Roland RD-88 EX: My Thoughts

[@patrickpaolicelli8808]

My other suggestion maybe checking out Roland’s FP90x that may suit your budget as well.

[@bigdaddy0005]

Good insight regarding tone my friend.

[@thomasyon4332]

Dear Justin. All your points and impressions are very well demonstrated.. Such fun for me, cause I've got it, and I like it. (so I feel ridiculous, but in a good way) I really hope the Yamaha CK suits you more. You were also right about the hard action, I like it because I'm too dynamic, because I learnt on very hard action piano called Piano d'étude.. Keep pianoing, you are a fantastic player. Thanks, Cheers.

[@englishguy9680]

I just tried one of these yesterday and while it is a good choice for low weight and low profile 88 key stage piano, I found that because of the compact size the action isn’t the greatest and particularly the keybed can’t handle pianissimo at all. You can kind of get around this by using the felt pianos if you want a really subdued sound, and maybe by playing around with velocity curves. But I have to say a basic requirement of a stage piano out of the box should be the ability to play the full range from soft to loud. Was considering purchasing to use primarily as a midi controller for live and stage but while it certainly isn’t bad I agree with many of your criticisms.

[@mr.tmusicteacher4466]

I own a 1st gen RD88 and also noticed the out of tune D6 (occurs around 8:27 in your video) on the Grand Piano patch (I'm not certain which piano voice you were playing in your video). I was interested if the expanded piano voices were any better than the original RD88 piano voices.

[@justinhavu]

@@mr.tmusicteacher4466 Honestly, I can't tell the difference between the three SuperNATURAL pianos. The real difference is in the normal, bright, and mellow variants of each piano.

[@panacea407]

This was a very interesting and informative video. Now a subscriber. I am in the market for an upgrade to my old Yamaha, but for home, not stage. Is there a Roland, Akai, Nord or Korg you would recommend for the home pianist? My budget is $1,000 - $1,500. Thnx!

[@justinhavu]

@@panacea407 I highly recommend anything by Yamaha. They have quite a few instruments in your price range. I ended up replacing the RD-88 EX with a CK88. That's more of a stage piano, but it has built-in speakers, making it quite suitable for home use.

[@panacea407]

@@justinhavu Thanks for that quick response! I will certainly research and hopefully demo this model. Do you have any videos highlighting this Yamaha?

[@justinhavu]

@@panacea407 I have 3 separate videos on the CK88. Check those out, and see if you can get your hands on one and try it for yourself.

[@dougie6897]

Pointing out the flaws and blemishes is extremely important and helpful when it comes to a purchasing decision…PLEASE test the NUMA x and maybe some DEXIBELL pianos in another future splendid video! 👍

[@englishguy9680]

I don’t know about the Numa X 88 but the 73 uses the keybed that’s in my Nord Electro 5 HP and while it’s totally useable the keys aren’t graded which is something you need to get used to. On top of that I had mine 3 years and playing it most days and gigging most weekends in that time and the keybed wore out and I’m not a heavy handed player. I just replaced it and it feels new again but cost me £250 so worth keeping in mind.

[@omarg7702]

I'm looking for a stage piano for around $850-900 . If not this do you have any recommendations? Thanks

[@justinhavu]

Check out Yamaha's P225. Right now at Sweetwater, it's $649.

[@patrickpaolicelli8808]

Have you considered Casio or Kawai??

[@justinhavu]

@@patrickpaolicelli8808 I went with a Yamaha CK88, which I absolutely love. Kawai has some nice sounding stuff, but I've never had my hands-on time with the action, and there aren't any around my area to try. As far as Casio goes... well, I was taught as a kid, that if I don't have anything nice to say...

[@deepsea313]

Great review! What about the Yamaha CK88 for a couple hundred above your budget?

[@justinhavu]

@@deepsea313 I'm looking at getting one in probably three weeks time, as soon as my schedule clears up.

[@erickvargas8196]

Justin Havu, esse som sintético que vc falou, eu senti também no supernatural Roland FA.

[@storagecare]

Hi Justin, Look into the Piezowave II by Richard Wolf Germany. Acoustic compression. Turn the clock back 30 years on your wrists. Find the new linear wand. Shockwave powerhouse. Western med will wreck your wrists. My 2 cents and 20 years experience with the tech. Hope you can find this exact version. This thing is a miracle.

[@rickhunter6185]

I have an RD88, and at first, my fingers hurt a lot, so I had to stop playing for a month. Then, I practiced for less than 15 minutes at a time. Now, after a year, my hand can endure longer without severe pain, but it still leaves my fingers fatigued. Could it be due to the weight of the keys? I think the botton of the keys is too hard, it should be more cushioned

[@ju34edwards]

If you are comparing a $1200 keyboard to a $4500, of course the $4500 will be better. This is a great budget it will be ok. You probably won’t be able to find anything better for the price. I like it.

[@justinhavu]

It's since been replaced by a Yamaha CK88. In my opinion, for an extra $300, it's miles better than the RD. The action is playable, and the sound is a lot more natural.

[@ElektronicCricket]

I have the original RD88 … for me personally, about the piano sounds , they have a short decay… to short in my opinion … it’s like you play forte piano whole the time …

[@justinhavu]

@@ElektronicCricket Yep, I heard the exact same thing when trying out the original. It'd totally get lost in a band mix.

[@watcher9987]

You can change the decay

[@watcher9987]

You are comparing apples and oranges to compare to the yamaha you need an RD2000 of Fantom...and theare more velocity adjustments such as velocity key follow and release velocity

[@justinhavu]

@@watcher9987 The piano is going to be for my own personal needs, and the Fantom and RD-2000 have way more features than I'll ever use. My hands can't handle the PHA-4 keybed, and the PHA-50 is far worse. I'll never need the Mainstage integration since I'm moving away from using computers/MIDI live. Also, the SuperNATURAL engine just sounds too artificial to my ears, and so does the V-Piano engine. I have a CK88 on the way. As soon as I get it, there'll be a review coming shortly.