http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2009/01/23/wnamm09-roland-v-piano-behind-closed-doors/

John Maul shows how this exciting new technology works, how it sounds and what it's capable of.

V-Piano premiere: Wednesday 4th March
Those wanting to hear the Roland V-Piano for themselves should grab a ticket for the forthcoming UK premiere, which also features the new Atelier organs. Experience the next steps in piano and organ technologies with presentations from John maul (V Piano) and Ralf Schink (Atelier). This high-profile event is held at the Arnolfini Theatre in Bristol. The events starts at 11am and tickets are free but need to ordered in advance.

Hey Donny ,

I just received my Roland news e-mail too.

I had to check out the new V-Piano , man , that thing is wild !!

No sampling , but man , the things you can do as far as tunings.

That is just too cool !!

To bad the T-3 didn`t have something like that , I mean heck they have drawbars , they could have had that type of parameters for piano , O_well Tyros 4 , maybe !! LOL

Later

Gary 

Amazing stuff, for sure... Just the detuning alone is worth the price of admission, IMO.

Six years or so, this will be in an arranger (if arrangers still exist!)... can't wait

But where is Ian? How on earth can Roland leap so far ahead, when they don't actually MAKE real pianos? Yamaha were one of the first to market modeled sounds (VL-1), but seem to have abandoned it. Perhaps not their best move...

I have a nasty feeling this Roland is going to have quite a bit of sticker shock, but hey! It's a quantum leap forward, and we always get the trickle down effect if we can wait long enough...

Too much money (for me), and way too heavy(for most).

Having said that, it is by far the nicest, most realistic Roland piano sound I've heard...and certainly the most versatile by the specs.

Disappointments? Well, it only has PIANO sounds, or am I mistaken?

That means if you want piano layered with strings, the most popular combination, or bass on the left and piano the right as a split, then you will need another instrument, or a module MIDI'd to it.

At that lofty price, at least some strings/pad sounds should have been included.

This seems more likely to be a studio only instrument, unless you've got help moving it...the CP-300 I have is 72 lbs(without a case!) and it is no joy to move.

No doubt this technology will drift down to more manageable and cheaper instruments...it would be nice to see it in a new G-series.

With a decent set of stereo monitors/speakers mounted on top or at least facing you, the effect of playing a "real" piano would be greatly enhanced.

Viewed purely as just an ultra realistic digital piano? Definitely a winner.

Ian

And, as you point out so often, no shortage of 'pros' actually toting a CP-300 around (despite the speakers! ), so probably for all but the elderly or not very picky it will get plenty of stage use.

To MOST pure 'pros', first and foremost comes the sound. How many STILL hump around real Rhodes's, Wurli's, B3's etc.? I doubt this will be even that heavy... It might be too heavy for 'MOST' arranger players. I doubt it will be too heavy for most pianists...

And, as usual, the heaviest, most complex and expensive version gets marketed first. Got to recoup that R&D money as fast as possible! But I have no doubt that a lighter, perhaps less elaborate version will hit the shelves before long.

Yes, this is the most realistic piano Roland have released. And short of a good CFIII, better than any Yamaha too, I'm afraid I guess actually making REAL pianos doesn't count for that much, after all!

If you were right, I'd agree with you.

Yamaha never sleeps. http://www.yamaha.com/namm/w2009/PressRe...25165&DDL_CAT=0

Don't count your chickens....

Ian

Not very many, unless they have the luxury of roadies.

Add to that the maintenance of these older instruments.

I'm afraid that is not a realistic point of view.

Would you carry the V-Piano around by yourself?

With the road case it would be over 100 lbs, not to mention it being rather large and unwieldy...certainly way more so than your G70, and that instrument has lost several users on this forum due to its lack of portability.

Most arranger players wouldn't even look at the V-Piano...and most arrangers, including the portly G70 don't weigh as much, or are as big.

Most pianists would insist on a real grand, not a electronic piano...do you really think this would be preferred by Bob James, or Dave Grusin?

It doesn't even have a Rhodes sound...or a Wurly sound...or a Clavinet....na da...ziltch...nor can you make these sounds on it.

A CP-300 or even an RD-series is far more versatile as a stage piano...and lighter, and FAR less expensive. and they have the Rhodes, Wurly, Clavinet and even the B3 covered...plus they have strings and pads.

L, I say to you...LOL

It's certainly a good, or even a great, step forward, but it's only a first step, and it is still standing on one foot(the piano sound) ...time will tell if it will go the distance.

A winner yes, but only in a small category.

Ian

[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 02-05-2009).]

Way too many ASSumtions here, Ian. You ought to know better..!

What's the price? What's the weight?

Don't kid yourself that OMB's are the majority of the keyboard market. They might be the majority here, but we all, if we dial back the egotism just a tad, might acknowledge that we don't determine the market (or arrangers WOULD rule the roost over WS's!) in the least. Heck, most stores don't even CARRY TOTL arrangers!

RD700G's, CP-300's, SD-1's, ALL of these extremely popular keyboards sales-wise are FAR in excess of what most here are willing to cart. Not to mention B3's, of course. So the V-Piano, even if a fair bit more than a CP-300, will probably be willingly lugged around by the same players as are now willing to lug these other behemoths (by S900 standards ).

SOME players still consider sound more important than weight. Not many here, but sales of stage pianos (which probably outstrip all arranger sales short of the 'toy' sub-$700 ones) show that many are willing. And yes, I've seen MANY major 'pros', recording artists, out and out pianists on stage with Yamaha CP-300's, Nord Stage's, Roland RD-series and even ancient Korg SD-1's... I don't see why they are going to turn their nose up at this!

As realistic as this sounds, as customizable as it is (sorry Ian, but you MIGHT have noticed the new Yamaha you linked to is still an old-tech SAMPLED piano, not a trace of modeling) as able to be imbued with the individual character each player wants, I predict you'll be seeing these in favor of REAL pianos (maybe gussied up in a piano case like so many already do) on a lot of TV shows and on many, many records (and unless you look real close, you won't know it's not a real piano!)...

And yes, if it feels right and I can afford it, it is going in my collection as fast as I can. I will probably put my upright up for sale if this plays and sounds as good in person as the demos do. Just to be able to instantly chose your intonation and inter-string tuning so easily pushes it into a realm that digital pianos have never gone before.

So what if it doesn't have other sounds? I've already got THOSE covered. Or one of these and a Nord Electro3 on top, you've got the ultimate 'meat and potatoes' rig...

Mark my words. This changes EVERYTHING!

Nothing will change. The guitar player and the singer will get all the girls, the drummer and bass player will get all the beer, and the keyboard player will get the hernia....

Dan

Well, Diki, I am not assuming the weight, which is on the Roland site as 84 lbs, and the price is supposed to be around $5900-$6000, or very near.

An 84 pound, $6000 digital piano with ONE sound (piano) in a downturn economy?

Yeah...that's a recipe for success.

Plus, once you get the 5 or even 10 piano sounds that you will use, that's it.

You can fix lots of piano weirdness with EQ.

And, listening to the demos, I don't hear "wood"...not much warmth either...I guess up against a $2000 digital piano, it sounds good....but it SHOULD for over twice the price.

No doubt it will still sound better than an RD, piano-wise, but I'd say this product is for a niche market...until it trickles down to more affordable and portable instruments, it will probably remain a rarity, much like the G70.

It's a one trick pony, (no expansion slots)...and a big fat pony at that...

You would really lug this around by yourself?

I'd like to see a "before and after" video of that feat.

And your chiropractor bills after a few months of moving it around.

I'm guessing, if you do buy it, it will reside in your studio...if not, you're going to need a pretty good road case to protect it, which will bump the weight up to over 100 lbs....not quite Fender Rhodes 73 territory(about 130 lb.), but still pretty darn heavy for one person to put on a stand, or lift in and out of a vehicle.

Why not wait till it comes out in a module, or something far more manageable?

It reminds me of the Yamaha GS1, the forerunner to the DX7...you remember that one...Toto used a couple...they are pretty much useless today, as will be this particular V-Piano in the future.

I guess you can convince yourself that it's a viable investment, and that it changes "EVERYTHING", but as far as I'm concerned, after making that kind of statement, you are the one making the assumptions.

Good luck to you with whatever you decide.

Ian



[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 02-08-2009).]