Roland RD-500

I've had this keyboard for around 13 years I guess. Before that it was an Kurvweil PC88 (keys constantly broke). It's a heavy beast and I'm getting too old to lug it around.

The manual is fine. I don't edit anything on it. The preset pianos are OK, but never really sounded good on stage until I got a motion sound KP100. Of course running direct in the studio or into a professional stage mixer through a big PA, it's awesome and cuts through any mix.

It's a STAGE piano, so I don't tweak it much. No general midi, so midi implementation sucks. No sequencer, but again that's typical for a stage piano.

Great for piano mostly. Acoustic and electric bass is great and splits work well. Velocity and aftertouch are really good. The other sounds (organ, no harpsichord, clav etc.) are a joke. The "leslie" control knob is total crap as are the organ sounds. The fender rhodes sound is OK, but kind of tame. Still better than lugging the real thing around.

I play jazz, blues, old school r&b and classical on it.

Never carry a backup. Never broke a key. If you learn to set up your stage monitoring properly, you won't have to bang on it to hear yourself (not that that does anything anyways).

I took it apart and bolted in a tranformer for a flourescent light on the music stand. Drilled out a hole and installed an amphenol connector. What's another pound when the case and board weigh 50 lbs. togeather?

I don't deal with Asian manufacturing customer "service" organizations.

Overall it's about a seven. There is NO reason to lug something this heavy around nowadays. Save your back. Your band mates will appreciate it and they get tired of helping you drag around all your other stuff. If it stays in one place (like a church) and you're on a budget you can't go wrong.

I've been using this RD- 500 from the very beginning, 90's.
Change it for A-90 after a while and return to another unit RD- 500.
After that I owned RD- 600, a couple of, RD-700 (the silver one), FP-8, FP-9, FP-5, FP-2 (for a gig, 14 kg. . .) FP 7 and RD-700 SX expanded.
For perfomance and Live Concert I've JUST bought another RD- 500.
I think they didn't realize yet what they did with the RD- 500, and how they made it.
Of course, I would like to change the entire keyboard for one of last generations, keys are week. But the entire instrument is inbeateable.
Things that happens . . .

The polyphony show you how to play without useless "too much vegetables" ideas . . . to be ergo and echonomic . . . thanks. I've already say about the action.

All the instruments are very useful as patches. Why use combinations if you can handle by midi others modules? . . . If you use the normal split, (piano + bass, por ex.) you are not going to find any problem. Just apply commun sense: an "Cosmic galaxy dream" plus "Pad of voices and strings" would let you without any voice . . . and you'll have a reasignation Concert . . . even though if you have 64 voices . . . Think about it.

No. No this neither other.

I've never sent a single unit to the Roland Service. Why? . . .I don't play soccer with my instruments. Have a very close friend technicien who teach me about the keys reparation.
Only one word: if the RD-500 is new, hardly to find, no problem at all.
If it's used, which probably you can't avoid, check in deep the keyboard (keys black and white) this is the Aquiles corner of this magnificent instrument.

It seems that the keyboard/ digital piano was just evolving into what we are familiar with today when the Rd-500 was created. This keyboard is very easy to just sit down and play, but if you want to do simple things such as layer sounds or transpose, some tinkering around is required. I am finding out that there are a lot of ways to customize the sound (equalizer, brightness, variations of patches, value bar, etc.) that can allow you to customize tone quality to your liking. The features as far as software goes are not very impressive. I might expect a better keyboard from Roland than this one, eventhough it is not up to date.

Built in effects: 2 (reverb/chorus)
Polyphony: Probably 32
Midi Capabilities: In/Out
Audio Outputs: L/R Out, L/R out fixed, mono out

Key action is mediocre at best. Hammer action, yes, but not hardly realistic and definately not graded hammer.

Best feature: Layering two sounds together with different sound variations.

The only realistic sound is the E. Piano. The other sounds suffer very badly (especially the piano sounds). Those Roland guys couldn't get the samples to sound good enough with this one. Sensitivity is very good. It bites when you hit the keys hard enough, which is every keyboard player's desire of a good keyboard. Attack and release are customizable on-board with a few button strokes.

Very dependable, but this keyboard is much TOO HEAVY for me to gig with! Keys have a terrible knack for breaking. If you open the case up, you can fix them with super glue. The hammers (metal weights that go up when you press the key and go down themselves when you let go of the key) will break because they are attached with cheap plastic. Roland was trying to save money and still charge a lot for the board. Aluminum would have solved the prob for sure. Too bad though...

N/A

I acquired this keyboard from my church. It was in a back room in storage and was going to be tossed away because a few keys were broken (hammer was disconnected). I saved it from the dumpster because it is perfectly good. I fixed the keys with super glue and it is fine. A few scratches are on it and you can see only a couple of rubbed places on the plastic where some other plastic item rubbed off on it leaving a white streak (this will be fixed). Hey, I want to sell this thing so I can put the money toward a Yamaha P-140, so e-mail me at TRSTY4THEHLYGHST@Gmail.com if you want to see pictures of this particular one and want to talk about a price.

The preset sounds are great, but after loaning my RD500 to a far more professional musician than myself, it came back even better! patch editing is difficult, as is reading the stupid manual, but then when I brought this model I was only ever playing a piano and had no need for the various patches. However life changes and so now I am using several different patches of which I have dumped into the setup memory.
I use this RD500 in both the studio and gigging.

Can't rememeber what the polyphony rate is, although plenty of others on here have already answered the same question. I do use the basic onboard EQ, and somethimes the chorus, but thats about it.

The onboard instruments are great, especially the Pianos and Rhodes. I had an old fender rhodes years ago, and whilst the RD500 can't replace it completely, it does come a close second. I primarily used this keyboard in a contempory church setting, however now I use it for a classic Rock/Disco band and up until now it has been just great....except for the damn keys breaking! I have always liked the warm sounds that Roland keyboards seem to have. I have played plenty of Korg and Yamaha keyboards, but just couldn't get the same warmth.

This is an interesting one. Up until now, I have had to depend on it, even if I broke a key mid gig. I remeber the first time I broke a key, I was just mortified. Being in New Zealand at the time, right on Christmas (Couldn't get hold of the repair guy) so like most other on here I pulled it apart, far more that I had too and rebuilt the offending key. The job took 2 of use about 3 hours, however now I have gotten it down to a fine art and it takes about 5 minutes. I like the idea I read about leaving the screws out in order to fix mid gig on stage. I carry plenty of spare keys (for repairs) and discovered recently that some of the keys will work on different notes. I too have had the same problems with the hammers breaking, and up until now I thought it was just me! I have replaced some, but I really need to replace the lot now. I am now in the process of buying an RD700SX so my RD500 will now become my backup.

Customer support from Roland in New Zealand was practically nil. I understand now, that the sales office is now closed and everything is though a local dealer, which made getting hold of spare keys even harder. I had to put up a good arguement for them to sell them to me.

Yes it was worth every cent that i paid, and if it were stolen or damaged, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. In fact I probably should get a second hand one for spare keys! Over the last 10 years it has been used nearly everyday, been on countless tours around New Zealand and now Australia, and has been hired out to other touring musicians. After 10 years of solid use, I can honestly say that I have more than gotten my moneys worth.

It took me ages to find what I really wanted to get when buying this keyboard, but after a trip to Australia and observing other keyboardists (whom I hold in high regard) using the same model, the day after I got home I went and brought one.

I have gigged this machine now for around ten years and do on average ten gigs per week so that's a lot of transporting. I loave the sounds and the way it can just cut right through the mix. Don't know why but the newer RD's just don't do it the same. The sounds are still great after all, if it sounds like an acoustic piano, what room is there to improve on that. It can't sound more like a piano if I'm already convinced!!!!!!!!

Editing patches and reading manuals though best left to those who can interface with machines telepathically.

The same as everyone else, I have had to superglue almost every single hammer. The RD is currently in being serviced and EVERY hammer is being replaced. I miss it so so so much. My best friend is guitarist and even he drools over it. The polyphony is quite shocking when you start to layer stuff though although I love the action. I take a simple midi out and send it to a VA 76 (arranger thing) which allows me to use the auto chords, still play a full left hand part, allows me to use the full keyboard on the VA as seperate synth and also simplifies the MIDI through for layering with my JV 1080 and control my harmonizer. Clever eh???

I gig with the RD (MIDI'd to a JV1080) two VA76's (one midi'd to a JV1010 and an MDC-1 (the rare dancey module thingy)) although I've had a G800, G1000, XP10, Korrrrrrg Trinity and various other things and I'm really missing it. It's just a really natural machine for me to play. The feel of the keys and the sound really enhance my performance.

Well 10 years, 10 gigs and the worst that's happened is a crackly volume slider ( bearing in mind this thing's had more cans of coke spilled on it than I've probably ever drank) and a few broken hammers. Also I melted the MIDI out socket in an accident with a soldering iron. Never mind, I just hard wired a midi lead onto the midi board. I think I can depend on it. When everything else around me is falling to bits the old RD keeps right on going.

Roland service is absolutely average although I've never had to deal with them regarding the RD, I have had considerable experience with other machines. To be fair, they have always resolved my problems, even to the point of replacing a VA76 once, however, my main problem is that they take so long to do anything. I am a professional musician, NOT a hobbyist and so lack of keyboard = lack of wages = lack of food for me, wife and two kids.

I would actually have bought another one if I could've but I've just put mine in for a major service instead. I could have got a Fantom X8 for less than it will cost to fix my RD but I love it so much I'm spending the money on it.

There are lots of presets but I bought this and use it only for the piano sounds. The pianos are top notch and, in my opinion, better than those in the newer rd-700.

A lot of the synthy presets are good enough to get by with but I use a non-weighted keyboard synth for everything but piano. The RD does pianos wonderfully and has many grand pianos to choose from. You can easily edit to get the amount of brightness you desire (as well as all the other parameters - but I find the brightness is the main thing I adjust). There are several Rhodes patches that are pretty good too and even the clav is useable (but clav is best played on a non-weighted keyboard).

Not sure of the polyphony but it seems to have plenty, I never notice it dropping out but I'm not layering.

Effects are dirt simple -- I don't use much.

I don't really use any of the extra features (split, layer, midi controller) - I just use it as a piano.

I only care about the piano sounds - they are excellent.

All the default settings for accoustic pianos have too much reverb for my taste -- so I reduce the reverb drastically and reduce the chorus a bit, play with the brightness a little and then I have piano sounds that rival anything else out there. Roland seems to nail the piano sound that works well in the mix, either recording or playing live - it just really mixes nicely where the piano is clear and it doesn't muddy up the mix.

These pianos (and several other models that share the same keyboard) are notorious for the hammers breaking. Roland has figured out the problem and corrected it. The hammers used to break even without playing the piano - they were cracked when they were new because of the way the plastic shrunk when it cooled. The metal weights were encased in plastic and when the plastic shrunk it would crack open and the weights would then fall out - instant dead key. This model is quick and easy to replace the hammers - get the new style hammers that don't break and you've got a fantastic piano.

I'll give it a 5 -- the old style hammers get a 0 for reliability and the new hammers have held up wonderfully.

Roland is notorious for horrible support. But their gear sounds so good people keep buying it anyway.

I'd replace it with same model. The only thing that is any better in the newer models is the organ/leslie -- but who wants to play organ on a weighted keyboard? Not me. For piano I think this model beats the newer models.

It took a long time (months) to get used to switching from one sound to another while playing. The presets are great and the ability to tweek them is also a plus for me. I am a non midi piano /extras performer with different bands.

The limitations of this instrument become evident when one layers violins and piano or organ presets while playing 8 or 9 notes and changing them quickly. The bigger the sound, the slower the response of the system, and distortion results. The fix is not to play the cathedral organ sounds layered along with the bass and drum, or other complex combinations. Keep it relatively simple for fast fingering.
Pressure sensitivity is great and uniform. Weighting is excellent ( for about 8 years, then the weights fall off of early versions) I have only touched the capabilities of this instrument, but love to play it into headphones.

Wonderful sounds are available for any piano player.

It is extremely reliable for about 8-10 years from manufacture. I am convinced that the design of the hammers, and the molded plastic material and process used , limits the life of the hammers to about ten years, if you play moderately.

I recently talked to the service manager for the keyboards. He was friendly and professional. He quickly addressed my problem and directed me to the proper service person in my area to rectify my problem.

I love my RD500. It's heavier than the newer models (they were listening to our complaints). The awesome sounds that are available to manipulate and save are worth the extra effort. The fact that the days are numbered on the hammer weights is very disturbing to me, as well as a lot of folks whose testiments I have read. I truly hope that Roland will continue to stand behind their products with respect to their hammer design problems. This instrument is a wonderful thing to play.

I bought the RD500 when it was just released, probably some 10 years ago.
There are mainly three sounds I use from it: grand no 1, organ no 1 and strings no 1.
The piano is a nice piane with good feel and a great sound. The organ I use when playing Pink Foyd stuff. I stayed with the 500 because of this.
The string sound is I use in comfortably numb, but also is great for lots of other music. For all three sound applies that it sounds good from left to right on the keyboard, each octave has its own character, therefore I don't need to change to another sound.

Beside it I use a vk-8 organ and a nord lead 1 synthesizer.

Sometimes I use the equaliser mid to make it a bit more hearable in a heavy dual guitar distorted environment.

see intro

So far very good.

I once (half way) had new key's installed by the dealer, a few where broken.

If the thing has reached the end of it's (mechanical) life I hope I can put the sound engine in a (more portable) box for the three sound I love so much

it's easy to get the factory sounds out of it..duh, but there is a learning curve to using it as a controller, and editing, and saving sounds. i find the manual demonic, and unreadable..have you seen, 'lost in translation'? you do need to muck around w/ trial and error to learn all the midi stuff.

no sequencer, 32-polyphony, no expansion options, midi capabilties are very basic. the features are definitely behind todays standards, but are still useful to the average gigger. the action on this board was the best, imesho when it bought it ten years ago. i'm still statistfied w/it, although the current flagship rd700sx is superior

i've always preferred yamaha's (p200, p90) pianos because they sound slightly 'fuller' and more natural, but i prefered the action of roland at the time of purchase. The most expressive sounds on this instrument are the pianos, and there are enough to cover the gamut of classical, rock..jazz. The electric pianos are adaquate, but there is nothing on it that sounds like a real rhodes, or is funky enough to qualify for a wurly sound. i'm no expert on b3, but i think they are barely servicable, and not very expressive..the rotary effect is a joke even to my novice ears. i actually like the synth pads, and at first i thought the string were 'harsh' sounding, but they are a slow burn and i've changed my view slightly. overall, the sounds are above average

i've had three problems:(1) one broken key (gee, i guess i'm lucky). i fixed it w/ glue, but it broke again..i might try it w/ tape next time. (2). my 'variation' and 'layer' bottons imploaded. i have yet to find any users w/ this problem, and there is nothing in the manual that's coherent enough to teach how to get around it (w/ my dumbass). i have a phobia about sending my gear out to be serviced unless absolutely necessary, so i'd appreciate any suggestions from other users. (3). the damn phone input clips and fizzes the sound out. i have yet to experience how it sounds w/ headphones

this is a professional instrument, otherwise&overall

roland truly sucks in this department. i'm afraid to send them my rd, because of what i've read, and what i've experienced w/ simply trying to get questions answered

this is not an intrument i'd buy again, unless i could find permanent solutions for the reliablity issues aforementioned, and the price was $300. the action is wonderful, and it's a pro-instrument, but i'd buy a yamaha p90, or something more up-to-date.

the keyboards i own are kurz 2661, korg x3/x5dr, rhodes mark 1/73 and a yamaha u1 acoustic piano

Well, seems like the last guy is the only one I've read that doesn't like this board. Yeah, the manual is not particularly user-friendly, but who really ever reads the manual anyway? You have to get into it and play around. I don't think I have a single factory preset in there anymore. If you spend some time with it you can tweak the sounds, touch, etc. and come up with some nice patches. Some editing is definitely needed......

The action on this baby is wonderful. It's a pleasure to play and it can be tweaked to pretty closely mimic the touch and dynamics of a real piano. It's not a synth per se.......works best as a piano.

I use it primarily for piano, organ, and some strings. The piano patches I have created are quite nice and have some adjustability. Rich acoustic grands, attack piano, honky tonk, piano w/string overlay, piano w/organ.....I have 4 good organ sounds.....2 different Hammonds, a Farfisa, and a church type. Clav is okay......strings by themselves are weak, and synth is weaker yet. It plays wonderfully and is nearly as responsive as the real thing.

I've had it for 10 years and transport it in an SKB case. My two problems.....the weights on the hammers (big surprise) and a couple switches. Onstage I can have it apart, switch hammers and be ready to go in about 3 minutes (of course, the first time it happened was a near calamity...). I just had it apart to clean a couple of finicky switches and fix a hammer (3M CA4 adhesive, then wrap with aluminum tape)and counted 8 I have repaired in 10 years.

Huh??

Well, I'm a bassist first (40 years), then a guitarist, then keys. For about the last 20 years I've played guitar and keys in rock and country bands. About 12 years ago I went country, got rid of the 3 board stack and went with one.....when I got the RD-500 I became one with the universe. I have certainly gotten my money's worth - ten years of constant gigging with only a few minor glitches. Great feel, great sound, and a real horse overall.

*If anyone knows where to get replacement hammers or microswitches PLEASE let me know.

I own two of these. The first I bought new, almost 8 years ago, when they were being supplanted by the RD 600 (a vastly superior instrument). I was looking for a controller, and was steered to the 500. It played OK, but it sounded ghastly. I have used a Kurzweil PX1000 for piano sounds since '89, so the on-board sounds didn't much matter.

I think I paid around $1500.00 for the first one, and $75.00 (that's not a typo) for the second, and the latter purchase price reflects, accurately, what this junk is worth. The guy who owned the second thought it was a hopeless case -- 5 broken keys. Weeeelll, I have developed my own method of fixing the #$^*) broken hammers. After being taken to the cleaners having a 'service' do it the first time, my curiousity got the best of me. I popped the blasted thing open, retrieved the parts, and super-glued and duct-taped 'em together. I do it all the time now. I even fixed one the the local Army Reserve had.

Presets? Good heavens, spare me. The piano sounds have sort of an 'anvil being played through a cardboard box' quality that is impossible to correct. The organs are laughably synthy and unexpressive. I only find one Rhodes patch 'pleasing.' The synth sounds are just...dopey. I HAVE used a # of the on-board sounds gigging, but only for convenience. A Sound Canvas sounds better than this, by far.

The manual is in Rolandese. If you're a gear geek and not a player, you might find time to slog through it. I'd rather practice.

It plays well. 2 points for that.

I have already opined about the tortured sounds this thing makes. They suck so badly that I'd have to launch into a torrent of profanity to accurately make my point. The piano sounds are especially egregious.

I don't know what kind of music that it work well for. I'd guess music that leans heavily on bad sounds.

Again, I use a Kurzweil PX1000 or 1200 Pro I for piano sounds.

It plays well -- but this is the sounds category.

The electronics have never crapped out on me. But I have broken, I imagine, more than half of the hammers. I never use a backup, and I gig a lot.

Guarnteed obsolescence in the hammers? Give me a break. Why would I even bother w/ customer support? The only reason I bought the second board is because I know how to fix the blasted thing myself, and I WILL at some point need another controller.

Well, I'm sleeping with the enemy. If I don't have to listen to the sad noise this thing makes, I'm OK with it. My Kurzweil continues to turn heads -- "That's the greatest piano sound I've ever heard." The listener always thinks the 500 is responsible. I set 'em strait in a hurry.

Since I own 2, there is zero likelyhood that I will buy another. Again, the only reason I bought the second was because of the price.

Other than the action, I hate everything about the 500. I even stopped using a case for it, secretly hoping that my Leslie would fall on it and put it, and me, out of our misery.

I've been playing 35 years, 29 professionally. I've logged close to 4000 gigs. Jazz, blues, gospel, roots rock, country, you-name-it. I own over 20 Hammonds, 4 Wurlies, 2 Rhodes, a Hohner Pianet T, a Kawai upright, a VK7, a Micron, Juno 1, tons of rack stuff, and numerous geetars and basses.

I married the 500, and won't break my vows. But she mugly...

I'm from the "Old School" .

I just use the presets or stock settings.

I agree that overall, it's a great instrument.

Too bad about the history of broken keys, mine did the same.

Four keys broke on me and I had to wait MONTHS for a repair. Five months later, they all broke again and are still broken.

This is real depressing if you are a sincere player.

If I could get advice on where to go, or the exact instructions on how to repair the keys myself, then I would.

I would use it without back up but my playing is definitely hindered.

It took months to get 4 broken keys repaired.

Stolen? I would get something else.


Been playing 35 years.

Love - Natural piano sound and Hammond B-3 (which I also own)

It helps make great music.

Please inform me of any place that I can get advice on key repair.

PLEASE RESPOND TO ME- THIS IS A GREAT SITE AND ANY INFO WOULD BE A GREAT HELP!!

Had a very difficult time finding replacement hammers

I'd get something more modern-this keyboard is nice, but it's almost 10 yrs old.

I've been playing about 20 yrs. I own a Mackie mixer and Soundtech amp and speakers.

This keyboard has a very nice grand piano sound and good velocity sensetivity.

The weighted hammers have been unable to stand up to the force I play with- many have broken and been repaired-new hammers hard to get.

I still think, for stage, this is the easiest "get around quickly" button and software layout of all the RD pianos (new and old). Some of the newer RD's get a bit more complex for stage use. Weight is the only not-easy issue - get a bag with wheels!

Features are pretty basic, but enough for playing out on a piano/organ gig. I have to say that the keyboard action is great for expressive players. A lot of other brands don't respond with volume from heavy banging - a great jam-piano. Maybe that's why so many people have broken keys?!

Haven't heard a better piano patch. Great B-3. Great keyboard for rhythm and blues. Some patches have the effects hard-wired to the samples, so it effects the other patches when layering/splitting. I'm in a 80's-90's cover band and have been suprised at how close (with tweaking/layering) I can match original 80's synth sounds. No horns (which is not good to be played on keys, but necessary sometimes)

OK, the broken keys, I may have broken about half. The hammers tend to break at the weights and if you play really hard, the actual 'fulcrum' on the keys (two tabs) can break off. I've fixed the hammers with a hot glue gun - better than brittle crazy glue and plastic cement (I've tried 'em all) - trim off the excess. As for the keys, I epoxied paperclips to replace the broken tabs.

TIP: If you play out and ever open it up ot replace keys - DO NOT SCREW IT BACK TOGETHER. If you're playing and middle C breaks, just flip it open, pop off the key, remove the hammer and switch it with a "less popular" key in the lower/upper register. Life saver. If you're willing to deal with the occasional broken key, this board is better than the new ones - and I would highly recommend for ease, SOUNDS & EXPRESSIVENESS and reliability.

The presets sound great, although there are too many similar-sounding ones. I'd rather have fewer electric piano sounds and more sounds like marimba or vibraphone. The manual is serviceable, but could have been much more complete (MIDI implementation, editing). I use my RD-500 in a home studio setting. The very limited LED display is frustrating. It's probably better on a dark stage. In home studio use, I'd trade the active LED 6-character display for a big, passive LCD display that would show envelopes, levels, etc.

The action is excellent! Close your eyes and it's a grand! Nice reverb and chorus. No on-board sequencer.

The piano sounds are, to my ears, as good as you could hope for. Very satisfying lower register, and nice plinking in the upper end. Nice pipe organ, somewhat limited choice of rock and jazz organs. Very good velocity sensitivity.

I've read a lot about this model's problem with broken keys. Maybe it's a valid criticism given the model's intended use: a stage piano. But as a home studio user, looking for a realistic piano action and a MIDI controller, it's been a reliable keyboard for nine years. Not one broken key.

I consider this keyboard very worth the money. If your playing style is to pound the keys with all your might, maybe the keys will break, but in normal use, they seem to be robust enough. The action is perfect. I wish it had a bigger display. Some of the MIDI messages become a little cryptic when displayed in such a small number of LED characters. I kind of wish it had a small on-board sequencer and speakers, so that I didn't have to turn on my computer and entire sound system just to noodle around for a few minutes. But then, it's a stage piano by design, and a very good one!

The manual for the instrument, like all Roland manuals, isn't the greatest. I don't know if they translate them for Japanese or what, but they're generally poorly laid out and difficult to understand. Actually, I mainly just use all the repset sounds, maybe with some minor patch editing and stuff, so I've never had to wade through the MIDI business.

It's not the greatest interface either, in comparison to new LCD models.

Selecting sounds, changing volume, transposing and EQing are easy to do on stage in the dark, which is great. There's enough preset sounds to make it easy to find the tone you're looking for, but not so many that you feel like you're lost in the jungle searching for that particular sound.

The keybaord action is fantastic. It really feels like a piano. If I knew what polyphony was, I'm sure I could comment intelligently on it, but I don't, so I won't. Ditto for MIDI and sequenicing.

Expression is where the instriument shines. I wanted a good piano sound and feel and that's exactly what I got. I haven't played any others that are as good. It's wonderfully dynamic.

As mentioned by several other reviewers, the keys break far too easily. To compound the problem they're a real pain to replace.

I've also had problems with the 1/4" jacksa in the back coming loose or humming.

The fragility of the keys is a serious issue, and hopefully they've addressed this by either making them stronger or easier to replace.

But I've never found a portable digital keyboard that is as good as this one.

I had an RD500 for 9 years. In that time, keys broke 4 times. It became clear that if you play hard, keys will break. Looking at the spot of breakage, it's amazing more haven't broken.

For the time, it was a terrific keyboard, except for the key breakage problem. I recently bought a successor, then RD700. Hopefully they have solved the problem.
If you are considering buying a used RD500, don't - the keys will break.

I just use it as a piano

The only good onboard piano sound I have heard.
The only action I have ever been impressed with on an electric piano.

you can rely on the keys breaking

The guy who bought it for me got a box of keys from a rep
if that counts

Its so nice to know that I am not alone.
The RD 500 is the only keyboard that has the action I love and a piano sound I can deal with. Piano 2 variation 3 ( if your interested)
I have played an rd600 and it aint as good.
THE KEYS ARE DESIGNED BY THE FACTORY TO BREAK.
I broke my first key and it cost me 50 bucks to have fixed.
The next time I broke a key (later that same week) I decided to have a look myself. I figured out how to get the keys off and the action removed. QED actually. I can do it now onstage at a gig with no tools.
How did I learn this skill? By doing it several times onstage in the middle of the gig. The keys will ALL break. When I realized this I got a box of keys from Roland. A whole new set.
Understand this............ They came from Roland PRECRACKED!!
Every single action had cracks in the plastic at the exact place where the action slams up against the felted hammer bar.
In the bag, from the factory, pre-cracked. Doomed from inception.
BTW all you RD600 users, I took a look inside the RD600. Seems they changed the key design so you cant just pop them off nice and easy.
So what did I do? I bored out all the slots that the action has to fit into on the chassis ( using a Dremel tool) and gooped this stuff called JB Weld onto it. You can get it at Home Depot. It dries and then you jam the action back in there and use it till it breaks again.
But thats just if your cheap like me.
You could always get something new. Except that the Rd 500 feels so good and has that one good piano.

Roland build robust keyboards and I find they are always easy to use. I had no trouble exploring the capabilities of the RD-500 within minutes of demoing it in the music shop. Manual is basic, but editing patches is very straightforward.

Polyphony is very limited and frustating at times when using complex layered sounds. The chorus and reverb effects have certain defaults depending on the tone chosen which can then be edited. As a stage piano it has no additional features or expansion facilities. MIDI capabilities are fine and can be used as a controller. Good on-board controls for external MIDI devices.

I have enjoyed playing the RD-500 for the past 7 years and have tweaked the patches to my liking. I tend to prefer the bright pianos in the 'grand 2' bank, the default piano tone when you switch on is very poor in the mid range. The PA-4 action is good and as a board it responds well to my styles which tend to be pop/rock, ballads and contemporary Christian genres

I have used the RD-500 as a work horse. It travels out of home most weekends and has even been on tour with me to Greece. It is built well and aafter 7 years all my keys are working properly - I guess that's because I look after it properly!

Excellent support here in UK. I have a custom built flight case which unfortunately fell off a trolly damaging the pitch bend lever and sending the keyboard into nonsense mode. Roland sent through a replacement within days and I was able to fix the new unit without any further problems.

I've generally bbeen very satisfied with the RD-500. It has a good stage sound. The electric piano's were great when I first heard them compared to my previous experiences with an RD-300 and FP-9. When I bought it I compared it to the equivalent Yamaha - PFP100? Basically it didn't. The Roland piano sound was far superior in my humble opinion. Replacement? Yes I am now considering an RD-700. Trouble is in UK there are very dealers within reach and I need to hear one before I even consider buying. Any advice from people who've made a similar switch would be welcome.

Th Rd-500 is pretty simple to use. Not many parameters to edit. I've only used the manual when I had questions about the midi sections.

Today (2001) a polyphony of 32 isn't much. Iv'e had some problems when I whanted to use a stereo Piano layered with stereo strings.
The keyboard action is very good.

I realy like the piano sound when I add a little mid. and alot of high. at the eq. becaus i think it is a little bit to dark for my tast. Also the E-piano is great. I think organ nr. 3 (or is it nr. 5?) is great if you disable the chorus and then maybe add a lesley whith the C1 slider.

I've also had some problems whith broken keys on gigs, which is very frustrating. But since the garenty has ran out I've begun to fix it my own. It's easy to order the hammers at the local dealer. I've also found out that the reason was a worn strip of felt or some kind of foam material. When you press a key the hammer hits this felt and if the felt is worn the hammer gets overloaded and breaks easily. I havn't had problems since replacing the felt.

I Don't whant another one right now and that's because i have a triton for all other sound than the piano. But in the future i would like a piano whith keys that are weighted different in the bass and top. And after fixing it as described I'm not nervous bout using it at gigs anymore. So if you have problems whit the keys on your RD-500: GET IT FIXED!

Very easy to use, but I play it as a piano and not as midi. Manual is OK, but needs some simple information so you can troubleshoot, but of course, that is not Rolands way...

Built-in voices and effects are very easy to use, and has a wide selection of instruments and colors, so its easy to pick the one that suits the room/group/volume tha you're playing.

Instruments are good, except I could find exactly the Rhodes sound that I wanted. Acoustic piano is very good, which, in addition to the great touch, is why I bought it. Best electric piano feel I've played. I play mostly jazz, and the acoustic sound and feel is very important to me.

At first I could depend on it, but after almost 3 years it is breaking keys. As in other reviews above, the plastic arm holding the weight breaks off. The broken off piece usually manages to block the action of a couple of keys next to it as well. Broke a key each of my last 2 gigs! This is totally unacceptable. Would I use it on a gig without any backup? Not any more! I carry my other (comparitively cheesy sounding) Roland ep-7 in case I lose too many notes, but if this piano had been adequate for performance, I wouldnt have bought the RD-500.

I have tried, and have been told to use the local "factory-authorized" repairman. The key got fixed, but it took weeks(!) and I got the piano back with many of the screws not all the way back in. Repairman said that Roland said (note heresay) that the cracks in the hammers and weight arms were "normal".

Would I buy it again? I'm asking that question right now, since I cant go 3-4 weeks without an instrument.
Other gear: Roland ep-7 (backup/composing), Hammond XB-2
What do I love?: sound and feel!
What do I hate?: keys breaking!
It's impossible to combine these two factors and get a rating. If you can afford to own 2 or three, to have one in the shop and one backup, (if you have the time to work on them a lot yourself, then you could probably get by with 2), maybe the sound and feel are worth it.

nice keyboard, but....
It's like the classic "one hoss chez"
The keys all start to break after 4 years of use.
(if you look inside, you find that those ivories are connected to the counter-weights by flimsy little plastic connections.)
Looks like Roland designed this to keep customers coming back for the laterst new model. If any has one of these, keep your epoxy handy!

I found it to have the best piano feel available at the time. It's
still not a piano, but at least it (barely) fits in my car.

Very good piano sounds. The rest range from okay to good.

I've broken 2 keys on it thus far. The weights are attached to the
keys by tiny, thin pieces of plastic that seem to snap too easily.
Fixing them with crazy glue is simple, but when I was looking at other
keys, I noticed fractures on most of the commonly played keys. The
the thought of breaking middle C at the beginning of a show sends
shivers down my spine.

The presets are amazing! I was sold on this when I sat down to play it, because it sounded just like the 9 foot Steinway grand I had just played. Editing is not all that hard, but I had to figure it out by myself because for some reason there was no manual in the box.

16 note polyphony (I think), but I am more of a piano player than a sequencer. The action is AMAZING!!! Again I am used to a regular piano and not only is this weighted, but it is controled by a hammered mechanism that makes it feel just like a piano. As for expansion, not much needed it has all I'd want, but it does have midi outputs. It has all 88 keys, great chorus, reverb, pitch bender, modulation, tremolo, delay, transposer and 121 fantastic keyboard sounds.

All the instruments are realistic, and then they can be ajusted with attack, decay, brightness, brightness, on board e.q., sensitivity, and key touch. It reacts to my playing fantastically. I read this was the industry standard and I can see why, it sounds amazing. Works great for Dream Theater-esc metal, classical, jazz, and anything else that uses a piano or keyboard sounds.

Its a Roland and like Boss its the most dependable on the market. It may be pretty damn big, but better than carrying a piano, its all I use at gigs.

N/A

It is fantastic! I'd easily buy another if the need arrived. It is just like a piano in many ways, but it the options make it excell beyond. I play it more often than I play my Kawaii Studio acoustic piano because it plays and sounds so good. It has all I want and much more.

The piano presets are stunning. It's also a full- blown synth, easily edited. 88 keys,weighted for a piano feel, has performance setup memory and a controller section for externel keys, effects, etc. Like most Roland manuals, something gets lost in the translation.

Tons of polyphony. Onboard realtime E Q, reverb (NICE)No sequencer or expansion, but great for live.