Pianos & Organs

Application
I just wanted a digital keyboard that felt like an actual piano, that wouldn't take up to much space in the living room.
Context
I use it to pound, improvise, write, learn songs by ear
Other products
I have tried many digital pianos like this one at guitar center and other music stores.
Pros and Cons
Pro, It feels like a piano. There are some with weighted keys that don't feel like a piano, this isn't one of them. It's easy to operate. You plug it into the wall, press the red button and you can play immediately. All the sounds are immediately above the keys, well marked, easy to understand. It has a wide range of outputs, from midi, rca out, to 1/4 out. Cons? Well it was broke when I gathered it. I had to tear it apart with a volt meter to figure out what was wrong. I did some searching online, and in some forum somewhere a guy said, "It has no fuse, most problems are either the dc input jack solder on the feet got loose on the board or the AC adapter failed. So it does have known issues. However, It was easy to fix once I took a solder gun and just heated and reseated the dc jack back on the board. Luckily, I didn't need to buy any new parts. So if you are fixing one of these, don't make the mistake I did and try to take out the switch to test it. It was a huge pain screwing it back in. Imagine playing the game operation. Cons, it sounds thin. They could have put beefier speakers in it. Cons, Its kinda ugly with the wood finish.

Overall
It would not be my first choice if I were to actually purchase a digital piano. However, the price was right, and I will say this, I used to own a Casio Privia, which I like quite a bit better in terms of sounds and aesthetics, however, I would have zero reason to upgrade this Yamaha to a better digital piano no matter the cost. Why? It gets the job done. And in my use, the sound is good enough, the feel is quite good, and pianos are built to be listened to and played not looked at. I would have payed up to 150 usd for the keyboard.

My Kawai KG3E was made in 1990. I traded in my Kawai KG1E for this piano along with a cash differential to move from a 5' 4" instrument to a 6' 1" instrument. First, I live in a large city and visited many new and used piano dealers in the area and spoke with a number of technicians to get recommended brand feedback. Kawai and Yamaha were the most frequent brands recommended for reliability and build quality.

As I understand it, my KG3E piano had been well cared for (kept in a climate controlled environment, used in a home, kept clean with the top down when not used and lightly used ).

My piano is a 6 foot model. The bass response in our home is full and warm. The piano tone overall has been voiced warm as well. The sound has been and remains consistent across the keyboard. The piano holds tune amazingly well. The action touch is moderate, perhaps somewhere between a Steinway and current Yamaha and Kawai models. Finally the piano has a good dynamic range.

The technicians I spoke with shared that the late model KG Kawais are "work horses" with found in many clubs, churches and commercial venues throughout Dallas. The general opinion was that they are extremely stable and reliable instruments to buy. What I was told is that pianos really wear out from heavy use and the climate conditions they were stored in, not from age.

Personally I recommend the older KG line of pianos as they are excellent values, I've had very good luck with them, and the technical community in my area thinks highly of them. I get the feeling that the new piano dealers really wish these pianos would simply go away. Perhaps these stable used instruments are competing too much with newly made pianos?

First, let me correct something here. The RD 2000 has 8 independent zones (which means, you can play up to 8 patches/sounds at a time, and adjust each of them independently). But you can combine even more than 8 at a time with a DAW of course.
It does not need built-in speakers... why? Because it is a Stage Digital Piano; it was designed focused on the professional use. But despite being marketed as a digital piano, it does has the power of an extremely powerful MIDI controller, bundled with extensive MIDI features, including combinations and scenes, great DAW integration with a built-in audio interface at 24bit/48Khz, and it has more than 1,100 non-piano sounds, including organs, synths, brass, orchestral strings, and many others, plus the expansions. And gorgeous pianos sounds (which for me is a top priority) and many great other sounds. In fact, this is much more than just a digital piano.

But one of my favorite things about the RD 2000 is the authentic hammer action and escapement; this keybed captures every nuance of your expression, you can feel how this piano reacts to your expression as you play. It is the Roland's premium PHA-50 keyboard action which other than a real grand piano, the RD 2000 is the one that has given me the most satisfactory action and feel. This includes an advanced sensor mechanism which makes it incredibly responsive to acoustic and electric pianos.

The piano sounds are gorgeous. But I recommend you two things to have the same happiness that I have with this piano: 1st, install the latest system update from the Roland website. 2nd, learn to create your own (custom) piano sound; it's easy and there are instructional videos online to help you. Why? Because your idea of how a piano sound should be, is different than my idea, and anyone else idea. Everybody has a different preference. But that's one of the great things about the RD 2000, it does gives you an easy way to create your own dream piano. Both, the V-Piano Engine and the SuperNatural sound engine, both are amazing. Try it!

And there's a lot of features and good things to say about this instrument, but I don't want to make this review longer.

If you are a pianist, your top priority is the piano sounds and the action/feel. This instrument gives you that, plus the MIDI and stage/performance features.

In a few words: When I bought this piano, I was just trying it, but then I couldn't resist to this instrument, and I keep it. I was so amazed of everything! Roland made a really great job with this instrument. I love it forever!