

Roland’s simulated escapement can be a little distracting, especially when playing gently, but not enough to take away from the overall playing experience.We did not wait for a law to make us respect our members and visitors' privacy. On an acoustic grand piano the moment of escapement can be felt if you slowly depress the key, but when playing normally it falls into the natural motion of the key and isn’t distracting. This lets the note be repeated quickly without the hammer needing to fully reset to its rest position. Modern grand pianos have double escapement, which resets the hammer after the key is only partially lifted. The escapement mechanism is what allows for the hammer to immediately fall away from the string, even if the key stays depressed, so the string can continue to vibrate. When a key is played on an acoustic piano, a felt-covered hammer strikes the string to cause it to vibrate and produce sound. This is Roland’s emulation of the escapement mechanism in a grand piano. Kinnon liked the control she had over the chord voicing, but didn’t like the slight vibration she felt when she pressed the key into the keybed. Davis found it so comfortable that she said she would play on it every day. The action on the RP501R has a somewhat firm feel that is satisfying and easy to play. They’re also generally more aesthetically pleasing. When the stand is designed for the keyboard console and the two bolt together, there is no question it’s stable.

Separate stands, while convenient if mobility is necessary, can be wobbly.

But if the piano sound doesn’t sound like a piano, it won’t be an immersive playing experience. Having additional sounds-such as electric piano, strings, or brass-is an added bonus. An accurate piano sound is the second important way a digital keyboard can emulate a piano.The better the action, the easier it is to highlight, or voice, notes selectively within chords. A good hammer action allows for subtle nuance in how the hammer strikes the strings-compared to a poorly executed one, its like the difference between a light switch and a light dimmer, but instead of light the player is varying intensity and tone. Hammer action is the closest representation of acoustic piano action you’ll find on a digital instrument. Synthesizer keys have a spring-loaded response known as “synth action” a semi-weighted action, is a synth action with a weight added and is not very similar to a piano’s feel. Weighted action simulates the feel and responsiveness of depressing a key on an acoustic piano.(On most uprights the middle pedal is not a sostenuto and acts more closely to the soft pedal.) It is similar to the sustain pedal in that it allows notes to continue to ring, but only for those keys that are depressed as the pedal is engaged. The pedal shifts the piano’s hammers to the side so that they strike only one of the three strings assigned to a note. It quiets the overall sound of a note and changes its timbre. The left pedal is the soft, or una corda, pedal. On an acoustic piano, the pedal lifts the felt dampers off the strings, hence the name. It is found on every keyboard that has a pedal, and is used to allow the note to ring or sustain. On the right is the sustain, or damper, pedal. It’s the accepted standard for modern acoustic pianos.
