Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards All about Roland FP-80 & FP-50!!!

The speakers on the FP-7f were driving me crazy. Thanks to this thread and reading about the improvement in the speaker system in its replacement, I just exchanged my FP-7F for a FP-80, just before my 30-day return period was up and in time for the Memorial Day Sale at Guitar Center and a 15% discount!

After reading most of this thread, I think the only thing I will really miss about the fp-7F is the "lid" feature, which was graded 1-6. Did each gradation refer to a different height of an actual open Grand?--I didn't know they made them that adjustable -- and are the grand sounds on the FP-80 defaulted now to those with the lid totally closed? Also, has anyone been able to import open grand samples into the FP-80?

Sorry, what do you mean by that ?

By the way, good question about the lid. Since it can't be adjusted anymore, is the sound setting always in what was previously known as 'closed' position ? Having the FP-80 next to the FP7f and do a 1:1 comparison over headphones might help to figure that out.

Hope you like the Fp-80. Most people didn't consider the improvements worth an upgrade from FP7F to Fp-80, but if the speakers we're your main concern, I can understand...

Having a FP-80 I would say it is always open.

Is there a big difference between the eq control (brilliance/tone etc) which all Roland SN pianos have anyway, and the lid open/ close filters? To put it another way: is the lid open control complex modelling or simply a glorified tone control?

Not sure what the terminology would be since Roland uses modeling instead of samples, but I thought I read it was easier with the FP 80 to customize and bring in voices other than those already programmed into it.

Yes, I've got a very narrow space and not having a huge Monitor or having to attach computer speakers is important. But I think Toddy is right, the air recorder feature is a also a big plus, especially when you're taking classes.



Thanks. That's great, but then what are people complaining about? It sounds a lot better that way.

It just would be a neat feature to play around with, but it is not necessary.
(if you want a "closed" effect put a blanket over the speakers)

The default is not entirely open. My fav preset has it fully open. I don't know if it's just a glorified EQ setting or not.

That's what I was afraid of. Yes, fully open was the best.

Lid effect just diminished the presence and we don't need that. We need clarity of sound, not a muffling feature. The tone knob will basically achieve the same result.
What's really important is the action and how well it is designed to provide a stress free simulation of a good grand piano's action. How is the velocity curve? Does one have to get all the way down to the bottom of the key bed to press the sensors? On a real grand I can throw the hammers very well with only half way down keystrokes. I hate playing against springs and sensors!

30 pages of posts here and almost nothing about the physical action, how stressful it is or isn't, and the dynamic response curve... sigh

I would say the action is quite realistic due to the long pivot and the escapement. I personally glide and hover along the keys with ease without tiring out. The default value (50) for the key response IMHO is too light, so I usually set it a heavier. But like always it is a matter of taste.

Just wanted to inform you that Roland will bring out an update for the FP-80 soon. So I was told by support.

My Roland FP-80 is waiting for me to pick up at GC, but since I ordered it I read that the key design gemometry on the FP series is not good for small hands. This clicked because before I returned the fp-7f I worked on a song with runs and remembered thinking that all of a sudden it felt like my hand was too small for these runs, whereas I'd never had any trouble with them before. Does anyone know if they've changed the key design on the F-80? I know it's doubtful and for that reason I'm thinking of not even bothering to try it but getting a Kawai instead (went to a store and tried them out last weekend and the runs felt much less awkward.)

Since you obviously did an inquiry at Roland , any thought on what might be included in the update ?

The spacing of the keys and the key size is normal for a piano. I have smallish hands and it's not a problem, it's also not been a problem for when my 5-7 year old students have played on it.

Why not test it out at the store in comparison to other models?

Harmony effect on Audio In when a mic is also hooked up to mic input should be solved. Audio transpose also didn't work correctly.

I hope the rotary effect will be switchable with the pedal too, amongst other things.

Thanks for your input, Morodiene. If I have the same 30 days to return I did on the fP-7f, maybe I will. The other thing I heard about the fp7f was that there was a hard bottoming out with the keys that made people's hands sore -- have you or your students complained of anything like this or know if it's been addressed in the FP-80?

Oh, BTW, I don't remember it being about the size of the keys, It had something to do with spacing between black and white and relationship and with a mechanism. I'll see if I can find the original post.

I agree that this is true with the the FP7F, compared to Kawai and Yamaha. The PHAIII keys have subtle differences in angles, edges, and size height and width of blacks (half millimetre) that I also struggled with. I posted this observation several times in the past. I only briefly tried an FP80 the other day and concluded it was the same.

Actually, no problems have arisen from that. Every piano, even acoustics, differ slightly in key size and spacing. So these things we have to adjust to when getting accustomed to a new piano. I do prefer a heavier touch - something I can really dig into. If you didn't like the FP-7F then I highly recommend you try out the FP-80 before taking it home. It always comes down to personal preference. As for it be bad for you, I'd have to say that any action could be bad for someone if they have technical issues in their playing. Apart from that, it is all what you prefer.

I received the FP-50 2 days ago and the action is too much work to play. I will return it and be sticking with the FP-4 and it's lighter action.