REVIEW – Roland FP7F, HPi6F, & HPi7F Digital Pianos

UPDATED REVIEW – February 1, 2014 – The Roland FP7F is discontinued and has been replaced by an upgraded and improved model called the FP80. The HPi7F is discontinued and replaced by the HPi50.  See my new HPi50 review at the following link: Roland HPi50 Review

Below is my original review of the Roland FP7F along with the HPi7F & HPi6F. *Please note that it is likely the regular discount prices on any remaining discontinued models has probably gone down so you can likely save some money. However, the new models are substantially better in some ways and may not be much more money than the older models.

Original review from 2010. In the last year or so, Roland introduced brand new features in other model pianos including their “SuperNATURAL” piano tone, top of the line PHAIII Ivory feel keyboard action with escapement, bigger and better user interface screens, additional cabinet finishes, vocal harmony singing controls for Karaoke type music, and a few other cool features. Roland is well known for its pro electronic keyboard, guitar, drum, and computer music gear including their BOSS and Edirol divisions. So when they create and design a new control, sound, special effect, keyboard action, user interface screens, connection, or other cool things, they can take those items and integrate them into their other products, which is a very cost effective and efficient thing to do. Not surprisingly, Roland went ahead and put some of these new features in these 3 pianos. For this new series, the previous generation FP7, HPi6, and HPi7 now all have the SuperNATURAL piano tone and ivory feel keyboards. These pianos also have the upgraded PHAIII with 100 levels of touch sensitivity keyboard action for greater sonic control and refinement over playing styles and dynamics (except for the HPi6F which has the older PHAII key action with 5 levels of touch sensitivity).

The FP7F (above & at left in white with stand & pedals) is suited for all kinds of applications including home, stage, church, professional, and personal recording and arranging. Great tones, piano feel, features, easy to use controls with good LCD user interface, 128-note polyphony, and very portable with a built-in 24 watt stereo speaker system. One of the direct competitors to the FP7F is the new Kawai MP6 portable piano. In my opinion the new Kawai has a more authentic piano touch and tone and gives the player more flexibility when it comes to sounds and ease of use. You can check out the Kawai MP6 in my blog review at https://azpianonews.blogspot.com/2011/01/kawai-mp6-digital-piano-awesome-piano.html

The HPi6F & HPi7F are home pianos geared toward music education for students. There is an extensive list of features for all 3 of these pianos, way too many for me to go through here. But I can assure you that all 3 instruments are very nice and will do a great job for what they were designed to do. And they look good too:) I believe these Roland pianos are great sounding, playing, and very well designed pianos available today for their respective price ranges and for what they do. However, they are not inexpensive.

The new FP7F with piano stand (but not including 3-pedal system) sells at a discount for $2299US. The new HPi6F full cabinet home piano model is selling at a discount price approx of $4499US (pictured below) in stores and the top model HPi7F is selling at a discount price of approx $5999US in Roland piano stores. So to put it simply…these pianos not inexpensive but they are very high quality and have very cool features including their interactive display screens and educational software. Also, the vocal harmony feature in these models lets you sing through a mic and have your solo voice automatically harmonized by reproducing your voice in multiple parts using the harmony feature as you play the piano. It really is fun, assuming you like to sing:)  

Although I do like the new FP7F portable stage & home piano and it’s price range is at least somewhat affordable so I recommend it. The other 2 models are quite a bit more money and have large color display monitor screens and the built-in educational software programs as compared to their regular HP series pianos. I have used these interactive software programs for both kids & adults and they are easy to use, fun, and amazing and helps a great deal with music education. So it just depends on how you want to approach it. The HPi6F & HPi7F are certainly enjoyable to play, have excellent piano tone and touch with lots of additional instrument sounds, and are helpful for music education with their fun and intuitive learning & notation on the built-in monitor.

In the lower price range there are other very good, less expensive ways of learning to play the piano while sounding great such as what Casio is currently offering with their Privia PX780 piano for $999 discount internet price (pictured left). I have played this model extensively and the piano has a very good piano key action for smooth control over dynamics, an upright piano tone reproduction with 40 watts of power using 4 speakers, and ivory feel keys (unusual in this lower price range) along with hundred of other useful piano education features for beginning through advanced students and players. It has a built-in CoreMIDI USB port with automatic plug & play drivers which would automatically connects to a laptop or iPad. I have reviewed the PX780 piano on this blog if you do a search in my blog search bar on the right side. But in the higher price range, the Roland HPi series is unique for what it offers and can be a great choice for a family seeking an “all-in-one” solution giving you a great sounding and playing piano with enough fun and interactive educational features to stimulate your musical desires and allow you to musically express yourself in a variety of ways. I do recommend the Roland HPi6F, HPi7F, and FP7F.

If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call me direct at 602-571-1864