Hi all,
I’m shopping for a digital piano. Want great piano sounds and feel with some technology stuff like connectivity, blue tooth, recording etc. and some ability to add sounds like the Rhodes. I’ll use mostly in my home.
Hi Eric 
My recommendation would be Roland digital pianos, here are 2 options:
For portability I would recommend the Roland RD-88:
- Very lightweight and portable
- Good selection of in-built sounds including electric piano/rhodes
- MIDI connectivity
- In-built speakers
- I personally like the touch and feel of Roland keyboard. I have one of these in storage which I use if I’m travelling or on the road.
If you want something more resembling an upright piano take a look at the Roland HP 307:
- Less lightweight and portable compared to the RD-88
- Good selection of in-built sounds including electric piano/rhodes
- MIDI connectivity
- In-built speakers
- I have a HP 307 with the glossy black finish and it looks very nice. Most guests mistake it for an acoustic piano! I use this electric piano to record my lessons for PianoGroove.
- The shape/case of the piano is quite handy; one can put music notation or an iPad on the music ledger, and also fold down the music ledger and place a laptop/midi interface/cup of coffee etc… on the top of the piano.
Here’s a photo so you can see the shape…
You can’t see on this photo, but it also has a slide lid that folds over the keyboard which keeps the keys dust free.
I believe the Roland HP Series is quite extensive, but the HP-307 is my favourite, at least from the ones I have tried. The model I have is around 5 years old.
I usually recommend students to visit a few piano shops so that you can try the different brands and models and see which one you prefer. I personally like the matte effect on the black keys of Roland digital pianos and also the weighting of the keys.
Other Recommendations:
You can find more discussion threads in the “Software & Setup” section of the forum, here are a few threads which might be of interest:
I hope that helps!
Hi Eric 
Something to also consider adding to what Hayden has mentioned is the “budget” and how much you are going to outlay for a new keyboard. I’ve also been looking around and have looked at a few keyboards that are not cheap but have a nice acoustic sound that include:
- Kawai MP7SE and MP11SE stage piano (useful at home given their weight)
- Kawai CA901 (hybrid digital upright piano with soundboard)
- Roland RD2000 ex (stage piano but again great for home studio)
- Nord Grand 2 (expensive though)
Plenty to compare if you check out YouTube as well on top 2025 digital pianos and be aware of several new hybrids from Kawai due to launch around August of this year (Novus NV6 and NV12 both with soundboards).
Let us know how you go as plenty of people in this community using a variety of keyboards.
Regards
Paul
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Hi @enhowland
If you want to get excellent reviews of digital pianos, check out anything by Stu Harrison on YouTube. He’s a working musician affiliated with a piano company in Canada. He has reviews on many different keyboards and VST plugins that are detailed and objective. He also has buying guides that are helpful.
Following is one he did on the Roland RD-2000 a while back that will give you an idea on how his reviews work. Enjoy! 
(I have an RD-2000 and can’t imagine finding a better keyboard to work/play with. Note: the new Roland RD 2000 EX has even better piano sounds.)
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Hi Hayden, thanks for the suggestions. I’m leaning towards Roland and not Yamaha. I’m interested in first and foremost good piano sound and touch but would love to be able to tinker with some other sounds and perhaps even record etc… My 100 years Steinway upright is pretty shot. I like the idea of portability with the stage model of Roland but having said that I’m not going to be gigging at this point. Between the two modes you suggest which has better Rhodes and Hammond sounds?
My pleasure, Eric.
Yes I think Roland is a solid choice.
For the Rhodes/Hammond sound, I would probably say that the RD-88 has a better electric piano. Although I don’t use them very often. From my memory there are 5 different sounds for electric piano/Rhodes.
I also have the RD-2000 which @scott1 suggested. It’s quite old now and lives under the bed at my parents house, but I play it when I’m visiting family.
The RD-2000 has a huge library of inbuilt sounds, but it’s also a very heavy keyboard, and the model I have doesn’t have in-built speakers which means you will need external monitor/speakers. It’s also around 2x the price of the RD-88, perhaps more. A solid keyboard none the less.
It’s likely that a piano shop stocking Rolands will stock all 3 of these models, and so I recommend to try them out yourself and see which electric piano sounds you like best.
I hope that helps and keep us posted on which you decide on!