Sorry Roland. I really wanted to like your new digital piano. I bought it. But after four months of usage I have to admit I just don't like it for one simple reason.
To be honest, if those piano sounds do not make you happy, then I think that you cannot be made happy. Every piano sound that you have played in this video sounds fantastic to me. In fact, watching your video is actually selling me on getting a Roland RD2000 of my own.
@@slapmyfunkybass .... (note: I’m a newbie). Essentially different instruments, and considering the major cost difference between the RD2000 and a real Steinway grand piano, does MangoldProject (or anyone not liking the sound of the RD2000), have a legitimate valid reason for not liking RD2000? RD2000 vs Steinway Concert Grand Piano: ua-cam.com/video/FBTiL_XfUwQ/v-deo.html
@@strawberryyogurt0 that comparisson is totally useless. because you are hearing the recorded audio. hearing a steinway live is a total different thing.
He's right. But I was able to dig deep on it and get it to where I wanted. I use it for classical and they aren't classical sounding pianos- but rather jazzy thin new age fluff. I had to really EQ it. I may do what you did, Mangold, and go grab some sounds to import. Another problem is that the pianos are EXCRUCIATINGLY quiet. Compared to other instrument types on the RD-2000, which will blow you away volume-wise if you switch to them.
Hey I just got this Roland, and straight after firing it up was also a bit disappointed. I totally get what you mean by "boxy". It really did sound a bit dull, especially mid-low register. After tweaking it for a bit (EQing things didn't get me the desirable effect) I found the key touch button. Setting touch to 'light' and key touch offset to about -8 made all the difference to me! It brought out the brightness, and it definitely wasn't just that the velocity curve changed (before, no matter how hard I hit the sound remained dull). It started sounding great. I'm honestly not sure why this is set like this by default - the dullness was pretty apparent straight away to me. Anyway, I know this is old, but I just found this and maybe it will be useful to someone.
Let’s be honest: the factory settings are quite unfortunate in many ways. I purchased the board initially because the alternatives were worse, but after some deep explorations I have managed to set up some very satisfying programs for my gigs.
@@ravenmusic932 Yes, one that gets pitched a lot are Nord boards and I didn't vibe with the action on those, even though they sound great. Granted, they released the Nord Grand with Kawaii action, but not when I was in the market for a new board.
Hi , thanks a lot for your genius reccomodaition to put the keytouch on light and offset on 8 I am triying almost one year to finde the best piano sound for me by twieking and editing until i read your coment Thanks
I did not like the RD-2000 piano sounds until I played them with a band. Surprisingly they really sound good in the mix, bright, crisp and really cut through!
Seems to be the consensus. This is a mix piano. Though with the newly released Germany D expansion it now available it has a piano more suited to solo piano as well.
Acoustic pianos have the same subtle difference before and after the felt on the hammers is "voiced". I actually do hear the difference between the two pianos sounds you played and I , like you, prefer your old sound. But disagree that the RD2000 is a bad purchase. The very fact that you can upload the old sounds have both sounds in your instrument means it is both the old and the new... all in the same box. How can that be a bad thing?? Honestly, the touch and feel of the Roland is what makes it the best choice...the sound is just electronics and stored samples and you can basically have any sound you want on a keyboard. You can't download touch and feel for the keys.
I purchased one, sold it and then missed it after trying multiple flagship keyboards, so I bought another one. The Rd2000 can be tweaked to sound virtually any way you prefer. This is such a good board I couldn’t recommend it enough. My belief is that you haven’t fully explored and used all the customizations available. In any event, everyone has their own tastes.
The sound each of us hear is subjective.. a particular piano may sound good to me and bad to some and could be the other way around.. if you are used to the sound of your previous piano, then you could be having a biased opinion with your new one, take some time with your new keyboard, play it and listen at its sound for a while.. you will see that it doesn't sound that bad at all.
I looked at this and the Yamaha modx8 not only did the Roland sound better but the key action felt fantastic completed with a real wood overlay on the keys compared to the plastic feel of the Yamaha I was so impressed I decided to wait and just save up for the phantom which is on whole new level competing with the Yamaha Genos for 2k less
This is not an eq issue. I’ve owned both the Juno ds 61 and fa08 and the piano sounds are just average at best. I’ve tried tweaking them very extensively and they lack warmth and depth. I’m actually happier with piano patches from my iPad. Everything else is pretty solid...eps, organs, guitars etc but Roland does not make great piano patches.
Having worked with piano sounds for quite a few years, both good and bad, I can tell you from experience that EQ solves a great many issues in tone, especially as they pertain to warmth and depth. In this case, boost a little 1.5k and 5.5k with a wide Q, maybe lift the highs a touch with a shelf to bring out the shine and the RD2000 sounds acceptable if not great. I grabbed the audio from this video and had a play with it, and while the results are marred with mp3 compression artifacts, the tone sounds pretty good with a little love. In fact, the RD2000 has a remarkable soundstage overall compared to the 700GX, which surprised me, as it was so difficult to hear with the mids scooped and highs rolled off as they were. I'd be happy to post an audio comparison to some public cloud storage thing tomorrow if you would like to hear.
Honestly, I'm already in your debt for the great videos so I'd be more than happy to do everything in my ability to improve your piano sound! The unfortunate reality is that I don't own an RD2000 or know what built-in tools are available, and my current solution for better tone would require you to use outboard gear or to run the keyboard's output through software DSP, the latter which may be a bad option if you value low latency. I know I do with my Kawai MP11, which is fortunate enough to have a built-in 4- and 7-band EQ. If you own a decent 3-band EQ, that should do the business. However, I couldn't get a truly satisfying tone without using 4 of a 5-band unit. The 1.5K boost was also joined by a small boost at 400Hz, 5.5k, and a shelf (that is actually a really wide Q band) that lifts centered at 35k, such that the air around 10k and up is given a little push. level-matched after the boosts, it sounds great in my opinion.
I played around with all of the settings that your're refering to and while it did improve the sound, its still average at best. Its not horrible but a stage piano at this price range should sound a lot better in my opinion. IF you AB any current roland flagship next to a piano library like True keys, ravenscroft or Keyscape, then you can here its flaws and how underwhelming it is in comparison. Everything from the release samples to the string resonance is just off. It sounds extremely artificial in comparision. There is a reason why you pretty much never see professional musicians using Roland synths on stage. They always use yamaha, nord etc. If a piano patch is good, it will sound above average without any modifications.
Is there a reason you're tied to stage pianos? How about the Roland A-88 controller and a really good VST like Ivory or Keyscape. Under $1500 and you have the best piano sounds and Roland's great keyboard action.
Hi again , I bought the rd 2000 one year ago and have the same feeling about the piano sounds they are not good! meanwhile i purchasad the new GERMAN CLASSIC expantion and it is a game changer !! I am sure roland will take care all rd 2000 users and will refresh us with new updating , there is not still a better stage piano on the market never forget the importance of the hardwere built and the keybads quality for real pianist , the rd 2000 give us the best chois on this essue , If anyone discovered somthing new about the rd 2000 please let everybody know!
I strongly disagree, i had taken alot of interest and time to get opinions and reviews from professionals, and other people who just dedicate their time and effort to review and explore keyboards. Virtually all of them have been impressed with the RD 2000. I want to think that your review is personal and quiet opinionated. By the way, try to change your speakers, and trust me, your opinion will change. The RD 2000 sound different through different speakers. This is one of the best keyboard workstations you will find on the market.
Of course it's opinionated - it's a review :). It sounds pretty dull through both headphones (DT770, AKG240) and active monitors (Mackie MRmk3s and previously 8" KRK Rokits). A lot of other pianos (incl. VSTs, Kawai ES100, Roland RD700GX) sound great through all of these.
@@MangoldProject sounds great through my Adam a5xs and my any 240 v2s The bright, mid light sounds your used to are similar to the scooped sounds popular for listening. It adds oomph and sizzle, but isnt natural acoustic sound. Depends what you want. If your after an authentic acoustic piano tone the v piano based rd sounds are very close. If you want a Mic,d up studio or stage processed sound it will sound a little mid heavy and boxy. Real pianos are Mic,d and processed to to make them sound how they do, it's not their natural sound. It's similar to the sound in the room v studio Mic,d sound of guitar modellers. The two arnt the same, there arrived at at different points. One is natural the other is captured by a mix, processed and sculpted to fit a mix. Samples used for non v piano sound from all manufacturers are captured with A (or more than 1) Mic which instantly changes it from what the ear hears directly from the piano. Neither are bad, but they are different. If you want the sound on a recording, or through a pa live then sampled tones will be closer. If you want the narural sound of apiano, then the rds v piano based sounds are as close as you can get without a real acoustic piano.
You don't like the RD2000 because the stage piano sound isn't to your liking? You can modify all the sounds to your liking if you bother to make the effort. There are two sound engines in the RD2000 and only one of them is based on modelling; the other, sampling from the RD800. Your argument is weak and an appalling reason for damning the product.
So, you don't like RD2000 because... you just don't like it... mmkay. I love Roland RD2000, it's key action and it's acoustic piano engines. You got it right, it has two engines: pure physical modelling V-Piano engine (S01-S10) and hybrid SuperNatural multisampling with phys modeling (0001-...). Though S01 Stage isn't my favourite tone, your RD2000 sounds weird. Check out settings, EQ, tweak the sound in Piano Designer, it has got a ton of parameters. It's a great device, I like it way better than Nord. I hear these lamentations from time to time... like "awww, they spoiled it, I liked my RD800 better". No, guys, you're wrong, it's your baby duck syndrome talking.
I only test pianos using professional headphones. If I can't easily tweak the sound to my liking while wearing headphones, I will certainly not buy the piano. Perhaps I'm less critical than you, but I'm quite happy with my RD2000.
Hi Dave. I'm happy you're happy with your RD2000. I've tested it with a pair of good headphones in the store (AKG240), and my gut feeling told me to rethink it, but I was too much of a Roland fanboy to listen to it. Definitely a mistake on my part, and I hope to at least give potential buyers something to pay attention to before they put down their hard earned cash. If they don't mind it - by all means, they should go ahead and buy.
I use the supernatural Concert Grand on my RD2000, I find its much crisper and cuts much better. Not full polyphony on the supernatural sounds, but I’ve never incurred any issues with c.1000 notes of polyphony or whatever it is. The supernatural sound has smooth dynamic shifts too so there’s no dynamic stages, which is just like the V Piano, so again same level of spec just a better sound. Just set up a scene where the concert grand is on the first button. Also try messing with the sound lift options on tone designer, and the tone colour dial (also affected by the mod wheel). Adjusting the key touch also improves clarity.
Go to the"tone desiner" > "piano desiner" and change the "character" from 0 to -2 and you'l be happy! Trust me! (It making it mellow like nord imperial grand (bossendorfer) sound) you can play with "character" value to your liking i found -2 (on my RD 800) the best sound value. Hop its helped. 😁
lol, I'm also from South Africa, I'm going a much cheaper route: M-audio Hammer88 controller. There's some decent VSTi pianos out there, check out Ravenscroft 275 VI www.vilabsaudio.com/Ravenscroft-By-VI-Labs
*Listening to chord progressions* Yeah ... like ... horrible. *wiping tear* Can ... can I hear that one part again, where you played all of these piano things?
It's an improvisation. Sorry guys :) But wipe away those tears and subscribe to the channel and you'll learn all sorts of tricks that will help you sound like that! ;)
This is exactly why everyone says Piano sounds are a matter of taste... I also own RD2000. Nice playing by the way. I was so intrigued by your opinion that I downloaded the 1.5 update and all 6 EXP libraries. Before I retort, its worth highlighting you are comparing a basic sample playback (not even SuperNatural) to a supposedly Physically Modelled Piano. A difficult comparison to make. Having forgotten which GX Piano sound you like, I tried them all. I rejected 7GX ExpressiveGrd because it plays as if its COMP and distorted to me...ie intentionally BOOMY to cut through other sounds live. This is listening via Bose QC10 headphones. I thought the GX Grand Piano and GX Clear Grand were superior to the one you like and these are SuperNatural. But none of these 3 is as good as 7NX ConcertGrand which also come with that expansion. Interestingly, the factory presets on the RD2000 include SN007 NX Concert Grand which in my opinion is EXACTLY the same as the latter that comes with the EXP04 above. Similarly, I believe the GX pianos are already in the factory Studio patches to some extent... for example 0034 Studio Grand is midway between 7GX Grand Piano and 7GX Clear Grand. Admittedly I did not find a close or exact match for the 7GX ExpressivGrd in the basic, non SuperNatural presets. The closest perhaps was 0019 St. Piano1. Now back to the physical modelled sounds.... My opinion when I sit down and use any of the MD piano presets is that I am playing a real instrument. Ive heard others describe this sensation as inspiring and hard to leave the board. You want to just keep playing. With the samples however, even my personal favourite NX preset, eventually I grow tired and find it uninspiring. However I agree that the converse can also be true. Eventually the MD pianos seem to lack REAL Character, even if they are inspiring instruments. They simply are not Pianos! For this reason, I found that by combining S10 Aco Grand4, a physically modelled patch, with 0007 NX Concert Grand, a SN hybrid patch, I have arrived at what I consider an unbeatable sound. I mix these in the zone edit section by giving 105 volume to the MD engine and the full 127 volume to the SN engine ti balance them up. The result is a pleasing slightly-detuned effect because although very close (possibly models and samples of the same real piano ROLAND?) the different engines are not lining up perfectly and thus adding bags of character... I then also added extra reverb and delay to the resulting sound and the result is magic!
Hello MangoldProject. I very much enjoy your pleasant noodling on the RD! Thank you. Reading through the comments below I see that you are using 'the Mackie MRMk3 6.5 inch active monitors'. I'm not an expert ... but after seeing a killer CSNY tribute band here in St. Louis I noticed one of the band members was using a Bose PA as his keyboard monitor. From where I was sitting it sounded amazing (first five rows ... so I was hearing more of the Bose than the mains). After picking his brain and clearing the Bose purchase with 'the boss' (wife) I purchased the Bose system and it adds depth and full range to my RD2000 that makes it a pleasure to play every time. Just great! Btw ... I play in a band that covers classic rock, Motown, country, pop, etc. I'm not saying you need to run out and spring for a Bose system (I was in the market anyway for my duo) ... but perhaps a more full range keyboard monitor to enhance your experience? Actually your post brings up a great point ... what will be the best way to capture the RD in a studio setting. Hope to find out soon. I wish you all the best with your RD & 'tone quest'.
Thanks Stephen. Every other digital piano I've played through that system sounded great. And part of the playing was done through a pair of headphones. So I doubt it has to do with the amplification.
@@MangoldProject It does sound a bit boxy, yes. But you did not tweak it or navigated through the tons of settings available to find your sound. I own an RD-800 and have to adjust EQ, character, velocity curve, etc, as other people have mentioned in previous comments, to get the sound I like for every situation. I am ok with the Beyerdynamics (I own a pair and they sound excellent). Not sure about the AKG as I never tried those cans. The Rokits, not a good reference IMO, especially if your studio is not acoustically treated.
Hey... I just watched your video. I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. The Stage Piano sounded a lot fuller to me on my end. The 7GX ExpressiveGrnd sounded a bit thin on the low end. No doubt the 7GX ExpressiveGrnd was cleaner, but the Stage Piano sounded by far more realistic (especially when your were gracing notes). I'm listening to your video through a pair of Yamaha HS8 monitor speakers. See for yourself. I'm not saying that like the RD-2000 or anything like that, but I own an RD-800 and I like the fact that you could adjust the EQ, Tone color, and reverb on it. Did you try to make any of these adjustments?
That's what's great about life, everyone is different. I just put this video out there because I'm sure there will be others who are considering this piano and who think/feel like me, and whose attention should be drawn to this particular characteristic.
As far as EQ is concerned, EQ can't really fix a lot. A "scooped mid" sound can't be fixed by adding something that isn't there. If that were true, any musical/audio manufacturer would build crappy hardware and use EQ to fix it. It just doesn't work.
I get it... You turn on a stage piano, you expect a quality sound that you don't have to work for - that's exactly how I feel about navigating extensive pages of banks just to painstakingly achieve what the rd2000 can simply accomplish. I currently own an aging rd700, I am excited about the Roland axial extensions - I've noticed all six of them, one of which includes a history of previous RD's including my current 700 - if I was ever spoiled on stereo sampled acoustic pianos, here is my Elixir for that! Bottom line, I have an insatiable desire for the RD 2000 and its [unlimited polyphonic] potential with the revolutionary V-piano engine. Just thinking about all the scenes I can create; the zones and layers I can allocate, effects and parameters I can explore with each tone and a one-touch recall, the unmatched hammer action... And it's master controller... I'm sold!!
When I turn on a Steinway D I don't have to fine tune anything, it sounds awesome right outside the box :) Yes, the RD2000 can download and play the RD700GX and RD700NX pianos (not sure about the original RD700 or RD700SX). If it works for you and sounds good then go for it. I was just trying to put my opinion out there for other players to notice before putting down their cash.
MangoldProject Thank you for the insight - ironically, I do think that Roland was too good at hyping the RD-2000 and a clarifying opinion such as yours is in fact needed - not everybody will be comfortable with a 'modeled' sound "right out the box" and need to be made aware. I appreciate that! As for myself, I've analyzed all the pros, and the few cons, and am emphatically settled with my decision to purchase👍, knowing exactly what I have to expect from the RD-2000. Good news - The axial website does feature the extensions for the old RD 500, 600, and 700 [RD-EXP 01] along with it's 'SX' versions [RD-EXP 02 & RD-EXP 03]. 🎆
MangoldProject The Steinway sound comes from an enormous amount of skill from the engineers and piano technicians that craft the instrument after it has been constructed. Two different technicians will produce a completely different sound from the same piano. A great technician will adjust the piano to suit an individual player. It is a professional instrument, which is just how Roland have approached this stage piano. It requires some TLC and time and you will be able to get out of it sounds that are perfect for you.
@@MrJFoxProductions Did you ever find the SRX-11 piano sounds? I hope this RD-2000 can do that. I'm either going to sell my RD-700 w SRX-11 or my RD-2000!
Why is this even an issue when you can easily integrate ANY SOFTWARE PIANO and control it seamlessly! That’s the beauty of the RD, not just being a classic standalone stage piano. If you bought this solely for that purpose, that was a bad purchase for you. It doesn’t make the instrument “unacceptable”. Lol
The RD2000 boasts certain features, the main one of which is being a standalone piano with a great sound. Do you think it is unreasonable for it to be criticized based on its main selling point?
I have multiple 88 key controllers and many top piano plug-ins but I bought the RD-2000 so I could leave the laptop at home for certain gigs. The RD-2000 pianos should measure up to the top VSTs.
Hello, just quickly. I for one appreciate your candid honest review of this keyboard. I'm on the cusp of purchasing it but your review is giving me caus e for pause. I bought a Nord Piano 3, 6 months ago and I love the sounds and many other things about it but I cannot live with the Phatar action, it's awful. I really thought being a heavy handed player that I'd adapt but boy was I wrong. Anyway just wondering if you still feel the same way about this piano after you've had it a bit longer and some people have given their advise on how to edit the sound. Also I'm wondering, you mentioned that you can download the sound you liked from the NX I think it was so what would be the problem there? Thanks in advance if you're able to respond. Love your channel btw, I've learned loads from you . :)
Question, what were the initial settings you placed on the RD-2000 in this video? The first few knobs are dialed very much to the right, leaving one to one wonder your personal preference. I do agree with you, however, in general the piano sounds of the RD-2000 are not at the level of other digital pianos. It requires a lot of editing to get the piano sounding pristine. I think a strong point of the RD-2000 is that it is a very good controller with amazing flexibility to program other gear connected to it. I have considered other digital pianos, but I still find myself seriously considering the RD-2000 because of the features and quality of the keyboard that you mentioned. Thanks for your post.
Yeah I don't like the main piano sound either. I prefer the RD800's sounds, mellow concert in particular. Even then sometimes I think I should've bought a Nord when it comes to sound. Overall it's great though, the touch is good and it works well as a synthesizer
I’m a totally blind song write, trying to find the right piano to hook up to my computer. I was checking this one out, so thank you for playing it so we could hear it. I agree with you; I hate the piano sounds in it. Is there any piano, with weighted keys, that you do recommend? I’d love one with a good flute and brass sound section. No one ever seems to play that part of the board. Also looking for 88 keys.
In my opinion I don't hear what you are hearing sir. But if you strongly feel that way its your opinion it's not a fact. I like every piano you played. Maybe you have the wrong amp. Try playing it through a QSC or XV monitors you will have a different perspective. No such thing as better it's all preference.
The RD 2000 is a perfect Masterkeyboard for VSTs and external sound souces. And then you can play a Bechstein , Steinway etc. on a higher. acoustic level than any other build in sound.
Agree. The piano sound sux. Everything else on it is great. Was pretty disappointed when I first got it. Especially with the finish of the keys. They lost that raw, matte texture that the previous model had.
This is my second comment. I originally watched this as an investigation of the little sister of this product, the FP-30 purchased about 2 years or so ago. I was considering "buying up" to get a better sound with the 2000. I don't need gee whiz gadgetry, only a great piano sound in a compact unit. My complaint with the FP-30 was not the key action, or other functionality of the product, but the sound. I found the sound to be very awkward in certain ranges. After finally downloading a frequency app, I was able to determine the reason why. I was able to get an accurate frequency lock on every key, EXCEPT for C3 through C5. While this range of keys is off only slightly (and probably within the range allow to be called "in tune"), when striking keys in combination that may be sharp on one and flat on the other, it is definitely noticeable. I contacted Roland but was not able to get anyone to recognize I had a problem. To be fair, my voice messages to the closest repair shop were not returned, although I really doubt my unit can be "fixed". While not an expert, I think the sample piano was just not properly in tune when the recordings were made. Imagine my surprise when I took my app to the piano store and tested the 2000 on display after this discovery. It has the same issue! Each key from and including C3 through C5 did not have a frequency lock. Maybe this is somehow on purpose? Maybe this is an issue of an older display model that has subsequently been addressed? I am still looking for a replacement and have identified another piano I want to buy, aided by another video outlining products to consider on this channel. The lesson I learned from this is do not buy a piano based on what it sounds like in a noisy piano store! I used three different apps and my own ears, so I am confident of my testing results. If you see some strange guy in a store testing a piano before buying, it may well be me, and you will know why!
All due respect as I listen and have learned a lot from your tutorials. I’ve had the Roland RD 2000 for about two weeks now. Initially purchasing the much heralded Korg SV2 for three days before returning and swapping it out. I love the acoustic pianos in this instrument. Firstly the fact that unlike some sample based instruments, it has unlimited polyphony. The action is the best I’ve come across on a stage piano. Back to the sounds, there are such a varied amount of both acoustic and electric piano sounds that I’ve yet to step through and play them all. The sonic variables available for tweaking under the hood also allows for personalization of your sound as well. While true that there are some piano sounds some will not have use for nor find appealing, I find the Concert Grand, and Deep Grand sounds to be very appealing, but would probably EQ the Stage Grand sound somewhat. This is a very enjoyable instrument to play, so much so that Im finding myself playing it more than my Kimball baby grand.
I bought the RD-2000 and am less than impressed with the piano sounds. Does anyone know if it has the SRX-11 Complete Piano sounds? I am used to the 1st sound called Superb Grand.
Sounds good to me. I think it's just personal taste. The Rd700 sound just seems to be a different eq. If you can adjust the tone/eq of the RD2000 piano you should be able to get it to sound the same as the RD700. Tbh if you are looking for a certain tone, i would go midi rout. Sell the rd2000, get a really good midi piano and use Kontakt or such like. Im fussy on tone of the piano, so i use midi piano's. I can have access to a vast array of piano sounds this way. I can even layer sounds to get a certain tone.
I'm no expert, but when I bought the RD2000 I had set out to buy the very best in this budget and everything pointed to the RD2000. The salesman in the shop said for best sound quality stick with Roland. I do in a way feel the points raised against the RD2000 are accurate. I just play at home but I wanted the best sound my budget could buy. I use Yamaha HS7s and I have to say, none of the piano sounds have really wowed me. They sound good but not awesome. But I have never used the tone designer or messed with the settings to improve the sound....yet. Before the RD2000 I owned two Yamaha clavinova pianos and I hated the sound of both which was the reason I switched over to Roland.
It's very subjective matter indeed. Personally I prefer the darker sound of a Bosendorfer to any other kind...other people legitimately think the opposite. Anyway the beauty of samplers is that you can solve the problem simply by changing the sample, and eventually you will find "your" sound.
The boxy, or wooly sound that you refer to, is exactly the same sound problem Pianoteq suffers from, which is also a modelling vst. They are dissapointingly bad. However, the recent German grand V piano Roland have added for the RD 2000 is much better. Downside is they want another £150 from you to download it. Nord offer piano updates free. Whats your excuse Roland on a piano thats pretty old in the market now?
Keyscape? I'm getting ready to install it on my laptop, MIDI from my 2008 RD-700GX to a PreSonus Studio 24C. Hope it sounds as awesome as video reviews. Waiting to see about my next work assignment overseas and torn between the Kawai ES920 and Roland FP-90X. Might cheap out and go a less expensive and lighter DP. My 700GX is too heavy to ship overseas with the current shipping costs which means the FP-90X is in that same heavy category. At least shipping over is free with a new one so I need to factor that as well. Ok, on to installing Keyscape.
Looking for a new board been watching comparison videos all day and you’re right the 2000 doesn’t sound right. Yamaha has better acoustic piano sound to my ears.
I don’t agree with anything in this video, the piano sounds are awesome, especially the addition German Grand. I’ve been a professional musician for over 35 years and the sounds on the RS-2000 are stunning…
I had the RD-700, Rd-800 and then I purchased one of the first RD-2000 arrived in Italy. Well I'm definitely satisfied by the keyboard mechanic, by EPs sound, and if not fully satisfied by APs I still believe those are amongst the best on the market, far better than Korg, Yamaha, KAWAI, Kurtz and Nord of course. Edit July 2018: I just update the OS to the latest version and added two of the piano libraries downloaded from AXIAL in the two available virtual slots. What I got are a lot more useful and imploved sounds.
I just got the RD-2000 this week. I've been playing the RD-700 w SRX-11 card for 19 years. I will download some sounds to see what pianos can be added. Thanks for the tip.
I have exactly, precisely the same opinion of my RD-800. I have spent countless hours trying to tweak the eq and virtually every other setting on the board. And I still have that same "crappy" acoustic piano sound. I admit to not having a deep technical knowledge of mixing, etc. But, still, should the dry settings sound like a $100 Casio? I don't think so. I have to believe there is a solution setting to bring the Acoustic Piano sounds up to grade, but honestly I can't find it.
Thanks. It's just the way it is. The RD2000 and RD800 have a basic characteristic sound which cannot be altered by EQ. It's just like a Bosendorfer can't be turned in to a Steinway with EQ. If you don't like it, sell it and get something you do like!
Believe me, I am not splitting hairs here. Mine is not a comparison between a Bosendorfer and a Steinway. It's more like a comparison between [any] grand piano and a child's toy.
It's interesting that what you don't like are the V-Piano sounds, judging them to be too "boomy" compared to non-physically modeled pianos. V-Piano models all of the sympathetic resonances between the strings and the soundboard, and the mutual resonances between the strings, even when damped, because these are the resonances found in a real piano. Non-physically modeled pianos are very limited in "faking" these resonances, since their base samples have each string in isolation, and may sound dryer. Perhaps there's a way to dial down these resonances on the V-Piano module?
Have you ever tried the Kurzweil Forte or Physis K4 EX?? Which one do you prefer over the RD2000? I wanted to get one of them as a main MIDI controller for my studio...
Your video highlights a point I’ve been saying for years. Once a player gets to a certain level in their playing ability, they will know what they’re after. It’s not one is bad and the other good, only what’s right for them. Many well established Classical or Jazz players will only play a particular brand of grand piano, that’s not to say the others are bad, just what’s right for them. Saying that, I do agree with you here. I think it has a dull sound to it and doesn’t have a nice ring when in the higher register. Also, many people on here have said you need to adjust the settings, if you need to do that to make it sound good, then your point is completely valid.
I agree with you 100%. And EQ will only take away frequencies - you cannot polish a turd, as the saying goes. Not that this piano is a turd (it's quite ok), but you cannot, for example, EQ a Steinway into a Bosendorfer. Nor can you "tweak" the RD2000 to sound like a good piano. At least, that's my 2 cents. Or 250000 cents, considering I've bought the RD2000 :).
MangoldProject I think you’re right. There’s a video on YT somewhere where someone compares the 2000 to a a Steinway and the difference is really noticeable. The Steinway sounds so bright and alive, the 2000 just sounds mechanical. I actually think the rd700 series and fa08 sound a lot better than the 2000. I don’t know what grand piano Roland used for their sample, but poor choice.
Agree with the video 100%. I spent a LONG time researching this vs Roland A88+VST vs Nord Piano 5. I have a soft spot for Roland and I really wanted the RD-2000. Its better than the Nord in many ways: keybed, MIID controller options, USB audio, MIDI CC controller, 2 mod wheels + pitch bender and considerably cheaper. BUT I agree, the acoustic pianos and effects are just so dated compared to the Nord. The pedal damper noise is lame. The electric pianos are on par with Nord though. I have spent many hours in the shop comparing the two and every time I came out wanting the Nord since sound top of my decision list. Its such a shame. Its well overdue a replacement in 2024. I think Roland have just given up on piano modelling R&D and are competing on price. The German expansion is certainly better than the stock sounds, but not enough to sway it sadly.
I don't get it. If you want the previous sound, punch it up. You said you liked everything else about the 2000. You have access to your old sounds. Enjoy the improvements and play the old sound. I enjoyed your playing by the way.
Thanks Dante. I see where you're coming from. For me, when a company announces a digital piano (which is 3 generations newer than my current one), it comes with some expectations, one of which being that the sound engine would be better in some way. The old sound is still fine, but I've been listening to it for 8 years and would really like some variation at this point.
Well, I had Roland keyboards for almost my entire musical life and they've always been great. When I played it in the store I thought it sounded a bit off, but I convinced myself using all of the excuses people in the comment section here made: "Your speakers aren't good enough", "just use EQ", "just use another voicing" and so on. And all of the reviews are pretty glowing, too. After several months of trying out different options I came to my final conclusion shown in this video, and I hope it will serve as a second opinion for anyone considering this board to trust their instincts and know there are other musicians out there who don't share the majority's opinion.
Thanks for your explanation. I took music lessons using a Steinway Grand. So, I became accustomed to the full acoustic sound of the Steinway. It was difficult for me to find a digital piano that produced the quality sound of a Steinway. The closest to the sound is Yamaha. Roland pianos don't sound like any acoustic grand piano that is manufactured. It is a made-up sound.
Hey, Mangold. Really appreciate the review and your honesty as a buyer to be as objective as possible. These are the things I'm looking for while I'm considering such an investment. But I am a bit confused. So it seems as if the only major concern you have with this keyboard is the main piano sound. Weren't you able to upload your preferred piano sound you were comparing the new one too? And are you able to download other sounds onto the computer from the internet? This is the grey area I have currently with my research with the Roland. Hope you see this and can reply. Thanks again!
The Roland has a heavy Steinway like feel, which is very different than the light action you get on Nord, Yamaha, and other Fatar based keybeds. He seems to prefer lighter action.
I was thinking of "upgrading" from my $600 Yamaha P-105 to the RD-2000. Went to the Guitar Center and was pretty disappointed with what sounded digitized (though, to be fair, I did no tweaking) I was happy to get back to my Yamaha P-105 which IMO pretty much "nails" the sound of a very nice grand piano because of a great sample! Assaf, I wondered if you have ever tried the Yamaha CP-88?
Yeah, tried it at GuitarCenter on 14th street in Manhattan one day while I was visiting NYC. Pretty good. It's hard to go wrong with almost any model from a respectable manufacturer these days (Yamaha, Nord, Roland, Kawai, Korg, Casio). I'm eyeing the Nord Stage 3 myself, but will probably do some comparisons in the upcoming weeks.
@@MangoldProject I just happened to come across this comparison on UA-cam. ua-cam.com/video/jwYAv5fNUro/v-deo.html I hope you find it helpful. By the way, I'm a huge admirer of you and your expertise! Thanks for all you do. You deserve a great keyboard!! ;-)
MangoldProject oh, I so get that. That's why I additionally have an electric keyboard. So that when my husband is home, he can't hear me practicing because I use headphones.
I agree. It is well known amongst pros that Roland's piano sounds are weird and artificial. I have a bunch of different keyboards (RD800, Kawai MP11SE, Ravenscroft (PC), Yamaha SX5 acoustic grand) and have tested these issues with Roland sounds, including on the FP90 which is same gen as RD2000 although RD2000 has additional sound chip options. Also, you will see a few online reviewers have identified issues with Roland's piano sounds, e.g. AZpianoblogspot. A lot of magazine reviews simply can't hear these issues which says a lot about their expertise as reviewers. Issues are: bad stretch tuning curve (eg by comparison to normal ranges for concert instruments), uneven or simply weird tone colours (metallic/harsh) vs nearby keys and lack of decay/reverb to make the sound 'sing'. These can be improved a bit by customizing the sound (Roland give no advice on how to do this) however basically you are polishing a t^rd and can only achieve a moderate improvement. Comparison of the sound (on genelec monitors) of say FP90 concert piano vs FP90 used as midi controller to run Ravenscroft is VAST. I have done this many times, blind testing on different players or listeners. The poster is a good pianist and many of the people giving him a hard time are (on average) probably unlikely to be at the same level.
One if the most ridiculous reviews ever. 1) “I declare the Stage Grand the ‘main piano sound’ and ignore all the others which may sound very different. So the RD-2000 is bad”. 2) “Oops, there are other piano sounds which I don’t like either. Well, maybe one can tweak them, but I‘m too stupid to press the Tone Edit button. So the RD-2000 is bad”. 3) “I don’t like the acclaimed V-piano modeling, but ignore all those sampled sounds. So the RD-2000 is bad”. 4) “I can even import my favorite RD-700 piano sound which I like more. So the RD-2000 is bad”. Well, sounds are a matter of taste. But illogical criticism of an instrument which you obviously don’t sufficiently know sucks.
Honestly, I was going to respond but then stopped. While I understand your point, you could have been more civil in expressing it. I wonder if you would've had the guts to express yourself in such harsh tones had we been face to face. Stupid? Lazy? Illogical? But such is the way of the Internet & its anonymity. To quote Oscar Wilde, "Give a man a mask and he will show you his true self."
@@1q2w3e4r5t6zism I'm also a Roland fan boy and I'm shocked the RD-2000 pianos are lacking. I bought this thinking it must be an improvement but more sounds does not necessarily equal better.
I have been wanting to try the Roland RD2000 ever since it first came out. I got my wish this week. I was very underwhelmed by the whole thing. Like you, I thought the Stage Piano very weak and uninspiring. I have owned several RD boards with my last one being the 700NX. I have since discovered the Korg Grandstage DP which, in sound, I believe blows RD2000 out of the water. Just my opinion though.
Yeah, I agree it sounds better. Action is kind of meh, honestly. But it seems like we can't have it all :). Maybe the Kawai MP11SE - haven't tried that one yet!
I think this is subjective and depends on the monitors you are playing it through. Through my monitors the new piano sounds better to me. The old sound, sounds empty and lifeless to me. I personally would rather have a keybed and controls I like. I can tweek the sounds.
This is the first negative review of this instrument I've heard. I have two of them and like them, but the boxy quality in the pianos is definitely there. Designing my own helped significantly, as well as messing with the fully parametric eq, rolling off around 250HZ. Otherwise, I love the instrument.
Most people who buy a product have a very hard time admitting (out loud) they don't like something about it, because they think it reflects poorly on them and their buying choices. I don't particularly care how it reflects on me, and I think I owe potential buyers a fair warning and perhaps to encourage them to think twice before putting down money for the instrument.
MG - I do appreciate your lesions and simple approach to teaching, but MG I think you are missing something or maybe I am missing some frequency ranges in my hearing. I believe the RD-2000 is going to be a legendary keyboard. Roland has not fallen asleep with this unit as it has just come out with an OS upgrade that has added a number of new sounds taken from their long history of RD keyboards. Plus, the RD enables me to quickly and easily run my favorite software program Keyscape into this great feeling key.
I hear this the same way as you do. The old RD 700-Sound is much more like a real piano. If Roland come out with a new piano the main pianosound should be better than the old one. Thanks for posting.
Interesting to hear you complain it is "boomy". When I tried pianos in the nearest shop I could get to I tried Kawai, Yamaha, Korg and Nord. But I bought the Roland because it was the only one I thought I could hear a soundboard on. All the others sounded thin and reedy. I like the sound of this one too. All a matter of choice I suppose.
For the people who are saying it sounds ok to them. I will mildly disagree because everyone has an opinion but listen to a side by side comparison with any good Kawai keyboard you will really hear the difference between the both of them. There's a lot of videos where they ask a person what keyboard sounds more realistic and Kawai had more scores to my knowledge but the downside is that a lot of Kawai Keyboards have poorer quality build than Roland(In my opinion). P. S: to really test out the Piano sound try playing at the high and low register of the keyboard you will really hear the difference
I agree with you... I enjoy my old Roland FP-4 and FP-7F to this day, but was disappointed with the FP-80 (poor mid range piano sound, and lousy "ambient" reverb). I guess Roland has had a change of sound designers in the interim that carries on to this day. Did you find the keyboard action to be somewhat noisy?... it seems to stand out in your video.
The keys are great and not noisy. They probably stand out because I left the vocal mic track while playing the piano (you see my vocal mic sticking out in the video).
Sorry but the rd2000 stage grand sounds infinitely superior to the old Roland sound you’re use to hearing. Which I think is the problem. You’ve gotten your internal ear use to hearing something so things that are new and actually better sound off or incorrect. That rd2000 stage grand has one of the best representations of a grand I’ve ever heard in a digital instrument.
That's why it's a good thing there are different instruments out there to suit different folks. I'll take a Nord Piano/Stage any day over the Roland, but I'm glad it's serving you well.
Essaf, I totally understand you, here's a good suggestion to consider, try to check the Nord Stage, the series has amazing acoustic piano sounds... But very expensive.
To be honest, if those piano sounds do not make you happy, then I think that you cannot be made happy. Every piano sound that you have played in this video sounds fantastic to me. In fact, watching your video is actually selling me on getting a Roland RD2000 of my own.
David Grason Honestly he could just use it as a midi controller lol and use the rest of the sounds instead of complaining
Lordtunes World That’s one hell of an expensive midi controller.
BINGO!
@@slapmyfunkybass .... (note: I’m a newbie). Essentially different instruments, and considering the major cost difference between the RD2000 and a real Steinway grand piano, does MangoldProject (or anyone not liking the sound of the RD2000), have a legitimate valid reason for not liking RD2000?
RD2000 vs Steinway Concert Grand Piano: ua-cam.com/video/FBTiL_XfUwQ/v-deo.html
@@strawberryyogurt0 that comparisson is totally useless. because you are hearing the recorded audio. hearing a steinway live is a total different thing.
Sounds pretty f**ing awesome to me!
I actually liked the way this piano sounds. I guess it's just personal preference
He's right. But I was able to dig deep on it and get it to where I wanted. I use it for classical and they aren't classical sounding pianos- but rather jazzy thin new age fluff. I had to really EQ it. I may do what you did, Mangold, and go grab some sounds to import. Another problem is that the pianos are EXCRUCIATINGLY quiet. Compared to other instrument types on the RD-2000, which will blow you away volume-wise if you switch to them.
Hey I just got this Roland, and straight after firing it up was also a bit disappointed. I totally get what you mean by "boxy". It really did sound a bit dull, especially mid-low register. After tweaking it for a bit (EQing things didn't get me the desirable effect) I found the key touch button. Setting touch to 'light' and key touch offset to about -8 made all the difference to me! It brought out the brightness, and it definitely wasn't just that the velocity curve changed (before, no matter how hard I hit the sound remained dull). It started sounding great. I'm honestly not sure why this is set like this by default - the dullness was pretty apparent straight away to me. Anyway, I know this is old, but I just found this and maybe it will be useful to someone.
Let’s be honest: the factory settings are quite unfortunate in many ways. I purchased the board initially because the alternatives were worse, but after some deep explorations I have managed to set up some very satisfying programs for my gigs.
@@ravenmusic932 Yes, one that gets pitched a lot are Nord boards and I didn't vibe with the action on those, even though they sound great. Granted, they released the Nord Grand with Kawaii action, but not when I was in the market for a new board.
Hi , thanks a lot for your genius reccomodaition to put the keytouch on light and offset on 8
I am triying almost one year to finde the best piano sound for me by twieking and editing until i read your coment
Thanks
You are a life savor ❤ thank you so much
I did not like the RD-2000 piano sounds until I played them with a band. Surprisingly they really sound good in the mix, bright, crisp and really cut through!
I made the same experience, the piano sounds fit better in the band than any other Piano I´d played before.
Seems to be the consensus. This is a mix piano. Though with the newly released Germany D expansion it now available it has a piano more suited to solo piano as well.
Sometimes a brighter sound is exactly what you want on stage
Acoustic pianos have the same subtle difference before and after the felt on the hammers is "voiced". I actually do hear the difference between the two pianos sounds you played and I , like you, prefer your old sound. But disagree that the RD2000 is a bad purchase. The very fact that you can upload the old sounds have both sounds in your instrument means it is both the old and the new... all in the same box. How can that be a bad thing?? Honestly, the touch and feel of the Roland is what makes it the best choice...the sound is just electronics and stored samples and you can basically have any sound you want on a keyboard. You can't download touch and feel for the keys.
I purchased one, sold it and then missed it after trying multiple flagship keyboards, so I bought another one. The Rd2000 can be tweaked to sound virtually any way you prefer. This is such a good board I couldn’t recommend it enough. My belief is that you haven’t fully explored and used all the customizations available. In any event, everyone has their own tastes.
Hia Brian, i would like to buy one of these just for home use, do i have to buy speakers to play it through, im only a learner. Thanks, Kevin.
@@xtrofilm You will need monitors I'm pretty sure. They're worth it, I promise!
Thanks mate.@@radar476
Exactly, optimise the effects to customise your own unique sound to suit ☝️
The sound each of us hear is subjective.. a particular piano may sound good to me and bad to some and could be the other way around.. if you are used to the sound of your previous piano, then you could be having a biased opinion with your new one, take some time with your new keyboard, play it and listen at its sound for a while.. you will see that it doesn't sound that bad at all.
I looked at this and the Yamaha modx8 not only did the Roland sound better but the key action felt fantastic completed with a real wood overlay on the keys compared to the plastic feel of the Yamaha I was so impressed I decided to wait and just save up for the phantom which is on whole new level competing with the Yamaha Genos for 2k less
Well i think it is not a fair comparision, RD2000 goes against Yamaha CP88, that would be a fair comparission...
Sounds like an EQ issue. Has Roland made it exceptionally difficult to change such settings with this model?
This is not an eq issue. I’ve owned both the Juno ds 61 and fa08 and the piano sounds are just average at best. I’ve tried tweaking them very extensively and they lack warmth and depth. I’m actually happier with piano patches from my iPad. Everything else is pretty solid...eps, organs, guitars etc but Roland does not make great piano patches.
Having worked with piano sounds for quite a few years, both good and bad, I can tell you from experience that EQ solves a great many issues in tone, especially as they pertain to warmth and depth. In this case, boost a little 1.5k and 5.5k with a wide Q, maybe lift the highs a touch with a shelf to bring out the shine and the RD2000 sounds acceptable if not great. I grabbed the audio from this video and had a play with it, and while the results are marred with mp3 compression artifacts, the tone sounds pretty good with a little love. In fact, the RD2000 has a remarkable soundstage overall compared to the 700GX, which surprised me, as it was so difficult to hear with the mids scooped and highs rolled off as they were.
I'd be happy to post an audio comparison to some public cloud storage thing tomorrow if you would like to hear.
I've tried playing around with the EQ quite a bit without any success. If you can make me like it I'd be totally in your debt :)
Honestly, I'm already in your debt for the great videos so I'd be more than happy to do everything in my ability to improve your piano sound!
The unfortunate reality is that I don't own an RD2000 or know what built-in tools are available, and my current solution for better tone would require you to use outboard gear or to run the keyboard's output through software DSP, the latter which may be a bad option if you value low latency. I know I do with my Kawai MP11, which is fortunate enough to have a built-in 4- and 7-band EQ.
If you own a decent 3-band EQ, that should do the business. However, I couldn't get a truly satisfying tone without using 4 of a 5-band unit. The 1.5K boost was also joined by a small boost at 400Hz, 5.5k, and a shelf (that is actually a really wide Q band) that lifts centered at 35k, such that the air around 10k and up is given a little push. level-matched after the boosts, it sounds great in my opinion.
I played around with all of the settings that your're refering to and while it did improve the sound, its still average at best. Its not horrible but a stage piano at this price range should sound a lot better in my opinion. IF you AB any current roland flagship next to a piano library like True keys, ravenscroft or Keyscape, then you can here its flaws and how underwhelming it is in comparison. Everything from the release samples to the string resonance is just off. It sounds extremely artificial in comparision. There is a reason why you pretty much never see professional musicians using Roland synths on stage. They always use yamaha, nord etc. If a piano patch is good, it will sound above average without any modifications.
Is there a reason you're tied to stage pianos? How about the Roland A-88 controller and a really good VST like Ivory or Keyscape. Under $1500 and you have the best piano sounds and Roland's great keyboard action.
Many of us here thinks it is the heavy Steinway-like action he hates. He prefers the softer action you find in Fatar plastic fantastic.
Hi again ,
I bought the rd 2000 one year ago and have the same feeling about the piano sounds they are not good! meanwhile i purchasad the new GERMAN CLASSIC expantion and it is a game changer !!
I am sure roland will take care all rd 2000 users and will refresh us with new updating , there is not still a better stage piano on the market never forget the importance of the hardwere built and the keybads quality for real pianist , the rd 2000 give us the best chois on this essue ,
If anyone discovered somthing new about the rd 2000 please let everybody know!
I strongly disagree, i had taken alot of interest and time to get opinions and reviews from professionals, and other people who just dedicate their time and effort to review and explore keyboards. Virtually all of them have been impressed with the RD 2000. I want to think that your review is personal and quiet opinionated. By the way, try to change your speakers, and trust me, your opinion will change. The RD 2000 sound different through different speakers.
This is one of the best keyboard workstations you will find on the market.
Of course it's opinionated - it's a review :).
It sounds pretty dull through both headphones (DT770, AKG240) and active monitors (Mackie MRmk3s and previously 8" KRK Rokits). A lot of other pianos (incl. VSTs, Kawai ES100, Roland RD700GX) sound great through all of these.
@@MangoldProject sounds great through my Adam a5xs and my any 240 v2s
The bright, mid light sounds your used to are similar to the scooped sounds popular for listening. It adds oomph and sizzle, but isnt natural acoustic sound.
Depends what you want. If your after an authentic acoustic piano tone the v piano based rd sounds are very close. If you want a Mic,d up studio or stage processed sound it will sound a little mid heavy and boxy. Real pianos are Mic,d and processed to to make them sound how they do, it's not their natural sound.
It's similar to the sound in the room v studio Mic,d sound of guitar modellers. The two arnt the same, there arrived at at different points. One is natural the other is captured by a mix, processed and sculpted to fit a mix.
Samples used for non v piano sound from all manufacturers are captured with A (or more than 1) Mic which instantly changes it from what the ear hears directly from the piano.
Neither are bad, but they are different. If you want the sound on a recording, or through a pa live then sampled tones will be closer. If you want the narural sound of apiano, then the rds v piano based sounds are as close as you can get without a real acoustic piano.
I use krk... Nice
Kennedy Muzyamba korg kronos 2 is the board that as leading the market
Straight Talk had the same effect, a quick fix would be a return if you still can.
You don't like the RD2000 because the stage piano sound isn't to your liking? You can modify all the sounds to your liking if you bother to make the effort. There are two sound engines in the RD2000 and only one of them is based on modelling; the other, sampling from the RD800. Your argument is weak and an appalling reason for damning the product.
Shouldn’t have to be an “effort”to tweak the sounds,what a bunch of bull.
@@robertmichalscheck3072 It's not much of an "effort" to tweak the sounds to your liking on this board. It's REALLY simple.
So, you don't like RD2000 because... you just don't like it... mmkay. I love Roland RD2000, it's key action and it's acoustic piano engines. You got it right, it has two engines: pure physical modelling V-Piano engine (S01-S10) and hybrid SuperNatural multisampling with phys modeling (0001-...). Though S01 Stage isn't my favourite tone, your RD2000 sounds weird. Check out settings, EQ, tweak the sound in Piano Designer, it has got a ton of parameters. It's a great device, I like it way better than Nord. I hear these lamentations from time to time... like "awww, they spoiled it, I liked my RD800 better". No, guys, you're wrong, it's your baby duck syndrome talking.
I only test pianos using professional headphones. If I can't easily tweak the sound to my liking while wearing headphones, I will certainly not buy the piano.
Perhaps I'm less critical than you, but I'm quite happy with my RD2000.
Hi Dave. I'm happy you're happy with your RD2000. I've tested it with a pair of good headphones in the store (AKG240), and my gut feeling told me to rethink it, but I was too much of a Roland fanboy to listen to it. Definitely a mistake on my part, and I hope to at least give potential buyers something to pay attention to before they put down their hard earned cash. If they don't mind it - by all means, they should go ahead and buy.
I use the supernatural Concert Grand on my RD2000, I find its much crisper and cuts much better. Not full polyphony on the supernatural sounds, but I’ve never incurred any issues with c.1000 notes of polyphony or whatever it is. The supernatural sound has smooth dynamic shifts too so there’s no dynamic stages, which is just like the V Piano, so again same level of spec just a better sound. Just set up a scene where the concert grand is on the first button. Also try messing with the sound lift options on tone designer, and the tone colour dial (also affected by the mod wheel). Adjusting the key touch also improves clarity.
Go to the"tone desiner" > "piano desiner" and change the "character" from 0 to -2 and you'l be happy! Trust me! (It making it mellow like nord imperial grand (bossendorfer) sound) you can play with "character" value to your liking i found -2 (on my RD 800) the best sound value. Hop its helped. 😁
^ This!
This parameter is not available for the modelled pianos, only Supernatural ones.
Mr Mangold , this is my dream piano, I live in South Africa, the way my life will change just by getting this piano, maybe you can be generous hahhaa
Nice try bud.... :c
I feel you should work hard for your dream and not beg....
Anyways goodluck....
INTERESTING MY GUY
@Lanes Rules, can't you get to some humor in a post? He ain't begging..
word maGuy, thanks for the support hahhaha
lol, I'm also from South Africa, I'm going a much cheaper route: M-audio Hammer88 controller. There's some decent VSTi pianos out there, check out Ravenscroft 275 VI www.vilabsaudio.com/Ravenscroft-By-VI-Labs
*Listening to chord progressions* Yeah ... like ... horrible. *wiping tear* Can ... can I hear that one part again, where you played all of these piano things?
yeah, I wanna what song it is
🤣🤣true that...me too!
It's an improvisation. Sorry guys :) But wipe away those tears and subscribe to the channel and you'll learn all sorts of tricks that will help you sound like that! ;)
I totally agree, that it is missing a bit of the warmth.
This is exactly why everyone says Piano sounds are a matter of taste... I also own RD2000. Nice playing by the way. I was so intrigued by your opinion that I downloaded the 1.5 update and all 6 EXP libraries. Before I retort, its worth highlighting you are comparing a basic sample playback (not even SuperNatural) to a supposedly Physically Modelled Piano. A difficult comparison to make.
Having forgotten which GX Piano sound you like, I tried them all. I rejected 7GX ExpressiveGrd because it plays as if its COMP and distorted to me...ie intentionally BOOMY to cut through other sounds live. This is listening via Bose QC10 headphones. I thought the GX Grand Piano and GX Clear Grand were superior to the one you like and these are SuperNatural. But none of these 3 is as good as 7NX ConcertGrand which also come with that expansion. Interestingly, the factory presets on the RD2000 include SN007 NX Concert Grand which in my opinion is EXACTLY the same as the latter that comes with the EXP04 above. Similarly, I believe the GX pianos are already in the factory Studio patches to some extent... for example 0034 Studio Grand is midway between 7GX Grand Piano and 7GX Clear Grand. Admittedly I did not find a close or exact match for the 7GX ExpressivGrd in the basic, non SuperNatural presets. The closest perhaps was 0019 St. Piano1. Now back to the physical modelled sounds....
My opinion when I sit down and use any of the MD piano presets is that I am playing a real instrument. Ive heard others describe this sensation as inspiring and hard to leave the board. You want to just keep playing. With the samples however, even my personal favourite NX preset, eventually I grow tired and find it uninspiring. However I agree that the converse can also be true. Eventually the MD pianos seem to lack REAL Character, even if they are inspiring instruments. They simply are not Pianos! For this reason, I found that by combining S10 Aco Grand4, a physically modelled patch, with 0007 NX Concert Grand, a SN hybrid patch, I have arrived at what I consider an unbeatable sound. I mix these in the zone edit section by giving 105 volume to the MD engine and the full 127 volume to the SN engine ti balance them up. The result is a pleasing slightly-detuned effect because although very close (possibly models and samples of the same real piano ROLAND?) the different engines are not lining up perfectly and thus adding bags of character... I then also added extra reverb and delay to the resulting sound and the result is magic!
Hello MangoldProject. I very much enjoy your pleasant noodling on the RD! Thank you. Reading through the comments below I see that you are using 'the Mackie MRMk3 6.5 inch active monitors'. I'm not an expert ... but after seeing a killer CSNY tribute band here in St. Louis I noticed one of the band members was using a Bose PA as his keyboard monitor. From where I was sitting it sounded amazing (first five rows ... so I was hearing more of the Bose than the mains). After picking his brain and clearing the Bose purchase with 'the boss' (wife) I purchased the Bose system and it adds depth and full range to my RD2000 that makes it a pleasure to play every time. Just great! Btw ... I play in a band that covers classic rock, Motown, country, pop, etc. I'm not saying you need to run out and spring for a Bose system (I was in the market anyway for my duo) ... but perhaps a more full range keyboard monitor to enhance your experience? Actually your post brings up a great point ... what will be the best way to capture the RD in a studio setting. Hope to find out soon. I wish you all the best with your RD & 'tone quest'.
Thanks Stephen. Every other digital piano I've played through that system sounded great. And part of the playing was done through a pair of headphones. So I doubt it has to do with the amplification.
@@MangoldProject It does sound a bit boxy, yes. But you did not tweak it or navigated through the tons of settings available to find your sound. I own an RD-800 and have to adjust EQ, character, velocity curve, etc, as other people have mentioned in previous comments, to get the sound I like for every situation. I am ok with the Beyerdynamics (I own a pair and they sound excellent). Not sure about the AKG as I never tried those cans. The Rokits, not a good reference IMO, especially if your studio is not acoustically treated.
I love my rd2000 it is the best sound for me I have other boards but this one is the best better than Yamaha Modx8-Kong krome ex88-FA07
That's what's cool about music: Everyone has their own taste!
Hey... I just watched your video. I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. The Stage Piano sounded a lot fuller to me on my end. The 7GX ExpressiveGrnd sounded a bit thin on the low end. No doubt the 7GX ExpressiveGrnd was cleaner, but the Stage Piano sounded by far more realistic (especially when your were gracing notes). I'm listening to your video through a pair of Yamaha HS8 monitor speakers. See for yourself. I'm not saying that like the RD-2000 or anything like that, but I own an RD-800 and I like the fact that you could adjust the EQ, Tone color, and reverb on it. Did you try to make any of these adjustments?
That's what's great about life, everyone is different. I just put this video out there because I'm sure there will be others who are considering this piano and who think/feel like me, and whose attention should be drawn to this particular characteristic.
As far as EQ is concerned, EQ can't really fix a lot. A "scooped mid" sound can't be fixed by adding something that isn't there. If that were true, any musical/audio manufacturer would build crappy hardware and use EQ to fix it. It just doesn't work.
I get it... You turn on a stage piano, you expect a quality sound that you don't have to work for - that's exactly how I feel about navigating extensive pages of banks just to painstakingly achieve what the rd2000 can simply accomplish.
I currently own an aging rd700, I am excited about the Roland axial extensions - I've noticed all six of them, one of which includes a history of previous RD's including my current 700 - if I was ever spoiled on stereo sampled acoustic pianos, here is my Elixir for that!
Bottom line, I have an insatiable desire for the RD 2000 and its [unlimited polyphonic] potential with the revolutionary V-piano engine. Just thinking about all the scenes I can create; the zones and layers I can allocate, effects and parameters I can explore with each tone and a one-touch recall, the unmatched hammer action... And it's master controller... I'm sold!!
When I turn on a Steinway D I don't have to fine tune anything, it sounds awesome right outside the box :)
Yes, the RD2000 can download and play the RD700GX and RD700NX pianos (not sure about the original RD700 or RD700SX). If it works for you and sounds good then go for it. I was just trying to put my opinion out there for other players to notice before putting down their cash.
MangoldProject
Thank you for the insight - ironically, I do think that Roland was too good at hyping the RD-2000 and a clarifying opinion such as yours is in fact needed - not everybody will be comfortable with a 'modeled' sound "right out the box" and need to be made aware. I appreciate that!
As for myself, I've analyzed all the pros, and the few cons, and am emphatically settled with my decision to purchase👍, knowing exactly what I have to expect from the RD-2000.
Good news - The axial website does feature the extensions for the old RD 500, 600, and 700 [RD-EXP 01] along with it's 'SX' versions [RD-EXP 02 & RD-EXP 03]. 🎆
MangoldProject The Steinway sound comes from an enormous amount of skill from the engineers and piano technicians that craft the instrument after it has been constructed. Two different technicians will produce a completely different sound from the same piano. A great technician will adjust the piano to suit an individual player. It is a professional instrument, which is just how Roland have approached this stage piano. It requires some TLC and time and you will be able to get out of it sounds that are perfect for you.
@@MrJFoxProductions Did you ever find the SRX-11 piano sounds? I hope this RD-2000 can do that. I'm either going to sell my RD-700 w SRX-11 or my RD-2000!
Why is this even an issue when you can easily integrate ANY SOFTWARE PIANO and control it seamlessly! That’s the beauty of the RD, not just being a classic standalone stage piano. If you bought this solely for that purpose, that was a bad purchase for you. It doesn’t make the instrument “unacceptable”. Lol
The RD2000 boasts certain features, the main one of which is being a standalone piano with a great sound. Do you think it is unreasonable for it to be criticized based on its main selling point?
MangoldProject yes, if that’s your ONLY criticism. Like you said it boasts many feature. Piano only being one of them!
I have multiple 88 key controllers and many top piano plug-ins but I bought the RD-2000 so I could leave the laptop at home for certain gigs. The RD-2000 pianos should measure up to the top VSTs.
It appears you are having a prior sound liking. The new sounds from RD2000 sound better. It may take time.
Was this nice RD-700 sound an additional sound that you imported or was it already in the RD-2000? Thanks for the review.
Hello, just quickly. I for one appreciate your candid honest review of this keyboard. I'm on the cusp of purchasing it but your review is giving me caus e for pause. I bought a Nord Piano 3, 6 months ago and I love the sounds and many other things about it but I cannot live with the Phatar action, it's awful. I really thought being a heavy handed player that I'd adapt but boy was I wrong. Anyway just wondering if you still feel the same way about this piano after you've had it a bit longer and some people have given their advise on how to edit the sound. Also I'm wondering, you mentioned that you can download the sound you liked from the NX I think it was so what would be the problem there? Thanks in advance if you're able to respond. Love your channel btw, I've learned loads from you . :)
I notice that the 2000 is subdued and seems like it doesn't ring like a grand piano.. Of course you are very familiar with your sound.
PIANOSTYLE100 it’s not a real piano. And it’s not a sample of a real sound. For an engineered sound these are effin fantastic.
I agree with you on this, it does have a dull sound to it.
@@slapmyfunkybassJust saw your comment. Play the base too..but never could get as good a slap bass as I wanted. Just technique. Love Wooten's style.
It's perfect ✌️
Question, what were the initial settings you placed on the RD-2000 in this video? The first few knobs are dialed very much to the right, leaving one to one wonder your personal preference.
I do agree with you, however, in general the piano sounds of the RD-2000 are not at the level of other digital pianos. It requires a lot of editing to get the piano sounding pristine.
I think a strong point of the RD-2000 is that it is a very good controller with amazing flexibility to program other gear connected to it. I have considered other digital pianos, but I still find myself seriously considering the RD-2000 because of the features and quality of the keyboard that you mentioned.
Thanks for your post.
Yeah I don't like the main piano sound either. I prefer the RD800's sounds, mellow concert in particular. Even then sometimes I think I should've bought a Nord when it comes to sound. Overall it's great though, the touch is good and it works well as a synthesizer
I’m a totally blind song write, trying to find the right piano to hook up to my computer. I was checking this one out, so thank you for playing it so we could hear it. I agree with you; I hate the piano sounds in it. Is there any piano, with weighted keys, that you do recommend? I’d love one with a good flute and brass sound section. No one ever seems to play that part of the board. Also looking for 88 keys.
Nord Stage 3 and Kawai MP11SE are both excellent. The Kawai doesn't have very good non-piano sounds. Stage 3 is a better all-rounder.
In my opinion I don't hear what you are hearing sir. But if you strongly feel that way its your opinion it's not a fact. I like every piano you played. Maybe you have the wrong amp. Try playing it through a QSC or XV monitors you will have a different perspective. No such thing as better it's all preference.
The RD 2000 is a perfect Masterkeyboard for VSTs and external sound souces. And then you can play a Bechstein , Steinway etc. on a higher. acoustic level than any other build in sound.
Agree. The piano sound sux. Everything else on it is great. Was pretty disappointed when I first got it. Especially with the finish of the keys. They lost that raw, matte texture that the previous model had.
Did it take 4 months to see the piano sound is not good? Respect your opinion though.
This is my second comment. I originally watched this as an investigation of the little sister of this product, the FP-30 purchased about 2 years or so ago. I was considering "buying up" to get a better sound with the 2000. I don't need gee whiz gadgetry, only a great piano sound in a compact unit. My complaint with the FP-30 was not the key action, or other functionality of the product, but the sound. I found the sound to be very awkward in certain ranges. After finally downloading a frequency app, I was able to determine the reason why. I was able to get an accurate frequency lock on every key, EXCEPT for C3 through C5. While this range of keys is off only slightly (and probably within the range allow to be called "in tune"), when striking keys in combination that may be sharp on one and flat on the other, it is definitely noticeable. I contacted Roland but was not able to get anyone to recognize I had a problem. To be fair, my voice messages to the closest repair shop were not returned, although I really doubt my unit can be "fixed". While not an expert, I think the sample piano was just not properly in tune when the recordings were made. Imagine my surprise when I took my app to the piano store and tested the 2000 on display after this discovery. It has the same issue! Each key from and including C3 through C5 did not have a frequency lock. Maybe this is somehow on purpose? Maybe this is an issue of an older display model that has subsequently been addressed? I am still looking for a replacement and have identified another piano I want to buy, aided by another video outlining products to consider on this channel. The lesson I learned from this is do not buy a piano based on what it sounds like in a noisy piano store! I used three different apps and my own ears, so I am confident of my testing results. If you see some strange guy in a store testing a piano before buying, it may well be me, and you will know why!
All due respect as I listen and have learned a lot from your tutorials. I’ve had the Roland RD 2000 for about two weeks now. Initially purchasing the much heralded Korg SV2 for three days before returning and swapping it out. I love the acoustic pianos in this instrument. Firstly the fact that unlike some sample based instruments, it has unlimited polyphony. The action is the best I’ve come across on a stage piano. Back to the sounds, there are such a varied amount of both acoustic and electric piano sounds that I’ve yet to step through and play them all. The sonic variables available for tweaking under the hood also allows for personalization of your sound as well. While true that there are some piano sounds some will not have use for nor find appealing, I find the Concert Grand, and Deep Grand sounds to be very appealing, but would probably EQ the Stage Grand sound somewhat. This is a very enjoyable instrument to play, so much so that Im finding myself playing it more than my Kimball baby grand.
I'm glad this worked for you, and wish you many more years of enjoyment out of your RD2000.
I bought the RD-2000 and am less than impressed with the piano sounds. Does anyone know if it has the SRX-11 Complete Piano sounds? I am used to the 1st sound called Superb Grand.
Why don't you recommend buying the RD-2000 and then download the RD-700 piano sound as you did?
Sounds good to me. I think it's just personal taste. The Rd700 sound just seems to be a different eq.
If you can adjust the tone/eq of the RD2000 piano you should be able to get it to sound the same as the RD700.
Tbh if you are looking for a certain tone, i would go midi rout. Sell the rd2000, get a really good midi piano and use Kontakt or such like.
Im fussy on tone of the piano, so i use midi piano's. I can have access to a vast array of piano sounds this way. I can even layer sounds to get a certain tone.
i'm curious if the Bold Beauty is sampled after Baldwin, and is there a Bosendorfer?
I'm no expert, but when I bought the RD2000 I had set out to buy the very best in this budget and everything pointed to the RD2000. The salesman in the shop said for best sound quality stick with Roland.
I do in a way feel the points raised against the RD2000 are accurate. I just play at home but I wanted the best sound my budget could buy. I use Yamaha HS7s and I have to say, none of the piano sounds have really wowed me. They sound good but not awesome. But I have never used the tone designer or messed with the settings to improve the sound....yet. Before the RD2000 I owned two Yamaha clavinova pianos and I hated the sound of both which was the reason I switched over to Roland.
I think Roland makes the best digital pianos in the world by far!! I love the RD line!!
Where did you download the rd 700 GX voice ?
You can download both the RD700GX and RD700NX pianos in the Roland Axial website: axial.roland.com/category/rd-2000/
Maybe the EQ of my speaker setup is very nice cause I abso loved all the sounds you made with ur Roland.
It sounds way better than my old Casio Privia
If you don't like the piano sounds of this keyboard, then why did you buy it ? I don't get the point...
Does the RD 2000 have the "Ultimate Piano Sound"? I was shocked, as it was dropped out in the RD 800 (for me the best sound for Chopin).
It's very subjective matter indeed.
Personally I prefer the darker sound of a Bosendorfer to any other kind...other people legitimately think the opposite.
Anyway the beauty of samplers is that you can solve the problem simply by changing the sample, and eventually you will find "your" sound.
The boxy, or wooly sound that you refer to, is exactly the same sound problem Pianoteq suffers from, which is also a modelling vst. They are dissapointingly bad. However, the recent German grand V piano Roland have added for the RD 2000 is much better. Downside is they want another £150 from you to download it. Nord offer piano updates free. Whats your excuse Roland on a piano thats pretty old in the market now?
Why does a dog lick its own balls?
Keyscape? I'm getting ready to install it on my laptop, MIDI from my 2008 RD-700GX to a PreSonus Studio 24C. Hope it sounds as awesome as video reviews. Waiting to see about my next work assignment overseas and torn between the Kawai ES920 and Roland FP-90X. Might cheap out and go a less expensive and lighter DP. My 700GX is too heavy to ship overseas with the current shipping costs which means the FP-90X is in that same heavy category. At least shipping over is free with a new one so I need to factor that as well. Ok, on to installing Keyscape.
Would you prefer the CP88 to the the Roland RD??
I can see why Brian Culbertson went back to his RD800 for his current tour. Does sound a little weak.😕
Looking for a new board been watching comparison videos all day and you’re right the 2000 doesn’t sound right. Yamaha has better acoustic piano sound to my ears.
I don’t agree with anything in this video, the piano sounds are awesome, especially the addition German Grand. I’ve been a professional musician for over 35 years and the sounds on the RS-2000 are stunning…
I had the RD-700, Rd-800 and then I purchased one of the first RD-2000 arrived in Italy. Well I'm definitely satisfied by the keyboard mechanic, by EPs sound, and if not fully satisfied by APs I still believe those are amongst the best on the market, far better than Korg, Yamaha, KAWAI, Kurtz and Nord of course.
Edit July 2018: I just update the OS to the latest version and added two of the piano libraries downloaded from AXIAL in the two available virtual slots. What I got are a lot more useful and imploved sounds.
Awesome, I'm glad you found a piano that you like.
I just got the RD-2000 this week. I've been playing the RD-700 w SRX-11 card for 19 years. I will download some sounds to see what pianos can be added. Thanks for the tip.
I have exactly, precisely the same opinion of my RD-800. I have spent countless hours trying to tweak the eq and virtually every other setting on the board. And I still have that same "crappy" acoustic piano sound. I admit to not having a deep technical knowledge of mixing, etc. But, still, should the dry settings sound like a $100 Casio? I don't think so. I have to believe there is a solution setting to bring the Acoustic Piano sounds up to grade, but honestly I can't find it.
Thanks. It's just the way it is. The RD2000 and RD800 have a basic characteristic sound which cannot be altered by EQ. It's just like a Bosendorfer can't be turned in to a Steinway with EQ. If you don't like it, sell it and get something you do like!
Believe me, I am not splitting hairs here. Mine is not a comparison between a Bosendorfer and a Steinway. It's more like a comparison between [any] grand piano and a child's toy.
MangoldProject A mere $40-200k can open up a number of Steinway or Bosendorfer options!
It's interesting that what you don't like are the V-Piano sounds, judging them to be too "boomy" compared to non-physically modeled pianos. V-Piano models all of the sympathetic resonances between the strings and the soundboard, and the mutual resonances between the strings, even when damped, because these are the resonances found in a real piano. Non-physically modeled pianos are very limited in "faking" these resonances, since their base samples have each string in isolation, and may sound dryer. Perhaps there's a way to dial down these resonances on the V-Piano module?
Have you ever tried the Kurzweil Forte or Physis K4 EX?? Which one do you prefer over the RD2000? I wanted to get one of them as a main MIDI controller for my studio...
We don't really have Kurzweils in my country (they're heavily underrepresented). I'll be in NYC this month so I'll be giving them a spin!
I personally think it's the best PEP (Professional Electronic Piano).
Good, I respect other people's opinions and every one of us is definitely entitled to think what we want.
Your video highlights a point I’ve been saying for years. Once a player gets to a certain level in their playing ability, they will know what they’re after. It’s not one is bad and the other good, only what’s right for them. Many well established Classical or Jazz players will only play a particular brand of grand piano, that’s not to say the others are bad, just what’s right for them.
Saying that, I do agree with you here. I think it has a dull sound to it and doesn’t have a nice ring when in the higher register. Also, many people on here have said you need to adjust the settings, if you need to do that to make it sound good, then your point is completely valid.
I agree with you 100%. And EQ will only take away frequencies - you cannot polish a turd, as the saying goes. Not that this piano is a turd (it's quite ok), but you cannot, for example, EQ a Steinway into a Bosendorfer. Nor can you "tweak" the RD2000 to sound like a good piano. At least, that's my 2 cents. Or 250000 cents, considering I've bought the RD2000 :).
MangoldProject I think you’re right. There’s a video on YT somewhere where someone compares the 2000 to a a Steinway and the difference is really noticeable. The Steinway sounds so bright and alive, the 2000 just sounds mechanical. I actually think the rd700 series and fa08 sound a lot better than the 2000. I don’t know what grand piano Roland used for their sample, but poor choice.
have you tested the kawai vpc 1? im really happy with it using synthogy ivory II
Agree with the video 100%. I spent a LONG time researching this vs Roland A88+VST vs Nord Piano 5. I have a soft spot for Roland and I really wanted the RD-2000. Its better than the Nord in many ways: keybed, MIID controller options, USB audio, MIDI CC controller, 2 mod wheels + pitch bender and considerably cheaper. BUT I agree, the acoustic pianos and effects are just so dated compared to the Nord. The pedal damper noise is lame. The electric pianos are on par with Nord though. I have spent many hours in the shop comparing the two and every time I came out wanting the Nord since sound top of my decision list. Its such a shame. Its well overdue a replacement in 2024. I think Roland have just given up on piano modelling R&D and are competing on price. The German expansion is certainly better than the stock sounds, but not enough to sway it sadly.
I don't get it. If you want the previous sound, punch it up. You said you liked everything else about the 2000. You have access to your old sounds. Enjoy the improvements and play the old sound. I enjoyed your playing by the way.
Thanks Dante. I see where you're coming from. For me, when a company announces a digital piano (which is 3 generations newer than my current one), it comes with some expectations, one of which being that the sound engine would be better in some way. The old sound is still fine, but I've been listening to it for 8 years and would really like some variation at this point.
I don't understand. If you didn't like the sound of the Roland RD2000 why did you buy it?
Well, I had Roland keyboards for almost my entire musical life and they've always been great. When I played it in the store I thought it sounded a bit off, but I convinced myself using all of the excuses people in the comment section here made: "Your speakers aren't good enough", "just use EQ", "just use another voicing" and so on. And all of the reviews are pretty glowing, too. After several months of trying out different options I came to my final conclusion shown in this video, and I hope it will serve as a second opinion for anyone considering this board to trust their instincts and know there are other musicians out there who don't share the majority's opinion.
Thanks for your explanation. I took music lessons using a Steinway Grand. So, I became accustomed to the full acoustic sound of the Steinway. It was difficult for me to find a digital piano that produced the quality sound of a Steinway. The closest to the sound is Yamaha. Roland pianos don't sound like any acoustic grand piano that is manufactured. It is a made-up sound.
you can use EQ to "unbox" the sound... eq is a prefference... but the 700gx sound has indeed interesting richness into the high register..
As I've learned through experience, you can't polish a ...
Hey, Mangold. Really appreciate the review and your honesty as a buyer to be as objective as possible. These are the things I'm looking for while I'm considering such an investment. But I am a bit confused. So it seems as if the only major concern you have with this keyboard is the main piano sound. Weren't you able to upload your preferred piano sound you were comparing the new one too? And are you able to download other sounds onto the computer from the internet? This is the grey area I have currently with my research with the Roland. Hope you see this and can reply. Thanks again!
The Roland has a heavy Steinway like feel, which is very different than the light action you get on Nord, Yamaha, and other Fatar based keybeds. He seems to prefer lighter action.
I was thinking of "upgrading" from my $600 Yamaha P-105 to the RD-2000. Went to the Guitar Center and was pretty disappointed with what sounded digitized (though, to be fair, I did no tweaking) I was happy to get back to my Yamaha P-105 which IMO pretty much "nails" the sound of a very nice grand piano because of a great sample! Assaf, I wondered if you have ever tried the Yamaha CP-88?
Yeah, tried it at GuitarCenter on 14th street in Manhattan one day while I was visiting NYC. Pretty good. It's hard to go wrong with almost any model from a respectable manufacturer these days (Yamaha, Nord, Roland, Kawai, Korg, Casio). I'm eyeing the Nord Stage 3 myself, but will probably do some comparisons in the upcoming weeks.
@@MangoldProject I just happened to come across this comparison on UA-cam. ua-cam.com/video/jwYAv5fNUro/v-deo.html I hope you find it helpful. By the way, I'm a huge admirer of you and your expertise! Thanks for all you do. You deserve a great keyboard!! ;-)
Just get the RD88. It sounds incredible.
I prefer the acoustic sound of a piano the best!
So do I, but my neighbors less so, especially at 1 am :)
MangoldProject oh, I so get that. That's why I additionally have an electric keyboard. So that when my husband is home, he can't hear me practicing because I use headphones.
I agree. It is well known amongst pros that Roland's piano sounds are weird and artificial. I have a bunch of different keyboards (RD800, Kawai MP11SE, Ravenscroft (PC), Yamaha SX5 acoustic grand) and have tested these issues with Roland sounds, including on the FP90 which is same gen as RD2000 although RD2000 has additional sound chip options. Also, you will see a few online reviewers have identified issues with Roland's piano sounds, e.g. AZpianoblogspot. A lot of magazine reviews simply can't hear these issues which says a lot about their expertise as reviewers. Issues are: bad stretch tuning curve (eg by comparison to normal ranges for concert instruments), uneven or simply weird tone colours (metallic/harsh) vs nearby keys and lack of decay/reverb to make the sound 'sing'. These can be improved a bit by customizing the sound (Roland give no advice on how to do this) however basically you are polishing a t^rd and can only achieve a moderate improvement. Comparison of the sound (on genelec monitors) of say FP90 concert piano vs FP90 used as midi controller to run Ravenscroft is VAST. I have done this many times, blind testing on different players or listeners. The poster is a good pianist and many of the people giving him a hard time are (on average) probably unlikely to be at the same level.
Thanks James. To each his/her own ...
Im planning to buy this for our church. Sorry. Whats wrong with this??? Is Yamaha much better than Roland?
It's a matter of taste. Let your ears guide you. Do your ears hear the issues I point out in the video? If not, then go right ahead.
Sounds great and you are good player too.
I can't understand why you don't like it 🤔😁😁
One if the most ridiculous reviews ever.
1) “I declare the Stage Grand the ‘main piano sound’ and ignore all the others which may sound very different. So the RD-2000 is bad”.
2) “Oops, there are other piano sounds which I don’t like either. Well, maybe one can tweak them, but I‘m too stupid to press the Tone Edit button. So the RD-2000 is bad”.
3) “I don’t like the acclaimed V-piano modeling, but ignore all those sampled sounds. So the RD-2000 is bad”.
4) “I can even import my favorite RD-700 piano sound which I like more. So the RD-2000 is bad”.
Well, sounds are a matter of taste. But illogical criticism of an instrument which you obviously don’t sufficiently know sucks.
Honestly, I was going to respond but then stopped. While I understand your point, you could have been more civil in expressing it.
I wonder if you would've had the guts to express yourself in such harsh tones had we been face to face. Stupid? Lazy? Illogical? But such is the way of the Internet & its anonymity. To quote Oscar Wilde, "Give a man a mask and he will show you his true self."
I like the review - and in his assessment he is not alone. Unfortunately, and I say that as a Roland fanboy.
@@MangoldProject Excellent reply. I think people can get a bit over-upset on the internet!
@@1q2w3e4r5t6zism I'm also a Roland fan boy and I'm shocked the RD-2000 pianos are lacking. I bought this thinking it must be an improvement but more sounds does not necessarily equal better.
I have been wanting to try the Roland RD2000 ever since it first came out. I got my wish this week. I was very underwhelmed by the whole thing. Like you, I thought the Stage Piano very weak and uninspiring. I have owned several RD boards with my last one being the 700NX. I have since discovered the Korg Grandstage DP which, in sound, I believe blows RD2000 out of the water. Just my opinion though.
Yeah, I agree it sounds better. Action is kind of meh, honestly. But it seems like we can't have it all :). Maybe the Kawai MP11SE - haven't tried that one yet!
Totally agree with you MangoldProject... IMHO, even the plastics Kawai RH triple sensor actions, surpasses the Roland PHA-50. Who else agrees?...
Great review, thank you!
Your ex piano gx700 was it?sounded way better I think...
Yep.
I think this is subjective and depends on the monitors you are playing it through. Through my monitors the new piano sounds better to me. The old sound, sounds empty and lifeless to me. I personally would rather have a keybed and controls I like. I can tweek the sounds.
The Korg Triton piano was poor (even for it’s time) - I hope you meant the Korg Kronos!?
This is the first negative review of this instrument I've heard. I have two of them and like them, but the boxy quality in the pianos is definitely there. Designing my own helped significantly, as well as messing with the fully parametric eq, rolling off around 250HZ. Otherwise, I love the instrument.
Most people who buy a product have a very hard time admitting (out loud) they don't like something about it, because they think it reflects poorly on them and their buying choices. I don't particularly care how it reflects on me, and I think I owe potential buyers a fair warning and perhaps to encourage them to think twice before putting down money for the instrument.
could you pass me the parameters eq that you use?
Me too please. I'm in the same boat.
I don’t know what it is.... but my RD-2000 just doesn’t sound like this.....even worse. Do you use different tone designer settings or anything?
You mean your RD2000 sounds worse than what you hear in this video?
MangoldProject yes maybe its the settings, I just don’t know
Is this built in speaker?
MG - I do appreciate your lesions and simple approach to teaching, but MG I think you are missing something or maybe I am missing some frequency ranges in my hearing. I believe the RD-2000 is going to be a legendary keyboard. Roland has not fallen asleep with this unit as it has just come out with an OS upgrade that has added a number of new sounds taken from their long history of RD keyboards. Plus, the RD enables me to quickly and easily run my favorite software program Keyscape into this great feeling key.
What kind of external sound system do you play through?
Two Rokit 6" active monitors. Also use DT770 and AKG240 mk2 headphones.
I hear this the same way as you do. The old RD 700-Sound is much more like a real piano. If Roland come out with a new piano the main pianosound should be better than the old one. Thanks for posting.
Hi what is it you don't like really about it does it have good Wurlitzer piano sounds on it.
I explain what I dislike in the video (hollow mid-range).
e-pianos on it are great.
I am not really concerned about the built in sounds personally. Keyscape makes it hard to use anything else.
Interesting to hear you complain it is "boomy". When I tried pianos in the nearest shop I could get to I tried Kawai, Yamaha, Korg and Nord. But I bought the Roland because it was the only one I thought I could hear a soundboard on. All the others sounded thin and reedy.
I like the sound of this one too. All a matter of choice I suppose.
Indeed it is. Enjoy your purchase!
so what is your recommendation for the best piano sound digital piano? thanks
jok mong Yamaha Modx
For the people who are saying it sounds ok to them.
I will mildly disagree because everyone has an opinion but listen to a side by side comparison with any good Kawai keyboard you will really hear the difference between the both of them.
There's a lot of videos where they ask a person what keyboard sounds more realistic and Kawai had more scores to my knowledge but the downside is that a lot of Kawai Keyboards have poorer quality build than Roland(In my opinion).
P. S: to really test out the Piano sound try playing at the high and low register of the keyboard you will really hear the difference
1) Does it have PORTAMENTO function? 2) does it have HAMMOND sound? and
can we manage it with BARS? 3) how can we put WAH WAH Efect to CLAV
sound?
1. Yes. 2. Yes and yes. 3. If you asking IF you can do that, the answer is yes. If HOW, then just look it up in the manual.
@@MangoldProject Thank you very very much
@@MangoldProject Some has just told me that there is no portamento function on RD 2000. How can i learn this actually?
Just open the manual. It's available online for free at the Roland website in PDF format.
I agree with you... I enjoy my old Roland FP-4 and FP-7F to this day, but was disappointed with the FP-80 (poor mid range piano sound, and lousy "ambient" reverb). I guess Roland has had a change of sound designers in the interim that carries on to this day. Did you find the keyboard action to be somewhat noisy?... it seems to stand out in your video.
The keys are great and not noisy. They probably stand out because I left the vocal mic track while playing the piano (you see my vocal mic sticking out in the video).
to make piano sound good and convincing to our ear it need time for recording, editing and so on it takes lot of money and time
Sorry but the rd2000 stage grand sounds infinitely superior to the old Roland sound you’re use to hearing. Which I think is the problem. You’ve gotten your internal ear use to hearing something so things that are new and actually better sound off or incorrect. That rd2000 stage grand has one of the best representations of a grand I’ve ever heard in a digital instrument.
That's why it's a good thing there are different instruments out there to suit different folks. I'll take a Nord Piano/Stage any day over the Roland, but I'm glad it's serving you well.
What about Yamaha ?
Essaf, I totally understand you, here's a good suggestion to consider, try to check the Nord Stage, the series has amazing acoustic piano sounds... But very expensive.