REVIEW - Roland RCP-800 Digital Piano at Costco | Should You Buy it? | The Roland RCP-800 is a new model number exclusively sold by Costco on-line and was just introduced for $1899 plus tax. However, this new item is a bit of a mystery to most people because Costco has not listed most of the specifications of this piano on their website and where it lines up with the mainstream Roland models. Typically what Roland does for their digital pianos sold by Costco on-line is they take an existing model already sold at Roland piano stores and then they make slight changes to that model, rename it, and sell it for a bit less money at Costco and that's in fact what they have done here. Roland took their entry level HP702 digital piano from the HP line which has been out for a couple of years, and reduced the warranty coverage quite a bit from 10 year parts & labor warranty to a 5 year parts, 2 years labor warranty on the RCP-800, changed the piano polyphony memory from "unlimited" to 256-notes, and changed the bench to a matching height adjustable bench instead of a larger bench. Unlike the Roland HP702 which comes in a variety of cabinet colors including rosewood, light oak, white, and charcoal black, the RCP-800 only comes in the black color.
Costco says on their site that this new RCP-800 offers a grand piano playing experience through a powerful internal speaker system. However, this statement is not true because an actual grand piano playing experience on a real grand piano makes this RCP-800 model look like a toy. In other words to suggest the RCP-800 is like playing a real grand piano is a false statement or implication The Roland mainstream HP702 version along with the Costco RCP-800 has the Roland entry level key action in it called the PHA4 Standard key action which is also in their $699 portable digital piano called the FP-30 and a few other lower priced models. Although this key action is nice to play, it is also overall a bit heavy in key movement and certainly does not feel in any way like a real grand piano. As for this so-called "powerful" internal speaker system that the Costco web site is saying is in the RCP-800, it's the same speaker system in the HP702 with a the total wattage of the 2 amplifiers inside the piano a just 28 watts of power going into 2 small speakers.
This lower 28 watts of power and smaller speakers is nothing compared to what you can otherwise find in other good brands in this price range including the popular Korg G1 Air. The Korg G1 Air has a big 80 watts powered by 4 separate amplifiers going through 4 speakers, 2 of which are enclosed in a separate sealed box...and the G1 Air is $100 less than the Roland RCP-800 and sounds and feels more realistic in our opinion and also has Bluetooth wireless audio streaming. Casio has a popular model digital piano called the PX-870 and that model has 40 watts of power going through 4 speakers and 2 amplifiers and that model is only $999 on line and has many compelling features as well. So when it comes to the very important internal speaker system on these digital pianos under $2000, Roland is definitely on the low end of it all and for the higher price of $1899 we feel it is quite underpowered in this price range along with only having 2 small speakers going through 2 smaller amplifiers. So when you compare it with other models, even though the cabinet appearance might suggest this piano is very powerful as compare to other Roland models in lower price ranges, it is really not that way. Want to take a look at out recommended pick for a more authentic piano playing experience at less money? Check out the Korg G1 Air at the following link and we think you may be impressed.
Korg G1 Air Review
As for the key action, as I mentioned earlier, it is Roland's PHA-4 Standard entry level key action found in nearly all their digital pianos below the RCP-800 model and down to well under $1000. It is not until you get to the higher priced Roland HP704 in the HP line until you get their preferred and upgraded PHA-50 key action which is noticeably more authentic. The RCP-800 key action does have the synthetic ivory keys along with matte black keys so that is a nice feature and they feel smooth on the fingers...but again, the key action is a bit heavy in our opinion as compared to other good key actions out there, but it's definitely still playable. The key action is the most important part of any piano whether it's digital or acoustic so that's the area in which you want to focus on when shopping for a new digital piano.
The piano sound in the RCP-800 is from their physical modeling piano sound chip which uses mathematical algorithms to create the piano sound. So instead of doing actual sample recording of a real grand piano, Roland uses this newer technology in its place. However, I am not a fan of this new technology when used by itself without sampling because the physical modeled piano just sounds artificial and more synthetic when playing depending on the notes you are playing and the sustain you are applying with your damper-sustain pedal. Many people won't notice it because they have little or no experience playing a real piano...but I definitely notice it. In fact if you listen to the demonstration video of the RCP-800 on the Costco web site, if you listen closely you will hear this synthetic, artificial tone I am talking about without much percussive attack that you would normally hear in a real piano...it just is not real and that's all about the physical modeling technology they are currently using.
Like the HP702, the RCP-800 has a bunch of digital features including many additional instrument sounds (some good, some average). The RCP-800 also has some cool recording features to help to create songs and play them back, sound editing functions, Bluetooth audio streaming, and a proprietary app designed by Roland to let you see sheet music notation on your tablet and play along as well as let you control some of the functions and features of the piano from you color touch screen on your tablet. I like a lot of things the HP702/RCP-800 can do and depending on what your musical goal is, you may take advantage of some of those features and functions.
But when it comes to the "piano playing experience" and getting a good natural piano tone and key action along with a very good internal speaker system, this is where the RCP-800 falls somewhat short in my opinion as compared with other new digital pianos in and around this price range. I will say the RCP-800 cabinet is attractive and has nice design features on it with a closing key cover, a good supportive music rack, nicely laid out control panel with easy-to-see panel buttons, and a nice black finish, so it definitely does look good in its more traditional form. It also has good connectivity features including Bluetooth wireless, USB flashdrive input, audio in and out's, and headphone connections. It's actually a very nice piano (with the exception of the lower end key action and somewhat artificial piano sound), but as far as a realistic piano playing experience goes, for $1899 plus tax in our opinion, you can do better with a few other models for the same price or less money. If you want more info on the mainstream version Roland HP702 then please read my review of that model and you'll know more about the RCP-800 that way too.
Roland HP702/704 Review
If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.
