Roland RD Series

The Range:

RD-2000 | RD-88

Roland RD Stage Pianos come with an extended warranty when registered with Roland Backstage.

WHY A ROLAND RD STAGE PIANO?

Piano players have some very specific requirements for use on stage and these need to be considered when choosing a modern stage piano:

Feels Like An Acoustic Piano

Part of the reason keys players choose a piano-like instrument instead of a synthesizer is due to its piano action. An acoustic piano has 88 hammer weighted keys, with ivory style touch, and it is this distinct feel and response that connects a player with the instrument. No matter which RD Stage Piano you choose, each has a fantastic piano-like action, replicating the feel and response of an acoustic piano. When playing an RD Series Piano, the performer feels like they are sitting at an acoustic piano.

Each RD Series Stage Piano has a piano-style action with individually weighted keys, ivory feel and escapement.

Sounds Like An Acoustic Piano

Due to their lineage for always creating beautifully realistic Digital Pianos, Roland has always been at the forefront of the Stage Piano market. The RD Range features Roland’s acclaimed SuperNATURAL sound engine, which accurately recreates the subtleties and nuances of an acoustic piano’s tone. SuperNATURAL can also be found in many of the other instrument sounds.

For the most accurate piano experience, pair your RD Stage Piano with the RPU-3 Triple Pedal (sold separately).

A Wide Variety of Sounds

As mentioned above, the role of a keyboard player in a band has expanded far beyond playing the acoustic piano. Popular music is littered with the sounds of great keyboard instruments, including; electric pianos, clavinets, tonewheel organs, synthesizers and sampled sounds. A great stage piano needs to be able to offer this wide variety of tones. Each RD Series Keyboard has the facility to expand the internal sounds with additional content from Roland’s online resources.

The Roland RD Series offers thousands of sounds, ranging from Rhodes/Whurli, Tone Wheel Organ, Clavinet, Strings & Orchestral, Synthesizer/Pads and even Guitar.

Integrates With Your Existing Studio or Live Rig

Often keys players use more than one keyboard or use software instruments on stage to expand the sounds of their stage piano. A specific patch, on either an external keyboard or software instrument, may need to be performed live or there may be samples from a computer, that need to be triggered. A Roland RD Stage Keyboard provides this functionality, with the use of MIDI or USB connectivity and offers integration with Apple’s Mainstage programme.

RD Stage Pianos also include a built-in USB Audio Interface, meaning that you can record all the great internal sounds from just a USB Cable (sold separately).

Easy-To-Access Controls

With the need for so many different sounds, players need to be able to access these quickly in any situation and make adjustments on the fly. The slicker and easier a Stage Piano is to operate, the more a keyboard player can invest in their performance. This could be editing a sound, a layer/split or operating effects with hands-on control.

The Roland RD Series feature a wealth of onboard controls, easily accessible across the front panel, allowing you to make adjustments in real time.

For hands-free control, RD Series Stage Pianos are compatible with Boss FS Footswitches.

Built to Withstand Life On The Road

Life as a travelling musician is a rigorous and testing life for an instrument. A Stage Piano has to be designed for carrying to-and-from venues in a car, public transport or even flying on a plane. RD Stage Pianos are designed with premium components, offering exceptional reliability and durability.

Roland RD Stage Pianos come with an extended warranty when registered with Roland Backstage.

Protect your RD Stage Piano with a Roland Road Series Flight Case, which offers maximum protection.

Light Enough To Transport

A Stage Piano needs to be light and compact enough to be easily moved around so that you can carry them to your gig, studio session, rehearsal or piano student’s house pain-free.

Partner your RD Stage Piano with a Roland Keyboard Bag.

A Bit of History

An acoustic piano, whilst sounding fantastic, is not the easiest of instruments to transport. They are incredibly big instruments that can’t be made more compact for transportation and require regular maintenance (like tuning - which is a task for a professional). Easily weighing around 250kg, this obviously presented a problem for many piano players and many venues would keep an acoustic piano in house for this very reason.

Instrument manufacturers worked hard to try and create an instrument that would overcome these problems. The instrument would not only need to be portable, but have the same playing feel, and crucially same sound, as an acoustic piano.

Roland have led the way in many of the developments of technologies that are crucial in solving this issue. In 1972, they released the EP-30, the first touch-sensitive electronic piano, meaning a player could play a note softly and hear a soft sound, or play with force to hear a loud note.

In 1986 Roland released a truly ground-breaking instrument, the RD-1000. The RD-1000 was the first instrument in Roland’s revered RD series of stage pianos and featured 88-weighted wooden keys like an acoustic piano and had a very natural playing feel. And crucially, it was much lighter and compact than an acoustic piano which made it perfect for professional touring musicians and it became the go-to live instrument for global artists, like Elton John.

For users that require a production tool to create music with, check Roland’s Workstation range.

For users that require a stage keyboard that has more of an Organ focus, check Roland’s V-Combo range.