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Hey Sushi Hammer!
Thank you for answering!
I have done every little bit of research and testing that came to mind and was possible and your answer comes a little like the final piece in this puzzle. Seeing you prefer the action to yamaha' GH, which I didn't find spectacular but I thought I could live with, is quite a good omen as far as I'm concerned
About the sound, I already played the older F120 and found it very pleasing so I wasn't concerned, as the f130r will be at least just as good. Else there are always virtual pianos out there.
I want to thank everybody that helped me with their valuable opinions and experience!
Tomorrow I'm going to order it and worst case scenario, I'll be able to exchange it for a more expensive model if the touch truly won't suit my preference. Possibly with the Kawai Vpc1/ CN34 / CA15 or the Roland HP504, although supplementing the budget to this extent isn't really possible and only a hefty discount will bring those in range.

Thank you very much and I will keep you posted on my impressions in a week or two when it will (hopefully) arrive.

Coll

That's good to hear.

I had to special order mine also and it took about three weeks, which was crazy. I hope you get yours sooner.

Looking forward to hearing back from you when you do.

Good luck!

Thanks Charles, that's the point we're at now...deciding if we want to spend $1400 now or spend a third of that and get something he can use for a couple of years first.

I finally managed to get my hands on an F-130R at lunch today. A white one, too! Definitely my future digital piano upgrade.

A shame it doesn't have quite a nice a finish as the F-120. The original gloss version looked great.

The F-120R was the gloss version, it was quite a premium for the gloss finish. The factory was able to include many new features at the price of the original non gloss F-120. Impressive piano for the money.

Jay

Yeah, I had the F-120R (red gloss) and the F-130R (white) side by side in the store. The 120R is much prettier, but the 130R has the edge in sound and price.

Trevor - how did the keyboard actions compare? Any noticeable differences?

They were very similar, to be honest. Any difference I felt could have been in my mind.

They were next to a couple of Korgs (180 and 380, iirc) which felt smooshy to me.

Hello everybody!

Coming back with my own opinions on F130R which I finally got to thoroughly test. Bear in mind that despite extensive reading in the last months, I'm still new to the DP field and my piano skills are a bit rusty, so take everything with a pinch of salt, but I'd say I've done my homework as best I could.

First of all, Wow! For it's price, it is simply amazing! The feature set is miles above the F-120 and the sound is noticeably better as well. It has a full, very natural sound and that stands for the tones as well as the speaker output. The 3d effect on the headphones works amazingly well, creating a feeling of realism that I couldn't have imagined. Someone stated that when playing with their eyes closed it was exactly as being in front of a grand. That is in no way an overstatement and I experienced the same sensation, so, bravo Roland!
The stand is very well built and it feels significantly sturdier and more substantial than my upright.
The mechanics are a definite improvement in my opinion over the ivory feel-g that is found in the old F-120 and the RD300 NX, both of which I've tested. They're definitely on the quiet side, and fare significantly better in this regard than yamaha's GH, casio's px line, and previous rolands. The keys feel easier to play than the ivory feel-g, although it's still not the top of the line action, but for that price, you couldn't possibly ask for more. Also found the keys more pleasant to play than the privias.

All in all, an amazing piano for the price and I'd say a no-brainer for beginner to intermediate players. It's worth every penny!

Now, coming back to the action. As I've previously stated, I'm in search of something that will allow me to play fast & difficult pieces. As much as I loved the piano, it broke my heart to let all those great features go, but I decided I have to considerably increase my budget and go for better mechanics. They felt great, but I'll have to pay more money for something even better.
The two aspects that I've struggled with were fast piano or pianissimo passages and trills. I found it extremely difficult to play them quietly, which I can do on the upright or on top of the line DP actions. Asturias by Albeniz posed problems for instance, which is not the case on the upright. In the end you were right lolatu, with the action

I hope this is helpful for those in search of a DP. It is a very very nice instrument and I couldn't find anything coming close to it in this price range, but the "go and try them personally" recommendation is the best advice there is!

Thank you for the help everybody, it was priceless! And now to go badger people in other threads

All the best,
Coll

PS. Does anyone else who owns or played the f130r have the same experience when it comes to trills and fast quiet runs? Thanks

We picked up the F130R today. The sound is incredible, as is the natural feel. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to connect it to my wireless network. I may have to order the 'official' wireless adapter as I have a NetGear WLN3100 (the 'official' wifi adapter is a NetGear WLN1100) but I can't get it to connect or to create an adhoc network.

Has anyone been able to get the wireless network connection working with the non-standard adapter?

Of course I was.

Interesting write-up. Glad you are happy with your new instrument. And of course, like I said, you can play any piece on any modern DP, even ones costing less. You don't have to make it too easy for yourself!

Quick clarification:it is a friend's instrument. I was going to pick mine up only if I found the action satisfying for the repertoire I will practice on it. As amazing as it is, I decided to bump up my budget and go either for a VPC1 or a CN35 (or maybe even a HP504) and now I'm once again back to the question of 'what action', only in a different price category. As for the next one up - the CA65 - completely out of the question, no matter how adequate or not I find the other options, cause I'm already stretching it very thin.
Thanks again, and, as always, further input definitely appreciated!

You can find an open-box RD-800 for under $2,000. It has Roland's flagship keyboard. If you are okay with no built-in speakers, perhaps it's worth looking into.

That would be a very attractive idea indeed. I don't need speakers or even samples for that matter. I can manage with a virtual piano and already have adequate speakers. Unfortunately I have been unable to find a similar price in the European market.
If you came across something like this could you please link it?
Thank you!

I'm considering buying a digital piano. I'm strongly considering the F130R, as it seems to have full GM implementation and allows for playing along with external audio sources, features that I cannot seem to find in similarly priced Yamahas or Korg DPs. From what I've read, the F130R boasts a new keybed technology that is an important step-up from Ivory Feel G boards, like its bigger brother FP50 -not the FP80 which has a different action.

So comporing the FP50 vs the F130R I cannot seem to find any feature that justifies the bigger price of the FP50. Am I missing smething?

Fomalhault, just to add my personal impression - I found the PHA IV standard to be significantly more pleasant to play than the ivory feel g in the FP50, although definitely not as good as the PHA IV premium or the PHA III. For it's price, the f130r offers amazing features, with nice playability, a very sturdy stand and maybe the best piano sound with the exception of virtual piano software. In this price range, I'd say it's a no-contest.
On the GM part, I'm not so well informed as I have not had an interest in it, but as far as I know, you have the midi connectivity over USB, which was exactly what I needed. There's also a way to connect it with the classical midi connectors, with the use of a converter. Jay mentioned it a couple of pages ago if I remember correctly, but if midi over USB is what you plan on using, than that is provided already.

And now, after asking so many questions on this topic, I feel compelled to present the end of my search as well.
I eventually made the very long trip involved to play-test the other models that interested me, and it proved to be priceless, as personal preference is what matters in the end.
The very appreciated mechanics in the Kawai VPC1 (the RM3 grand II), weren't to my liking. It can be played very expressively, but I found it too heavy and slow for my taste. Playing deep in the keybed required a lot more force than in grands and this was a bother. The Grand feel keybed in the CA65/CA95/MP11 felt very good and it was clearly better in playability, but the price was out of reach. Didn't get to test the CN25, which I expect to be quite good, although it doesn't have a very long pivot point either, but the older cn24 was quite nice to play, although not as authentic as the better actions.
I ended up increasing my budget to the HP504, which offers Roland's PHA IV premium action. Very playable, quite nimble, you can feel the keys are longer and a lot easier to play, it facilitates a very nice expression for classical repertoire. All the other features are very as well (even nicer than the F130r, although, from this standpoint, I was in love with the F130r too).

Conclusion: F130R is simply amazing for it's price and I can't imagine not loving it. And for a significant increase in budget (60% more where I live), one should definitely consider the Roland HP504, with slightly improved features, a different cabinet, and a significant improvement of the keys.
After extensive research, and (eventually) extensive testing as well, I feel that this is the best action I can get for this money and it comes packed with an amazing authentic sound and a very rich feature set.

A warm thank you for everybody that helped in the process and happy holidays!
Coll

Congrats Coll!

Enjoy your new piano!

Cheers,
James
x

Thank you, James!
Now I can speculate and look forward to the new announcements at NAMM 2015
I'm hooked on tech stuff.

Best regards,
Coll

Congrats Coll and thank you for your support of Roland.

You'll enjoy that piano for MANY years to come.

Jay

Hello everyone i am new to this forum , the interest of purchasing the roland's F-130r DP brought me here. My piano level is a little bit over beginners' but i want to improve myself and replace my old M-Audio61 keystation with DP.I read a lot of reviews for F130R and all of them have told me that you can both play and RECORD .wav files on USB stick. In other side i see even in this forum another topics with issues about recording .wav (audio files) directly to Usb flash drive.People are complaining that you can only record MIDI files on usb flash drive. Can someone of owners of this instrument in forum give me in simple words information about recording .wav files with f-130r , do i need to connect with PC with cable or i can directly record them to USB.
PS. Today i have made my order for Roland F-130r and the local provider told me that it is expected in early february(dont ask where i'm from ) to be shipped to me.