Greetings,

I know, I know. It's one of life's great questions.

Are we allowed to talk/post prices?

I think I was quoted a fantastic price on the Roland HP207.

I do not have a quote on the Yamaha CLP280 though. Has anyone ever seen the Yamaha in Cherry finish. Online and in the brochure it looks more Amber/Yellow than Light Cherry. I would prefer a true reddish light cherry.

Both pianos seem to have better action than the other digitals I have tried. Both sounded very good - although I was not able to find a dealer that carried both brands and demo them side by side.

Please let me know about talking cash.

Thanks,

Eddie

I've got the 270 and I'm quite happy with it.. I think you would be happy with any of those. I just happen to trust more Yamaha than Roland so I didnt really try them (my entire university faculty was getting Yamaha's clp-280 for the teachers, so I figured I would get the same). It's still has nothing like a 200k Steinway.

I paid around 3200 can for it (but I had like 500$ of taxes). The CLP-280 was 3800$+ and I was not willing to pay that much for a few pieces of wood layers. I still play on both all the time and never notice the difference, I must be immune to placebo effect lol.

Xill,

The only difference between the 270 and 280 is the wooden keys? That's it? I don't mind plastic if it saves cash.

Thanks,

Eddie

The one time I played the 270/280 side by side, I perceived a real difference in the 2 actions. I would like to think it had to do with more than the underlying key material, though...

Search for the "price paid" thread on this forum and you should get a good idea of what others paid. I've never heard of a dealer that has BOTH Roland and Yamaha digital pianos-- too bad.

both are excellent and top of the line, the rest is your personal choice. go to a shop and try them. i loved HP207 more but many people prefer CLP280.

Thanks to gluttny & terminal degree for weighing in with their opinions.

Am I comparing Apples to Oranges? Is there a higher level Roland that would be a truer "shootout showdown" against the Yamaha CLP280?

I want the comparison to be as equal as possible at two levels:

1. Any Yamaha comparable to Roland HP207.
2. Any Roland comparable to Yamaha CLP280.

Make sense. I want Apples to Apples / Oranges to Oranges in terms of action and piano sound RE; one brand against the other. Roland vs. Yamaha.

If someone else makes a similar model - please let me know.

This is to replace an old Kurzweil Digital Piano that is dead and buried as a result of Home fire.

I love this forum. it is the most helpful resource on the internet.

Thanks,

Eddie

Is the Roland KR107 better than the HR207?

Eddie

No it's the same action on both, only the wood layer is different on the white notes (same on black notes).

i believe different key material, mass or weight, will influence the actual action or key feel. there's such a reason that 270's action is called GH3 and 280 NW, and people played both do feel difference.

Thanks signa for the response.

My options:

Roland KR107
Roland HP207
Yamaha CLP280
Yamaha CLP207

Monday I will get dealer quotes. Make up my mind and buy one of them.

Eddie

Forum Members,

Time is of the essence. I lost my piano in a house fire and need a replacement for my family ASAP.

Please - everyone - give your opinion as I am buying this week. Kids have a Recital on March 29th.

Thanks,

Eddie

Anyone? Please.

Hi library lover,

this is really a matter of taste.

Among you four choices, I prefer the HP207. Certainly, it has a better keyboard and better piano samples than the KR107. Also, it is cheaper.

Whether you prefer the HP207 over the CLP270/CLP280 you can only know yourself.

Possible arguments are:
- Roland sound is warmer
- It is my impression that people tend to like Yamaha speaker system better
- It is my impression that people prefer Roland's keyboard with escapement and the ebony texture over Yamahas GH3 keyboard.
- Roland has sampled every key, Yamaha has sampled 50.
- Both are excellent DPs and you cannot go wrong with either one.

I don't think you could regret getting the Yamaha. Buy it.

Yamaha CLP280M $4400
Yamaha CLP280PM $4700
Roland HP207 $2795

Those are the best salesman offers.

Save the cash and go for the Roland?

Or, spend the extra for the Yamaha?

If the difference in price is that huge, buy the Roland HP207. The CLP280 is definitely not worth 1600$ more.

The most better half wants to save the cash as well.
I will let everyone know final decision at end of week.

My neighbor is letting my kids practice on her upright for the time being. Very nice of her to offer. See - there are good people in the world. It's not all gloom and doom as the TV news would have you believe.

library lover,

For what it's worth, I and several friends (who are better pianists than I) think the Roland HP-207 is more realistic in its action and sound response than either Yamaha model. The Yamahas, IMHO, have a slightly exaggerated touch reponse that feels artificial, and the Yamaha sound is too bright for my tastes. Also the HP-207 is definitely much better than the KR-107 in terms of piano realism (the KR-107 does have other features though).

I bought a CLP 280 last summer after a long evaluation period. I liked the features, the action, the price and the warranty.

Since buying the Yammy, I've had an opportunity to closely evaluate the newer generation of Roland DPs. There are many similarities and several differences. The top of the line models are the KR-107 and the CLP 280.

It's my understanding that the CLP is a bit older series and is probably due for a model change. The KR-107, being a bit newer, has the current advantage for techie stuff, more memory, more speakers, more speaker power, color display, etc. There's a good explanation of the background for the HP series here .

Focusing on the action, I'd say top of the line Roland action is as good as the Yammy, possibly better. Keeping in mind this is a very subjective subject. The whole "escapement" sensation is unique to this model and does feel a bit like a grand. Kawai has something similar in touch, but typically costs a bit more.

OBTW, I've seen the Yammy Cherry finish on a floor sample, it looked more red than blonde...to me.

Bottomline, last summer my choice was much clearer. You may want to wait for the summer to see if Yamaha comes out with a update to the CLP series.

Glad to hear you found a temporary solution for your family. Good luck with the search.

l's dad

Thanks everyone. I'm waiting for the Roland dealer to return my phone call. I will keep you posted and let you know when the deal is done.

Eddie

I got Roland RD-300SX which is a digital piano, and it earned my respect to them first of all, great dynamic piano sounds and if I didn't know what a digital piano was, I'd say this is the real thing, second of all, the action is perfect I think, I've tried a clavinova (The one with the internet connection I forgot what it was) at the music instrument store here and the action was kinda lame but still playable, still, compared to the action of the RD-300SX. Even now I've seen the action and capabilities and sounds of Yamaha Motif XS and it doesn't come close to what I've seen of the Roland Fantom G. I know it's a comparison of apples to oranges cause those are synths but they use samples too, just like a digital piano does. In terms of a better company to trust I'd say go with Roland.

Purchased the Roland HP207 in Mahogany Finish.

Have to wait a few weeks for it's arrival.

hi ya m8 what do you think of your new roland piano, I have just placed an order on the CLP-280, It was very hard to decide but in the end i went with Yamaha, Because of the black ebony, but i did here the Roland HP-207 and it was very loud in the showroom so in your house it should sound awesome, i.m hoping the Yammy 280 will, let me know what ya think of it,

Roland HP-207 is also now available in polished ebony, although in very limited quantities. I've just ordered mine, should get it end of April so I'm told.

Thats Nasty, The sales person told me that the Roland HP-207 only comes in maple i think it is the light one and rose wood. And i asked him about the satin black and he said no, i might complain about that because i would of had it, If i could of had satin, didn't know about polished tho,
Anyway m8 i hope you enjoy it my old Roland piano was good, it was the rosewood HP237RE a bit dated now tho, And its dead now thats why i have the Yamaha CLP-280 on the way,

Oh one thing pezza, Let me know what you think when its at home, I tihnk they sound even better when they are at home,

I don't know if the polished ebony will be available in the States. I think it is manufactured in Italy for the European market.

Here's what the Roland website posted as information.

Elegant Cabinet

Adding to the appeal are Roland’s gorgeous finishes: choices include classic Mahogany and a new high-gloss Satin Black.

"Color Variation >> Satin Black : Will not be distributed in Europe"

javascript:popupProductFinder('http://www.roland.com/products/en/HP207/');

I did not see any reference about Polished Ebony though.

http://www.roland.co.uk/digp_room_catdet.asp?ID=HP207EPE

Here it is - it was announced at the Frankfurt music show a couple of weeks ago so Im told. Apparently one is coming into the UK in April (hopefully mine) then two a month from that point onwards.

I would have got the polished ebony but got the rosewood at the time.
Out of interest how much is the polished ebony in £££s.