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First post here I plan on buying a new digital piano after getting totally disgusted with my 61 key Yam keyboard with a totally hollow sound. All i want from this new piano im gonna buy is high fidelity acoustic piano tone...I would be least interested in all the additional features.
Well surely its a Roland... But im confused. I've read a lot of the posts on the Fp7s and RD700SXs in this forum. I've also seen some videos on the Roland Website.

Well RD700SX seems to have two pianos sampled whereas the Fp7 has only one.. but is it worth spending that much more on the RD ? How far behind is the Fp7.. Am i losing much by 'settling' for an Fp7 or should i go straight ahead for the RD.. ?

Or is there some other DP i should consider buying

As i said before..i just want true warm rich Sound.. Thats all .. nothing more...

And what is the whole thing about Esacpement... I know it isn't there in RD or FP series... but does it make the Piano sound so much better than usual... ?

Please give me all your views on this.. Thanks

Escapement would effect feel rather than tone. It simply refers to the hammer being released from the key just before the hammer strikes the string. Manufacturers usually try to minimize its effect.

In general, with an acoustic there's a feeling of setting a mass into motion, whereas digitals tend to feel more like you're pressing on the end of lever. If possible, you may want to try to play some acoustics. That'd give you a standard against which to judge the feel of digitals.

Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland are the big three in the digital world. Which brands are available near you?

PS, my last year at Berkeley I had a housemate whose name was Rama Swami Shakti Vadivel (not certain of the spelling, now). Also from Madras, I think.

Kartik- I shopped for a new digital piano for a couple of months. I read ALOT and demo'd quite a bit. I ended up with the FP7 last month. I was able to A/B the FP7 and RD700SX. If what you want is a great piano sound, I don't think you can go wrong with the FP7. The main piano sample absolutely sparkles.
I like having internal speakers, although they DO NOT do the instrument's tone justice. I also wanted a sostenuto pedal, and the FP7 provides 3 pedal inputs. It has the "Designer Piano" like the RD, allowing you to tailor the qualities of the grand to your liking. Some folks are not inspired by Roland's piano samples, some like Yamaha, some like Kawai, that's all very subjective to one's own taste. However, for someone who likes Roland pianos, I wholeheartedly recommend the FP7. Good GAS and Good luck!!!

@FogVilleLad
Roland DPs are available near my place. Actually the latest models wont be there.. but i guess you could ask them to make an order... which is basically my problem.. because most likely i wont be able to play on the piano i am buying , so i am terribly paranoid.

(And i think you are spot on with the spelling ! Nice to hear you know someone from madras)

@Hardway
I may have no basis to say this, but i generally thought people felt that Roland made the Best DPs.. You say thats still disputable.. Hmmm... Should i be looking at other brands ? I remember playing a Kawai once and not being too impressed.( sounded very honky tonkish) But that maybe because there was a Boston Acoustic sitting right at the other end.. hehe. But since you like the Fp7 a lot .. you wouldn't advocate another brand right ?

And one more thing.. Did you have to ask for Internal speakers or do they come by default ? Because i need them too.

I tried searching for some prices but they varied over such wide ranges i couldn't quite know what was what ? Could you give me some numbers on the RD700SX and FP7.. ?

I have tried them all and owned all the brands. I believe Roland is the current leader. You don't have to request speakers for a FP7 or FP4, they are always built in. The RD-700SX does not have speakers. I added a pair of powered studio Yamaha MSP5 speakers to my FP4 and it's much nicer, better clarity and fuller bass.


FP7 $1,220
FP4 $1,015

Re the speakers, there's a problem. In general it's difficult to get good reproduction of bass notes with included speakers, because they're too small. To hear the full quality of the included sounds, you'll need a set of studio-quality headphones, such as Sennheiser's HD 580's or 600's.

Re the brands, Yammy, Kawai, and Roland are the big three. If possible, try to audition all of them. With digitals, touch is probably more important than tone, because you can buy third-party piano samples and access them via connecting to your computer.

The touch settings on digitals are a clever psycho-acoustic illusion. When you increase the setting, the lower-numbered MIDI control messages get cut off, so it's necessary to press harder, to get any sound at all. With Yammy - which is the only brand that I really know - increasing the setting also functions as a filter, creating a darker sound. When you audition 'boards, it's a good idea to set the touch to its lowest setting.

What brands are available near you?

PS, the Berekely experience was decades ago. I was an undergraduate, "Shakti" was working on his doctoral dissertation - underground storage of water, I think. He showed me how to cook fish, using recipes that his mother sent. Really filled that kitchen with aroma! His family decided that he should marry and arranged a bride. Shakti moved out and we lost touch.

The GEM Prp-800 might be an option if its available in that area.