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

Not that I hate the SN sound or anything, but I've listened to other videos where the difference is less pronounced. Not sure what's going on there, it seems the stereo image of the non SN piano is quite a bit narrower, more mono. And the audio quality in the video doesn't seem the best.

I think there is a significant difference tonally between non SN and SN. But I guess you could actually prefer non SN if that particular sound rings your bell (I quite like the Superior Grand on the GX) but you would have to tolerate the issues that SN was designed to address such as looping, audible velocity switches etc. But SN is also about playing, not just listening. The connection between keys and sound is very good - not V-Piano territory - but very good nonetheless and in this respect it is quite a bit better than the non SN voices.

Steve

The above video makes them sound like night and day, but in this one the difference is much more subtle:

[video:youtube]kcFxnqpbqbQ[/video]

The tone seems largely the same, though he does seem to have more control over the dynamics with the SN voice. I guess he's playing a lot of notes rather quickly with little variation in touch, which doesn't showcase the SN advantages all that well.

Is there something going on between these videos in terms of which presets they are actually comparing?

In the Polish video,
- SN -
"One Touch" = off
"Expansion" = A
"Tone Select" = piano
- non-SN -
"One Touch" = off
"Expansion" = off
"Tone Select" = piano

In the Expressive vs SuperNatural Grand video,
- SN -
"One Touch" = piano
"Expansion" = A
"Tone Select" = piano
- non-SN -
"One Touch" = piano
"Expansion" = off
"Tone Select" = piano

Why is the "One Touch" always "off" in the first video and always "piano" in the second?

Also, the function buttons under the screen are always off in the first video and always lit in the second video, does this mean anything?

I am not sure if I can judge from the low quality of the video above but I notice that on SN piano sound, there is some kind of filter applied which makes the fortissimos sound way too bright, as if a selective EQ is applied depending on the dynamics. I've noticed that also on the mp3 demo for FP7f posted in another thread.

It is very frustrating that the comparisons seem to be between Expressive Grand (non SN) and SN Piano 1 - which I've often said is a kind of SN'd Expressive Grand.

I believe Expressive Grand was unique to the RD-700GX. Everyone has their own idea of what they like in a piano sound but I don't like Expressive Grand; it is very prone to a kind of thinnish metallic twanging sound at velocities that are unnaturally low...this can be addressed to some extent by altering the touch curve. SN Piano 1 is blessed/cursed with a similar character. I've probably exaggerated the problem just so it is less taxing to explain because in reality there is a lot of subtlety in the Roland sound.

A better comparison would have been the GX's Superior Grand against SN Piano 4 or maybe 2. SN 3 is a brighter version of 2/4...these are all significantly different to SN 1. Whilst there is still a degree of this too-bright metallic edge in a couple of clusters of notes in the midrange on SN 4 this can be very effectively dealt with by changing the touch offset to cause this behaviour to be introduced at more appropriate velocities.

Do not judge SN by the exclusive use of SN 1 (on the RD-700GX at least)...SN 4 is a much better balanced and more versatile instrument. The GX is one of those rare pianos where the better piano sounds are certainly not the fire-up defaults...and these are the ones doing the rounds on all the internet comparisons unfortunately.

By the way, the bass on all the SN pianos just blows the stock GX pianos away...literally night and day.

Steve

Dewster, I can attest first hand, the difference you heard in the video I posted between SN and non-SN is the same in person. I was practicing the other day, and for kicks right in the middle of a solo, switched it over to the Expressive and Superior Grands, and my wife was like 'what happened'? I told her I just switched off the SN.

As for the One Touch you asked about, on the GX there are buttons for Expansion slots, and the guy in the video is pushing the Expansion A button because it's faster to hit that than to scroll through the One Touch menu where he'd have to go from SN pianos to Expressive Grand, Superior Grand, Ultimate Grand, then back to the SN Grand Piano 1. See what I mean. When you go from an SN piano to the standard grands, the Expansion slot light goes off, and conversely the other way. That's all that's about, he just wanted to go from SN to non-SN faster so as to make the demo easier to differentiate.

Fully agree. The best SN pianos to me are the Grand Piano 2 which I use for Jazz, and Grand Piano 4 which I use for classical, and pretty much most other kinds of music I play.

The bass notes on the SN pianos are just beautiful. So realistic in decay and so much guts.

Has anyone confirmed yet whether Roland has fixed the ivory key wear issue with the NX?

Not confirmed yet because it is too early to say for sure. However, I noticed something yesterday while in a Guitar Center. I went there to compare the action on my NX to a store model. It has been a rough couple weeks breaking in my new NX keyboard, but the stiff tension has lessened quite a bit. The store NX had no visible wear on its keys. The V-Piano keys nearby had noticeable wear. I thought these two products are supposed to have the same keyboard? Maybe they are different. Maybe the newer V-Piano keyboards are better than the one on this store model?

Well, could it be that the store NX model isn't so well used yet, since it was barely put out for display? The other thread about HP307 key scratches also concerned me, since it supposedly has the same keys as the NX.

Oh, SN sounds nice to me (so far without actually owning it yet), I was just commenting on how it fares compared to a conventionally looped sample set seems to depend on how you play it, what you compare it to, and perhaps the audio quality of the video.

Much thanks to you and Steve for your explanations / clarifications!

Now if our NXC would just ship already...

Has someone compared sound and action with HP 307? Are they really the same?
TY

Just spent 3 hours at Guitar Center in front of the NX. Lovely tone and heavenly touch... I couldn't resist the urge and just bought it outright. I could have gotten it from RMC and get a good discount, but waiting be damn!!

So far, the keys feel more... glossy then that of the V-Piano they also have displayed, which is very worn down, with visible loss of its ivory material. And according to this link, Roland seems to have caught up with the ivory key wear issue, and have started using new coating for the keys:

http://www.rolandforums.co.uk/forums/viewthread/1487/#3698

Let's keep our fingers crossed that this indeed means the end of the problem.

Btw, any idea how to creatively mount a music rack on this bad boy?

Congrats Ohtello! I think you did the right thing. We're playing the who knows how long waiting game, with two emails now unanswered by RMC which is making me a little nervous as the charge is already on the card (though to be fair they did answer the two emails before that). They're likely deluged this time of year. I hate shopping anywhere for anything in December, and it gets pretty slow down at the post as well.

Nice to see many reports of the ivory feel seeming different and less porous. If you come up with a solution to the mystery of the missing music rack fiasco please let us know.

I am going to try to get a price match this coming week with GC with the price from RMC. They offer a 30 days lowest price guarantee.

As far as the music rack goes, I am thinking that I will just get a regular music stand for now... What a bad omission on Roland's part...

I've been lurking for a while, but this finally made me post. I also ordered an RD-700NX from RMC 10 days ago, but they've yet to tell me anything. I shot them an email a few days back, and they replied they would be in mid December, but right now it looks like I'll be lucky to get it before Christmas...


Let me know how this goes, I've got half a mind to try the same thing, but I thought the price matching only works for advertised prices...

Almost identical situation here. We ordered our NXC on Dec 8th, and erik@rmcaudio.com told us mid-month for more in-stock. Emailed him early Friday and no response yet, sent general email to the company yesterday and no response yet. I hope this ends well and soon. Good thing it isn't a present.

Have you ordered anything from RMC in the past? If so, how did that go?

There is another online store called West LA Music here that offers the model for 2399.99, a price against which I have gotten my price match:

http://shop.westlamusic.com/browse.cfm/roland-stage-piano/4,1961.html

Free shipping, and if you are from a state outside of CA, you pay no sales tax!

I haven't, but I did do some research about them and didn't find anything bad.

I just want my new piano D:

I have ordered other products from RMC Audio and received excellent service. They offer very low prices, but sometimes you must wait weeks for an item to be delivered. If you are not in a rush, you can save a lot.

West LA Music is not familiar to me. Since they have a web page with a discounted price for the NX, their price might be used with other online stores to obtain a lower, competitive price. Some stores require their competitor to actually have the product in stock, which could be a problem. I doubt that WLAM has the NX in stock, because shipping began just a few weeks ago, but check with them and find out. There are many stores now which have the NX in their inventory for $2,599 because the supply is catching up with initial demand.