Yamaha CP33 or Roland RD300SX
- Thread starter nautilus
- Start date
Cheez
Moderator
It's a hard comparison! In the end, it's up to you. You probably already know the specs of both of them, so no need to repeat them here.
The question to ask to help you decide is: which is more important to you - touch or sound? CP33 will have a better touch (closer to the real piano) from my experiences of the same generation of Yamaha keys. RD300SX will have better sound. Roland's acoustic sounds are always better (especially piano and strings). Seeing that Roland has taken great pain to sample each 88 note, the RD300SX piano sound will be excellent. Yamaha chose to multi-sample notes (resonance, release samples etc) which is also great but they did not mention sampling individual notes.
Both are well thought out in terms of functions including zone faders which is the most important thing in keyboards of this kind, particularly when you layer sounds. The other preference comes whether you prefer wheels or stick for controlling modulation/pitch bend. Pitch bend is usually not very helpful in stage pianos - the main thing is the mod wheel particularly when playing B3 organ sounds for controlling the leslie. I always find mod wheel better since the pitch stick is spring-loaded and you have to hold it down for it to stay in position.
RD300SX is lighter and has double the polyphony. This also depends on your need - 2.5 kg difference may not be much; polyphony depends on how often you layer your sounds and how you play them. 128 polyphony is nice to have.
In the end, the choice and preference is up to you. Get the one you think will give you hours and hours of fun.
The question to ask to help you decide is: which is more important to you - touch or sound? CP33 will have a better touch (closer to the real piano) from my experiences of the same generation of Yamaha keys. RD300SX will have better sound. Roland's acoustic sounds are always better (especially piano and strings). Seeing that Roland has taken great pain to sample each 88 note, the RD300SX piano sound will be excellent. Yamaha chose to multi-sample notes (resonance, release samples etc) which is also great but they did not mention sampling individual notes.
Both are well thought out in terms of functions including zone faders which is the most important thing in keyboards of this kind, particularly when you layer sounds. The other preference comes whether you prefer wheels or stick for controlling modulation/pitch bend. Pitch bend is usually not very helpful in stage pianos - the main thing is the mod wheel particularly when playing B3 organ sounds for controlling the leslie. I always find mod wheel better since the pitch stick is spring-loaded and you have to hold it down for it to stay in position.
RD300SX is lighter and has double the polyphony. This also depends on your need - 2.5 kg difference may not be much; polyphony depends on how often you layer your sounds and how you play them. 128 polyphony is nice to have.
In the end, the choice and preference is up to you. Get the one you think will give you hours and hours of fun.
Cheez
Thanks. It's definietly useful from a review from an experience player. As I am only a beginner I don't really know much, as such it would be informative if I can get another person's point of view based on experience on handling/playing these 2 particular instruments. As you can see the selected keyboards shows that I don't have a high budget - Prob around 2k or slightly more.
personally, I am leaning towards sound rather than touch. Looks like the 300SX would be a better choice.
But really thanks, you have been such a great help.
Thanks. It's definietly useful from a review from an experience player. As I am only a beginner I don't really know much, as such it would be informative if I can get another person's point of view based on experience on handling/playing these 2 particular instruments. As you can see the selected keyboards shows that I don't have a high budget - Prob around 2k or slightly more.
personally, I am leaning towards sound rather than touch. Looks like the 300SX would be a better choice.
But really thanks, you have been such a great help.
Cheez
Moderator
You need to know that sound is also very subjective. You will have to try them out for yourself. Both keyboards have grown since the first generation of stage pianos they produced. They used to only have bread-and-butter sounds like e-pianos, pianos, strings etc. Now they have an entire template of GS/XG/GM and what-have-you.
Acoustic sound is still best in Roland keyboards. However, Yamaha has the great FM e-piano sounds that's quite unbeatable (although I can get similar results by layering the right sounds and adding the right effects in Roland stage pianos). Depends on the type of music you are going to play.
Acoustic sound is still best in Roland keyboards. However, Yamaha has the great FM e-piano sounds that's quite unbeatable (although I can get similar results by layering the right sounds and adding the right effects in Roland stage pianos). Depends on the type of music you are going to play.
Cheez
Moderator
Yes, I've played the RD700SX and it is a dream to play it. Roland is always excellent in their ergonomics and user-friendliness especially to the live and gigging keyboardist. The 4 programmable sliders are very useful for us who needs more midi control - but may not be too useful for you. It also does seem to be out of your budget.
Indigo_blues
New member
i was at sweelee bras basah yesterday.. shucks should have checked out the RDs.. only saw the Fantoms on display.. u may have to go to their showroom in sims drive.. not sure if there is a RD700 in the bras basah showroom.