Here's the deal. I have noticed the following anomaly in the sixth octave [/b] of my FP-7 basic piano samples in the past couple of weeks.

Piano one (default setting)

D natural....pronounced twanging noise in the background
D flat and D sharp....thud sound with little sustain

Piano two

D flat....pronounced twanging noise in the background
C natural and D natural....thud sound with little sustain

Piano three

D sharp....pronounced twanging noise in the background
D natural and E natural....thud sound with little sustain

Kind of weird, huh? A twang surrounded by two thuds but shifting slightly depending on which piano sample.

While I'm at it, I may as well mention another problem though it's far less important to me.

Seventh octave about C sharp. very little sustain

Last five notes on the board. no pitch; nothing musical..just a shriek

I called Roland authorized repair in Los Angeles yesterday and talked to a repair tech. He said my problem was a new one for him (probably thought I had eaten too many fruitloops at breakfast). That place services thousands of Roland boards, so his comment got me wondering.

If anyone has experienced something similar please reply. If any FP-7 owner would check his board to see if anything like this is present, I'd appreciate knowing.

My 1st FP-7 had a few funny buzzing sounds on a couple of notes that I wasn't happy with so I got it changed for a new one.

The 2nd one I got is fine as far as funny buzzing sounds are concerned, but you're right about the last octave and the sustain.

I actually find the top 2 ovtaves very weak.

Thanks Glaswegian. I've had it almost a year, so I think it's too late for a swap. It's still under warranty for parts, but not labor. I'd be happy to pay for a fix though. I am extremely happy with the FP-7 otherwise.

A special thanks to the gutless turd who took the time to give a one-star salute to an honest question. Maybe the notoriety will attract attention and get me some helpful input.

turandot ....

Can't say that I heard the things you mentioned on mine.

Agree with Glasweigan though, the last 2 octaves (C6)are weaker, and on my FP-7 the thud is more noticable up there.

I did notice that the G's below C4 do not sustain as well as other notes down there.
If I play octave A's (below C4) and let it sustain,
then play octave G's, the notes cut off quicker.

Does not bother me when playing, and overall very happy with my FP-7.

This seems to be a situation that comes up
time and again with digital pianos. Digital
pianos are always going to suspect in
some people's eyes because they are
an emulation of an acoustic piano and not
the "real thing." Some people will
test each and every key as soon as they
get a dp, straining with all their might
to notice any deviation from "perfect
sound." And of course they will detect
slight "defects" in sound, and so they'll
turn the piano in for a new one, which
they immdediately proceed to test in
the same way, again detecting "defects."
After a few times doing this, they'll
either get a refund or finally realize
that there was nothing wrong with even the
first piano. If you bought a new $100,000
concert grand and tested each key like
that, you'd hear "defects" too, but no
one would ever think of testing a concert
grand like that because it's the "real
thing."

Apparently, this testing process can
extend into years, and after years of
playing some people will begin to notice
"defects" that they've never noticed
before. But there's probably nothing
wrong with the piano.

Mines was definitely faulty, and I noticed it during normal playing.

The guy from the dealership I bought it from came out from the shop to test it and he agreed. Most likely something not fitted properly inside which led to extraneous resonance on certain notes was his diagnosis.

But as it was brand new, he thought it best to return it for a new unit rather than crack it open and have a rake around inside.

Gyro,

The FP-7 is not suspect to me, and I am really not all that picky. You should not assume such things. This is a recent and noticeable problem. I am working on a composition that necessitates repeated use of the keys I mentioned. It's a bit of a pain.

I brought the problem here because I was intrigued how the envelope (of 3 consecutive keys) moves slightly depending on which grand piano sample is being employed.

If you wish to insult me instead of dealing with the question, knock yourself out.

Turandot,

Don't fall in to the trap!!

turandot,

I can see where it would be annoying, trying to play up there in those octaves.
Doesn't sound very musical up there.

But probably 95% of the listeners will not hear anything wrong.

And I thnk Gyro is saying .... it will be tuff to find a perfect digital piano or acoustic piano.

Hope that composition works out for you ....

Hi Dannac,

I get Gyro's drift, but he basically ignored the question and used the opportunity to make generalizations that are half-witted (and half-lined ). I'm not that picky when it comes to pianos, digital or acoustic, and my hearing is not super-critical. I've been working around shortcomings of individual instruments most of my life. The last thing I intend to do is put down the FP-7. I think it's a remarkable instrument.

This isn't a question of a lack of optimum performance in the upper range. The twang on one note is something anyone could hear. I verified that by asking my kids to listen to an octave and pick out the note that sounds weird. They passed the test with no prompting from me. The two surrounding keys have a very noticeable thud quality. The fact that the exact key location of the problem changes slightly depending on which piano sample I choose intrigues me. I thought someone here might have a clue. I don't.

Anyway I'll be taking it in for service as soon as I can.

A tradition to be continued this evening and televised around the world...perhaps our esteemed bulletin board boilerplate buddy is relation to Palin?

Hi there,

I bought a new roland fp-7 ten days ago. I've noticed some twangy quality when I play a few specific keys. I attach two mp3 files(rapidshare links), one is just a scale (c scale, two octaves starting at central c) and the other is an excerpt from a Bach composition. Could you comment on the twangy sound, mostly felt in the c above middle c, is this a problem with my device or is it the way the sample was recorded or am I being picky? Maybe it's similar to the problem experienced by you, turandot or glaswegian.
With good quality headphones (I am using altec lansing's im716 in-ear monitors) it should be quite easy to hear.

The samples:

http://rapidshare.com/files/151427532/R_LINE_0001.mp3.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/151427533/R_LINE_0006.mp3.html

I am very pleased with the piano in general, except for this... please comment, thanks!

By the way, I also notice that "the envelope" changes as I change from grand piano to grand piano, and not all the adjacent notes that sound strange have the same intensity in "strangeness".

Javier,

I listened to each sample twice, once with some earbuds and once with a pair of Sennheisers. I thought I could hear something in the higher octave of sample 001, but I may be imagining things. Certainly there is nothing as pronounced as my problem. Sustain seemed pretty consistent too.

I still haven't had time to bring mine in. I will report the outcome when I have it checked.

Turandot,

maybe I am being picky, but I can hear a definite difference in quality between the C above middle C and the samples of the adjacent notes, the rest of the sounds are very regular in comparison. I'll be waiting for your update on your fp7.

Could someone also record a scale with his/her fp7, including the C above middle C, so that I can compare it to mine? Thanks!

I can't tell you much. It's in for repair. I didn't bring it directly to Roland because they told me on the phone they could not evaluate it on the spot when I brought it in. It would just be ticketed with a description of the problem. That made me nervous.

I took it to an independent authorized Roland repair center instead. The advantage was that a tech looked it over for me when I brought it in.

There is one service bulletin from Roland that deals with these types of problems. It involves adjustment of the hammer strike point on the sensor. That didn't work. Re-initialization didn't work either. The tech was sure that it was not a problem with one grand piano sample since the problem could be heard clearly on all three piano samples in almost exactly the same key range. The decision was to replace the keyboard assembly entirely. Roland will supply the new assembly gratis since it's still under the one-year parts warranty. I will pay for one hour of shop time.

I'll report the outcome when I get it back.