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I find the Roland FP-30 to be quite good. But I would want more features that the RD-88 has. Now if the RD-88 can be had for about $799 - then it is a a lot of instrument for the money - especially with all the new extra sounds.

Not bashing anyone's opinion. However, an "emphatic opinion" should only be made if the piano has been experienced hands-on by the opinionist. Even at that, it is still considered subjective, but at least has credibility. YouTube opinions can not be emphatic, only subjective without much credibility.

I'm quite confident about my opinion and wouldn't get offended if someone bashes me. I hate being politically correct when I talk about instruments and my passions. I have listened to SuperNatural stuff from Roland before (many times). As soon as I listen to a youtube video I can even say if the equipment they have used to record the audio was good or bad by comparing it with what I have in my memory. Specifically, Yamaha as I owned Yamaha gears for many years. I listened to hours of SN pianos as RD-2000 was one of the keyboards I was considering to buy.

MSRP: $1,600
and sweetwater sells it for 1,200

LOL to Roland. Overpriced, over-exaggerated and yet sounds like toy piano which has some piano modeling.

Casio sounds much nicer in this price range and I guess it even offers a better action!

Well, I tried.

I'm still looking forward to giving the RD88 an honest hands-on demo (.....Actually , I hope it has a "toy piano" voice so i can add Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts to my playlist )

Has Roland decided to go to more modeling and less sample-based cause they see this technology has more upside or do you think modeling saves them money thus increasing their bottom line?

I remember how excited I was to have an FP4 cause each note of acoustic piano was sampled. I really enjoyed that piano. Then each newer version, they began to be less real sounding on videos and audios I listened to Is the newer tech more appreciated by the player, as some rave at Pianoteq, Physis and V-Piano cause the sound of each note interacts with each other?

I obviously haven't tried the RD-88 yet, however my initial impressions are that it looks like a great product, and one that will tick a lot of boxes for a lot of people.

Cheers,
James
x

I agree with you James. I'm off to church choir practice in a few minutes and this board would be perfect for me

I agree as well. Anxious to put my hands on one as only that will allow for a serious opinion.
The same action is on the FP10, FP30 and FP60, yet they all play and feel somewhat differently.
And thanks for trying, Marko in Boston

After hating the same action on the FP60 (PHA4 Standard), I wouldn't go near this board. As I've said before - it felt absolutely fine, but I had a problem repeating notes in a very legato fashion - i.e - when lifting up and re-playing the same key, without a gap in between. So not necessarily a fast repeat - just a very legato repeat. The repeats would often sound softer than I had intended. Never had that problem on any other keyboard, and I certainly don't have it on my current board - the Yamaha P-515 - it hasn't skipped a beat.

Greg.

The best thing is to try the actual unit! Who knows what may be a little different. It if it is really lightweight, has easy access to great sounds, and the action is at least decent - it can have its place. I don't think anyone has realistic expectations that it will be lightweight and have the action of a $200,000 Steinway. Let's get real As I said - I like the FP30 but strongly dislike the headphone as the only output and the pain of finding sounds in a live environment. Just those two improvements is great. I would also like to see a case - so that it is no more than 50 lbs airline weight.

Exactly! Always try the exact model that you wish to purchase for that reason - it may well feel/play differently (despite being the same on paper).



Well, I certainly can't call myself a musician or pianist yet...

...but when the time came to sell my FP-30, it was an absolute doddle to get off the stand and place into a travel bag to take it it it's final destination. The RD-88 is even lighter than that (half a kilo or so), so shouldn't pose such a challenge.

Then the FP-90 arrived... gosh! I can see why a travelling musician might not want to cart that around.

Is there a lightweight piano on offer from Roland that has the fully-modelled sound engine (for those who prefer it)? The RD2000 is almost 22kg!

I'm afraid not. The RD800 has the "ordinary" SN and is almost 22kg, without speakers, PHA4 Concert keys. I'd guess the "engine" doesn't need to weigh that much, but better key action and case do.

I wouldn't care for modelled or not - it how it sounds to you that matters. Besides, Roland modelled can be SNM or PA...

That exactly describes what happens if a board doesn't have a triple sensor. Do we know whether the FP60 is supposed to have that feature? It doesn't appear to be mentioned on their web site.

PHA-IV Standard (same as on the FP30, FP10, RD88, A88Mk2) is triple sensor.

Yep it's triple sensor, but I've not had this problem on prior boards - including conventional two-sensor boards. It's a strange one - maybe I'm doing something atypical. Shrugs.

Greg

I guess they've missed a trick then, or is something else on the cards later?

Personally, I prefer PA to SNM sound. I did like my FP30 too, but it's been a while since I've owned it - perhaps my opinion would be different now, having had SNM and PA.



Personally, I found the PHA4 action (FP-30) a bit hard on my fingers after a year. Being an absolute beginner at the time, I can't comment on repeating notes.

It was a lot easier for me to control dynamics (PP to FF) on the PHA-50 FP-90 which replaced the FP-30. Again, as a beginner I appreciated that. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it now - I guess I'd have to have another go at PHA4 to tell you whether I feel the same way.

Has anyone heard when the owners manual might be available?

I've been practicing on the PHA4 / FP30 for almost 4 years now. It is best played with a proper weighted-arm technique, it begs to be played like this and is very comfortable to play like this in the long term. But repeating notes is one of the weaknesses of the PHA4/FP30. Compared to the quick and clean repeating action of a typical acoustic, repeating notes on the PHA4 are very sluggish (even when compared to an upright action).

On the other hand, I'm happy with the PHA4 action and would buy another one. For short, compact actions, it's one of the best out there for the "portable slabs".

Apart from the action as such, I was thinking as follows when deciding on the sound and playability of a DP.
Sampled DPs like Yamaha’s P515 tend to have a lack of immediacy when playing. And then there’s that vast bunch of samples libraries to run on your computer.
Modeled DPs like Roland’s V-Piano in their FP-90 or RD-2000 are second to Pianoteq in my book.
Finally there’s the SuperNatural approach of the RD-88, seemingly combining the strengths of samples and modeling. So I got the RD-88. In three weeks.

Please report back when you get your RD-88. Congratulations!