To say that the digital piano market is merely competitive these days would be an understatement – it is incredibly so, with a large number of high-value options at almost every price point and category.
Roland has very recently released the FP-E50, which fills a hole in their lineup that we didn’t even know existed. It’s been met with rave reviews given what it offers for a meagre $1,000 USD – this is a legit stage piano ready for all kinds of professional applications.
The release and positive reception surrounding the FP-E50 has brought with a ton of requests for comparisons against other options in the class, but not cross manufacturer comparison has been requested as much as a comparison against the Yamaha DGX 670 – a very popular piano in its own right that somewhat recently replaced the DGX 660.
And there’s certainly some overlap in terms of the arranger functionality between these pianos, however, they are actually quite different beasts and in our opinion, appear to be aimed at a different end user. They’re also separated by about $150 USD, so that needs to be considered as well.
Let’s get some background information and context out of the way before we move to a more detailed breakdown of what each piano has to offer.
Yamaha DGX 670 vs Roland FP-E50 – Background
The DGX 670 is essentially a pro-level arranger keyboard built to satisfy the arranger community who need an 88-key digital piano. Its heart and soul really is as an arranger or lightweight workstation, whereas the Roland FP-E50 is definitely a more classic stage piano, though with some arranger functionality.
So, even though there’s some overlap, these two pianos are coming from different places with different intended end users. The weighting is probably the biggest attestation to this – the DGX670 comes in at a fairly heavy 47lbs, whereas the FPE50 is a full 10lbs lighter at 37lbs. 10lbs might not sound like much, but it’s almost a 30% difference in weight and can go a long way when you’re hauling gear around on the regular.
This really speaks to the fundamental difference between these two – the DGX 670 is more ideally suited for home use, while the E50 is clearly positioned as a piano meant for the stage.
Yamaha DGX 670 Rundown
Features & Functionality
The DGX 670 Portable Grand Piano (which is its full title) is equipped with an internal song player that doubles as a 16-track sequencer. It’s a little on the lightweight side when it comes to the sequencing functionality however, so if you need a powerful sequencer, you’ll probably want to go with a full workstation.
That said, you can still build a fairly simple sequence pretty quickly by recording an arrangement into the 16-track sequencer and then modifying and editing from there.
Now, the style and arranger engine here is definitely the centerpiece of this instrument. It’s easy to access and has a wide variety of styles to choose from with 263 in total. Within each style, there is an intro, 4 main variations, a break, an ending and a simplified version of the style to choose from, and controlling the variations is pretty straightforward.
There are also a number of what they call “Fingering” styles to choose from, and these dictate how the accompaniment engine will follow your left hand, such as an Adaptive Style that changes depending on how hard and soft you play, and a cool Smart Chord style.
The 670 also has staples like Dual, Split, metronome, transpose, and some more advanced add-ons like a USB audio recorder (WAV) with playback and a built-in USB audio interface.
Sound Engine
The Yamaha DGX 670 digital piano is equipped with the Yamaha CFX sound engine, which is built from a stereo sampling of their flagship CFX concert grand piano. The engine produces a very high-quality piano sound that faithfully recreates the sound of the acoustic CFX with 256-note polyphony.
Added on top of the sample is Yamaha’s Virtual Resonance Modeling engine (VRM) which adds synthesis of elements like damper resonance and string resonance to the piano tone. Then there’s the Piano Room feature, which allows you to edit various sound-related parameters to tweak and customize the sound to your liking.
Outside of the core acoustic piano sound, there are 601 sounds in total, so there’s a ton of variety to choose from, including electric pianos. synthesizers, organs. Yamaha divides the sounds into categories like VRM voices, Super Articulation voices, and a number of other categories.
Effects
Yamaha has done a nice job adding auto-effects to certain sounds, such as some of the guitar patches which add a sort of cool sliding effect. There are also some really cool harmonizing effects on synth sounds as well.
Of course, behind any of those individual voices you have the ability to add a host of DSP effects and Reverbs available as well, so there’s a pretty deep effects engine accessible here.
Speaker System
Another highlight of the 670 is its high-quality sound system which consists of 4 speakers – two mains, and two tweeters for higher frequencies.
This speaker system produces a clear, well-defined sound for piano playing, and it is noteworthy that they’ve included the tweeters since most speaker systems in this class only consist of two speakers.
The only downside is that the amplifiers are a bit underpowered, with dual 6-watt amps for a total of 12 watts of power. This is definitely on the lower side for the price point in terms of rated power output.
Action
If there’s an argument to be made for an obvious weakness on the 670, it’s probably related to the hammer action. The DGX670B is equipped with Yamaha’s Graded Hammer Standard action, or GHS for short.
While this is by no means a bad keyboard action with a poor playing experience, it’s simply feeling a little bit dated these days in comparison to what Roland, Kawai, Casio and Korg offer in the price point, and that’s largely owing to the fact that Yamaha has been using this action for quite a few years now.
Things like a dual sensor, no escapement and no texture on the key tops do speak to the fact that this is a more basic, less sensitive action. That said, it has it’s loyal fans and ultimately does get the job done if you’re simply seeking a reliable, weighted key action.
Connectivity
The 670 has a fairly strong stable of connectivity options. For starters, there’s a standard stereo headphone jack, as well as a standard mono mic input. There are no discrete line outputs, so you’ll need to use the headphone port if you need more juice.
From there we have a stereo mini line in, USB to device (USB flash drive), USB to host, and then a sustain pedal port, as well as a slot for the optional triple pedal unit add-on.
The 670 offers Bluetooth Audio, but no Bluetooth MIDI without adding on the optional adaptor.
DGX 670 Wrap Up
After having spent a significant amount of time in front of the DGX-670, here’s what we like about it. Number one, there’s full manual control over every aspect of the arranger functions, with a number of convenient and useful buttons and controls for quick real-time use.
Number two, the effects engine is very solid, though if you get really busy with effects, we did notice a little bit of signal breakdown
Number three is definitely the LCD screen, which is big, colorful and high-resolution. We found navigation a bit tricky at times, but overall, the user interface is very good.
Number four is the quantity and variety of arranger functions, while number is related to selection and overall quality of the various onboard sounds.
Let’s hop over to the FP-E50 now.
Roland FP-E50 Rundown
Features & Functionality
The Roland FP-E50 is essentially a stage piano that sits halfway between an FP30X and an FP60X. The tone engine is a lot closer to the 60X, while the speaker configuration and appearance are closer to the 30X.
But it actually has a pretty decent arranger offering of its own and in a lot of ways operates the same as the DGX-670 in this regard. There are 177 auto-accompaniment styles to pick from, and they’re divided up into logical categories, but there is more control over individual parts on the 670. Here, it’s really just about a little bit of real-time control for performance and interactive mode accompaniment options.
On the other hand, the E50 has better chord sequencer functionality, and you can actually see the chords on the display appearing like sheet music. You can also build your own chord sequences away from the instrument inside of a standard CSV spreadsheet and then reimport them onto the instrument.
You can also save all your settings as presets known as Scenes for instant recall, which again, speaks to the sheer stage potential of the E50. All of the standard features are covered, and the E50 also offers some pretty decent recording ability of its own that can actually function as a multi-track recorder courtesy of overdubbing.
Sound Engine
The FP-E50 is not equipped with one, but two distinct sound generators – the SuperNATURAL piano sound, and the ZEN-Core engine. And this is great because the SuperNATURAL engine is definitely focused on producing high-quality acoustic piano tones, along with electric pianos, organs and strings.
For everything else, the ZEN-Core takes the cake with hundreds of high-quality synth and pad sounds as it’s the default engine on a number of Roland’s pro-level FANTOM and JUPITER-X synths. The total number of sounds can also be expanded via the Roland Axial website, where users can upload their own synth creations to the ZEN-Core architecture which can then be downloaded.
The total number of preloaded sounds is already over 1,000 (this includes some drum sets too) so there’s even more variety here, and the polyphony is equally strong at 256 notes.
The tone can also be edited pretty extensively via the Piano Designer feature, with control over the lid height, string resonance, cabinet resonance and more.
Effects
For something that functions as a stage piano, the E50 is a little bit light in terms of its effects. That said, this is somewhat made up by the level of synth-like control the ZEN-Core engine offers.
There are also quite a number of Ambience effects to work with, along with a 3-band digital equalizer for fast, real-time mixing and volume sliders.
Like the 670, the E50 also has a mic input, but it actually has a host of mic vocal effects including Vocoder, Auto Harmony, Voice Transformer, Vocal Designer, Compressor and Noise Suppressor.
Speaker System
The stereo speaker system is an area where the E50 unquestionably outguns the 670, both on paper and in practice in terms of creating a premium piano experience.
While the E50 is only using a dual system without tweeters so thus lacks some of the upper range clarity, the power is almost doubled at 22 watts of rated output power. This extra power brings a much fuller bass presence, and just a warmer, more dynamic overall sound.
Even though the specs sheet reads like these speakers are the same as what Roland includes on the 30X, these definitely feel more powerful, and we think this is easily the best set of speakers in the class.
Action
Action is another where outside of someone’s unique, personal preference, the E50 has an objectively better action than the 670’s GHS with the Roland PHA4 Standard Keyboard action.
The PHA4 is viewed by many as one of the top two plastic key actions available, and the best available for this price point.
It’s a very sensitive action thanks to its triple sensor key detection (as opposed to a dual sensor on the GHS), and it also boasts upgraded features like escapement and ivory feel keys for a better tactile experience.
If action is more of an afterthought for you then this area of the comparison probably doesn’t matter, but if action is more of a primary concern this one spec could tip the scales to the FP-E50. Odds are beginners aren’t looking at either of these pianos, but this would be a better 88-note hammer action keyboard to start your piano journey with for sure.
Connectivity
The FP-E50 also happens to boast a more extensive lineup of connectors than the DGX670 as well. It’s got dual headphone jacks, the aforementioned mic input, stereo mini line in, USB A and B, as well as a pedal input for a sustain pedal and an input for the optional triple pedal unit.
It also boasts discrete 1/4” audio outputs if you need to plug into an amp for more juice, as well as both Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio which is nice to see.
Roland FP-E50 Wrap Up
Let’s sum up our thoughts on the FP-E50 with five things we like about it. Number one is just how unbelievably simple it is to use. The menu is mercifully easy to navigate and most things are just one button away.
Number two has to be the PHA4 action, which again, we think is easily the best action on the market available for under $1,000 USD. ‘Nuff said.
Number three is the chord sequencer which is also easy to use, and we love that you can write and upload your own chord sequences via a CSV. file.
Number four is it’s lightweight, which comes in at 37 lbs and 10 lbs less than the 670, showing that this piano is really built with the gigging musician in mind.
And finally, number five would have to be the ZEN-Core sound engine which will be a huge plus for some because of the huge Roland Cloud user community that’s constantly building new ZEN-Core sounds. Since it’s an open-source synth architecture, you can download the software synth onto a DAW, come up with something crazy, and export the new sound back onto the instrument into the wave expansion slots.
Closing Thoughts
As we said from the outset; despite how requested this comparison has been and despite some overlapping functionality, these two pianos are really aimed at different end users.
Yamaha has intended the 670 to be an at-home machine for people with some level of familiarity with arranging who also need an 88-key weighted action.
The FP-E50 on the other hand is really built for stage use, evidenced by both its feature set and being a much more portable digital piano, though you can of course add the KSFE50 stand and KPD-70 pedals if you’re looking for a stationary experience.
Both instruments are available with triple pedal systems and matching keyboard stands but including a basic damper pedal, music rest and power supply standard in the box. Warranty coverage is also great from these two venerable brands.
Thanks for reading!