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Joined: Apr 2016
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I agree!! I thought of asking this post to be deleted because I don't want Roland to get bad wrap for it. But, maybe it's good to leave it up, as others will come across the review on AZpianos and this will help them to see it for what it is. I run a B&B and played my FP30 for some guests today and one guest who is musical said he thought it really sounds like a grand piano! 
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord"
Roland FP30
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I can't agree that those internal speakers sound like a real grand... It's a nice value package given its low price, but nothing close to the real thing (or better digitals). With headphones it's better, but even then it still sounds like a recording. For its price it's hard to beat though.
I've played on them in the store and didn't think they were out of tune. That's a b*llsh*t story.
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Well, I totally agree it can't compare to a real acoustic piano, but you have to admit it's pretty amazing and I'm excited to see what they come out in the years to come...
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord"
Roland FP30
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So it is out of tune why nobody records it and shows it? you now like with a tuner or one of the many software tools that exist.
The statement without proof seems totally unethical.
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I'm glad to hear that everything worked out ok!
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I agree!! I thought of asking this post to be deleted because I don't want Roland to get bad wrap for it. But, maybe it's good to leave it up, as others will come across the review on AZpianos and this will help them to see it for what it is. I run a B&B and played my FP30 for some guests today and one guest who is musical said he thought it really sounds like a grand piano! Great to hear! I wouldn't worry about your thread here, or think about asking that it be removed. Several years ago I posted a thread on PW about my negative experience with a new Yamaha P90 digital piano and the poor customer service I received from them; to this day I still meant everything I said and everything I wrote. As far as Yamaha digital customer service was concerned, they are so big and me, being one single customer, was so small, I was just a speck of dust on the floor that they could walk over and never give it a second thought. Personally, I would not buy another new Yamaha digital piano, but that is just me. On the other hand, I have a lot of respect and appreciation for their acoustic pianos and other musical instruments. Wishing you all the best! Rick
Piano enthusiast and amateur musician: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated". Yamaha C7. YouTube Channel
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I'm glad to hear you are relishing your Roland digital piano. I am piano aficionado as well. When you come across a great product there truly is nothing like it. Enjoy! :-)
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From Jay Roland this was posted in the thread on the FP30 showing that the tuning is fine: Hello all,
I have been on vacation for the last 10 days, but wanted to pop in and let you know that we have confirmed with the engineering team in Japan, that the stretch tuning applied to the FP-30 is the same as many past pianos.
Jay
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord"
Roland FP30
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From Jay Roland this was posted in the thread on the FP30 showing that the tuning is fine: Hello all,
I have been on vacation for the last 10 days, but wanted to pop in and let you know that we have confirmed with the engineering team in Japan, that the stretch tuning applied to the FP-30 is the same as many past pianos.
Jay Hello! Newbie here but been playing piano for very long time and needing to replace my old humble steed, the Roland HP1600, with...something. I thought it was going to be the FP-30 until I read that review on AZPiano news. My question in this instance is (and with all due respect - excuse my ignorance) but who is Jay Roland and why would I take his word as gospel? Believe me, I'd like to, but I am pretty skeptical when I see the name "Roland" saying that there is nothing wrong with this...Roland! It would feel a bit like a person called Frank Mercedes saying that Mercedes is the best car in the world, yes? I certainly do NOT take ""AZ Piano news" as gospel either. They originally "highly recommended" the FP-30 and then changed it to "semi-recommend" a few days later. Why? Also, I've emailed them three times for advice and am yet to receive a reply. Anyway, thanks heaps for this thread. shalomjj, how are you finding the piano? How long have you been a pianist and is the FP-30 living up to your expectations?
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Joined: May 2016
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My understanding is that Jay is an employee of Roland whose name is Jay or begins with J (just like James Kawai is an employee of Kawai called James).
My observation as a reader of the boards - and owner of a Yamaha - is that both will answer questions factually to the extent that they can, and avoid entering discussions that do not have a strictly objective basis. Generally their posts are referred to as sources of reliable and useful information, including "inside" information to the extent that they can/are comfortable releasing into the public domain. In this case above all, where the issue discussed is purely technical (amount of stretch tuning factory applied to one model vs. others) I'd be frankly more inclined to believe them (Jay, in this case) than others.
Given their behaviour I would look at their board names as a sign of extreme honesty and transparency, not as attempts at cheap publicity.
Last edited by oldmancoyote; 05/27/16 02:03 AM.
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Thank-you very much for your response! Much appreciated.
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True, from what I've read, Jay seems legit. As for both, I would take neither as "gospel" as the only gospel I believe in is summed up in John 3:16 But, the FP30 is still blowing me away! I run a B&B and play it for my guests and their first comment is always, "Wow, that sounds like a real piano!". So, I highly recommend this from my experience. I am extremely satisfied with it, and given that I took advantage of 15% off at Guitar Center and got this for about $600, it's unbelievable! The AZpiano review had to be motivated by the fact that the FP30 is impossible to beat (in my humble opinion). The sound quality is awesome. And the action is I would say 90% similar to a real quality piano. Go for it! The tuning issue is not a problem. If anything, there is an organic quality to the sound that really emulates a Steinway grand.
"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord"
Roland FP30
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Joined: May 2013
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Kurzweils have had switchable stretch on or off settings for as long back as the old MicroPiano module. In the manual it said that stretch "off" made it play more in tune with guitars, horns etc. and that stretched was better for solo playing. My old Korg did Just tunings and other historical temperaments.
We're a Roland service center and I can't remember any FP series coming in with the complaint of out of tune but I do remember one person complaining about an ep-7 and it was on dense 6/7 note extended 9/11/13th chords. Of course there was nothing anyone could do since as the article mentions, the basic temperament is baked in.
It sounds like it's a subtle effect in the temperament as Rickster mentioned. This can be VERY subjective. A multitude of examples of just how few cents it takes to get tuners fighting can be found in our very own Tech Forum. Try the keyboard. If you can't hear a problem there isn't one. Most guitars play out of tune worse than any piano as soon as you move above the 5th fret but it doesn't stop most of us from listening to a wealth of guitar based music. Rumi, I noted your KurtZ forum name. In 1978 or so I bought A Kurzweil K1200 88 key for $2500. Last May I sold it for $150. Ian
I'm all keyed up
2016 Blüthner Model A
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My name is Kurt. Rumi lived a thousand years ago and is the source of the quote in my signature.
We worked on a LOT of K1xxx series keyboards . They were good product and had a long lifespan but now Kurzweil is basically a stencil on outmoded technology.
Kurt
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Co-owner (by marriage) and part time customer service rep at an electronic musical equipment repair shop.
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Joined: May 2016
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What a site...I wish I'd come here earlier!
I am one step closer to purchasing the FP-30. It just needs to pass a couple more tests. The first (and of most concern) is this:
Last time I tested one, I gave it the "Prelude/Angry Young Man" by Billy Joel treatment. Being piano players, I'll assume those reading this will know what that means!
The response didn't impress me. It didn't seem able to keep up.
Now, this may be because I am used to my 20 year old HP 1600, or my Yamaha upright...OR it could be that I haven't played the piece in a while and am out of practise! So are there any experienced players here that can comment on the response of the keyboard? Would something like the F-140 do a better job? Or do I need to adjust to the newer, less familiar weight/mechanism of the FP-30?
Bear in mind I'd really like to stay in the price-range of the FP-30 but not at the expense of it being able to keep up with my demands. I've seen people suggesting the Yamaha P-115 but the pedal unit is so ugly compared to the FP-30.
Cheers all!
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Apologies for multiple posts without doing more thorough research! I've just noticed that the FP-30 and the F-140 use the same keyboard and it seems I'd need to jump to the HP series to get a "better" action (PHA 50 = "concert", yeah?)
Unfortunately this means I have a 40kg piano that has so many extras that I just don't need.
It's at this point I should say that 90% of my use will be recording midi using Logic Pro and the other 10% I reserve for the hope that one day I'll start doing gigs again; either as a soloist (piano and vocal) or in a small 4-5 piece band. Which brings me to my final concern:
Will the headphone output into my amp (then into any Front of House speakers) suffice? I don't think I've ever felt the need to monitor myself through my HP's speakers as my amp has been fine for that, from memory.
Peace and Harmony to all!
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Last time I tested one, I gave it the "Prelude/Angry Young Man" by Billy Joel treatment. Being piano players, I'll assume those reading this will know what that means!
The response didn't impress me. It didn't seem able to keep up.
Now, this may be because I am used to my 20 year old HP 1600, or my Yamaha upright...OR it could be that I haven't played the piece in a while and am out of practise! So are there any experienced players here that can comment on the response of the keyboard? Would something like the F-140 do a better job?
I wrote about my experiences with it in a review in the Piano Buyer, which you can read online for free. The specific application you speak of is rather specialized, and many acoustic as well as digital pianos might not respond optimally in that situation...Sorry I have not played a F-140 for comparison's sake.
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Joined: May 2016
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Last time I tested one, I gave it the "Prelude/Angry Young Man" by Billy Joel treatment. Being piano players, I'll assume those reading this will know what that means!
The response didn't impress me. It didn't seem able to keep up.
Now, this may be because I am used to my 20 year old HP 1600, or my Yamaha upright...OR it could be that I haven't played the piece in a while and am out of practise! So are there any experienced players here that can comment on the response of the keyboard? Would something like the F-140 do a better job?
I wrote about my experiences with it in a review in the Piano Buyer, which you can read online for free. The specific application you speak of is rather specialized, and many acoustic as well as digital pianos might not respond optimally in that situation...Sorry I have not played a F-140 for comparison's sake. Just read your excellent review. I do believe the F-140 uses the same PHA-40 keyboard so I doubt it'll behave differently. I may need to look carefully at the Kawai and Yamaha keyboards. Even though I'd prefer an authentic piano feel, I'll be using it in quite an unorthodox fashion when recording midi. There will be times when striking one - or several - keys rapidly will be required, as I prefer to "play all the instruments" rather than notating. Having said that, I could just use my old JV-30! Remember those? Yup, I've still got one! I'll be heading to the piano store tomorrow. Happy days.
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My understanding is that Jay is an employee of Roland whose name is Jay or begins with J (just like James Kawai is an employee of Kawai called James).
My observation as a reader of the boards - and owner of a Yamaha - is that both will answer questions factually to the extent that they can, and avoid entering discussions that do not have a strictly objective basis. Generally their posts are referred to as sources of reliable and useful information, including "inside" information to the extent that they can/are comfortable releasing into the public domain. In this case above all, where the issue discussed is purely technical (amount of stretch tuning factory applied to one model vs. others) I'd be frankly more inclined to believe them (Jay, in this case) than others.
Given their behaviour I would look at their board names as a sign of extreme honesty and transparency, not as attempts at cheap publicity. I do sincerely hope that my presence here is greeted as a sign of transparency. I lurked for many years before officially joining the forum. I am an employee of Roland Canada. May name is Jay Gough and I am currently living in Edmonton, Alberta. When I first joined the forum officially, I was the Piano Products Manager for Roland Canada. My passion for the digital piano has not waned in my new role. It's just that now, I get to sell synths, Electronic Drum kits, and BOSS Pedals too! Too many times there was misinformation about our products being spread as gospel. The AZPianos review is a prime example of misinformation. To reiterate: We have confirmed with the engineering team in Japan, that the stretch tuning applied to the FP-30 is the same as many past pianos.
Jay
Last edited by Jay Roland; 05/31/16 11:49 AM.
Industry Consultant
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Hi Jay,
I for one welcome your presence here, as I do all of our members that can cut through to the meat of an issue. Working with a manufacturer as you do can be very helpful in this regard.
Thank you for being here. You helped to confirm what I had already voiced in my earlier post in this thread.
Cheers,
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