Roland FP 10/30/30x/ Bang for the buck on used market

[mrk7421]

For those of you who can't afford the latest and greatest brand spanking new gear......I was able to pick up a Roland FP30x yesterday...as new for $350. I had been demoing this at GC against some boards mostly Yamaha/ Casio/ and more expensive Roland's and always came away thinking that I liked the 30x at least as much as most of what I was hearing......excluding the new $5000 Yamaha Montage or latest Nord....whatever. I took it home and am liking it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The  thing is.....people get something like an FP10 for Christmas and then they decide that they really can't devote the time it takes to play music. I also want to say....the FP10:is a very good sounding board and it is not tremendously different than the 30x. I actually like the FP10 Rhodes better than the 30x Rhodes....it is much warmer and they "almost" got that one right.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                One of they keys to making these Roland's sound good is to run through a home stereo amp with some EQ and using good headphones or speakers. I really think this Supernatural is a good sample....or model rather and I suspect it came from an older model from before the FP90x etc. I paid $ 150:for the FP10 and $350 for the 30x and I suspect there are similar deals out there. Many people bought FP1O at Costco and are selling now .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               IMO.....there is not much if any difference in FP10 and FP30x if you were blindfolded. So I am saying....also IMO......there are some real bargains to be had. Perhaps there is not much interest in these lower priced Roland's but for me.....I really think there is something to be considered here.

[johnchop]

That is a crazy good deal. Well played.

 

I like mine. The user “interface”—such that it is—makes this board less fun, but for me it’s a nice-enough board.

[Reezekeys]

I've been under the impression that the differences between those lower-tier Rolands was mostly in the bells & whistles categories - i.e., more presets, bluetooth, etc. Not in the basic samples.

[D. Gauss]

fwiw, i picked up a casio px-350 for 100 bucks yesterday.  there's a lot stuff out there for good prices right now.

[Greg Mein]

I gotta say I miss the old Roland keyboards logical layout with Performances and Patches. The one I had that I liked best was an XP-30; when I bought it new it even came with an OEM version of Sound Diver which made creating and organizing patches and performances so freaking easy. If only they'd had more memory!

 

I bought the FA-08 and it was quite different but it had enough display to where I learned to navigate it reasonably well but the RD-88 my wife bought last year is a bear to navigate and work with.

[mrk7421]

The piano sample/ model seems quite good. The rest of the sounds....I would guess that they don't want to compete with their expensive offerings. Basically I have these just for piano.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I am curious if they used this sound engine in a previous model pre RD 2000 or something. The whole thing for me is to make the upper harmonics to sound natural. This for me is easier to do with Roland than with Yamaha etc.Plus as the previous post mentioned I want simplicity. 

 

[mrk7421]

After a few days with the Roland FP30 x and my previous and very trusty FP10 I would like to report that I am not finding a tremendous difference in the acoustic piano sample for what I am looking for. The FP 30x does possibly have more "presence"'perhaps but my main goal is to get a digital piano to sound less edgy because it can be so hard to manage those pesky upper harmonics.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The point here is......the FP 10 and perhaps also the FP30 are going to give bang for the buck at used prices. I am just not hearing the result from any other board at the FP 10 price and weight. I think a lot of people would be turned off because of the rather weak speaker system and also the mini plug out. I get around this by using mini to RCA outs. 

[mrk7421]

Another factor would be that the FP10: doesn't always show up at Guitar Center etc. The way I get results with it is to run into older simple home stereo amps. Use a good pair of phones with this and you might be surprised if you are looking for a warm sounding DP. The action seems to improve with age too and the Roland action doesn't show signs of falling apart like some of the recent lightweight Yamahas I have owned. I think you have to live with it to appreciate it and use another amp source.

[mcgoo]

I have a FP-30x as my main gigging keyboard. I do have it plugged in as a backup, but the volume stays off. I use it strictly as a controller, with Gig Performer handling all the splits, layers, etc. Nice feeling keyboard, 30 lbs and cheap enough that I don't feel bad leaving it in the garage when not in use. 

[mrk7421]

I am not aware of Gig Performer.....who makes it? 

[mcgoo]

1 hour ago, mrk7421 said:

I am not aware of Gig Performer.....who makes it? 

 

https://gigperformer.com/

[D. Gauss]

FWIW, those Rolands don't have volume knobs/sliders, only "up/down takes forever" buttons.  Dumbest thing ever on a gig. Def not for me.

[mcgoo]

FWIW, With Roland gear, for the most part, anytime you hit and hold an up/inc button and then also hit and hold the down/Dec button, the speed increases significantly. Can't remember if that works on the FP line. 

[mrk7421]

Yes I agree .....they went totally minimalist on these lightweight boards FP series. I don't really gig them.....but in some ways I like the simplicity. I just turn it on and play piano or maybe Rhodes on FP 10.On the other hand I am totally lost on Motif/ Montage or Fantom etc.etc.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             What I am saying is that Roland put one of their better modeling examples into this and if you fuss with it just a little you can get good results. As far as used deals at this time there is an FP 10 in Humboldt county California for $ 250 on Craigslist. As I said I got mine for $150.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I adjust the touch sensitivity on this a bit and always run it into another amp source with EQ. PHA 4 action is a little tough......in the review world Stu Harrison at Merriam Music loves it while others may not. I have adjusted to it but it's a durable action whereas I had  a Yamaha P45 start clunking on me after 2 years

 

[mrk7421]

I don't have any issues with the volume button on this BTW. Not that difficult just tap the button. I wish it had EQ .  I don't mind the mini plug out.....I use mini to RCA a lot. Roland face us something good here but they teased us by giving us zero functions. I get around that because......this thing weighs 25 lbs !  And has a pretty damn good piano sample ( model  ) . 

[Ibarch]

For a lightweight board under 30 lbs, the PHA-4 action is as good as it gets. It is the same as on the more expensive RD-88 and Fantom 08 boards. If you just need a basic piano, it is excellent and head and shoulders above anything else in this price range.