Roland RD-300

The controls are well placed and easy to figure out - and there aren't very many so it is easy to use. The implication is that there aren't many features to make it hard to figure out. The manual is online, and is good for a Roland product. It is easy to transport and setup, medium weight, excellent action - great for a portable stage piano.

It has pressure sensitive keys that use the older style reed switch type, which are MUCH better than the typical "bubble" switches that Roland (and most other manufacturers) use now. None of the keys stick or have any issues. And the first thing I noticed is how good the expression is on the velocity sense. Roland got it right there on this model. The only effects are chorus and tremelo. I like the tremelo on the vibraphone. Using the keyboard as a midi controller allows split keyboard, midi channel select, key transpose, and other basic midi control functions.

This is subjective, but I like piano1 and vibraphone the best. The electric pianos do not sound much like the Rhodes or Wurlitzer which the Sound Canvas did so well ( a few years later ). You are not going to get a truly wonderful piano sound out of this unit without added a separate sound module. But then, where do you get that truly natural piano sound? From a real piano. I mostly use the piano1 and smile a lot, and nobody seems to mind. It does not sound harsh at high volume like many Yamaha piano sounds. It reminds me most of the 90s Kurzweil piano sounds. The keys are very responsive, I believe due to the reed type switches used. The keyboard has excellent feel.

I use it all the time with no problems. It is solid as a rock. The case opens up easily (after removing 12 screws) and is easy to work on and is designed to be serviced, which is more than I can say for my Kurzweil. The top swings up for servicing, making it the easiest to service piano I have ever seen. The insides of the piano are well laid out and accessible. Once something got stuck between the keys, but I vaccumed it out.

I bought this used and I got a deal. For an 88 key weighted keyboard/controller that feels great, easy to transport and setup, it is worry free. I sometimes use it as a controller for my Sound Canvas module, to get that Rhodes sound. I would like to get an organ sound module and use the split keyboard function to use half the keyboard as organ and the other half as piano, because I really don't use all 88 keys. This is the kind of unit that made a great name for Roland - professional keyboards at a reasonable price.

After too many all-nighters trying to program Kurzweils, I was attracted by the simplicity of this. The manual is readable, and setting it up was comparatively easy. I'm a performer not a programmer. Give me splits, a few good basses, a handful of decent right-hand sounds, a layered ride-cymbal. This had it, and was not the tank that the RD700 is.

After 3 jobs, the action began to seem stiffer and less user friendly, and I own a Bosendorfer.
I didn't feel as connected with the keyboard as with a Kurzweil (I've had 7-8). I don't have any use for MIDI or effects--if they were important, Steinway and Bosendorfer and Faziola would add them to their $100,000 pianos. The first thing I do is neutralize as many effects--dry, wet, echo, concert hall, small club--as possible. I don't know of a single major pianist who's recorded with an electric. They're all basically techno-toys and will continue to be so until manufacturers put the music above "gearhead" and "home studio" mentality.

The piano sounds were acceptable--close to the level of my Kurz PC2 but not up to the original Kurz K1000. But touch and sound are so interrelated that after a while the sounds became underwhelming. What finally convinced me to sell the piano was the inconsistency of the volume levels of various sounds. I like to mix it up, moving from piano to vibes to organ, but not when every change requires another adjustment to the volume levels, especially when I have no bass player to free me up. Adding to the frustration was the "compressor" option, since it worked well on some sounds but not others. It was not a performer's keyboard for my purposes.

No problems here. I would expect it to hold up better than my Kurzweils. But give me a K1000 any day (and to think it didn't even come with a wall wart!). But Kurzweil went from Japan to Young Chang and Korea, and despite all the hype, its 3-strike piano is a strike-out compared to the original 1988 model.

Merely another of many disappointments. I started with a Wurlitzer electric, then an RMI, then 3 Rhodes, then Yamaha, the na long string of Kurzweils before trying a Korg and this Roland. If you get the right K1000, have it set up just right, and treat it gently, it's the inarguable leader of the pack. The piano is very present, very close up, very natural. The performer has that elusive element of "control" at all times and can simply think about the songs and the music. But I was bringing it in every single week for repairs--re-glue the key weights, try to make the minuscule read-out panel light up, etc. etc. I give Roland credit for having the right idea with this piano--the size and weight, the features, the consideration for the performer rather than the programmer. But the implementation didn't quite measure up.

very easy to use, no programming required

not many, tremelo and chorus are the best it can do with sounds but you can adjust the brightness

piano 3 and e pianos I find are the best on this unit, only the lowest key G sounds like an acooustic piano if you look it that way

built like a tank, if you ever open one of these up there is far to much room suggesting the could have made it smaller and easier to carry

never needed any apart from asking how much it would be to service

It looks better than it sounds which is a bad thing to say, its really well constructed and could take a few drops, I tend to use sound modules with it as it makes a great controller

Very straight forward board. No editing capabilities at all. The presets are excellent if you're looking for that "80's piano" sound.

While the polyphony is only 16 (12 for voices 4-8), it seems to suit my needs just fine. Obviously this is very bad by today's standards. Keep in mind, this was born in the 80's when technology wasn't near as sophisticated. The keyboard action is awesome. I like it better than Roland's FP-9 keyboard. When you press down on a key all the way, it feels very firm. On the FP-9, it's too soft. Keys return immediately. Effects are simple, chorus and tremolo. You can change the tremolo rate and depth via sliders. The MIDI capabilities are pretty good I guess. It works well with most external keyboards and modules. Like another user, I am having problems with my Kurzweil ME-1 module. The RD-300 won't transmit the sustain pedal. The way I "kinda" fixed this is I took a peice of duct tape, and taped the last key on the board down. The sustain functions works fine as long as 1 key is always pressed.

If the point of this keyboard was to capture the sound of an acoustic piano, then I would give this a 5 out of 10. Only because while it does have the piano sound, it does not sound like an acoustic piano. But it captures the sound of the 80's very well. That's what I love about this keyboard so much. The harpsichord is average. Clavi, Vibes, and E. Piano's are excellent. This keyboard would sound excellent with any style of music IMO. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I love that 80's electronic piano sound. The sounds are very expressive IMO. The effects are excellent. I think the chorus circuit board on the RD-300 is the best of any keyboard out there today. It's realy ashame Roland didn't use this in all their models. The tremolo is perfect. I like that you can control the rate and depth with sliders. Makes it easy for on the fly changes.

I definately can depend on this keyboard, no doubt about that. It's served me well for the last 6 years and hopefully I'll get a few more decades out of this thing. If I gigged, yes I would definately use this keyboard.

Never dealth with Roland, and I doubt they support this product anymore. It is 20 years old after all.

Should something happen to this keyboard, I will either find another one on Ebay or something, or I'll buy one of Roland's newer RD models and just get the MKS-20 (module version of the RD-300). Like I've said before, I just love how it captures that 80's sound so well. I really think Roland started a trend here. If it wasn't them, then they recreated that sound better than anyone else. I've heard other keyboard brands from the 80's that have the same basic sound as the RD-300, and it just doesn't sound as rich and full. It's kinda like Hammond trying to recreate the pipe organ sound. Even though he failed at recreating the sound, he created a whole new sound that organ players would adopt for years to come. The same goes for Roland's RD-300 sound engine. Even though they failed at making this sound like an acoustic piano. They developed a whole new sound that keyboard players adopted, even still today.

I traded it in for another home masterkeyboard because I wanted some pianosound. Which was reviewed very good here ...

Presets are for minimal music or piano rehearsal with headphone. No more, no less.

Compared to the Roland A-80, which I normally use, the keyboard is (very) bad.

Okay, it is the 80's - so is the incredible A-80! - , but the RD-300 is the first Roland gear in more than 30 years I really don't like. Sound is bad, keyboard is too light and 'breakable', poor midi-features (no BS/PC on modern modules), rather heavy weight on transport.

Keyboard split (2) can be handy.

Piano really sucks. I don't understand the reviews here. I'm a pianoplayer and it's really very bad. Higher notes are awful. With no sustain at all. The only usable sound is e.piano 1 (with or without tremolo).

To be honoust: even a Kurzweil KMP-1 sucks. At the moment I use a combination of the JV1010 Grand Piano (Session) + SC-88 Grand Piano. Now that sound like a piano. Also does the KMP-1 together with the SC-88. But stand alone? Not a chance.

I don't know. I'm not going to use it live. It feels solid, but when I read about the keys here .... :(

?

If I can sell it or trade it in, I'd be glad. Some of my gear: Roland A-80, Yamaha CS1X, Yamaha SHS-10/SHS-200, Roland JV1010, Roland SC-88, Miditemp M8CD, Digitech Vocalist WS EX, Peavey Tubefex, Digitar, complete Behringer PA.

I've had my RD-300S for years and years. Recently replaced it with the RD-700... kind of miss the brightness that always seemed to "come through" when I needed it.

One of the nicest features is the ability to easily control two other midi devices with the external sliders. This has allowed me to mix in live performance with no problems. I've used this feature with the my Roland JV-1010 and been able to blend very rich sounds.

My favorite sounds are the Piano 1 (used almost exclusively) and the Vibes (they're very warm sounding with the chorus). The Rhodes piano (with Chorus) sound nice, too.

It's been with me and played for years and years. I just lost the "C" key below middle-C (ouch) and the some of the keys are making a clicking sound when played. Understand I play pretty firm and I've used this piano in hundreds of gigs. I'm going to keep the piano, midi out to it when I get lonely for those bighting patches.

No opinion (yet). Guess I'll go in and get the "C" key fixed.

I'm moving on. I'll miss the RD-300S. Well I guess I missed the MT-32 for a while, but I got over it.

NA

MIDI good for older keyboard. No other tricks

Fendwer Rhodes is best sound on it. "Real" piano sounds are poor. It makes a great midi unit. I use several modules.

Yes

I had to replace 2 keys. (Broken in accident, not playing) Cheap and easy to obtain

Sometimes keys start to stck on older instruemnt. Take the top off and just clean the back point where there are 2 grooves across the back of the key. Clean it with a solvent and put just a drop of WD on. The original silicone grease(?) goes solid. There is no need to remove the key.

Easy to use - makes a great midi controller. Can split output on 2 channels at anywhere on keyboard. Transpose is easy even when playing live. I have used transpose right in the middle of a song (the sustain pedal will hold the chord while you push the transpose button and a key simultaneously).

chorus and tremelo rate and depth.

vibraphone and piano 1 are excellent for this vintage unit.

been using it solidly since 1986 - no problems yet!

N/A

I would replace with Roland equipment only.
I own the RD-300, Alpha juno-1 synth, MT-32 sound module, CM-64 module, CA-30 Intelligent Arranger, CF-10 midi 10 channel mixer, and the EM-10 Creative Keyboard. ALL ROLAND!!

Very easy - no programming whatsoever. Excellent for the church pianist/musician .

The action and effects are excellent for it's age. Had to have the action worked on once in the past 15 years of use... (I play it hard like an acoustic)

Again very good for it's age. I have run into difficulty at times with a little distortion. I am also having trouble with it now controlling a Kurzweil Module. For some reason it will NOT send a sustain pedal action. It controls other older modules fine and the Kurzweil module works fine with another keyboard. ???

I would get a little newer unit because there have been some very good changes to piano keyboards since the late-1980's I thought the sound at the time beat the Korg to pieces which I had always considered a high-end keyboard.

Very simple - all preset without editing functionality so it's plug in and play. Straightforward midi connecctions too.

Keyboard action is pretty good considering it's age - I use an RD600 now which is unbeatable, but the 300 is great for fast passages as the keys return instantly. Vresponce is pretty good too.

Apart from a brightness slider, there's only Chorus and Tremelo which sound great in stereo - both have rate and depth control only. No other FX at all - which is actually a blessing.

The piano sounds are good considering how old the instrument is - most useful for live work are Piano 3 and E Piano 1. I've also found the Clavi sound quite useful. No aftertouch, but quite expressive for such a light keyboard.

Utterly reliable apart from a couple of cracked keys which I got my local keyboard repair man to fix for #30. Also recently, middle A will very occasionally play itself very loudly - we haven't got to the bottom of this yet - but put it down to 12 years on the road!

Recently retired the 300 in favour of the RD600, but I will always keep it and use it from time to time.

Never needed

I think I would have to replace it if was stolen - there are still a few second hand ones out there.

This was the first real piano sound I got on a portable stage piano - having used Rhodes and Wurlitzer previously it was a revelation - and it still sounds good now.