Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Roland F-140R or Yamaha YDP-S52

We are going to buy a white slim piano for my daughter and me. We are both noobs but my daughter seems to learn fast (wish I would to…). Have narrowed it down to Roland F-140R or Yamaha YDP-S52. They have the same price where we live.

After a lot of internet reading I had almost decided that it should be the F-140R. Thought it looked nicer, have better features with bluetooth, USB memory, line in/out, small display etc. When reading about them people seemed to like both the Roland and Yamaha. My daughter had also decided for the Roland just because she liked the brand, Yamaha is not pianos for her.

Today we went to a shop just to see them live and probably buy the Roland. I think that the Yamaha seemed to have better quality. The lid on the Roland was not so good and overall impression was better on the Yamaha. Liked that it had a volume knob instead of buttons. Rolands connections was at the back so you can not put it close to the wall. Still like Rolands functions though. My daughter thought that the Yamaha had better keys/feeling and better sound.

We had to little time in the shop before they closed so we decided to go home and think about it. Is there anyone here that has tried them both and could help us noobs in our decision?

The PHA4 action on F140R should be better (with 3 sensors and escapement) than the GH on S52. But GH feels a little bit heavier than PHA4 if you like that better.

And, like you said, F140R has a lot of features.

The sound is more subjective if your daughter likes the Yamaha tone better.

I suggest that you go back to the store and this time spend more time on both. Try out the different tones, settings and features. Both are good for beginners and either one you decide will be a good decision.

My F130R sits against the wall. The connectors in the back have a shape that barely extends, and the rails under the feet assure just enough spacing so no part of the piano hits the wall.

The lid is a peculiar design but it seems extremely solid to me so not sure what the issue was.

The headphone and USB connectors are under the piano.

Sound engine and action are objectively better on the Roland (88 key sampling, realistic decay, 3 sensors, escapement).

But if she subjectively liked the Yamaha better I am not sure if any of this matters.

This would be quite a hard decision, I laboured over it myself. I think they are the two best choices at this price point and I guess it might come down to personal taste and aesthetics. In favour for the Roland is a superior action and abundance of tones, but the Yamaha has better speakers and a slightly fuller bass sound to my ears and perhaps looks better when the lid is closed, although the Roland looks better with the lid open! A tough one - let your daughter decide, perhaps after playing them both again.

It does sem that now your little girl is part of the choosing process, shell not be happy unless she gets her way! Just get her to play them for some time. She will know best which suits her.

Thanks everone for your input! Guess we have to go back and try them out more as you say. Difficult when you can not play though .

Don't forget that you can adjust the tone/brightness of the piano sound to your/your daughter's taste (at least, you can on the Roland). Ask the store demo person to demonstrate.

Did you decide? I am having the same dilemma like you.

The decision should be your daughters. Both companies make fine instruments.
Yamaha is a piano company, they represent high standards worldwide for pianos.
I had a chance to play the Roland F140. It's good, but I felt that the tone
was a bit unnatural in the middle octaves. The tone of the Yamaha sounded
better IMO. More natural brightness. The Roland has a nice action, but again, the Yamaha's GH action feels great IMO. High quality. Let your daughter play both. She will tell you which one.
Best of Luck.

Yes, we bought the F-140R. Happy with it, especially Bluetooth midi and line in input. Like the sound with headphones but it could definitely be better with the speakers, maybe the Yamaha had a little better sound with speakers. One other thing I think is better with the Yamaha is that you get the stand for sheets a little higher.

Hi, i hope your daughter enjoy it a lot... and what about key action in both DP's?, how compare this feature in both units?... Cheers!.

Congrats on the purchase of your new Roland. Hope you and your daughter have years of enjoyment.

I suspect your lass picked up somsthing about the Roland that I did when I bpught mine. I loved the Yamaha I had, but dont regret getting thr R. The resonances make it for me.

I did buy a small bass practice amp to improve the response, which I thought shouldnt have been necessary. Cost £50 but was worth it!

What kind of amp did you pick up ?
I recently bought a F140 which I very much enjoy but it wouldn't hurt for it to have some more volume.