Roland RP-701 Review

The playing feel of the PHA-4 Standard keybed

On a keybed where you feel the weight of the hammers and which responds honestly to dynamics, most rate it as making expressive practice easier. The ivory-feel surface, which keeps fingers from slipping, is also mentioned favourably.

The finish of the furniture-style cabinet

Several reviews note looks that make it seem, on walking into the room, as if there were an acoustic upright there. Many voices report high satisfaction on the premise of placing it in a living room.

Three pedals and a full set of practice features

With three pedals including a continuous-detection damper, recording and a set of built-in songs, most rate it as practical as a family's first instrument. Some also value how natural the pedal response feels.

Natural headphone practice

On the 3D ambience processing used with headphones, there are favourable comments that a sense of space comes through even in a small room. It is welcomed in homes where quiet practice is the norm.

The piano engine is less finely crafted than higher models

The RP-701's piano tone is described as a configuration that also uses sampling, whereas the higher HP-702 is full modelling, and some note it is beautiful but a little narrow in its range of adjustment. The view is that it leaves something wanting for those who want to fine-tune the tone in detail.

The sound tends to muddy at high volume

One review notes that, as the volume is raised, the sound tends to muddy past a certain point. It adds, however, that at the volumes used at home this is unlikely to be an issue.

Heavy, and hard to move once set up

Being a heavy console, a recurring comment is that it cannot be moved casually once installed. The reading is that you should decide where it goes before bringing it in.