RD700NX.....Just starting it folks, let's go!!!!

No problem bro, I definitely understand. : )

now this is good news and I agree with the PHAIII for its supernatural pianos, Sensitive! thats good.

My main concern is beating the Yamaha's. One forum should have been changed to RD700GX bashing forum where it was being compared to the Yamaha CP1. If the NX truly has a better piano, that will not make me look silly when I'm playing opposite a guy with a CP, then off to the shops I go. If not, Roland has let me down, AGAIN!

for GX vs CP1, comparing a piano to one at twice the price is hardly bashing?.. to me that is very complimentary. if you want to compare $5k pianos then put the cp1 against the Vpiano.

Roland certainly has not let you down.. the GX was great, the GXF was better, and for sure the NX should be better still... and all at the same price of $2500..

If you want a $5k piano sound, buy a $5k piano

The Roland SN AP sound is light years ahead of anything any other DP manufacturer has, including Yamaha Avant Grand. The CP1 CF voice is audibly stretched and looped, and the velocity layers aren't completely blended. Looping is my main bugbear, and the CF loops are overprocessed IMO so there isn't much realistic "wobble" going on. The CP1 S6 voice has all of these issues and also has poor timbre matching between the attack and loop samples.

From what I've seen so far, SN is SN regardless of what DP it is in, though the presets in the NX seem new so maybe they've improved things somewhat. Other than the PHAIII keys on the NX, I wouldn't necessarily bet on big changes over the GXF.

we can have a cp series bashing forum!

This is interesting. Whats the bet the next Fantom series has Supernatural Piano and EP voices as standard, plus the new recording features from the Gi? SN/AP/SA synthesis (has a new name very week!) is probably the only way round the restrictions of sampling. Roland have been developing this tech for a long time. Maybe it's finally bearing fruit in a serious way.

Just ordered the NX and sold my 700SX
Tried seriously CP50 but could not get around the heavy left hand bass action. Also the user friendliness and ease for live playing was not good at all. Was going to buy 700GXF but with the pricing being close
why not go for the NX. Expect delivery in Nov.
Has anybody else ordered one yet? I have seen no reviews of new owners posted anywhere so far.

Wow. Thanks everyone for a very interesting conversation about this. I've been waiting a while for the next incarnation of the RD-700, as my first gen RD700 has now become unusable due to years of torture. considered jumping ship to something other than Roland, and have been renting the Yamaha CP50, Kurzweil PC3X, and Korg SV1, but nothing seems to compare. Even given it's modest upgrades, the RD700nx appears to be the frontrunner, although I still haven't tried the Nord Piano or the Nord Stage, both which seem to be impressive. If anyone has any good advice, I'd love to hear it.

ok I'm new to this forum, hi!
Here's my problem. I'm a performing piano player ( yes, piano) that has to put up with playing keyboards 'cause there seems to be less and less available good pianos at gigs these days. I play traditional scottish reels no trouble on any acoustic piano but there is not one professional quality stage "piano" ( with weighted keys) out there that will let me play fast repetitive triplets on the one note which is an essential characteristic of the trad music I play. These triplets happen in less than a half a second, that's the response from the key I need.
I have a 13 yr old RD600 that frustrates the bjeezus out of me as it doesn't let me do the above. It physically can't handle it. The 3 notes come out as one long one!
SO I'm thinking I should try the RD700NX, ONLY because the specs say "improved repetitive note playing". I am interested in key function and the most convincing acoustic piano sound available. It doesn't have to be Roland but it IS the only one saying anything about the physical key functioning.
BTW I have tried the key functions of all the latest keyboards out there inc. Yamaha, Nord, Korg and none of them do what I want them to do.
Does anyone know what I mean? Can anyone help?

tradisista, you want a DP with a triple sensor key action. If designed correctly, they play more like a grand by allowing the note to replay without fully returning to the up position. Whereas two sensor actions play more like upright pianos.

The RD-700NX has the PHAIII keybed, which is a triple sensor. The RD-700GX/F is a two sensor PHAII. This is one of the major reasons to pick the NX over the GX/F.

Look these specs up on line for various DPs, then go to a local DP dealer to try them for yourself. Repeatedly play a single note while using a finger on your other hand to limit upward travel of the key to various positions. This will help you figure out the mechanical points at which the sensors switch. The top sensor is the one that damps the note, the middle sensor starts the velocity timer, and the bottom sensor plays the note. So you have to lift the key at least as high as the middle sensor in order to replay it, and if you lift it all the way to the top sensor the note will damp.

I prefer a rather high top sensor and a rather low middle sensor, which allows really fast reps.

Yamaha GH3 is also a triple sensor, but the ones I've tried had the top and middle sensors so closely placed that they played more like a two sensor IMO (difficult to replay quickly).

dewster, you wouldn't believe how helpful your post has been!! Thanks!
Finally some answers that make sense to me and explain also why I can't play the way I want to play!
I totally understand now how the PHA111 keybed works and I will DEFINITELY be choosing a DP with this spec. I had no idea you could test the key sensors or what to listen for, awesome help! When the RD700NX hits Australian shores, I'll be in to try it. I'll also give the Yamaha GH3 a go too.

There is only one other gripe I have with my RD600 and I'm hoping over the 13 years this is no longer a problem...or if it's a Roland DP "thing".

No matter how much tweaking and fiddling around with the graphics or P.A. gear ( with 31 band graphic), I can not make the top end of the keyboard's, (say above mid C,) volume sound at the same level as the bass end. Roland DP's have a great sounding bass and this is great for when I'm playing accompaniment but when I play the melody with an octave walking bass line in the left hand, the volume of the right hand is completely swamped by the left hand. When I fiddle around with the top end EQ hoping for more volume and less muggyness, it just makes the top end glassy and horrible. This doesn't happen naturally on a piano and I don't want it happening on a DP. Some brands of DP advertise this as part of the features, the grading of the notes just like on a real piano. I can only see this as a really bad and annoying thing.

Anyway if anyone knows what I'm talking about and can tell me if the later model DP's are like this I'd be stoked!

Thanks again dewster for your fantastic informative post

Glad to be of help tradsista, and just to be clear, Yamaha GH3 is a type of key action that appears in many mid and upper end Yamaha DPs.

Regarding the issue you have with your RD600, it sounds like more of a velocity issue than an EQ issue. The RD-700NX has a piano parameter you can adjust that might help (from page 48 of the manual):

"Velo Keyflw Sens (Velocity Keyfollow Sensitivity) -63–+63
This setting changes the touch sensitivity according to the key range being used. As the value is increased, the touch becomes heavier in the upper registers, and lighter in the lower keys."

thanks again dewster for this latest helpful info! I'm clear now about the Yamaha GH3, ta for that.

Interesting to read your help re the velocity!
I'm off to do some reading of the manual.

Thanks so much again!

Hi folks,
does anyone know what the "sound focus" funcion means? EQ? Compressor?
Or just a marketing issue for people like me who are desperate that their piano sound (so cool in headphones!) is always too loud or too weak during the gig..?

I have an old Yamaha P90 and a new Korg sv-1, which has cool EPs, but APs need a bit of "sound focus". Whatever it is.

...and I like Roland too, owning Juno Di and KC-110 at the moment...