what can i say, WoW!!! Roland HP203 is superb DP from my test experience in a shop. congratulations.

pity this was out of my budget range but then i hope my daughter gets more interest in piano so i can buy her silent Yamaha piano which i also tested in a shop.

Congratulations on the new piano! And thanks for providing pictures, it's nice to see people's digital piano setups as well

Now when do we get to hear it?

Jared,

I have tried the 203 and 207 recently. They are very nice. My problem is for some reason my fingernails click all over the keyboard on the Rolands and it is very disturbing to me. I don't notice it on other pianos. Any suggestions for me other than to remove the nails?

Thanks for the comments guys!

I'll try to post some recordings later today


DogT,

I can sympathize for that, my fingers nails click all over the keyboard as well...No matter how short I cut them.

Perhaps Dog & Jared, you are playing too far on the tips of your fingers. You really should be pressing on the softer portion of the finger. If you press your thumb and forefinger (finger 2) like you're going to pinch something, that is similar to the angle your fingers should be to the piano keys. Don't think 90 degrees (vertical), but more like 45 degrees, while keeping the fingers curved. This is a more natural curve to the hand, like it is when you just let your arm hang down, completely relaxed. The hand has that same natural curve which you should use when you play. Then unless you have really long fingernails, you should have a problem. DogT, As for why this happens to you on a Roland, perhaps it is the escapement that is making you change your technique slightly to compensate for the extra resistance? Just an idea.

Maybe my technique is changing because of the Roland key action. I don't know. They even clacked on the HP201 which does not have the "escapement feature". I kind of wonder if it is what the keys are made of. Maybe I could work on my technique with the Rolands and they would be ok, but I don't want to spend at least $1700 to find out I just can't stand it. The Yamahas had an even harder action and my fingernails didn't clack on them, although I really didn't like the stiff action. They have a nice spread of prices and versions though.

Remember that the action can be adjusted to a certain degree on many of these pianos, depending on the model, so be sure to ask the salesperson how to do that so you can test the different levels. At the time I went, the salesguy wasn't there, so I was on my own and didn't know how to make the adjustment.

Based on what you describe, the issue must be the weight of the action, since it does not seem to depend on the escapement, and since the key surface materials vary among the Roland models.

One thing that is different about the Rolands is that the action IS actually slightly heavier than on most digitals (though not as heavy as the heaviest accoustic pianos). I have measured the weight needed to get the keys to make a sound using stacked quarters: The new Rolands need 16, while Yamaha (eg CLP-230) needs 15, and Kawais need 14 or less. Adjusting the action on any of these only changes the quality of tone produced, not the physical weight of the key.

BTW, Morodiene is right - for good piano technique, it is better to play more with the pad of your finger than the finger tip.

-Eric

This is very interesting, because I found the Roland DP KBs to be lighter than the Yamahas and about equivalent to the Casio, and of course the Kawais lighter than any.

Just my feelings which are not scientific at all, very subjective and of course I had to try the different pianos at different places and times, but my wife did agree with me.

this is strange to hear, what do you mean with fingernails clicking? i am very basis in playing a piano but have no such problem on any Rolands including. actually for keyboard i would rate Roland and Yamaha on top, Casio is very good as well although feels a bit clunky, surprisingly Kawai comes the last and was the worst for me personally.

DogT, try playing Roland for more than a minute and you can feel that in your fingers. i felt Rolands keys are not that easy.

what i do not like about keybeds on most DPs is when you play intensively and hit the keys you hear and feel mechanic sound so obvious like the key is hitting a wall. this is unlike on a normal acoustic which plays smoothly. is it something wrong with me or is it correct observation? and passages between soft and hard playing are difficult.

I don't know any objective measure of key mechanical noise, but I suppose it is possible that DPs have more of it than real pianos. It is also possible, that you often play a DP at a lower volume than you would a real piano. In that case, the mechanical noise of a digital would be *proportionally* greater relative to the sound of the note. There is no way to "turn off" the sound of the note on an acoustic piano.

One other thing about key weight. For years I played a Technics digital with a relatively light action (14 stacked quarters, similar to the Kawais). During that time I always struggled on acoustic pianos. But after 2 months with my new Roland HP-207 (16 quarters), I can go back and forth between the DP and most acoustics with no problem. The small difference in weight of the action seems to really matter.

eJohn, I would say to know how stiff are piano keys you must play it a bit, touching keys without playing is not enough.

Another observation, this Saturday I popped to one musical shop looking for something, and could not hold from trying uprights and grand acoustic pianos standing there. So guess what? I saw four Steinway grand pianos lining up there, different models from different years, the oldest was from 1977. I tried all of them, and felt there was some difference in every of them, then I tried other names and every brand had its own feel and touch. Some acoustics had keys very soft and very near what Roland does, others had it more Yamaha way, and sound… ouch, you never have the same sound between different makes and models. So I believe one must rely on his own feeling and ear instead of trying to find an ideal instrument. Every DP has its own character as well, even same Casio AP500 is a bit different in some nuances from PX800, believe it or not.