Jump to content

Roland RD700GX ivory key wear


Steve Rose

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I bought a Roland RD700GX stage piano new in September 2008. After 3 months I'm noticing considerable wear to the ivory key tops in the heavy traffic areas of the keyboard. This wear shows up as extra roughening of the key surface and is already quite noticeable to the touch in comparison with keys that are less well used.

 

Previous to the Roland I had a Yamaha P-250 stage piano for three years. When I sold it in October 2008 the keyboard was still in pretty good condition despite regular heavy use. I can't see the Roland lasting that long! It is a real shame because otherwise I think it is really very good. Has anyone else experienced problems like this with the Roland RD700GX?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Replies 62
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

I don't know if many people have the RD700GX keyboard on this site. I can't recall anyone that owns it offhand...

 

I was interested in that board at one time and would be disappointed if it did show signs of wear in such a short span of time. Are you positive that it's actual wear and not dirt stuck in the rougher "ivory feel"?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You get what you deserve. Didn't you know Roland actually has their very own poaching division right there in Africa? Japanese guys with elephant guns.... totally automated de-tusking facility and the whole nine yards. Shameless!

 

I hope you're enjoying your authentic ivory feel, asshole! You will have your own special room in hell with the corporate big-wigs at Roland.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members

I glad to hear (well not really glad, but interested) that others are experiencing this problem. I contacted Roland US customer service a couple of months ago and was told that they are aware of this problem on the earlier units. They told me that it is being corrected under warranty by replacing the keybed. I just contacted a Roland authorized repair facility and they are going to call me once they have confirmed what I was told.

 

When I first tried the ivory feel keyboard I thought it was OK, although I didn't see anything wrong with the normal, smooth plastic key tops. But after a few gigs, the keys started feeling gritty like they were dirty. I always wash my hands after setting up and before playing. And I always wipe my instruments down before packing them up. I asked the repair tech to see if there is a way that I could get the keybed from the FP7 as a replacement since it appears to be the same model as that used in the RD700GX except that is has normal key tops and doesn't have the escapement feature, which I think is kind of silly anyway.

 

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanx for your feedback Dave. It's the most positive news yet. Your comments about the FP7 are more or less exactly what I been thinking. I have played the FP7 too, IMO, the ivory feel of the GX isn't important (certainly not worth the angst its caused!) and the escapement feature isn't critical either. So I agree an FP7 substitute keybed would be a good solution.

Please let us know how you get on.

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Steve,

I've had the HP-207 for a little over a year and noticed the same key-wear issue. I've spoken with Roland, who say they'll replace the keys, if I pay for labor. I'm working out the details with my local service cntr here in CA.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that, even though they are all PHA II, the FP-7 action is not at all the same as the RD700GX or HP-207. I'm not sure if it's only due to the escapement, but the FP-7 action is one of the lightest among digitial pianos (including many Yamahas, etc), whereas the HP-207 and RD700GX are among the heaviest. The difference is measureable and your playing experience would be very different.

-Eric

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanx for your support here. Some good news! After some prodding, Roland UK has told me that Roland (Japan) has developed an improved key top surface which should solve the wear problem. It is apparently just going into production now. They have arranged to replace my key assy. with one of these once they are available in the UK. This is all FOC. As a performer it doesn't solve what I'll do when the piano is in the repair facility but that's tomorrow's problem. At least there is a light on the horizon.

 

It is supprising that at least 16 months (from the feedback I've had from others) have gone by during which time plenty of RD700GXs and HP207s must have been sold and Roland have only now faced the problem. I wonder how many people have been let down by this? After all fake ivory isn't a new invention for piano keys is it?

 

eJohn I'm interested in your comment about the FP-7 action. I've played both the GX and the FP-7, I can't say as I noticed the FP-7 being so different? Yes it is a bit lighter but it still has a similar precision and directness, closer to the SX but IMO a bit better. What about the 88 note sample set? Is that the same as an SX or somewhere in between the SX and the GX. It didn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm not sure it's a different chassis but I've read somewhere that it was an all-new design... they surely do respond different from the RD700SX.

 

Also, I kind of doubt a company like Roland would release a keybed that was utter crap as you said it is... the RD700SX was a pro digital piano... might not be your choice of design, but to call it "totally {censored}"?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

...One thing to keep in mind is that, even though they are all PHA II, the FP-7 action is not at all the same as the RD700GX or HP-207. I'm not sure if it's only due to the escapement, but the FP-7 action is one of the lightest among digitial pianos (including many Yamahas, etc), whereas the HP-207 and RD700GX are among the heaviest. The difference is measureable and your playing experience would be very different.

-Eric

 

 

Actually Roland U.S. customer service told me that the keybed in the FP7 and RD700GX is the same except for the keytops and excapement mechanism. The keys, weighting and frame are the same.

 

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Also, I kind of doubt a company like Roland would release a keybed that was utter crap as you said it is... the RD700SX was a pro digital piano... might not be your choice of design, but to call it "totally {censored}"?

 

 

it's total {censored} if i go over to my friend's house and see a pile of RD-700 key channel groups that were trashed because one little 2 mm x 2 mm plastic nub broke.

 

{censored}. total {censored}. they should be ashamed.

 

the thing i find shocking is that i personally know of 20 of these assemblies which are trashed, from two different players. one of whom is a Hammond organist, a diminutive lady with a firm but definitely not violent touch.

 

how can this be and no one talks about this? are keychannels considered "consumables" by digital stage piano enthusiasts? if this is normal for clavinovas and kurzweils i'd like to know about it, srsly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

it's total {censored} if i go over to my friend's house and see a pile of RD-700 key channel groups that were trashed because one little 2 mm x 2 mm plastic nub broke.


{censored}. total {censored}. they should be ashamed.


the thing i find shocking is that i personally know of 20 of these assemblies which are trashed, from two different players. one of whom is a Hammond organist, a diminutive lady with a firm but definitely not violent touch.


how can this be and no one talks about this? are keychannels considered "consumables" by digital stage piano enthusiasts? if this is normal for clavinovas and kurzweils i'd like to know about it, srsly.

 

 

Believe me, Fatar keybeds are pretty cheap as well. Unfortunately, you can find them on many synths from different manufacturers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Believe me, Fatar keybeds are pretty cheap as well. Unfortunately, you can find them on many synths from different manufacturers.

 

 

Not to take this thread in a different direction, but that is not simply not true. Some of the older FATAR keybeds had some issues with key weights breaking due to heavy-handed playing (though personally I never broke any), but that was quite a while ago. The current keybeds for the past 6+ years or so are very dependable.

 

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...