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Roland launches the RD-08, a compact stage piano that comes with built-in speakers, SuperNATURAL and ZEN-Core sound engines, and Roland Cloud expansion support.

Roland has announced the latest addition to its RD stage piano range, the RD-08, and the good news is that it’s the most affordable model yet.

At first glance, this looks like an even more simplified version of the RD-88, which was released in 2020, and promises “no-compromise” sound in a portable package. There are built-in speakers for home and low-volume rehearsal/performance use, and Roland Cloud compatibility means that the RD-08 is expandable with more sounds.

This is an 88-note instrument that uses Roland’s PHA-4 Standard Keyboard tech, which offers a hammer action, Escapement and Ivory Feel. There are three sound generators – SuperNATURAL Piano, SuperNATURAL E Piano and Roland’s ZEN-Core synth engine – and three parts.

The RD-08 offers 100 scenes and more than 3,000 tones, along with a comprehensive roster of effects. Hands-on control comes courtesy of assignable pitchbend and modulation wheels and four control knobs, and there are inputs for a damper pedal and two further assignable pedals.

Other features include the option to favourite sounds, a song player and a metronome, while audio I/O compromises a 1/4-inch headphone jack, stereo 1/4-inch output jacks, a 1/4-inch mic input and a line input minijack, presumably so you can play music through the speakers. There’s no mention of Bluetooth, either for MIDI or audio, but you do get MIDI Out and USB ports.

The Roland Cloud compatibility enables you to install the Acoustic Piano 3, among other expansions (we’re guessing these will come at a cost), and for live performers, there’s also Apple MainStage support.

The RD-08 is available now priced at $1,000. Find out more on the Roland website.

Korg Liano is now available in 6 different colours – Black, White, Grey, Silver, Blue and Red – so which one looks the best?

Launched last year, Korg’s Liano is the slimline 88-note digital piano with a beginner-friendly, soft-touch key action. It is also portable: you can power it from batteries and it has a pair of built-in bass reflex speakers.

We are telling you this again because Liano is now available in six colour options. In addition to the original black, you now have pearl white and metallic grey, silver, blue or red options to choose from.

So which colour looks the best? Perhaps, if you want to play it totally safe, black is the obvious choice (no one’s going to be scared by that if you decide to sell at a later date) and the grey and silver options look rather conservative, as well. The white Liano is a little bolder, but we’d be worried about marking its pristine finish.

Which leaves metallic blue and red. There are quite a few red keyboards on the market already – but the blue option is genuinely distinctive. As such, this would be our choice, but feel free to disagree because the choice is in your hands.

In terms of performance, of course, it doesn’t really matter. The beating heart of all the Lianos is an Italian grand piano, and there are seven further sounds to play with, too. The Korg Liano is a mere 7cm tall, weighs 6.2kg and offers USB MIDI and audio.

As you can see, the control set has been kept simple. There’s no screen, so sounds are selected via a labelled dial. And includes reverb and chorus effects.

Korg Liano costs £339 /$330, and the new colours will be available soon. Find out more on the Korg website.

Arturia’s $99 Tape Mello-Fi plugin is free to download again, but only for a limited time.

If you missed out on Arturia’s giveaway of its $99 Tape Mello-Fi plugin last time, make sure you do not miss out this time. You’ve now got another chance to download it for free courtesy of Audio Plugin Deals.

This Mellotron-inspired lofi effect is a vintage tape-emulation and lofi effect based on the sound and behaviour of the classic Mellotron (and, in turn Arturia Mellotron V emulation). Parameter knobs enable you to adjust the amount of Noise, Flutter, Wow, Wear and ‘Mechanics’, and also enable you dial in subtle distortion and saturation.

This leaves you with an effect that promises to apply lo-fi vibes to anything you stick it on – drum loops, vocals or even your entire mix.

A 25-preset library, gives you plenty of retro starting points.

Other features include an interactive tape wheel with tempo-synced Tape Stop feature and optional Instant Tape Catch-up, a 12dB low-pass and high-pass filter section, and a Stereo Width feature that introduces offsets to Wow and Flutter from left to right for an extra-wide sound.

Tape Mello-Fi runs as a VST/AU/AAX plugin on PC and Mac and is available for free for a limited time only. Get it download on the Audio Plugin Deals website.