New Roland A-88MKII MIDI 2.0 88-key controller

[Mark Schmieder]

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/roland-introduces-midi-2-0-ready-a-88mkii-midi-keyboard-controller-47375

 

Ivory Feel PHA-4 keybed. I'm on jury duty with extremely limited personal time, so can't do the comparison right now and don't remember which one that is or where it is used.

 

My apologies if this has been posted; I did a forum search and scrolled a page or two, but each page load takes 5 minutes so I ran out of patience after that.

[Adan]

So Mark I guess you"re trying to tell us the jury"s still out on this one?

[nursers]

Will look forward to checking this out. At 35 pounds / 16kg it's no lightweight but most 88-key units aren't....

[ElmerJFudd]

https://www.roland.com/global/products/a-88mk2/

 

 

https://cdm.link/2020/01/roland-a-88mkii-midi2/

 

this thing begs a good tryout.

i wonder what Roland's aversion is to making the case shorter and placing the pitch/mod, knobs and buttons over the keys.

 

http://www.rolandus.com/static.roland.com/products/a-88mk2/images/a-88mk2_main.jpg

 

Features:

 

USB-C connectivity

RGB-lit controls

PHA-4 keyboard action, fully weighted 88-keys (it isn"t just marketing speak â Roland do have a good record on response time, etc.)

Three zones for defining your own layers and splits

Arpeggiator onboard

Roland"s 'famous pitch/mod lever' â yeah, it"s a Roland paddle, which you"ll love or hate

Full MIDI and USB compliance, so you can use this with anything, with or without a computer

Dedicated sustain, plus two additional control inputs (for expression or footswitches, as you define)

Chord memory

Pad triggers (assignable)

Assignable controls (also look handy with MIDI 2.0, and ideal for synthesists, for instance)

Wooden construction

 

 

 

[AWkeys]

I think putting the controls on the left of an 88-key controller is a bad idea. Increases the amount of space need on stage, harder to fit into a compact car or SUV. Always wondered why Roland did this. And yeah, I'm not a fan of the Roland paddle unless it's combined with normal wheels like their awesome A-90/70s from long ago.

[drawback]

I think putting the controls on the left of an 88-key controller is a bad idea. Increases the amount of space need on stage, harder to fit into a compact car or SUV. Always wondered why Roland did this. And yeah, I'm not a fan of the Roland paddle unless it's combined with normal wheels like their awesome A-90/70s from long ago.

 

I believe that"s Roland"s version of the 'double-down.'

 

I wonder if the A-x00 Pros are getting an upgrade? Have had my eyes on the 800.

[Legatoboy]

The earlier 76 key version I tried at GC a few times felt very very good

. . .

[stoken6]

The earlier 76 key version I tried at GC a few times felt very very good

Roland 76-key controller? Are you referring to the A50/A70? They had very good actions, sorely missed.

 

Regards, Mike.

 

[Adan]

Controls on left didn"t make sense on the RD64, and makes even less sense on an 88. Ergonomically, your left hand will be closer to the controls if they"re above and not to the left. And that"s a long keyboard to be swinging around during transport. Maybe there"s a reason other than ergonomics but I can"t guess what that is.

[Dave Keys]

I think putting the controls on the left of an 88-key controller is a bad idea. Increases the amount of space need on stage, harder to fit into a compact car or SUV. Always wondered why Roland did this.....

 

This totally. I can only assume the men in white coats at Roland HQ in Japan think their customer base are all bodybuilding twentysomethings who drive very long cars or trucks, or are international rockstars who play on ultra wide stages with roadies to carry the gear.

 

They need to step out of the labs, and come to the UK and US and hang out with their main customer base - gigging musos. Join us for the varied load ins with our funk and soul bands. See the variety of venues and the width of the stages (IF there's a stage at all which there usually isn't at wedding venues here in the UK). Understand that people do book 8 piece bands without thinking where to put them.

 

Come and sit at a home studio with someone who writes or produces. See where the controls are most convenient to be positioned. Ask them, watch them. They're certainly not reaching hard left for them. All that blank real estate along the top of the keyboard could be useful.

 

Just my twopenneth!

 

 

 

[EscapeRocks]

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/roland-introduces-midi-2-0-ready-a-88mkii-midi-keyboard-controller-47375

 

Ivory Feel PHA-4 keybed. I'm on jury duty with extremely limited personal time, so can't do the comparison right now and don't remember which one that is or where it is used.

 

My apologies if this has been posted; I did a forum search and scrolled a page or two, but each page load takes 5 minutes so I ran out of patience after that.

 

I think that keybed was/is in the RD-800

[EscapeRocks]

The width doesn't bother me.... It is exactly and only 1/2" wider than my old FA-08. I never had any issues with that on stage.

The MK2 is also 1/2" narrower than the original A88 it replaces.

 

I like the way they put the pads and knobs over on the left. They have them grouped in a good way. To place them above, you'd have to make the keyboard deeper or spread them across the top. I personally don't like either of those options.

 

I got along just fine with the older A88. This one definitely piques my interest. The USB-C would hook up just fine with my new Mac Mini.

[Anderton]

Apparently it's ready for the high-res, 32-bit MIDI controller messages...which means it's probably also capable of generating the 32,000+ controllers (much better than 128, eh?). I don't think there's anything that responds yet, but if the keyboard can generate hi-res messages, the floodgates will open at some point. The per-note controller thing looks particularly interesting...kind of like the next step past MPE.

[Nicky]

on my wish list would have been a built in audio interface with 1/4 inch outs for gigging with MainStage, but maybe it's more intended as a home studio keyboard

[roygBiv]

...

I like the way they put the pads and knobs over on the left. They have them grouped in a good way. To place them above, you'd have to make the keyboard deeper or spread them across the top. I personally don't like either of those options.....The USB-C would hook up just fine with my new Mac Mini.

 

 

Agreed. I have the RD-64, and one of the best things about it is the lack of stuff above the keys - it lets me place my VR09 on that "shelf" (supporting only the back of the VR09 separately), thus getting my two sets of keybeds as physically close to each other as possible. Like on a Hammond.

 

And in solidarity with the Support Ed Diaz movement, here is an example from one of his fine videos: (note - he doesn't have the VR09 resting on the RD64, but he could).

 

[video:youtube]

[Legatoboy]

The earlier 76 key version I tried at GC a few times felt very very good

Roland 76-key controller? Are you referring to the A50/A70? They had very good actions, sorely missed.

 

Regards, Mike.

 

Actually the one in the picture above in the photo of roygBIV's....the RD76 - I thought it felt wonderful.

[miden]

And still no clear way to select setups on other gear via MIDI...unless it's buried somewhere? Maybe you can assign PC and other MIDI CC data to one of the pads?

[roygBiv]

I'm not sure if there was a RD76? (The one above is the RD-64, i.e 64 keys).

 

Anyway, I totally agree with Legatoboy, the keybed on these Roland controllers like the RD-64 feel really nice. Although a bit of a heavy/sluggish feel, the key's "bounce' very much like a real piano, which makes playing piano bits like trills and things much more enjoyable and life-like.

 

This new keyboard apparently does three zones/splits, which could definitely expand its use as a main controller.

 

 

[JimboKeys]

I think putting the controls on the left of an 88-key controller is a bad idea. Increases the amount of space need on stage, harder to fit into a compact car or SUV. Always wondered why Roland did this.

Maybe there"s a reason other than ergonomics but I can"t guess what that is.

All that blank real estate along the top of the keyboard could be useful.

The problem is that something like a pitch bend lever or mod wheel is like an iceberg -- we only see the little bit sticking above the surface, and not the mechanism under the top panel. And the area behind the keys isn't just empty space; rather, the keys extend beyond what's visible to reach the pivot point (and as discussed in another thread, the longer that distance the better). So to reposition the pitch bend and such to be above the keys would require that the case be several inches deeper, which Roland chooses not to do.

(Not that i agree with Roland's design decision, as i personally wouldn't want to buy something this wide either.)

 

- Jimbo (taking off my [retired] design engineer hat)

 

 

[torhu]

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/roland-introduces-midi-2-0-ready-a-88mkii-midi-keyboard-controller-47375

 

Ivory Feel PHA-4 keybed. I'm on jury duty with extremely limited personal time, so can't do the comparison right now and don't remember which one that is or where it is used.

 

My apologies if this has been posted; I did a forum search and scrolled a page or two, but each page load takes 5 minutes so I ran out of patience after that.

 

I think that keybed was/is in the RD-800

The RD-800 has the PHA-4 Concert action, which replaced the PHAIII of the RD-700NX. The A-88MkII has the PHA-4 Standard action, which I suppose replaces the Ivory Feel-G action used in the original A-88, the FA-08, RD-300NX, etc.

 

Roland loves to use confusing naming...

[ElmerJFudd]

I prefer the PH4 in the RD-800 to the PH-50 whatever they are using on the RD-2000. It"s a bit faster on the return.

[Mark Schmieder]

Thanks for the connection to RD-800 (still haven't seen one; just earlier models in that series) as a reference for evaluating the PH4 action.

 

I think the sim factor is designed for computer desktop setups, where depth can be the biggest criteria due to leaving room for a computer keyboard and monitor, with sufficient working distance. Could be wrong.

 

I haven't read the second half of the responses yet though. At least the forum is quicker today! Just got off duty from jury, so the jury is "out" so to speak, as Adan suggested. :-)

[Mark Schmieder]

OK, I'm caught up now, and though I knew a bit about MIDI 2.0 and its support of high resolution data (important especially for us classical and jazz folks), I didn't know about some of the other aspects that Craig Anderton mentions. So it seems Roland has positioned this as a long-term product entry that opens new markets and possibilities and won't need upgrading for well over a decade or more. That's a smart move in the 88-key controller market, which isn't exactly high in sales.

[Mighty Motif Max]

I prefer the PH4 in the RD-800 to the PH-50 whatever they are using on the RD-2000. It"s a bit faster on the return.

 

I also liked the RD-800 action better than the RD-2000's. Much closer to a real piano I thought, and that was/is my second favorite hammer action around, after the ES8. Not a fan of textured sharps though.

[Sam CA]

What do they mean by "it's midi 2.0 ready"?

 

 

[Mark Schmieder]

I think they just mean that it implements as much of the MIDI 2.0 spec as is finalized and that they felt capable of implementing at this price point. It is somewhat weird wording though, as it sounds like you'll need a firmware upgrade -- perhaps a year or more later -- to move past MIDI 1.0 and to the MIDI 2.0 spec. But I don't think that to be the case.

[Sam CA]

I think they just mean that it implements as much of the MIDI 2.0 spec as is finalized and that they felt capable of implementing at this price point. It is somewhat weird wording though, as it sounds like you'll need a firmware upgrade -- perhaps a year or more later -- to move past MIDI 1.0 and to the MIDI 2.0 spec. But I don't think that to be the case.

 

So midi 2.0 is officially getting incorporated then?

 

[Mark Schmieder]

Yes. And I think this might be the first commercial product of this stature to do so. After all, Roland is one of the driving forces behind MIDI 2.0. Yamaha too, I think, so maybe they have something coming as well?

[rickzjamm]

I love the RD-2000 but I admit I too miss the PHA4 action.

[torhu]

The A-88MkII's PHA-4 Standard action is mechanically different from the PHA-4 Premium/Concert actions used in RD-800 and others, it's designed to be smaller and lighter. So it probably won't feel the same.