Roland has officially launched their next generation of digital baby grand pianos, and we couldn’t be more excited. The GP-607 and 609 were hugely popular models with folks seeking the aesthetic of a baby grand piano in the modern, convenient format of a digital piano.
The new generation of GP series models looks poised to take things to yet another level, both musically and aesthetically.
This brings us to the Roland GP3 – the entry point to the GP line and the most compact size-wise. In fact, the GP-3 actually opens the GP line up to a whole new part of the market for folks who want the look of a grand piano in the smallest possible frame to accommodate a smaller living space. The lower price point is also an added bonus.
With that brief introduction out of the way, let’s add some further context and background information to the conversation.
Roland GP3 – Background
These days, it’s pretty much impossible to find a digital baby grand with a solid tone and touch by today’s standards for under $7,000 CAD or so. The fact that the GP3 is coming in around $5,000 is a big, but welcome surprise. This is a critical price point to hit, and it’s especially comforting as a consumer to see a manufacturer as reputable as Roland offering a product here.
And since this is a Roland product, you can rest assured that you are getting an instrument with a good tone engine and action even though of course the primary focus is the aesthetic. In fact, musically speaking, the brain of the GP-3 is actually quite similar to the RP-107, so it’s really the compact grand piano shape and high-quality ebony polish finish that determines the price point.
Of course, if you’re looking for a really high-level performance, the GP-6 and GP-9 are where you’ll want to be looking, but with that comes a much larger footprint and a much higher price point.
With that bit of text out of the way, let’s jump into a deeper discussion of the piano sound here.
Piano Sound
Piano Reality Standard Sound Engine
Roland originally presented the GP-3 as being equipped with the sample-based version of their SuperNATURAL Piano Sound, however, the specs sheet now reads that the sound engine is the Piano Reality Standard Sound Engine.
As far as we know, this is more of a rebranding situation as opposed to a whole new sound engine, since the SuperNATURAL engine received a massive upgrade fairly recently with the addition of the BMC chip which greatly improved the processing power of the engine.
Tonally, the core acoustic grand sound greatly resembles a New York Steinway Model D, which has always been rumored to have been the piano Roland sampled for the engine, though this has never been confirmed.
In any case, we have a dynamic, colorful sound here this is quite satisfying to play. Further reflections on the sound will be covered below under the speaker system category.
Polyphony
The Reality Standard sound engine has 256 notes of polyphony, which is very strong. This strong polyphony count is courtesy of the BMC chip, as its addition doubled the polyphony on the equivalent SuperNATURAL engine from 128 notes to 256.
Stereo Speaker System
The piano tone here is coming at you from two downward-facing speakers, 11 watts per speaker with 22 watts of total power. On paper, this looks a little underpowered for something that’s meant to emulate the immersive sound of a grand piano experience.
That said, the actual effect of playing this instrument is not underwhelming at all. The sound system is in fact able to generate a very full sound, which actually isn’t shocking since Roland pianos can sometimes have rated power outputs that are actually on par with higher-rated outputs from other manufacturers.
There is a tone port inside the piano that actually looks like an upward-facing speaker, but it essentially allows ambient sound to be conveyed from the back of the speaker cones.
There’s also some natural resonance occurring from a wood veneer that simulates a real soundboard, and this is fairly noticeable in the lower and mid ranges.
Other Sounds
Since the GP-3 essentially has the brains of the RP-107 as mentioned, it only has a total of 15 onboard sounds.
This consists of a few acoustic pianos, e-pianos, synths and organs. Obviously, if you’re looking for a ton of preset sounds you won’t find that here, but most people considering the GP-3 will be spending most of their time on the core acoustic piano sound anyway.
Piano Action
Piano Reality Standard Keyboard
Like with the tone engine, Roland originally presented the GP-3 as being equipped with their tried and true PHA4 hammer-action keyboard. However, the marketing literature is now referring to the action as the Piano Reality Standard Keyboard.
As far as we can tell, they’ve just rebranded the PHA4 action to go along with this new nomenclature they’re using on the GP series pianos.
And this isn’t a bad thing since we happen to love the PHA-4 action here at Merriam Piano, and in general, it’s regarded as one of the top plastic key actions currently available.
In terms of the weighting, it’s on the heavier side, though it isn’t anywhere near as heavy as Yamaha’s NWX action for example.
Escapement, Ivory Feel & Dynamic Sensor Acceleration Technology
This action has a few notable specs that make it stand out. For starters, Roland equips it with escapement to simulate the feel of a grand piano action, and in this case, the escapement is fairly pronounced which we happen to like.
Secondly, Roland equips the keytops with an ivory feel texture, and this is great because the ivory feel materials provide a nice degree of glide for your fingers.
Thirdly, Roland is referring is also noting the presence of Dynamic Sensor Acceleration Technology. We’re not sure if this is referring to the triple sensor key detection that was present on the PHA-4 or if they’ve done something new here, but we’re guessing this is another example of some rebranding.
Features/Connectivity/Cabinet
Connectivity
The GP-3 is on the lighter side from a connectivity standpoint, but the essentials are all taken care of. There are dual headphone jacks, and instead of a discrete 1/4” line out, you can use one of the headphone jacks as your line out if you want to connect to an amp, and fortunately, you can dig into the menu and turn the speakers on or off independently of whether or not something is in the headphone port.
It also has USB Type A (flash drive) and B (USB computer port) connections, as well as Bluetooth Audio and MIDI connectivity. This is great for anyone looking at this piano who would simply like to sit back and listen since you can stream your favorite music through the speakers.
It’s also compatible with the Roland Piano App which is one of the best music apps available.
Features
When it comes to features, the GP-3 has a basic on-board MIDI recorder with a playback option, and staples like Twin Piano, transpose and a metronome are all of course covered as well.
For folks looking to do some entertaining, there are 400 internal songs preloaded on here essentially giving you a digital player piano that generates a really nice soundtrack for your evening of entertainment.
Cabinet
The overall quality of the GP-3’s low-profile cabinetry is very impressive, as had been the standard for Roland for about 5 or so years now. Their cabinetry has always been good, but they made a real concerted effort several years ago to up their game and the results speak for themselves.
Something that isn’t obvious but is otherwise very noteworthy is that the legs are made from a solid, high-gloss steel. The result is a super firm foundation with almost no potential for waddling.
The hardware, such as with the pedals, is also very impressive, and of course, we’ve got damper (capable of half-pedal techniques), soft and sostenuto pedals happening here.
The fixed-angle music rest with music holders also happens to be very slick. In general, this is one slick-looking instrument that should fit classic and modern decor lifestyles.
The GP-3 ships with a power supply (AC adaptor), bench and owner’s manual. Power consumption is fairly meagre for anyone considering the GP-3 for a business.
Closing Thoughts
To wrap up our look at the GP3, we can say confidently that this is a very nice addition to the marketplace since it’s the sole option in its price point given that the Kawai and Yamaha options are a few thousand dollars more. Roland’s new GP-6 and GP-9 are significantly more expensive as well.
The GP-3 pulls this off while also managing to deliver a nice tone engine and action. If you’re someone who is focused on the actual piano experience and seeking the look of a baby grand, but you’re limited in space or budget, the GP-3 is going to be very compelling.
In fact, you may soon find that it’s moved from your wishlist to the checkout in short order.