Latest Yamaha CVPs vs. Latest Roland KRs

[oceanfront]

Hi everyone!

Over at the Reviews section of this web site there is a review of Roland's KR series pianos:

http://www.cvpug.com/modules.php?s=&name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1

...and within the article there is mention of the older KR series, e.g. the KR-770.

My question is, are the Roland "flaws" pointed out by the article still relevant to the latest KR series, i.e. the KR-7/5/3?

For instance, do the latest KRs still continue to emulate a vertical acoustic piano, rather than a grand piano?

The KR brochure says the sound and action imitate that of a grand, but these even portable keyboard brochures say things like that...

Also, do the KRs still have problems with META events like the article mentions?

What about the quality of the other voices (other than the piano), does anyone have anything to say anything about those?

I'm particularly interested in a good up-to-date comparison between the KR series vs the CVPs since the piano voice seems to sound fuller on the KRs, even though the KRs cost less.

Any objective up-to-date observations/analysis are welcome.

Thanks in advance!

[jjm542]

As a former Roland KR1077 owner I did not agree with that review, which struck me as overly partisan. (Well, this is a site for Yamaha fanatics after all!) :-)

In my opinion, the keyboard feel of the Roland KR series was actually closer to a grand than the Yamahas of the period, and if you looked at the mechanisms you could see why. I thought my Roland feel was about equivalent to the newer Yamaha "natural" keyboards on the CLP990 and CVP900 (which is what I got to replace the Roland when we moved to a smaller house.) The internal mechanisms are more alike as well. Keyboard feel is very subjective, however.

Re the piano sound, that too is very subjective. Yamaha samples its own acoustic pianos, which are well-known for their generally bright tone. Roland samples Steinways, which are darker. There is no "best," it's a matter of taste, and of course you can do a lot of tweaking to change the character of the sound. (More with the Yamaha than the Roland) The newer high-end Yamahas do appear to include more types of samples (pedal down, release) than the Roland, but whether that makes them sound "better" is for you to decide. (Also depends to some degree on what type of music you play.)

Other instruments - I liked the Roland better for some, Yamaha for others. In general I think the high-end Yamaha CVP series sounds are better. The CVP certainly has more electronic bells and whistles than the KR if that matters to you - mixer, guide lights, etc. The Roland's touch screen makes some things easier but other things harder, it isn't a determining factor either way.

When I shopped for a replacement for the 1077 I tried the new KR series. I think they are very minor updates of the old series - keyboard and electronics looked to be essentially identical. I never experienced a problem with meta events but I didn't use the ensemble features a lot.

I wound up with the CVP900 partly because of this group (there is no Roland equivalent I could find) and partly because I got a better deal than I could get from a Roland dealer. I think you'll be happy with either one. I just loved the sound of the 1077 with its 240 watts and 12 speakers, but it sure was big!
:)

[wally]

Jim, I just want to make an editorial comment on your post as the compiler of the review that you disagree with. The particular assertion that the keyboard of the KR-series emulates that of a vertical piano is from a demo that I was given in the back room of a dealership who (at that time) sold both Rolands and CVPs. The demo was given by a repair technician, not a salesman. He broke the two instruments down to the keyboard and showed me the way the CVP emulates the escapement of a grand piano, and how the Roland doesn't. It was easy to prove that the KR couldn't perform rapid repeats the way the CVP could since the KR required higher lifting of the fingers.

Just my two-cents.

[jjm542]

Hi Wally - haven't "seen" you around much lately! Welcome back...:)

Like I said, the feel is very subjective. The mechanism on my CVP900 ("Natural keyboard") looks to be totally different from the rest of the CVP series and to me it feels more like my Roland did. I suppose a lot of it is what you get used to.

Sure is nice to "officially" be a part of this group!

[wally]

Thanks, Jim. I hope I'm back. :) I've been really busy and haven't had time to check in. I have some more travel coming up this month, but I hope to be able to check in while I'm on the road.

[Ian J. Evans]

Greetings

I have tried to submit a post to this thread several times with no luck, the forum would not give me access. Something has gone right today and I am grateful.

I presently have a 14 year old CLP 300 and am seriously thinking of upgrading.

I have looked at Roland Intelligent pianos KR series and will look at the latest Technics SX-PR 604 and 804 when I get a chance.

I have had a short look at the Yamaha CVP,s and have heard that they are coming out with new models sometime this year.

Any and all comments, pros and cons, regarding the forgoing electronic pianos will be most appreciated and helpful.

I have been monitoring this forum and I feel that it just may influence my decision about which instrument to buy as I am very much a late in life piano student and can use all the help I can get.

To fill you in, I will be 73 next month and am taking piano lessons and have in an on and off (mostly off) manner for the last 14 years. However, I am determined to give it an all out effort from now on. Just not sure if I can handle all the bells and whistles of the pianos with rhythms, etc. I do play around a little with music software; namely, PG Music's Band in a Box and Power Tracks sequencer. I am presently preparing to meet the prerequisites to attend a jazz workshop in July (I will not doubt be way over my head)...<grin>

Hope to hear from some of you soon, regards

Ian: