Roland updates two of its most popular stage pianos with new sounds.
Roland has announced expanded versions of two of its most popular stage pianos, the RD-2000 and RD-88. The RD-2000 EX and RD-88 EX have been updated with several new piano sounds, including a new concert grand piano and an ‘intimate’ upright.
The RD-2000 is Roland’s top-of-the-line RD stage piano, offering two sound engines that cover a variety of both acoustic and electric piano sounds and an 88-note PHA-50 progressive hammer-action keyboard. The RD-2000 EX boosts the original’s range with two additional pre-installed V-Piano Expansion titles: the German Concert V-Piano Expansion captures the sound of renowned concert-class grand pianos and arrives with 17 preset Tones.
This is joined by a newly-developed Essential Upright V-Piano Expansion, which is said to introduce an “intimate sonic flavour” that recreates the unique character and spatial quality of a premium upright, coming with 14 preset Tones that span pop, rock and more. Both the Essential Upright and German Concert can be customized with Roland’s Piano Designer tools.
Roland RD-88 sits at the more portable and affordable end of the brand’s stage piano line-up. The instrument’s expanded version RD-88 EX boasts the SuperNATURAL Acoustic Piano 3 Expansion, which also adds another premium concert piano to bolster the extensive range of acoustic and electric pianos already onboard, complete with 15 Preset tones that span bright, dynamic sounds and darker atmospheric textures.
The Roland RD-2000 EX and RD-88 EX are priced at $2599.99 and $1299.99 respectively at Amazon. If you already own a RD-2000 or RD-88, you can upgrade your instruments with the news sounds via Roland Cloud for $199.99 and $99.99.
The Dirtywave M8 handheld hardware tracker is getting in shape for summer with a new Model:02 version that offers several physical improvements.
Dirtywave announces M8 Tracker Model:02. This is the successor to the original M8, and promises the ‘same brains with improved physical features’ – an aluminium case, a larger display and improved battery life.
To recap, the original M8 a handheld tracker that was powered by the Teensy microcontroller and took its inspiration from Game Boy tracker Little Sound DJ. It offered eight monophonic tracks/voices, each of which could be used for one of the built-in synthesis engines or to trigger external MIDI hardware.
The Model:02 takes this concept and adds in a new machined aluminium case, a larger 3.5-inch IPS TFT display (up from 2.8-inch) and improved battery life of up to 12 hours. There’s also a built-in mic for onboard sampling and a USB-C connection that can be used in device mode.
If you own the original M8 then there’s no need to panic: your model will continue to be supported with the same features as the 02 in concurrent firmware updates.
The M8 Tracker Model:02 is available for pre-order now priced at £525, with shipping set to begin in May 2024. Find out more on the Dirtywave website.
This retro-inspired beatmaker sports the same stylus-based interface as Dubreq’s flagship Stylophone instrument.
The Stylophone BEAT enables you mix and match 4 drum kits and 4 bass sounds, from classic sounds to beatbox samples. Other features include automatic tempo lock, the ability to record multiple layers and mute sounds.
Stylophone BEAT is available to pre-order and has ‘limited units available’, priced at $39.95/£29.95/€34.95
Listen to a sound demo below and pre-order Stylophone BEAT from Dubreq website.
