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Wow!

What a terrific project - congratulations!

...and yes, I fully agree with newer player - this project deserves to be discussed in a separate thread.

Cheers,
James
x

ps. Welcome to the forum, btw...incredible first post!

Impressive! Thanks especially for the detailed write up, I think you have made the portable piano of peoples dreams

I really want to like the go piano and finally tried it.

Now i'm puzzled.

Sound over monitors is ok, size is great, keys feel very natural - well, until i press them.

Unbelievable! This board is referenced as light and synthlike but i had the impression there are heavy duty springs fighting against me.

In normal playing i lost many notes, a check with pianoteq reveals they are triggered but with velocity zero.

Playing open chords more into the keys is absolutely tiring.

So i tried to quantify at least the static resistance:

At the very front of the white keys i need 100 gr for a 1 mm keydip. 110 gr and the key sinks.
Between the blacks i tested a typical position i reach with third or second finger.
I can place nearly 500 gr before the key moves.

How does this relate to other players experience of a light keyboard?
Is it an extreme sample? Am i just a whimp?

Please let me know if your experience differs and you have the possibility to measure the downweight for comparison.

-rhodes74

I've just tested the static weight of my GO:PIANO(61 keys) with 10 and 20 Euro Cent coins (4.1g and 5.74g)

The weights required on the edge to make the key reach the bottom are:
Key Weight
C1 129g
C2 111g
C3 129g
C4 141g
C5 141g
C6 104g
C#2 135g
C#3 129g
C#4 178g

In this test I placed the coins side by side with the edge of the black key nearby (weight needed to reach the bottom)
C4 190g
C5 208g


C5 (Between blacks around the middle of the black key - weight needed to reach the bottom) 255g


Set the key touch to fix and tested the minimum weight to play a note (trigger the sensor)
C4 124g
C#4 130g
C4 (side by side with end of black key) 164g

As a reference my Yamaha P121 (GHS) requires 115-120g to reach the bottom of the edge of the white key, 109g to trigger the sensor on the edge and 124g near the end of the black keys.

No wonder why I feel fatigued short time after starting playing the GO:PIANO...

Muito obrigado!

That's pretty much in line with my observations.
The feeling is far off from my slabs and any Bechsteinwayamaha i'm used to.

Now do we have outliers?

Could some other users comment, i'm just wondering because i found not a single mention of such problems.

-rhodes74

Wow. So I waited 4 months for my backordered Roland Go Piano (61keys) from Guitar Center and finally received it a couple days ago. SUPER HEAVY SPRINGS. It saddens me, because I want to love it, but I’m coming from a Kawai VPC1 because touch, feel, and weight is everything for the piano purist like myself, and I’d almost rather have zero weight flimsy plastic bouncy keys over these dramatically high tension ones.

I bought my Kawai VPC1 because I developed hand/carpal tunnel issues practicing Chopin etudes on a Yamaha P-155 with my small hands. The key weight was too heavy.

Now I face the same issue with this little Roland Go Piano, who would’ve thought?

I waited far too long on back order to not give it a real chance... but my initial impressions are doubtful.

The sounds and features are quite good. Although I miss having a saxophone sound built in—not sure how they managed to leave that one out of 40–at least I have the handy GarageBand or I can use a VST if desired, so it is a minor gripe. Bluetooth connection is great. 8lbs, can’t beat it for overall weight and compactness for traveling.

I obviously didn’t buy it for good weighted key touch action... but the last thing I could have imagined would be that it was too heavy.

Fortunately I don’t intend on playing Chopin etudes much on 61 keys. Regardless, I am left wondering if I will again develop hand/wrist pain from lighter use.

Im currently in a pickle with my living situation during this pandemic, so this Roland Go Piano 61 keys is sadly my main instrument for everything until a year or two from now, when I can get my Kawai VPC1 again. I hope to report back on my thoughts later after spending a few more weeks or months with it.

I hope to hear more thoughts and feedback on others experiences with the overly heavy key weight/springiness as well.

Xenovora

P.S. This is my first post, but I’ve been lurking as a guest for years. Thanks to everyone’s helpful contributions.

Welcome to the forum!

If $700 is not too much, the ES110 is your guy. Superbly expressive action, about as light as graded hammer gets (noticeably lighter than my es920), and the board only weighs 26 pounds, which is super light as good weighted action goes.

It wouldn't make a couch/bed/travel board as easily as 61 note boards that weigh under 10 pounds and are not very wide. But it sounds like you're a piano player, and I feel more 'pianistic' on the es110 than on any board I've tried.

Otherwise, another lightweight board that has surprisingly decent action/sounds is the Casio CT-X700. At $180 you get A LOT for your money, they have a new sound chip, sounds way better than any cheapie board I've ever tried. And the onboard speakers are really decent as well.

And I was really surprised at how good the action is- feels too light being that I'm used to weighted actions, but still, you set the velocity sensitivity to heavy and I can get good dynamics out of it.

Sounds familiar!
I had it for four weeks and returned it. It became quite clear it would not be a workout but a real danger for my carpals.
And even otherwise, it had spoiled my touch for every other piano i play.

Another unit in a shop was quite similar.

About lighter use:
I believe the problem is most obvious playing lightly or ballad style. Banging ragtime, you have similar forces on an acoustic piano with inertia. Slow and hold is easy on a grand but the go piano fights for you all the time with this ridiculous springs. This is were it really gets wrong.

In my opinion, you should look for another keyboard.

-Rhodes74