In this review, we'll be taking a look at one of the most popular 88-key digital pianos in existence as we review the Yamaha P125. The P125 is the middle sibling of the Yamaha P Series and is inevitably the piano all others in the category get compared to, namely the sub $1,000 CAD portable digital piano category.
We'll cover the usual core features, like tone engine and action, as well as other features and connectivity. We'll also give our opinion on whether or not the status as best seller this instrument receives is truly warranted or not.
With that out of the way, let's get into our Yamaha P125 review.
Piano Background
As we said above, the Yamaha P125 is not just any ordinary digital piano. We are looking at literally the world's most popular digital piano in the $1,000 CAD range. That doesn't mean it's the best, but by judging by statistics from Amazon, it's sheer popularity is not in question.
And really, it makes sense why the P125 has this crown. For one, the price point is comfortable for a wide variety of users and customers. Including hobbyists, college students who need a practice instrument, and parents starting their kids out with piano lessons for the first time.
The P125 is light enough and high enough quality that even some high-level professional musicians use the P125 as an instrument for gigs. Its minimalistic design is unintimidating for newer players.
At the heart of all of this is of course, Yamaha's status as one of the top manufacturers of musical instruments worldwide, with one of the top marketing budgets. Everyone knows that when they go with a Yamaha digital piano or another musical instrument for that matter, they're getting a well-made, good-quality instrument.
All of these combine for a perfect storm that absolutely positions the P125 for success. Let's dive into the sound engine now.
Yamaha P125 Pure CF Sound Engine
The first thing that jumps out from the spec sheet is the polyphony count of 192 notes. 192 note polyphony is a very high polyphony count for the price range and gives us a hint that the sound engine is probably punching above its weight here.
That sound engine we're referring to is of course the Pure CF Sound Engine, which is a sample-based engine based on a recording of the Yamaha CFIIIS 9' concert grand piano. This concert grand has since been replaced by the CFX as Yamaha's flagship concert grand piano, but this is still a very high-quality instrument that's serving as for the main acoustic piano sound for the P125.
Right away we can tell that this is a high-quality sample, and extras like damper resonance and string resonance are really coming through.
We like the fact that the speakers are facing up and back, as this produces a lot of clarity. There's a total of 14 watts of power, courtesy of a 4 speaker system, which includes 2 mains and 2 tweeters.
In terms of other sounds, there are 24 built-in presets in total, including a couple of other piano patches, though the default patch is clearly the highlight as far as acoustic piano patches are concerned.
The Electric piano sounds on here are generally very nice across the board. In fact, we actually think they're a bit better than what's on the more expensive P515.
The organ sounds are highly useable and versatile if used a blended setting, though probably not quite good enough if you were laying down solo organ tracks in the studio.
There's also a very useable string patch, and those are especially hard to find on digital pianos in this price range as the attack and decay is hard to replicate. Synthesizer patches are solid.
Another cool feature is the Intelligent Acoustic Control which automatically EQ's the sound according to the type of surface the piano is on, as well as a table EQ if it's sitting on a table or desk, as well as Sound Boost which as the name suggests, adds extra punch to the sound if needed.
Lastly, we also have to mention the Stereophonic Optimizer which optimizes the sound for when playing with headphones.
Overall, we're pretty impressed with the sound of this instrument. Moving onto the action.
Yamaha P125 Graded Hammer Standard Piano Action
The P125 uses Yamaha's Graded Hammer Standard, or GHS for short, action. This is a functional 88-key action with weighted keys, but it's not the best that you'll get in this price point.
Somebody who's a really experienced pianist and used to an acoustic piano action or more advanced digital piano action will likely find this hammer action lacking.
That doesn't mean it's not a functional action that you can't learn foundational elements on if you're a student, or that it's not usable as a gigging instrument. But if your focus is really on as good a piano touch as possible for the price, you might be left wanting.
It uses a dual-sensor versus a triple-sensor, so it doesn't deliver the same dynamic accuracy and range that you would get from Roland's PHA4 action for example. There's no escapement and it tends to also feel a little bit light, though there are 3 levels of adjustable touch sensitivity.
It also has a highly polished plastic surface on the white key and it's got a bit of a textured surface on the matte black key. The lack of texture on the white keys is a bit of a drawback as your fingers can start sliding across the key if any moisture develops.
The action is probably the Achilles Heel of the P125 but it's by no means a deal-breaker. Of course, just make sure that you have a chance to try it if you can, if action is critical to you, before moving forward with the purchase.
That about sums up our discussion on the GHS action. There's no real issue when playing contemporary music, but when jumping into some classical repertoire, it really is lacking some of the control and some of the depth you'd hope for.
Roland's PHA4, Kawai's RHC, and Casio's Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II are all a step up in our mind.
Features & Connectivity
The P125 has some really nice things going for it when it comes to some of the extra features. For example, it features built-in USB audio interface functionality, as well as some great auto-accompaniment rhythms and discreet 1/4" line outputs.
The built-in USB audio interface is going to be super useful for a lot of people out there as it allows you to connect to a computer, fire up a DAW, and transmit audio information without the need for additional gear.
The user-friendly accompaniment function includes 20 built-in rhythms, the quality of which are really solid across the board. It's not very common for instruments in this price range to include any built-in accompaniment, so this is another plus for the P125.
Other typical features like metronome, duo, split mode, and transpose are all covered as well.
The discreet 1/4" AUX outs are very welcome as it allows you to connect to an amplifier or PA system if you need more juice without having to go through the headphone jack. This is why the P125 is an option for those looking for a gigging instrument.
Other connectivity includes a DC in for the power supply (AC power adapter), 2 headphone jacks, a sustain pedal port (comes with basic footswitch), a 3 pedal unit port, and USB to host.
There is no Bluetooth MIDI or Audio, so you'll need to use the USB port to connect to an iPad, iPhone, or other iOS device to use the Yamaha Smart Pianist App.
You can get a matching keyboard stand with the P125 which, for anyone who's wanting to use that in a home environment, might be worth consideration. It includes basic music rest in the box.
Closing Thoughts
We hope you've enjoyed the Yamaha P125 review - hopefully, it shed some light as to whether or not the P125 is suitable for you or not.
Ultimately, we're left with an instrument with a great sound engine, some solid features, but is lacking in the action department, and while it has huge bonuses like a built-in USB audio interface, it's lacking things like Bluetooth.
You can't go wrong with the P-125, but its status as the best-selling digital piano in the class isn't due to it being a no doubt about it superior option to other instruments in the class.
The Roland DP603 digital piano is an unassuming powerhouse, built for the discerning player in need of a compact instrument with a contemporary design. This instrument is in a category unto itself within the Roland line. It uses one of their top actions, the top sound processor, and the top speaker quality available from ANY product within the Roland lineup. And yet, available for a surprisingly affordable rate, with a stylish cabinet design that keeps embellishments to a minimum.
Product Overview
Roland has been one of the lead innovators in electronic and digital pianos from the 1980’s onward. Many of the approaches to manufacturing and synthesis technology that Roland developed in their early years have become industry-wide practices. They were one of the first companies to bring MIDI recording to people’s homes, and also one of the first to develop a truly life-like piano tone. Roland’s embrace of the entire range of instruments led to the development of the V-Series of instruments, encompassing everything from Accordions to Drums, to Pianos.
Undoubtedly one of Roland’s best value offerings is the sleek, contemporary, and powerhouse DP603 digital piano. The DP series have been around since 2003, and have been highly regarded since their release. It makes use of their latest SuperNATURAL piano modeling engine for detailed grand piano sounds as well as their Progressive Hammer Action Keyboard (PHA-50) for authentic grand piano touch. There's a ton of onboard tech including hundreds of sounds as well as pre-loaded classical scores for playback as well as play-along, and Bluetooth MIDI wireless technology for popular integrations of popular DAW software and apps. Basically, the DP603 boasts the exact same core features as the more expensive HP models, and many of the same features as Roland's flagship LX series, but with a much more minimalist look.
For any modern piano player in need of the conveniences of a new digital piano housed in modern cabinet design for modern living spaces, the DP603 is a perfect match from any angle.
This stylish piano is also available in three stunning finishes sure to complement any modern home – Contemporary Black (matte, dp603-cb), Classic Polished Ebony (dp603-ep), and Polished White (dp603-pw). The Polishes are of extremely high quality – entirely in line with acoustic piano finishes and sure to stand up very well over time.
Action
The Roland DP603, like the FP-90 and RD2000 Roland pianos amongst others, uses Roland’s new PHA-50 keyboard action with a blend of wood components, escapement and a slightly slower, heavier stroke and return to simulate a grand action more closely than the PHA-4. There is significant debate in the industry over which action is more ‘satisfying’… a wholly subjective discussion with no agreement – so our advice is to ensure you’ve tried both so that you find out which action’s mechanical nuances are better suited for your fingers and preferences.
One thing that seems certain is that the accuracy of the MIDI output is excellent and well-suited for studio work should that be relevant. The feel of wood also adds an extra level of authenticity.
Sound Engine
The DP603’s crowning feature, certainly in terms of tonal generation, is its SuperNATURAL piano modeling engine and limitless polyphony when in “Piano Mode”, or essentially it’s top-level piano patch options. This is top-notch technology that few digital pianos offer and provides players with highly realistic sound, and an insane level of detail and editing options that may be intimidating to some, while highly engaging to others. Roland has done a nice job of giving two distinct levels of control, one very basic and obvious with physical controls on the front of the instrument, while the next level of control requires deep menu editing and/or tablet connectivity.
Beyond the piano sounds, the classic sounds such as EP's and synths are also very high quality and deliver over 300 polyphony and in complex detail – all great for either personal playing or professional use as well. The DP603 also features the Headphones 3D Ambience technology, which enhances the experience when playing with headphones.
The DP603 speaker system features a robust 60 watts of power. Where Roland’s like the F140r or RP501 have traditional downward-facing speakers, the DP603 uses a speaker box that is mounted on the lower stand, where the speakers face directly forward towards the player, rather than down and away. We’ve found that this helps to create a sense of fullness around the instrument and improves the efficiency of the speakers.
The DP603 uses Bluetooth Midi connectivity, and through it, the Piano Designer app can be used to manipulate, customize, and save all of your personal piano settings. Tons of fun!
Connectivity
Roland really made sure to outfit the DP603 with a ton of connectivity options. First of all, both Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio are present here so your convenient wireless connectivity options are covered. It's super easy to connect to a smartphone and access Roland's Piano Partner 2 app, among others. The Bluetooth Audio means you can stream your favorite songs right from your iPad or Android device.
A ton of other bases are covered here too; DC In jack, Input jacks: Stereo miniature phone type, Output (L/Mono, R) jacks: 1/4-inch phone type, USB Computer port: USB B type, USB Memory port: USB A type,
Phones jack x 2: Stereo miniature phone type and Stereo 1/4-inch phone type.
Notable Features
SuperNATURAL Piano Modeling
Limitless Polyphony solo playing using ‘Piano’ category tones, 384 note polyphony when playing using other tones
307 Tones
PHA-50 Keyboard: Wood and Plastic Hybrid Structure, with Escapement and Ebony/Ivory Feel (88 keys)
Integrated 3 pedal system with soft, sostenuto and damper
Safety-Conscious Soft-Fall Motion Lid
Conclusions
If you’re a student, hobbyist player, or educator looking for a robust stand-alone instrument without the associated maintenance of an acoustic piano, the Roland DP-603 is going to deliver more bang-for-your-buck than nearly any other instrument on the market. It boasts acclaimed durability, its easy to operate, flexible with Bluetooth MIDI, has a minimalist design, and offers a wide array of high-quality studio-grade sounds. A true heavyweight of the digital piano market.
The latest addition to Casio’s famed Privia line, the PX-S1000 digital piano is poised to continue the Privia line’s legacy of providing an excellent piano experience for the price. With a fresh new design, modern control interface, uncompromising piano touch and the super-slim, unibody case coming in at under 25 lbs, the PX-S1000 is ready for a variety of playing situations.
Casio PX-S1000 Review Video Transcription
Welcome to another digital piano review here at Merriam Pianos. In this article, we'll be looking at the Casio Privia PX-S1000 Digital Piano, a recent entry from Casio with a super slim design. We'll be looking at pretty much everything that anyone shopping in the $1,000 price range for a digital piano would want to know. Casio has been in the music instrument game for quite some time, and while they've traditionally occupied the entry-level segment of the market, they have made some serious progress over the last few years at penetrating more of the mid-range market. The PX-S1000 and the PX-S3000 are two recent efforts that really highlight the progress they've made and how they've been able to gain the attention and approval of people who would normally be looking a a, Kawai, Roland or Yamaha.
Sound Engine:
Let's start with the sound and the tone engine on the PX-S1000 Privia digital piano. The Privia series Casio's have gained a reputation over the last few years for the authentic playability and lifelike piano sound of their AiR Sound Source sample based tone generator, and that is definitely the case here. In this particular example, there's a 192 notes worth of polyphony, which is more than enough for solo piano playing, and the main acoustic piano tone, sounds very thick, rich and complex, with a clear focus on string resonance and damper resonance.
It takes a little bit of getting used to in terms of navigating around the interface. In fact, the first 5 or 10 minutes sitting down in front of 1000 was a little bit frustrating because I'm used to user navigation on modern digital pianos being very intuitive. While this interface is very pretty, and the new top panel design only lights up to show the interface once the power button has been pressed, it's not necessarily the most intuitive. That being said, it also doesn't take very long to get used to, either so I wouldn't let a bit of learning curve be a deal breaker. There's some customization of grand piano tone available through a function here called sound mode, which allows you to select from four types of Hall Simulator, which changes the reverb settings . Another thing worth noting, unlike most other digital pianos or stage keyboards, the PX-S1000 runs with an AA battery power that consists of 6XAA batteries.
In terms of the speakers, we've got a dual speaker system with sixteen watts of total power, and while I wouldn't call the setup here a powerful stereo speaker system, they are quite efficient. The speakers start to get a little bit crunchy when you really push the amplification system, but as long as you're in the 50%, 60%, 70% range, it's a very nice and crystal-clear sound, with a nice dynamic range and no distortion.
When it comes the number of sounds, there's 18 total sounds here. You've basically got your standard array of sounds you would expect here including grand piano sounds, upright pianos, electric pianos (tine and electric reed), harpsichord, clav, vibraphone, strings, and some basic pads. Overall, Casio has really delivered with their AiR sound engine once again.
Piano Action:
The key action on the PX-S1000, the fully weighted Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard, is not exactly the same action that you'll find on some of the other earlier Privia Pianos. The PX-160, essentially the precursor to the PX-S1000, was highly regarded for its action as it was one of the first entry-level price point digital pianos to offer as a full texture on both the black and the white key and feature triple touch sensor controls.
The inclusion of a triple sensor at the price point prompted Roland to follow suit with the FP-10, the second piano in the price point to feature a triple sensor. Interestingly, Casio did not put this action into the PX-S1000. Instead, the action feature here is somewhat devolved as it does not have the triple sensor, and actually goes back to a double sensor. This essentially means that the MIDI output with this action is not going to be potentially or hypothetically not gonna be as accurate as you would find on an instrument with a triple sensor. I've also found some comments around the internet discussing the weighting of this keyboard and the fact that the black key is lighter than the white key and that's leading to some sort of player control issues.
To me, the action isn't the key selling feature of the piano, but rather the piano experience as a whole. The sound of the sample, the customization of the sound mode, the look of the instrument and the feel are all subjective things. I don't think that this instrument is intended for a player with extensive acoustic piano experience or digital piano experience. I think Casio is hoping will be a really great gateway product for somebody just entering the piano market for the first time or for someone whose main instrument isn't piano.
All that being said, the key texture on the white keys feels more like ivory key textures than their previous version on the PX-160 or previous generation privias, so that's a plus. I also think they've done a good job of sort of scaling back how exaggerated the texture on the black key was. I'm not particularly bothered by the dual sensor, and I think many piano players probably wouldn't be either, but it's still something that's important to note. This is still a solid action overall, that frankly I am still reasonably satisfied with.
Features & Connectivity:
Moving on to the PX-S1000 features and connectivity, for starters the piano comes with a nice music rest and basic ac adapter. It also comes standard with a basic sustain pedal, but you can add the optional SP-34 3-pedal unit if you wish. The SP-34 is a floating triple pedal meaning that it isn't fixed a long bar that's fixed to the ground. It's got rubber pads so there is some grip to the floor, and if it's sitting on a shallow carpet, I don't think slipping will be a problem at all for you. The PX-S1000 comes as a slab unit, but an optional designer stand is available from Casio as well.
There's a basic MIDI recorder function, metronome, transpose, the ability to split the keyboard, duet mode and the ability to layer the keyboard. Just a heads up, you will need to consult the user manual to figure out all the different shortcut keys.
One of the quirkiest feature decisions Casio made here was the fact that they included the Bluetooth audio but did not include the Bluetooth MIDI, as the opposite is typically the case for the price point. When I think about the typical user that's going to be using the PX-S1000, it probably does make some sense however because the Bluetooth audio lets you your favorite songs through the piano for easy play along. Since some modern smart phones don't have a headphone jack, some form of wireless connectivity is pretty much essential. Casio also offers the Free Chordana Play for Piano iOS and Android app/Piano app which allows you to view PDF's, and actually turn pages with the SP-34.
In terms of other connectivity, Casio has also included a three and a half-mil input in the event that you don't have a device with Bluetooth audio. There's also two quarter-inch stereo outputs. I always really appreciate when keyboards include discrete line outs because running a line out through headphone jack is not ideal, and you've got two mini-jack on the front for your headphones in addition to those quarter-inch jacks on the back. And then to get MIDI into the computer, you've got your standard USB cable which is a class-compliant USB for a USB port.
Conclusions:
That's pretty much all I have to share when it comes to the PX-S1000. I was super curious about this instrument when it first came out - I liked how it looked, and I've been following Casio's progression over the last five years very closely as they continue to make inroads into this industry. I think this is another solid entry into the Privia lineup, and definitely a worthwhile competitor to the Roland FP-10, Kawai ES-110 and Yamaha P125.
The Kawai ES110 is the latest addition to Kawai’s lineup of high-performance digital pianos. Using Kawai’s exclusive “Harmonic Imaging Technology” with an individual 88-key piano sampling, the Kawai ES110 outperforms every other piano in its class. The Kawai ES110 is also the first Kawai digital piano ever to feature a lightweight, high strength outer casing which gives maximum durability while keeping the weight to under 35 lbs and is also the only model from Kawai to ever sell for under $1000. This is a real breakthrough in digital technology and will allow for a whole new generation of young players to have access to an authentic touch and feel at an exceptional price point. Some of the other unique features on this model include a full weighted 88 key action, built-in speakers, 2 headphone jacks, and a music desk. This piano is also available with an optional designer stand and a 3-pedal system with a real working sostenuto pedal.
Kawai ES110 Digital Piano Review Video Transcription
The ES110 is a keyboard that's been out for a few years on the market, so it is not the new kid on the block by any means. That being said. in a testament to the engineering and the high-quality of what Kawai generally puts out there, this is an instrument that still tops many wishlists, still has a ton of relevance in the marketplace, and is still standing up to even the newest competitors in its price range. Along with the Roland FP-30, the ES-110 is undoubtedly one of the heavyweights of the $1,000 or so CAD price point.
Piano Sound:
Kawai ES110 Portable Digital Piano From a power standpoint, the power supply ES110 boats 14 watts of power consumption which is a little bit of an upgrade from where the ES100 was, the very popular model that preceded this. 14 watts, when it's configured properly and delivered through a solid stereo speaker system as is the case here, is enough to fill a small room. It's more than enough to be able to practice at a hobbyist level on your own without the need for an amplifier, and it provides enough presence that you can still get some bass response and warmth without having to use headphones.
As mentioned above, the sound is very impressive, and it's one of the things that drew me to this instrument initially. For something that only weighs 26 lbs to offer sound this good is remarkable. Lots of gigging musicians use the ES110 as a primary and secondary instrument on stage because of how light it is, and the quality of the tone that you get out of it.
The sound engine driving the speaker is referred to as Kawai's Harmonic Imaging Sound Technology. This sound engine is essentially a real piano sample with some extra synthesis sprinkled on top. The synthesized effects are added on top of an actual sample of a concert grand piano in a concert hall in which has settings that include Reverb, Damper Resonance, Voicing, Fall-back Noise, Damper Noise, Brilliance, Speaker EQ, and Effect On/Off. While this is now considered a previous generation sample set, its still very capable.
The sound engine boasts 192 note polyphony which is more than enough for solo piano playing. The stereo field is full, and there are all sorts of details for the ears to grab on to. There are acoustic piano sounds as well to choose from with variations on the tonal color when switching from various grand piano sounds and upright piano samples as well. The E. Piano sounds are quite nice as well. The Roads sound and Wurlitzer sound are both very convincing. I actually love the roads sound on the ES110 as it's very rich with nice tremolo for it.
The various other tones are quite nice as well such as pads, harpsichord and vibraphone. Overall, there's a nice selection of critical staple sounds that you would expect out of any portable digital piano, but executed at a high level. I would say for a lot of those patches, you're dealing with a professional-grade sample that will be good enough to perform on or I should say record on.
Piano Action:
Kawai ES110 Action
Now we'll shift our conversation to the keyboard action. If you are anything like me and have a need for a really convincing expressive piano action that's easy to lug around, the ES110 has some nice surprises in store. The action found in the ES110 is the Responsive Hammer Compact Action. This is the same action that appears in Kawai's KDP110 home digital piano. You can also think of it as a slightly lighter weight, slightly simplified version of the Responsive Hammer III action, which is widely regarded in the industry as the top plastic digital action currently on the market.
One thing that I really like about Kawai's plastic actions in general is that they all have micro textures on the key-tops. The texture provides a very nice grip that keeps the key-tops from getting slippery or sticky, and makes the action feel closer to an acoustic key action.
One thing to note with the RHC action here is that it doesn't have escapement. For people who are really hardcore classical players, you might want take a look at an action that does feature escapement. Of course, all three of the major brands, Yamaha, Kawai, Roland do feature actions on certain models with escapement, though it depends on the price point.
Features:
The first feature we'll highlight is one that's already come up in this article, but it deserves repeating just how light and easy it is to move this piano around. At a mere 26 lbs, the ES110 fits comfortably under one arm, and won't break your back if you have to carry long distances. This is a really big deal for anyone who's using this for professional use, or for someone who anticipates have to move their instrument around fairly often.
Another thing worth mentioning, despite becoming fairly standard across the board, is the included music rest. This means one less piece of gear to worry about as you won't require music stand to along with the ES-110.
In terms of connectivity, a standout feature, especially given the price point, is the inclusion of discrete stereo quarter-inch audio outputs. I this price range, discrete audio outputs are a bit of a rarity. You get better fidelity without having to use the headphone jacks if you'd like to connect the ES110 to an amplifier or a PA system.
The ES110 has the older five-pin MIDI outputs and does not have the USB. This a little unusual, and I were to say that there's one thing about the ES110 that's showing its age a little bit, the fact that it doesn't have the USB port. However, it does have Bluetooth wireless MIDI, which was not as common when the ES110 was released in 2017. If you're using a modern tablet or even a computer, you can connect the ES110 wirelessly to those smart devices, which of course allows you to use Kawai's software like the Sound Museum or Virtual Technician, as well as other software such as programs like GarageBand, and Logic. There's a whole host of DAW and music education software out there that is all compatible with wireless Bluetooth MIDI and with its dedicated line-out jacks, plus MIDI ports, you'll have everything you need to take the stage.
In terms of accessories, the ES110 is available with an optional matching stand. An upgrade over the common X type stand, the Kawai HML1 stand is a furniture style keyboard stand and is compatible with the Kawai f-350 triple pedal system. With those accessories added the ES110b kind of turns into a more of a home based digital piano rather than just a portable instrument. The standard f-10h damper pedal/sustain pedal supports half-pedaling so you may not need to add the triple pedal, but it's an option none the less.
Last but not least, we should mention that the ES110 has all of your expected standard digital features as well. You can layer two sounds on top of one another, split the keyboard into multiple sections and it also has a basic onboard song recorder. There's of course a built-in metronome as well as transpose function, not to me mention Built-in Alfred piano lesson function and Burgmuller etudes.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Here's the ES110, out for a few years, but the verdict is still absolutely relevant because, for its price range, I would consider this to have class-leading piano tone. It definitely has some of the nicest speakers for its price range, and kind of the technology range. And probably one of the nicest things of all, this thing is super light and very, very easy to pick up and put wherever you want to be enjoying your piano.
So, once again, thank you so much for joining us for another video. This, of course, has been our review of the Kawai ES110. If you wanna hear this instrument just play it on its own, be sure to check out our ES110 playing-only video. I'm not doing any talking, just doing some playing experience on the most popular sounds. And as we said at the beginning, if this is the first time to the channel, we'd really appreciate it if you just click that subscribe button. It helps us to keep making new content, and it keeps you up-to-date on all things piano. We will see you back next time for another video. My name is Stu Harrison. You've been with Merriam Pianos.
Yamaha and Kawai jointly represent the two largest mainstream acoustic piano manufacturers, and have for several decades both been highly regarded for their digital musical instruments as well. In the highest volume digital category, that of the 'under $1000' zone, the Yamaha P125 and Kawai ES110 are frequently compared and both deliver excellent features for their price. It's a crowded field though, with Roland FP-30 and FP-10 and Casio's PX-160 and PX-S1000 also fighting for attention. While both the Yamaha and Kawai have their advantages, they are by no means the same instrument and they deliver different playing experiences. We hope you enjoy this video comparison and accompanying article by Merriam Pianos, reviewed by Stu Harrison.
Kawai ES110 vs Yamaha P125 Review Video Transcription
Hi, everybody and welcome to another comparison video. My name is Stu Harrison and we're here at Merriam Pianos in-studio with the Yamaha P-125 and the Kawai ES110 digital pianos. We're going to be comparing their piano sounds, their electric piano sounds, what features they have, the touch, and the keyboard action that's on them, and of course, all of the extra accessory options. Thank you so much for joining us. If it's the first time to the channel, we'd really appreciate if you did subscribe. It will help you stay up-to-date with all of our new content, so let's get started right away with the P-125 and the ES110.
Sound Comparison:
So, let's talk about the tone on the P-125 on my left and the ES110 on my right. Now, the P-125 is technically a newer instrument as it hasn't been on the market nearly as long as the ES110 has, however, these both continue to stack up really, really well. We know this because if you do a quick sort of Google Suggest, there's people all over the world that are constantly trying to find comparisons between ES110 portable digital piano and the P-125. It's also been requested several times on the channel as well, and so, here we are!
Let's discuss the speaker systems first. The Yamaha is equipped with 14 watts of power as is the Kawai. So, in terms of just the sheer wattage that the amplifiers are rated for, equal between the two instruments. But it's not exactly apples-to-apples; where are the differences? Firstly, on the Yamaha, you have two tweeters that are facing up so that your ear is kind of getting that treble sound more directly. And then you've got two speakers on the bottom providing more of the reinforcement. On the Kawai, you've just got the two speakers positioned along the underbelly, but they are two-way speakers, so they do have a tweeter and a main squished into one speaker box.
So, on paper, it would seem as though the Yamaha has a bit of an advantage because of those tweeters that are facing you because generally speaking, that means you're going to get a clearer sound. Now, what do you actually get in practice? Well, it's definitely a very clear sound with a reasonable stereo image, and overall a pleasant tone. However, jumping to the Kawai, my impression between the two is that the Kawai seems to have a wider dynamic range. And I mean, both in terms of the timbre as well as the volume. But that impression is not likely due exclusively to the stereo speaker system.
We can analyze it precisely by opening up the waveforms in an editor, but the impression is that this is a little bit of a wider palette when I'm playing. So, on the one hand, that's going to make the P-125 a little more forgiving for somebody who's just starting out, but on the other hand, for somebody who is really trying to work on their craft, even as a young student, the Kawai's more responsive keyboard is going to allow you to build that muscle control a little bit better, a little bit faster, a little bit accurately so you can switch back and forth between an acoustic with less trouble. The 88-key piano sampling also undoubtedly contributes to this impression of depth as well.
Now, in terms of the piano tone in your preference, I mean, this is, like, purely subjective. Yamaha has got a really nice satisfying tone to it powered by the Pure CF Sound Engine.
Kawai sounds a little thicker and it sounds a little more complex. I would say that it seems like the sample quality on the Kawai is probably slightly higher based on the EX-Concert Grand Piano sample set, delivered of course through the Harmonic Imaging Sound Technology that Kawai's become famous for. (Harmonic Imaging is Kawai's name for their additive synthesis tech that builds upon a sample with other smaller samples and generated sound for things like damper resonance, damper noise, cabinet and string resonance (not avail on ES110, but on other Kawai models), reverb, fall-back noise, etc).
But this is very, very subjective. So, I don't want anyone to take away from this that I am casting judgment on which one has the more satisfying piano to play. Only you can decide that. Everybody's ear is a little bit different. We're, of course, just here to provide you the goods and let you make the decision at home.
In terms of the level selection of the sounds on the two instruments, the Yamaha has got the Kawai beat. Yamaha comes in with, I think, 24 different sounds available on it. The Kawai still has a very respectable, I think, it's 17 or 19 sounds on it. But I will say this, the Kawai has a wider selection of grand piano sounds. So, it's quite clear just off a few early observations that the Kawai is definitely trying to cater towards people who are going to be using this exclusively for piano playing rather than sort of piano entertaining or kind of hobbyist playing. That's my guess based on what they've focused on.
On the Yamaha, you've got four acoustic piano sounds, four electric piano sounds; organ, clav, and vibraphone strings, and bass. There's the Rhodes. There's the Kawai Rhodes. That's kind of the DX7 sound. Some Hammond B3. So on and so forth. So, you can hear that there are small differences between the two, but both have really high-quality samples that are loaded up on it. And one last point, because there are some people out there who really enjoy knowing this spec, they're both 192-note polyphony which is very high for this price category. I have a feeling this is just going to become the standard in the industry, but certainly, these are, I believe, the only two in the price range that have a 192-note polyphony, so you're not going to run out of notes to play on either one of these instruments. Now, let's move on to action.
Comparing Key Actions
Kawai ES110 Action
Both of these instruments are equipped with very similar actions. Now, this is not to say that they feel exactly the same, but from a specs standpoint, from a quality standpoint on paper, they are definitely worthy competitors. On the Yamaha side, this is called the Graded Hammer Standard (GHS). It's an instrument that does not have escapement or letoff as it is sometimes referred to. And it's got a shiny white finish on the white key and it does have a textured finish on the black key.
It's, of course, touch-sensitive and you've got the heavier notes in the bass, the lighter notes in the treble, something that's pretty standard when you get into this class of instrument.
Now, I've played a lot of Yamaha digital piano actions and I think Yamaha is probably a company that, across its whole lineup, has more diversity in terms of how its actions feel than any other company that I am familiar with. For example, the Kawai actions, whether you're talking about the ES110 or the CN29, ES8 or even into some other wood key actions, they've really gone out of their way to try and make the feel pretty consistent. In the case of the Kawai ES110 it features Kawai's Responsive Hammer Compact Action (RHC).
When I'm playing the P-125 or any of the instruments that have this action in it, it's a nice forgiving action. The edges of the keys are rounded just like the Kawai, so that part I really enjoy. I would say the two things that I don't necessarily like that much about the action is I don't like the super-shiny white finish. I find that that texture is not quite the same feeling I get as when I'm on an acoustic, and there's just a bit of a texture there, something to make my finger just slip a little easier, not so sticky.
The other thing is I like the down weight of the key, but for some reason, it feels like it's not pushing my finger back up quite as much as I would like. So, even though it seems a little counterintuitive to say this, the action winds up feeling a little bit heavy because I feel that I'm actually having to do more work to pull my finger back up again. The repetition speed is good.
Over on the Kawai side, some of the differences are these white keys as I just mentioned, actually have a texture to them, and that's easy to tell because I don't know if the light is picking it up, but you almost get this glassy reflection on the Yamaha, whereas in the Kawai, there's no straight reflection on the white key that's because of that texture that I was just referring to. The key bed on the ES110 feels slightly deeper. And I get a bit of a pop back up, so I find it to be slightly less fatiguing. That may be something that you can actually play with with the touch curves on the Yamaha to possibly, you know, balance out or get rid of that impression that maybe it is a little bit leggy to come back up.
On the Kawai side, because I didn't mention this before the name of that action, I believe it is the Grand Feel Compact or GFC action. So, this is a slightly more basic version than the RH3 that's currently out in some of the more advanced models. This one, like the Yamaha, does not have escapement, and also just a single sensor on this, so that, you know, from an action standpoint, to sum up, these are two instruments that you really do need to just try yourself. You know, I've shared with you my impressions as a player, but of course, everybody's experience is slightly different. And so, if you can, find yourself a showroom that has both of them in there. If you can't, of course, take what I've said with a grain of salt. Maybe it will hopefully, you know, help you to piece together a more complete perspective yourself as you're doing your shopping. Now, let's move on to features.
Features and Accessories
Kawai ES110 Dimensions
So, let's dive into the features. On the Yamaha, there are definitely some very fun, very cool features to be aware of. One of them that really is easy to use and it stands out right away is the rhythm or intelligent accompaniment is I guess sort of the industry generic word for this. And it basically refers to the ability to select a rhythm and then have a few extra harmonic instruments follow you around, accompany you, as you create sort of the sound of a band and it's a ton of fun. So, I'm just going to press the rhythm button, and you'll hear that a standard kind of, you know, 16th note on the hi-hat, and 4/4 rock beat. There's no bass. There's no any other accompanying instruments, but the minute that I start playing, it's going to pick up what I'm doing harmonically and start playing along with me.
And there are quite a few rhythms in there to choose from, and those are easily selectable by just pressing and holding the rhythm button. So on and so forth. So, that is definitely a fun feature. It also has a basic recorder as the Kawai does, and it's got the USB connection out to the computer so that you can wire this up and send MIDI back and forth to the computer.
So, where does the Kawai stand with this? Well, the Kawai does not have the onboard accompaniment, but it does feature a very good selection of drum rhythms. So, if that's something that's critical, the Kawai isn't going to give that to you. You'd have to look at a different option if you were looking for a direct comparison. But what the Kawai does have, what the Yamaha doesn't, is the Bluetooth MIDI which you can use to connect smart devices and make use of a wide range of apps. So, the Kawai is going to make a really great sort of controller companion if you were looking to, rather than have the rhythms be driven from internally if you were going to be using some intelligent rhythms through an app on your smartphone, on an iPad, using iOS or Android, then that Bluetooth MIDI allows you to do that. And of course, you can expand the functionality to literally, you know, whatever the app that you wanted to have it connected to.
The Lesson function on the Kawai is handy for beginners or teachers who have students using the ES110b. Three popular method books are baked right in: Burgmüller 25 (25 Etudes Faciles, Opus 100), Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Lesson Book Level 1A, and Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Lesson Book Level 1B. Basically the books' piano lessons have the repertoire baked right into the ES110 for easy playback. The Kawai also comes with a basic song recorder function.
Aside from the MIDI ports, the Yamaha and Kawai both feature line out jacks as well as headphone jacks, which gives plenty of flexibility for external audio connections. They also both reduce to mono signal when just the left output jack is used...a surprisingly useful feature that almost always gets overlooked. The basics are all here as well, including an easy-to-use metronome function on both units, split (aptly called "SPLIT MODE") and layer/dual mode, transpose, and on/off settings.
So, there are some pros and cons to both, a little light in terms of the onboard features, but very flexible because of the Bluetooth connection, slightly more onboard features over here, slightly less flexible because you don't have the Bluetooth connection. They both have discrete audio outputs out of these things which is worth noting because this is something that many don't. It's kind of a pain. And so, when they both have it, it's a really nice feature. They both come with the music stands, which is also very convenient. They're both fairly lightweight although I think the Kawai might be a shade lighter than the 125 but both quite portable. That's a nice thing.
Pedals & Stands
I'm going to point out one more thing because you may have been hearing this clink on the floor. This is the sustain pedal unit that Yamaha ships with the P-125. You can, of course, upgrade this to a more expensive Yamaha pedal that's a little closer to a real sustain, but we've all seen these. They're a little bit annoying. They're loud and noisy on the floor, and they skate everywhere. You kind of have to wind up taping them down. It would be nice to see this shipping with something that was a little more substantial. Of course, on the Kawai side, this is what's shipping, the F-10h Damper Pedal. So, as a comparison, not really in the same camp. And this, I think, has a retail value of $80 or $90. So, the difference in price between these two instruments could almost be explained away just in the pedal unit that ships with it.
They also both ship with integrated (but removable) music rests. Both of the instruments are also available or have available stands with them (Kawai HML-1 vs the Yamaha L125B), matching stands as well as the Kawai F-350 triple pedal system or Yamaha LP1 3-Pedal Unit. So, on that respect, they're very, very similar.
Conclusions
So, really to just wrap up the difference between these two, and of course, we are going to give you a video where all we do is play these back and forth, but to really wrap up the differences, what we have is an instrument that has probably a slightly more complex piano tone, and a piano action that is a little bit closer to an acoustic feel, but a little bit feature-light however with Bluetooth.
On the Yamaha side, we've got a really nicely conceived instrument, nice clear tone, very easy to use controls on the top with the rhythm, with discrete audio outs but missing the Bluetooth, and maybe a slightly slower or a slightly what's going to feel like maybe a bit of a spongy or a sluggish action at least to my finger. Of course, that's very subjective. You do need to go and try these both out yourself. But for anybody who's looking for an easy-to-cart-around, portable instrument under $1,000, it's really hard to miss these two on the marketplace right now. So, I hope that the video has given you some new insights or at least some helpful talking points to help you sort through all of this information and arrive at a good decision.
So, thank you very much for joining us for yet another comparison video. Once again, we've had the Yamaha P-125 digital piano versus the Kawai ES110 portable digital piano on my right. If it's the first time to the channel, we'd really appreciate if you did subscribe. It'll help you stay up-to-date with all things piano. I hope that you found the video helpful. Please do leave comments as well. We do our best to respond to each and every one of them.
For aspiring pianists, the Kawai KDP110 is a popular entry-level digital piano that offers up incredible value in the form of great keyboard action, grand piano sounds, Bluetooth MIDI connectivity, onboard lesson functions, and premium speaker technology. Dollar for dollar, by far one of the best piano playing experiences on the market in the $1000 range. We've covered it here in a video review & accompanying written article, and we hope you enjoy the info!
Kawai KDP110 Review Video Transcription
Hey, everybody, and welcome to another digital piano review here at Merriam Pianos. My name is Stu Harrison, and in this video, we are going to be covering Kawai's KDP110 digital piano. We are just in love with this instrument. We are talking about the action today, we're going to be talking about the sound, we're going to be talking about the various connection possibilities that you have through its convenient Bluetooth. And, of course, we're going to be doing some playing. Be sure to check out the other videos where all we do is actually play the KDP110, no talking. It gives you a really good sense of what its tones are at home in the comfort of your living room. Thank you so much for joining us, and if it's your first time to the channel, we'd really appreciate if you subscribed. Keep you up to date on all things piano, and we do our best to reply to every single one of your comments. Let's get started right away.
Piano Tone and Sound Engine
So, let's dive right into the sound on this Kawai KDP110. The first thing that's worth noting is that Kawai has loaded this up with their Shigeru Kawai SK-EX Concert Grand Piano 88-note sample bank. This is a big deal. It's a huge sample, and it's a really high-quality sample to be equipping with a digital piano in this price range. And we're talking sort of between the $1,000 to $2,000 piano digital market, which is pretty crowded. So, to load that level of a sample up on the instrument, I think, immediately gives this an edge in some respects, especially for people focused strictly on tone quality. So, it's full 88-key sampling. It means every single note has its own sample that's been recorded on their full nine-foot handmade concert grand in Japan. Really lovely instrument if you ever have a chance to play that on its own. Kawai uses their Harmonic Imaging Technology to faithfully reproduce the sound of a grand piano.
It's sound technology that offers up flexible Virtual Technician functions to control nuanced elements of the tone (like damper resonance, hammer resonance, reverb, etc), more control over the dynamic range through touch curves and voicing. Along the same lines, one of the most interesting KDP110 features is the headphone type settings which allows you to specify whether you have earbuds, closed, or open style headphones. These settings trigger and draw on the spatial headphone sound (SHS headphone sound for short) algorithms that Kawai developed along with Onkyo and is deployed throughout their upper range of digital pianos as well.
The other nice thing about the KDP110 digital piano is that they've equipped it with a 40-watt stereo amplifier, 20 per side, it's got two speakers. And so, you have this really full, complex sample that they've loaded up on here, and it's being pushed through speakers, which are bigger and more powerful than you typically find at this price range. And so, when you're comparing it to instruments like maybe the Roland F-140 or the Yamaha YDP140 series, the bass and the mid-range presence on the instrument, combined with the complexity of the sample, is something that's going to be a really intriguing option for you if you're comparing to one or the other. It doesn't mean that you're going to love the sample, some people find the sample maybe a little bit too mellow, or a little too dark, or too broad. But I love it, and I know a lot of other people who have been quite impressed by the instrument.
Besides the main sample, the KDP110 is also equipped with several other acoustic piano samples, and you can get them simply by going through the sound select button. So, that's the main default one. And you're into sort of an electric piano sample set. And Rhodes. And some Hammond, which I think Kawai has actually done a really great job of for this instrument. And the left pedal actually is already preset to control the rotary function on the Leslie speaker simulator. It's pretty fun. Kawai also has a pipe organ. Again, on a digital, I find... Like, I used to play the pipe organ as a high school gig, so I spent a lot of time, hours, and hours, and hours of my life behind real pipe organs. And, sure, I mean, you don't have a lot of opportunities to modify that sound, but it's a pretty true sound. And we get to the harpsichord. Harpsichord's not a sound that I use that much, but I do know a lot of people in the classical scene where getting a real harpsichord to rehearsal is virtually impossible. Even if you had the money, where are you even going to find one? So, having something that doesn't cost a mint with a pretty authentic harpsichord response is something that a lot of people actually use a lot more than I originally realized, to be honest. And then, some vibes and your string samples. So, you're kind of covering all of your normal basses with the onboard sounds.
To wrap up the sound or the tone of this, we've got the SK-EX sample going through their Harmonic Imaging sort of algorithm. It's 192-note polyphony on the KDP110, which is ample. Lots, and lots, and lots to play with there. And, of course, it's being pushed through a set of very high-quality 40-watt amp and speaker system, 20 per side. So, we'll throw the specs up on the screen so you can check them yourself visually one more time, and then we'll move on to the action.
Keyboard Action
The Kawai KDP110 digital piano has Responsive Hammer Compact II Action (or RHCII for short). Essentially, it's a graded hammer keyboard action. And the really exciting thing about the KDP110 is they've thrown the triple sensor in there. This may be something that's not that big a deal to people, or they may not realize how big a deal that this is, but having the new 3-sensor there increases the accuracy of the MIDI output. Whether you're using this to hook up to a computer, or a tablet for recording, or even just for your own playing within the instrument itself, that triple sensor really does increase the sensitivity and the accuracy of what you're hearing compared to what's going on, since its this sensor that translates downward motion on the key into "1"s and "0"s. And it's something that's become standard on the more expensive instruments in the industry from all of the big players. Over the $3,000 mark, it's a given that you're going to see triple sensors. And most of them over the $2,000 also have it at this point. It's pretty unusual to get it underneath $2,000. And so, I commend Kawai on equipping the model with it. I think it's a really, really great feature. It also makes it far easier to control those fortissimo and pianissimo ranges.
The keys come with a nice little texture. It's not technically an ivory texture like you get on, say, one of the Roland models in this price range, but there is still some grip, and I like the level of grip, it's a very satisfying instrument to play over. It also has a bit of a softer, I don't know, bottom to the action, which I find mimics an acoustic piano a little more accurately than what I'm used to in this price range. So, that's a good thing. So, we've got a really accurate output on the action, we've got a nice texture on the key, it does have the triple sensor as we said. And so, I think it's a well-mated action to the sound engine and the speaker system that we've already talked about. Lots to like there, I think really appropriate for the first instrument for somebody just starting out or as just a nice simple stand-in for an acoustic piano for, say, rehearsal space or, you know, a casual hobbyist player at home. That action is going to feel really nice and satisfying. Best thing, of course, always get to a store, try it yourself, see if you like it. But certainly, I am a fan. Let's now move on to features.
The Kawai KDP110 is equipped with Bluetooth, which allows you to connect certain apps to this instrument that uses convenient Bluetooth MIDI. So, that could be something like GarageBand, that could be Kawai's own apps such as Virtual Technician that allows you to basically take MIDI information in and out of the machine wirelessly, and it's a very simple one to set up and to get going. So, for people who are feeling intimidated by the prospect of syncing this all up with a tablet (iPad) or other smart devices using iOS or android, let me assure you, it's far more simple than you might be worried that it would.
For those without a compatible smart device (or who aren't feeling up to the tech challenge), the KDP110 still comes with the usb-midi connectivity for a hard-wired connection.
Other Functionality
In terms of other functions and features on here, you've got several different modes to split up the keyboard. You can split it in half, you can layer two sounds at once, and that's very easy to do, and you can also split it so that one hand is one tone and the right hand is another tone. It's equipped with an onboard metronome, transpose function, which is really handy, a basic recorder, and it also has quite a few educational features built right into it. You can tell that Kawai has conceived of this as something that's going to work really well in the context of a lesson system. So, all of the popular method books, literally, virtually all of them, have some type of preloaded content that's sitting right inside the KDP110. It makes it easy as a practice companion piece. And especially, if your teacher knows that you have this at home, they may be able to use that and integrate it into their lesson structure for you, which would be a ton of fun.
Built-in Lesson Songs:
In terms of the connections on the piano, we're pretty limited. And this is where the trade-off comes for the price. Yes, we have great wattage outta the speakers, yes, we've got the triple sensor, we've got really fat samples coming out of the SK-EX Harmonic Imaging engine. However, we only have two audio...rather, two headphone jacks out. No discreet audio out, which means that if you plug this into a speaker, the onboard speakers of the KDP110 will shut off. You can kinda get around that by plugging one of these into a headphone and then the other one into a speaker, if you had to do that, which is actually what we're having to do today. But otherwise, it is kinda nice when a keyboard has two separate outs. You're not going to get it in on the KDP110...sometimes you can't have everything.
It comes with a triple pedal system and this is worth mentioning because it's a little esoteric, but for some people, they're going to find this function or this feature really well thought out. They offer what they call the Grand Feel Pedal System, in which each of the three pedals have simulated the same level of resistance as what you would find on an acoustic grand piano. If you are used to an acoustic, you'll know that the left pedal and the right pedal don't have the same tension; they do have different levels of resistance, and then the middle pedal, which is your sostenuto, normally, is quite light. They've simulated that on the digital, so it feels a little more authentic when you're using the three pedals.
The unit only comes in one finish, which is the matte premium rosewood finish that you're seeing here on camera. But it is a pretty versatile finish, I think it's going to work in the majority of situations. It's also worth a mention that it's sturdy construction and unlikely to bust apart or require warranty repair to the cabinet. It also comes with a slick-looking key cover to keep those keys free of dust and debris when you're not using it. And you've got a music stand that can be in the upright position or very, very easy to just fold down.
So, that pretty much sums up everything that we've got to say about the KDP110 from Kawai. A really great piano substitute for people who wanna keep their budget under the $2,000 range. Almost kind of a must-research model, in my opinion, if you can get to a store that has one, and especially if they have one side by side with either a Roland F-140, or maybe one of their RPs, or a Yamaha YDP digital piano make a really, really great comparison. Please be sure to check out the playing video of the Kawai KDP110 digital piano where all we do is play through the instrument's most common sounds. There's no talking, so it just gives you a better sense of the tone.
And of course, if this is your first video that you're seeing, please do subscribe. You'll be kept up to date with all things piano, and any new reviews, you'll get a nice little notification. So, thanks very much for watching, we really appreciate it. We're here at Merriam Pianos. I'm Stu Harrison. We'll see you back for next time.
The RD-2000 is the latest in the RD series from Roland - probably the world's best-known stage pianos of the last 10 years along with Nord's lineup, and a bench-mark for master controllers across the industry. It offers up a dual sound engine, giving full polyphony to it's piano sounds; it has the Supernatural Piano engine and sounds loaded on it; with wave expansion slots, vintage effects engine, 9 faders and knobs to give crazy levels of real-time control in live and studio settings. And if that's not enough, there's both a set of modulation wheels and pitch bender, onboard parametric equalizer, and assignable audio outs through both 1/4" and XLR jacks, this thing is a pure beast and a power tool for keyboardists of all stripes. Stu Harrison, a personal user of the RD2000, sits down for a video review of the machine he plays on sometimes on a daily basis within the professional Toronto music scene.
Roland RD2000 Digital Stage Piano Review Video Transcription
Hi, everybody, my name is Stu Harrison, we're back at Merriam Pianos for another piano review. And today, we're looking at is the Roland RD2000 professional stage piano, an instrument just loaded with controller features, internal sounds, the latest in digital piano research and supernatural technology, and all driven by an action that approaches an authentic grand piano touch. Now, this is an instrument that came out in January of 2017, so it's been out on the market for a couple of years, but still just as dominant, just as impressive. And to be honest, and full disclosure, this is actually the instrument that I professionally used to play on. So, if you detect some heavy personal bias during this review, that's why. When I was at the NAMM Show in 2017, I actually put the order in with Roland literally behind their booth right after I saw the main demo. I was so impressed with the capabilities. And to this day, I continue to be happy with and impressed with what this instrument does, both in studio and on stage.
So, we're gonna be diving into the action, and we're gonna be talking about the suite of features on here, how they've set up the interface, some of the cool things that I really love about this instrument, and hopefully, give you a slightly deeper insight into whether this might be a great option for you at home. If you're a professional, or you're somebody who's just a big sound enthusiast, or, you know, a gearhead, lots to love here on the RD2000 digital piano. So, we're gonna get started right away, thank you so much for joining us today.
The PHA-50 Hybrid Wood Action With Escapement and Ivory Feel
My battle with digital stage pianos generally starts with the action. I would fall into the category of snobby piano players that absolutely insist on action being absolutely as good as it possibly can be. Even if I'm at a 30-minute gig, and, you know, the setup takes longer than you're actually gonna be playing, I still really love having something that's gonna feel like a real acoustic hammer action so I can feel unconstrained by the instrument, I'm just gonna be able to have fun. And so, this has always been something that has been the very top of the list priority for me anytime I've been shopping for a stage piano.
Now, the chronology of what I've owned over the course of the years, just for perspective, I've had Yamaha CP300, I've used Yamaha S90... Is it an SE, or the second edition of it? We've had the Yamaha Motif8, then we've had Roland Fantom X8, and then, of course, now we've got an RD2000. And so, I've had these gigantic, beastly, super heavy machines for the last 20 years of my gigging life, and the action continues to be something that I battle with.
Now, when I play the RD2000, the action was just this amazing surprise. They are using the same action in the RD2000 as what you're gonna get on a lot of their LX, HP, or the DP603 digital piano. So, this is an actual wood core action, I believe they call it the PHA-50 progressive hammer action keyboard. So, you've got a nice texture on the top, you've got a wood core action in the middle, it's got escapement, but it's a real pleasure to play this instrument. The ivory feel white keys, and the ebony feel black keys are lovely to the touch, and the keys - I can personally attest to this - are certainly built to a rugged durability.
And so, I do a ton of work on here where I have to go into studios where there's no piano, this really allows me to be quite expressive even when you're doing subtle solo stuff. Obviously, out on gigs it feels immediately comfortable, it's not overly heavy, but, you know, I can play three, four hours on this, no problem. There's no fatigue like you get on some of the heavier stuff, like some of those Yamaha CP300s were just really heavy actions. Players out there will know exactly what I'm talking about.
So, first thing you're gonna notice, if you're like me, is that this action is super, super satisfying. The PHA-50 Keyboard is a true hybrid key with the wood core. It's got a great, sort of, a dynamic weight to it, static weight to it...whether you're playing an acoustic piano, whether you're doing some Rhodes stuff, it has a very, very natural feel.
V-Piano Tone Engine the Piano Sound Engine
In terms of what it's loaded with, from a sound standpoint, there's obviously lots of options to get expansion boards and expansion sounds on this, but right out of the box, it is equipped with two independent sound engines, the SuperNATURAL piano engine and the V-piano engine (for full-keyboard polyphony) which is great. And there's also quite a bit of modeling going on. So, even for the piano, and for the Rhodes (or any of the other classic electric pianos its loaded up with - and there are many), for the organ, any of these, like, core sound machines, what you're gonna notice is this has got tone designer on here. So, this is very similar to, like, the Virtual Technician.
So, if I'm just on piano tone, or the default "stage grand", and I hit tone designer, I immediately get piano designers and option, and this is where I now have the option to start editing the lid, the height of the lid, string resonance, damper resonance, hammer noise, duplex, key off, cabinet. I mean, it's pretty extensive what you have to work with, and that's before you even get into any of the effects processing.
So, as an engine, I would give this top marks in terms of being able to edit and create a really authentic acoustic piano tone without getting into any of the effecting, just the core piano engine, lots of good options as well. Out of the box, as I said, they've got a lot of the supernatural and the piano-influenced programming, lots of great presets, deep concert.
So, you can hear all sorts of different textures coming out of there as I'm flipping through a lot of the, sort of, their core presets on the piano. They've got a lot of great presets when it comes to the vintage stuff as well. So, if we go into tone designer, and on the vintage stuff, you've got hum noise, mechanical noise, mechanical key off, sound lift, lots of great stuff that you can play around with there as well.
Additional Sound Banks
The second supernatural engine provides an onboard sound suite which is plentiful - over 1100 quality sounds, and some exquisite recreations of some of Roland's most famous synthesizers and keyboards from the past, like the MKS-20, or the Boss CE-1 Chorus. In terms of the quick select, you've got all of these tones organized into sections. So, you've got your acoustic piano section, your electric piano section, your clav organ, we're gonna talk about that in a second, strings, pad, bass, and then other. Well, the other is as big, or bigger, as the sounds which are preset. And so, there's ensemble sounds like ensemble brass or ensemble strings, solo brass, woodwinds, flute, sax, recorder, synth lead, polykey, synth sequencing pad, pulsating beats, hits, sound effects, percussion, all of these are categories that have, like, 15 to 20 sounds in each.
So, just a massive onboard sound library for you to work with. This is great for people who are gonna use this as a sound source within a studio. What I wind up using this for more is as a live instrument, of course. This huge bank of sounds means that you can create a wealth of presets that are gonna be just perfect for exactly what the application is that you're looking for. So, if you're looking for a specific synth sound to go along with some MJ tune that you're playing on a gig, or you're looking to really, really tweak some, kind of, deep, you know, synth-y bass thing without having to get into hardware, you can actually use this to do it all yourself.
Virtual Tone Wheel Organ Module
Now, I said I was gonna come back to the organ. So, we've covered action, we've covered acoustic piano, electric piano, let's talk about the organ for a second. Because this is something that I think Roland is very aware that most keyboard players on gigs are called upon to pull out some B3 stuff now and again, and I think they've really made a cool attempt to integrate some design functionality into the Roland that brings the organ experience up a notch. Essentially, the RD2000 has a virtual tone wheel organ emulator built right in, as a discrete sound module - and it's convincingly done. And so, if we click on the organ and we start looking at these presets, they've got eight great presets, but all this is really working off, kind of, like, a virtual organ instrument. And so, with one hit, the key, we're just gonna pull up the harmonic bar, those slide bars... And I know Lee's gonna grab some footage of this later so that we can see exactly what we're talking about. We've got nine independent tone bars, just like you're gonna find on a B3, and this is entirely in real time, customizable tone bar. So...
And you've got your little toggle wheel over here which triggers the Leslie. And so, you've got all of those things, you can save them as presets, or as I said, this comes equipped with all sorts of predetermined sounds that you often hear out there. So, the organ functionality down here is great, that's another thing that really appealed to me.
Now, once you start creating your own programs, or setting up a gig, and this is where I think the RD2000 digital really shines, is a couple of key differences, approaches, not sure what the right word is, but the control interface is so intuitive, you don't wind up having to spend eons digging through menus. I really, really love the fact that you've got mixer, sort of, fader bars to manage your different patches within a program. Easy on/off buttons immediately overtop if you're trying to activate or deactivate a particular patch, easy selection of those zones. And then an entire control surface, which makes it very, very easy to get to your standard envelope controls, like your pan, your reverb, cut off, resonance, tack, release, all of that. The Keyboard setup flows well, it's easy to select different key ranges and assign them to the zones, the scene function is easy to use for gig setup...it's a candy store of modern controller features.
Assignable Controller Functions
You've got an entirely assignable set of controls. So, if you're hooking this up to a computer to use soft synths and other software instruments, external sources, or just as a midi interface, this has every widget that you'd expect out of a master controller, and everything you'd need to control a mobile daw or even a daw-studio setup. If you've got an auto-detect functionality within your system, you can just quickly go through and assign these knobs to any parameter you want within a, sort of, a laptop, or something like that. The LED indicators help for accurate settings and use within a darkened live setting.
You've got an EQ that's right here in a low-mid-high with sweepable mids and sweepable lows, and sweepable highs. So, you've got a full parametric EQ, as well as a 3-band compressor. And then, of course, you've got a separate reverb delay engine. Now, on top of all that is two independent physical sound processors in there. And this is where this thing just, like, blows anything out there, that I'm aware of, out of the water, for just ease of use and high fidelity sound.
There are also two assignable modulation wheels and a traditional pitch-bend that Roland's are normally equipped with, just in case you didn't have enough control surfaces!
We've got something called zone effects. Now, so, these are independent sound effect engines which you can apply to your first four patches within a program. And so, you've got modulation effects engine, which is very easy to pick, and then you've got a tremolo effects engine, which is also easy to pick, plus, an amp simulator on top of that. So, if you want to take something like a vintage 1975 EP, and you wanna add a little bit of amp, kind of, grunge to it. So, we're gonna pick...we're gonna turn the amp simulator on.
That's the clean. So, that's very easy to get to, and it's super easy to save either in its own program or scene, which is something I'm gonna touch on right now.
So, we've got independent effects which you can apply to the first four assignable zones, tons and tons. I mean, way too much to get into a review, but you just got to play around with it. Then you've got full assignable controls, avlo [SP] controls, reverb, and EQ, very, very easy, nice tactile ways to quickly edit those on the fly within a gig. We've got the fader bars which can be used to mix a program, internal and external sounds, also functioning as tone bars for the organ stuff. Very easy access for your patches over here, which is great. Some basic playback of audio through the USB.
Live Sets / Scene Functionality
So, let's cover one of my favorite things about the RD2000, which is scene functionality. Now, when are you gonna use this? Realistically, live performance is where this is gonna come in the most handy. Let's say you get called for a gig, or a show, or anything where you're gonna have to be doing quite a bit of quick changing between programs and patches, you've got 2 sets, 3 sets, and you've got 15, 20 songs that you're gonna have to create some fairly layered programs for, specific sounds that the MD wants, whatever it is. Yes, sure, you can take a fresh 20 programs, build the whole thing so it's nicely in order, or you could do what the RD2000 has intended, which is to use the scene functionality. So, this is how it works.
Essentially, as you pull up a program that you've built for another show, or it doesn't even matter what order it is, you're tweaking it to just be perfect for this show, and you're like, "Okay, that's gonna be song number one." Well, you pick a scene bank, let's say, bank zero, bank one, wherever you've got a nice, fresh slate, and you're gonna say, "Okay, that's scene number one, bank one." And that basically becomes the first tune of that set. And that's literally the press of two buttons and it immediately takes a snapshot of everything you've just setup and it saves it all to a single button. That is a huge time saver, massive time saver for setting up a gig, because then you can also have a pedal which simply advances through your scenes. So, as you're going through the sets, it's like, boom, scene one, boom, scene two. It's really phenomenal, this has saves me hours, and hours, and hours of time in setting up for gigs.
Scene functionality is available on some other instruments, but I've never seen it quite set up, like, as easy and as straightforward as on the Roland, that captures as many parameters as the scene function captures on the Roland.
Features: Ports & Connectivity, Keyboard Stand
The RD-2000 features a suite of options for wiring into virtually any professional setting you could imagine. That includes being able to use it as a USB Audio Interface (whah!?!), running balanced XLR outputs without the need for DI boxes, independent 1/4" main outs and sub outs for ultimate flexibility, USB type A and USB type B ports for firmware updates and expansions, and of course the requisite ports for headphones.
The RD-2000 also is available with a matching stand, similar to the V-Piano, although a good Z-style from Profile or Hercules also does the trick quite nicely. In terms of portability, it's surprisingly mobile...not light by any means, but I've lugged far worse around in the form of a Fantom 8, or a Yamaha Motif. It's manageable and totally usable for regular gigging.
The piano comes with the DP-10 damper pedal, which is sturdy and highly usable. But if you want more foot-triggers or a true 3-pedal playing experience, the RPU-3 is also compatible with the RD2000.
Overall Playability
So, just to sum it all up, the RD2000, as a digital stage piano, for me, delivers virtually everything that I look for in a stage piano. As I said, this is what I've been using personally, and will even maybe throw in some footage of me using this on a couple of stages around town. It's delivering a great action, we've got a scatement with ivory touch on top with a wood core, it feels very authentic. You've got V-piano technology in here with plenty of parameters so that you can get a really nice, clean, customized acoustic piano sound. Really great electric piano engine as well to cover both the vintage-y stuff as well as the '80s and '90s stuff. Some great, like, you know, DX7 sounds in there. Clav. We've got the organ functionality, which has been really well considered with your tone bars. And then, of course, overall, we've got over a thousand tones packed in here right off the shelf. Easy program creator with the mixer functionality. We've got nice, intuitive physical controls for your envelope, your EQ, your assignable controls. And of course, it's in a really, kind of, a cool package. I love the look of the instrument, and even though it's not the lightest machine, it's probably one of the lightest stage pianos that I've ever had to lug around anywhere.
So, if you're in the market for something like this where you're gonna need onboard sound, you're gonna need a really great action, and potentially something where you're gonna be using it both on stage with also some studio use, give the RD2000 a chance. Head into a showroom somewhere, or, you know, a music shop, and sit down, experience it, play it, have fun with it. And, of course, please leave me some comments, let me know what you thought of the review. I hope it's been helpful. Good luck with your shopping, and we'll see you around next time.
