Hi guys, I've recently bought a Roland HP 203. I tried playing it, and the sound was very "digital". When more than 5 keys are played with damper, it sounded noisy. All the keys sounded muddy, as if there's a cloth blocking the "hammer". It did not sound like a real piano.

I checked the settings, the reverb, 3d and brilliance did little to affect the sound. Tone was set to Grand Piano 1 (no difference from Grand Piano 2). I'm wondering if anyone is facing this problem too?

i have warned all people... they thaught roland hp 203 was some master piano and i told them that even with reverb and brilliance activated it did not sound as good as an yamaha or a casio celviano...

the other instruments are good

do you have the jazz voice?its so cool

piano sounds mellow but not bell like like a studio recording in a steinway

so hp 203 is actually some failure products? are there any fixes for it?

The HP203 is not an acoustic piano, so when you say "the sound was very 'digital'", I ask: compared to what?

Compositor20 tried the HP203 once, didn't like it and has been dissing it around the forums ever since. Oh, and he never actually played the Celviano that he says is better, so take it with a grain of salt.

Most other people who have played or own the HP-203 are very pleased with it, so I wouldn't consider it a "failure product", on the contrary.

There are many other settings besides the reverb, 3d and brilliance, maybe you could play around with the String Resonance and Damper Resonance levels to see if you get something closer to what you're looking for?

If not, well, I'm sorry for you, but we all have different tastes and you take a risk if you buy any instrument without playing it beforehand.

I think we have a troll and his sockpuppet.

I think they're the same poster, the writing is close in grammar and structure. The 1st post is capped and proper(ish) english, but then comp posts, it's all lowercase, then zelcadance posts again, and it's all broken english and lowercase. Like he forgot to "switch hats."

What say ye, mods? What's the IP crystal ball say? Is there sockpuppetry afoot?

I've played it at the shop, and compared it to HP101 which was cheaper and older. 101 sound very nice, and I've read many positive feedbacks about 203, hence I only played a few notes on the 203 and bought it, thinking it's newer hence better.

I've tweaked around the settings too, stretch tuning on, damper res 2, string res 4, key off res 5.

Can someone guide me on a "better" setting which you are using and are satisfied with? I'm also considering buying monitor, wondering if it'll help...

As I said in another thread, (and I readily admit to the sarcasm I was accused of), It would appear that we are all in the presence of an undoubted expert here and I for one will now let him get on with it. Reading yet another thread, it would appear that Comp20's decision to buy a Casio is now based on the favourable Portugese/UK exchange rate. Pah!!!!

yes its true;) for 1067 with bank transfer and delivery included...

roland hp203 in Portugal is 1600 with discount... does it is worth maybe 200 euros more... but 500?...

i ordered it today;) i will record some music and post it on youtube or upload a mp3 so that other can listen to it...

at least my talk will be usefull to someone since i will provide different samples from the ones available in internet..

(i pray that all comes functional and that i really like the sound)

By the way i always write lowercase (except in this message) and im not very good at english but i think people understand;). That is all that counts...

sound samples will be helpful btw, does anyone know if i should get a studio monitor or amp for my dp?

I just bought KRK RP5 and it sounds great However, even after I plugged in both Output, the built-in speaker does not shut off.... so I'm hearing both output speakers and built-in speaker...... Is there any way to switch off/minimize volume of the built-in speaker of HP-203?

So let me give you some comments, because this reminds me a little bit of my own experiences. When I bought the HP203 a year ago, I had almost no experinece with digital pianos. So I had been looking around and testing DPs for about 9 months. In this time I played many DPs and many of them more than once and found that my impression/preferences changed frequently during that time and that the same DP sounded differently on different occasions.

Once I had the HP203 I made the same experience. Sometimes I liked the sound, at other times I was somewhat disappointed. However, after a year of playing I am now really happy with it. It seems that -at least for me- it took some time to appreciate the quality of the sound. While initially I went to a period of frequent tweaking, I am now very happy with almost the factory settings. I only add a little reverb (2) and a little brightness (2), set dynamics to 2 and set the key off to 2 as well. But all this only moderately influencing the sound. As said, by now I really love the sound of the HP203 enjoy plaing it every day.

True.. it's like a different type of piano sound. Maybe I'm too used to my acoustic piano...

Btw, do you have any idea how to minimize/switch off the built-in speaker of HP-203?

Check your manual. For some reason, most people seem allergic to reading their manuals. Most of the time, the answers to functionality-based questions can be found there. Otherwise, you can always contact Roland by phone and ask.

You'll surely get an answer much faster by following either or both of these steps than asking here. Just a thought.

I've read the manual over 20 times literally. Was disappointed that no such functions can be found in the manual. At the same time, it's hard to believe that when both external output were plugged in, the built-in speaker still continue croaking away... It's the same funny-logic like speaker switched on while headphone is plugged in (luckily it did not).

Hope someone found a way to disable built-in speaker..

Nevertheless, you're definitely ignoring my advice. Have you *called* Roland. You know... the makers, the manufacturer of the product you bought with your hard-earned money.

I had a few questions and giving them a ring gave me the answer I was looking for in about 5 min time.

Why people shy away from picking up a phone & punching in a few #s is beyond me.

Hi, I have a HP-203 too, and if I plug a jack-minijack converter (or headphone) in the headphone output, it disables automatically the built in speakers, while the line-out continues to operate.
A loud clicking sound can be heard, every time when plugging in, or removing the jack.

See, Zelcadence?

You posted this on Sept 4th and you were lucky to get the answer at all! And even then, it took 4 days as opposed to a 5-min phone call. :p

It's so simple...

Thanks guys for all your valuable inputs, they're very helpful

I'm using this method now, set to speaker mode, plugged in headphone converter and output to monitor. Works great! Thanks

I'm glad to help you. HP 203 is a great digital piano, but it needs some accessories to make it sound better. And the most important thing is the quality of the sound, so when you have "tuned" it, I hope you will love it too.

I just realised the 2 C# left of middle C was having extra echo, and sound extra noisy and heavy than all other keys and other C#. It only happens when using Grand Piano 1. Does anyone face this problem?