At last, a digital piano with a hybrid piano key for players and beginners.

The piano world has taken a huge step toward blurring the line between digital and traditional with Roland’s introduction of the hybrid piano key, featured on their LX and HP7 series of pianos.

Roland is the the leader in creating durable digital models that rival the sound of a finely tuned baby grand piano. As the inventor of the touch sensitive key, Roland was also the first to really focus their efforts on creating an authentic key touch feel when they added escapement – that subtle “click” you feel when pressing down the key on a traditional piano. Still, missing from the realism of those heavier instruments was the effect of having the inside of the key – the part that is underneath the “ivory” part of the ebonies and ivories – made from wood.

Although other builders began using wood keys on digital pianos years ago, I soon began to hear and read reports of those keys not holding up like they do on traditional pianos. Strange noises or keys “twisting” and popping the key cover off because a real concern. In my opinion, the explanation was pretty straight forward.  First, the examples I saw from builders who rushed wood keys to market didn’t use the same quality of wood in their digital pianos as in their more expensive acoustic pianos. Second, they failed to consider the engineering side of introducing an inherently unstable material in an otherwise stable environment – the digital piano.

First, traditional acoustic pianos – they have strings and soundboards – use a keystick in their action that reacts like a see-saw. When you press down in the front, the back pops up and sets into motion all of the parts that throw the hammer into the string to make noise. It’s how all traditional pianos work.

In digital pianos, the key moves from the back instead of the middle. This is one of the reasons why digital pianos are less deep than their stringed cousins. The wood in a digital piano key was just stuffing and my guess is the reason some builders began stuffing their keys was to try to convince customers that their piano was more like a “real” piano. In other words, it was a selling feature, not something that actually made the piano better.

Roland PHA-50 Hybrid Piano Key action

Digital piano keys hinge from the back.

Second, it is important to keep in mind that one of the main reasons someone will choose a digital or hybrid piano is because they don’t require any regular maintenance. The sounds are played back by a computer based on how hard you press the key. Simple. Engineered woods are used to make the cabinet to prevent splitting or warping, wrapping up nice, dependable, solid state components in a tidy, simple case. If you then stuff the keys with a low-quality piece of wood, that wood is going to change with the humidity.

Here is where I believe Roland deserves a lot of credit. While their competitors were selling the benefits of wood keys, Roland waited. It seems like the take their reputation as building the highest quality digital pianos very seriously. Their engineers looked into how they could give consumers wood keys while not compromising the quality and durability of their pianos.

Roland PHA-50 Hybrid Piano Key cutaway

Roland’s revolutionary hybrid piano key, using a stable structure and wood.

The answer is the hybrid piano key, introduced late last year. Based on simple, yet brilliant, engineering, the Roland keys found on the Roland LX708, LX706, LX705, HP603A and some of their other digital pianos are designed like I-beams used in buildings. The stable resin material provides a structure upon which wood pieces are attached! The result is a more natural feeling piano – even better than their previously highly acclaimed PHA-4 action – that will not bend or warp.

How confident are they that they got it right? Roland doubled their warranty on hybrid piano key models from an industry leading 5 years/2 years in-home to a full 10 years – the same as the world’s leading acoustic pianos.

Our experience has been remarkable. Roland retains their title as the best choice for beginning through advanced players who seek privacy (playing with headphones), are limited for space (all Roland pianos are more compact and lighter), or want to enjoy all the benefits of a great piano without having to pay for tunings, regulation, or voicing over the life of the instrument.

At last, a no-compromise digital hybrid piano for everyone!

Visit us today and try these remarkable pianos for yourself. If you’ve tried the new Roland hybrid piano models, let us  know what you think by commenting below.

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