Roland V-Stage 88 Stage Piano

General

Packing every bit of Roland knowhow into one powerhouse, the control panel of the V-Stage is neatly divided into an acoustic piano section, an electric piano section, a synth section and even a drawbar organ section. Make no mistake, despite the mountain of potential on offer, this is a fully hands-on model, so expect minimal menu-diving and plenty of satisfying and tactile tweaking.

The Roland V-Stage 88

Each instrument section is supported by sound modelling plus a ZEN-Core engine for the synth section, which comes with one pretty massive perk: the Roland Cloud. This single detail means that things can be expanded at will by, say, installing Roland's software emulation of a Jupiter 8, so you don't have to take your cherished antique J8 on tour with you. The effect section is just as hands-on as the instrument section, and only serves to enhance the already studio-quality sounds, while the connection panel around the back comes fully road ready, and includes both stereo jack and XLR outputs, an XLR microphone input, space for USB storage and devices and ports for connecting up controllers.

V-Stage 76 or the V-Stage 88?

Roland has presented two editions of the V-Stage, one with 76 keys and one with 88-keys. The difference between the two models doesn't just lie in the immediate note-range, but what you want your stage piano to do. So, the 76-note version features waterfall keys, fully supporting the draw-bars included in the organ section. Meanwhile, the 88-note version features piano keys, supporting a full-sized grand-piano-grade note-range. Further than that, the sonic options remain the same so, if you're seeking the playing experience of a concert piano, then go for the V-Stage 88. If you're looking for a drawbar organ that you can tour with, or a more flexible and expandable synth, then the V-Stage 76 will definitely do it for you.