JFP -

There are three main interests I have; the piano, wristwatches and old cars. All are expensive and jostle for attention in my tiny little mind! An old car has caught my eye and the HP has gone to partly finance it. I now just use my Nord Piano...I sold the RD-700 too. This all coincided with a reorganisation at home and the HP really did find itself surplus to requirements. Frankly, I only had it because it was a convenient way to use up the credit note I had as a result of returning my V-Piano. I also have an old Roland RD-1000 tucked up under the bed...and this I shall keep forever.

I've owned so many pianos (all digital) and don't really feel particularly allied to any one make. I've owned Yamahas, Rolands, Kurzweils, Korg, Kawai, Technics, General Music and now the Nord.

I like the Nord very much on a subjective level and really like that fact in can be updated. But I will carry on saying that Roland SN is technically the best piano sound engine out there in a stand-alone DP...by quite some margin. Whether one likes it on a subjective level (I do) is another matter of course.

For the future I have my eye on an Avant Grand N3 but don't currently have the funds or space. I'm not hugely keen on the sound of an AG when it's recorded. In this respect I think it is quite average actually but as a playing experience it is without equal...far and away the closest thing to an acoustic piano substitute. I also like the idea of the Kawai MP10...if the Nord doesn't stick around for too long I think the Kawai might be top of my list as things currently stand. But I'm happy with the Nord at the moment. In terms of Roland I think the FP-7F looks very promising indeed. I would return to Roland stage piano ownership (RDxxx) if they restyled it and moved (preferably removed) the pitch bend/mod wheel. Also, if they could give the V-Piano or its successor a nicer/more realistic tonal character I would investigate that because the V-Piano has a playability and sense of dynamism that is quite intoxicating.

Anyway, there's the rambling explanation as to why the HP-307 found a new home last weekend.

Cheers,

Steve

.

I know...an expensive curse...never completely satisfied!

Initially I read this as tucked up in bed!

Cheers,
James
x

That would be alarming!!!

And set the wrong tone for this kind of forum.

How do you know when your digital piano hobby gets out of hand?
When you start talking more about hot boards than hot broads.

Everyone has their own personal fetish I suppose..

I slept (passed out more likely) on a C7 once at the power station.
Never had a piano in bed but they can be useful AS BEDS

Me and the RD-1000...it's just a close platonic friendship!

Can anyone who owns a GX or GXF comment on the "Tone List" presets in the NX? It seems that Roland has changed quite a bit there in terms of APs and EPs.

Does the GX/F even have "Live Set" as in the NX? Is this "Setup" in the GX/F?

Yeah the GX has a 100 presets similar to the NX

I mean the factory presets that everyone seems to complain about when it comes to the EPs. If I'm not mistaken they are quite a bit different in the NX manual.

Oh yes I get your point now.
They are different EP's not sure they are actually different samples though.

Some say the SN EPs are ok on the GX when properly tweaked - and there is lots to tweak. But I don't particularly rate them...they sound a bit small and grainy to me. Woeful when compared with the Nord.

Steve

I'm hoping these apparently new NX presets showcase the SN EPs better.

There seem to be very fundamental across-the-board differences between the GX and NX tone lists - and in all categories. It will be interesting to hear what GX owners think of them once they get their hands on the NX.

From what I've seen so far, the NX is perhaps a bit more than a simple face-lift of the GX/F. I'm not sure why that surprises me, but it does.

I spent some time copying the various presets out of the RD-700NX and RD-700GX manuals. If anyone wants the raw text files they are here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?4yazzat8tf8af2a

I did a quick comparison of the "TONE" lists of both:

------------------------------
- RD-700NX TONES - 965 TOTAL -
------------------------------

QTY CATEGORY
--- --------
003 CONCERT PIANO
003 STUDIO PIANO
023 BRILLIANT PIANO
005 E.PIANO 1
005 E.PIANO 2
044 E.PIANO 3
014 CLAV
050 MALLET
041 STRINGS
113 PAD
060 ORGAN
059 GUITAR
104 BASS
034 CHOIR/SCAT
086 BRASS
298 SYNTH
023 RHYTHM SETS


------------------------------
- RD-700GX TONES - 532 TOTAL -
------------------------------

QTY CATEGORY
--- --------
026 PIANO
031 E. PIANO
031 CLAV/MALLET
031 ORGAN
026 STRINGS
024 PAD
038 GUITAR/BASS
028 BRASS/WINDS
026 VOICE/SYNTH
270 RHY/GM2

I assume a "tone" here is a basic sound - the NX has almost double the tones of the GX! Why isn't Roland pushing this in their press kits?

And I don't see a lot of the same names in both lists, which is strange. Could someone who is familiar with the GX and SRX expansion boards look over the NX manual and comment? I'm curious as to what exactly is going on here.

I think just doing a cursory look they have grabbed a LOT of the Fantom G's patches and stuck them in.

Thanks Dr! That's a good thing, right?

I just downloaded the Fantom G soundlist PDF and I can't say I see much similarity anywhere - could you point it out? It doesn't help that they have so many different categories (Fantom G: Live, Patch, Waveform; GX: Live, Preset, Tone).

Anyone get theirs yet. Mine is due the 3rd week of November.

Where'd you order from?

I've heard through various stores in my town that the central Roland hub for northern europe is in Denmark. And they get them around the 20th of november. Local retailers a little after that I expect.

Got it from Sweetwater.

Same here. Should probably give my salesperson a call and see if there are any definitive dates yet...

The RD700-NX previewed in Sound on sound december issue: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec10/articles/roland-rd700nx.htm

Could anyone who's read it relate the gist of what's in there?

OK, sucker born every minute, I paid for the PDF and just read it. Only 7 pages, the last page is a full page ad for SOS, and what you can see in the free preview is the first ~1.5 pages.

He loves the first AP voice and says it is up there with Ivory II! But then he says the Nord Stage EX pianos are possibly better, which is confusing.

You have to turn it off to insert / remove the USB thumb drive, blea.

Here's the killer: he says you can't record the audio while playing back a MIDI file on it. OMG!

[edit] OK, maybe I got that last part wrong, the wording is rather vague. He might instead be saying you can't record your playing to a MIDI file. Either way, if you can't Play => MIDI => WAV, I'm not sure this is the DP for us. Quite disappointing.

[edit 2] I just scoured the NX manual and it seems there is no MIDI file recorder in there, just a MIDI file player. You may be able to do MIDI => WAV, but you can't do Play => MIDI.

** Still works with midi out -> sequencer I pressume. Confusing article seems rushed really (the little I read).

Oh sure, but then you need a PC near the DP, something I was sincerely hoping to avoid. If I'm going to need a PC to record it, I might as well leave it there and run Ivory or Pianoteq. What on earth are DP manufacturers bringing to the table these days that I can't get elsewhere cheaper and infinitely better?


I agree. I would guess 90% press release, 10% personal experience. Not really worth my $1.50.

Dewster did the article mention anything in the way of the action and how it feels? Lately I've been really pushing my GXF hard, and have noticed some sluggishness in the action. Is this something the NX with its PHA III action will benefit resolve since it has the third sensor?

On a side note, I had my buddy (and piano teacher) Joe Davidian, who is an amazing jazz piano player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_QxjjZBI0 comment on how great of a sound the RD700GXF had. And to sit back and listen to someone his caliber play it, I fell in love with the SuperNATURAL piano sound all of again. I had the NX on order, but canceled it because I wanted to wait to play one to make sure that the $2500 was worth it. If the action and AP sounds are a noticeable step up from my GXF, I may make the leap.

He said he could could only feel the escapement when playing lightly, which he thinks is correct. He also said the white keys are more textured than the black (which is no surprise: fake ivory vs. fake ebony) but he says there is more friction on them because of it, though that isn't a problem.

Nothing I could find about playability or quick replay. The article is disappointingly short.

Perhaps you could seek out another Roland with PHAIII on it? I'd be interested in your take on the differences.