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#RolandGP3 #DigitalGrandPiano #RolandGrandPiano
Welcome! Today we’ll be taking our first look at the Roland GP3, a brand-new mini digital grand piano.
Compact, and affordably priced with a great action and tone engine, we expect the GP3 to be a big hit for Roland.
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Overview
The GP3 is the latest addition to Roland’s line of digital baby grand pianos, which up until now consisted of the GP607 and GP609. And it makes a ton of sense as to why they’ve come out with this new model when you consider the price tag considering just how expensive all of the digital baby grands on the market currently are.
The GP3 is coming to us right around $5,000 USD, which is an absolutely critical price point for manufacturers to hit.
For people who want a piano with the aesthetics of a small grand piano with a respectable action and a good sound engine, the GP3 is by far the least expensive option on the market.
Piano Tone
The GP3 is equipped with the sample-based version of Roland’s SuperNATURAL Piano Engine with 256-note polyphony. From a sound engine perspective, you’re essentially getting similar specs to something like an HP702 here.
Roland hasn’t specified this in the marketing literature, but we’re assuming that the BMC processor is the sound chip present here. Like most Rolands in general, the GP3 tends to tonally skew towards a NY Steinway, and many people suspect a NY Steinway D was the piano Roland recorded for the basis of their sample, though this information has never been disclosed.
The tone is being presented through a pair of downward-facing 11-watt speakers for 22 watts of power in total. On paper, this looks a little bit underpowered for an instrument seeking to emulate a grand piano sound experience, but when you actually play it, the effect isn’t underwhelming at all which really speaks to the efficiency of the speakers.
In terms of total onboard tones, the GP3 is quite lean at 15 tones, with a handful of acoustic piano patches, a few e pianos and a couple others. The focus here really is the primary grand piano tone which is really quite satisfying.
Piano Action
Roland has been vague about the action they’ve included in the GP3, but we were able to confirm that it is in fact their solid PHA4 action.
The PHA4 is considered one of the best plastic key actions on the market, and can be found through much of Roland’s lineup. It’s on the heavier side overall, pretty much in line with an acoustic baby grand action.
It’s equipped with triple sensor detection, escapement/let-off and textured keytops, all very welcome specs.
Connectivity
The GP3 is a little bit light from a connectivity perspective in that it does not have discrete ¼” line outputs. That said, there are dual headphone outputs, and you can turn the speakers on or off independently of whether or not you have the headphones plugged in, meaning you can use one of the headphone ports as a line out if needed.
It also has USB Type and B, but more importantly, it’s equipped with Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio. Bluetooth Audio is really key here because it means you can stream music directly through the GP3’s speakers which is great for entertaining guests.
Features
The GP3 has a basic built-in MIDI recorder with playback, onboard rhythms, and standard features like dual mode, twin piano mode, metronome and transpose.
There are also almost 400 pre-loaded songs, which again, is excellent for folks looking to have a digital baby grand piano in an entertaining space.
Cabinet
The quality of the polyester here is nothing short of excellent, and the overall quality of the cabinet is top notch. Roland really stepped their game up in this department about 4 or 5 years ago, and the GP3 definitely attests to this.
Even the legs, hardware and pedals are all very high quality and easy to assemble.
Conclusion
The GP3 is a great addition to the market given its total uniqueness for the price point. It delivers the shape and aesthetic of a grand piano while still offering a high level of musical performance.
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7 сен 2024