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In this comprehensive Roland FP 30 review, we cover one of the few keyboards that the high-end keyboard company Roland sells for less than $1,000. With an excellent price to value ratio, the Roland FP-30 provides an experience that is anything but entry-level.
Known for its compact and portable design and powerful performance, the Roland FP-30 is one of the best options if you’re looking for a budget piano to polish your piano skills before investing in a more expensive, acoustic piano.
The FP-30 by Roland is also known for its excellent portability. It’s extremely lightweight, making it a great option for musicians who are usually on the go. The Roland FP-30 is a great keyboard for both home and stage use!
Let’s have a look at the power-packed Roland FP-30 in detail:
Overview of Roland FP-30
Unlike most entry and intermediate level keyboards, the Roland FP-30 is an 88-key digital piano that allows you to enjoy the experience of playing a full-sized acoustic piano. The progressive hammer action keys of the Roland FP-30 come with an Ivory Feel that makes your piano playing experience truly emotional and satisfying. The keys are touch-sensitive. The sensitivity level can be adjusted at 5 different levels to suit your requirements.
The design has been kept simple and elegant that makes the Roland FP-30 a visual treat. Weighing on 31 pounds, it is a perfect choice for musicians who are on the road often. The front of the keyboard features the controls and buttons, which is the only distraction on, otherwise, flawless, smooth and elegant finish!
The Roland FP-30 is equipped with technologies that you will only find in advanced, higher-level keyboards. Among many, some of the notable features include harpsichord and Celeste samples, Harmond-style Jazz Organ presets, and its ability to turn pages via the Bluetooth. The twin-piano mode, split keyboard, and Metronome, along with 8 basic rhythm patterns and 35 voices, are some of its typical features.
With the Roland FP-30, you’re in for a big deal! Priced similar to entry-level keyboards but equipped with features that are more commonly found in professional keyboards makes the Roland FP-30 a massive catch for musicians, beginners and intermediate-level players alike!
Roland FP-30 Video Overview
A ten-minute Roland FP-30 video demonstration with Alicia Baker from Kraft Music.
Roland FP-30 Specs
The specifications of the Roland FP-30 are listed below:
|
Specification |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Keys |
88, fully-weighted keys |
|
Keyboard |
PHA-4 Standard Keyboard with Ivory Feel and Escapement |
|
Touch Sensitivity |
5 types, Off |
|
Songs |
SuperNATURAL Piano Sound |
|
Polyphony |
128 notes |
|
Modes |
Split, Duo (Twin Piano), Dual |
|
Recorder |
1 track MIDI recorder (3 songs) |
|
Songs |
30 built-in songs |
|
Piano Simulation |
Damper Resonance, String Resonance, Key Off Resonance |
|
Metronome |
8 rhythm styles |
|
Speakers |
2 speakers (2cm x 12cm) |
|
Amplifiers |
11W + 11W |
|
Connection |
USB to Device, USB to Host, headphone jack x 2, Bluetooth 4.0, Sustain Pedal jack |
|
Dimension |
51.2 inches x 11.2 inches x 5.8 inches |
|
Weight |
31 pounds |
Who is the Roland FP-30 is Most Suitable For?
Considering the number and quality of its features, the Roland FP-30 is not just suitable for beginners but is a great choice for performing players and for the use in music classrooms. Its features are unlike any of the other entry-level keyboards. Starting from 88 keys to SuperNATURAL Piano Sound, the Roland FP-30 is nothing short of a power pack!
Its compact design makes it a perfect choice for on-the-go musicians. It weighs only 31 pounds, which makes it super easy and convenient to carry it along while you’re on the move.
If you look at the price, the Roland FP-30 falls in the category for entry-level keyboards, but when you evaluate its features, the Roland FP-30 features literally everything you’ll need in a keyboard for your stage performance! So, it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner trying to learn to play the piano or an intermediate-level performer, the Roland FP-30 will suit you best!
What’s Included with the Roland FP-30
As a buyer, you’ll be interested to know what comes with the package. The Roland FP-30 comes as a complete package. The package includes an Owner’s Manual, a Music Rest, an AC adapter, a Damper pedal, and a power cord for connecting the AC adapter. You don’t have to worry about buying the basic accessories out of your pocket when you’re purchasing the Roland FP-30.
Roland FP-30 Features
When we say the Roland FP-30 is packed with powerful features, we actually mean it. It has all the features that contribute to enhancing your keyboard playing experience. Let’s have a look at its features in detail.
|
FEATURE |
DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
|
Design |
The Roland FP-30 has a super compact design that makes it fit for smaller spaces. You can even put it on a desk or a table without any problems. The size of this digital keyboard is smaller than other portable keyboards with a width of 51.2 inches, depth of 11.2 inches, and a height of 5.9 inches. Weighing only 31 pounds, the Roland FP-30 is surely a great catch for musicians who like to travel with their keyboards.
The left side on the top surface of the keyboard features the control panel with 13 buttons. The buttons on the panel include volume control, song recorder, Metronome, and instrument categories. The function of each key is marked inconspicuously above them. The headphone jack is recessed into the front panel. You will find the USB MIDI connectors and USB memory on the rear side of the control panel. All in all, all the control buttons and accessories have been arranged to keep the design of the keyboard as compact as possible. The clean design is what gives the Roland FP-30 a fresh and appealing look. |
|
Keyboard |
The Roland FP-30 consists of 88 progressive hammer action keys, which means that the keys on the low-end are heavier, and the ones on the high-end are lighter – just like an acoustic piano. The hammer action keys with Ivory Feel help users enjoy the experience of an acoustic piano at a much lower price.
The keyboard is PHA-4 Standard. PHA-4 Standard keyboard is the 4th generation action that the company just developed. PHA-4 action produces less noise and has an improved mechanism is particular. It also features a 3-sensor key detection system. As a result, the Roland FP-30 produces precise sound and delivers an authentic playing experience.
The keys are touch-sensitive, which means that the sound produced when you hit the key as hard as you hit them. The sensitivity level can be adjusted as per your preferences. Unlike most digital pianos that offer 3 sensitivity settings, the Roland FP-30 offers 5 options (Super Heavy, Heavy, Medium, Light, Super Light, and Fixed) that can meet your needs more precisely. If you want consistent sound, you can choose the fixed setting.
Ivory keytops, a reliable hammer action, and the 3-sensor technology provide you with an incredibly realistic feel of a professional acoustic piano! |
|
Sound |
The Roland FP-30 features the well-known SuperNATURAL modeling technology. Most digital pianos available today feature multi-layered samples that are recorded in different dynamics to ensure that appropriate sound is played in accordance with the force the under strikes the keys.
However, SuperNATURAL modeling technology uses full-length samples as in an acoustic piano. Hence, there is a smooth transition between notes, samples, and velocities. It is the reason why the Roland FP-30 produces such a fine sound.
The Roland FP-30 also features stretched tuning that makes the pitch of low-end notes lower and that of high-end higher, such as in an acoustic piano.
All in all, the Roland FP-30 produces rich and bright sound!
The sound-related features do not end here. Apart from the amazing piano sounds, the Roland FP-30 also offers other instrument sounds as well, which will help you unleash your creativity!
128-note polyphony won’t have you worried about having your notes cut-off when you’re playing challenging pieces or in the Dual Mode. |
|
Speakers |
The Roland FP-30 features two 2cm x 12 cm speakers with 2, 11 Watt amplifiers that deliver natural and rich sound with great bass response and resonance. The speakers are powerful enough for small performances. |
|
Modes |
The FP-30 by Roland features two modes; split-mode and dual-mode. Split-mode allows the user to play a different sound on each of the 2 sections that split-mode creates. The dual-mode allows layering two different instrument sounds. Whenever you play the Roland FP-30 in dual-mode, two instrument sounds are played at the same time.
The Twin Piano or the Duet Play is another interesting feature of the Roland FP-30 that splits the keyboard into two parts with the same pitch ranges, allowing two players to sit side by side and play together. |
|
Recording Playback |
This digital piano by Roland features a 1-track MIDI recorder, allowing you to record your performances in the internal memory or USB drive and listen to it later. Not only does the Roland FP-30 allow you to playback of your own recorded sounds, but you can enjoy 30 in-built songs along with any MIDI and EAV files from your USB flash drive. |
|
Connectivity |
You can connect two headphones to the Roland FP-30 at the same time. The USB to Host port allows you to connect your keyboard to your computer. Bluetooth MIDI allows you to connect your keyboard to your laptop or tablet wirelessly. USB to Device port makes it possible for you to connect a USB flash drive to your the Roland FP-30. |
Pros & Cons of the Roland FP-30
The pros and cons of the Roland FP-30 are listed below:
|
PROS |
|---|
|
|
cons |
|---|
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The Roland FP-30 YouTube Tutorial Videos
To understand how to use the Roland FP-30, you can always take some help from the YouTube tutorial videos. Some of the most helpful YouTube videos for the Roland FP-30 are listed down below:
Roland FP-30 Manual
You can go through the official user manual on the Roland website. Simply follow the link:
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD ROLAND FP-30 MANUAL
The Roland FP-30 vs. Yamaha P125
The Roland FP-30 and the Yamaha P125 are both great pianos in the category of stage pianos. However, despite being great in many aspects, they differ from one another in numerous aspects.
KEYS
The Roland FP-30 features keys with an ivory top that feel nice and offer an excellent grip, whereas the Yamaha P125 has standard plastic and matte keys, giving the Roland FP-30 a clear win in this regard.
OUTPUT
The Yamaha P125 has the edge over the Roland FP-30 with its Line-Out sockets that the Roland FP-30 lack. The only output that the Roland FP-30 has is the headphone jack.
SOUND QUALITY
The Roland FP-30 comes with the SuperNATURAL sound engine, which delivers a superior sound quality. Although the sound quality of the Yamaha P125 is great too, the Roland FP-30 wins by a slight margin in this regard.
weight
The Roland FP-30 weighs 2kgs more than the Yamaha P125. While it doesn’t sound like a significant difference, when you’re packing up after a long, tiring jam, the difference can feel a lot!
CONNECTIVITY
The Roland FP-30 has Bluetooth connectivity that not many keyboards in this price range have, giving the Roland FP-30 a significant benefit over the Yamaha P125.
After comparing the Roland FP-30 and the Yamaha P125, we can conclude that among the two, the Roland FP-30 is best for home use while the Yamaha P125 is more suitable for gigging!
Sweetwater’s Roland FP-30 Review
Summary
The Roland FP-30 is an excellent choice for anyone who is looking for a digital piano that delivers an experience that is close to that of an acoustic piano. Not many keyboards in this price range are equipped with such incredible features. In our opinion, the Roland FP-30 is worth all the praise and hype!
Roland FP-30 (click image for more info)
