Roland RP501R Review

We rated the Roland RP501R a 10/10. The RP501R is a digital piano designed for the home. It has 316 total sounds, all of which are from the SuperNatural Piano sound engine. This instrument was designed for beginners, and it serves them well.

The included learning tools will help beginners, and the PHA 4 action is stellar and could serve intermediates, or even early professionals. While there aren’t any bells and whistles, the RP501R is one of the most solid beginning pianos on the market today.

Roland RP501R Overview

Touted by Roland as “Your ideal first piano”, this full-sized, fully-weighted beginner keyboard has a lot packed inside it. In this Roland RP501R review, we will see how it stacks up against other digital Rolands, as well as comparable models from other brands. But first, let’s check out its key features! 

Features

SuperNatural Piano Tones 

I believe that the SuperNatural piano tones are some of the best on the market today. If you can get an instrument for a beginner that includes these piano tones, you are starting that student (or yourself) off on an excellent foot. The following SuperNatural tones (and many more) are included on the RolandRP501R:

• Concert Piano 
• Ballad Piano
• Bright Piano
• Piano and Pad
• Harpsichords
• Rock Piano (and several more piano sounds)
• Celesta
• Clav
• Aahs and voices
• Pads 
• Jazz Guitar
• Bass
• Choirs (And more!)

There are 316 total sounds on this instrument. You can listen to some of the sounds here in this All Playing, No Talking Video. I am very impressed with the depth of the low end of the piano sounds. 

10 Preset Songs to Get You Started

The Roland RP501R has 10 preset songs to help you start playing. While other Roland models have bigger preset song soundbanks, I’d check this feature off as being “Just Right”. Since the 501R is being marketed as a beginner keyboard, most buyers are going to be getting a private lessons teacher at some point. And even if lessons aren’t in your budget, there’s good news still yet! 

Excellent Included Learning Tools

Roland’s included many of their learning tools in this model. Apart from the Roland-native apps, there are even scale-learning songs built into the instrument itself. 

Pairable With Piano Partner 2 

Piano Partner 2 is an interactive app made by Roland. It includes a practice diary, DigiScore Lite, a controller, and a recorder. 

Light Enough For Travel

The Roland RP501R digital piano is lighter than many other 88-key digital models that are designed for the home. While 90 pounds sounds like a lot, it’s not uncommon to see a model that weighs 120 pounds or more. And while the Roland RP501R looks like the part of a home piano, you can take it on the go. We’ll admit it isn’t the most ideal gigging instrument, but it will be easy to take it with you if you move!

Rhythm Mode

Rhythm Mode allows you to set accompaniments to your keyboard music. You can select from a wide variety of patterns and genres, including the following: 

• Pop rhythms
• Gospel rhythms
• Ballad rhythms
• Jazz waltzes
• Country beats
• Ragtime and boogie beats
• Reggae beats, and more

Progressive Damper Action Pedal 

This type of pedal is able to detect action continuously. Progressive damper action pedals aim to imitate the sound of half-pedaling. 

“On some basic digital piano models, the damper (or sustain) pedal is basically either on or off. But on an acoustic piano, it is possible to partially engage the sustain pedal so that the dampers touch the strings very slightly. This technique is called half-pedaling and gives a pianist greater control of the sustained sound.

Some digital pianos can successfully recreate this effect using a technology called Progressive Damper Action.” (Roland.com/uk)

You can learn more about this in Roland’s article, Digital Piano Action Explained.

Play Songs from A Flashdrive

This keyboard allows you to plug in a flash drive and go. If you don’t have regular music speakers, this instrument can double as them. You can also use your flash drive to play along with your favorite songs on the keyboard. It’s a win-win! 

Bluetooth Compatible  

Speaking of playing music from the Roland RP501R, this instrument is Bluetooth-compatible. You can turn on Spotify, pair it with your instrument, and jam out! 

Bluetooth Pageturning

The Roland RP501R can turn pages for you, using the Bluetooth Pageturning feature! No more scrambling to flip sheet music in time, and coming in late in the middle of a recital or important lesson! 

3D Ambience Headphone Effect

The 3D Ambience Headphone Effect makes this beginner piano feel like oh so much more. According to Guitarcenter.com, this effect makes everything you play feel more multi-dimensional. 

The 3D Ambience can be turned on and off, so you can decide when you’d like to use it. 

Progressive Hammer Action (4)

PHA-4 is the most advanced (digital) hammer action that is on the market today. As you go further down the keyboard, the action gets heavier and heavier. I love seeing PHA-4 on keyboards. If I had it my way, pianos designed for all ability levels would include this type of action!

Reverb and Chorus Effects

For intermediate to professional players, reverb and chorus effects are must-haves. But to include verbs and choruses on a piano marketed as a great ‘first piano’?! That is downright revolutionary! Ambiance and brilliance are two other effects that are included in this model. 

3 Colors to Choose From

This furniture-style keyboard comes in black, white, and (my personal favorite) Rosewood. 

Other Features:

• Included accompaniment styles 
• 6 pianist styles 
• 2 pedal inputs
• Auto-off
• Pairable with IOS
• Leading Bass specification
• Two types of chord recognition- Smart recognition and traditional
• Furniture-style retractable lid

If you are looking for even more details, you can download the user manual for the RP501R on the Roland website, here.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 16.6 x 54.25 x 39.1 inches
• Weight: 90 pounds
• Type of Keyboard: Furniture-Style Keyboard
• Accompaniment styles: 72
• Preset Songs: 10 
• Internal Storage: USB Flash
• Number of Headphone Jacks: 2
• Aux Input: 3.5 mm
• Number of Pianist Styles: 6
• Number of Rhythms: 72

Who Is It Suitable For?

The Roland RP501R is suitable for beginner to intermediate students who are in need of a fully-weighted, full-sized keyboard. I love how you can also record USB to MIDI on it, and there are loads of sounds. This keyboard could even work in a studio for someone who is looking for a double-duty instrument: A realistic, weight grand, and an instrument to record with. 

Despite almost all the marketing being toward beginners, I think that it is safe to say that this instrument is suitable for both beginners and intermediate pianists. 

Roland RP501R In Action

Don’t just take it from me! Let’s see what some other professionals have to say about the Roland RP501R. Pianist Alicia Baker gives a great demo with Kraft music here.

At 2 minutes in, you can hear Alicia play in a more classical style than in the beginning. As I was listening to her (in both the intro and throughout the video) I couldn’t help but think how excellent this instrument sounds in all genres! 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Full-sized
• It is fully weighted, with the best action available
• Has split and layer functions (The split point is adjustable, and layer mode has a balance function )
• It has a lot of sounds
• Unlike many beginner models, this instrument has USB to MIDI recording capabilities
• Comes with educational tools
• Has 10 preset songs
• It has a transpose button
• Twin piano mode allows you to play with a teacher or a friend in the same range
• The twin piano mode paired with dual headphone jacks allows two students to practice side-by-side without hearing each other
• You can half-pedal on the 1R
• This is a relatively economical instrument given all its features
• It’s a great starter instrument for adults

The Roland RP501R gives me everything I always find myself looking for when it comes to reviewing a beginner piano. Full-sized, it’s fully weighted with the best action available, and it has a ton of sounds! Now, some parents may not wish to get the RP501R for young kids in particular, because of all of these sounds.

Be sure to take the bells and the whistles into consideration before purchasing! In my opinion, this is one of the best pianos for adult students who are just starting out, but who are serious about learning the craft. The extra effects and features such as split, layer, and half-pedal will take you further into the realm of intermediate playing than most start instruments. This is a great bang for your buck!

Cons

• This instrument doesn’t have aftertouch
• It doesn’t have a third pedal input 
• There’s no delay, equalizer, or arpeggiator on this model 
• It doesn’t include other extras, like the pitch bend knob

None of these ‘cons’ are really things that I would expect from a piano that was designed to be the first instrument. That being said, Roland blew me so out of the water with the other extras, that it had me wanting that third pedal input! Alas, none of these cons are biggies. It’s a gorgeous instrument through and through. Now, let’s check out the quick-view chart: 

Quick View 

Comparable Roland Instruments

• RP-701 $1,729.99
• This RP-102, 1,099.99,
• This one FP-30, $859.99 

The RP-701 is just a tad more expensive than the RP501R. It has PHA-4, Supernatural sounds, and a large amount of polyphony. This is more of a cabinet piano than the 1R. The RP-701 has a handful more sounds, and a lot more songs included in the soundbank. The RP-102, on the other hand, is a fair bit more economical. It has a lot fewer sounds, but a more compact design. 

The Roland FP-30X is an economical digital piano under 1K.  It’s full-sized, has the PH4-A, and is MIDI and Bluetooth compatible like the 1R. However, this is less of the type of piano you’d get for a beginner, and more so a desk piano you’d get to attach to Garageband or your favorite DAW.

In addition to these, the RP-501R-CBC model includes the 3-pedal unit. So if you’re looking for that extra pedal, look for the 1R’s sibling! While the Regular 1R doesn’t come with many accessories, the CBC model includes the pedal unit, music rest, and stand in the package. 

Comparable instruments from other brands include: 

• Yamaha YDP-164, $1599.99,
• This Yamaha P-125, $699.99, 
• Korg C1 Air, $1599.99  
• Kawai KDP-110
• Kawai CN-29

The Yamaha YDP-164 is an affordable and compact home piano with a GH3 weighted keyboard and an internal 2-track recorded. The Yamaha P-125, on the other hand, is a GHA keyboard with 24 sounds and smart accompaniment. The big drawback to this one is that there are a lot fewer sounds…But if you want fewer bells and whistles for your student to get distracted with, this may not be all bad! 

The Korg C1 Air is an 88-key digital piano with RH3 and is Bluetooth-compatible. While it only has 30 sounds, this instrument has beautiful simulations, such as key-of simulation and damper resonance. As far as other digital pianos that are compared to the Roland RP501R, there are also the Kawai KDP-110, and Kawai CN-29, but they are difficult to find right now. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Roland RP501r is a great starting point for beginners, and even intermediate players. This keyboard has enough features to accommodate a pianist who will grow. From the large sound bank to the split, layer, and MIDI to USB functions, it is so much more than what you’d expect from a beginner keyboard. We hope you’ve enjoyed this Roland RP501R review!

Music quote of the week: 

“The public is like a piano. You just have to know what keys to poke.” – Al Capp”

10Expert Score

We rated the Roland RP501R a 10/10. The RP501R is a digital piano designed for the home. It has 316 total sounds, all of which are from the SuperNatural Piano sound engine. This instrument was designed for beginners, and it serves them well. The included learning tools will help beginners, and the PHA 4 action is stellar and could serve intermediates, or even early professionals. While there aren’t any bells and whistles, the RP501R is one of the most solid beginning pianos on the market today.

PROS

• It is full-sized
• It is fully weighted, with the best action available
• It has split and layer functions (The split point is adjustable, and layer mode has a balance function )
• It has a lot of sounds
• Unlike many beginner models, this instrument has USB to MIDI recording capabilities
• It comes with educational tools
• It has 10 preset songs
• It has a transpose button
• Twin piano mode allows you to play with a teacher or a friend in the same range
• The twin piano mode paired with dual headphone jacks allows two students to practice side-by-side without hearing each other
• You can half-pedal on the 1R
• This is a relatively economical instrument given all its features
• It’s a great starter instrument for adults

CONS

• This instrument doesn’t have aftertouch
• It doesn’t have a third pedal input
• There’s no delay, equalizer, or arpeggiator on this model
• It doesn’t include other extras, like the pitch bend knob