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Has anyone tried one of these yet? I can't find a single one to try out in any local store. I'm thinking about buying one, but even YouTube videos are sparse because of how new this DP is.

I would really, really appreciate if anyone has any first hand comments on how realistic the action is, the quality of the sound, etc. in comparison to competing brands like the Yamaha P255 or even to the old F120.


Do you guys think it's the best you can get at 1300 overall?

Hi Laerai.

As you can see from my signature, I'm a Roland guy.

A few things to know about the F130R.

The Action is new. It's called PHA-4 Standard. It replaces the previous Ivory Feel G action. Definitely a more positive feeling action that has a nice initial throw and bottoms more positively than the previous version. It also includes the separated keybed scanning processor that was first introduced in the V-Piano. So the response is very good as well.

The speaker system is much improved on the previous model, the F-120, and this piano also allows you to connect a USB stick with WAV and SMF format files for song playback AND recording in both formats. You can also use the Wireless Adapter to connect to an iOS device and use some of our free apps with the piano.

Anecdotally, the Canadian retailers who have received their shipments of F-130R have told me that it is head and shoulders above its predecessor, and they really like it a lot.

Jay

Thanks for the response.

Looks like there's no getting around the fact that new technology is hard to find in stores. I thought that Ivory Feel G was pretty solid though, so if this is better then I might as well give it a shot.

I'm going to order it after I post this, so thanks for the information Jay.

Now to figure out how to close this thread...

You could close the thread by giving a good review of the F130(R) when it arrives. It would be interesting to know as they are not yet too common.

Here's a demo by an Australian retailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gizo1QMEkUM

I'd love to hear some feedback as well. I'm especially curious about how its pedaling system.

Anything you specifically want to know about the pedaling system?

Please ask.

Jay

Maybe I have an excuse to upgrade from my P-155 to the F-130R. It looks nice.

There's a review here. He seems to be very positive overall, much improved sound and action.

Like usual, some factual inaccuracies in that review, but generally pretty positive.

Jay

Nothing specific that I can put into words. For me, realistic pedaling falls into that "when I see (or rather, feel and hear it), I know it" category.

We have a friendly Roland dealer near us and he thought R-130R would be a good fit for us based on specs but he didn't have it yet and we couldn't wait for him to get it in stock. I can't go back there unless I have childcare since I had the hardest time keeping DD away from their Steinway grands so before I went through all the trouble, I wanted to do as much research as possible.

The pedals are very good. The half pedaling is on all three and they have a good feel under the foot. Nothing strikingly different than the HP Series to me. So if you liked the resistance and response of those (if you tried them) you'll like the pedals on the F-130R.

I had an F-130R in white at home for a few months so I got pretty familiar with it. Really enjoyed it a lot more than the F-120 that it replaces.

Just sold it off to a local dealer as a demo model for his sales floor. Next up I'll take a DP-90e and an RD-800 home to use. I'm moving mid month to a new place, so why not enjoy a new piano when i get there.

Jay

Jay,

I didn't try out pedals on any models when I was shopping since it was primarily for DD who isn't going to reach pedals for many years.

F130-R is starting to sound good, especially for its price.　

Of course, if I could take it home without paying for it, I'd go for DP-90Se in white. It looks beautiful.

I have just posted my review of the FP-50. The F-130R appears to be midway between the F20 and the FP-50, but built into a case. The sound of the supernatural APs I expect to be the same, and the speakers have in common the single combined midrange and tweeter, both of which I comment on in my review.

The F-130R is no more related to an FP-50 as an F-20.

The output of the Supernatural sound is different to both of the Boards you mention.

The speaker system, is completely different than that of the FP-50 and the F-20 so bears no comparison at all.

Jay

Then I will leave it to the interested buyers to test the piano for the mentioned flaws. If it doesn't have them, then well and good. But then there certainly is no harm in their being made aware of what to test for when they try the F-130R at the dealers. In fact I would like some feed back on all the Roland boards that have multiple supernatural AP sounds, to know if one of more of the APs have this flaw.

Tuneless,

There are no mentioned flaws, as barely anyone has had an opportunity to try the piano as it has just started shipping. As I mentioned in my reply to your "review", there is a reason that there is no mention of this "flaw" anywhere else on Piano World. And that is because it is a normal behaviour of an acoustic piano. That behaviour was captured for the SuperNatural Acoustic pianos.

Simply put, it is not a flaw.

Jay

OK -- this has been bugging me, reading recent threads:

. . . What is "SuperNatural sound", then ?

Maybe I should put it like this:

. . . What do all Roland DP's with "SuperNatural sound"
. . . have in common?

. . . What are the things that distinguish it from other
. . . manufacturer's sound generators?

. Charles

Each SuperNatural engine is based on a 4 level 88-key multi sample which is taken from several fine concert grands then combined. Then we use some of the modelling from the V-Piano to create 128 levels of expression instead of the 4 that a straight multi-sampled engine would offer. The resonances and overtones are also created by modelling and are dynamic in terms of both timbre and volume. Each have 128 levels as well.

Certain Roland Pianos will give you access to editing those particular resonances etc. The difference between the more expensive and lower priced instruments lies in the amount of editing parameters and cabinetry, speakers etc.

But I want to be clear here, the SuperNatural Piano sound engine has a minimum specification, and we don't currently make a non SuperNatural Piano.



I can't speak to the technologies and techniques that other manufacturers use, but from reading marketing materials I've surmised that most other manufacturers are using multi sampling for the core sound generation and some modelling for some or all of the resonances.

One other distinguishing factor of a Roland Piano is that there is no specific piano that has been sampled or modelled. The end result is a confluence of sounds to create a Roland piano, instead of a reproduction of any specific concert grand piano.

That's interesting. I believe the widely held view here on Piano World is that the 'Supernatural' sound engine is of the same quality throughout the Roland product line-up - i.e. an entry level F20 will have the same sound quality (through headphones) as a top of the range LX-15.

Are you saying that this is not actually the case?

Kind regards,
James
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