We have our annual NAMM/MusikMesse type of trade show here in Budapest this weekend and Roland is exhibiting the latest pianos there: HPi-6F (which I bought this week), RD700NX and FP-7F (which I was also thinking about but my wife voted for the HPi).

Because of the noise of such events I cannot say anything about the sound, but the action was quite pleasing.
The FP-7F was stacked below an oldish FP-4 and the difference was overwhelming. I wouldn't advise anyone to buy FP-4, not even the old FP7.

Obviously the action of FP-7F was very similar to our HPi-6F, but still I felt it a bit more comfortable. The ivory feel is very similar, but without the brownish sides of the white keys.

I think I might buy one FP-7F for my personal use (leaving the HPi for the family). I also think the FP4 needs an immediate upgrade or price cut, because it is not competitive anymore in Roland's product line.

I just wandered around in my local music store and didn't spot the FP-7F yet. Do you know when these new lines will be available? Btw, didn't the FP-4 drop in price already? It's listed here (the Netherlands) for 1249 EUR.

Actually the Eur 1249 price is a result of an Eur 100 hike, at least in Germany. It was 1149 earlier this summer....

The dealer here says end of November.

... I can't beleive I missed that. Could you please provide a link?

(I do not really follow the local music scene...)

Hangfoglalas: http://www.hangfoglalas.hu/new/index.html

Kishonti, I'm interested in Fp7F too. May I know how much is the street price in Hungary?
Thx

The MSRP for FP-7F is HUF 554.000, currently that's around EUR 2000. See: http://www.rolandshop.hu/termekek/Roland_FP7_F_BK
Some shops give you up to 15% discount if you're calling them personally, but they deliver only locally. So if you're not in Hungary you'd better buy it from a trusted Western European online retailer. We also have the highest VAT rate (25%) which makes our consumer prices higher.
(The reason why we have some instruments earlier here is Roland Central Europe is located here in Budapest.)

My piano teacher works for Roland, so my lessons are located in the official Roland showroom in Budapest and (what a surprise) they are showing off the new FP-7F and RD700NX (these are the same pianos they demonstrated first last weekend, as I mentioned in my opening post.) So I could try them both!

RD700NX: I think it is the same touch (PHA3 ivory) as found in HP307. The default Grand Piano 1 was very familiar to me, but as my ears are not very trained I cannot decide if it is differing from HP307 or not.

FP-7F was more interesting: As I earlier recognized the touch was somehow different from standard PHA2/PHA3 ivory feel and so now I played it a bit more if I recognize the same thing. Now I'm sure FP-7F's new "PHA3 Ivory Feel-S" keyboard feels a bit lighter and less thumpier than the others. The noise of the keyboard is less audible and actually for me as a beginner it was a bit easier to play than my PHA2 ivory keys (HPi6F). (The Roland guys there said they also recognized the difference.) The sound seemed to be identical to HP307, but again I have no proof for this. All in all FP-7F is a really big improvement from FP-7 both sound and touch-wise.

Kishonti,

I am really interested in the RD-700NX, and was wondering if you've played it, and what you thought about the action between that and an RD-700GX? Was the action noticeably better than the PHA II Ivory Feel on the RD-700GX? How bout the sounds on the RD-700NX?

As for the FP-7F, I think Roland could really have a home tun with that board. Great action, sounds, built in speakers, less expensive comparable stage pianos-it seems like a great board. If I didn't need the options of a stage piano, I'd most likely opt for the FP-7F.

Unfortunately I have never tried RD700GX, because I thought it was too much for my needs. However it sits beside RD700NX at the same showroom, so I'll try it next week after my lesson. I think I'll be able to differentiate between actions, however don't expect too much from me sound wise, I'm not sure if I could tell the difference between SN and the earlier generation default piano sound from Roland.

Thats probably because it doesnt have this let-off mechanism (click effect).

Is there an Alpha version of the III?

No. FP-7F keys have escapement. I tried it and the spec also says it.

So, have we confirmed that the only difference is the lack of brown color on the side of the keys or are there other differences?

1) Tha lack of brown color 2) Less key noise 3) Bit different/lighter feel (maybe different weighting of the hammer?)
It is definitely made of a different material, and feels different from RD700NX which is the classic PHA3.

Would you say the FP7F PHAIIIs is a bit too light weighted for the (classical) piano player ? Or just a little bit easier on you fingers, but still heavy enough for serious use ?

Please don't get me wrong, I'm a beginner. The new FP7F action is much better than old FP7, but I'm not at the position to say it is better or worse than the classic PHA3. I think it is basically an upgrade of their plastic PHA2 (HP302 type), so it should be simpler/cheaper than PHA3 and positioned for low/mid range pianos.

May I ask you to explain why, please?
What are the main differences between the two actions?

Cheers,
James
x

By action I don't just mean the internal mechanism (which I dont know) but the "feel" of the keyboard. FP7 was shiny plastic, without the matte ivory feel, which feels better to touch. FP7 had no escapement which we all know should not be there, but again you feel it. So all my comparisons are personal and not at all scientific.

Thanks kishonti.

So the FP-7F's action has matte keys and escapement.
Are there any other differences that you are aware of?

Cheers,
James
x

The 3rd sensorrrrrrrrr !!! haha...let's open the box of pandora again ;-)

Beware of the RD700NX! I absolutely love it, however there is one MAJOR issue which basically ruins the whole keyboard for me, which is this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNNGiJjPEI4

People dare to say in 'real life' use this wouldn't happen, but you can't get any more real life than playing 8 notes... and I need to play along to backing tracks, and it can't handle what it says it can do basically. I have contacted Roland and have been in contact with them for a good while, and I'm still getting the same 'we're looking into this' answer... and I've had it for nearly 3 months now, so trying to decide what to do IF the piano doesn't get fixed.

I might end up 'downgrading' to the new FP, as it seems to have the supernatural piano, and doesn't have this problem (according to another user) because of a different processor inside. I can't for the life of me understand why Roland would release the latest NX with a processor that can't handle what it's meant to be able to do! So please do watch the video, and see what you think... I think it's ridiculous, and it's just not acceptable that this is happening, especially when paying 2k for a keyboard.

Ok, lets open another pandora ;-)

I have read a review about the FP-7F in a german keyboard magazine ("Tastenwelt").

They wrote, like the RD700GX the keyboard has Ivory touch, but unlike the RD700GX it doesnt have "Ebony touch surface" for the black keys.

Anybody noticed this? Is it a issue?
I personally think, good grip for the black keys is much more important than for the white keys....

"'downgrading' to the new FP, as it seems to have the supernatural piano, and doesn't have this problem "

Are you sure about that ? Perhaps it's better to first let Roland figure out what's wrong and fix it. If the same problem may arise for the rest of SN enabled instruments too, they will simultaneously release a firmware fix for all these instruments.

J

We have FP7F for past 3 weeks, which is an upgrade from Casio AP200. Daughter absolutely loves it and mentioned it is somewhat similar to the AP her teacher has.

Here is a clip, she playing on FP7F (sorry for the quality of playing, as she is only 1.5 years on piano / 6 weeks practice on this piece). Recorded straight from line out to Garage Band.

suniil, wow that's terrific progress for just 18 months - congratulations to your daughter...keep it up!

Cheers,
James
x

I also recently tried the FP7F. I have owned an FP7 for about 2 years and I like it very much. I was expecting to hear a big difference when I tried the FP7F but I did not. I'm not sure that the speakers used in the FP7F are different from the FP7 and so, to me, the sound that is produced is similar, despite the supernatural piano sounds that the FP7F offers.

I do think that the supernatural piano sound is vastly better than the FP7 piano sounds because I have an RD700GX and the supernatural paino sounds when played from this keyboard through my Rokit6 speakers is just fantastic.

What do others think?

Well I had the RD-700GXF, and noticed this same issue, but only after installing the K-RD700GX1 SN upgrade. I also spoke to a Roland tech on the phone, turned him on to the YouTube videos, and he said, said essentially the RD-700GX processor didn't have the oomph to run the SN stuff along with the original processor inside the GX. When I asked him about the NX doing the same thing, his only response was basically, 'I've seen the videos, and no keyboard is designed for that.' Such an asinine answer really, because he said even after I told him my stock RD-700GX (pre-upgrade) didn't do that...Something is deficient with the RD-700 processor.

BTW, I hear Roland is upping the costs on all of their instruments $200. The keyboard tech at my local dealer gave me the heads up yesterday when I went in.

always nice to here a classic piece that lightens up your ears as you work. A job well done.

upping by 200? If that's the case sounds like some defects came outa that factory in mass production.