Comparison Roland FP-90X vs Roland S-1 Limited Edition

— Stationary. Stationary tools have their own stand and are designed to be installed directly on the floor. At the same time, in accordance with the name, such models are designed for constant stay in one place and are poorly suited for regular movements even within the same room, not to mention longer distances. However, this is not a disadvantage, but only a characteristic feature of such cases. But the unequivocal disadvantage of stationary tools can be called their rather high cost. On the other hand, such models are as similar as possible to real pianos in appearance, layout and equipment: the keyboard, usually, is located at a standard height, and pedals are installed in the lower part of the case (and there are usually as many as three of them, a complete set). And it is much easier to provide high-quality sound and an abundance of features in such an instrument than in a portable one — the manufacturer does not need to pay special attention to compactness and weight reduction.

— Portable. Portable are called digital pianos, made in the form of portable keyboards and devoid of stands; to play such a keyboard, you need to put it on a table or other support. Outwardly, such instruments are similar to synthesizers, and sometimes almost indistinguishable from them. At the same time, unlike synthesizers, portable digital pianos have mostly full-size keyboards with 88 keys, and displays are rarel...y equipped. And in terms of functionality, the differences are that digital pianos are more oriented towards traditional music: they can provide relatively few timbres, often do not support auto-accompaniment (see below), but provide a fairly high sound quality. If we compare portable models with stationary ones, then the key advantage of this option is obvious — the tool can be moved from place to place with relative ease and even carried with you, if you have the appropriate case. The disadvantage also naturally follows from the design — it will be extremely difficult to play such an instrument without additional support, and not every piece of furniture can play the role of such a support. So it is almost impossible for a portable digital piano to do without a stand (see "Packaging").

The presence of its own cover in the design of a digital piano.

Such a cover during off-hours closes the keyboard, and often also additional controls. This not only gives the instrument a neat appearance, but also protects the keys — primarily from dust (and dust can not only create discomfort during use, but also cause mechanical failures, accumulating under the keys).

Note that this function is typical for stationary tools (see "Body"). Portable models with lids would be too bulky and heavy, so it is suggested that they use cases or other similar devices.

The presence of built-in pedals in the design of a digital piano.

Pedals are an indispensable element of equipping a classical piano; accordingly, they are often provided in digital counterparts. Actually, this function is practically obligatory for models of a stationary layout (see "Hull"). But in portable ones, on the contrary, built-in pedals are not found — there is simply nowhere to install them, external plug-in pedals are available for such models (see below).

The traditional number of built-in pedals is three; there are practically no other options in a power tool. Note that in many models, the specific functions of the pedals can change depending on the set timbre, or even manually, at the request of the musician.

The number of built-in sounds provided by the Digital Piano.

Despite the name, digital pianos are extremely rarely designed to imitate the sound of only a piano — the electronic hardware allows them to provide other timbres of sound. In addition, even the piano has its own varieties — for example, among the grand pianos there are 6 main classes, from large concert to miniature. So the built-in sounds can cover different kinds of pianos, as well as other instruments and sound effects.

The abundance and variety of timbres in digital pianos as a whole is not as great as in synthesizers, however, in this category there are very “charged” models, with a hundred timbres or more (in the most multifunctional, this number can exceed 900). However, it is worth specifically looking for a “multi-instrumental” model if you do not intend to be limited to the sound of the piano and would like to have more freedom of choice. It is worth remembering that a specific set of timbres can be different.

If the instrument is bought exclusively as a piano, then here, on the contrary, it is worth paying attention primarily to solutions with a small number of timbres. Such models are not only cheaper than "universals" — they can also sound better (due to the fact that there are few timbres and the manufacturer can carefully approach the sound quality of each built-in "instrument").

The range over which the tempo of the sound played by the instrument can change. It can be either a built-in melody or a part recorded on a sequencer, or an auto accompaniment, a tutorial or a metronome. For more information on all of these features, see the corresponding glossary entries. Here we note that a change in tempo is often required in fact — for example, to speed up an initially "sluggish" accompaniment or slow down a training programme that is difficult to master at the original tempo.

Tempo is traditionally indicated in beats per minute. The classical, "academic" range covers options from 40 bpm ("grave", "very slow") to 208 bpm ("prestissimo", "very fast"), however, in modern digital pianos, the working range of tempos is often significantly wider.

Possibility of dividing the keyboard into two parts so that the parts of the left and right hands are played in different timbres. This allows you to simultaneously play two disparate parts on the instrument — for example, accompany a piano melody with chords from a string orchestra or organ sounds. Specific combinations of timbres are most often pre-recorded in memory, however, there are models in which the musician himself can choose timbres for each part of the keyboard.

The ability to add a reverb effect to the sound of the instrument.

Reverb is the repeated reflection and decay of sound. Most of all, this effect is noticeable in vast spaces with a pronounced echo — for example, large caves; however, in any environment, the coloring of the sound characteristic of such an environment is mainly due to reverberation. Thus, this function allows you to simulate music that sounds in different rooms — for example, to give the impression that the instrument is in the hall of a Gothic cathedral, or, conversely, in a small room with soft walls. However, it is also possible to use reverberation as a classic sound effect, which is not aimed at simulating the situation and only gives the sound a specific colour.

The ability to change the brightness of the sound of certain timbres or tracks.

Brightness determines the overall colour of the sound — from soft, smoothed to sonorous, sharp. This feature allows the player to adjust this coloration to their preference, and thus further expands the possibilities for customizing the sound of the instrument.

Additional features and sound customization options provided by the instrument in addition to those listed above. In this paragraph, usually, various original proprietary technologies and solutions are indicated; the specific meaning of these functions is best specified in the documentation for the tool.