aronnelson Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I just got my RD-88 - late to the game and they might have a replacement in a couple months! But coming from the PX-5S, I think this is a step up in terms of the keybed feel (for me) and the overall sounds. Although I am primarily going to use it with MainStage, I am finding I am liking the onboard sounds much more than I thought I would. I haven't owned any newer Roland keyboards for a long time. I think the pads are really nice and the there are a lot of sounds in here that are good for gigs. I think the weakest thing right now are lead synths, but it's a stage piano, so whatever! The keybed feels heavier and the keys feel wider to me than the PX-5S. I need to measure. I really didn't like the sound of the piano in the store, but it's ok. The "supernatural" tries too hard and puts in those "extra" noises that I don't really need for live. Nice to have speakers on the keyboard! But it's new and I like everything when it's new. Will see. But right now, I think I made a good choice. It's incredible that we can get something like this for $1k. 2 Quote Korg Kronos, Roland RD-88, Korg Kross, JP8000, MS2000, Sequential Pro One, Micromoog, Yamaha VL1, author of unrealBook for iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aronnelson Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 I take it back about the lead sounds.... there are so many: https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/RD-88_SoundList_multi01_W.pdf 2 Quote Korg Kronos, Roland RD-88, Korg Kross, JP8000, MS2000, Sequential Pro One, Micromoog, Yamaha VL1, author of unrealBook for iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Mein Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 We got an RD-88 in late December. It has a nice keybed and some decent sound but I'm really disappointed with the Clav sounds, they really suck. I have a much better sound for Superstition on my Korg Krome and even on our old Casio Privia PX-3. Quote https://www.facebook.com/Meinfield-346702719450783/ Songs on SoundCloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibarch Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 6 hours ago, Greg Mein said: We got an RD-88 in late December. It has a nice keybed and some decent sound but I'm really disappointed with the Clav sounds, they really suck. I have a much better sound for Superstition on my Korg Krome and even on our old Casio Privia PX-3. Have you checked out the expansion packs from Roland Cloud? Maybe some better Clavs there. You can use their Zenology synth to test them out before having to purchase. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibarch Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 7 hours ago, aronnelson said: I take it back about the lead sounds.... there are so many: https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/RD-88_SoundList_multi01_W.pdf Yep. There are some fantastic tones onboard. It isn't the easiest interface to browse them, even after you figure out difference between the tones and scenes . The seemingly random grouping of sounds in multiple banks doesn't help either. But with a little effort and persevering, there are some real gems in there. I prefer to use Zenology on the PC to browse and trial tones. This includes all the same tone banks b to e plus common as in the rd-88 (the tones, not the scenes) . The browser has sounds grouped by category across multiple banks, so it makes it much easier to dig out all the synth leads or poly synths for example. They share the same numbering and name as on the RD-88, so it is easy to find the same tones on the board and include it in your scene once you've found the sounds you want. Maybe Mainstage can do something similar but not being a Mac user, I don't know. And I agree, for a $1000 board, it is good in so many areas. If you want just one board to gig with, this is the one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleer Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 The fact that it’s MainStage compatible and includes Zenology’s 3000 tones is quite something: the RD-88 is a stage piano plus a full fletched synth and a MainStage controller. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aronnelson Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 I didn't know about the same numbering and name with Zenology! That is great! Hahaha funny about the clavs I was fine with them, but I am not picky about Clavinet sounds. After a few moments with the manual, I found the interface to be ok. I was able to create layers and save them and assign to favorites. After all the months of searching, I am happy with the feel of the keys and surprised by how good the synth pads are. I like the electric pianos and I NEVER liked the EP in Roland keyboards. They got rid of that 2 stage volume - either soft or really loud - attacking sound. For only a few bucks more than the PX-5S, this is a major step up. The PX-5S still blows it away for MIDI but the sounds are not there except for the piano. I wish the RD-88 have upper 1/2, lower mute buttons, but otherwise, it's cool. 1 Quote Korg Kronos, Roland RD-88, Korg Kross, JP8000, MS2000, Sequential Pro One, Micromoog, Yamaha VL1, author of unrealBook for iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aronnelson Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 11 hours ago, Greg Mein said: We got an RD-88 in late December. It has a nice keybed and some decent sound but I'm really disappointed with the Clav sounds, they really suck. I have a much better sound for Superstition on my Korg Krome and even on our old Casio Privia PX-3. I've never played a real clavinet but I kind of trust Keyscape to have somewhat realistic sounds. When I played those.... I appreciated the clavs in my Yamaha keyboards LOL! Quote Korg Kronos, Roland RD-88, Korg Kross, JP8000, MS2000, Sequential Pro One, Micromoog, Yamaha VL1, author of unrealBook for iPad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Mein Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 5 hours ago, Ibarch said: Have you checked out the expansion packs from Roland Cloud? Maybe some better Clavs there. You can use their Zenology synth to test them out before having to purchase. This would be a good first step and I'll need to take a look. Quote https://www.facebook.com/Meinfield-346702719450783/ Songs on SoundCloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Keys Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I’m still pondering the RD88 but none of our Music shops in Birmingham UK has one in to try out. Quote Yamaha YC73 Korg Kronos2 61 Yamaha CP88 Roland Jupiter 8 Roland JX3P Roland D50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChazKeys Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 14 hours ago, Greg Mein said: This would be a good first step and I'll need to take a look. The expansion to try is EXZ011, Classic EPs - this is the same as the SRX Electric Piano expansion. You can listen to some of the Roland demos here: https://www.roland.com/uk/products/rc_srx_electric_piano/ I bought this expansion after hearing the McClagen Wurly demo. Several Clavs in various pickup positions. As Dave Keys says you can try this in Zenology but I think you need the Pro version. Here is the sound list: EXZ011_SoundList_multi01_W.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibarch Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 You only need the full Zenology, which comes with the basic $2 subscription to access the expansion packs. You don't need pro unless you want to edit the sounds and play with the synth settings. You will need to buy a lifefime key in order to download a pack to the Rd-88. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Mein Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 It looks like I'll need to install the Roland Cloud app on a computer. Quote https://www.facebook.com/Meinfield-346702719450783/ Songs on SoundCloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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