Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards THE RD-700NX Thread!

I've heard through various stores in my town that the central Roland hub for northern europe is in Denmark. And they get them around the 20th of november. Local retailers a little after that I expect.

Got it from Sweetwater.

Same here. Should probably give my salesperson a call and see if there are any definitive dates yet...

The RD700-NX previewed in Sound on sound december issue: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec10/articles/roland-rd700nx.htm

Could anyone who's read it relate the gist of what's in there?

OK, sucker born every minute, I paid for the PDF and just read it. Only 7 pages, the last page is a full page ad for SOS, and what you can see in the free preview is the first ~1.5 pages.

He loves the first AP voice and says it is up there with Ivory II! But then he says the Nord Stage EX pianos are possibly better, which is confusing.

You have to turn it off to insert / remove the USB thumb drive, blea.

Here's the killer: he says you can't record the audio while playing back a MIDI file on it. OMG!

[edit] OK, maybe I got that last part wrong, the wording is rather vague. He might instead be saying you can't record your playing to a MIDI file. Either way, if you can't Play => MIDI => WAV, I'm not sure this is the DP for us. Quite disappointing.

[edit 2] I just scoured the NX manual and it seems there is no MIDI file recorder in there, just a MIDI file player. You may be able to do MIDI => WAV, but you can't do Play => MIDI.

** Still works with midi out -> sequencer I pressume. Confusing article seems rushed really (the little I read).

Oh sure, but then you need a PC near the DP, something I was sincerely hoping to avoid. If I'm going to need a PC to record it, I might as well leave it there and run Ivory or Pianoteq. What on earth are DP manufacturers bringing to the table these days that I can't get elsewhere cheaper and infinitely better?


I agree. I would guess 90% press release, 10% personal experience. Not really worth my $1.50.

Dewster did the article mention anything in the way of the action and how it feels? Lately I've been really pushing my GXF hard, and have noticed some sluggishness in the action. Is this something the NX with its PHA III action will benefit resolve since it has the third sensor?

On a side note, I had my buddy (and piano teacher) Joe Davidian, who is an amazing jazz piano player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_QxjjZBI0 comment on how great of a sound the RD700GXF had. And to sit back and listen to someone his caliber play it, I fell in love with the SuperNATURAL piano sound all of again. I had the NX on order, but canceled it because I wanted to wait to play one to make sure that the $2500 was worth it. If the action and AP sounds are a noticeable step up from my GXF, I may make the leap.

He said he could could only feel the escapement when playing lightly, which he thinks is correct. He also said the white keys are more textured than the black (which is no surprise: fake ivory vs. fake ebony) but he says there is more friction on them because of it, though that isn't a problem.

Nothing I could find about playability or quick replay. The article is disappointingly short.

Perhaps you could seek out another Roland with PHAIII on it? I'd be interested in your take on the differences.

Very nice player, I was checking out some of his other vids. The trio sounds good too. Jarrett influenced among others, young guy too. Excellent.

Good to see there's a little scene going in a place known more for another thing.

Definitely. I've played extensively on the V-Piano, and I really can't pinpoint it, but the connection between the action and sound is much better than my GXF, so I'm wondering if I'll be as impressed with the NX. Unfortunately I haven't read many who own/played the RD700GXF and have played many PHA III Ivory Feel actions. Those who've played the standard GX and played say the HP-307 didn't seem that impressed and felt that the actions on the HP-307 isn't the same PHA III on the V-Piano. What is it with the V-Piano??? When the NX hits the local show rooms, I'll be there playing it, and I'll report in.

Thanks Dave. He's a talented guy. I think he's 30 now. We've got a decent little jazz scene here, and a great Jazz Workshop www.nashvillejazz.org which is a gold mine for us jazz players here in town.

Maybe it's that crazy dedicated adaptive keyboard processor Roland put in there. The concept always spooked me a bit (who wants the response shifting around without explicitly changing settings?) but according to you (and many others) they apparently nailed it.


I look forward to your reactions!

I've owned V-Piano, HP-307 and RD-700GX(F)...

PHA-III is what it is. I'm bored of the conspiracy theorists that seem to think Roland are fitting different actions in each of the pianos but calling them all PHA-III. Get real folks and think about the world of (relatively) mass production. PHA-III is PHA-III, simple as that.

I liked PHA-II with ivory and escapement. I think it is a very nice action...subjectively to me just as nice as PHA-III. But, PHA-III is quicker, no doubt about it. Whether it is mechanically quicker or just electronically quicker (the third sensor) I don't know but it will play repeated notes like lightning. And the feel of all actions is strongly influenced by the chassis/structure they are fitted into. HP-307 is conventional console DP construction, RD is metal and plastic stage piano, V-Piano is mainly metal and weighs a ton etc.

Zac, if you feel that the connection between (PHA-III) action and sound is better on the V-Piano than HP-307 then welcome to the club. The connection between player and sound is better on the V-Piano than ANY other DP...in this respect the V is uncannily good and very piano-like. That is why pro musicians who just want to play tend to gravitate towards the V-Piano...they don't over-think it like us DP anoraks, they just revel in the organic and satisfying connection they make with the instrument. But this is the result of the V-Piano's radically different tone generation and is nothing to do with it having a different PHA-III keyboard.

All we can do is wait to see if the NX will have different tones to the GX(F) and/or HP-307....but it won't be a V-Piano. For those interested in a DP's sonic fidelity to a real piano, SN is a better bet than the V-Piano...whilst I will always praise the V's playability (and I miss this very much), I could never live with the way it sounds again.

Cheers,

Steve

Someone on Rolandclan claims to have received his... anyone see any movement on theirs? Tired of waiting

My Sweetwater contact says they will be in early rhis week & shipped out immediately.

Was just over reading Rolandclan forums and one of their users who owned an RD700GXF got a chance to play the RD700NX and said he sold his GXF and is replacing it with the NX. I canceled my order for the RD700NX with Sweetwater before, but just talked to my contact there and he was offering me the NX at $2399 (they're now at $2599), obviously free shipping, plus if I don't like it, or don't feel it's worth the upgrade, I can send it back at their cost after 30 days. Sounds like a win/win. I may go ahead and re-order it. He said they are getting 28 RD700NX's in by the end of November, and have sold 12. What to do, what to do!!?? Will go nicely with my RPU-3 that's on the way as well.

That's promising.... hoping it will be today like these guys: http://www.gearnuts.com/store/detail/RD700NX

EDIT: Yay! Sweetwater says In Stock too

Just got an email from Sweetwater. The NX has arrived in stock.
Whoopee! My salesman from Sweetwater just called me & said it would be shipped out today & probably be here Friday.

I think I'm gonna go ahead and order the RD700NX, and give as comprehensible of a review between it and the RD700GXF I currently have and report in here. If the NX isn't enough of an improvement over my GXF, I'll send it back to Sweetwater at no charge to me (within 30 days). I may be only guy on here who will have both GXF and NX temporarily to compare the two. I'll be comparing action and sound, particularly the SuperNATURAL sound engine of the NX vs the upgrade SuperNATURAL card of the GXF. Also I'm gonna play some demanding classical stuff and run some fast bebop licks to test the speed of the action. I'll test the sound focus feature, as well as mess with the EPs. I don't really care about MIDI recording capabilities. That's not really why I'm buying a stage piano. It's mostly for the most authentic piano/EP (if even possible) experience in a portable unit. If I can, I'll upload a photo of the two keyboards. Stay tuned!