Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Roland F20

Hi, I have been to Adult Beginners forum lots and whilst they have been really helpful as they always are, I just want to hear from someone who actually has this particular piano.

I like some of the look, the feel, and now the new lower price in UK but I don't like the marketing aspect which is aiming as a first piano for children.

Has anyone got this piano? How is it in practical use, what benefits does it have from an adults viewpoint? I was looking at the Casio PX 350 and the keys were shaky and loud and I was surprised that no one really mentioned this. I now know that people just like to see the positives in their choice of piano and this is a good thing.

So, as I exhaust myself and this subject (have been researching for ages) please, if you have this keyboard, or have looked at it and declined it, let me know your personal views, negative and positive, then I will feel I have done with my research and can get on with my purchase and then practise in peace and quiet in the room I have prepared for just this purpose.
Thanks, Shey

I was looking at it but wonder does it have line outs to other speakers? I did find the bass response to be decent though and liked the key action despite reviews that at times were so-so.

If you like playing it then I would encourage you to consider it.
In particular i liked the second piano sound on it which was alittle darker and thought the rhodes was decent.

I bought the more complicated FP-50, which sounds and probably feels the same. What I did not like about the F20 was that it did not have a display, small or other wise. That means that you are making changes blind. There are other things that are also missing, like many of the sounds I have available, some adjustments, and the necessary buttons for some of the changes that can be made, and some of the keys are used for this instead of buttons. It just appeared to be too much of a headache to use it that way to me.

On my FP-50, I am using the EQ (equalizer) to reduce what sounds to me like a too loud base section and I just reset the temperament to a Well temperament. I turned off the resonance because I am sensitive to a small amount of a hard knock sound around keys B4/C5. I am not sure how much of this you could do on the F20.

I just played for a little while on a Roland F20 -- power on, power off, loudspeakers, headphones. FWIW:

1. The keyboard action isn't any more "thumpy" than a PX-150/PX-350 or a P105. With headphones, or the loudspeakers putting out realistic volume, you can't hear the keys at all. The headphone amp is plenty powerful enough for my Shure SE215 in-ear monitors. There's a separate "line out" jack.

2. The sound generator (a "SuperNatural" generator) is pretty good. The variation in timbre, from "pp" to "ff", is quite strong. I didn't hear any notes that 'stood out' (but I wasn't checking for that). I _think_ the note decay is rather short, but that's true for most DP's in this price range. The documentation says that it supports "string resonance", and that the damper pedal is continuous (which is a nice feature) -- I didn't check. Next time . . .

So -- for my ears and fingers -- there's no reason to _not_ buy one.

. Charles

PS -- a short discussion on DP amps and speakers:

The salesman said that the F20's amps and speakers are weak. The specs say 6 watts per channel, into the very common (in inexpensive DP's) 12cm x 8cm speakers. The spec'ed volume level is 96 dB.

He was very enthusiastic about the F130R -- "PHA-4 Standard" action, more sounds, more rhythms and accompaniment patterns, and louder (12 watts/channel, same speakers, 103 dB).

. . . and of course, more expensive than the F20.<G>

I just checked specs on the DP90e -- the next model up the line from the F130. It's spec'ed at 12 watts/channel, 12cm (round) speakers, 110 dB.

The V-Piano Grand: 4 channels, 60 watts each, speakers: 30cm x 1, 12cm x 4, 5cm x 3, 112 dB.

Now, a 30cm loudspeaker (12") is _big_ -- it'll generate low-bass notes at "live piano volume". It's a good "gold standard". And 240 watts is adequate for a small-hall PA system. So they did that one _right_.

[sophisticated readers will notice that the "dB" ratings don't exactly match up to the changes in amplifier power. That's strange, but I'm not going to question it.]

That's actually one of my knocks on the SN pianos I've tried... the variation in timbre from pp to ff seems exaggerated. That is, there is a bigger shift in timbre than on any real grand piano I've played. I find it unnatural. Maybe that's what they mean by supernatural, it's beyond natural! ;-)


Right... doubling the power should only increase output by 3 dB... so either they are not the same speakers (they may be the same size, but they could differ in efficiency), or they are not measuring SPL and/or power output in a consistent way between models.

But this brings up a worthwhile point, that wattage specs are meaningless, when you can't buy the amp and the speaker separately. SPL is what matters. One company's 12 watts could be quieter than another company's 6 watts, if it's mated to a less efficient speaker.

All that said, to get back to the main topic, I think the F20 is a perfectly respectable option in its price range, though I'd also check out the Kawai ES100.

Although winter isn't here yet (thank goodness!) Namm is only 4 months away. I might see what is there then.
I would say although speakers are very important to me I might consider using my unused extra pair of Rokit KRK5's next time around.
I personally liked the RD series, but didn't want to spend that much.
Good point about the speakers- for example the P95 had the same wattage as the YDP140 but the YDP140 console sounded SO much better probably due to the speakers themselves.
I almost think next time around I will be a little more flexible and maybe do something the equivalent of the RD300 for example.

Shey --

Are you confused enough, now? <G>

. Charles

Speaking of speakers (no pun intended..), the px150/350 for instance have 8W speakers which are poorer than the 6W ones of the p35 or than the 7W ones of the p105. ES100 has similarly poor built-in speakers. I haven't tried the f20 with speakers. But the new model, F130R, should be a better instrument under every respect (except price).

Wattage is also not a measure as the speakers in the Roland FP-50 will distort at the top end of its power. Don't know if the speakers in the F20 and the FP-50 are the same, but they may well be.

Data (from Roland) --

FP-50: 12 watts per channel, 12cm x 8cm speakers, 98 dB.

As previously said, not all "12cm x 8cm" speakers are created equal.

. Charles