Roland RD 2000 Digital Stage Piano

Roland RD 2000 Digital Stage Piano Overview

V2.0 and the ‘German Concert V-Piano Expansion’

Updating the RD-2000 to firmware V2.0 makes it compatible with selected content available to purchase from the Roland Cloud service.

The first expansion to be available is the ‘German Concert V-Piano Expansion’. This is a brand-new piano engine that uses the latest developments in Roland’s V-Piano technology to model the luxurious sound of a German Concert acoustic grand piano in incredible detail.

The German Concert piano has a clear and precise tone, perfect for both individual performances and in groups where the piano sound needs to cut through a dense mix of instruments. Alongside the existing V-Piano engine found in the RD-2000, adding the German Concert V-Piano Expansion means that whatever the playing situation, you’ll have the perfect tone to match.

By using V-Piano technology, players can take complete control of their piano sound. Craft your ideal piano sound by adjusting the tuning and tonal character of each individual key, or tweak the levels of string resonance, hammer noise, and many other aspects of the sound to taste. The result is a truly organic and lifelike piano sound that offers a far more detailed sound than possible with traditional sampling techniques.

Please note that the German Concert Grand V-Piano expansion requires the purchase of a lifetime key through Roland Cloud service. Visit here for more information on Roland Cloud.

Overview and Features

The Roland RD-2000 is one of our favourite Stage Pianos that we offer and even members of our staff use/gig with it - what an endorsement?!

It features, one of our favourite actions, the PHA-50. This hybrid wood action has stabilising pins to ensure there is no unwanted side-to-side lateral movement, along with graduated and individually weighted keys. The action has an ebony and ivory feel, along with escapement, which enables you to play at softer dynamics mirroring the mechanism on an acoustic Grand Piano. 

The Piano sound is remarkably delicate, due to how realistic and expressive the dynamic range is. The modelled engine also allows you to fully customise and control your piano sound with incredibly detailed sound editing options. This includes modelled full-scale string resonance, damper resonance, cabinet resonance, soundboard type, key-off noise, hammer noise, damper noise, duplex scale, single note tuning volume and character, meaning the sound can evolve and react to your playing. It lives and breathes like an acoustic Grand Piano. We love Roland's fully modelled piano, developed from technology pioneered by the V-Piano. In order to have the most realistic piano-like playing experience, partner with the Roland RPU-3 Triple Pedal Unit (sold separately).

Further to this, Roland's SuperNATURAL Sound Engine is also included. SuperNATURAL has become one of our most-favoured sound engines, and in the RD-2000 it covers more Acoustic Grand/Upright Pianos, vintage/modern electric pianos, as well as a tonewheel organ (with full drawbar controls) sounds. Roland have even included their huge PCM library to cover all the essential sounds needed by a professional Keyboard player.

The Roland RD Series has been a mainstay of the music industry since 1986, since the archetypal RD-1000. The RD Series has been used by the musician's elite, most famously by Elton John. As well as covering all the expected modern essentials within the RD-2000, Roland has included the sounds from the MKS-20, making it the perfect keyboard to play some of the most famous patches in keyboarding history. To go even further, the RD-2000 has some world-renown effects built-in, including the CE-1 Chorus, SDD-320 Dimension-D, RE-201 Space Echo, SPF-325 Stereo Flanger and of course some essential modern FX options.

One of the main tasks for a gigging/performing keys player is the ability to cover for instruments that may not be able to incorporate into a band setup. On the RD-2000 you are able to stack/layer/split up to 8 sounds simultaneously. These 8 sounds (Zones as Roland call them) can be made up of internal and external sounds, meaning they can seamlessly integrate into a multi-layered keyboard or studio setup. You can use your favourite patches from any hardware or software instruments you already love. The RD-2000 will even enable you to use the internal effects with external gear, making it the central hub of your live/studio rig.

The RD-2000 is robust and ready for the road, to ensure you have a case that meets its needs, it fits in either the Roland RRC-88W Black Series Road Case or the Roland CB-G88LV2 88 Note Keyboard Bag With Wheels, Large. You can level up your stage presence with the use of the Roland KS-G8B Keyboard Stand. For the best onstage monitoring, check out the Roland KC Range.

For users wanting to use a built-in sequencer and have even more sound options/editability, check out the Fantom Range.