Very nice player, I was checking out some of his other vids. The trio sounds good too. Jarrett influenced among others, young guy too. Excellent.

Good to see there's a little scene going in a place known more for another thing.

Definitely. I've played extensively on the V-Piano, and I really can't pinpoint it, but the connection between the action and sound is much better than my GXF, so I'm wondering if I'll be as impressed with the NX. Unfortunately I haven't read many who own/played the RD700GXF and have played many PHA III Ivory Feel actions. Those who've played the standard GX and played say the HP-307 didn't seem that impressed and felt that the actions on the HP-307 isn't the same PHA III on the V-Piano. What is it with the V-Piano??? When the NX hits the local show rooms, I'll be there playing it, and I'll report in.

Thanks Dave. He's a talented guy. I think he's 30 now. We've got a decent little jazz scene here, and a great Jazz Workshop www.nashvillejazz.org which is a gold mine for us jazz players here in town.

Maybe it's that crazy dedicated adaptive keyboard processor Roland put in there. The concept always spooked me a bit (who wants the response shifting around without explicitly changing settings?) but according to you (and many others) they apparently nailed it.


I look forward to your reactions!

I've owned V-Piano, HP-307 and RD-700GX(F)...

PHA-III is what it is. I'm bored of the conspiracy theorists that seem to think Roland are fitting different actions in each of the pianos but calling them all PHA-III. Get real folks and think about the world of (relatively) mass production. PHA-III is PHA-III, simple as that.

I liked PHA-II with ivory and escapement. I think it is a very nice action...subjectively to me just as nice as PHA-III. But, PHA-III is quicker, no doubt about it. Whether it is mechanically quicker or just electronically quicker (the third sensor) I don't know but it will play repeated notes like lightning. And the feel of all actions is strongly influenced by the chassis/structure they are fitted into. HP-307 is conventional console DP construction, RD is metal and plastic stage piano, V-Piano is mainly metal and weighs a ton etc.

Zac, if you feel that the connection between (PHA-III) action and sound is better on the V-Piano than HP-307 then welcome to the club. The connection between player and sound is better on the V-Piano than ANY other DP...in this respect the V is uncannily good and very piano-like. That is why pro musicians who just want to play tend to gravitate towards the V-Piano...they don't over-think it like us DP anoraks, they just revel in the organic and satisfying connection they make with the instrument. But this is the result of the V-Piano's radically different tone generation and is nothing to do with it having a different PHA-III keyboard.

All we can do is wait to see if the NX will have different tones to the GX(F) and/or HP-307....but it won't be a V-Piano. For those interested in a DP's sonic fidelity to a real piano, SN is a better bet than the V-Piano...whilst I will always praise the V's playability (and I miss this very much), I could never live with the way it sounds again.

Cheers,

Steve

Someone on Rolandclan claims to have received his... anyone see any movement on theirs? Tired of waiting

My Sweetwater contact says they will be in early rhis week & shipped out immediately.

Was just over reading Rolandclan forums and one of their users who owned an RD700GXF got a chance to play the RD700NX and said he sold his GXF and is replacing it with the NX. I canceled my order for the RD700NX with Sweetwater before, but just talked to my contact there and he was offering me the NX at $2399 (they're now at $2599), obviously free shipping, plus if I don't like it, or don't feel it's worth the upgrade, I can send it back at their cost after 30 days. Sounds like a win/win. I may go ahead and re-order it. He said they are getting 28 RD700NX's in by the end of November, and have sold 12. What to do, what to do!!?? Will go nicely with my RPU-3 that's on the way as well.

That's promising.... hoping it will be today like these guys: http://www.gearnuts.com/store/detail/RD700NX

EDIT: Yay! Sweetwater says In Stock too

Just got an email from Sweetwater. The NX has arrived in stock.
Whoopee! My salesman from Sweetwater just called me & said it would be shipped out today & probably be here Friday.

I think I'm gonna go ahead and order the RD700NX, and give as comprehensible of a review between it and the RD700GXF I currently have and report in here. If the NX isn't enough of an improvement over my GXF, I'll send it back to Sweetwater at no charge to me (within 30 days). I may be only guy on here who will have both GXF and NX temporarily to compare the two. I'll be comparing action and sound, particularly the SuperNATURAL sound engine of the NX vs the upgrade SuperNATURAL card of the GXF. Also I'm gonna play some demanding classical stuff and run some fast bebop licks to test the speed of the action. I'll test the sound focus feature, as well as mess with the EPs. I don't really care about MIDI recording capabilities. That's not really why I'm buying a stage piano. It's mostly for the most authentic piano/EP (if even possible) experience in a portable unit. If I can, I'll upload a photo of the two keyboards. Stay tuned!

Excellent...look forward to your findings!

Just ordered my NX. Should be here Friday. Can't wait to put it up against the GXF.

Sounds great - I look forward to the review PianoZac!

Cheers,
James
x

Pianozac,
may I ask you to try this classical (Chopin Polonaise) midi file?

It would be wonderful to have an mp3 to compare the NX sound with other instruments.

I will post soon my Promega 3 and Pianoteq rendering of the same midi file.

Thanks in advance.

Awesome. I'll be looking forward to it! Thanks!

Hi,
I'm new to this forum.
Since I'm also waiting for the rd700nx would like to be in touch.

Thanks!
AC

Welcome. I'm new too but I babble a lot so I've got my post count up and look like an old timer here

Add me to the list of customers waiting their pre-ordered RD-700NX. I also ordered the KS-G8 stand. The saleswoman told me that my NX will be received at the store on December 1st. Having paid for overnight shipping, I should have the unit by the end of next week. I am getting more anxious and excited every day.

Now for the events leading up to this purchase. I visited my local dealer to try out the CP1 and V-Piano. The minute I saw the CP1 I liked its appearance -- but that was all. I did not care for its action compared to Roland keyboards. As for the CP1 sound, I did not like it at all. Everything seemed wrong about it. I could not imagine paying $5,000 for what little this thing does over lower priced digital pianos. Not worth it, in my opinion.

I moved on to the V-Piano. This was a VERY big mistake. I instantly fell in love with its appearance, feel, and terrific sound. But right now $6,000 is beyond my budget. For the next few days I nearly went out of my mind thinking about the V-Piano. Eventually, I came to my senses and told myself the purchase must be postponed for about a year. It causes me distress every time I think about the long wait. Those of you who own this fine piano are really fortunate.

In the interim I am looking forward to my RD-700NX. Hour after hour I keep thinking about the NX and how to prepare for its arrival. This weekend I am clearing a large space in my studio. In the interim I keep checking the web for new information, though there is none to be found. It's a maddening wait!

ClassicalMastery, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new NX!

The list price of the V-Piano may well be $6000, however I gather that some users here paid a considerable amount less.

Cheers,
James
x

I was blown away by the CP-1. Don't really care for DX type sounds but when I played the one's on the CP-1 I couldn't stop. AP's and Rhodes are great too. You can shop it for a lot less than 5k. Like the V-piano too. Killer AP's. Just too big to gig with.

Here it is a recording I made with my new RD-700NX.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu06MRMvNDE

Can't wait to get home, my NX is waiting for me

I searched very hard for a price less than $6,000. Those deals might have been available in limited quantity for a short period. The only units available now for less than the full amount are customer returns and refurbished units. I won't accept anything other than a new V-Piano, so this purchase will have to wait at least a few months.

Speaking of waiting, hopefully my NX will be shipped soon. The wait is killing me. There aren't any new youtube videos of the NX. Few customers must have received their unit so far.

ClassicalMastery...I received mine on monday. I already put one test recording in youtube today, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu06MRMvNDE

Thanks. I watched that video, but there was a snowstorm in progress. The entire background was white. I couldn't see you playing your new NX. Or were you just trying to fool us, and you actually recorded your GX while waiting for the NX delivery?

Can anyone out there with an NX provide DPBSD MP3s of the three basic AP patches? These would be:

- Concert Grand
- Studio Grand
- Brilliant Grand

I'm trying to figure out if there is just one SN base piano out there with multiple patch variations, or if there indeed are multiple SN base pianos.

Thanks!

Dewster: I'll give it a crack tonight if no one beats me to it

Sounds good!

I'm looking through the manual now and I honestly can't tell if you can render MIDI => WAV or not.

I've been playing on the RD 700NX since last Friday. I had an RD 700SX, and sold it for the upgrade. I have run the keyboard through an old pair of studio monitors (an old pair of Alesis MkII actives), a Roland KC500 amp and a PA system.

Preliminary impressions

There is no doubt at all that this is a huge step up from the SX.

I like the fake ivory-feel keys. I know some don't but to me it adds to the sense of playing a real instrument as opposed to a synth (or a hammond B-3, for that matter)

The action is superb. For the first time, if I close my eyes, I can imagine that I am sitting at a grand. Feel is subjective and varies from grand to grand, so for some this will not seem right,but I was very impressed. The escapement feel is odd, because it is duplicating an artifact that shouldn't make a keyboard feel "better" to play, but it adds to the connection with the instrument.

The improvement in the piano sounds is also obvious and very good. I think the studio piano is rightly named. It's a more subtle sound that would do well in a recording, or where a warm jazz or similar sound is right. The Concert is a fuller and more in-your-face sound, but can be very expressive, There just seems to be more dynamic range. The Brilliant piano is probably something that would beuseful to cut through a mix live, but I see myself using it least of all.

The piano sounds are more relistic and less grainy (sorry, it's the only word that comes to mind) than the SX. It is still not a grand piano, because it can't reproduce the feel of being surrounded by and playing on a wood and steel instrument. No one will sit at the NX with a blindfold and believe they are at a Steiway concert grand. The interaction of the harmonics (sympathetic resonance), for example, is really good, but not quite there. On the other hand, this is just about as close as I've come to that feeling. The NX compares very favourably with the V-Piano, and that's saying a lot (at about half the price), given how impressed I was with that keyboard. What I would expect is that, if you mic'd a grand piano very well in a recording stutio and played it alongside an NX, it would be hard to tell which one was the "fake piano".

That brings me to an intangible, which is the connection between the keys and the sound. A great keyboard feel and a great tone generating engine isn't very useful if there is no subjective feel that they mesh well. The Roland succeeds in this.

The electric pianos and clavs are very good. They are much, much better and more realistic than the SX. You can hear the rubber hammers of the Rhodes, and the electronic leakage of the Wurlitzer. The variety and programmabiltiy isn't as good as some of the Nord boards, but I'll be happy to play them. I use a Hammond B-3 Clone, so I won't comment much on the VK-type organ sounds. They are serviceable and I would use them live in a pinch.

The rest of the sounds are OK, and pretty standard sample playback and GM fare. They are there if you need to use them, but probably will stay in the background for most players. I also found the structure and programmability fairly easy to navigate, but I'm used to the SX.

On the theory that a stage piano is a set of compromises, the NX does very well. It is not a grand piano. There are still some subtle differences that the technology is not quite ready to bridge - at least at real life prices. It is, on the other hand, a great instrument. Usually my acid test is whether I am driven back over and over to play. It's the reason no one should do a review on the first day or so after a purchase like this.

On that basis, this keyboard makes the grade.