Roland is a brand with a deep history of producing fantastic stage digital pianos and synthesizers. Most of Roland’s catalog is high-end, professional gear, and you’ll find the brand on stage with many top acts.
Roland’s entry-level digital instruments are less well-known, but they still pack a punch. This Roland GO:PIANO review takes a detailed look at Roland’s entry-level digital piano.
Other articles in this series include a full review of the Roland GO:KEYS, the brand’s entry-level digital keyboard, and a comparison of the two entry-level devices in the Roland keyboard family.
Instrument Type: Digital Piano
The first thing to know about the Roland GO:PIANO is that it is distinctly a digital piano, not primarily a digital keyboard or keyboard controller (even though it has some of those functions as well).
What does this mean exactly? Simply put, the GO:PIANO is piano-forward in design and features. Its primary goal in life is to emulate the experience of playing a real acoustic piano. When designing a digital piano, manufacturers prioritize recreating an acoustic piano’s sound and feel above just about everything else.
Now, this doesn’t mean that playing a Roland Go Piano will feel and sound just like playing a Steinway or high-end Yamaha grand piano. It won’t. The GO:PIANO is, after all, an entry-level Roland keyboard, and it costs thousands less than the real deal.
That said, the Roland GO:PIANO can still do digital keyboard stuff, which we’ll explain in more depth in the sections below. It can act as a MIDI keyboard controller thanks to its USB connection. It can produce other sounds besides piano, and it can record your playing into its onboard memory.
But in all these areas, there may be some trade-offs or weaknesses, and there are other features that are simply absent (like looping, pad controls and a robust library of instruments). That’s because the primary focus here is on emulating a real piano look, feel and sound.
Check the current prices on Amazon for the Roland GO:PIANO (61-KEY MODEL)
Onboard Audio and Bluetooth Speakers
Other than some keyboard controllers that aren’t designed to function on their own, pretty much all digital keyboards have some form of onboard audio. All digital pianos will certainly have this capability. Onboard speakers are how you’re able to hear what you’re playing.
For many players, the onboard speakers are the only way they will ever hear their instrument, so it’s important that the sound quality be sufficient.
And sufficient is exactly the right word for what you get with the Roland GO:PIANO. This isn’t a high-end or professional Roland keyboard, and the low price point pretty much eliminates any chance of high-end onboard speakers.
The Roland GO:PIANO has two speakers, both of which measure 12 x 6 cm and are powered by dual 2.5-watt amplifiers. The sound quality is far from audiophile, but it’s more than sufficient for the beginning piano student. Roland claims that the quality is better than “most” smart speakers— though that’s not saying a whole lot. Expect enough volume to be heard well in a quiet, medium-sized room.
Bluetooth Functionality Is Impressive
There’s more to the onboard speakers than sound quality, though. These speakers are Bluetooth-enabled, which allows you to use them in some truly innovative ways. You can connect your smartphone, tablet or computer to the GO:PIANO’s speakers and play any audio imaginable.
Here are a few examples of how you can use this tech. With this Bluetooth functionality, you can stream your favorite song and play chords or melody over the top of the recording. You can play a video piano lesson on your tablet (free from YouTube or a lesson from whatever subscription service you choose) and stream the audio directly to the piano. With the optional music rack, you can even set your tablet up like you would music, reading off the screen while following the audio guides in your tutorial materials.
The Bluetooth functionality alone is enough to set the Roland GO:PIANO apart from other entry-level digital pianos.
Key Style
Digital pianos come in all sorts of key styles, from mini keys and flimsy, plasticky ones to keys that look and feel just like those on a real piano.
On the Roland GO:PIANO, you get something in the middle. The keys are full-sized and box-shaped, and they have what Roland calls an “ivory feel.” In those ways, they will feel very similar to a real piano. However, Roland doesn’t specify the weight or action of these keys, which means they are likely unweighted or only lightly/semi-weighted.
Why does this matter? Real piano keys require some effort to depress, because pressing the key actually starts a lever mechanism that ends in a hammer striking a string. That’s how the instrument produces real-world sound. Starting on a digital piano that doesn’t emulate this action at all will make it harder to adjust to a real piano, should you make that transition in the future.
That said, it’s rare to find real hammer action in keyboards at this price tier. This may be a sacrifice worth making if your budget is fairly constrained.
Number of Keys Available
Modern acoustic pianos conventionally have 88 keys, which is considered a full complement of keys. Eighty-eight keys equates to seven octaves plus three additional lower notes, down to a very low A.
Digital keyboards, on the other hand, come in all sorts of configurations. Standard configurations range from the micro keyboard (25 keys) all the way up to a full keyboard (88 keys).
The Roland GO:PIANO is available in two sizes. The standard model has 61 keys, or five octaves. This model is ideal for beginners, for those seeking to learn band-style keyboard, and for those with space limitations.
The other Roland GO:PIANO model has 88 keys, which is a full-sized keyboard deck. If you think there’s any chance that you or your child will eventually transition to an acoustic instrument, or if you hope to learn classical or cinematic-style music, you should definitely get the 88-key version.
In fact, the price difference between the two models is so slight, we have a hard time recommending the 61-key model to anyone who doesn’t have a space constraint or a need for portability.
Included Sounds and Effects
The Roland GO:PIANO contains a respectable number of sounds for a digital piano:
- 10 pianos
- 7 electric pianos
- 7 organs
- 16 other sounds, including drums and SFX
You also get a toggle for multi-effect and for chorus, plus adjustable reverb. All 10 piano tones include always-on damper resonance as well, which is a key differentiator that makes the GO:PIANO that much more piano-like.
Adjustable master tuning is here in increments of 0.1 hertz, and you can transpose -5/+6 semitones and +/-3 octaves.
Recording Capabilities
The Roland GO:PIANO has similar recording capabilities to other entry-level digital pianos (well, the ones that offer recording capabilities at all). You can create recording saved in MIDI format 0, up to 30,000 total notes, which can be allotted over up to 99 distinct songs.
Connections and Power Options
Connections are another area where digital pianos can vary quite a bit. Some offer very little or none at all, while others offer all sorts of professional I/O.
The Roland Go Piano is well equipped with the kinds of connections a beginning player (child or adult) would want. There’s a 3.5mm (standard) headphones/output jack for quiet listening or audio OUT. There’s also a 3.5mm AUX IN jack, perfect if you want to play music directly from your phone or other devices without using Bluetooth.
You’ll also find a standard quarter-inch pedal jack and a DC IN jack for the power adapter. Lastly, the Micro-B USB port allows you to connect your Roland GO:PIANO to your computer. It’s a USB-MIDI port as well, so you can control all sorts of music software or use your keyboard as an input device for notation or MIDI programs.
Most players will use the Roland GO:PIANO while connected to power, but the keyboard can also run off of battery power. Using standard AA batteries will give you about four hours of play from literally anywhere, while using higher-end Ni-MH batteries will give you about six hours.
Who Should Buy the Roland GO:PIANO? Ideal Use Cases
Thanks to this Roland GO:PIANO review, now you know all about the Roland GO:PIANO. There’s just one more question to answer: Who should buy the Roland GO:PIANO?
We’re glad you asked! Here are our top use cases.
If You’re a Beginning Piano Student
The Roland GO:PIANO is the perfect starter instrument: not so cheap that beginners will hate the process of playing, but not so expensive that it will break the bank. It’s a great middle-of-the-road approach with plenty of great functionality and a solid piano sound.
If You Expect to Pursue Classical Training
Lesser or smaller digital keyboards may be fine if your end goal is to play keys in a band or create non-performance electronic music. If you want to pursue classical or conventional piano study, though, you’ll need a full-sized instrument sooner rather than later. Starting with a full-sized, 88-key digital piano with somewhat realistic-feeling keys is pretty important.
If You’re On a Budget But Expect to Transition to an Acoustic Piano
If you expect to transition to an acoustic piano within a few years, the best option now is to buy a digital piano with realistic hammer action. However, nearly all such digital pianos are quite a bit more expensive. If you’re on a budget, you’ll do OK settling for the Roland GO:PIANO. You still get full-sized piano-like keys, even if the action isn’t weighted like a real piano.
If You Aren’t Interested in Electronic Arranging and Producing
If you’re not particularly interested in electronic arranging and producing orchestrated or multi-voice tracks, then the Roland GO:PIANO is arguably the better choice for you. The enhanced piano sound and feel are more important than the added arranging and producing functions on the GO:KEYS.
Of course, the opposite is also true: if you think you might become interested in this kind of music production, you should consider the GO:KEYS instead of the GO:PIANO.
Models to Consider
There are four models to consider in the Roland GO:PIANO family.
First, there’s the 61-key and 88-key base models. These are the most affordable ways to purchase the GO:PIANO.
Roland also produces a 61-key model with Alexa integration, which can be a great way to maximize the use of the Bluetooth speakers.
Lastly, there’s a solid bundle, which includes the 88-key GO:PIANO, plus a stand, bench, pedal, and online and physical instructional materials.