Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Forum for RD-700GX, RD-700NX and RD-800
howardS
Posts: 1759
Joined: 03:22, 10 March 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by howardS »

Oh nooooooo!
Rodan
Posts: 486
Joined: 14:33, 10 June 2006
Location: San Diego, USA

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by Rodan »

Ken,

How are you able to make such rational decisions about your gear? I get too emotionally attached to my toys, could never pass one on to a stranger.
kenchan
Posts: 1876
Joined: 23:46, 22 December 2008

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by kenchan »

Rodan wrote:Ken,

How are you able to make such rational decisions about your gear? I get too emotionally attached to my toys, could never pass one on to a stranger.
im not emotionally connected to my RD700NX. the reason being, almost all high-end roland gear and digital pianos (less VPiano) now runs super-natural piano. There is nothing 'special' about the RD as it was in the past where it was the only 88key sampled stage piano with parameters to make your own piano.

even a synth like JP80 or Integra7 can do what the RD can do as far as piano sounds today...sure no PHA3, but the good piano sounds are the same to me.

i feel connection with my VPiano and CP1 because no other model sounds like these instruments. they have their own distinct sounds and playability. CP5 is close to CP1, but it only has part of the spectral components and only one modeled tone generator. The CP1 can create much fatter sound than the CP5... plus it being a premium instrument adds more to the character and fun of ownership.

that said, to me, the RD's sounds are no different than me playing say a Integra7 via my FG8.

the other features? not to rant but the mp3 backing track not working without cutting off notes im playing is a huge minus. the drum kits sounds cheap like from the late 1990's... sound focus? i dont use it. compressor? i have outboard tube compressors... synth sounds, i have tons of them... sliders, knobs, and other controls? my FG8 has more. then what's different? PHA3 and the vel sens/key touch parameters. thats about it.
drpopper
Posts: 62
Joined: 09:42, 27 December 2009

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by drpopper »

I've kept both .... Can't live without the RD ....Can't live without my CP1
howardS
Posts: 1759
Joined: 03:22, 10 March 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by howardS »

Ken, how are you dealing with 2,3, and 4 with the CP1? I dont see MP3 playback on the CP1 and of course you only have the piano and keyboard sounds so there are no drums on that board either.
kenchan
Posts: 1876
Joined: 23:46, 22 December 2008

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by kenchan »

howard- i use an akai drum machine or MBP (logic) with my CP1 to play.

i was hoping i wouldn't have to do that with the RD since it has the USB playback and drum/drum patterns built in... my ultimate goal was to make backing tracks on my FG8, save onto USB, and just run it in my RD while i play.

how are you guys coping with the release being cut off? do you just ignore it or just run midi files and pretend GM sounds are okay?
kenchan
Posts: 1876
Joined: 23:46, 22 December 2008

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by kenchan »

drpopper wrote:I've kept both .... Can't live without the RD ....Can't live without my CP1
but what if you had an option to run FG8, Integra7, and RD and CP1?

i would think the RD would go first?
howardS
Posts: 1759
Joined: 03:22, 10 March 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by howardS »

My point here, Ken, is that while it is a shame that you can't use MP3s properly on the RD700NX it isn't as though the CP1 solves that issue. So then it is about the sound and the board's ability to let you quickly get at and manipulate the sounds. They all have compromises so for me it is about finding the one with the set of compromises that you can live with.
howardS
Posts: 1759
Joined: 03:22, 10 March 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by howardS »

Also, Ken as you know I respect your opinion so I am curious about your choosing the CP1 over the RD700NX.

You said that the CP1's pianos weren't the best but that they got the point across. While it is personal, I found that there were some weird sound issues for me when playing certain chords. Simple triads were fine but then I heard funny things when I added colour tones like a 9th to minor 7 chords...and not good funny things. It started to sound like there was some looping going on which made it sound unnatural.

Also, of course, the CP1 has a very limited soundset. The CP1 has the two pianos, the various Rhodes pianos, the CP80 and CP88, Wurly, and the DX pianos. There is no clav, no strings, no organ, no pads... Since you have the G and the Integra-7 I assume you use other sounds. What will you use if you want to play anything other than just the piano/keyboard sound?
kenchan
Posts: 1876
Joined: 23:46, 22 December 2008

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by kenchan »

howard- if you're into playing tines, the RD just does not cut it. CP1's tines are good, and its piano's arent bad. not as bad as the tines in the RD when compared. RD's pianos are definitely good. i have been told the mid-tones sound artificial by some though.

the other sounds like clav, organs, i dont really play them. i use them in my composition at times, but i dont play them realtime. im really into tines as far as non-piano keyboard instruments. i dont play cp80, wurly, DX in my CP1. since im running outboard gear, i have strings and pads if i want to use them in layers off AU instruments. i also have several nice AU piano's (including tines) as well, for those tracks i dont really need half-pedaling.

i am not really comparing the RD to the CP1. im comparing the RD to the Integra7 + FG8 combo. when compared to these serious tone generating machines, the RD's only advantage would be the PHA3 and the keytouch controls. neither the FG8 or the Integra7 has good tines like what the CP1 can produce. thus, CP1 has its own unique advantage... enough to stand on its own. RD is a jack of all trades kind of board with nice piano sounds. but if i just want nice dynamic and unique piano, i have a vpiano...
howardS
Posts: 1759
Joined: 03:22, 10 March 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by howardS »

Thanks for the clarification. As far as tines, I play lots of Rhodes and Wurly sounds and I remember that although I liked the EPs on the CP1 I just couldn't figure out how to adjust the effects like the vibrato. I like making lots of adjustments while I play but that didn't seem accessible to me on the CP1. I just looked at this review from Sound on Sound on the CP1 and they seemed to confirm it. That review said:
EP Pre-amp block issues: electric pianos’ preamp block. What Yamaha call ‘vibrato’ is actually a square-wave type auto-pan for the Rhodes models, and for the Wurlitzers a tremolo, which is fair enough. However, these characteristics are absolutely fixed — you can’t get auto-pan on a Wurlitzer, for example — and what’s worse is that the tremolo speed is fixed. All far too restrictive. Worse still, the CP1’s sound output is disrupted momentarily by adjusting various parameters, such as the tone controls for the CP80/88, 78RdII and Dyno, or by switching some Performance blocks on or off. That’s bad enough, but it’s downright perverse that you can assign expression pedal control to some of the same parameters.
Have they fixed this issue or do you not play it that way?
kenchan
Posts: 1876
Joined: 23:46, 22 December 2008

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by kenchan »

adjustments are easy on the CP1. it's just press a button and hold to enter the block. then adjust. you can assign the parameter to the 6 big dials under the display as well. i donno, i program synths all the time so going into these settings has never been a big deal to me. i suppose for a piano player or newb that just wants to play, it might be difficult for them to comprehend. the autopan on the rhodes is completely adjustable on the CP1 and does not cut-off audio when turned on/off. only when you add the mod-efx does it cut off the sound momentarily. i never like that either, but usually it's either on or off when i program the sound so it hasn't bothered me.

you can try to bring down the CP1, but like said earlier, it can stand on its own. rather trying to pull other models down, it is more effective if roland could just fix the damn wav/mp3 playback problem off USB without cutting off the release of the notes i play... make it work like it's suppose to.

also, im not comparing the RD to the CP1. im comparing the RD to the Integra7 to be played with my FG8. if i had the Integra7, i would have no need for the RD700NX..but i could still use the tines off the CP1 cause the tines in the Intgra7 sounds no better than the tines in the RD.
howardS
Posts: 1759
Joined: 03:22, 10 March 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by howardS »

I certainly didn't spend the time on it that you have so I just wanted to understand it a little. I know you are not comparing the RD to the CP1....got that. It sounds like that reviewer perhaps also didn't spend the time on it. Anyhow, let us know if you end up grabbing the Integra-7 and selling the RD.
kenchan
Posts: 1876
Joined: 23:46, 22 December 2008

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by kenchan »

i was reading through this thread again just to update it... and i noticed in that soundonsound quote above they were complaining about the CP1's tremolo speed on the whirly is fixed and no autopan. lol that's how the real ones are on most of whirly's 100 models. yamaha just recreated what the real deal is.

"you can’t get auto-pan on a Wurlitzer, for example — and what’s worse is that the tremolo speed is fixed. All far too restrictive. "

that cracked me up. like complaining an acoustic piano has no MIDI. All far too restrictive. uhhhh...

anyway no update for me. i still have my RD. it's sitting idle in my music room though being decided if i want to keep it or not for the piano sounds. I checked out the i7, but it's mostly a repeat of the sounds i already have, so if i do get a new module of some kind, i think it will be a korg unit.
howardS
Posts: 1759
Joined: 03:22, 10 March 2006
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Think im going to sell my RD700NX soon...

Post by howardS »

The point I think he is making is that many people added other effects to these old boards in the real world so why limit it when recreating the sounds on the CP1. We add phaser and other effects that weren't on the original boards just as we pair Leslie speakers to Hammond organs. I guess if one is a purest then perhaps there is no point on adding these effects but I doubt many of us play Hammond organ sounds without any Leslie effect, you know, the way Hammond intended it.
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