Roland FP-30
Pros
- Good looking
- Triple sensor key action
- Rich and natural sound engine
- Bluetooth
- 22 watt speaker system
Cons
- Questionable music rest
- Key action is heavy
- Binary foot switch
- No line out
- No multi track recording
I feel a strong need to update this Roland FP-30 review. There has been quite some amazing development in the digital piano industry in 2019. With the newly introduced FP-10 from Roland and PX S1000/S3000 from Casio, the FP-30 kind of sits in an awkward spot in the market right now. While still an excellent instrument, it is important to put the FP-30 side by side to its competitors to find out if this is the right model for you.
DESIGN
-
The Look
Roland has many models with a contemporary design. The FP-30 is no different.
The FP-30 looks clean, sleek and modern. This is an instrument that would fit in most modern decor styles.
When you put the FP-30 against a wall, the curved back end gradually leads to the wall and creates the illusion that the piano is mounted on the wall. Unfortunately, due to the ports at the back side, there will always be a gap between the piano and the wall.
There are two colors you can choose from, black and white.
-
Music Rest
The included music rest of the FP-30 is unfortunately very ugly to my taste and I find it a misfit for the instrument.
It is a solid piece of plastic that looks bulky. The music rest is quite tall, which is a good news for printed sheet music.
However, the music rest is not very wide and it doesn’t have a good view angel. Unlike many other models on the market, this one does not tilt backwards much. On the front side, it looks almost straight.
As a result, I sometimes find it hard to read notes especially on the bottom end of the pages.
Another issue I encounter with the music rest of the Roland FP-30 is that the bottom of the rest is a flat surface without any dents to keep the pages in place. My printed sheet would sometime just slide all the way down to the keys.
-
Control
The Control panel on the FP-30 is simple and colorful. The buttons are well labeled and indicated with different colored LED.
Normally I don’t like colorful LED indicators. I find them a distraction. But on the FP-30, the colors are pleasant to look at and they are not too bright to cause distractions.
The 13 buttons on the panel is useful for quick access for those most often used functions. Other settings and functions will require a combination of buttons and keys. This is quite common on digital pianos of this price range.
-
Keys
The Roland FP-30 has all the 88 keys that you would find on an acoustic piano.
This keyboard features synthetic Ivory key tops. It gives the keys a yellowish tint. I personally dislike the look of that. It makes the keyboard look old and out dated.
I’m happy to report that the keys are evenly spaced and the gap between them are minimal.
There is also a red velvet lining at the back end of the keyboard to give it a premium feel.
-
Size & Weight
The Roland FP-30 is small and compact. You will be able to put it anywhere in your home or move it around between gigs.
It is however a bit heavy compare to other models at the same price range. But the difference is minimal and shouldn’t be a deal breaker to your.
It weighs about 14 kg (31 lbs).
After assemble, it has the dimensions of 130 x 28 x 15 cm (51″ x 12″ x 6″)
KEY ACTION
The Roland FP-30 uses Roland’s current generation key action, the PHA-4 Standard. It is a full 88 keyboard with actual hammer actions. The hammers are also weighted.
Just like an acoustic piano, the keys on the FP-30 feels heavy on the lower end and gets lighter towards the treble. They are also touch sensitive. The sound produce is in close relation to how hard you press the keys.
It features synthetic Ivory touch that mimics the look and the feel of Ivory. It is also designed to absorb moisture and help with grip during long playing sessions. However, I don’t experience any benefit of improved grip or moisture absorbing. This feature is in my opinion only cosmetic.
The PHA-4 is a triple sensor key action. It is one of the two only three sensor key actions at this price range. The other is Casio’s Tri-Sensor II Scaled Hammer Action. Using three sensors helps with key responsiveness and enables fast repetition.
Another feature of the PHA-4 key actions is the simulated escapement. It is a subtle notch feeling when you press the keys half-way down. The escapement is a mechanical necessity on acoustic pianos. They do not serve any purpose on digital pianos.
The weight of the keys are on the heavy side. I find it tiring to play for long sessions and I have to put in more force to get the right sound volume and timing.
SOUND
The sound engine on the FP-30 is the famous SuperNATURAL from Roland. It combines sampling with computer modeling to create authentic, rich and dynamic reproduction of acoustic piano sounds.
On top of that, this sound engine adds simulated resonances that you would find on an acoustic piano. These are the string resonance, demper resonance and the key off resonance.
I have had some experience with Roland’s SuperNATURAL engine from their other models. Generally speaking, the piano sound is pretty close to what you would hear on an acoustic piano.
There are however discussions on the internet about the stretch tuning of the FP-30. It is the tuning practice that slightly lower the pitch of the low end and tune the high end slightly higher. Some argue it’s too much, others find it just fine. Personally, I do notice it but I wouldn’t consider it as a deal breaker.
The speakers on the Roland FP-30 is significantly stronger in power output compare to any models of the same price range. It is equipped with two 11 watt amplifiers while most of its competitors has no more than 8 watt.
The FP-30 is definitely loud enough to fill any room and even a medium-sized venue.
Quality wise, the sound is rich and dynamic. However, due to the downward facing of the speakers, it could sound a bit muted. I find the FP-30 sounds better at an audience position than the player position.
FEATURES
Being a mid range portable digital piano, the FP-30 doesn’t have tons of feature.
The good news is that it has Bluetooth. It is a very convenient and popular feature. You can connect the FP-30 to smart devices to utilize apps that are fun to play with and will keep you motivated to practice daily.
The bad news on the other hand is the lack of line out ports. To use the FP-30 with external speakers/monitors, you will have to use one of the headphone jacks. This could somewhat limit the sound quality outputted. Depends on your need, this may or may not be a big deal to you.
Another limitation of the FP-30 is the lack of customization of the sound. You can not change settings about the resonances nor the stretch tuning.
Here are some other features that you might find useful.
- Sound (35 total):
- Grand pianos x 3
- Ragtime piano
- Electric pianos x 3
- Pipe organs x 4
- Harpsichords x 2
- Strings x 2
- Vibraphone
- Bass x 3
- Choir x 3
- others
- Polyphony: 128
- Key sensitivity:
- Super light
- Light
- Medium
- Heavy
- Super heavy
- FIX (off)
- Reverb settings: 5 levels
- Brilliance: 3 levels
- Modes:
- Dual mode: two instrument sound simultaneously
- Split mode: split the keyboard to two different instruments
- Twin mode: divide the keyboard into two identical halfs
- Internal recording:
- MIDI: 1 song
- Connectivity:
- USB to Host
- USB to Device
- PEDAL x 2
- Headphones x 2
ACCESSORIES
The Roland FP-30 comes with a music rest, sustain pedal and power cord.
You can purchase a stand and bench separately. There are also many different bundles around with a stand and bench.
The sustain pedal included is unfortunately a foot switch. It is a binary on/off switch that does not support half pedaling. I strongly recommend you upgrade the pedal to something that feels and looks like a piano pedal.
The speakers on the FP-30 is quite powerful. Thus, external speaker/monitor would not be necessary.
A good pair of headphones is always recommended for any digital piano.
WHO IT’S FOR
The Roland FP-30 is a mid range portable digital piano. It is mainly aimed at gigging pianists and beginners. You can also benefit by using the FP-30 as a secondary piano to practice at home or at difficult hours.
This instrument is quite focused on piano play experience. If you are looking for tons of voices, features, recording and mixing, the FP-30 is not for you.
CONCLUSION
Overall, the Roland FP-30 is a good value to consider. It provides solid key action and sound engine. Though they are not the best you can find on the market in my opinion, they are certainly adequate and good enough for any beginners.
The powerful speaker system and Bluetooth are strong points for your consideration.
If you can overlook the lack of line out port and limited recording capability, I would recommend the Roland FP-30. As always, I do urge you to try it out before purchase to get the feeling of the keys.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Leave a comment to let me know what you think of this review. And if you happen to have some experience with the Roland FP-30, please share with us in the comment below.
Hi,
I chose the FP-30 over the P-125 because of the Bluetooth. Now I feel disappointed, the Bluetooth connection is a trick, it does not allow you to play music through the piano, nor through the USB connection. Many learning books come with accompaniment but you can’t play it on the piano. No Bluetooth or USB Audio Interface, the Bluetooth and USB connections are only MIDI.
Also, if you give yourself the work of converting all your accompaniment music to wav files and store them in a USB memory, then it is too difficult to search and find the one you want to play each time, and the Piano Partner 2 app does not help on this task either.
Indeed, the FP-30 only has Bluetooth MIDI. What you described requires Bluetooth Audio.
I would probably just use an external speaker to play those accompaniments from my laptop directly. That’d be much easier than converting all the files and put them in a USB stick.
In response to your review, I’d like to make some suggestions, and clear up a few misconceptions:
1. Don’t even bother with the flimsy plastic music “desk”. Put a real music stand behind the keyboard instead. Easy.
2. You may consider the simulated ivory keys “only cosmetic”—but I, and many others players I know, find them much easier and natural-feeling to play on than the slick, shiny keys on most other digital pianos.
3. If you find the FP-30’s action “heavy”, you’re probably more of a keyboard player than a pianist. The FP-30s feels like a lighter-side acoustic piano action.
4. “Stretch” tuning is how every tuner I know tunes acoustic pianos. No one has ever tuned a piano differently for me. So I’m not sure what there is to object to there.
5. When you play a grand piano, most of the sound comes from the bottom (and most of an upright’s, from the back). So the FP-30’s bottom-mounted speakers actually create more of a “real piano” experience than DPs with top-mounted speakers, by sending the sound through the room before it reaches your ears.
6. The FP-30’s lack of line outs doesn’t “limit its sound quality”. I run the headphone-outs into amps and mixing boards and it sounds great. It’s just psychological. Just consider the outs dual-purpose and you’ll be fine.
7. If customizing piano sounds is your priority, why bother with onboard sounds at all? Piano-emulation software is much more specialized for that. You can use the keyboard as an expressive, realistic controller for it.
8. When I bought my FP-30, the dealer let me swap out the cheap goofy square pedal for a standard-sized one with continuous control (rather than the bundled pedal’s on-off), and just charged me the difference (about $10). Anyone who’s serious about piano should similarly laugh off the bundled pedal… I can’t imagine why Roland included it in the first place.
Hi Ander,
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and opinions on the FP-30. I’m sure this would be extremely helpful to anyone who’s researching into this model.
I finally chose korg d1 xD
Hello Wei,
I found Roland fp30 and Yamaha Arius ydp 143 in the local store at a similar price range. Which one would you suggest? I don’t need to move the piano around but I’ve read that fp30 has a better hammer action and feel.
Hi Masa,
Normally I’d always recommend a console style over a portable if you don’t need to move it around. But in this particular case, you would be right to choose the Roland FP30 over the YDP143. The action on the Roland is simply much better than the YDP143.
I always think that key action is the most important feature on a digital piano. This is the only feature that you can not alter. The sound, you can change it by using software. The speakers, you can use high quality headphones or external speakers. Thus, if I were you, I’d go for the FP30.
Hello Wei, it’s me again
I’ve also found Roland F 120 at the same price on a discount and i can’t seem to find a comparison od these two online. I know that F 120 is older than FP 30, but what about quality? They both have progressive hammer action and fp 30 has more features but the price on F 120 is usually much higher. What do you think?
Hi Masa,
Nice to see you again. The Roland F 120 was launched quite a few years ago and it features some last gen technology. The one thing that would bother me the most is the key action. It was the Ivory Feel-G and is not a very good key action by today’s standard.
The price of the F series would be higher due to the fact that it’s a console style piano. Portables like the FP 30 are usually cheaper. You also pay a premium for the folding panel design. The speakers system is more powerful but if you play a lot with headphone, that would add any value to your experience.
I can not recommend the F120 even if it’s the same price with the FP-30. I think you’d enjoy playing on the FP-30 a lot more.
FP 30 it is
Thank you 😀
Glad to be helpful Masa. You are always welcome.
Enjoy your brand new piano and do come back and share with us your thought on the FP30.
Hi Wei, very detailed review. Thank you.
I am very keen on Roland FP-30 as a beginner but was curious to know how it compares to Casio AP260?
Hi Chandramohan,
Thanks for leaving a comment. The Roland FP-30 is a portable digital piano and it wouldn’t be very fair to compare it to a console style one, like the Casio AP260.
If you don’t need to move the instrument around, I would always recommend a console style piano since they are not limited by the size and weight and you get the best key action, speakers and feature that the manufacture can produce for the price.
Great review. Definitely try to play some chords on it before you buy. Stretched tuning works wonders on an acoustic piano, but not on a digital one. All pianos are out of tune by nature, but where as stretched tuning compensates on an acoustic instrument, it only makes matters worse on a digital instrument. A deal breaker for me.
Hi Michael,
Thanks your for your comment. The stretched tuning is a common feature on digital pianos and there are quite a few people find it intolerable. Of course, some are more sensitive than others.
Is there any brand or model that you find less annoying due to stretched tuning? Would love to hear you thoughts on this.
Hello,
I’m an intermediate piano player and I would like to buy either Roland FP-30 or Casio PX-S1000 – which one would you recommend more?
Thank you in advance! 🙂
Hi Dominik,
That’s a very difficult question you asked. These two are quite similar and the differences aren’t that significant. The PX-S1000 has a larger polyphony number than the FP-30. This could be a decisive factor for an intermediate player like you. However, the FP-30 is equipped with more powerful speakers.
I can merely offer you two considerations:
1. I assume portability is important to you. The PX-S1000 is significantly lighter and more compact than the FP-30.
2. For an intermediate player like yourself, key action is crucial. They both have very good actions, but they are also distinctively different. See if you can find a store near you to try them yourself.
I hope this is somewhat helpful to you. Do come back let us know which one you choose and share with us your thoughts on it.
Hello Wei,
I am in the market for a electric piano that could be priced up to $1,000 usd hopefully lower priced on Black Friday.
This is primarily for my 6.5 yo daughter and for her at home lessons.
Ideally we would want the most realistic feeling and sounding portable keyboard or console digital piano . Authentic Feel and sound are the most important for me. I don’t care as much about features.
Hi Nick,
Here’s my pick of the best digital pianos under$1,000
If you don’t need to move the piano around, I would recommend console style models, as they tend to have better key action and speakers.
Hi this is a great resource to have. Thanks. The two pianos I am interested in are the p125 and Roland fp30 price range. I’m just curious about some things. I liked the p125 and will try the Roland next week. The p125 has a nice useable Rhodes.
A)I like a piano sound that leans more towards a mellow sound that is good for emotional atmospheric sad music and was wondering your thoughts when comparing medium budget pianos?
B) is it possible on any of these models to edit the pedal note sustain so that u can have more balance if sustain on a note? I find that digital pianos sustain is not always as long and as loud as it should be?
C)Is it possible to use the USB to host on the FP 30 to control the sounds of two Yamaha reface keyboards? This will allow for a full range of classic performance keyboard sounds.
D)his does Roland’s Rhodes compare to the good classic Rhodes of the p125.
Many thanks
Hi Andrew,
Let me try to help you with some advice. There are of course only my personal opinions and I always encourage my reader to find a physical shop and try the instruments first hand.
A) Yamaha is famous for its bright piano sound. Roland kind of sits in the middle. If mellow sound is what you seek, take a look at Kawai. For portable one, the Kawai ES110 is a really good piano for the price.
B) Not to my knowledge. There are APP that you can tweak the instrument but I don’t think there’s an option to change the pedal behavior. I could be wrong though, I haven’t spent too much hours on these APPs.
C) By USB to hose I assume you mean connect the piano to a computer. It’s possible by the use of software to play the piano as a MIDI controller and you can have whatever sound profile you want.
D) Here’s the complete sound from FP-30: https://youtu.be/83fZIZKps-I
Hope this helps and drop me a message if you have any other questions.
I’ve noticed that when keys on the ES110 are pressed lightly (gently) they bounce somewhat when released, especially with the higher notes. Is this normal and would it impair development of good playing technique?
Hi Rob,
It’s an common issue for the ES110. Although it wouldn’t hurt your performance nor technique. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Hello Wei,
Thank you for your useful reviews. In your review I read: “The weight of the keys are on the heavy side. I find it tiring to play for long sessions”. I’am looking for a portable digital piano with ‘light’ keys, which make it less tiring to play. Can you give me some advise? Is the Roland FP 90 a better alternative or do you have other suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Hi Linda,
The Roland FP 90 is indeed a much better piano than the FP 30. But it’s also quite a lot more expensive. Whether it’s worth the price will depend on your need for the instrument.
Here are some portable digital pianos with ‘lighter’ key actions:
Kawai ES110
Casio PX S1000
Casio PX S3000
Kawai ES8
Yamaha P125
Hi Wei,
Thank you for your excellent review! I am trying to get a entry level digital piano. The top two on my shopping list are Casio px160 and Roland fp10. In your reviews for these two DPs , you gave a mark of 8 to Casio px160 and 6 to fp-10 for key action. But in your reply to Ori, you said the key action of px160 is somewhat between Yamaha P45 and fp-10, suggesting key action of fp-10 is better. This is confusing me. Could you kindly let me know, which one has better key action? Px160 or fp-10?
Thank you very much!
Xiaoning
Hi Xiaoning,
Key action is a very subjective matter. While the PHA-4 standard is generally considered more advanced than the action on the PX160, I simply find it too clicky. This is why I gave it a lower score. Many people fight me for it. A lot of people love the action on the Roland and swear that they don’t feel the simulated ‘let-off’.
This is why I always encourage my readers to find a physical shop and try the key actions. I simply can not answer the question about key action for you.
Meanwhile, do check out Casio’s 2019 new model the PX S1000. The key action is in my opinion better than both the PX160 and the FP-10.
Hello Wei.
Thank you so much for all you have written.
I am a bit indecisive as I am learning to play piano and it is something I have wanted since I was a child. Now I can afford it 🙂 and I want to do wthat’s best.
Last week I went to buy the Yamaha p-45 (369€ fairly good price). The salesman showed me the Rolland FP-30 was a better choice (as well investment 505€) and I am waiting for it to be available.
Reading all this, I kindly ask you to advise me what is the better choice between all brands and to no more than 500€ (+/-)…?
Thank you so much.
Hi Ori,
I was exactly where you are at right now. I chose the Yamaha P-45 to start my piano journey. It’s a good beginner piano but back then there weren’t many other choices.
Now, all the brands are aware of the lower end of the market and they all have something to offer. I hereby list some of the options around €500:
1. Yamaha P-45 (Full Review): unbeatable price with adequate key action and sound. Comes with an awful foot-switch, something you will have to upgrade in the future. It also does not have internal recording capability and a really bad polyphony of 64.
2. Roland FP-30 (Full Review): Much more sophisticated model. It has the PHA-4 key action that features synthetic Ivory key tops, triple sensor and simulated escapement. If it’s within your budget, it’s a much better piano than the P-45. It also comes with the foot-switch that you will have to upgrade.
3. Roland FP-10 (Full Review): This is a brand new 2019 model from Roland. It features the same key action and sound engine as the FP-30, which make it a steal for its price. It lacks internal recording capability but like the FP-30, it also has Bluetooth, which is a really nice feature on such a cheap piano. The polyphony number of the FP-10 is 96, a bit on the low end but still better than the P-45.
4. Kawai ES110 (Full Review): This popular model from Kawai is slightly over your budget but I think it’s still worth a mention here. This models comes with a proper piano pedal so that would save you some money from future upgrades. It cost about €585 and it has probably the best key action among all the models I list here. It also has Bluetooth and an impressive 192 polyphony.
5. Casio PX-160 (Full Review): Last but not least, the PX-160 is another cheap digital piano worth a mention. It has good key action, somewhere between the P-45 and the FP-10. It also can record internally but does not have Bluetooth. The pedal that comes with it is also something you will want to upgrade as soon as possible.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck finding the piano that’s right for you. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
And do come back and share with me which model you get and what you think about it.
re: Roland FP-30
Definitely a lot of bang for the buck. It’s worth trying out various arrangement of piano settings, keyboard touch and reverb (hall ambience) to arrive at the precise combination to suit your individual playing style. For being on the road I take along two good monaural keyboard amps, and, using the 1/4″ headphone jack, i wired up (and then bought — there some some available on eBay), the 1/4″ stereo splitter (which takes 1/4″ stereo male plug and converts it into two MONAURAL 1/4″ jacks — one for each channel). This arrangement works out out well for driving the two monaural amps in stereo. I also own a Roland FP-90 and a Roland V-Piano (the king of the castle!). The feature set on the FP-90 is richer and tweeky-er, but, at 52 pounds plus extras, it’s a bit of a lug to carry around. On top-notch gigs I would do it, but the FP-30, at 32 pounds = a world of difference in trasnportability, and is a very capable keyboard for meeting the needs for most playing environments. One more hing to mention: The music rack lacks a “comb” to keep lead sheets from sliding off it. I remedied this by getting some really good “tube” epoxy, squishing it into a long, thin snake, and applying the snake as a bead at the edge of the rack. After it set, I spray-painted the rack a very nice navy blue. Voila!!
Hi Stephen,
Welcome to my Roland FP-30 review and thanks a lot for sharing with us your user experience with this instrument.
It is recommended to use external monitors with these portable digital pianos. I myself use a splitter just like yours.
FP-90 is not doubt a better instrument. But just like you mentioned, it’s significantly heavier.
Thanks for sharing the issue with the music rest. I missed it in my review. I think Roland did this for the look. It’s not a deal breaker and can be fixed like what you did. But could be annoying.
hi Wei,
Im totally new in piano world , and wish to buy either FP-30 or P125 for self learning, but hard to make decision which one to choose, can you tell me more specific about what kind of reason to buy p125 or fp30. Or any comparison I can review?
Hi Sam, welcome and thanks for your comment. Glad to hear that you want to give piano a try. There are many benefits of learning this amazing instrument!
At the price range of around $700, there are three popular models I would recommend. The Yamaha P125, Roland FP-30 and the Kawai ES110. All three are very good instruments and you can’t go wrong with either of them.
Click here to see my review on the P125 and at the bottom you can find a comparison between the P125 and Kawai ES110.
Click here to see my review on the Kawai ES110 and at the bottom you will find a comparison between the ES110 and the FP-30.
Personally, I would go for the Kawai ES110 for its slightly better key action and vast superior sustain pedal. If you are only deciding between the FP-30 and the P125, I recommend the FP-30. The P125 is a solid digital piano but the key action is way too basic. You pay a lot premium for the brand.
I started to learn piano with the Yamaha P45, which has the same key action of the P125. Once I got my hands on more expensive models, I realize how unrealistic the key action is. The action on the FP-30 is not my favorite but is definitely much better than the P125.
The FP-30 also has Bluetooth and a stronger speaker system.
Just make sure you upgrade the sustain pedal. The included pedal of P125 and FP-30 are terrible binary foot switch. You want one that supports half pedaling as pedaling is a crucial part of piano. The pedal that comes with the Kawai ES110 is a much better one and that’s one of the reasons that I would go for the ES110.
Come back and let me know which one you end up with and share your experience here.
Hi Wei,
Does the FP 30 speakers sounded significantly more powerful then P125 and FP10. What i read seems like FP30>P125>FP10.
Does the 4speakers of P125 really helps on the sound stage wise?
Hi Tan,
Yes, the speakers on the FP 30 is indeed significantly more powerful. It is quite obvious when you put these models side by side.
The 4 speakers on the P125 is more designed towards the player rather than the audience. So on stage, it doesn’t make much difference.
I have been using the Roland FP-30 from 7 May 2018, I usually use it at my church on Sundays, Wednesday and Fridays. The key action and sound quality is awesome. I had used the Acoustic Piano prior to this and they almost feel the same, I was expecting to see a big difference considering FP-30 price. When you play it with headphones, the sound is even more than amazing.
Thank you so much for such great review
Hi there, welcome and thank you for sharing your experience with the Roland FP-30. It is indeed a great instrument.
When you perform at your church, do you hook the FP-30 with external speakers or do you just use it’s built in speakers?
Does the FP-30 let you record and save your own tunes? I remember I used to use these a lot when I was younger, especially in church, we had one that let you freestyle and recorded the freestyle so that you could save it on a computer as an mp3, made it so much fun to just play around and create random tunes. Does it come with a carrying case?
And explain the touch feature, is it literally touch sensitive like a smartphone, or do you mean it responds to different levels of pressure pushing on the keys?
Also with the Bluetooth, I assume I can play my own music through the keyboard and play along to it?
Hi there, welcome and thank you for your comment. You ask some really good questions.
The Roland FP-30 does allow you to record your play and then export that to a USB stick. What it doesn’t support is multi-track recording. This is a function that allow you to record on top of an existing recording.
Carrying cases are sold separately.
Touch sensitive is not the same term on smartphones. It means on a digital piano, the sound produced is in relation to how hard you push the keys, like like an acoustic piano.
Yes, you can play much though the FP-30 with Bluetooth and play along with it.
Hey there,
I was looking to buy a Christmas gift for my daughter, as she has been playing piano/keyboard for a little while now, and from your review here, it seems that the Roland FP-30 is a good choice, except for a few minor inconveniences like the music rest and the lack of audio outputs. But I really like the Bluetooth option. She has a friend who has a similar digital piano, and she has a bunch of apps that does keep her involved and practicing. The price is also reasonable. I know that you say in your review that it is best suited for a beginner, but how long do you think it would be good for? Will this one last a few years at least, before she wants a better one?
Hi Denis, thanks for dropping by. You can’t go wrong with the Roland FP-30. There is another model at the similar price range that has Bluetooth. It’s the Kawai ES110. I also really enjoy Bluetooth and I believe there will be more and more apps on our smart devices to keep us motivated for practicing.
As for how long your daughter will out grown the Roland FP-30, that is a question I do not have the answer. If depends how your daughter progress her musical journey and her currently skill level. If you want future proof, it will cost you significantly more.
What I can advice is that if your daughter is persistent with her piano practice and wants to further improve her skills, get her the best digital piano you can afford. Not only will the instrument last longer, it will certainly make a difference for her performance and practice. A good digital piano might even encourage her to practice more often.
Hi Wei,
This is a great article. I am more of a guitarist, but am looking to get some old piano skills back. It has been a few years since I have played keys, and reading this shows to me how far keyboards have come. Touch sensitive and hammer actions are pretty impressive. Would you suggest that this piano Is a good one to buy to get back in to playing keys?
Thanks
Tom
Hi Tom. Thanks for dropping by. Digital pianos has come a long way in the last couple of years. The Roland FP 30 is a popular choice among them. Personally, I would recommend the Kawai ES110 or the Yamaha P125. But you can’t go wrong with any of these models. It comes down to your preference in regard to the sound and key action.
Hello Wei,
Thank you so much for this post.
I bought my son a digital piano a few years ago and he LOVED it. One of MY favourite features was that we could lower the sound level when he was playing, at times when we did not really want to hear loud music. You cannot do that with a real piano!
That was also a Roland (I do not remember which model) but it was a second-hand one, so we did not have much choice in the model.
I have been wondering for a while which one we should buy if we were to buy a new one now. That’s where your post and whole blog comes in so handy! Thanks a lot for doing this work for us!
I’m also wondering… What would be the best alternative to this Roland FP-30 if we could spend a little more for even better quality?
Thanks!! 🙂
Nathalie
Hi Nathalie, thanks for dropping by. The Roland FP-30 is a very popular digital piano. Thanks to the competition in the industry, there are several alternatives to it as well. Here are a few I would recommend:
Kawai ES110
Yamaha P125
Yamaha DGX660
Casio PX-160
Casio PX-870
Also check my best digital piano reviews of 2018.
Hope this helps and let me know which one you choose for your son.
Roland FP-30 is popular and one of the best digital piano in the world. But it is little bit costly than other piano. Thanks for posting this article with resourceful information of this type of piano.
Those who love music and want to play with piano, will get some important concept and knowledge here for buying and using this type of piano.
Hi, welcome and thank you for your comment. Roland has been a good brand in the music instruments industry. Like any other industry, you pay a premium for a good brand.
Another good review about pianos. The other day I was looking into your website, and I thought the Yamaha P-125 is the solution which I will go for, but after reading your new review about Roland FP-30, I guess I must think and take a decision, My daughter takes piano lessons, she is still a beginner, and I would like to purchase something useful for now and for when she will be more experienced.
What would you advice me? Which model shall I purchase?
Hi Dany, welcome back and nice to see you here again. The P-125 and the FP-30 are competitors and they are both really good instruments. Since your daughter is a beginner, I guess she doesn’t have the need for a portable piano. In that case, I would recommend upright style models. They are usually better with speakers and functions. Also they come with three pedal unit that will be important once your daughter reaches a certain skill level.
Some upright style digital piano models for you to consider:
Kawai CA48: really good piano with full wooden keys.
Yamaha YDP-184: flagship of the Arius line. Solid in every way.
Casio PX870: almost as good as the two above but only half as expensive
Roland F-140r: a very popular choice. Though I don’t like the key actions, some love it.
Yamaha DGX-660: tons of fun function beyond piano. Would be a good choice to keep your daughter motivated.
Hi Wei,
Thanks so much for this review. I really enjoyed reading it. I am still a beginner with very little experience. However, I need something to practice with at home. This seems to be an okay option. Do you have any other recommendations that you would recommend over this for me as a beginner?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Los, Thanks for dropping by. The Roland FP-30 is a good choice for beginners. There are indeed other models you should check out before making a purchase.
The Kawai ES110
The Yamaha P125
The Casio PX 160
The Yamaha DGX 660
The Yamaha P45
They each has their own pros and cons. Check my reviews and see which one fits your need better.