segment anyway.

Back to the RD-88. I like its price, ability to set up 3 layers, and on-board speakers. I'm still undecided about the sample sounds based on the Youtube videos. But then again we still have until March when it hit stores in North America

Has there ever been a properly priced Roland gear in Roland's entire history? Especially these days that all of these companies are comparing themselves with Apple and follow its lead!

Why do you think this is over-priced? What about the Boutique modules?

Because Roland is mischievous.

That’s the thing - even the YouTube videos will differ.

Best to wait and try it exactly in the way you intend to use it (ie try line-out + monitors in store, if that’s how you’ll use it).

Nothing can be assumed via the on board speakers, or even the headphones.

The overall design of Roland RD-88 make me think of Casio PX-5S, which is a very nice one.

Bonners always deliver great demos... even in the chaos of NAMM.

Casio (like most Yamaha) forces you to make a choice... you can get a model with good MIDI functionality or you can get a model with speakers, but not both. It's nice to see the RD88 as an exception to this pattern. I think that this Roland is the most capable slab with speakers that's under 30 lbs. I'll be curious to see how loud the speakers are. The 7 watt speakers on the FP4 were quite loud, much more so than the 8 watt speakers on the Casio, so you definitely can't just go by the numbers here.

If you have never heard the sound of disappointment, you can buy RD0-88 by Roland and listen to how disappointment sounds...

The piano sounds awful. $600 Casio PX series has a better piano sound.

What a waste of everything.

You heard a Roland RD-88?

Actually, the RD-88 isn't really a pianist's board, but it might just be the thing for me. Will have to wait until I can try one, but I'm looking for a portable DP.
I was thinking along the lines of the Casio PX-S1000 or the Kawai ES110 but for my use case, I'll have to make too many compromises (especially with the ES110).

So, the RD-88 seems to have everything I'm looking for : audio in, it even has audio and midi over USB, support for Roland's RPU3 triple pedal unit, built-in speakers and a quality keybed with triple sensor and escapement.
Now, I have played the PHA50 on the Roland RD2000, and that's a very good keybed. Haven't played the PHA4 yet, but it's bound to be at least as good as the one in the PX-S1000 or ES110.
Don't know about the speakers, will have to see, but it's only for use in a home environment, so they should be sufficient.
No music rest, though, but that could be fixed with a K&M Omega stand, and a second tier with a laptop holder to rest my iPad on. Plus, it's affordable and I like the supernatural piano sounds.
I'll probably never use 90% of all the sounds in there, but if it's solid for piano, then that's all I need...

Yes. The Youtube video is 100% legit. That's how RD-88 exactly sounds.

Roland is high on something no one knows. Here is the deal, what do you usually pack in a cheapo box? I have never seen anyone storing gold in pet plastic bags. The same goes to keyboards.

At this price point, any keyboard sounds better than Roland.

It's subjective. In low cost slabs-with-speakers, I'd probably take the Roland piano sound over a Casio or Korg, but probably take a Yamaha or Kawai over the Roland. The RD-88 piano sound is probably the same as the much cheaper FP-10/FP-30... when you move up to the RD-88, you're paying for more features rather than better piano sound. People buy for reasons besides piano sound. The RD-88 gives you things like a ton more sounds, a much better front panel interface, and great MIDI controller functionality (pitch and mod wheels, definable knobs, multiple pedals, 5-pin MIDI out, Mainstage integration). If you don't need stuff like this, stick with the lower cost models. If you DO need these things, this looks like a pretty good choice. Competitors might be Korg Kross and Casio PX5S, but they have no speakers and no specific Mainstage support; or maybe a controller like an Arturia Keylab, but those have no built in sounds at all.