![]() ![]() When paired with Roland’s Piano Partner 2 app, the FP-10 starts to spread its wings a littleĪlthough there’s no onboard song recorder on the FP-10, you can use the Piano Partner app, or indeed any other DAW, to record MIDI performances over Bluetooth. Not only do you now have touch control over all major settings and keyboard modes, but you suddenly have access to a further 21 hitherto undiscovered sounds, such as Ragtime Piano, a third, more Wurli-esque electric piano tone, plus a whole bunch of others including Harp, Celeste, Steel and Nylon Guitars, Choirs and more. After a simple Bluetooth pairing procedure, the app turns your Bluetooth-enabled iOS or Android device into the large-screen touch display that the FP-10 lacks out of the box, the supplied music rest doubling nicely as a tablet stand. When paired with Roland’s Piano Partner 2 app, the FP-10 starts to spread its wings a little. ![]() You can also divide the keyboard into two ‘twin’ pianos, one on the left and one on the right so that two people can play the same pitch ranges, which is great for student/teacher interaction. Sounds can be layered by pressing two of the keys to select two presets simultaneously - a feature known as ‘Dual Play’ - and there are some useful combinations to be explored in this way, such as acoustic piano and strings, or harpsichord and pad. Sadly, there’s no onboard Wurlitzer EP200 preset - we’d have gladly forsaken the frankly bonkers jazz scat in favour of a decent Wurli sound accessible from the front panel. There are two harpsichords, a vibraphone, a Hammond B3 jazz organ, a pipe organ, two string patches, a gorgeous soft analogue pad and the strange ‘jazz scat’ preset, a novelty collection of velocity-sensitive vocal samples that it’s hard to see being of any use to anyone after an initial ten minutes of hilarity. Next up, there are two electric piano sounds, of which one is a Fender Rhodes sample and the other a DX7-style FM EPiano. Full, rich and exquisitely detailed, the acoustic piano sounds are derived from the same SuperNatural sound set as Roland's more expensive models, meaning that advanced characteristics such as simulated sympathetic string resonance, damper resonance and key-off resonance are all present and correct. Although the FP-10 supports half-pedalling, the basic bundled foot switch doesn’t - you’ll need to invest in a compatible pedal like the Roland DP-10 to take advantage of this feature.įifteen onboard sounds are provided, most prominent of which are the four acoustic pianos, which are of excellent quality but with seemingly only subtle differences in character. There are two USB ports - one for future firmware updates, the other to connect the FP-10 to your computer for use as a MIDI controller - and a damper pedal port. It’s a substantial unit at 12.3kg, but not so overweight as to rule it out as a portable instrument.Ĭonnection-wise, the only audio output is a single 3.5mm headphone jack, the lack of separate line outs being the clearest indication yet that the FP-10 is aimed at the domestic user rather than the professional stage and studio musician. At 14cm, the height may pose an issue if you’re thinking of using it as a master MIDI keyboard to sit in a drawer under a tabletop. ![]() Furthermore, uniquely at this price point, there’s an escapement mechanism in there to enable the rapid playing of repeated notes, and the keys also have a very realistic ivory feel to the key-tops, so in terms of feeling like an acoustic piano, the FP-10 scores highly.Īmong the narrowest in its class, the FP-10 has a very slim profile front to back but is also unusually tall for a digital keyboard, the deep casing accommodating the escapement mechanism and the two 6W downward-firing speakers. All 88 keys are individually and progressively weighted, heavier at the low end and gradually becoming lighter towards the top. Identical to those found in much more expensive Roland models such as the HP702, finding these features in a beginner digital piano is a real bonus. The foremost indicators of Roland’s no-compromise approach to the FP-10 are its wonderfully playable PHA4 keybed and SuperNatural sound engine. ![]()
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