Does Roland have something better than the V-Piano in 2024?

This is the German Concert piano expansion that resembles the legendary Roland V-Piano. It is the only piano sound that has full polyphony in the RD 2000 and it is not based on samples. This expansion uses physical modeling and is very impressive in my opinion.
Access 10 presets I made for RD 2000 here:
www.patreon.com/posts/roland-...
#roland
#rd2000
#vpiano

[@jazz734]

love it, great playing, great sound! Thank You!

[@normanpeters8933]

Awesome playing, it sounds really nice and expressive.

[@rolandv-piano]

Thank you, this piano sound makes it fun to play!

[@strongchord4384]

A lot of UK retailers have none of these antiques in stock right now. Might be a sign of things to come and Roland clearing the decks for a replacement - about time.

[@LoopingPiano]

Just got my Fantom updated to EX, which includes this V-Piano. Couldn’t stop playing for about 2 hours. I think it is awesome. 🎉

[@coscrupi]

Fantom already had the V piano sound engine before the EX came out.

[@rolandv-piano]

And you think it sounded like the real V-Piano?

[@LoopingPiano]

@@rolandv-piano I have no idea, as I did not play the real V-Piano yet. To be honest, sometimes it sounds great, but than after I play for some time it sounds really wired... even if I did not change anything in the sound settings. I should build a new house and get some space for a Steinway grand piano ;-)

[@rolandv-piano]

Great idea!

[@mr.hashundredsofprivatepla3711]

@@rolandv-piano Me personally, no. It sounds less like the Roland V-Piano to me and more like an actual, real-life piano.

[@greenbunny13]

it's not the only piano sound in the 2000 that has full polyphony. There are 17 modeled pianos with full piano. And, yes, I have the german grand, and it's amazing.

[@ajotech]

Come on Roland! Update the RD-2000 stage piano, it’s been looooooong over due.

[@pianoplayground713]

Have you updated the firmware? It has version 2 now. If you haven’t please visit Roland website

[@jamesstyles5415]

Great job I have one

[@ZTAudio]

Assessing acoustic piano sounds can be so subjective. Sometimes I think others are more “ear candy”, but the V-Piano models are (to me) the most consistently responsive and satisfying to play.

[@rolandv-piano]

V-piano reacts better to what you play. It feels like a real instrument.

[@ZTAudio]

@@rolandv-piano You said it better than I did.

[@mr.hashundredsofprivatepla3711]

The original Roland V-Piano, Roland RD-2000 default V-Piano modules, Modartt Pianoteq and Arturia Piano-V 3 all have the same issue where the attack of the notes sound too soft, synthetic and not properly detailed. The German Grand Expansion is entirely different. The attack sounds nice and detailed, I can hear the thump of the hammer felt. The sound of the German Grand here isn’t just realistic, it’s beautiful. The other pianos sound like they were state-of-the-art back in their day. This sounds like state-of-the-art right now. Roland hasn’t been milking their V-Piano tech over and over expecting it to work and sell; it seems they’ve actually been refining it until it became better and better.

[@rolandv-piano]

It feels nice to play it but it takes a toll on the overall polyphony of the instrument. Also it cuts off when switching to a different preset/scene.

[@mr.hashundredsofprivatepla3711]

@@rolandv-pianoI thought you said it was full polyphony, am I missing something? If that’s true, then I guess that’s one of the only catches of this instrument.

[@rolandv-piano]

@@mr.hashundredsofprivatepla3711 If you have a layer with multiple sounds the V-Piano sound will be prioritised and the polyphony for the rest of the sounds will be reduced. Regardless what sounds you use, when you switch scenes some sounds will be cut off.

[@briantrout7051]

I like that German Grand, use it all the time on my RD-2000. Lots of variations of it included plus very customizable if you wanna tweak. Something I don't think I've heard others talk about is how this German Grand compares to the newest Pianoteq piano sounds.

[@aioxio]

I played the V-Piano when it first appeared at the Frankfurter Musikmesse (back in 2015?). To be honest, I was a little bit disappointed when I played it at that time at the Musikmesse. Did it get updates in the meantime and sound / feel better today?

[@rolandv-piano]

I believe the last update was in 2011. The instrument was released in 2009 if I’m not mistaken.

[@aioxio]

@@rolandv-piano wow, time flies! :-)

[@VadimShinnik]

Great playing and stuff! I remember those times, starting in 2010, when I followed and listened to every demo from VPiano, it was incredibly interesting. Now listening to the RD-2000 I have a little mixed feelings... the feeling that it doesn’t sound like the original V-Piano, but borrowed primary features.

[@rolandv-piano]

Thanks! Fantom sounds in the past didn’t come close to the real V-Piano sounds despite the marketing Roland did. I’ve only tried the German Concert expansion on the RD 2000 and was actually impressed. I still own the V-Piano and I must say that the touch and integration of the sound engine is superior to any digital keyboard I’ve tried.

[@VadimShinnik]

@@rolandv-piano Yes, I remember the release of the RD-2000 itself with its piano sound and the period when the update from German Grand came out, the difference is noticeable. Unfortunately I didn't try V-Piano live, only Scott Tibbs demos remaining in my head 🙂

[@_trismegistus]

@@rolandv-piano The action on the RD2000 is superior to that in the VPiano though, right? Longer fulcrum, basically a newer design?

[@rolandv-piano]

@_trismegistus No, to the contrary it’s significantly worse and less predictable. It also feels heavier which might be something you like.

[@_trismegistus]

@@rolandv-piano Really? Wow that's surprising, and sucks. Can you feel any negative effects of the shorter keys/fulcrum in the vpiano?

[@Aceguy1972]

I own an RD2000 digital piano, and while using headphones provides a great sound experience, connecting Yamaha HS7 speakers, which are widely regarded as top-tier studio monitors, yields disappointing results. Does anyone have any suggestions to improve the sound quality?

[@rolandv-piano]

You might have to pan the left and right channels of your instrument otherwise you’re listening in mono.

[@stamatisklonaris]

Could you make a demo using the Supernatural 3 piano sound?

[@ItsThatJahncke2]

I was looking at Fp-90x and thought about how limited it was for 2k. Then I looked at Rd 2000 and thought wow this expansion is too amazing, but for 2.5k I'm not I'm not impressed with any of the other sounds. Now.. I'm going to just pull the trigger on the Roland fantom 8. For 4k and the expansion that gives you so many iconic awesome synths and this amazing v piano. I don't see why I should limit myself since I work in a studio setting.

[@kontraz3061]

You can find Roland RD-2000s for less than 2k if you buy used.

[@cremersalex]

Nice but the piano sounds too bright (probably for stage use). Their LX line has a new modelling engine and I'm hoping it will find its way into their next stage piano (RD-3000?)

[@rolandv-piano]

That would be cool. LX models sound great!

[@criskeys14]

I'm a lover of synths and for me Roland is the best in the world along with Yamaha (with the last Montage/Montage M); But with the pianos I like more the Yamahas right now (CFX, Hamburg, C7, Nashville C3...) Roland has V-Piano but the Fantom and RD2000 doesn't sound like the original V-Piano for me... Until now! This update in insane! If the brand continues this line will be the #1 in the future🔥

[@rolandv-piano]

It’s because of this update that I told my friend to keep his RD 2000.

[@RyanMonty]

I liked the sound of the RD2000, but unfortunately absolutely hated the feel of it.

[@rolandv-piano]

Yes, the touch is definitely not on point.

[@miguel1972zz]

@@rolandv-piano Could you elaborate, please?

[@rolandv-piano]

@miguel1972zz It’s difficult to play softly. Compared to my V-Piano the RD 2000 is less velocity sensitive.

[@RyanMonty]

@@miguel1972zz to me, it also feels "sticky" and doesn't rebound like I feel a piano should.

[@miguel1972zz]

@@rolandv-piano Adjusting touch curve settings did not help?

[@skarovision]

So you shell out for the RD2000, then to get a decent piano sound you then have to add on another £145 to get this dated keyboard up to spec with a quality piano sample?? Dont think so, not when Nord offer free lifetime updates of all their piano sounds on their keyboards. You should be offering this free to rd2000 customers.

[@watcher9987]

Nords have inferior keybeds and are prone to parts breaking

[@jonos138]

​@@watcher9987 The grand doesnt. It has a Kawai keybed action.

[@bobaasmr9347]

You can get the same action on a Kawai with excellent piano sounds in my opinion for a 1/4 of the price.

[@jonos138]

​@@bobaasmr9347Thats very true. I think the nord high cost is because of the Kawai keybed and the access to their instrument samples online, that you can download into the keyboard itself. As you say, tge Nord is prone to keybed problems, but so is the Kawai which makes sence as thats whats in the Nord grand. Seems to be a common problem with many makes. Roland seem to be the only ones with less problems imo.

[@rolandv-piano]

I don’t like the Kawai keybeds. The action doesn’t feel natural to me.

[@BudinVegas]

I have the RD-2000. I like it. Beats others in that same price point. Piano patches need the "piano designer" to level out a few soft or loud volume keys, and some voicing issues need to be adjusted. In my experience all digitals under $5000. have these issues. Some people don't mind or don't notice it especially if you're playing huge chords, you can't hear it. It annoys me "for example" to play a seventh key and it's too soft to hear it. But all the keys are adjustable.

[@rolandv-piano]

The V-Piano has a special software where you can voice and adjust any key separately. The display on the RD is way to small for that and you can’t tweak every parameter.

[@andreafieschi8318]

The German expansion is not the only modelled piano. There are other more or less 10 modelled pianos the come with the standard new RD2000. But they are not amazing as the German expansion is...

[@rolandv-piano]

Yes, to me this one stood out.

[@AFmultimedia]

@@rolandv-piano (this is my ohter YT account but I'm still @andreafieschi8318) My preferred variation is the bold version, which I modified a little bit to gain some more resonance and open lid condition. Pratically I only use this one when I'm live on the stage. It is also enough brightness to be used well when you're performing in a band. Previously, with the standard grand piano, I had to modify the equalisation to fit the on stage needs. The German expansion is more "ready to use" in comparison with the previous presets. Well done!

[@JoshuaLeviii]

Just get a nord.