I've had my RD 2000 for almost 2 years now and I can't imagine a life without it amazing. I love blending the different sounds it makes. Best investment I've ever made for my music.
I'm 64 and was asked to join a band last year after a twenty-year hiatus. After trying all the top contenders I chose the RD 2000 as it meets all of our bands needs and I was able to learn most of its amazing functions pretty quickly for an ol', out-of-touch piano player. I recently bought a Roland System 8 synth so now I'm set. This video nails it, good show!
Hey, thank you for sharing this video. I've had this Roland RD-2000 under a year. The quality of sounds is amazing. I struggle with all of the options available.
Darrick - thank you for your time, expertise, and presentation! I am currently considering the RD-2000EX and your video may have sealed it for me. Good to know that I can connect my VST directly into the RD. Looking forward to catching your other videos.
Excellent deep dive on the RD-2000. I am a OLD guy who started learning piano as a "bucket list" thing. I live in an apartment so space and loud piano is an issue, but I wanted a digital piano with a keybed as close to a acoustic piano as possible, so I bought a RD-2000 and very happy with my choice. I've had it about two years and been excellent for learning piano on. The sounds are very usable, but my ear for digital piano and other sounds has matured as I heard more and more. The Roland sounds and I would say the Korg sounds to a certain extent are lets say "dry" as compared to Yamaha who sounds are tweaked for "live" use. I find spending a little time EQ'ing and tweaking makes the Roland sounds very useful. Also a common comment on Roland keyboards is the sounds are same old ones from Roland's past keyboards. But as a master controller the RD-2000 is excellent as your video shows. Only thing being and OLD guy the RD-2000 is a bit heavy to move around, but I don't move it much so all is good.
@@darrickkeels6387 Im an old guy too lol - bought the RD 3 years ago for the same reason. I have a couple of VSTs as well - and teh "sampled sound" (that does of course have mic coloration, and room aspects from mic positioning) is different for sure - but deep editing of the V-Piano sounds gets you close... The factory presents arnt. you need to put the work in BUT it is doable. I actually use the RD as slave not master live....but thats because I added the Fantom 7 lol, which uses a similar but even more versatile zone system and has 16 of them not 8....
I've had my RD2000 for over a year now. Been wanting one ever since it came out but couldn't justify spending 2699 for it. Was browsing the marketplace and found one in my city for $800. I love the keyboard for the features but not for the sounds.
I appreciate all your descriptions and keyboard functions which is helpful as I just bought mine, but I was expecting your impressions and thoughts regarding the keyboard
I have had my RD2000 about 3 years now. I love the user interface. Very easy to use. Sounds could be better, but work fine in a live setting. The Hammond Organ sounds are weak, but I added a Neo Vent II and routed the organ sounds to the sub output to isolate the Leslie effect for organ only. The Neo Vent made the organ sound come alive in the RD2000. Not sure I will upgrade to the RD2000 EX. It depends on how affects the organ expansion I already use in the RD2000...
If you wanted something that can control all your keyboards you should take a look at Camelot Pro, Italian program that via midi can do program changes to unlimited keyboards and soft synts with one button. it even have timeline so you can put backing tracks there and program layers and splits on multiple keyboards. 9 parts? with Camelot you can easily set up to play from a keyboard 100 sounds layered on top of eachother if you have the hardware to support all the parts. Not that you want, but you CAN if you want to. So you can combine several sounds from Korg, Yamaha, Roland, MCP or divide them on one 88 hammer action and one or two synth keys with multiple zones so you have all the sounds at your fingers .. dont need to touch any control panel at all Camelot will change for you even mid song. Anyway.. The reason I could want a RD2000 is for the piano sounds alone. For me they sounds pretty much mixready out of the box (I do maily pop/rock recording) while pianos like Nord is very midheavy and will fight with the vocal over the frequency spectrum. So I need to do heavy mid scouping on those boards, while on RD2000 as I can hear, it will just sit in the mix without any major work needed to be done to it,. Save time in the mixing process. Unless offcause you are recording a classical piano concert. But in pop/rock I can see RD2000 is perfect for the studio. You are saying that RD2000 is perfect in stage as it can cut through, but you see as pro audio engineer with 30 years experience, that apply even more to the studio where we do not know what speakers the listeners are using. In pop the vocal will always be nr 1 and the piano will take the backseat. The piano as you said before is eating up a lot of the frequency room , I suppose that is also why the natural sounding piano is not used in such recordings. When it is used, it is mixed to sound pretty much like the RD2000 allredyis sounding straight out of the box. So for me that would be the perfect piano to use in a studio recording of pop/rock music.
Oh and I forgot to mention, buying the RD2000 is afaik the cheapest way to get the V-Piano and the PHA50 hammer action key bed, as the other option the Roland Fantom 8 is far more expensive. and you told about the problem with the scene remain. One way would be to have Roland Fantom 6 or 7 together with RD2000. Another thought I had is whether I want a Fantom or not or Fantom0 series as I try to figure out where it will fit into my rig. I was think maybe a Juno-x would be a better fit? And now the Galaxias is out with all the roland sounds on softsynts it would be tempting to build a computer just for that program. Anyway I was think about a rig with RD2000 as the main piano, Hammond xk4 for the organ sounds, combined with Yamaha MOX+, Korg Nautilus and Akai MPC Keys + various vsts from Native instruments using Camelot Pro as the main controller. It can controll everything midi, even sound mixers, guitar rigs, DMX light and video playback.
Thanks for another intelligent look into this board. I bought one last month, so this was pretty confirmatory. For their modeled pianos, I preferred to alter the cleanest, the East Coast Studio, by jacking up the string and damper resonance. It is one advantage of modeled instruments that they can simulate this better in some ways. If you play just the last bit of Debussy’s ‘Canope’ on a real piano, it’s a big C9 with a little myxo melody on top, and the undulating ring and swirl that results across the strings can be mimicked by the rd-2000 surprisingly well. I still use VSTs tho, especially Pteq, which has its own sound weirdness too but is just too fun. Anyway, thanks again, great review, best, etc...
I've had mine for about two and a half years, one thing I will say is that the default modeled piano sounds don't do it justice, even with tweaking. That's just my preference though, and I think the V-Piano engine is super comprehensive and I now use the German Concert expansion.
Hello, I bought the ronald cloud v-piano version for RD 2000, I installed it via USB according to the instructions and when I selected the appropriate slot from the update port and installed it, I get a message on the screen saying "Check the update port". What is the solution? Do you have any ideas?
Hey Darrick! I was actually wondering why you haven't uploaded a video, it turns out you've uploaded a couple. 😅 This is actually my first time listening to a demo of the RD2000, and I actually quite like the pianos on it, feels like it's ready to cut through a dense mix, but it seems it is missing a little bit of "weight". I really just like how Roland focus on expandability, that is, integrating your keyboard with your laptop beside your synths/modules and I think they are the only one that does it quite well, I don't know how the Kronos compares to this, I do know people weren't very happy that you could only have 8 zones on the Yamaha Montage/MODX. Being a tech person, I like the current stuff that makes me feel "modern" and "up to date". With the introduction of the Zen-Core, I almost don't want to look back at what Roland has and anticipate something better from them with Zen-Core, which means I miss out on the RD-2000 capabilities, the fact that it can control *EVERYTHING* but at least the new Fantom took it to a new level with Mainstage. I honestly wonder what Roland will do to replace the RD-2000 and if Yamaha, Korg and Nord would follow in this style (highly doubt it).
Thank you for your in depth review. The reason why I want to avoid nord grand is because of the keybed. I am pretty shocked why people dont complain about the extremely light keys. I know it has decent sensitivities but still the velocity comes out too loud even in heavy setting to a classically trained pianist. The reason why I watched this video is because I like roland’s touch. As you mentioned it feels very realistic. I haven’t tried out this specific model, but had a chance to play fantom. It definitely has amazing keybeds. Do you think spending more money for fantom8 worth it for the zencore? Any opinions about rd88? Thanks so much!
@@musikone1780 Nord Grand does not feature a Fatar keybed. It's a customized keybed based on the RHIII by Kawai and made by the Japanese manufacturer. Still not as good as the RHIII though.
RD88 action not as good as the action found in the RD2000 or in the FP90. Definitely the RD2000 action is smoother and feels amazing. Having said that, RD88 action is overall good at that price segment/bracket. Hard to find a decent key action for that price, to be fair. Korg's best action, the RH3, is also featured in several of its units and also in this price range. The RH3 feels amazing and can also be found in all the Korg's flagship/high end keyboards. Kawai does a great job as well, a good example is the GF action (MP11SE), but only available in their flagship models. The RHIII action by Kaway is also a good one, very consistent and reliable. Yamaha makes solid and brilliant keybeds, a little bit heavier than it's competitors, the action of the P515 is amazing. Having said that, none of those actions are perfect and flawless, it's entirely up to you to choose the one you feel more appropriate and convenient, try to test by yourself before making the decisive move.
I’ve been debating on getting a used NS3 for a while but I am sold on the RD2000 now… only concern was not having dedicated physical drawbars but that’s nitpicking
I went with a Kurzweil SP7 Grand but I get why these are a good go to choice. Popular choices are popular for a reason. It tends to indicate that the feature set is in the sweet spot for a larger group of people.
Please can you do a comparison between the rd 2000 and the motif xs8 or motif xf? I know these keyboards are not in the same category. I just want you to help show their similarities and differences. Also, share your thoughts on who should get either of them. Thank you.
Hi Darrick, great review. I'm contemplating something in this price range to use as accompaniment as a solo singer for hotel/restaurant/cocktail party gigs. I have a Yamaha P-125 but want something with a large variety of quality sounds. Is the RD-2000 my best bet or a different stage piano? Or get a synth to complement my P-125? Or even a high-end arranger -- I know "pros" give arrangers a bad rap but they have so many sounds I feel I'm bound to find some quality tasteful ones I could use. I don't want to sound unprofessional. I'm an intermediate player but slowly growing in ability. Thanks for any advice.
I've considered it several times. I may get one. However, currently it just has some glaring shortcomings for a workstation at it's current price point.
Hey Derrek, I'm a newbie. With the RD2000, the sounds, such as Strings and Synths, that you reckon are mid 90's 2000ds, just wondering is there a feature where you can import sounds from a DAW for the Roland to play such sounds with more satisfying modern sounds? Thanks.
I have the RD 2000. Sounds great with headphones and with line-out video recording. (PIANO PATCHES) I had to use the "Tone Designer" for a few loud volume keys and a few far-off voicing keys. Annoying issues for me, but some may not notice or care. If I can get the right sound through an amp now, it will be perfect. Some digitals sound awful through amplifiers, not all. The action is very good and Roland quality is there. I like it.
The editing for the piano sounds is what I like best. The Tone Designer can fix individual keys if the volume or the voicing may not sound exactly right for my ear. I buy digitals for the piano sounds not the other stuff they stick me with.
Great video. A church I am helping lead worship just purchased one of these for me to use at my request. I am new to Roland. Do you know, Is it possible to run backing tracks and drum loops from a laptop through one or kore of the eight faders using it as a mixer?
I could but they are in two different categories. The Kronos is a workstation while the RD-2000 is a stage piano. It's kind of like comparing a car to a truck in my opinion. Keyboards in its category are: Nord Stage 3, Nord Grand, Dexibell Vivo S9, Korg Grand Stage, Kawaii MP11, MP11SE, Yamaha CP88 and YC series keyboards etc.
@@sojimani7616 honestly - for a kronos comparison, you want the Fantom8. Same keybed, same V-Piano sound engine but much more synth/editability/functionality. I actually have a Fantom 7 with synth keybed WITH the RD2000. Killer combo. Piano wise... some arnt keen on the V-Piano sound preferring sample based - which is fine. Easily integrates with the VST of your choice if you need that, though the V-Piano engine IF you put the work in (its deep) can be more like VSTs.
@@darrickkeels6387 MP11SE is the best of the lot if you are after the closest keybed to a grand piano. However, it is a monster in size and weight. That is why I got the RD-2000. I know the sounds aren't the best, I know the MP11SE has the best keybed, but I think the RD-2000 strikes a great balance. If I want the absolute best sounding piano, then I will load up the NOIRE VST :).
In reality not a lot has change in the keyboard landscape since I made this video. Can it be used in a church context? Certainly. With over 1100 sounds to chose from, up to 8 simultaneous layers, an unlimited polyphony V-Piano sound engine that can be edited and tweaked in a mind-boggling amount of ways, a PHA-50 keybed with escapement, ivory touch and wooden sides makes the RD2000 a strong contender for a person looking for a stage piano. With that said, I find the sounds to be fairly lackluster. They are usable, especially in a live context but many of the sounds in my opinion lack the "realism" that can be achieved with other brands. Aside from the EP's none of the sounds really "wow" me. And when you get away from "stage piano" territory like the acoustic pianos, eps, clavs, strings, and pads...the drop off in quality is quite noticeable. It does not have good flutes, saxophones, basses, solo strings like violin or cellos. They sound like Roland's samples from the early 90's. Granted most "stage pianos" give you great "keyboard" sounds but everything else is a bit subpar. Currently, I have my RD-2000 in my studio set up to control 3 different keyboards simultaneously as well as all of my VSTs. When I need to track piano, EP, clavinets, strings, pads, etc I will often use the RD-2000 to do so. This is because I find the keybed to be very expressive. But I never use the RD2000 sounds in studio projects. I will use the sounds in a live scenario because oftentimes "realism" is not crucial or even wanted when playing through a PA system with other alongside other musicians. People are often sitting in an auditorium of some sort listening to loudspeakers that are positioned pretty far away. "Cutting through" a mix often becomes more important than realism depending on the sound system or more importantly the sound engineer. If you want cutting edge sounds I don't think the RD-2000 fits the bill. If you want a high-quality piano like keybed, master controller, a keyboard that can easily cut through a dense mix...then the RD may be the right choice for you.
Bought an RD-2000 because it seemed to have the best action available at the price point, regardless of other features. (Slightly cheaper FP-90X wasn't available, and I already had good monitors anyway). Would you advise any other alternatives in this price range, considering this is only used for my kids' classical music training? I really don't care about extra sounds, displays or knobs, but top-notch action is a must.
It’s a great board for classical, tho I’d pair it with at least the base version of pianoteq, which will run on even a cheap laptop. If you’re looking to shave money and only care about action and classical piano, look into a Kawai VPC-1 plus Pianoteq (recommend Bechstein & Steinway B for the 2 pack choices, plus make sure to get the Kivir freebie with the Blanchet harpsichord, which is lovely for Bach)
@@charlesleseau Have you compared VPC-1 and Roland RD2000 action IRL? RD2000, while within my budget, is about 4 years younger (2017 vs 2013 release dates), and PHA-50 (on RD2000) is Roland's top-tier action whereas RM3 Grand II (on VPC-1) is only second-best Kawaii action, so without being able to try VPC-1 I opted for the Roland. MP11SE has Kawai's best action (reported to be the best of them all) but considerably more expensive and at 34 kgs too heavy to be taken on an airplane.
I’ve played both, and ended up buying the RD-2000 exactly because of the weight issue with the Kawais (VPC1 is also heavy). Anyway, the PHA-50 feels excellent to my fingers. My real instrument is a Steinway M, and it’s not evil to go from one to the other the way it was on my old Clavinova GH3 action (CLP-230, c. 2005). Pair the Roland with Pteq and you’ll have my current rig. Pteq is a little weird; not the best sounding vst, but the most piano-like in behaviour, and it’s my fave software ever made in any capacity, so forgive my enthusiasm.
I have one coming and this is pretty much what I'm expecting from it. I looked at the Nord ones and was horrified by the price, and I also looked at the CP-88 but was sad that it doesn't have enough sounds. The CP-88's 1-to-1 interface was my favorite but ultimately it isn't exactly what I _need_. So the RD-2000 it is...
I really dig the way they keyboard sounds and the way the keybed feels, I just wish that the built in sounds would react like pianoteq does when playing.
Pretty much agree. Re the sounds.... I think LIVE, in a mix, there absolutely fine - and it is after all a stage piano. I do agree nord and yamaha are better pure pianos - as are a lot of VSTs, BUT the only ones who notice are the players lol. Even bank mates dont half the time let alone the audience. For live Solo piano work Id choose something else maybe, and for studio work Id use VSTs - but on a stage in a mix its absolutely fine - and it actually sits in the mix pretty effortlessly. As you point out the keybed and integration with other hardware and VSTs is just second to non.
If I can get my hands on those I will. I however have no intention of buying them. The CP88 doesn't have the MIDI integration I need and it only has 40 to 50 sounds onboard. And because I own a Nord Stage 3 with drawbars the YC series would be redundant in my case.
Dear Darrick, first of all thank you very, very much for your fantastic videos- i appreciate them a lot. You are a wonderful musician and lovely person too. I like your honesty and humble attitude. Darrick one question, i am considering to buy a 88 Stage piano just for home purpose, so weight and size is not an issue. Yamaha Cp 88, Roland RD 2000...... ? Which one is the best to control Piano VST´S in your opinion ? I want a nearly perfect feel to the software i use !!! I tried both and they have both very nice actions, but i didn´t try them as a controller, unfortunately. I can not check them out, because here in my town in Germany they closed the music store forever. Darrick, it would be very nice if you can say something about that, because you tried them both and you are a professional musician. Thank you very much Darrick and i am waiting for your honest response. Greetings from Germany !!!! Oliver
Thank you for watching. I personally like the feel of the Roland RD-2000 better even with VST'S. However, the best "feeling" keybed to me is on the Kawaii MP11SE. If a realistic feel was my top priority and weight wasn't a factor, I would probably have one.
Great review. I have an RD 2000 on order. I think the brass and wind instruments sound better than average. As you covered in the first part of your review, I was impressed with the RD 2000's versatility, especially in a live situation. I'm feeling much better about making the purchase. Thanks Darrick!
@@darrickkeels6387 Thanks. I am looking for an 88 keys arranger keyboard with style creating feature which can serve me both as a digital piano and an arranger. Do you have any idea sir?
This keyboard is very nice but in all honesty, it's going to take a very long time for Roland to be able to top their RD-88, that thing is 10 different kinds of incredible
Great review. You're right: that keybed is the best I've ever used, and my RD2000 is a very versatile stage board. UI is just really well done. Though I wouldn't compare this to the Montage. I'd compare the new Fantom to the Montage.
It's an excellent board for sure. I wouldn't compare it to the Montage either as the Montage is a performance synthesizer. The latest Roland keyboard I would compare the Montage to is the Jupiter-X because they are both synthesizers. I'd compare the Fantom to the Kronos because they are both workstations. Yamaha doesn't make a workstation anymore.
Hello my friend as have said to you before I still take the rd2000 over Nord.Kong,Yamaha/but I do have a Modx8,Korg krome ex and Fantom 0/8 love your videos and I sent the Nord wave 2/Nord Piano 5 back P
might be my imagination, but it seems like a few years back the RD 2000s were $2699.00. Now (April 2022) they're $2899.00. Also, Roaland revamped the FA series work stations into the Fantom 0 series. Basically, the new Fantom *08* is a lesser expensive version of the Fantom *8.* Nice.
Hey there, I see what you are saying about some of the sounds although I have to say I like a lot of them still and think they can be good especially with a little light editing. As far as the pianos goes, the piano patch I most often use is the first one found in the supernatural and not the VP. That being said though, you should get the German expansion. The demos I have heard of it are really quite impressive and I want to get my hands on it. They've also added new enhanced modeling parameters which I'm trying to find out what those are, but as a blind person surfing the Internet, sometimes these documents are a little bit trickier to find lol. I'm thinking though that the German expansion takes the piano sounds a step up, I do have the Organ and synth expansions currently but I am willing to get rid one of them for that particular piano.
@Darrick Keels hey Darrick the RD-2000 is the keyboard i always keep on looking for reviews. Very happy to view this review. And i really want to buy this keyboard in the future. Well if you are selling it, you can consider me. I would be happy for a good deal.
It's funny...I have watched several videos on this board and you say that you don't care for the pianos, but I can't tell the difference between this and a real piano. This thing sounds good...wish I had one
It's a matter of preference. The piano sounds aren't "bad." I prefer Nord, Korg and Yamaha acoustic pianos over this. But technically they are all good. For example some people love Ferrari while others prefer Lamborghini. They are both super fast sporty expensive cars. I consider myself lucky to own all of my gear.
MainStage has great pads. I use some of the basic sounds from the RD-2000 but it is mainly used to control other gear my setups. Thanks for commenting!
I've owned an RD-2000 since 2017, so I have a lot of experience with it. In general, I'd agree with most of the comments in the clip. The best part of the board is the "mixer" section, which makes it very easy to control internal and external sounds, and the PHA-50 keybed. The strings and pads are Ok, but most of the non-piano sounds are unexceptional. However, I like the acoustic pianos a little better than he does and think that some of the acoustic piano sounds are as good as Pianoteq or other VSTs. I do have a couple of complaints. The screen is fine, but it has a very narrow viewing angle. If you aren't looking straight at it, than it quickly becomes unreadable. Unfortunately, in my keyboard rack, this is a serious problem. Also, in my unit (which is an early model) all of the panel labels are not white on black, but are a kind of dark silver-grey on black. The contrast is very low, and on a dark stage they are literally invisible. This is totally stupid, especially when so much effort went into making the faders and rotary dials easily legible in the dark. Maybe they have fixed this now, but it is also a serious flaw for me. The Fantom-8 has the same PHA-50 action, same V-piano engine and same Mixer section, but it has a much better screen, white panel text and better Zen Core sounds for non-piano. However, it's much heavier and bulkier and is about $1500 more expensive. If you're carrying it to gigs, than the RD-2000 would be a lot easier to move. Even so, if you don't really like the internal sounds of the RD-2000 and you're just buying it as a fancy MIDI controller, than it's pretty expensive just for that. For me, the Fantom eliminates some big annoyances that I have with the RD, so I'll probably be upgrading it when I have some spare cash. It's not a huge priority, but I do think that the Fantom is worth the extra money, especially if you're buying one new.
While I find most of the sounds outside of the acoustic pianos, eps, organs, pads and strings to be subpar, I know it is a stage piano. It's main focus is on piano types of sounds. The woodwinds, brass, basses, synths etc leave a lot to be desired for sure. But they give you over 1100 sounds and in a pinch they're there. Yes the Fantom certainly offers much more but it is a workstation. But the Yamaha CP88 gives you 57 sounds last I checked. Dexibell VIVO S9 185 sounds 100 of which are organ presets. The Kawaii MP11SE somewhere around 40 sounds, Nord...400 or so and the Korg GrandStage gives you 500 I believe. None of these keyboards have great guitars, woodwinds, brass etc either. The Dexibell costs $4000 in the US and gives you 4 midi zones instead of 8. So I think the Roland stacks up well against other keyboards in its category. I understand the sentiment of it being a glorified midi controller if you find all the sounds unusable. However, the keybed is premium and you will not find one like it on most 88 weighted controllers out there. The Kawaii VPC1 midi controller has a keybed that competes with the PHA-50 but it costs $1850 and has no knobs, sliders or sounds. If a person wants a well rounded pallet of quality sounds like you, I too recommend either a workstation or digital synthesizer not a stage piano.
@@darrickkeels6387 Thanks for your reply but you really misread the intentions behind what I wrote. I'm fine with the RD-2000 being mostly a piano, and I'm even fine with the piano sounds that it has. Moreover, like you, I like the overall panel design and the keybed. But I find the unreadable display and the low-contrast panel lettering difficult to live with and a real annoyance on-stage. Upgrading to the Fantom fixes these two issues, preserves the action, panel design and piano sounds, and nets some other nice benefits as a byproduct. So I wouldn't be buying a workstation because I need more sounds or a better sequencer. (In fact, I have Ableton and Rolands Zenology Pro on my PC, so the Fantom doesn't add much to what I already have). I'd be getting it because it gives me the action, panel design and piano sounds that I already like, with the significant problems in the display and panel text legibility fixed.
@@geoffk777 I did not misread your intentions. I was agreeing with you. I was adding on to what you said. I am considering selling my RD2000 for a Fantom actually. And I know YOU know the difference between keyboard categories. Other readers don't. But yeah...we are in 100% agreement for sure.
@@darrickkeels6387 I think the Kawai MP11 is slightly better than the PH5 keybed as well (the MP7 isnt quite as nice) - but again its a lot heavier and doesnt offer the integration. Kawai actually have the best keybeds available. Nothing else comes close. Nord did close the gap with the grand stages Fatar keybed (their stage and piano range are NOT nice) but still behind the PHa5. it is the lightest option with among the best keybeds, and a great controller. Sounds...... only the players really care, the audience doesnt for sure (unless its a solo performance then its not the best choice). It does its job to an exceptional level, but it does just do its job - if you get me.
I think it depends on what you are looking for. The RD-800 has the PHA-4 keybed versus the PHA-50 keybed. The RD-2000 allows you to control 8 zones immediately with the 8 sliders versus the 4 on the 800. The 800 doesn't have the V-Piano sound engine with an unlimited polyphony. Also I don't believe controlling internal and external sounds is as advanced in the RD-800. That's not to say the RD-2000 is objectively "better" because "better" is a matter of opinion. But I can say it is more technologically advanced than it predecessor and there are those that prefer the more advanced of the two.
Yeah...in my opinion they are the worst of the bunch as far as pianos are concerned. Though the new German Grand V-Piano expansion sounds pretty good. I don't want to pay $150 for it.
Thanks for covering this keyboard again, this is probably my first choice for my next keyboard! I also love what you play at 22:16 , thanks again!
Thanks for the compliment and thank you for watching again!
I've had my RD 2000 for almost 2 years now and I can't imagine a life without it amazing. I love blending the different sounds it makes. Best investment I've ever made for my music.
It's a wonderful instrument!
@@darrickkeels6387 but keys are too heavy and not responsive though silent
@@koticmorskoj6409 they're heavier than a yamaha but lighter than my kawai ge10. Just right in my opinion, but everyone has their preference.
@wildernessmusic1068 the question is not in strength but in comfort while playing. Try to play Korg D1 with RH3 and you'll feel the difference
My RD was great. It fell off three docks and kept working. It’s dead now though.
I'm 64 and was asked to join a band last year after a twenty-year hiatus. After trying all the top contenders I chose the RD 2000 as it meets all of our bands needs and I was able to learn most of its amazing functions pretty quickly for an ol', out-of-touch piano player. I recently bought a Roland System 8 synth so now I'm set. This video nails it, good show!
Congratulations on your new band assignment
Hey, thank you for sharing this video.
I've had this Roland RD-2000 under a year. The quality of sounds is amazing. I struggle with all of the options available.
Darrick - thank you for your time, expertise, and presentation! I am currently considering the RD-2000EX and your video may have sealed it for me. Good to know that I can connect my VST directly into the RD. Looking forward to catching your other videos.
This has been the best review and "how to" I've seen for this board. THANK YOU!
Thank you for watching!!
Such a helpful, well structured, thought out video.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Stephen
Excellent deep dive on the RD-2000. I am a OLD guy who started learning piano as a "bucket list" thing. I live in an apartment so space and loud piano is an issue, but I wanted a digital piano with a keybed as close to a acoustic piano as possible, so I bought a RD-2000 and very happy with my choice. I've had it about two years and been excellent for learning piano on. The sounds are very usable, but my ear for digital piano and other sounds has matured as I heard more and more. The Roland sounds and I would say the Korg sounds to a certain extent are lets say "dry" as compared to Yamaha who sounds are tweaked for "live" use. I find spending a little time EQ'ing and tweaking makes the Roland sounds very useful. Also a common comment on Roland keyboards is the sounds are same old ones from Roland's past keyboards. But as a master controller the RD-2000 is excellent as your video shows. Only thing being and OLD guy the RD-2000 is a bit heavy to move around, but I don't move it much so all is good.
Always appreciate your insight!
@@darrickkeels6387 Im an old guy too lol - bought the RD 3 years ago for the same reason. I have a couple of VSTs as well - and teh "sampled sound" (that does of course have mic coloration, and room aspects from mic positioning) is different for sure - but deep editing of the V-Piano sounds gets you close... The factory presents arnt. you need to put the work in BUT it is doable. I actually use the RD as slave not master live....but thats because I added the Fantom 7 lol, which uses a similar but even more versatile zone system and has 16 of them not 8....
I've had my RD2000 for over a year now. Been wanting one ever since it came out but couldn't justify spending 2699 for it. Was browsing the marketplace and found one in my city for $800.
I love the keyboard for the features but not for the sounds.
I appreciate all your descriptions and keyboard functions which is helpful as I just bought mine, but I was expecting your impressions and thoughts regarding the keyboard
Great review as usual Darrick!
Thank you. I appreciate it.
I have had my RD2000 about 3 years now. I love the user interface. Very easy to use. Sounds could be better, but work fine in a live setting. The Hammond Organ sounds are weak, but I added a Neo Vent II and routed the organ sounds to the sub output to isolate the Leslie effect for organ only. The Neo Vent made the organ sound come alive in the RD2000. Not sure I will upgrade to the RD2000 EX. It depends on how affects the organ expansion I already use in the RD2000...
If you wanted something that can control all your keyboards you should take a look at Camelot Pro, Italian program that via midi can do program changes to unlimited keyboards and soft synts with one button. it even have timeline so you can put backing tracks there and program layers and splits on multiple keyboards. 9 parts? with Camelot you can easily set up to play from a keyboard 100 sounds layered on top of eachother if you have the hardware to support all the parts. Not that you want, but you CAN if you want to. So you can combine several sounds from Korg, Yamaha, Roland, MCP or divide them on one 88 hammer action and one or two synth keys with multiple zones so you have all the sounds at your fingers .. dont need to touch any control panel at all Camelot will change for you even mid song.
Anyway.. The reason I could want a RD2000 is for the piano sounds alone. For me they sounds pretty much mixready out of the box (I do maily pop/rock recording) while pianos like Nord is very midheavy and will fight with the vocal over the frequency spectrum. So I need to do heavy mid scouping on those boards, while on RD2000 as I can hear, it will just sit in the mix without any major work needed to be done to it,. Save time in the mixing process. Unless offcause you are recording a classical piano concert. But in pop/rock I can see RD2000 is perfect for the studio. You are saying that RD2000 is perfect in stage as it can cut through, but you see as pro audio engineer with 30 years experience, that apply even more to the studio where we do not know what speakers the listeners are using. In pop the vocal will always be nr 1 and the piano will take the backseat. The piano as you said before is eating up a lot of the frequency room , I suppose that is also why the natural sounding piano is not used in such recordings. When it is used, it is mixed to sound pretty much like the RD2000 allredyis sounding straight out of the box. So for me that would be the perfect piano to use in a studio recording of pop/rock music.
Oh and I forgot to mention, buying the RD2000 is afaik the cheapest way to get the V-Piano and the PHA50 hammer action key bed, as the other option the Roland Fantom 8 is far more expensive. and you told about the problem with the scene remain. One way would be to have Roland Fantom 6 or 7 together with RD2000. Another thought I had is whether I want a Fantom or not or Fantom0 series as I try to figure out where it will fit into my rig. I was think maybe a Juno-x would be a better fit? And now the Galaxias is out with all the roland sounds on softsynts it would be tempting to build a computer just for that program.
Anyway I was think about a rig with RD2000 as the main piano, Hammond xk4 for the organ sounds, combined with Yamaha MOX+, Korg Nautilus and Akai MPC Keys + various vsts from Native instruments using Camelot Pro as the main controller. It can controll everything midi, even sound mixers, guitar rigs, DMX light and video playback.
Thanks for another intelligent look into this board. I bought one last month, so this was pretty confirmatory. For their modeled pianos, I preferred to alter the cleanest, the East Coast Studio, by jacking up the string and damper resonance. It is one advantage of modeled instruments that they can simulate this better in some ways. If you play just the last bit of Debussy’s ‘Canope’ on a real piano, it’s a big C9 with a little myxo melody on top, and the undulating ring and swirl that results across the strings can be mimicked by the rd-2000 surprisingly well. I still use VSTs tho, especially Pteq, which has its own sound weirdness too but is just too fun. Anyway, thanks again, great review, best, etc...
Thanks for watching!
I've had mine for about two and a half years, one thing I will say is that the default modeled piano sounds don't do it justice, even with tweaking. That's just my preference though, and I think the V-Piano engine is super comprehensive and I now use the German Concert expansion.
Amazing review Darrick, thank you so much.
I’ve had the RD 2000 for 1 year. I’ve found Acoustic Piano #3 on light key touch to be my go to piano tone.
Hello, I bought the ronald cloud v-piano version for RD 2000, I installed it via USB according to the instructions and when I selected the appropriate slot from the update port and installed it, I get a message on the screen saying "Check the update port". What is the solution? Do you have any ideas?
Hey Darrick! I was actually wondering why you haven't uploaded a video, it turns out you've uploaded a couple. 😅
This is actually my first time listening to a demo of the RD2000, and I actually quite like the pianos on it, feels like it's ready to cut through a dense mix, but it seems it is missing a little bit of "weight". I really just like how Roland focus on expandability, that is, integrating your keyboard with your laptop beside your synths/modules and I think they are the only one that does it quite well, I don't know how the Kronos compares to this, I do know people weren't very happy that you could only have 8 zones on the Yamaha Montage/MODX.
Being a tech person, I like the current stuff that makes me feel "modern" and "up to date". With the introduction of the Zen-Core, I almost don't want to look back at what Roland has and anticipate something better from them with Zen-Core, which means I miss out on the RD-2000 capabilities, the fact that it can control *EVERYTHING* but at least the new Fantom took it to a new level with Mainstage. I honestly wonder what Roland will do to replace the RD-2000 and if Yamaha, Korg and Nord would follow in this style (highly doubt it).
Thank you for your in depth review. The reason why I want to avoid nord grand is because of the keybed. I am pretty shocked why people dont complain about the extremely light keys. I know it has decent sensitivities but still the velocity comes out too loud even in heavy setting to a classically trained pianist. The reason why I watched this video is because I like roland’s touch. As you mentioned it feels very realistic. I haven’t tried out this specific model, but had a chance to play fantom. It definitely has amazing keybeds. Do you think spending more money for fantom8 worth it for the zencore? Any opinions about rd88? Thanks so much!
nord buys their keybeds from Fatar and tweaks them a bit. But they are still Fatar keybeds.
@@musikone1780 Nord Grand does not feature a Fatar keybed. It's a customized keybed based on the RHIII by Kawai and made by the Japanese manufacturer. Still not as good as the RHIII though.
RD88 action not as good as the action found in the RD2000 or in the FP90. Definitely the RD2000 action is smoother and feels amazing. Having said that, RD88 action is overall good at that price segment/bracket. Hard to find a decent key action for that price, to be fair. Korg's best action, the RH3, is also featured in several of its units and also in this price range. The RH3 feels amazing and can also be found in all the Korg's flagship/high end keyboards. Kawai does a great job as well, a good example is the GF action (MP11SE), but only available in their flagship models. The RHIII action by Kaway is also a good one, very consistent and reliable. Yamaha makes solid and brilliant keybeds, a little bit heavier than it's competitors, the action of the P515 is amazing. Having said that, none of those actions are perfect and flawless, it's entirely up to you to choose the one you feel more appropriate and convenient, try to test by yourself before making the decisive move.
I’ve been debating on getting a used NS3 for a while but I am sold on the RD2000 now… only concern was not having dedicated physical drawbars but that’s nitpicking
Great Video Darrick, tks ! I am from Brazil, and thinking of buying one. Is the RD 2000 still a great option, or is it outdated?
It's definitely still a great option!
Awesome video. Thank you.
I’ve got the RD800 that I love but I just ordered the 2000. 🎉
Very, very good, comprehensive review of the Roland SD-2000.
I went with a Kurzweil SP7 Grand but I get why these are a good go to choice. Popular choices are popular for a reason. It tends to indicate that the feature set is in the sweet spot for a larger group of people.
Question: can you split the piano to have bass on the left hand and octave piano (layered) on the right hand…..to give the salsa sound
Indeed you can
If I only had one keyboard and I didn’t need sequencing this would be a strong choice
Please can you do a comparison between the rd 2000 and the motif xs8 or motif xf? I know these keyboards are not in the same category. I just want you to help show their similarities and differences. Also, share your thoughts on who should get either of them. Thank you.
If I can get my hands on a Motif I will.
Thank you so much.
Hi Darrick, great review. I'm contemplating something in this price range to use as accompaniment as a solo singer for hotel/restaurant/cocktail party gigs. I have a Yamaha P-125 but want something with a large variety of quality sounds. Is the RD-2000 my best bet or a different stage piano? Or get a synth to complement my P-125? Or even a high-end arranger -- I know "pros" give arrangers a bad rap but they have so many sounds I feel I'm bound to find some quality tasteful ones I could use. I don't want to sound unprofessional. I'm an intermediate player but slowly growing in ability. Thanks for any advice.
Wonderful review thank you!
Great review of the Roland Rd 2000. It's a great keyboard. Would you get the Fantom 8? Thanks.
I've considered it several times. I may get one. However, currently it just has some glaring shortcomings for a workstation at it's current price point.
Hey Derrek, I'm a newbie. With the RD2000, the sounds, such as Strings and Synths, that you reckon are mid 90's 2000ds, just wondering is there a feature where you can import sounds from a DAW for the Roland to play such sounds with more satisfying modern sounds? Thanks.
I have the RD 2000. Sounds great with headphones and with line-out video recording. (PIANO PATCHES) I had to
use the "Tone Designer" for a few loud volume keys and a few far-off voicing keys. Annoying issues for me, but
some may not notice or care. If I can get the right sound through an amp now, it will be perfect. Some digitals
sound awful through amplifiers, not all. The action is very good and Roland quality is there. I like it.
The editing for the piano sounds is what I like best. The Tone Designer can fix individual keys if the volume or the voicing may not sound exactly right for my ear. I buy digitals for the piano sounds not the other stuff they stick me with.
It's a wow!!! Do it have transpose? Nice review 😊😊😊💖
Yes it has a transpose button on the front.
Great video. A church I am helping lead worship just purchased one of these for me to use at my request. I am new to Roland. Do you know, Is it possible to run backing tracks and drum loops from a laptop through one or kore of the eight faders using it as a mixer?
Yes you can
Great points - very helpful, thanks!
All Your Reviews are So Helpful and educational.. Lots of Love from India... Deep Regards.🙏
Thank you for watching!!
Can you compare this keyboard and Kronos ?
I could but they are in two different categories. The Kronos is a workstation while the RD-2000 is a stage piano. It's kind of like comparing a car to a truck in my opinion. Keyboards in its category are: Nord Stage 3, Nord Grand, Dexibell Vivo S9, Korg Grand Stage, Kawaii MP11, MP11SE, Yamaha CP88 and YC series keyboards etc.
@@darrickkeels6387 I mean the sound piano sound engines on both
@@sojimani7616 honestly - for a kronos comparison, you want the Fantom8. Same keybed, same V-Piano sound engine but much more synth/editability/functionality. I actually have a Fantom 7 with synth keybed WITH the RD2000. Killer combo. Piano wise... some arnt keen on the V-Piano sound preferring sample based - which is fine. Easily integrates with the VST of your choice if you need that, though the V-Piano engine IF you put the work in (its deep) can be more like VSTs.
@@darrickkeels6387 MP11SE is the best of the lot if you are after the closest keybed to a grand piano. However, it is a monster in size and weight. That is why I got the RD-2000. I know the sounds aren't the best, I know the MP11SE has the best keybed, but I think the RD-2000 strikes a great balance. If I want the absolute best sounding piano, then I will load up the NOIRE VST :).
Will you recommend for 2023 ? Or there are better options ? Use case is for church play.
In reality not a lot has change in the keyboard landscape since I made this video. Can it be used in a church context? Certainly. With over 1100 sounds to chose from, up to 8 simultaneous layers, an unlimited polyphony V-Piano sound engine that can be edited and tweaked in a mind-boggling amount of ways, a PHA-50 keybed with escapement, ivory touch and wooden sides makes the RD2000 a strong contender for a person looking for a stage piano. With that said, I find the sounds to be fairly lackluster. They are usable, especially in a live context but many of the sounds in my opinion lack the "realism" that can be achieved with other brands. Aside from the EP's none of the sounds really "wow" me. And when you get away from "stage piano" territory like the acoustic pianos, eps, clavs, strings, and pads...the drop off in quality is quite noticeable. It does not have good flutes, saxophones, basses, solo strings like violin or cellos. They sound like Roland's samples from the early 90's. Granted most "stage pianos" give you great "keyboard" sounds but everything else is a bit subpar. Currently, I have my RD-2000 in my studio set up to control 3 different keyboards simultaneously as well as all of my VSTs. When I need to track piano, EP, clavinets, strings, pads, etc I will often use the RD-2000 to do so. This is because I find the keybed to be very expressive. But I never use the RD2000 sounds in studio projects. I will use the sounds in a live scenario because oftentimes "realism" is not crucial or even wanted when playing through a PA system with other alongside other musicians. People are often sitting in an auditorium of some sort listening to loudspeakers that are positioned pretty far away. "Cutting through" a mix often becomes more important than realism depending on the sound system or more importantly the sound engineer. If you want cutting edge sounds I don't think the RD-2000 fits the bill. If you want a high-quality piano like keybed, master controller, a keyboard that can easily cut through a dense mix...then the RD may be the right choice for you.
How much &how do i collect
Bought an RD-2000 because it seemed to have the best action available at the price point, regardless of other features. (Slightly cheaper FP-90X wasn't available, and I already had good monitors anyway). Would you advise any other alternatives in this price range, considering this is only used for my kids' classical music training? I really don't care about extra sounds, displays or knobs, but top-notch action is a must.
It’s a great board for classical, tho I’d pair it with at least the base version of pianoteq, which will run on even a cheap laptop. If you’re looking to shave money and only care about action and classical piano, look into a Kawai VPC-1 plus Pianoteq (recommend Bechstein & Steinway B for the 2 pack choices, plus make sure to get the Kivir freebie with the Blanchet harpsichord, which is lovely for Bach)
@@charlesleseau Have you compared VPC-1 and Roland RD2000 action IRL? RD2000, while within my budget, is about 4 years younger (2017 vs 2013 release dates), and PHA-50 (on RD2000) is Roland's top-tier action whereas RM3 Grand II (on VPC-1) is only second-best Kawaii action, so without being able to try VPC-1 I opted for the Roland. MP11SE has Kawai's best action (reported to be the best of them all) but considerably more expensive and at 34 kgs too heavy to be taken on an airplane.
I’ve played both, and ended up buying the RD-2000 exactly because of the weight issue with the Kawais (VPC1 is also heavy). Anyway, the PHA-50 feels excellent to my fingers. My real instrument is a Steinway M, and it’s not evil to go from one to the other the way it was on my old Clavinova GH3 action (CLP-230, c. 2005). Pair the Roland with Pteq and you’ll have my current rig. Pteq is a little weird; not the best sounding vst, but the most piano-like in behaviour, and it’s my fave software ever made in any capacity, so forgive my enthusiasm.
@@charlesleseau Thank you for the advice! Steinway M, damn I'm jealous!
@@charlesleseau Which monitors/speakers do you use?
I have one coming and this is pretty much what I'm expecting from it. I looked at the Nord ones and was horrified by the price, and I also looked at the CP-88 but was sad that it doesn't have enough sounds. The CP-88's 1-to-1 interface was my favorite but ultimately it isn't exactly what I _need_. So the RD-2000 it is...
I really dig the way they keyboard sounds and the way the keybed feels, I just wish that the built in sounds would react like pianoteq does when playing.
Pretty much agree. Re the sounds.... I think LIVE, in a mix, there absolutely fine - and it is after all a stage piano. I do agree nord and yamaha are better pure pianos - as are a lot of VSTs, BUT the only ones who notice are the players lol. Even bank mates dont half the time let alone the audience. For live Solo piano work Id choose something else maybe, and for studio work Id use VSTs - but on a stage in a mix its absolutely fine - and it actually sits in the mix pretty effortlessly. As you point out the keybed and integration with other hardware and VSTs is just second to non.
Hi, could you compare this to the CP88 or YC series?
If I can get my hands on those I will. I however have no intention of buying them. The CP88 doesn't have the MIDI integration I need and it only has 40 to 50 sounds onboard. And because I own a Nord Stage 3 with drawbars the YC series would be redundant in my case.
I tried the CP88 and prefer the keybed of the RD-2000. As Darrick said, the keybed is great.
First! Love your channel! 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
Thanks for stopping by again to show love!
Best informative video on the rd2000
Great playing and awesome keyboard but come on Roland refresh and update that RD-2000
It sucks that it doesn't have its own speakers
Dear Darrick,
first of all thank you very, very much for your fantastic videos- i appreciate them a lot.
You are a wonderful musician and lovely person too.
I like your honesty and humble attitude.
Darrick one question,
i am considering to buy a 88 Stage piano just for home purpose, so weight and size is
not an issue.
Yamaha Cp 88, Roland RD 2000...... ?
Which one is the best to control Piano VST´S in your opinion ?
I want a nearly perfect feel to the software i use !!!
I tried both and they have both very nice actions, but i didn´t try them as a controller, unfortunately.
I can not check them out, because here in my town in Germany they closed the music store forever.
Darrick, it would be very nice if you can say something about that, because you tried them both
and you are a professional musician.
Thank you very much Darrick and i am waiting for your honest response.
Greetings from Germany !!!! Oliver
Thank you for watching. I personally like the feel of the Roland RD-2000 better even with VST'S. However, the best "feeling" keybed to me is on the Kawaii MP11SE. If a realistic feel was my top priority and weight wasn't a factor, I would probably have one.
@@darrickkeels6387 thank you very much,Darrick !!!
@@darrickkeels6387 EXACT, EXACT, EXACTLY!!!
Great review. I have an RD 2000 on order. I think the brass and wind instruments sound better than average. As you covered in the first part of your review, I was impressed with the RD 2000's versatility, especially in a live situation. I'm feeling much better about making the purchase. Thanks Darrick!
Can we create our own styles or rhythms on this?
No you cannot. That is not a feature that is available on most stage pianos.
@@darrickkeels6387 Thanks. I am looking for an 88 keys arranger keyboard with style creating feature which can serve me both as a digital piano and an arranger. Do you have any idea sir?
@@Besura_moto I am not aware of any arranger keyboards that have 88 keys and the ability to create your own styles.
@@Besura_moto RD-2000 + AKAI MPC :)
This keyboard is very nice but in all honesty, it's going to take a very long time for Roland to be able to top their RD-88, that thing is 10 different kinds of incredible
Is this piano available in 2021 ??
Yes indeed it is. It is Roland's flagship Stage Piano at this time.
@@darrickkeels6387 thanks for your replay☺
Great review. You're right: that keybed is the best I've ever used, and my RD2000 is a very versatile stage board. UI is just really well done.
Though I wouldn't compare this to the Montage. I'd compare the new Fantom to the Montage.
It's an excellent board for sure. I wouldn't compare it to the Montage either as the Montage is a performance synthesizer. The latest Roland keyboard I would compare the Montage to is the Jupiter-X because they are both synthesizers. I'd compare the Fantom to the Kronos because they are both workstations. Yamaha doesn't make a workstation anymore.
@@darrickkeels6387 Kronos or Fantom. Which would you get and why?
@@musikone1780 Fantom - great DAW integration
Thank you very much for this.
He has the west coast?
Yes
Hello my friend as have said to you before I still take the rd2000 over Nord.Kong,Yamaha/but I do have a Modx8,Korg krome ex and Fantom 0/8 love your videos and I sent the Nord wave 2/Nord Piano 5 back
P
Need to get me one of these.
might be my imagination, but it seems like a few years back the RD 2000s were $2699.00. Now (April 2022) they're $2899.00. Also, Roaland revamped the FA series work stations into the Fantom 0 series. Basically, the new Fantom *08* is a lesser expensive version of the Fantom *8.* Nice.
Yes everything has gone up due to inflation. I purchased mine for $2699.99.
Hey there, I see what you are saying about some of the sounds although I have to say I like a lot of them still and think they can be good especially with a little light editing. As far as the pianos goes, the piano patch I most often use is the first one found in the supernatural and not the VP. That being said though, you should get the German expansion. The demos I have heard of it are really quite impressive and I want to get my hands on it. They've also added new enhanced modeling parameters which I'm trying to find out what those are, but as a blind person surfing the Internet, sometimes these documents are a little bit trickier to find lol. I'm thinking though that the German expansion takes the piano sounds a step up, I do have the Organ and synth expansions currently but I am willing to get rid one of them for that particular piano.
Thanks Darrick.
I bought this and took it back opting for the dexibel only because the dexibel had better pianos but this board is a monster
The Dexibell is no slouch! Both are great keyboards!
I never knew you owned one of these wow 😊
Indeed. It is one of my keyboards I play the most.
@Darrick Keels hey Darrick the RD-2000 is the keyboard i always keep on looking for reviews. Very happy to view this review. And i really want to buy this keyboard in the future. Well if you are selling it, you can consider me. I would be happy for a good deal.
I don't have any plans of selling it right now. I still find it very useful for my needs.🙂
Darrick is spot on with the RD-2000. The integration is awesome.
I have a RD2000 (love your channel)but i will take it over Yamaha and Korg I have all 3
Please suggest on HP 702 VS RD 2000. What do you suggest?
I am not familiar with the HP702 unfortunately. I have never heard of it.
Aren't there software updates that improve the RD 2000'S sounds?
No there aren't any that improve sounds. There are a few expansions available but those sounds are no better than the stock sounds in quality.
@@darrickkeels6387 A second improved rotary effect was added.
It's funny...I have watched several videos on this board and you say that you don't care for the pianos, but I can't tell the difference between this and a real piano. This thing sounds good...wish I had one
It's a matter of preference. The piano sounds aren't "bad." I prefer Nord, Korg and Yamaha acoustic pianos over this. But technically they are all good. For example some people love Ferrari while others prefer Lamborghini. They are both super fast sporty expensive cars. I consider myself lucky to own all of my gear.
@@darrickkeels6387 you're very fortunate...thats a good review
we use as controller and some digital pianos... I get Pads from Main Stage
MainStage has great pads. I use some of the basic sounds from the RD-2000 but it is mainly used to control other gear my setups. Thanks for commenting!
I've owned an RD-2000 since 2017, so I have a lot of experience with it. In general, I'd agree with most of the comments in the clip. The best part of the board is the "mixer" section, which makes it very easy to control internal and external sounds, and the PHA-50 keybed. The strings and pads are Ok, but most of the non-piano sounds are unexceptional. However, I like the acoustic pianos a little better than he does and think that some of the acoustic piano sounds are as good as Pianoteq or other VSTs.
I do have a couple of complaints. The screen is fine, but it has a very narrow viewing angle. If you aren't looking straight at it, than it quickly becomes unreadable. Unfortunately, in my keyboard rack, this is a serious problem. Also, in my unit (which is an early model) all of the panel labels are not white on black, but are a kind of dark silver-grey on black. The contrast is very low, and on a dark stage they are literally invisible. This is totally stupid, especially when so much effort went into making the faders and rotary dials easily legible in the dark. Maybe they have fixed this now, but it is also a serious flaw for me.
The Fantom-8 has the same PHA-50 action, same V-piano engine and same Mixer section, but it has a much better screen, white panel text and better Zen Core sounds for non-piano. However, it's much heavier and bulkier and is about $1500 more expensive. If you're carrying it to gigs, than the RD-2000 would be a lot easier to move. Even so, if you don't really like the internal sounds of the RD-2000 and you're just buying it as a fancy MIDI controller, than it's pretty expensive just for that.
For me, the Fantom eliminates some big annoyances that I have with the RD, so I'll probably be upgrading it when I have some spare cash. It's not a huge priority, but I do think that the Fantom is worth the extra money, especially if you're buying one new.
While I find most of the sounds outside of the acoustic pianos, eps, organs, pads and strings to be subpar, I know it is a stage piano. It's main focus is on piano types of sounds. The woodwinds, brass, basses, synths etc leave a lot to be desired for sure. But they give you over 1100 sounds and in a pinch they're there. Yes the Fantom certainly offers much more but it is a workstation. But the Yamaha CP88 gives you 57 sounds last I checked. Dexibell VIVO S9 185 sounds 100 of which are organ presets. The Kawaii MP11SE somewhere around 40 sounds, Nord...400 or so and the Korg GrandStage gives you 500 I believe. None of these keyboards have great guitars, woodwinds, brass etc either. The Dexibell costs $4000 in the US and gives you 4 midi zones instead of 8. So I think the Roland stacks up well against other keyboards in its category. I understand the sentiment of it being a glorified midi controller if you find all the sounds unusable. However, the keybed is premium and you will not find one like it on most 88 weighted controllers out there. The Kawaii VPC1 midi controller has a keybed that competes with the PHA-50 but it costs $1850 and has no knobs, sliders or sounds. If a person wants a well rounded pallet of quality sounds like you, I too recommend either a workstation or digital synthesizer not a stage piano.
@@darrickkeels6387 Thanks for your reply but you really misread the intentions behind what I wrote. I'm fine with the RD-2000 being mostly a piano, and I'm even fine with the piano sounds that it has. Moreover, like you, I like the overall panel design and the keybed. But I find the unreadable display and the low-contrast panel lettering difficult to live with and a real annoyance on-stage. Upgrading to the Fantom fixes these two issues, preserves the action, panel design and piano sounds, and nets some other nice benefits as a byproduct. So I wouldn't be buying a workstation because I need more sounds or a better sequencer. (In fact, I have Ableton and Rolands Zenology Pro on my PC, so the Fantom doesn't add much to what I already have). I'd be getting it because it gives me the action, panel design and piano sounds that I already like, with the significant problems in the display and panel text legibility fixed.
@@geoffk777 I did not misread your intentions. I was agreeing with you. I was adding on to what you said. I am considering selling my RD2000 for a Fantom actually. And I know YOU know the difference between keyboard categories. Other readers don't. But yeah...we are in 100% agreement for sure.
@@darrickkeels6387 Ok, thanks. I understand now. 😀
@@darrickkeels6387 I think the Kawai MP11 is slightly better than the PH5 keybed as well (the MP7 isnt quite as nice) - but again its a lot heavier and doesnt offer the integration. Kawai actually have the best keybeds available. Nothing else comes close. Nord did close the gap with the grand stages Fatar keybed (their stage and piano range are NOT nice) but still behind the PHa5. it is the lightest option with among the best keybeds, and a great controller. Sounds...... only the players really care, the audience doesnt for sure (unless its a solo performance then its not the best choice). It does its job to an exceptional level, but it does just do its job - if you get me.
Rd 800 is overall better... But nice review
I think it depends on what you are looking for. The RD-800 has the PHA-4 keybed versus the PHA-50 keybed. The RD-2000 allows you to control 8 zones immediately with the 8 sliders versus the 4 on the 800. The 800 doesn't have the V-Piano sound engine with an unlimited polyphony. Also I don't believe controlling internal and external sounds is as advanced in the RD-800. That's not to say the RD-2000 is objectively "better" because "better" is a matter of opinion. But I can say it is more technologically advanced than it predecessor and there are those that prefer the more advanced of the two.
Roland just can't do a piano tone to save their lives.
Yeah...in my opinion they are the worst of the bunch as far as pianos are concerned. Though the new German Grand V-Piano expansion sounds pretty good. I don't want to pay $150 for it.
@@darrickkeels6387 Me neither.
nord guy
Piano and Strings - the most disgusting combination in the world))