So the mystery is finally solved - thanks box!

Thanks for the update. However, I still don't see the GXF shown on the piano. Is it supposed to be invisible or something? One would think that at least Roland's site would have the correct stock images.

The F of my GXF showed up in the mail today after I was 'accidently' sent the regular GX version of the RD700. Have to say that it's not 300 dollars worth of piano there. It's okay, and some of the pianos have a funkier, less pure sound, but man, the internal sounds are easily comparable. I don't want to deter people from trying it out, and maybe I've gotta play with it more. But it's about $150 worth of piano. Anyone else have an opinion?

I don't agree at all. It transforms the RD from something that I would not record with, to something that I would.

I've tweaked, and sent recordings out for evaluation, and the feedback has been very positive, and along the lines "sounds like a real AP". The default settings in the Piano Designer are very conservative.

If you're not satisfied, can you send the expansion board back?

Yes I totally agree...the SN engine transforms the piano from a competent but unremarkable DP into something that is currently unique...ie, a hardware stage piano that can stand the most searching and critical scrutiny. I would also say that the benefits of SN become more apparent and impressive as you explore the capabilities of it.

count me among those that think the SN kit transforms the GX.
John Sr.

Another point. Playability is greatly enhanced. You can now actually play softly. Much easier to balance chords and voicing. I'm liking it the more I play. Would I EVER want to go back to the non-SuperNatural APs? In a word NO!

However, it perhaps depends on the style. I play delicate, nuanced type material. I suppose if you spanking the keys, at some point, the add-on board might not be required. (I can't imagine it myself, but then again, I don't play aggressively.)

I finally have received the official answer from Roland Canada.

"It is as I expected. The RD-700GXF is the US' version of the stock RD-700GX with the SuperNATURAL Piano Kit (K-RD700GX1) pre-installed. Here in Canada this configuration is available, just under a different name - RD-700GX1.

There are NO differences between the models - other then the installed expansion card."

Interesting that the name used in Canada and the US is different. I also inquired as to why the RD-700GX appears to be discounted at some US locations, but the Canadian rep was not able to answer this. (As far as I know it is not being discounted anywhere in Canada).

Me too...Lawrence sent me a few Wav. demos...my response follows.


Sounds like an acoustic piano...only the slightly shorter decay on the lower notes would be a giveaway, and then again, there are acoustics that have this characteristic.

My concern would be how it feels to play over an extended period of time..ie. when recording.

I liked the Roland action a lot initially, but there was something that made it tiring...I didn't feel that on the Avant Grand, and, strangely enough, I don't feel it on my P-85 either.

The Wav you uploaded sounds rich and less bright than a Yamaha, yet it still sounds like it would sit well in a mix...it's not so "rounded" in tone that it would get lost.

Again, the playability factor would be my prime concern.


I would add that this would be a great piano sound for playing jazz.

Snazzy

Wow! Good to hear you all. I do notice that there's a wider range of dynamics. Don't get me wrong, it sounds good. And I spent about 10 minutes playing it so far. Thanks for invigorating my optimism, I'll see if I get an attitude change.

Try working with Grand Piano 4. That's a favourite of some of us.

I've had the RD-700GX since last July, and was very happy with it as far as feel goes. I just installed the K-RD700GX1 SuperNatural kit and was/am blown away. The first thing I noticed was a significant improvement in playability, and authenticity and feel of the instrument. I'm more than happy about my 'RD-700GXF' as it's apparently called now. IMHO, digital stage pianos don't get better than this, just different.

It's my favorite of the 17 sounds for sure. It seems to have a good balance of 'guts' without sounding harsh. It's just a pleasant sounding piano.

And even the one note with the bad release adds to the authenticity! All APs have bad notes.

Hi everyone =)

I've been following this thread for a while, and a couple of days ago I took the plunge and bought an RD-700GX + SN Piano Kit (and traded in my 2 month old P-155 in the process). After a couple of days of just playing the instrument (the only setting I've truly changed is lifting the lid to its highest level of 7), I have a similar opinion to that of Mafew J - the SN Kit didn't quite blow me away. I'm still trying to adjust to the Roland (or Steinway) sound - I find that it sounds a bit muffled (especially in the octave between middle C and the next C up), even if I change the piano to the Bright setting. I agree with the sentiment that in terms of dynamic expression, the SN is better, no doubt, but I find the clouded tones of the mid octaves takes away from this expressivity (I guess the best way I could describe it = when the middle notes are played, it sounds like the middle pedal is being depressed, thus creating that softer/muffled effect).

I did try to play around with the EQ a bit, but I could never quite make the piano sound "clean". To me, Comp2 actually gives a very clean sound, but is too artificial (which is its purpose I suppose) to be useful for me. I've read some posts in other threads about lowering/raising the DB number for lows/mid-lows/mid-highs/highs (one of which was posted by eJohn here: http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthrea...ite_id/1#import). MelodialWorks Music (Lawrence) has also mentioned that the stock settings for the SN Kit are conservative, which I'm assuming to mean one has to play with the EQ settings to get the best sounds. For those of you that have done this, is it done with the actual EQ knobs, or do you change the settings in piano designer? Any recommended settings would be of great help. Right now I'm just playing the RD as a solo instrument and mainly play classical and softer contemporary stuff (ie Jim Brickman, music from video games, etc...) Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer =)

Andrew

The Yamaha piano sound is the sound a lot of us expect a piano to sound.

You may just really be used to the clean, bright sound of your P155 even if it was just two months of use and whatever you were hearing before then.

Humans tend to like what they know and what they are used to.
The more you play your Roland the more likely you are to appreciate it its tone and see it more as a standard to compare against.

Personally, I agree with you that Roland has traditionally sounded more muddy and over processed and synthetic when compared to Yamaha.
However, I find the SN sound and the decay of Roland SN more realistic than the dead and static sound of the current Yamaha generation.

Life is full of tradeoffs.

I have not changed any EQ settings, only Piano Designer settings.

Well, some of us also expect to hear a Steinway!

Anyway, I would agree, a matter of context and what you are accustomed to.

I had spent a fair bit of time auditioning the N2 / N3, which sounded good. Then I got the RD/SN, and spent a lot of time with it. Last week I again played the N3, and my first reaction was "this is BRIGHT" - way more so than I recalled. So now, it is being compared to the Roland sound.

My suggestion would be - if you want a bright sound, get a Yamaha!

"All APs have bad notes."

I'm sure some do. My RX-5 doesn't.

Then you are lucky! Enjoy!

One thing I really like about the Supernatural upgrade is that when I turn on my RD700GX, it comes up with the nice Supernatural logo. Although at first I did not like piano sound number one -which is what is on when the 700GX boots up(I thought this was the modeled sound), it has grown on me and I usually just turn on my 700GX and play away at the first Supernatural piano.

I feel that this first piano sound has a very full tone and this helps my practice pieces sound much more polished than they really are.

Nor does my Kawai RX-2. Professional pianists who have played it have consistently either praised it or asked if I would sell it to them.

I should say, all APs require tuning, and some voicing and regulation once in awhile... and not all of them get it. Even some blameless instruments can end up with bad-sounding notes, a bad touch, or have a room with such bad acoustics they can just never sound right. Come to think of it live performers (on any kind of instrument) can run into that problem.

A lot of the credit goes to my tech, who's given my piano such great care. But I think the maker did a good job on this model.

I still love my DP too, though.

My beautiful and pristine, Steinway B doesn't have any "bad notes" either, but like every other acoustic, including RX-5's and RX-2's, it sounds like the "piano from hell" when it starts to go out of tune.

At that point, the piano from hell has an intrinsic value of zero, and remains at that level until Mr. Tuner, the Exorcist, is paid his pound of flesh to drive out the Demon of Dissonance and put it right, and all is well for next few months until the when the entity returns and the cycle repeats ad finitum.

It's so strange that an acoustic piano's greatest strength, which is the lushness and fullness of tone due to it's inherent "slight imperfections", is also it's biggest weakness.

Snazzy

Makes it sound almost human.

Yes, APs are really alive, as compared with DPs, although properly tweaked the RD/SN is pretty darn convincing.

Given a choice, I'd quite likely choose the Roland RD-700 or the Avant Grand N3.

Anything else is not that much better than my P-85 to consider.

Thankfully, I'm content with the P-85/S910 combo right now, and not really needing something new.

The RD/SN is about the nicest and most accurate piano I've heard...especially if you want something close to the Steinway sound.

Snazzy

If only they could have made the V-Piano sound so good. (Sigh)

Yep, that one was a flop.

There are several stores I know of that can't sell their floor stock, and won't order any more.

Too bad, as the idea was sound (pardon the pun), and the launch went okay...but, it just didn't cut the mustard.

I believe all the VST modeling programs were too much like it for a lot less money.

Snazzy

Samples + modelling is the way to go! I look forward to when Yamaha catches up to Roland, in the sound department. That will be cool.

My dream: N3 action and sound system + Roland SuperNatural engine.