On 2003-12-07, Dave rated this Roland RD 700 a 5...(6721)
Purchase: Guitar Center. About $1900.00 over a year ago.
Pros: It is the closet keyboard to a piano thus far in the evolution of the things. It is the first and only as far as I know which can be used to practice on much like a real piano. The action is the best of breed. It has plenty of sounds and the usual keyboard fare but I only use a few. I guess what I mean is it is piano like. It is the only keyboard I would reccomend for those of you who are pianists and need a board to practice on when the real thing is not available. Or to play out.
And I think the action is such that it is not as harmful to your hands and wrists and other keyboards are.
Cons: I don't know midi and can never seem to learn all the complications of the thing. I can use some basic features but I know it will do so much more. Even just at the level I use it I think it is great.
It is somewhat heavy. Get a case with wheels! Stairs are tough.
Quality: Construction and quality are very very good. I've had mine a long time and it has been all kinds of places. I play in two bands and musicals and the thing gets around and has never acted up or given me any trouble.
Review Summary: This is the best stage piano in my mind. I would not replace it with anything else out there. I hope it lasts a long time.
On 2003-01-07, B Donaldson rated this Roland RD 700 a 4...(3832)
Purchase: For my 50th birthday my wife surprised me with a Roland RD 700.
I had been looking at all of the various electric stage pianos and thought this one looked pretty interesting as it seemed to deliver everything I wanted at the best price.
Thus, The keyboard was bought to provide an electric stage piano with variety of piano, electric piano, and organ voices. It had to be light enough to take when playing out and would otherwise be kept in our music room with drum set, amps, PA etc.
The Roland RD 700 was bought to replace an older, Alisus (sp?) Q77 keyboard that has unweighted keys, only 77 keys, is difficult to move from voice to voice since the LED display is damaged and has not been what I have enjoyed playing given a choice.
My wife bought The Roland RD 700 via an internet purchase at Z Zounds for $1,989, including shipping.
Pros: 1. great weighted feel on the keys
2. excellent voices
3. ease of moving from voice to voice
4. In comparison to other similar stage pianos this seemed to deliver the most bang for the buck.
5. There is a sense of the piano having something powerful about it that is difficult to describe but thrilling to play.
Cons: 1. have yet to find a matching gig bag or hard case
2. It going to be a beast to move around as it's pretty heavy
3. There are better B-3 Leslie voices out there
Quality: seems very sturdy; so far so good
Review Summary: The Roland RD 700, though a big expense for our budget, seemed to offer the most value in the category and seems to be exactly what I thought it would be. I did not expect to have such difficulty finding a gig bag or hard shell to fit it but further exploration may solve that problem.
Only having it for the last two months I am pleased thus far.
