Roland Digital Pianos

[wj]

With alot of help from my friend donjuan on here I was able to narrow down that I want a roland digital piano to replace my upright(out of shape for many years) I'm fairly new to this forum but i would like to know some opinions regarding the roland pianos with the "escapement" feature which is on the HP-203 and 207 models

I started to lean towards this line up because of this feature but the pedals are also built in to these which i like since they are sensitive to angle.

The 203 is roughtly 2400 and the 207 is roughly 3700 the 207 features "ivory feel keys" but the 203 and 207 have that escapement feature which seems to be the "aftertouch" everyone here talks about.

I'm wondering if it's worth it to buy the piano for the escapement feature on the roland because I am looking ot mainly simulate the feel of an actual piano.

if it's not useful then i will probably just stick with the FP-7 series which is about 1900ish.

If anyone here has experience with these pianos and can offer some good insight which will help me make an informed choice I would appreciate it. Let me know your thoughts and opinions on these pianos and thier features.

[bench warmer]

Lots of people on the Digital Forum  w/Rolands here:
https://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/forum/6.html

Use the Search Function first when you get there, your question(s) may already be answered.

Good Luck

[wj]

Well I'm mainly wanting to know 2 things which i coulndt really find an answer for on that forum the first one is
What does the escapement/aftertouch feature do? like what will i be able to do with it and is it worth having?

the second is
Does anyone have experience with these features i know that the older Roland HP-107 had it from what i read but i would like a more indepth answer, if it's something even worth having on a digital piano

[pianolearner]

Well I'm mainly wanting to know 2 things which i coulndt really find an answer for on that forum the first one is
What does the escapement/aftertouch feature do? like what will i be able to do with it and is it worth having?

the second is
Does anyone have experience with these features i know that the older Roland HP-107 had it from what i read but i would like a more indepth answer, if it's something even worth having on a digital piano

I think I can sort of answer the questions because I remember asking the same thing about escapement.

I believe aftertouch is a feature that most Roland sythesizers have. That is when you press down a key and whilst it is down you can add vibrato and certain other effects by pushing down on the key a little harder.

Escapement (and double escapement) has (from memory) something to do with not having to completely release a key before pressing it down again to make a sound. This is intended to mimic some real piano actions.

[pianolearner]

Found some definitions:

Double escapement / double repetition

The modern type of grand piano action. The mechanism enables a repeat note to be played, with full control, after  allowing the key to rise again only a minimal amount.

 

Single escapement

The normal mechanism of the upright piano action, and some obsolete types of grand piano action.

 

Escapement

A mechanism by which the hammer is set free from the rest of the action pushing it towards the string, just before it strikes the string. This enables the hammer to bounce naturally off the string, rather than blocking against it.

The aftertouch I spoke about is correct.

[wj]

What i dont get is if that escapement simulation on the roland is actually someting that helps you do it, or if it just simulates the feeling

[pianolearner]

What i dont get is if that escapement simulation on the roland is actually someting that helps you do it, or if it just simulates the feeling

I would say that there is a greater than 99.9% probability it just simulates the action. Digital piano's have what they call Graded Hammer Action. Where the low register keys are heavier than the higher register keys, just like a real piano. The only thing some digital piano's do to help you play is light up the keys you need to play.

[chillout]

The roland pianos that you talk about do not have aftertouch.Aftertouch is nothing to do with a digital piano.The escapement is only felt on the keys when playing chords very softly.What you feel is like a bit more resistance about half way down in the key stroke just like you would on a accoustic.
If I was choosing a digital piano it would have to be either a Roland 207 or Kawai Ca91 or Yamaha Clp 280.All have Ivory feel which I think is the next best thing to owning a grand.

[wj]

but is that escapement feature worth it to have is what i'm wondering about... i'm not too picky about the ivory keys, i really dont wanna spend over 2500 on a digital piano. between roland and yamaha i'm not too sure, but i did try both and i kinda liked how the roland sounded in the heavier register, it had a wonderful sound and they have like 2 zone pedals apparently... then again i'm not too sure what the better choice would be. any insight is gladly appreciated

[tanocsi]

These are mostly digital stage pianos, but you might want to take a look at them.    I own a Roland RD-700SX (with granded hammer action) which acceptably imitates piano hammer action, better then most digital pianos, or any cheap upright/grand. The touch and keyboard action reminds me of a Steinway. However, probably the best digital piano
on the market is the Clavia Nord Stage 88 (though I'm not so sure about the keyboard action).

Yamaha P-70/70S ......................................................................600$
https://www.yamahasynth.com/products/p70/specifications.html

Yamaha P-80 (MIPA) ……………………………………….1100$

Yamaha P-90 ………………………………………………900$
https://www.yamahasynth.com/products/p90/specifications.html

Yamaha P-120/120S .............................................................
https://www.yamahasynth.com/products/p120/specifications.html

Yamaha P-140/140S ……………………………………………1200$




https://www.yamahasynth.com/products/p140/specifications.html

Yamaha CP300 .......................................................2200$ https://www.yamahasynth.com/products/cp300/index.html

Yamaha P250 (MIPA)..........................................................2000$ https://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,,CNTID%253D15249%2526CTID%253D205800%2526ATRID%253D20%2526DETYP%253DATTRIBUTE,00.html




Kawai ES4 ..............................................................1800$ https://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/es_4spec.html

Kawai CA-X ........................................................... https://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/ca_x/ca_xspec.html

Kawai MP4 .............................................................1100$ https://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/mp_4spec.html

Kawai MP8 .............................................................2000$ https://www.kawaius.com/main_links/digital/mp_8spec.html




Roland FP2 ..............................................................1300$ https://www.roland.com/products/en/FP-2/specs.html

Roland FP-5 ............................................................1500$ https://www.roland.com/products/en/FP-5/specs.html

Roland RD-170 …………………………………………………………….900$ https://www.roland.com/products/en/RD-170/specs.html

Roland RD700SX ....................................................2200$ 1800$ https://www.roland.com/products/en/RD-700SX/specs.html

Roland RD700 (MIPA)........................................................ 1500-1800$ https://www.roland.com/products/en/RD-700/specs.html




Kurzweil SP88X .....................................................900$ https://www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com/products.html?Id=356

Kurzweil K2600X(S) ..............................................2800$ https://www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com/products.html?Id=351




Korg SP250 .............................................................900$ https://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no=SP250&category_id=1

Korg SP500 .............................................................1300$ https://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no=SP500&category_id=1

Korg Triton Extreme 88 (MIPA)………………………………………………….2300$ https://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:WstyAJgtyJUJ:www.zzounds.com/item--KORTRITEX88+korg+triton+88+price&hl=ro&gl=ro&ct=clnk&cd=1

Korg Oasys (MIPA)…………………………………………………………………10000$ https://www.korg.com/gear/prod_info.asp?A_PROD_NO=OASYS




Clavia Nord Stage 88 (MIPA)..............................................3300$ https://www.clavia.se/products/nordstage/technical.htm




Casio Privia Px300 (hammer action)………………………………….700$ https://www.priviapiano.com/products/PX-300/content/tech_specs/

Casio Privia Px310 ……………………………………………..700$ https://www.priviapiano.com/products/PX-310/content/tech_specs/