C'mon guys! You gotta love the way he plays with Wurly sound at 2:30

I know you're kidding James, but in case you're sort of kidding on the square I probably owe you and others an explanation. It's true that I'm "teaching to the test" to some degree since the NX is the only DP we have at the moment. But the tests are widely applicable, and if I run across some aspect that the NX fails I'd be sure to shout it from the rooftops.

After all, it's not that my wife or I are particularly in love with the NX - it certainly has some good things going for it, but it has some warts as well. The DPBSD test additions and changes are mainly due to the fact that I'm spending a fair amount of time with the NX and it's making me think of new things and ways to test. The NX is fairly sophisticated as these things go, so I'm able to make tests that reveal more in there than in many DPs.

I added a really loud E6 to the beginning of the pedal sympathetic resonance test. This lets me hear both pedal symp res (when the pedal is down) and the duplex scale resonance (when the pedal is up). I should have done this in the first rev of the DPBSD MIDI file as it is much easier to hear the effect that with the old test, and probably on most or all DPs, not just the NX. I've gone round and round with this test for the duration of the project, trying to make the effect more audible.

I added the late pedal partial damping test because I didn't feel the quick partial damping test was player-centric enough. And I added the undampered transition test because it was easy.

Great, thank you for clarifying these points.

Cheers,
James
x

Update:

Unfortunately, the infamous ivory feel key wear issue hasn't been fixed. Middle C is already showing signs of wear. Maybe when it get worn enough I'll varnish it or something...

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Real pity that this is still an issue.

Are you guys washing your hands before you play? I see people of the opera do it all the time. Also they have guys cleaning the pianos with whiteboard cleaning fluid stuff like twice a day or something (ok maybe once a week but there's a lot of pianos here so there's always somebody tuning/rubbing something).

When I play guitar if I don't wash my hands the neck would clog up and loose the slipperiness in a week or two. I even keep a towel to wipe it clean afterwards. Maybe I should start doing that with the piano too?

By the way I've found the NX sounds a lot better when the volume is turned up quite loud. When volume is low I start to hear slight phasy sounds from the mid to mid-high notes and the bass boominess is gone. When cranked it sounds wonderful. Watch your ears though. I pulled the trigger on a pair of Genelec monitors the other day so I'll experiment with putting the monitors far away and crank the volume and see what happens.

Cheers
Fred

Going to pick up this DP tomorrow as an early bday present for my wife. Just a quick question, does it come with any sort of key cover/dust protection device of any sort??

I am concerned by the note stealing issue, but everything else about the Piano screams quality, and I was considering the Korg SV-1 as an alternative, but my wife has her heart set on the roland.

Thanks in advance.

No. They make nice black elastic things you can buy, but we just lay a towel over ours when we're not using it.


More of a note damp stealing issue - notes play but they get rudely cut off at key lift. It's easy to reproduce, but you probably won't encounter it unless you play back an MP3 and attack the keys like a frenzied demon.

Hey,

finally !!! Thx for that one !!

I play the ORGAN and we have a bath tub nearby to wash our hands.

AND we play in socks and shoes are NOT allowed

Alexander

Funny, I thought I invented that one

So I went to the store this morning to purchase this for my wife. When I get to the store the guy that I had been talking to and who had put in heaps of work walking my wife and I through the piano options was unfortunately on leave. I spoke to the manager of the department instead who said they guy was on vacation and wouldn't be back for another 2 weeks. This however turned out to be a pretty good thing, as I managed to talk this guy down a lot further on the piano, as he was going to pass the commission of the sale onto the original guy, so discounting into the commission level didn't bother him. He also chucked the RPU-3 and a stand into the deal.

So far, very very happy!! Wife is over the moon with the sound an action. It is a bit on the large side for our one bedroom apartment, but that's not a huge issue.

I have only had a brief play (I'm not actually a pianist, more of a thumper that learned a few tricks from my grandma) and I am continually blown away by the sounds it can produce. Running it through my Opus One studio monitors, the bottom end is almost overwhelming, but is easy to dial back a bit with the on-board eq. Through my Beyerdynanic DT770pro headphones, the sound is sublime. Lots of warmth where you want it in the pianos but with enough clarity, plenty of punch and fun in the EP's. The Basses and vox are also quite awesome.

The only small negative I have noticed so far is in some of the SN pianos, there are clear definitions in sonic qualities between different regions, specifically coming down from the top, there is quite a difference in sound between the very highs and highs (sorry I can't describe that better, I'm an audio engineer, not a muso...).

Very very pleased with my purchase. Now to break out the books and try and learning something myself!!

I have a technical question: Is it possible to set the volume for the (audio or SMF) music playback by using an easier way than the EDIT>Utility>song fonctions>AUdio (or SMF) volume... menu.

Can we for example change the volume of the music playback by using a knob or the layer level Sliders ?

I want indeed to play the keyboard with a song playback in the background, and I need to EASILY adjust real time the background sound volume which by default is too loud.


Alternatively, IF it is not possible to assign the playback volume to a slider, is it possible to permanently store a lower value for playback volume set-up (default value = 127= Maximum) ?


Thanks in advance

Ok guys, I have finally come to the conclusion that my 700NX keys are indeed soaking in finger dirt and grease. Most of the middle keys now have developed that "wood grain" patterns of dirt. I tried wiping them with some vinegar but to no avail. Before trying other profession products out here, is the dirt even removable? I have read other threads on the 700GX and it seems that this is an old problem. Though the keys are not losing their gloss or becoming rough, the dirt really bother me.. Any suggestions appreciated.

Othello, my apologies if you have already answered this question (and indeed for its somewhat personal nature), but do you wash your hands before playing? Assuming you do, which detergent(s) are you using? I seem to recall that the issue may/may not be the result of using alcohol-based cleaners.

Kind regards,
James
x

No problem, James. I do keep my fingers clean and I use Softsoap hand soap, which is alcohol based.

I would try a little dish washing soap in water with a towel.

Apparently, nobody is willing to help me with my question about " how to assign the playback volume to a slider " :-(((

I just flailed around on ours and it seems we are stuck with pulling up the menu.

If I were designing this I'd put a volume control on the song screen. It seems kind of crazy to have this function buried in a menu.

I have to agree that the playback level should be much easier to access, along with all the percussion and sound effect settings. Having to go into the layer edit menu and scrolling all the way up passed the synth sounds (which are amazing by the way ) to be able to assign a standard drum kit doesn't seem all that intuitive to me, when there are 6 quick access just for the supernatural piano sounds.

Maybe I'm missing something though?? I haven't begun to play with the user pre-sets yet, maybe that's an easy way once I have set it up properly.

Well...And alternatively, IF it is not possible to assign the playback volume to a slider, is it possible to permanently store a lower value for playback volume set-up (default value = 127= Maximum) ?

PLEASE don't use *ANYTHING* alcohol based on your hands prior to playing ANY piano, ESPECIALLY hand sanitizers. Particularly on the Roland PH actions with ivory, alcohol is known to be a primary cause of degradation of the keys.

I advise all people to wash their hands with plain soap and water and rinse and dry them thoroughly before playing ANY instrument, and particularly a keyboard instrument.

Also, clip your fingernails, especially the corners of your thumbnails. I don't know how people play with longer fingernails anyway but the constant clacking keeps me clipping them. Well, that and the fact that I play bass...

My $300 Casio cdp100 doesn't have any key wear out issues... This sounds like I should not pay 2.6k for an 'upgrade.'

Maybe I'll wait a few years until they sort this out.

@cfishy "My $300 Casio cdp100 doesn't have any key wear out issues..."

Yep, and it sounds and handles exactly the same as the RD700NX. I think everyone should buy a Casio100 instead of being ripped of for a Roland flagship ;-)
J

I think comments like this could be attributed to frustration that Roland has not permanently addressed the issue. I like the RD700NX but I would agree, the keyboard wear issue is a stumbling block for me. I assume it is the same for others. I'm not negating the fact that it is an excellent DP in most respects but for that money Roland should setup efforts to permanently fixing the problem.

I had some key wear on my RD-700GXF, but nothing that remotely bothered me, and for some pictures I've seen where people are saying it's really worn, mine would have been considered severely worn, but it wasn't a big deal. I liked them worn because I enjoyed the texture. I had to take care of the keys, clean them regularly, and wash my hands, but this is something everyone should probably do. I'd love to have the PHA II/III Ivory Feel keys inside my NP88.

Note, I'm not downplaying the issue here, because the keys ought not wear the way they do. Roland doesn't have a fix for it otherwise they'd have said so. They're only answer to completely replace the key/keys.

Ridiculous, perhaps, but I know someone who saw this and thought the keys were made of wood and that's why it felt so 'real'. So perhaps a sneaky marketing scheme? Ha. Or placebo effect? Or maybe they just want it to look like a real piano bed even though it's stuck in the most digital looking metallic chassis. ;-)

Would you reply to me where to buy NX, SX or GX model with lowest price?
(no ebay)

I wish this was still the case!! I have basically been told by the Roland head technician (his personal view, non-official Roland view) that he doesn't want to waste my time anymore (as I've been hanging on about 4 months trying to decide what to do if Roland don't fix the issue) that the problem is probably not going to be fixed, as it's a problem with the CPU (actual hardware) and nothing will be done.

I'm very annoyed, as the NX was a perfect piano for me, it had all the features I needed, and I'm not having to hassle myself going back to the music shop to get a refund and find something else.

I really love the super natural piano sounds, expect the cut off... it's crazy. It seems that none of the Roland stage pianos can handle the super natural piano sounds, never mind with WAV playback (which is also one of the big reasons I purchased the NX) The GX upgrade is even worse apparently, and all the NX's have this cut off.... and the only other option is the FP, and although I'd be loosing out on countless features at least I'd still have the SN piano, but it seems the FP also has this issue (as discussed on other forums)

Now that I'm 'used' to an SN piano, and all the NX's features, anything less just won't be right... but there's no way I can live with a 2k keyboard 'cutting off' my notes.

You would have thought, after Roland seeing all these forums talking about the issue, and the thousands of views my video has had on youtube showing the issue... that Roland WOULD do something about it even if it does cost them money, as I imagine they will loose sales....

I've been looking into the yamaha CP5 as suggested by someone, and it actually sounds quite nice.... and seems to have a lot of the same features of the NX (although I'll miss my jazz scat voice! ) I've never really been satisfied with the yamaha piano sounds, but the CP5 sounded nice to me from youtube video's.... I'll just need to test it to make sure it doesn't have any crazy cut offs, and doesn't steal notes from me when playing back WAV.

It really is a shame about the NX, as it's perfect for me... it'll break my heart when I hand it back in.

This is either sporadic or has been taken care of. I went to guitar center again today and specifically tried to reproduce the effect on their 700nx. It was impossible. There was absolutely nothing wrong with their model.

I played the exact chords he uses in the youtube video and played them the exact same way. I changed all of the settings, testing the default piano settings and also disabling all reverb, eq, compression, chorus, etc. so the piano was all natural (pun intended).

In no situation could I cause any weird cut-off issues with either the concert or studio pianos (I dislike the brilliant and didn't bother testing it). I then did a full reset of the 700nx in the menu so everything was back at factory defaults. Retried everything, again with no problems. I tried 4-note, 8-note, 10-note, 12-note chords, even full arm chords. Fast staccato, normal with no pedal, lightning fast with no pedal, an everything else I could think of. No abnormal cutoff.

So I wouldn't rule this board out because of this issue, as not every board seems to be affected. I'm not saying it isn't a very real issue, as some people may have it, but apparently its not affecting all of them. I also talked with roland a while back and they told me if there were any issues it would have to be a minute few people and not a general problem, because he said he wasn't aware of any such problem unless you use up polyphony, in which this obviously isn't the case.

Maybe anyone who has the issue could get an exchange?

And anyone looking at buying one definitely try it first if you can. Or return it asap if it happens and get another one?

Just some thoughts...

I seem to be confused about this also because I could not recreate the problem at GC either. However, I don't want to buy the piano and THEN discover the problem.

Does the cutoff/note stealing issue occur when you are playing the preset SN pianos? Do you have to create four overlapping layers to create the issue? Were I to just plug the RD in and turn it on, and play a series of rapid chords with liberal pedal use, this issue would occur?

This is primarily designed to be a stage piano and not a workstation, so I could understand why it gets bogged down when playing MP3s or WAV and then playing complicated patterns over these. Does it occur when playing back SMF files? I want to make sure I can figure out what causes this error before I buy the machine because I don't want to get one, bring it to a gig, sit down and start playing the piano, and have it happen (I don't use the playback feature...really just the pianos and electric pianos).