https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aKRWg5O2tE





What's not to like if you into piano 88 keys.. ?

just add a Ketron SD90 etc and your on your way..

This is just a decent stage piano...
The piano parts and EP sound nice..
but thats about what it has to offer..

When you look at the competition for 88 stage instruments..
It has to compete with
-Roland RD200
-KAwai MP11/MP7
-Korg Grand stage
-Nord Piano 4
-Yamaha CP4
i still don't see what dexibell has to offer that the other instruments can't do

And if you don't look at the price..
There is even more grand competition
-Korg Kronos
-Yamaha Montage
-Nord stage 3
-Kurzweil Forte

I think from all the above, the dexibell altough being a great instrument is still my least favorite
There is so much more choice in the 88 keyboard market then in the arranger market
The only thing missing in the "high end" 88 keyboard market is a keyboard with high end arranger capabilities..

I narrowed down my search to these two for a new stage piano. The key bed is the most important factor for me. Any thoughts?

If you don't need a full blown workstation the Roland FP90 has the same keybed as the 2000 . Just a stage piano but a very good one. Good variety of sounds and great onboard speakers.

Yeah, I really don't need a full blown workstation, as I have too many of those already.

So FP90 has the same exact keybed as the 2000. Also I just found out Korg D1 has the same RH3 keybed as the Grandstage. I think that would be the same as Kronos 88.

I can read the specs and figure out which one I want from each category, though I still don't know how Roland and Korg's keybed compare.

Plus one for the FP90.

I really really love the Roland pha-50 keybed, its quite light for an 88 key, but feels very natural....

If you want to use the keyboard in combination with other equipment, the Rolamd also has all the masterkeyboard features you would ever need..

Where the fp-90 has the same keybed, it misses all the master keyboard features...
It also misses the convenient way of the rd2000 to split and layer sounds over the keybed.. it misses also the dsp power that lifts the RD2000 sounds to the next level. And it misses the remarcable V-piano sounds that are in the rd-2000, as well as having a smaller soundset in general.

The fp90 however comes with build in speakers, but is not really a stage piano, but more of a compact piano..

The rd-2000 is build like a truck, and meant to be the heart of any ones setup..with all the connectivity..


The korg grand stage has much of the kronos engines inside, sounds top(yet i do prefer the roland piano’s) keybed is okay, but misses all the real time controll options of the rd2000..

Is it? That's what I don't like. I really need that hammer action. How does it compare to the RH3 on Kronos, Grandstage..etc?

Its full weighted hammer action, just not with a heavy touch.. its a lovely action to play for a piano player, only kawai does better... but it plays like a real grand piano, even has key escapement..

The RH3 on the Grand stage also has a light action. Most stage piano's do, as they are also used for playing organ and synth parts.. The action of the Grandstage is weighted however (high end keys have lighter touch then low end keys) where the Kronos isn't.. despite the name the Kronos and the Grand stage do not have the same keybed.

You really need to try it Sam, i know you will love the Roland, and as some said, the fp90 and some other Rolands have exactly the same keybed..

I don't know ehere you live, and if there is an option to drive to a local Roland dealer to give the FP80/RD2000 or any comparable Roland with the PHA50 keybed.


If you want a stage piano with a heavy action, i guess you need to look into the kawai MP11, but then thats also 35kg..

Just came back from a local store. Not Roland, but they did have the Grandstage. Yeah, it's light! Too similar to my K 88 so I guess I'm not getting the Grandstage after all. The FP90 is probably in the same ballpark. Gotta check out the one from Kawai then. The weight won't be an issue for me. Besides my Acoustic Piano gigs, I hardly play anywhere, and when I do...the Pa4x 61 is good enough.

Is the keypad the same through the fp series, like the less expensive fp30?

Apparently not.

FP-90:
Type of Keys: PHA-50 (Progressive Hammer Action), 100 type key touch with escapement

FP-30:
PHA-4 Standard 88-note keybed delivers realistic piano feel and expression

I see fp60 has same as fp30 also..

No one mentioned Kurzweil....? That would be my first choice..

Why?

Really wondering how someone that has no interest at all in an 88 key instrument, comes to choosing kurzweil as their favorite 88 key?

I played their stage pianos at the NAMM show. The keyed feels anything but fully weighted. Too light and bouncy ...

Kurzweil uses fatar keybeds, Nord does to...
There is several different types of weighted fatar keybeds..
Where it comes to weighted keyboards, fatar is still comsidered 2nd rate..

If you really want heavier keys, you could try the rolamd rd-800, the kawai mp11 (kawai vpc-1 if you don’t mind using a pc with vst’s as a soundsource)... also the yamaha cp-4 has a bit heavier action..

I'll definitely try the Kawai. I always liked their acoustic piano keys....a lot!

Stevie Wonder and do many other pros love Kurzweil......

This may be the perfect stage piano for your needs..

Thats not my question, my question is why do you like Kurzweil 88 stage paino's above the other brands?

Compared to the MP11, the keybed is a trade off to archieve 2 things, making it lighter touch and better suitable for playing synth sounds and organs... also to save some weight, because the MP11 is very heavy.. both have a very different interface, the mp7 has a much bigger soundset.. all the sounds in the MP11 are also in the MP7


But where it comes to keybed, i think the heavier MP11 is what SAM is looking for

Yes, that's exactly what I'm looking for. The reason I've stayed with the Kronos 88 for this long is that everything else I've tried isn't all that different in terms of keyed. ....and that's also why I'm not interested in Arrangers with 88 keys. I know for fact they're not gonna go for the heavy touch which makes a lot of sense.

The Namm 2019 is around the corner. This time around I'll spend more time in the Pianos section. I might even be able to share some videos.

I re-arranged my home studio today, so now I can record both the Pa4x and K....finally!

Incredible nice touch... 3 zones for layering and splitting and 4 midi zones for external modules and VST's..

arguably the best keybed for any stage piano around..

Another great kawai solution..
The worlds most popular studio solution for that..

It combines a superb kawai keybed, with the best software piano sounds available..



You can go in all directions with this..
May i ask how exactly you want to be using the (stage) piano?
Studio, home, or on stage?

This one looks great too!

Just for home studio use. I'm not even a performer primarily, so I really shouldn't be picky at all. I don't even care how good it sounds, because I can always midi it to Keyscape. I just like that heavy touch as I'm so used to it. I do have an upright acoustic piano and even that felt a little light, so I had my Piano tuner add some weights...at the expense of losing some dynamics.

My instruments hardly ever leave the house.

Then you definately should have a look at the kawai VPC-1 and the MP-11 both are loke 70lbs but thats no problem for at home...

Both work perfectly with VST's like pianoteq, keyscape, ivory and others...
The touch of both is a little different but in general better then most acoustic piano's people usually buy (it emulates the grand piano feel, which is different then the standup piano)

The MP11 comes with high quallity sounds and an intuitive inteface on board, definately a charm to play with.. the VPC-1 comes witouth sound, just 88 high class keys and a midi out..

The only thing that comes close to these keys actions in realisme is the Before mentioned PHA-50 keybed by Roland, but that one is much much lighter in the touch... i visit a wellknown piano pkayers forum regularly, and there seems to be consensus about these statements on that forum..

In general these keyboards outperform most low to mid end acoustic piano's both in touch as well as sound.

There is a wealth of information to be found here:
http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/forums/6/1/digital-pianos-synths-keyboards.html