rickzjamm Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Just loaded it & definitely a bigger, cleaner more defined AP sound. 17 'pay for' piano patches that are variations of the modeled German Grand, very usable for solo work as well as group. The caveat is you need a Roland cloud account to purchase & latest V2.0 update. I love the piano action of the RD-2000 so it feels & sounds awesome, but I'll admit for $149.00 its not for everyone since Yamaha, Nord 7 others add APs for free. 1 Quote You don't know you're in the dark until you're in the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 50 minutes ago, rickzjamm said: The caveat is you need a Roland cloud account to purchase & latest V2.0 update. I love the piano action of the RD-2000 so it feels & sounds awesome, but I'll admit for $149.00 its not for everyone since Yamaha, Nord 7 others add APs for free. Does that mean, when you bought a Roland RD2000 or other Roland product today and need/ want to get updates,- you just only need a free account for the Roland Cloud,- or do you need a to be payed subscription (monthly, annual or whatever) ? A.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamPro Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 If I understand correctly, the Roland Cloud Account is free, and the v. 2.0 firmware upgrade for the RD2000 is free, but the German Grand sounds are a $149 purchase that buys you new and different AP sounds playable from the RD2000. Does "German Grand" here mean Steinway? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickzjamm Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 I’m pretty sure German grand means Steinway. The only thing free in the whole equation is the update, I’m not saying I agree with their approach and I know it’s all marketing bait to reel in people into the Roland universe. And yes the cloud account is a subscription. Quote You don't know you're in the dark until you're in the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 12 minutes ago, rickzjamm said: And yes the cloud account is a subscription. That´s the opposite JamPro reports in his last post above. It´s very important for me to know, just because I´ll never ever will buy a Roland product anymore when I have to create a Roland Cloud account just only to get updates and so called "free content",- and have to pay annual fee for that account subscription as long as I use their gear. To me that means I pay twice for their gear,- 1st time when I buy the item and 2nd for necessary/ essential follow up services like updated (USB-) driver downloads, firmware and whatelse. A.C. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 35 minutes ago, Al Coda said: That´s the opposite JamPro reports in his last post above. I’m interested in understanding exactly how this woks, as well. Can someone please resolve this discrepancy? Quote "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 No idea for the German Grand software specifically, but the base Roland Cloud account is free and you can purchase things one by one if you want. The free account gives you access to, for example, the free Fantom EKZ and model expansions and updates. I’ve had an account for almost a year and never had to pay for anything unless I wanted to get a paid item. 2 Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Thanks for that. So when you purchase an expansion do you “own” it or do you have to keep renting it periodically? Quote "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 4 hours ago, Abresch B. Eberle said: ... the base Roland Cloud account is free and you can purchase things one by one if you want. The free account gives you access to, ... updates. I’ve had an account for almost a year and never had to pay for anything unless I wanted to get a paid item. Thank you ! Good news. A.C. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 1 hour ago, Moonglow said: Thanks for that. So when you purchase an expansion do you “own” it or do you have to keep renting it periodically? I guess, once you downloaded something for your hardware instrument, it´s yours. How should they be able to remove it from your DP, synth or module once you imported? I´m sure that´s different when it comes to their virtual instruments (VSTis) like the D50 emulation for MacOS or Windows. A.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamPro Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 From the Roland website: https://www.roland.com/global/promos/about_roland_cloud/membership/ There are four kinds of Roland Cloud accounts: Free; Core; Pro; and Ultimate. "Sign up for a free Roland Account and start using Roland Cloud today. Explore ZENOLOGY Lite and Zenbeats, and purchase Memberships or Lifetime Keys for instruments, sounds, and more......There are also three paid membership plans—Core, Pro, and Ultimate—each offering an increased level of access." So as I am reading it, you can get a Roland Cloud account for free, or you can buy an account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leroy C Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 That's my understanding as well: you can get the free cloud account and pay a one-time lifetime license of $149 for the new voices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 50 minutes ago, Al Coda said: I guess, once you downloaded something for your hardware instrument, it´s yours. How should they be able to remove it from your DP, synth or module once you imported? I´m sure that´s different when it comes to their virtual instruments (VSTis) like the D50 emulation for MacOS or Windows. I bought the Cloud D-50 on sale a while back and its been a well-muscled addition. If I don't use it for 2 weeks or so, it requires a sign-in & password the next time. I'm not wild over that, but hey, I have a D-50 + the invaluable PG-1000 emulation. That's the only Cloud synth that's seriously grabbed me, but my limited experience has been gratifying. There's one vote For. (I've also Autosampled the bleep out of it as a bit of future-proofing.) As to the RD piano expansion, I have total faith in Roland's sound quality, but their weighted keys have felt like mush to me for years. Its like walking through sucking mud and having it pull one of your boots off. (I appreciate the inclusion of a few RD sounds in the Jupiter Xm.) I've preferred Yamaha's action as being more "snappy," somehow, but that's all mega-subjective. Now, I play Pianoteq from a Samson 4-octave controller or an XKey. 🙄 That puts me last in line to comment in a modern sense, but I was selling Roland gear when the RD-1000 appeared, so I can still relate. Quote Lab Mode splits between contemplative work and furious experiments. Both of which require you to stay the hell away from everyone else. This is a feature, not a bug. Kraftwerk’s studio lab, Kling Klang, didn’t even have a working phone in it. ~ Warren Ellis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamPro Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Yo Roland RD2000 Users. There are free expansion sounds for the RD2000 - here: http://axial.roland.com/category/rd-2000/ There are six expansion paks and your RD2000 can fit two of them at a time. I downloaded and installed the "Virtual Tonewheel Organ Collection" and "Analog/Digital Vintage Synth Collection". They occupy space in the RD2000's internal drive and appear in the OS as user expansions. Each expansion pak has a number of patches, and I think new samples as well. I found a couple of sounds from the Organ Collection useful. I'm not as familiar with the Synth Collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 1 hour ago, Al Coda said: I guess, once you downloaded something for your hardware instrument, it´s yours. How should they be able to remove it from your DP, synth or module once you imported? I´m sure that´s different when it comes to their virtual instruments (VSTis) like the D50 emulation for MacOS or Windows. A.C. Makes sense. I don’t have a lot of experience with such methods. Just wasn’t sure if there was an expiration date somehow embedded in the software after it was loaded in the synth, module, etc., that would need to reactivated periodically ($$) by entering a code or something…if that is even possible. Quote "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 30 minutes ago, David Emm said: but their weighted keys have felt like mush to me for years. Its like walking through sucking mud and having it pull one of your boots off. To me Roland weighted keys feel fast and Yamaha feels sloppy. Butt, there are plenty of people here the prefer the Yamaha action. That is the only two brands that I have owned high end 88's. I'm just glad we have a choice. As for the Roland cloud, I purchased Ultimate for a year and get to choose two instruments to keep after that period. For instruments you load into a keyboard you have to connect to the cloud within 30 power ons. At the 20 mark it will start warning you that you need to connect and refresh your count. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 3 hours ago, RABid said: ... As for the Roland cloud, I purchased Ultimate for a year and get to choose two instruments to keep after that period. For instruments you load into a keyboard you have to connect to the cloud within 30 power ons. At the 20 mark it will start warning you that you need to connect and refresh your count. Never experienced this with the Fantom expansions...what keyboard is this happening on? Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 13 hours ago, RABid said: For instruments you load into a keyboard you have to connect to the cloud within 30 power ons. At the 20 mark it will start warning you that you need to connect and refresh your count. If that´s true, that would be a dealbreaker for me already. A.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted November 1, 2022 Share Posted November 1, 2022 15 hours ago, Abresch B. Eberle said: Never experienced this with the Fantom expansions...what keyboard is this happening on? Jupiter Xm when loading paid instruments that were included with Cloud Ultimate subscription but not included with the purchase of the Xm. They pretty much have to have a way to check to see if your subscription is still active. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceGL Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 The guitar guitar shop in Glasgow have the German concert grand installed into its Roland RD2000 demo stage piano. As confirmed on the list, there are 17 patches within this expansion. I was interested when i found this out as I also own an RD2000 myself for a couple of years now and somehow, even with the free expansion packs from Axial, i still long for that authentic killer piano sound that i hear from Roland's GP609. To cut the long story short, the German concert Vpiano sound and all other patches within that 17 sounds is nowhere near that brilliant sound from the Roland's GP609. I do not know if its just because of the speaker within that Grand piano cabinet and its amplifier inside is so much superior to the monitor speakers connected to the Roland RD2000, but to me, its like night and day difference. I was looking forward to this expansion regarding the New German concert piano sounds, but sad to say, this is not it. I hope some expert from Roland realizes this and do something about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leroy C Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 Through headphones, my GP609 and my RD-2000 with the V-Piano expansion sound pretty comparable. Amplified, though, it's no contest: as you say, the GP609 speakers, mounted into the soundboard, sound just plain amazing. If I get curious, I might try running my RD-2000 through my GP609 speakers at some point and see what happens ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.