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Hi everybody!

First of all I'd like to thank you all, this forum helped me by searching all the threads in narrowing my search for the perfect stage piano down to 2 options: The Roland FP-7 vs the FP-7F.
I think everyone here agrees the FP-7F is well worth the extra 100$ it will cost when it comes out.
But since this new model is announced, I came across a few interesting second hand fp-7's.
They are generally 3/5 or 3/4 of the original price. (So easily up to 700 dollars cheaper)

So here are my questions:
-Is the new fp-7f worth the extra money dollar it will cost? (In comparison with the second hand FP-7’s)
-Is the action on the "old" FP-7 really not that good? I've heard many complaints about the noise it makes... The action on the FP-7F is said to be much better with the PHA-III and ivory feel.
-Will the supernatural sound engine from the FP-7F produce a noticeably better sound than the Fp-7? I’m a student with reasonable piano skills, but I’m not a professional.
-Is buying a stage piano second hand a good idea? I’ve found models from 3 years old, and from 1.5 years old. (The FP-7 dates from 2007, doesn’t it?) I think they’re in perfect condition, but I’d like the piano to last for many years to come.

The microphone connection and internal looper (I don't even know what that is) are not important to me.
If I were to buy the FP-7F, it would be because the sound (SUPERNATURAL sound engine)and the action(PHA-III) are much better. But are these additions (and the fact you get a new piano instead of a used one) worth the extra amount of money? (400-700 euros)

Thanks in advance!

Greetings

Personally I don't much care for the FP-7's action; the updated action (if it turns out to be less thumpy) would be worth it for me.

With that said, I'd bet that most people would actually consider the sound improvement to be the much bigger draw, as the SuperNATURAL sound is definitely a big improvement.

So in short, unless you're pushing your budget or desperately need a piano right now, I'd recommend waiting for the FP-7F.

Aaron

Personally, I wouldn't touch a FP-7 with a 10 foot pole now that the FP-7F has been announced, I almost don't care how cheap the FP-7 is used.

PHAIII is nice to have, and SN piano is technically light years ahead of all other DP sound sources. If you like the SN sound signature then you should be in like Flynn should the FP-7F live up to its potential.

I agree with Deffie and dewster - go for the FP-7F.

Cheers,
James
x

I'm a happy owner of FP7. I'm looking forward to swap it with the new model but it will be long to come, since the price difference is to high at the moment.

I think FP7F will be run around 1800 euro. Too much!

My FP7 sounds very well (pianos, e.pianos, organs and midi GM too!) and the action is amazing. I'm satisfied and not in a rush to change it.

FP-7 is ok, nothing wrong with it. But if you have a choice and finances allow there really is only one option; as others have said - WAIT for the FP-7F. It's got a nice feature set. If they have equipped it with a couple of different SN pianos I think I would choose it over the RD-700NX.

Steve

I've had a play on the FP7 and it's pretty nice. Take away that keyboard and 700SX piano and throw in a new ivory key board and the SN piano and I suspect it's a proper upgrade. It's in my top two at the moment for those reasons.

Thanks for the replies! I had no idea that the differences were that big.

I can afford it and I'm willing to pay a fair amount of money for it, but on the other hand I'm still a student, so it's not that I have plenty of money...

I've played piano for over 10 years now, so I'm not bad at all, but I'm by no means a professional piano player.
I've tried the FP-7, and was blown away by all its features, I also thought the action was good. But I've got no experience in Digital Piano, so I have no other references. I also doubt if I really need the PHA-III and SN engine... But on the other hand, then I also don't really 'need' all these awesome features the FP-7(F) has.. :p

Although the FP-7 will probably fulfill all my needs, I'll wait until I can compare them in a store, because else I might feel myself guilty if I'd bought the "inferior" FP-7...

But 800 dollar extra is a lot of money..

I don't know where you're getting your $800 difference from but it could be there somewhere ???

The SN is quite noticeably different to the old fp7 piano although I say that from trying an upgraded GX In a shop through some little Roland speakers (well, one) versus the FP7's internal speakers. I sort of preferred (and people can knock me for this) the FP4 experience over the FP7. My advice (as this is what I'm offering myself) is to try the FP7 then the FP7f when it comes out. I'm expecting a noticeably different experience. An proper upgrade. If not, then I'm all in for comparing it directly with the Kawai MP6. Or maybe a used MP8 mki.

Yeah I explained in the topic header. I found a few quite good second-hand FP-7's, some of them were up to 800 dollars cheaper than the new FP-7F.

And I read on this forum that there are actually some people who think the action on the fp-4 was better than the one on the fp-7, so I'm not going to knock you for that ;-).
But there's no doubt that the sound from the speakers from the fp-4 is rather poor. That's one of the reasons I would prefer the FP-7 over the FP-4.
Will the new MP6 be any competition for the new, or even the old FP-7(f)?

Honestly, if the FP-7F or RD-700NX play and sound even slightly better than a free spinet from Craigslist, we'll most likely get one or the other.

In this day of almost terabyte sized PC piano sample sets, I refuse to spend significant money on anything audibly looped, and at this point will settle for almost anything that isn't.

So your point being?
That the FP-7 sounds worse than a free spinet? :p
Can you actually hear the loops the FP-7 uses?

Though some are worse than others, I haven't tested a looped DP yet that I couldn't hear the looping. For instance it is quite audible in the Roland RD-700SX "Superior Grand" and "X Ultimate" piano patches. Different DP I know, but those are perhaps representative of Roland's DP looping prowess in general. Download the DPBSD MP3s here and here and take a listen.

Thanks. I don't really think the loops are that disturbing, but that's just my humble opinion...
Can't wait to compare the fp-7 and the fp-7f in real life though!!!