Roland has announced an update to its RD line of digital stage pianos with the launch of the RD-2000 EX and RD-88 EX models.
The original RD-2000 launched in 2017 as the most advanced RD stage piano at that time. The EX model elevates this platform with two pre-installed V-Piano Expansion titles — German Concert V-Piano and Essential Upright V-Piano. These styles can be customised using Roland’s onboard Piano Designer tools.
The RD-88 launched in 2020 as a lightweight and more affordable instrument in the range. The EX model keeps the tried and trusted elements of this model, including SuperNATURAL and ZEN-Core sound engines, PHA-4 hammer action keyboard, intuitive controller tools and the impressive onboard stereo speaker system. To this, it adds the SuperNATURAL Acoustic Piano 3 expansion pack pre-installed, offering a premium concert piano option along with 15 distinctive tones and 20 scenes.
Existing RD-2000 and RD-88 owners can expand their existing instruments with the new EX sounds with upgrades from Roland Cloud.
The RD-88 EX retails for $1,299.99 and the RD-2000 EX for $2,599.99, with immediate availability. The upgrades cost $99.99 for the RD-88 and $199.99 for the RD-2000.
Feature Highlights
RD-88 EX
- Professional RD stage piano with expanded sounds, including the SuperNATURAL Acoustic Piano 3 Expansion
- Acclaimed SuperNATURAL pianos and electric pianos
- ZEN-Core engine with over 3000 additional sounds, including organs, synths, strings, brass, and more
- World-class playability with the 88-note PHA-4 keyboard with hammer action and Ivory Feel
- Room-filling onboard stereo speaker system
- Convenient built-in rhythms for jamming and performance
- USB audio/MIDI interface and dedicated control mode for working with Apple MainStage
- USB memory port for MP3/WAV audio playback and data backup
- Light and compact design for easy transport and setup
- DP-10 Damper Pedal included
RD-2000 EX
- Premium RD stage piano with two independent sound engines and modern controller features
- Expandable sound engine powered by advanced Roland V-Piano modeling technology for authentic, richly detailed tone and full polyphony
- Comes with two V-Piano Expansion titles pre-installed: German Concert and the newly developed Essential Upright
- SuperNATURAL sound engine with 128-voice polyphony for electric pianos and additional sounds
- Deep real-time control with nine sliders and eight encoder knobs with LED status indicators
- Eight fully assignable zones for combining internal sounds and external sources, including hardware and software instruments
- Authentic grand piano touch with PHA-50 keyboard and weighted hammer action
- A wide selection of classic electric pianos, including Roland’s legendary RD-1000 and MKS-20
- BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, Roland Dimension D, and other recreations of vintage analog effects
- Over 1100 non-piano sounds, including Virtual ToneWheel organs, strings, brass, synths, and many others
- 100 Scene memories for saving and recalling setups with one touch
- Classic Roland pitch/mod lever and two assignable wheel controllers
- 24-bit/192 kHz USB audio/MIDI interface
- USB Memory port for recording and audio file playback
- XLR and ¼-inch stereo main outputs, ¼-inch stereo sub outputs, analog aux input, and MIDI I/O
- External control jacks for damper and expression pedals (DP-10 damper pedal included)
- Two Wave Expansion slots for loading additional sounds from Roland’s Axial website, including sounds from previous RD-series pianos
Specification Comparison
| RD-2000 EX | RD-88 EX | |
| Keyboard | PHA-50 Keyboard: Wood and Plastic Hybrid Structure, with Escapement and Ebony/Ivory Feel (88 keys) | 88 keys (PHA-4 Standard Keyboard: with Escapement and Ivory Feel) |
| Sound Generator | 2x Independent Sound Engines Sound Engine1: V-Piano Technology Sound Engine2: SuperNATURAL SuperNATURAL Piano SuperNATURAL (E.Piano, Clav) Virtual Tone Wheel Organ PCM Sound Generator | ZEN-Core SuperNATURAL Piano SuperNATURAL E.Piano |
| Max Polyphony | V-Piano Technology Sound Engine: Full Polyphony SuperNATURAL Sound Engine: 128 voices | Full polyphony |
| Parts | 16 parts (Max 8 parts are used in the PROGRAM ) | 3 parts |
| Tones | 1,100 | 3,000 |
| Program | 300 | – |
| Scene | 100 | 400 |
| Effects | Modulation FX: 4 systems, 62 types Tremolo/Amp Simulator: 4 systems, 6 types Reverb: 6 types Delay: 5 types Sympathetic Resonance (Only for SuperNATURAL Piano) 3-band Compressor 5-band Digital Equalizer | Zone Multi-effects: 3 systems, 90 types Zone EQ: 3 systems Zone Tone Color: 3 systems Scene Multi-effects (IFX): 90 types Sympathetic Resonance Chorus/Delay: 8 types Reverb: 6 types Master Compressor Master EQ Input Reverb Input EQ |
| Other Functions | – | Favorite Rhythm Pattern Song Player MIDI Master Keyboard DAW Control |
| Audio Player File Format | Audio Files (WAV format, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit linear) | – |
| Audio Recorder File Format | Audio Files (WAV format, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit linear) | – |
| Audio Recorder Storage | USB Flash Drive | USB Flash Drive |
| Rhythm Pattern | 200 | |
| Controllers | Slider x 9 (with illumination) Knobs x 8 (with illumination) Pitch Bend/Modulation lever Modulation Wheel x 2 (Assignable) | Assignable Wheel x 2 Assignable Control knob x 8 Master Volume knob Damper Pedal Assignable Pedal x 2 |
| Display | Graphic LCD 256 x 80 dots | Graphic LCD 128 x 64 dots |
| Connectors | MAIN OUT (L/MONO, R) jacks: 1/4-inch phone type MAIN OUT (L, R) jacks: XLR type SUB OUT (L/MONO, R) jacks:1/4-inch phone type INPUT jack: Stereo miniature phone type Pedal (DAMPER, FC1, FC2, EXT) jacks: TRS phone type MIDI (IN, OUT1, THRU/OUT2) connectors USB (COMPUTER) port (AUDIO/MIDI): USB B USB (MEMORY) port: USB A USB FOR UPDATE port: USB A PHONES jack: Stereo 1/4 inch phone type AC In jack | PHONES jack: stereo 1/4-inch phone type OUTPUT jacks (L/MONO, R): 1/4-inch phone type MIC INPUT jack: 1/4-inch phone type LINE INPUT Jack: Stereo miniature phone type Pedal (DAMPER, FC1, FC2) jacks: TRS phone type MIDI OUT jack USB MEMORY port USB COMPUTER port (supports USB MIDI/AUDIO) DC IN jack |
| USB Audio | Signal Processing: 24-bit Sampling Rate: 192 kHz, 96 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz Record: 2 channels Playback: 2 channels | – |
| Speakers | – | Full range 12cm x 2, tweeter 2cm x 2 – 6Wx2 |
| Power Consumption | 23W | 1,500mA |
| Accessories | Owner’s manual Power cord Damper pedal (capable of continuous detection) | Owner’s manual Leaflet “USING THE UNIT SAFELY” AC adaptor Power cord Damper pedal |
| Options | Keyboard stand: KS-G8B Piano pedal: RPU-3 Damper pedal: DP-10 Pedal switch: DP-2 Expression pedal: EV-5 USB Flash drive | Stand (KS-13, KS-11Z) Pedal (DP-2, DP-10, EV-5, RPU-3) Carrying Bag: (CB-B88V2) Headphones USB Flash drive |
| Dimensions | Width: 1,412 mm / 55-5/8 inches Depth: 367 mm / 14-1/2 inches Height: 140 mm / 5-9/16 inches Weight: 21.7 kg / 47 lbs 14 oz | Width: 1,284 mm / 50-9/16 inches Depth: 258 mm / 10-3/16 inches Height: 159 mm / 6-5/16 inches Weight: 13.5 kg / 29 lbs 13 oz |
