The digital piano market is really hotting up as Roland release four new digital instruments. A digital piano makes a great family Christmas present, and this will be be at the forefront of Roland’s marketing executives’ minds when setting product release dates. Its no coincidence that Apple, the world’s leading consumer electronics company, just announced their new iPhones.
So, from Roland we have the following new models: FP60, RP102, HP601, and HP603A.
I’m not going to get too bogged down in detailed specs here, you can go to the Roland website for more information, but it is worth taking a brief look at what these new instruments offer.
Roland FP60 (stage)
The FP60 is based on Roland’s FP90, and is generally classified as a “stage piano”. It is a comprehensive multi-purpose portable instrument suitable for both home and live performance. Key features include:
- 288 note polyphony utilising Roland’s SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine
- 15 piano tones, 336 additional presets (electric piano, strings, organs, synths, and 8 drum sets)
- Roland’s much acclaimed PHA-4
concertstandard keyboard with Ivory Feel keys - A compact onboard amp/speaker (it is designed to be a portable instrument)
- Bluetooth connectivity for streaming in audio, or for linking to Roland’s Piano Partner 2 app enabling full accompaniment options and interactivity
- 2x 13w, 8×12 cm speakers.
Roland RP102 (digital upright)
The RP102 is a space-saving entry-level digital piano suitable for home and educational use. It also offers a few extra additional sounds. Features include:
- 128 note polyphony utilising Roland’s SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine
- 4 piano tones and 11 additional sound presets
- 88-note PHA-4 concert keyboard with Ivory Feel keys, which can be split into two 44-note pianos for two-person playing
- Three pedal controls
- A 200 song on-board music library
- Bluetooth connectivity for additional accompaniments and notation
- 2x 6w, 12 cm speakers.
Roland HP601 and HP603A (digital uprights)
Roland call the new HP Series pianos “concert-class”, and are housed in contemporary styled cabinets. These are available in rosewood, black, and white finishes.
The all-new HP-601 is the most affordable of the HP range and has the following key features:
- 288 note polyphony utilising Roland’s SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine, with a total of 319 sounds
- 88 note PHA-50 Hammer Action Keyboard (a wood and plastic hybrid structure, with escapement and Ebony/Ivory Feel), splittable for two -person playing
- 3 pedals with continuous sensing
- A 350 song on-board music library
- USB and Bluetooth connectivity, allowing sound modelling using Roland’s Piano Designer app.
The HP603A is an upgrade of the existing HP603. It offers many of the HP601’s features, but with an enhanced piano sound with limitless polyphony and advanced acoustic modelling. It also has a more powerful 2 x 30w sound system, and a 3D ambience headphone output.
Piano Partner 2 (software app)
All these instruments can interface with the Piano Partner 2 app. (iOS and Android) which help get the most out of the Roland digital piano. In addition to displaying the notation for onboard songs, this app can provide an “intelligent” accompaniment. And, with the aid of the Diary and Recorder options can form part of a tailored practice regime.
Roland release version 2.0 of Piano Partner 2 on September 29, 2017.
UK RRPs for these new instruments are as follows:
FP60: £1,355.00
RP102: £869.00
HP610: £1,639.00
HP603A: £2,025.00
Hello
Your article states the the Roland fp-60 was or is available in a version with the pha-4 concert keybed, and not the pha-4 standard keybed. Can you confirm this is correct, as I can’t find any information anywhere regarding an fp-60 with the pha-4 Concert version. Thank You
Apologies for this error. You are correct the FP-60 uses the PHA-4 standard keyboard which, as I understand it, has a shorter pivot length than the premium and concert variants. There are also differences in key composition, and the premium has additional mechanical noise suppression.