Whether you’re looking to buy a keyboard for songwriting, studio production or performing live, our range has something that will suit your needs.
The range can be broadly divided into Stage Pianos and Performance/Workstation Synthesizers. Generally speaking, the major difference between the two is that the latter come with built-in sequencers for composing.
In practice, there’s a lot more to it than that! In this article, we’re going to run through the main features of the RD, JUNO-DS, FA and FANTOM keyboards to help you figure out which one suits your needs best.
Stage Pianos
Stage pianos are favoured by gigging professionals who need the playability, action, and sound of a grand piano but in a more stage-friendly format.
Over the years though, stage pianos have had more sounds and capabilities added to them. Collections of synthesizer sounds and acoustic sounds like orchestral instruments, drums and guitars have been added to give you a wider palette of instruments. They can be layered with your piano sound to give you a huge choice to play with and be inspired by.
Our stage piano range consists of the RD-88 and RD-2000 – let’s go through how these two compare.
RD-88
The RD-88 gives you a wide range of piano sounds and gives you a truly authentic playing experience with its PHA-4 ivory feel action, delivering true escapement response that mimic playing on an acoustic piano.
Although it has an 88 note weighted keyboard, its compact design allows it to fit into smaller spaces like a back seat of a car or a desktop. It also boasts a built-in microphone connection and loudspeakers, making it ideal for small gigs or intimate performances. This also makes it easy for home practise, or even self-monitoring if you’re playing in a band.
With three layers or splits for extra sounds, as well as the ability to play external sounds through Apple’s Main Stage app on a laptop using only one USB cable, your creativity can run wild! If that wasn’t enough already, if you become member of Roland Cloud you get access to more sound expansions and sound packs which are added regularly.
RD-2000
The versatile RD-2000 also includes over 1,100 additional sounds for covering any style of music and at Roland’s Axial Sound Website you’ll find even more sounds to load into the RD-2000’s two wave expansion slots.
Performance/Workstation Synthesizers
The next three keyboards give you the ability to create music without the need for an external device. These have sequencers built into them, giving you the ability to play and record multiple layers of instruments.
Let’s start with the first in this range, the JUNO-DS 88.
JUNO-DS88
Due to its intuitive, straightforward design, the JUNO-DS is a favourite for young singer/songwriters and bands looking for a great sounding keyboard that’s also easy to get up and running. The instruments that are built into the JUNO-DS are categorised by type, making it easy to find what you’re after.
The range of sounds here is enormous but there is also a virtual “expansion slot” where you can add more sounds from the Roland Axial website. You can choose from orchestral sounds, world sounds, or even dance loops. There are 17 free expansions to choose from giving you a wide selection of instruments, rhythms, sound effects and more.
The built-in pattern sequencer has 8 tracks for recording, whether you want drums, bass, synth, or even orchestral sounds. This is an effortless way to write up to 8 bar parts of a song (a chorus for example) and play around with ideas by muting different tracks or soloing them to hear them on their own.
The pattern sequencer makes it super easy to write and capture ideas, but if you want to develop this even further, you can connect your JUNO-DS to a laptop via USB and have access to 16 different parts and play each part into an audio program like Garageband for example.
You can also import audio files like sound effects, drum patterns or vocal phrases, and then assign these sounds to each pad or key on the keyboard, ready to be triggered at the touch of a button. Plus, by connecting a mic to the dedicated input, you can sing through your JUNO-DS and use vocal effects like vocoder and auto-tune to add creative flair to your compositions or performances.
Whether you’re working on a song at home, recording a track in the studio, or playing a gig, the portable JUNO-DS88 will inspire you and make it easy to take your music wherever you want to go.
FANTOM-08
The FANTOM-08, combines the sonic power and fluid workflow of the flagship FANTOM series in a more streamlined instrument that is lighter and more affordable.
It has the ever popular PHA-4 expressive 88-note keyboard with weighted action, and has everything you need to create and perform at the highest level. FANTOM-0’s all-new SuperNATURAL pianos play and respond just like their acoustic counterparts, and you have a range of onboard tools to customize them for your style and touch.
Play and produce with thousands of Roland’s best sounds built in with thousands more available from Roland Cloud. It has the same yet slightly smaller color touchscreen, plenty of hands-on controls, and deep computer integration just like the flagship models.
FANTOM-0 slides seamlessly into modern production setups with a built-in 4×32 USB audio interface, while native integration with Logic Pro, MainStage, and Ableton Live lets you interact with the software using the touchscreen and hardware controls. Going further, you can freely combine soft synths with FANTOM-0’s onboard sounds and interface with your favorite MIDI hardware via the dedicated MIDI output.
FANTOM-0 has the Virtual ToneWheel engine faithfully emulating the sound of a real tone wheel organ, direct control with the touchscreen, sliders (which act like drawbars and give you a visual on screen) and knobs. There’s a video below of how the Virtual Tone Wheel works in the FANTOM flagship but, it is the same in the FANTOM-0.
FANTOM-0 also has deep sampling. Using FANTOM-0’s intuitive sampling tools, you can easily expand and personalize your musical palette by capturing internal sounds, hardware devices, DAW tracks, and more. You can even use your own samples as oscillators in the incredible ZEN-Core synth engine!
More sounds! With Roland Cloud, you can dive even deeper into the historic and ever-evolving world of Roland synthesizers. Model Expansions gives your FANTOM-0 the authentic sound and unique characteristics of the JUPITER-8, JUNO-106, and other vintage icons. And with the growing selection of Wave Expansions, Sound Packs, Sample Packs, and more, you’ll always be inspired.
To get started, you can download 15 Wave Expansions and 10 Sound Packs at no charge from Roland Cloud when you purchase a FANTOM-0 keyboard. Last but not least is the FANTOM flagship series. If you want to compare the FANTOM-0 to the flagship series, visit this article. https://rolandcorp.com.au/blog/which-fantom-should-i-buy
FANTOM 8
The FANTOM is Roland’s flagship keyboard that gives you everything you could possibly need. Since its release in late 2019, it has been consistently developed and expanded offering new sound engines and ways of making your music.
Like the RD-2000, FANTOM has the best available weighted keyboard, the PHA-50 with one very important addition, it has aftertouch so you can also apply pressure to activate parameters like the swelling of a synth filter or the vibrato of a SuperNATURAL violin.
FANTOM runs multiple synthesis technologies simultaneously, for authentic acoustic and electronic sounds, both modern and vintage. It nails our classic synths but pushes into new territory as well with the ZEN-Core engine. And, FANTOM has plenty of room for expansion with new sounds and new possibilities coming regularly. As an example, one of the updates added was the highly requested Virtual Tone Wheel organ discussed earlier which is also included in the newer FANTOM-0 series. Check out this video to learn more.
The FANTOM’s sequencer is a modern type of clip based sequencing which is a great way to build up a track by arranging clips that contain musical patterns. Drums, basslines, pads, and other patterns can be recorded into clips that you can trigger individually, or in groups. It’s a lightning-fast way to compose and is also ideal for triggering backing tracks during live performance.
You can create patterns on FANTOM in a variety of ways including real and step-time polyphonic sequencing, or the TR- REC pattern sequencer—perfect for rhythmic parts—as used on our iconic drum machines.
As a master controller keyboard, it’s second to none with many options available. For example, FANTOM can control software synthesizers within Apple’s MainStage software directly from the touchscreen, giving you unmatched power and control not available in any other synthesizer. You can also drive modular and analogue hardware synthesizers from its dual CV/Gate outputs as well as midi from either 5 pin or USB cables.
You can also expand your creative horizons with Roland Cloud. There are so many Sound Packs and Wave Expansions for FANTOM to keep your music sounding fresh. The FANTOM actually has 16 virtual expansion slots available for the EXZ wave expansion catalogue.
FANTOM doesn’t just work with computers—it fully integrates. It contains a high-quality 16×3 stereo audio interface and can control DAWs and plugins from its touchscreen. It can integrate soft synths into Scenes, and send parts composed on FANTOM directly to your DAW.
When Roland released the next-generation FANTOM in September 2019, it was just the beginning of a program of continuous development to ensure we keep fulfilling the ever-changing needs and expectations of our customers. With over 60 significant new features added so far, FANTOM continues to define the music composition platform arena.
Conclusion.
If you’re a piano player who plays in a duo or small band, maybe the RD-88 is the one for you. Or if you need the very best in Roland stage pianos as an MD for a theatre production, touring artist, or worship band, then RD-2000 is the clear choice.
Are you a song-writer in an original band who wants to put down ideas quickly and then seamlessly take them to the studio or stage? JUNO-DS sounds like the perfect fit!
The FANTOM-08 series will hit the mark if you need a more advanced sequencer than the JUNO-DS, as well as more sounds and more expansions.
And of course, the flagship FANTOM is the synthesizer for the player who wants the very best of everything.
Whatever your need is as a keyboard player and composer, Roland’s incredible range of keyboards has something that’s perfect for your needs.
Related Articles
Related Products
