Roland RD 2000 VS Roland RD 800
There are so many good electric pianos out there but it also can be confusing to choose one. Depending on how much you want to spend and what type of quality you will be looking for on the instruments. The Roland RD 2000 Vs Roland RD 800 are some of the best choices if your main purpose is to use the piano on stage. These pianos are similar yet not exactly the same so before deciding the option, let’s see below about what they can offer.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- What are Stage Pianos
- What are Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800
- How are the Design of Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800
- How are the Keys in Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800
- How are the Sound Engine in Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800
- What else Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 can offer
- Roland RD 2000 Vs Roland RD 800
Stage Pianos
Piano is probably one of the most popular instruments to play both by professionals and for beginners or learners. They are going to fit lots of people too depending on which seems to sound better and which seems to attract your attention the most. Piano is friendly for beginners too because it is easy to create the sound, unlike guitars or violin that require you to learn the finger placement or technique first to create the proper sound.
There are also lots of piano types, mostly digital or electric pianos because the acoustic one is not for everybody. This type of piano is expensive and requires you to do the routine maintenance while the price is also quite expensive which makes them not ideal for just any type of player. There is one called stage piano made for professionals but, for many people, it will look very much the same to digital pianos. It is important to choose the perfect choice for your application.
The term stage piano is used to call the instrument but they are not only used on stage since you can also put them at home and no one will stop you. They are typically compact since they need to be easy to carry, especially if you are traveling a lot or carrying them to gigs. Another quality that separates regular digital pianos from stage pianos is the keys since they are made to mimic the feel of acoustic pianos or with the hammer action.
| Roland RD 2000 | Roland RD 800 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Product Dimensions | 55.6 x 14.5 x 5.6 inches | 62 x 8 x 19 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 47.1 pounds | 48 pounds |
| Shop now at Amazon | Check price | Check price |
When the key is pressed on acoustic pianos, there is a hammer hitting the string as it is pressed and in turn it vibrates to create the sound. The resistance of the level supports for each hammer or key combination creates the feel of the keys having weight. Stage pianos are designed to mimic this motion and to give a realistic feel. On your acoustic piano the lower note is heavier or lighter on the higher notes.
When it comes to how they sound, it highly depends on the brand or what they are designed with. Usually they are using sampling methods based on certain technology such as Roland’s famous SuperNATURAL. There is recording for each key stored in the internal memory so when the key is played, the sound is then activated. What you may want to note is that some of them don’t come with speakers, thus, we will need either speaker outputs or headphone jack.
About Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800
If you are playing professionally or plan to use the piano for performing on stage, we have to choose wisely because professional instruments can be quite expensive. There are more than plenty to consider so it is best to shop wisely. We can allocate the budget, choosing based on the brand, or specs of your favorite instrument. Do note that the more features you want to have, the more we need to sacrifice, especially those with sound that can be easily manipulated.
Most electric instruments companies have stage pianos in their collection but only few that stand out among others and one of them is Roland. We are sure most people are familiar with this brand of electric piano because they carry some of the best choices as well yet, you will have to spend quite a lot too in order to bring home their higher-options. If you don’t really need the most capable pianos we should check the cheaper alternatives.
There are certainly differences from those at the top range to options on the mid-range such as the Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800. These are very similar pianos made for musicians who will play from one gig to another or anyone who wants to have a fairly compact instrument that also sounds amazing in their home. You can say that RD 800 is the little brother of RD 2000 since they are coming from the same line. We do think the RD 800 is already a powerful choice but the other is even better.
The comparison tells RD800 is among the best choices to consider while it offers about everything that you can find on the RD 2000. They will have the same sound technology so no matter which model you choose to go for, we will get the same incredible sound. What sets the Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 apart the most in our opinion is some features such as the key range function as RD 2000 gives you a better freedom. Read also: Roland RD 2000 Vs Roland RD 88 here.
Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 Design
As you can see, these pianos are very similar to each other and they are not exactly compact because the unit itself is already 48 pounds. However, in comparison you can set the two apart easily because honestly we can feel the “pro” styling of RD 2000 just from the outside, probably due to the brand and model labeling. On the other hand Roland is more subtle with its branding on the RD 800 but the layout is pretty similar to each other.
For the build quality, they are very good too but we do think the control panel is less cluttering on the RD 800. We like this layout better but it also means they will be less convenient. RD 2000 is very good in this area since knobs naturally feel better to adjust or just easier to use while you want to operate it quickly. In addition, none of them have speakers either, which is not surprising since we are going to use them mostly for gigs.
Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 Keys
As it has been mentioned above, stage pianos are made to mimic the acoustic ones and this is why Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 are using the graded hammer just like many others. The difference is RD 2000 are already using the PHA-50 while the latter is using the PHA-4. The difference? PHA-50 is made with plastic and wood. They are similar but different with how natural the RD 2000 is yet, we also love the ivory finish of the RD 800 since it is very good too.
Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 Sound Engine
Coming to the sound part, both Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 are not featured with speakers so if you are playing at home, we can just wear a headphone. What you will love the most from RD series pianos is the sound and this is because it is just amazing. The two do come with the same V-Piano engine combined with SuperNATURAL hybrid modeling technology which core so many Roland’s digital pianos. V-piano engine is based on modeling only or it means there is no sample involved.
This sound technology is very effective to deliver good sound and sound shaping options which is also the best part of Roland’s pianos with the same tech. The Piano Designer will allow you to do more editing compared to if the sound is sampled only. You will also find it as the preset acoustic pianos on these models to make sense of how good they are. As for the SuperNATURAL, this sound engine is focusing more on the electric piano sounds and sampled workstation tones.
From the specifications, V-Piano engine will have no polyphony limit but SuperNATURAL IS 128-note on the maximum range and this will be useful when you are going to layer the sound as we can play infinite notes on the V-piano sounds.
Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 Features
On the additional features we can find typical functions as well such as the splitting and layering on Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800. What makes the RD 2000 even more powerful for this basic feature is because you can work with each program up to 8 zones in which each preset can be tweaked to your taste. We can mix the individual layers using the faders but, for the RD 800 we can only use up to 4 zones here.
Roland RD 2000 Vs Roland RD 800
There are lots of amazing options to consider depending on which seems to fit you best. In comparison the RD 2000 will undoubtedly be the higher choice since it is more convenient to use as well as better keys which is very noticeable too. The sound technology is the same however so if your main focus is their engines, the two will sound the same. In addition, there are some slight differences on their features too such as the split zones.
Conclusion
Both Roland RD 2000 and Roland RD 800 are good options for the great sound quality. RD 2000 is much more expensive but it has better control as well as better keys so if budget is not an issue we will recommend getting the piano.
