You won't sound like a rock star, but it's a start
Written: Jul 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easily portable, great tone quality for the money
Cons: Somewhat stiff and unbalanced key action, plain Jane features
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| Signe's Full Review: Roland Hp-126 Digital Piano |
This piano was entirely an impulse buy for me -- I woke up one morning, decided I NEEDED a digital piano, walked into the store, and bought the cheapest one that I liked.
Not generally the best way to drop $1400. I don't recommend this method. Foolish spending habits aside, though, I do recommend this keyboard, with some reservations.
I chose digital instead of used acoustic for several reasons. First, digital keyboards are extremely portable. Given that I expect to move a lot until settling down with a family, I wanted something I could take with me cheaply and easily. Second, digital pianos have volume controls and headphone jacks... and I have 2 roommates who are very appreciate of those features. Finally, I liked the idea of being able to compose and arrange using my computer (via MIDI)... although I haven't done this yet.
FEATURES
-4 voices (piano, electric piano, organ, harpsichord)
-Transpose and MIDI functions
-Built in speakers, stereo sound
-2 headphone jacks
-2 pedals (soft and damper)
The HP-126 is the lowest model in Roland's HP series, so you don't get many bells and whistles beyond what you'd get with an old-fashioned acoustic piano. It IS a Roland, however, and their reputation for quality is well-deserved.
The piano voice is stereo sampled from a Steinway grand; other brands (like Kawai, I think) sample from dinky little Yamaha uprights or other pale imitations. As a result, the piano voice on this Roland model is rich, full, and authentic -- noticeably moreso than models in the same price range from other brands. The harpsichord and organ voices are also fairly convincing. The electric piano is the only disappointment; it sounds a little tinny and simple, like something you'd expect from a half-sized 1980s Casio.
The stereo speakers are adequate for everyday practice, but if you're using this to perform you'll probably want something with more power and depth. I've found the other features unnecessarily complicated: I still haven't gotten the Transpose function to work (it should be easily enabled when you turn the piano on, but the instructions are incomprehensible).
PERFORMANCE
I'm not very nice to my piano, but it's held up well. It lives in a room with an entire wall of windows, subject to extreme and frequent temperature variation: on an average day, the temp ranges from about 40 to 70, but can drop into the 30s and swelter up into the 90s in the space of a week. Even these changes haven't seemed to affect the piano's performance -- it works reliably in any weather.
I've had 2 issues that may be particular to my piano but could be part of a larger problem with the brand or this model.
First, although the overall touch is light, responsive, and very similar to a real piano, the weighting of individual keys is off-balance. Several keys are noticeably stiffer than others; some keys don't sound at all unless you pound them.
Second, my piano has a completely idiosyncratic tuning. It's perfectly in tune with itself, but an A on my keyboard is more like a B flat to the rest of the world. This makes it difficult to collaborate with other musicians -- strings can easily tune to me, of course, but what about a trumpet or another keyboard? Also, for anyone with strong or perfect pitch, it's disconcerting (to say the least!) when familiar songs sound nearly a half-step sharp.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I'm not sorry I bought this piano: it has incredible sound, a nice feel, and it's easy to move. For someone who wants to just play and doesn't care too much about extra features, it performs admirably. I do, however, wish I'd done a little more research on pianos in general and spent a little more time playing my piano in particular before buying. I don't think you'll find anything that sounds better for the money, and that was most important to me. But you may find something that's less fussy and has more -- and more user-friendly -- features.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Signe
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Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 23 members
About Me:
Hot babe robot.
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