Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Share your Roland FP-7F settings (RD-700NX owners welcomed)

Friends,

We discussed earlier an interest in sharing FP-7F Piano Designer features and overall settings to achieve that 'great' sound we are all after! Even though the RD-700NX settings names and values may differ a bit, I believe the overall intention of the change should be similar enough to be interesting for NX owners to chip in as well.

Also, recently moleskincrusher was kind enough to share some layering options which take the 'not so hot' EPs of the FP-7F to a new dimension, so sharing those here seems like an interesting option as well!

I'll start with my own settings for Piano these days, I reserve the right to change them to better settings as this thread fills with ideas :

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Patch: Grand Piano 1
Keytouch Offset: Medium +7 (this, for me, matches my style of playing to what I can play as pp or ff)
Lid: 4 to 6 (settings bellow 4 seem to 'drown' the piano for me)
Duplex Scale: 2 or 3 (I lowered this setting reading other's experiences and I agree its more 'natural' sounding)
EQ: Factory preset 4 (This is for my Monitors, when recording I turn it off!)
Reverb: 4 (Also for everyday playing, when recording it is off and added in the DAW)
All other settings for me are interesting in their default factory presets.
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I am eager to hear what you have found to be interesting options for best sound and your 'layering' options to compliment the sounds.

Best regrads,
Rafa.

Hello Rafa,

My settings are similar to yours but I also have played around with the stretch tuning to sweeten the sound, particularly in octave 5.

The effect is subtle but when I A/B the preset vs user settings I do find mine to be better. I'll be very interested to hear what you think:

Lid: 5 through on board speakers, 3 or 4 through headphones
Damper Resonance: 3
Hammer noise: -1
Duplex scale: 1
String resonance: 7
Damper Noise 4

Stretch Tuning:

C4: +3.7
Bb4: 0.0
F5: +1.5
F#5: +4.4
Ab5: +7.8
A5: +2.8
Bb5: +4.7
C6: +9.3
C#6: +5.6
Eb6: +5.1

Kind regards

Michael

Thank you for the input Dazed! There appeared to be a lot of interest in this when discussing settings in a previous thread, so I thought more people would be contributing here their own settings.

I believe I have missed in my original post a key information, which is:
WHAT ARE WE USING THESE SETTINGS FOR!

I have entered your setup and would like to know for what type of music do you prefer those settings? My own were mostly set up for my classical playing which involves Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, occasionally Brahms ... never anything newer.

About your settings, I would like to talk first about stretch tuning:

Stretch Tuning: I consider myself a man with a fairly good ear and we have proved I have absolute ear, though more or less poorly trained. I can tune a guitar's E string without any external reference even if it was 2 semitones down and reach the exact E pitch. But that must pale in comparison to your own ears, as I can't, for the life of me, hear any difference between the tuning preset and that of which you described, sorry, I'm not your man for this apparently. The biggest tuning difference there with the preset is, I think, the C4 which moves from -2.9 to +3.7... so I believe that only if I played them both together would I be able to hear any difference, on a chromatic run of the c4 to c7 octave, I cannot hear any difference, very sorry about that.

Hammer Noise: This is the one setting, other than Lid, that has great effect on sound and is less subtle, particularly on C5 and above. The Hammer on +2 kills the upper octaves sound into a thud (which is, nonetheless interesting for certain sounds), but has little effect on lower octaves. I think -1 to +1 are interesting settings to make a more mellow upper octaves to more brittle ones. I like your -1 setting over all for nice warm sound.

Damper Resonance: Here I have a problem with my technique. At one point during my early training I filled with pedaling my lack of technique for legatos... so now I try to not use damper so much so I like the more resonant damper for when needed, though I try to lay off it a bit.

Duplex scale: I am using a lowered 3 value myself, but I can honestly say that from 0 to 10 the difference is very subtle, not sure where I'll end up.

String resonance: I can clearly see the connection between lowering damper resonance and upping string resonance, that would allow a more resonant sound when not using the pedal and a the damper will not drown the sound with too much resonance since the strings have more of it. This two have to work in combo, so its a clever move on your setting.

Damper Noise: Well, 4 is actually the default setting, but since I record midi and playback for final recordings, this has, regrettably, absolutely no effect on my final sounds ... what was Roland thinking? Perhaps there is a way to activate them through midi, but I have not been able to find it. Do the RD-700NX people have the same problem???

Thanks a lot for the input Michael, lets hope others jump into the discussion for more varied points of view. Best regards,
Rafa.

I would add to Rafa's very helpful discussion a further suggestion: has anvone tried increasing Cabinet Resonance?

I turn off Equalizer, reduce Reverb to 1, and increase Cabinet Resonance to 5 or higher. The result to my ears is a slightly hollow and echo-ey upper register which I find attractive (today, anyway!). To me it sounds like a more natural "reverb" than what the Reverb button povides.

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it Rafa, and thank you also for kindly inviting RD-700NX owners to participate!

In order to facilitate the translation of presets between the FP-7F and RD-700NX, presented below are the relevant piano parameters and adjustment ranges of the two:

FP-7F


RD-700NX


If you use the markup escape sequence <code> </code> (but with square braces "[]" instead of "<>") you can pad with spaces to get all of the numbers to align, as I have above. For some reason this isn't an option on the PW post editing page (undocumented feature). This would make the preset stand out in the post, and make it easier to read as well.

[EDIT] Added factory defaults (in parenthesis) for the RD-700NX power-on voice "Concert Grand".

[EDIT2] Added factory defaults (in parenthesis) for the FP-7F (h/t to jmcintyre!).

Rafa, thanks for starting this thread! I should have jumped in sooner - and would have, except that I didn't feel I had much to add to your initial post. My settings are very similar to yours, with a few exceptions as noted below. (To those who've already read these comments in my other thread, sorry!)

EQ: I edited factory preset #1 until everything was at 0dB, then I decreased the Low EQ gain to -4dB (leaving the low frequency at its default). This helps defeat the boominess which I notice especially in my external speakers.

Reverb: I have it turned completely off. I think the decay time built into the SN engine (which doesn't seem to be adjustable) it a bit too long, and the piano sounds a little "ringy" to me even without reverb.

I definitely notice a difference with Duplex Scale lowered to 2. At the default setting I was hearing a rather metallic and artificial-sounding ring when I played loud staccato bass notes (try a C2/C3 octave). This also helps with the overall "ringiness."

I have not experimented much with any of the other settings. Regarding Hammer Noise, I didn't hear much difference across the range when I first played with it, but I think I'll check it again after having read what you wrote. I also think I'll try lower String Resonance values to see how it affects "ringiness," but I'm not unhappy with the sound I'm getting with that at default.

Oh, I'm using only Grand Piano 1 at this point. I'm playing classical music, working on various repertoire from Baroque through 20th century.

Great reference, Dewster! Thanks for taking the time to put that together. Would you consider editing your post to include the factory default values for each setting? I'd be happy to post them later when I'm at the (other) keyboard, but I think it'd be easiest if we could refer to everyhing in one post.

Hi Rafa,



I am still learning the piano and just started to prepare for the Grade 5 exam which I hope to take in Spring 2012. I have chosen pieces by Bach, Liszt and Bloch.

For pleasure I have just about learned how to play Debussy's La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin (a real labour of love as it was much more difficult and advanced to play than I imagined but I learned a lot from trying). I am just starting to learn Ravel's Pavane pour une infane défunte. I am more drawn to classical music from the Romantic and Impressionist periods than anything else.



What is wrong with you? Are you deaf or something?

No seriously, I did say the effect was subtle and I agree it cannot really be heard by playing scales or A/B ing individual notes.

But I can definitely hear and feel the difference when I am playing and especially when listening to the included songs. Try Chopin's Valse (Song 4) with the preset and user settings and see if you hear or feel any difference.

To me the user setting makes the music come alive and at the same time the treble is sweeter and cleaner allowing more details to be audible through the on board speakers. I suspect that altering the stretch tuning has more of an effect on the resonances and harmonics than the fundamental frequency which is why (for me) the difference is more obvious (but subtle) when playing or listening to music rather than single notes.

Kind regards

Michael

Done!

Could someone provide the FP-7F factory defaults so I can put those in too?

Check your PMs - and thanks!

@moleskincrusher, I have been playing with cabinet resonance and I do find interesting for certain 'taste' of tone. I'm still undecided regarding

@Dewster, thanks a lot for jumping in, and thanks for the side by side options so we can speak the same language when talking about the two DPs!

@jmcientyre, I am probably going to adopt your version of the EQ as well, I actually have mine on preset 4 which more or less reproduces your setting but also adds to the middle section, which I am not sure its needed. The odd thing is that, on both my recordings, I actually added a 6 band EQ and actually BOOSTED the bass and treble leaving the mid section intact. Kind of odd, I need to experiment on that a bit. About the Reverb, I do turn it on-off quite frequently. Off for strict classical playing, but for my playing of modern songs for me or friends to sing along, I find it pleasing to have a little Reverb, as well as for the final sound of my recordings, but for that I don't use the built in Reverb but the Waves LR1. Great info on the Duplex Scale as well, as I have not tested it like that... I agree that at 10, there is a crazy high-pitched sound when staccato bass notes are played hard. I agree that 2~4 produce an interesting result as well.

@Dazed, thanks for the info on what you are using it for... that was exactly what I wanted to know... its not terribly different, but I guess those playing the romantic period will favor slightly different approaches than others (like me) going more for the baroque and 'classical' period. I'll try to pay attention to the different tuning presets, but I am affraid I really can't tell the difference

Thanks everyone for the invaluable input provided here.

On the opening thread I spoke about discussing layered sounds as well, specially those aiming to make richer and deeper the EPs sounds, of which moleskincrusher has some fantastic options! I'd like to share a layered sound which, for me is really intresting:


Let me know what you think and what you'd do different, also, try changing the Choir to Aerial Choir (6-001) for a different sound.

Best regards,
Rafa.

Rafa, sorry, but synthesized orchestral effects, not just your suggestion which is as good as any, do nothing for me on DPs. IMO for the most part they sound like a big theater organ (the Mighty Wurlitzer), not real strings and voices.

I wouldn't want to discourage you, though, from playing around with that kind of thing; it can be kind of fun. And as pads such effects are useful.


There's a young Asian guy on YouTube who's done chunks of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake that actually resemble an echoey recording of a symphony orchestra. Don't know how or with what instrument he's done it.

Moleskincrusher... I absolutely agree with you! For such things I really resort to the EWQL Symphonic Orchestra which, IMHO, sounds absolutely incredible! But, for certain mass services when our regulars are a bit thin, I believe the sound can be 'rounded' with some choir+strings background. I wouldn't use them alone, but behind voices and other instruments as guitars or even other piano, I believe they *could* work?

Moleskincrusher, could you please kindly share here your very good Layered EPs you shared on another thread? I believe lots of folks could benefit from that!

Rafa.

Thanks, Rafa, this is a paste from my previous post (remember, all, they're NOT definitive layerings, just works-in-progress):

Celesta (2-011) + EP Legend (6-039) [set Dual Balance: Tone 1 at 5, Tone 2 at 9]

FM E.Piano (2-004) + Vibraphone [6-050) [set Dual Balance: Tone 1 at 9, Tone 2 at 5]

Stage Phaser (2-006) + Pulse Clav. (6-046) [set Dual Balance: Tone 1 at 9, Tone 2 at 6]

Note that since on the FP-7F I can't layer within Group 2, I had to choose counterparts from the GM sounds of Group 6.

Also I have found that adding a bit of Celesta or Vibraphone gives that extra bit of tine-ness to enliven Vintage Piano (2-001), which I believe is Roland's pale Rhodes simulation. A final suggestion -- I like Nylon Guitar (5-001) but like adding Cut Noise (6-239) and setting the Pedal function for that patch to change the Sostenuto to Bend Down and use for grace note effects.

I'll also add my current favorite piano+strings registration: Grand Piano1 and Decay Strings, balanced 9-3.

Hi Michael!

I test your settings and they are better than orginal.
Stretch Tuning was perfect.
Do you know how i can save this settings?

There are also one way to get much more better and smoother Piano sound FP7-F. I was today one music store and someone was leave there amazing settings. but when i compare that in the factory settings i could not find any diffrence between normal settings.

I think they have change Equalizer High gain.

I did not have a time to find it, because they close their shop, i was there like an hour and try to figure what the
( bad word ) they have done. So the access was saved Memory backup so i Factory reset that shops F7 over hundred times and go back memory backup but didn't find the diffrence.

It's easy to reset like that when it's not your own FP-7F

So how can i save my settings with my memory backup.


Best regards
Henkka

Hello, Henkka.

Your piano designer settings including stretch tuning can be saved by doing a memory backup.

1) Press the "FUNCTION" to access the menu.

2) Scroll down to "Memory Backup" and press the PIANO key.

3) Press PIANO key again to execute the memory backup.

4) Confirm your choice.

Edits to the Equalizer settings are also stored when you do a memory backup so when you eventually find the right setting you can always save it for later.

Good luck. Kind regards.

Michael

Hi again Michael!

I find it today page 75 in my owner's manual.

But thanks anyway! I would have another questions:

1) How can i save my Reverb settings?

They dosen't save when i do the memory backup is there even possible to save reverb setting?


2) Is there anyway to disable the monitor?
I mean turn off while i am playing?

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I like your piano sound better!
I really try it many times and i really think your stretch tunning are perfect. Even example the C4 sounds smoother and little softer -2.9 to +3.7.

Best regards
Henkka

HP1988, I don't believe Reverb settings survive power-off. You have to reset Reverb every time you turn on your piano. Annoying, but after a while it becomes second nature.

Same regarding Key Touch and Master Gain. I think you can save Key Touch in a Registration, but unfortunately not Master Gain. I consider this a true design flaw, not merely a limitation.

You can mute the internal speakers with the little switch on the back, but I believe you have to unplug your external speakers to silence them.

moleskincrusher,

What about the screen? Is it possible dissable the monitor?

Yes you can change contrast to very dim but can you turn it off at the same time you are playing?

I hope that there would be a possible to change the screen with computer but not likely.

Screen looks like old fashion in my opinion.

Sorry bad eng.

Regards
Henkka

(Oh, THAT monitor.) Sorry, Henkka, not possible to black out screen. You'll have to cover it with some opaque material. Or you could put a small framed photograph of your cat on it.