Roland V-Piano - thoughts?
- Thread starter jamesoy
- Start date
Cheez
Moderator
Not worth the price for church. It's a great digital piano with excellent touch (and a joy to play). The SuperNatural piano sounds are available in various other keyboards (not specifically for the V-piano). The details of modeling the piano sounds goes into a lot of detail which won't make too much difference in a live setting. It will, however, be great for recordings and probably piano enthusiasts to get their "right" sound.
Otherwise, a RD700NX or RD300NX will be a greater choice for church for various reasons:
1. Also excellent touch (Roland's new keybeds are really wonderful to play with)
2. Larger sound palette which are useful for church
3. Great live ergonomics making layering/splitting extremely fast and easy - again, crucial for church playing
4. Also has SuperNatural sounds - mainly piano and electric piano focused. Programming the piano takes a little more effort than the V-piano, but once you get your sound, you don't really need to touch it again.
5. Lower cost (compared to the V-piano)
The other option is Yamaha CP300 or CP33. I don't quite like the piano sound as much compared to the Roland, but for live purposes, it's ok. The touch is great, but Roland's new keybeds just took on a new level which I prefer now compared to Yamaha. There are some minor quirks I didn't like, which I wrote about in the past (minor ones, not worth mentioning here). The other difference is whether you prefer a pitch/mod wheel or stick. Most church music won't call for one, although I do use them to in live situations to mainly control the leslie's speed on the B3. Roland's RD lets you do that in a different way - I would prefer a wheel for that. A stick is more useful for certain lead sounds in pitch bending, which is not very useful in church.
My 2 cents.
Otherwise, a RD700NX or RD300NX will be a greater choice for church for various reasons:
1. Also excellent touch (Roland's new keybeds are really wonderful to play with)
2. Larger sound palette which are useful for church
3. Great live ergonomics making layering/splitting extremely fast and easy - again, crucial for church playing
4. Also has SuperNatural sounds - mainly piano and electric piano focused. Programming the piano takes a little more effort than the V-piano, but once you get your sound, you don't really need to touch it again.
5. Lower cost (compared to the V-piano)
The other option is Yamaha CP300 or CP33. I don't quite like the piano sound as much compared to the Roland, but for live purposes, it's ok. The touch is great, but Roland's new keybeds just took on a new level which I prefer now compared to Yamaha. There are some minor quirks I didn't like, which I wrote about in the past (minor ones, not worth mentioning here). The other difference is whether you prefer a pitch/mod wheel or stick. Most church music won't call for one, although I do use them to in live situations to mainly control the leslie's speed on the B3. Roland's RD lets you do that in a different way - I would prefer a wheel for that. A stick is more useful for certain lead sounds in pitch bending, which is not very useful in church.
My 2 cents.
bombthebasses
New member
year after year, new models launched ... is there really any advancement or improvement ?
bombthebasses
New member
hear demo from product website
Cheez
Moderator
Wait for the stock to arrive. Do you need it urgently? In the meantime, go to Yamaha and try out the CP series as a comparison.
Bombthebasses, I initially thought the same, that keyboards are reaching it's developmental plateau. I mean, how much can they improve? I do agree, that further improvements now will not be the same as in the past. Breakthroughs in new technologies will be rare. But sometimes we do get surprises. Actually, I'm pleasantly surprised at the latest Roland RD series, and most of their latest keyboards for that matter. In the past, I love the Roland sound but I like the Yamaha touch better. Today, it's a no-brainer for me. Roland's touch has advanced tremendously. Roland's Supernatural sounds are really excellent as well that I'm slowly using less of my samples during live playing.
Furthermore, I'm finding the Roland RD's keys not only weighted just right, it's also responsive enough to play organ sounds and glissandos comfortably. Not as great as the V-Combo, but good enough. in the past, weighted keys and B3 are simply not synonymous (doesn't matter which brand it is). They were nice to play grand piano sounds, but just not quick enough for B3 (massive glissandos, demi-semiquavers on the same note etc). Things are changing, yet again.
Bombthebasses, I initially thought the same, that keyboards are reaching it's developmental plateau. I mean, how much can they improve? I do agree, that further improvements now will not be the same as in the past. Breakthroughs in new technologies will be rare. But sometimes we do get surprises. Actually, I'm pleasantly surprised at the latest Roland RD series, and most of their latest keyboards for that matter. In the past, I love the Roland sound but I like the Yamaha touch better. Today, it's a no-brainer for me. Roland's touch has advanced tremendously. Roland's Supernatural sounds are really excellent as well that I'm slowly using less of my samples during live playing.
Furthermore, I'm finding the Roland RD's keys not only weighted just right, it's also responsive enough to play organ sounds and glissandos comfortably. Not as great as the V-Combo, but good enough. in the past, weighted keys and B3 are simply not synonymous (doesn't matter which brand it is). They were nice to play grand piano sounds, but just not quick enough for B3 (massive glissandos, demi-semiquavers on the same note etc). Things are changing, yet again.
Last edited:
iansoh
Moderator
V-piano would be overkill for weekly church usage, and even the RD700nx or a Yamaha CP1/CP5 might be too complex for most church purposes to really milk the best out of it. however if you are buying for a recording studio, i'd say they're the perfect choices.
For great piano sounds and out-of-the-box ease of use, I would go for a Nord Piano, which unfortunately is in the same price range as the above-mentioned digital pianos but contains far fewer features.
Anyway IMO unless your pianists take centerstage in the worship band, it's not worth spending in excess of 3k on a piano sound which will probably get crowded out in a mix that contains many guitars, vocalists and drums etc. Might be better off with a cheaper synth like the Krome or MOX8 that offer a variety of less-than-perfect piano sounds but are designed to cut through a mix.
For great piano sounds and out-of-the-box ease of use, I would go for a Nord Piano, which unfortunately is in the same price range as the above-mentioned digital pianos but contains far fewer features.
Anyway IMO unless your pianists take centerstage in the worship band, it's not worth spending in excess of 3k on a piano sound which will probably get crowded out in a mix that contains many guitars, vocalists and drums etc. Might be better off with a cheaper synth like the Krome or MOX8 that offer a variety of less-than-perfect piano sounds but are designed to cut through a mix.
Cheez
Moderator
I agree. The RD700 is an overkill. Few would require 4 split zones on a keyboard. RD300 would probably be a good balance. CP33 is not too bad either.
Having said that, I'm planning a training for church keyboardists (not in Singapore...) and I intend to use one of the cheapo Yamaha portasound - just to prove a point that tools are only tools!
Having said that, I'm planning a training for church keyboardists (not in Singapore...) and I intend to use one of the cheapo Yamaha portasound - just to prove a point that tools are only tools!
bombthebasses
New member
where are you training ?
you dun reside in Singapore ?
bombthebasses
New member
oh? where are you now?
bombthebasses
New member
oh? is it China? which part of China ?
I heard Yamaha principle guitar teacher Spencer Goh
also went China Chengdu to work ...
not enuff music talent in mainland ?
Are you a performing pianist ?
I heard Yamaha principle guitar teacher Spencer Goh
also went China Chengdu to work ...
not enuff music talent in mainland ?
Are you a performing pianist ?
Last edited:
Similar threads
