Studiologic SL88 Grand VS. Roland A-88 MkII

[dcoscina]

Re-opening this (@shropshirelad , @Stephen Baysted ?) as I have a couple of questions about the A88 mk2. Actually I briefly owned one a couple of years ago but after barely using it I noticed some very ‘clicky’ black keys (not all). Roland Support got involved who confirmed it wasn’t normal so I returned. Sadly stock was low all round the UK (post-COVID etc.) so I ended up with a refund. What was odd though was lots of retailers had used/B-stock which made me wonder if there was a common quality control issue?

As such I didn’t get to play it much though I remember being impressed with it - I’m not really a serious pianist & in the end bought a Novation Launchkey 88 which I’m very happy with but for a couple of reasons I want a weighted hammer keyboard now & I do like the A88. The form factor suits me, & since I’m not a ‘live’ player the joystick isn’t an issue.

So my questions to A88 mk2 owners:

1. Is the ‘clicky’ black keys a thing? I’ve since found a few posts/YouTube videos complaining about it on Roland’s FP10 & FP30 pianos (same PHA4 keybed).

2. How’s the touchweight towards the back of the keys? Much different? I see some describe the PHA4 as being on the heavy side (& perhaps a tad sluggish) but I don’t recall feeling that. Other reviews of the PHA4 suggest it lightens up with use. I appreciate it will never be as quick as synth keys (or indeed my semi-weighted Novation).

3. Is full 1-127 velocity available for all velocity curves? I seem to recall that the full range wasn't available for some (or maybe all?) of the options. I may be misremembering that though...

4. Important question - what size gap will it fit into?! By that I mean total height from base to the highest point (presumably top of the knobs?). I know Roland provide dimensions on their website but it’s not clear if the height measurement includes the knobs etc. I’ve since got a new studio desk with a pull-out keyboard trolley (on wheels!) - the trolley height can be adjusted but the largest gap may be limiting…

Many thanks!

I had an A88mk2 for a couple months a while back and I don't recall any clicky keys. The board is silent, especially compared to my Kurzweil PC3x. the 8 programmable knobs do stick up higher than the keyboard by around 2 cm. In case you are factoring that into your sliding desk dimensions.

I find the PHA-4 action very good for anything keyboard related. For playing quick orchestral runs, it works but not as quickly as semi weighted controllers or even the PHA-50 action found on the higher end Roland boards (RD2000, Fantom-8, FP90X)

My feeling is that the A88mk2 offers excellent build quality, very small footprint (it does have deep set keybed, so putting it on top of a desk won't be comfy to play), and some nice programmable rotary knobs. I have mentioned to the higher powers about adding sliders to the next gen- no word if Roland even plans to have a Mk3, just to be clear. All product development comes out of Japan. I'm in Canada so.... well you get the idea. I will say Roland is very open to employee input. It's a nice place to work for sure!

 

[SandChannel]

I had an A88mk2 for a couple months a while back and I don't recall any clicky keys. The board is silent, especially compared to my Kurzweil PC3x. the 8 programmable knobs do stick up higher than the keyboard by around 2 cm. In case you are factoring that into your sliding desk dimensions.

I find the PHA-4 action very good for anything keyboard related. For playing quick orchestral runs, it works but not as quickly as semi weighted controllers or even the PHA-50 action found on the higher end Roland boards (RD2000, Fantom-8, FP90X)

My feeling is that the A88mk2 offers excellent build quality, very small footprint (it does have deep set keybed, so putting it on top of a desk won't be comfy to play), and some nice programmable rotary knobs. I have mentioned to the higher powers about adding sliders to the next gen- no word if Roland even plans to have a Mk3, just to be clear. All product development comes out of Japan. I'm in Canada so.... well you get the idea. I will say Roland is very open to employee input. It's a nice place to work for sure!

I was at a Sam Ash yesterday and they had three RD-88 on display - two of them new. It was very strange because one of the new ones and the used one had somewhat similar keyboard play, but they still felt fairly different. I chalked that up to being used versus new, but the other new one was really loose feeling - no snap at all - and was the worst one of the bunch. Is that common for Roland? Is there a lot of variance in the key beds?

 

[dcoscina]

I was at a Sam Ash yesterday and they had three RD-88 on display - two of them new. It was very strange because one of the new ones and the used one had somewhat similar keyboard play, but they still felt fairly different. I chalked that up to being used versus new, but the other new one was really loose feeling - no snap at all - and was the worst one of the bunch. Is that common for Roland? Is there a lot of variance in the key beds?

Hmmm, not that I have heard or seen personally. I sold keyboards for years and I never noticed any difference in action over time with the FP10/30, RD88 or A88mk2.

 

[SandChannel]

Hmmm, not that I have heard or seen personally. I sold keyboards for years and I never noticed any difference in action over time with the FP10/30, RD88 or A88mk2.

Strange. Thanks for the heads up. I wonder if a weird batch went out and Sam Ash ended up with the PO.

 

[FJ5]

I had an A88mk2 for a couple months a while back and I don't recall any clicky keys. The board is silent, especially compared to my Kurzweil PC3x. the 8 programmable knobs do stick up higher than the keyboard by around 2 cm. In case you are factoring that into your sliding desk dimensions.

I find the PHA-4 action very good for anything keyboard related. For playing quick orchestral runs, it works but not as quickly as semi weighted controllers or even the PHA-50 action found on the higher end Roland boards (RD2000, Fantom-8, FP90X)

My feeling is that the A88mk2 offers excellent build quality, very small footprint (it does have deep set keybed, so putting it on top of a desk won't be comfy to play), and some nice programmable rotary knobs. I have mentioned to the higher powers about adding sliders to the next gen- no word if Roland even plans to have a Mk3, just to be clear. All product development comes out of Japan. I'm in Canada so.... well you get the idea. I will say Roland is very open to employee input. It's a nice place to work for sure!

Hi, thanks very much for that, I‘m very tempted! Actually the minimalist profile suits me (i.e. no sliders etc.). I’ve always found that despite having pads, sliders etc on a keyboard I don‘t actually use them - as a home producer I find a mouse quite efficient & quicker than mapping knobs to multiple synths! A good quality keyboard is what I’m after & it seems to fit the bill. Thanks again.

 

[dcoscina]

Hi, thanks very much for that, I‘m very tempted! Actually the minimalist profile suits me (i.e. no sliders etc.). I’ve always found that despite having pads, sliders etc on a keyboard I don‘t actually use them - as a home producer I find a mouse quite efficient & quicker than mapping knobs to multiple synths! A good quality keyboard is what I’m after & it seems to fit the bill. Thanks again.

As much as possible, try it out at a store if you have one close by. I'm very picky about key action and noise so I found the A88-MK2 to be very good in that capacity (I had a loaner from Roland a few years before I began working for them).

 

[FJ5]

As much as possible, try it out at a store if you have one close by. I'm very picky about key action and noise so I found the A88-MK2 to be very good in that capacity (I had a loaner from Roland a few years before I began working for them).

I might have to do that, there's a few Roland stores here in the UK.

 

[FJ5]

As much as possible, try it out at a store if you have one close by. I'm very picky about key action and noise so I found the A88-MK2 to be very good in that capacity (I had a loaner from Roland a few years before I began working for them).

So I took the plunge & bought one & sadly I'm really disappointed. The general key feel is brilliant, as is the majority of the controller, however straight out of the box there was a really annoying loud "thwack" when realising a black key, like a loud knocking sound. It affects most of the black keys, around 12 of them really badly & a couple are exceptionally bad. White keys are silent. Video I made here:



After some research I discovered it's a very talked about issue amongst those that own Roland pianos (e.g. FP10, FP30X etc.) with the PHA-4 keybed with some other YouTube videos illustrating it.

I appreciate some mechanical noise is inevitable with hammer action keybeds but this sounds like the hammers are literally hitting the inside of the casing. The fact it happens (bizarrely) on key release (& not when the key is pressed, whatever the force), suggests the hammer isn't landing back on some damped material. If the key is let down slowly, no noise at all, but that's just not practical for the majority of playing.

I called a Roland store who weren't particularly helpful, just saying that they've never heard of this issue before (which surprises me given the amount of Internet chat about it) & if I'm concerned I should contact the dealer I bought it from.

So I've arranged a return & don't know whether to arrange a replacement. I'm very keen on it but the key noise is intolerable. I'd even consider getting it looked at by a piano keybed specialist but the general feeling from what I've read is that it's not really a repairable thing but instead a fundamental design flaw.

 

[Windbag]

That's disappointing. The mk1 A88 I tried out in store was probably the quietest keybed of any I played, which I attributed to that heavy particle board base plate they use.

I wound up with an SL88 grand and it is a huge improvement over the previous studiologic board I had in terms of key thump, with a few white notes now (after several years of daily use) exhibiting a little noise on release (counterweight fall).... and one note in particular puzzlingly making a plasticky click on initial strike once in a while....seems somehow related to ambient conditions I haven't quite figured out yet (it does get pretty warm in here during summer months), and goes away before bothering me enough to pop the cover off.

Had a similar issue with an older board wind up just being grease distribution - in that case the hinge point for the keycaps is a molded plastic post that snaps into corresponding sockets, and years of play worked all the grease out such that simply popping the keycaps off and snapping them back in place completely solved it, at least for the time being.

In any case, this does not seem like a thing you should be experiencing with a brand new board.