It's important to realize that you are hearing two very different things. The Nord is a sample of a real piano. The Roland is a physically modeled simulation of a piano sound. This is not a bad thing--the Roland has much better polyphony and many characteristics of the sound can be customized to change its character. Moreover, if you don't like the physically modeled pianos, the RD-2000 also has dozens of sampled pianos which are similar to the Nord. The Roland also has a much better action (the Fater keyboard on the Nord is terrible). So, overall, the RD-2000 has a lot of advantages, and you definitely need to try one out before judging it, even if you like the Nord here.

Most helpful comparison vid on the web for these two instruments. Thank you!!

Beautifully done, Tony!

Update, Roland RD 2000 the V-piano engine has been given new and improved sounds including the “German concert grand” - it sounds absolutely fabulous🤩👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

This has to be one of the best comparison demos I’ve heard. And thank you performing actual song examples! So tired of demos with endless EP and pad noodling. Cheers from Chicago!

I felt the Roland spoke with more authority, while the Nord had a more round tone. Each piano would work well in many situations. Love your demo playing!

Great playing Tony ! :-)

I own an RD-2000, and I agree with many of you that the Roland does sound more "digital", but this is just the default piano. The other presents sound WAAAAAYYYYY better...especially the one they added with the latest upgrade. For those that think the Nord sounds better, it's because it's samples...not knocking it (because I think the Nord sounds great, too) but it speaks to how relatively new physical modeling is, especially when it comes to Pianos.

Hello from the US! Great video! Love your channel and review videos! Great demo! Thanks for the info!

I went into a shop to try out the nord a while ago, I was playing around unsure. Then I went and tried RD2000 and the action on that just felt so right. Which in the end was what won me over.

I have tried both of them, found the sounds very good and bought the Roland RD 2000. I'm sooooo satisfied! (Hungary)

For me the Roland sounds head and shoulders above the Nord. What would be interesting would be Tony's opinion on the action of each keyboard.

GREAT comparison video.

I think that's subjective. The sound depends on how it is produced/designed/recorded, even some eq might be happening. For sure they can match each other with some tweaking. Great video, thanks!

Hello from NC, USA; I actually own the Stage 3 and love it and one of my best friends just bought this Nord 4, we’re just huge fans. I did find it funny how you tend to bounce a bit as you play the Nord, your body language suggest you may be partial to the Nord too! 😂 Both are awesome machines

I have recently purchased one of these Rolands, after trying out both of these pianos (and a few others). Whilst I liked some of the piano sounds on both of them the Roland better suited my playing style and won hands down on its versatility. Each to his own!

After buying and living with the KORG SV-2 for several days, I returned it and bought the RD 2000 . Though it may or may not be discernible to the listener on KZfaq, heard in my studio, I must say that it is everything that one could want in a stage piano accross the board. The patch on the NORD definitely has beautiful tonal qualities in this video that sound best suited for cocktail piano type applications. (though I’m sure there are many others). I would love to have have one in my rig, but don’t have $4000.00 lying around to spend on an instrument. The Roland on the other hand sounds a little brighter, has more presence, and produces more dynamic range when attacked. The action and playability is also superb. The key bed is modeled just like an acoustic piano with escapement, for a very enjoyable and realistic playing experience. There are so many variations of pianos and electric pianos to chose from, that I stopped before going through them all. The B3’s, Strings, and other workhorse sounds are just as authentic with over 1100 of them in all. After seeing many videos in which it seemed that Elton John played Roland exclusively, I knew this had to be a high quality instrument.

I did hundreds of gigs with both those 2 instruments (and a Kurzweil PC3 as well) on my rig at the same time, that is, under the same conditions, and I tried my best to like the piano sounds of the Roland (which I consider a superior instrument overall) but my hands would switch to the Nord (which, in my opinion, has a primitive engineering) each time for its unbeatable piano sounds, ahead of Roland's and Kurzweil's. I ended up using the Nord only for the piano sound and the other two instruments for everything else.

One of the best comparative video. Very well done. I can definitively hear the differences. also having the two keyboards visible at all times with the musician on one or the other really helps the brain separate the sound ( i know this is not rational thinking but it does !). This helps in deciding which instrument suit one's taste better. It would have been nice to have the Korg as a third piano. These are both very nice. I would say the RD is more of a soft eerie jazz subdued instrument and the Nord more of a band playing pop lead instrument or self accompanied singer. I don't think neither of them are suited for strictly classical repertoire but most people don't buy these to play Chopin or Rachmaninov.

I'm only listening on laptop speakers so I'm not getting the full sound quality at all. However, in spite of this I can still hear that the Nord (to me) has an elegance to its sound. The Roland is what I'd expect - much like my RD-800, it is rich and unique to Roland. Still though, when Tony plays the Nord it is elegant, much like a quality acoustic grand piano. As always Tony, you're terrific! Thank you, Robert

I enjoyed your performance!

I come from a classical piano background have a RD700GX with some expansion cards and agree that the rolands have a bit of a duller piano sound, but there are some nice piano sounds in there to suit your playing style. The feel of the keys on the Roland is just great, dont have any complaints with it. the Nord stage 4 demo sound using doesnt sound like its got the richness of the roland sound, but im sure i'd be happy with either (preferrably the one which is lighter in weight!!)

Fun demo. I like full piano sound on the black one. Less tinny sound for sure.

Thank you so much for this beautiful and rich comparison. I was in love with nord pianos since they were introduced and in this video the 'sweatness' of their natural sound is quickly remarkable compared to the more electronic, artificial flavour of Roland. However, without having a hands-on experience with any of them (only with my incredible kawai VPC-1 which beats nord on touch), I came to this video after a small research on Roland and I realised there is a challenge with digital pianos. While most of us favour natural, sampled sounds, it is mathematically impossible to record all combinations of sounds in respect to resonance, and in that respect, I'd give the winner place to Roland. It might be more artificial, but it computes resonance mathematically and nord seems to output individual notes without their interference (resonance) that strikes you on a real, acoustic piano. Good job, Roland!!!

Personally for me, the Nord sounds realistic. The Roland seems over processed and boomy.

To my ears the Roland had more definition and ring/overtones especially in the sustained notes. The Nord was kind of dull and lifeless sounding, but the Nord has other piano

Roland piano 🎹 wins.👍 Bohemian Rhapsody at 2:28 mins 🎶 🎹 🥁 was amazingly. Thanks for playing that intro. Just seen the movie last week's so was most touched by the Melody you played 🎶.

Thanks Tony for the presentation. I like both pianos.But if i were to perform in a gig that is just ballad,I will go for the Nord. Then for pop songs,I will go for the Roland. Thumbs up

Love you Roland RD... 😍😍😘😘💕💕

Great video, thank you! I will buy the roland.

Nice comparison. It really comes down to taste. I have the Roland but would be very happy with the Nord as well. Two points to mention- the Nord street price is 500 American dollars more than the Roland and the Roland includes it's tone wheel model while the Nord Piano 4 does not.

On the Nord you can download the piano sound you want from their website, from a Bosedorfer to a (more brighter) Yamaha grand.

I fast forward nord, and enjoying the beautiful playing on beautiful keyboard ROLAND

Dexibell Vivo. Another planet!

The Nord has a more fuller sound. The tonality is just out of this world. Great demo Tony!

I enjoyed reading many of the comments below with comments like the Nord is brighter or the Roland is brighter or the Roland sounds more like a real piano or no, the Nord sounds like a real piano. I especially liked the comment about the Nord sounding closest toe the piano sound Elton John used (even though Elton John used Roland pianos for much of his recordings...... it goes to show that these two instruments are very close. Different but close. Of course their are many options to adjust the different sounds. For me, in this video, I much preferred the RD 2000. I went around shopping, checking out the different brands and finally decided to order one as well!

A lot of the difference was tonal quality. To my ears the softer sound of the Nord sounded classier. However with access to a graphic eq I'm pretty sure i could make them sound almost identical in either direction.

Hi Tony! I was wondering if you could do some comparison videos between the Kawai ca series vs the Yamaha clp series, like the clp 645 vs the ca 48 . Thanks for your videos!

Both sound very good - my preference is the Nord.

In my opinion the nord has a cleaner sound, but the roland has a deeper sound. After this short comparison, I lean towards the nord, but both are great instruments and their price is basically the same. I would choose nord

In this video and for the type of played songs, I definetely prefer the RD over the ND, it's more vibrant and rich than the other, also its resonance is superior to my ears here, although I'm a big fan of ND piano sounds (yet not its action), both are good pianos if you play decently.

To my ears the Nord has a much more organic quality - it sounds like the interaction of one notes harmonics to the rest of the instrument is better integrated on the Nord. On the roland each note sounds like it’s occurring independently of the others. The roland does also come across as overbright even compared to the brighter Japanese pianos such as Kawai and Yamaha. I wonder if the Roland would be better if it had different velocity curves, it sounds like too much of the upper harmonics occur at too low a velocity.

Nord sounds like a real piano.

I always check Bonners before buy. In this case I swapped my Nord Electro 6D 73 keys for the Roland RD-2000. It has got the pianosounds (and modifications) I wanted, got a very good (tweakable) "hammond" organ. But what really strikes me is the playability - the keybed - of the Roland. It is silly good and silent! And you can make these fast runs without cutting any fingers. So, why would I stick with those noisy waterfall keys of the Electro, at the same time missing out on good piano feeling and neighbourship? Nope, the Roland RD-2000 for me. Great comparison, thank you!

That Roland RD 2000 is amazing. I really hope Roland comes out with a 73 key in 2024, I would buy it at once and thank you for the incredible playing, Tony.

I have to say that in every instance I preferred the Roland.

Does any one else hate the way he plays Bohemian Rhapsody... For the rest, it was a great demo! Solid player.

I have gone through loads of reviews of all sorts of keyboards to compare piano sound and the frustrating thing is that every single demonstrator seems to caress the keys and play slow ballads. your can hear nuances, and its all very well and very nice but nobody actually gives the thing any welly. I'm a boogie player and I want to hear a keyboard being put through its paces and really tested. A thumping boogie left hand and some fast runs and licks with the right hand. This is where you can hear (and feel for that matter) whether the piano and keybed is really up for the job.

I find it interesting that the NP4 sounds a bit thin along side the RD2000. I’ve heard other demos of Nord Piano’s that produce as much of a low end or richness as the RD2000. Just curious if the NP4 preset was on upright, because the RD had more of a grand characteristic. Very good demo.. Thank You.

I liked the rd2000 better. It just sounded a little bit fuller to me. Thw Nord's sounded more suited for a singer whereas the Roland sounded like it would stand out better within a band.... if you know what i mean.

Well he plays them both very mágnifico , but my preference is with Nord piano 4, even when no has aftertouch . I want to know if accept sound fond like the Dexibell s9, so I can load down other sounds o buy sound and put it ? Nice video.

Hard to compare two different piano sounds, the softer woodier tone of the Nord samples with a more fundamentally rich sound of the Roland. Shows that sometimes you get all the different keyboards if you can afford them. From this demo, I preferred the Roland, though I have never been satisified with its sound when playing it in person at a store - could be the amp though which I play back in that store... Both of this are great - if I had to pick one it would be the Roland... The Nord is a bit thin on the bottom end, while the Roland has a wonderful bass, and sparkling highs.

I have both Nord Stage 3 and RD 2000 in my studio and I think the Nord pretty much eats RD 2000 for breakfast when it comes to piano sound. I`m probably going to sell the RD2000....

I like both Pianos, Roland sounds harmonically rich on upper and lower frequencies on first impression, sounds great on solo tracks. Though after listening for long periods the bass notes appears sounds dense and become muddy on chords. The Nord shines with a balanced sounding no matter which key is hit and I can distinguish each not much easier, great when buried in a heavy mix or playing long a band where it doesn't stick out & overshadow the singer. Love to see a digital piano with a slider or knob that you can control the harmonic content to remove those over tones & harmonics to thicken of thin the timbre. To get a piano that sounds between the Roland and Nord. Or go crazy something like the Yamaha's draw bars on their synth on organ voice/patch. Long as it doesn't bring out those awful odd harmonics I'm in.

People complain about the Roland but it's good enough for marasy8!

I like the trebles in the nord, they are so well defined 🔥 but at the same time the bass notes on the Roland could never be matched to nord 😭😭 I'm damn confused

Thank you i enjoyed that just as much for the great playing as anything else. I really, really want to like the Roland as Im a huge fan of their stuff but when Ive tried them back to back I personally found I liked the Korg grandstage or Yamaha modx or even Kawai MP better. Please more do comparisons like this one in the future.

Roland 10/10

Nord sounds pretty toyish here, although this is no fair comparison and it could be adjusted to your liking, Roland sounds to me quite good right out of the box, with its possibility to adjust the sound to your liking too.. an then still that difference in price, won't pay almost double as much for something is not double as good.. I'd go for the Roland, not less than Nord in any aspect.

First thank you for your video and review. About the keys noise, what is your opinion ? About it, I tested The Nord Stage and it's noisy like the M-88 from M-Audio and it is not the same price... ;-)

Nord is character. Roland is cleanliness.

If Roland were make the length 6" shorter by moving the mod wheel I'd go buy one today.... while i wait to see what NAMM 2019 holds, I will save the additional money to buy the Nord ;)

Which one is better in Tony’s opinion? Why does the Nord stage 3 cost 2 grand more than the RD-2000? Which one has better sounds, which one has more sounds to choose from and better for layering sounds together?

I like both

great comparison, what sound system are you using for this test? thnaks

I prefer the Roland sound in this comparison.

I prefered the Nord piano. I think I can hear a great variety of sound depending on the articulation and velocity. And the Roland seems not to achieve that aspect at the same level as the Nord. Great video.

Listening at home on through excellent hi fi amplification speakers; the Roland is rather wearing and bright [compared to the concert grand acoustic I have here] - the Nord sounds much warmer and natural.

The bass end in the Roland is tremendous, you can feel the music hit you. IMHO the Roland has it, the Nord is lifeless.

Good comparison.Roland sounds bold and deep.

Roland all day any day. Everything is kust right. The feel of the keys and the sound...

I look apparent value and sound. Both are similar, I like the sound of both but considering price, I’ll take the Roland

This is a demo of every default piano sound and of course there is an adjustment for every sound according to your sound taste. For me the default piano sound of Roland is way better than Nord, more definition, emphasis and clarity. The ring on highs are very much like a grand piano, however, in my experience with Roland RD, if I use a cheap or low end studio speakers, Roland RD default sound will be tend into over bright or more highs which is easy to adjust to the way I like. Roland default piano sound work perfectly without equalisation or adjustment by using head phone and a better sound system. Nord on the other hand is a beautiful instrument, if you know how to use it and manipulate according your taste it will deliver a better sound even in a cheaper monitor speakers.

The Roland . It's slightly brighter, seems to have much richer harmonics.That said, to my ears it also sounds as if it's running with a touch of reverb, where as the Nord is a dryer, more mellow sound.

I own a Roland RD2000 and I think I much prefer Nord's piano sounds, even if I still love my Roland and the amazing functionality that comes with it.

Thanks for the demo, it is very good and useful as a guide although as so many voices are available on these instruments it is difficult to compare fully, and your choice of "first voice" is almost certainly the best option. Like most I prefer the Roland, it sounds deeper, rounder, fuller and brighter than the Nord. That said, the Nord isn't bad, let's face, all manufacturers are pretty good these days. Perhaps soon Nord will provide Roland voices in their famous download library! As an aside, I find them both pretty ugly. But then I suppose you don't buy them to look at. I could always take a tin of black paint to the Nord....

Nord and Roland both excellent pianos.. Both sounds great with good amplification... However, in my experience Nord wins in sound, and Roland wins in action

I play the Roland Rd2000 for church and usually choose the Concert Grand preset for church music.

I prefer the Roland RD2000 in this comparison .

It doesn’t sound like an apples to apples comparison to me. For those of you who are familiar with piano voicing techniques, the Roland sounds quite bright, while the Nord sounds like a piano that’s had the hammer felt pretty heavily needled. Having tried both, I can say that the Roland action feels much better, but you could definitely get a sound that would make you happy out of either. And the RD is much less expensive.

I like the Nord, but what I'd really like to know is what sort of amplification/monitor system are you playing thru?

By the way they keys on the rd2000 feel amazing, similar on the roland fa08 they have like a rough texture unlike a regular piano

Both sound very good. Matter of preference. Although Nord sound a little more compressed

I like Nord. Warm and natural sound.

Thank you , of course Roland with a richer sound

The best piano in the Roland is the Concert Grand from the older RD-700 NX series. its much more expressive.

Start 1:46

Roland is a brighter, clearer sound. It's more suited to this sort of music. The Nord is a little muffled, although some of the base notes harmonics are nice. The Roland clinches it for me.

This is so tough to choose. For Your Song the Nord sounds closer to what EJ played in the recording. I think the Roland sounds almost too perfect. I prefer not to use grand piano sounds and I think the people that like Roland are looking for the perfect grand. I like piano sounds with more character and imperfections like an old upright sound for writing. Both pianos are amazing making it hard to decide

man Specstrasonics have a gran piano and it sound sexactly like a yamaha grand, and i really think all keyboard should have that patch in them, and aswell as other piano patches from vintage to modern, traditional, soft, and everything

As someone who owns a nord stage, I have to say it sounds as though the damper pedal effect is full on. Maybe its the patch but my stage piano sounds seem much more true and not nearly as muddy.

I like the RD-2000

Hi and congratullations for your contents in KZfaq. I am doubting between RD2000, nord grand or Nord piano 5 or numa piano gt Whats are your recomendations,? Others?? The idea is for playing at home and 1 concert a month. Thaks in advance!

Interesting...I did a blind test and though traditionally I have not liked Nords at all, the Nord sounds much better to me in this video. Neither really sounds like any grand or baby grand I've played, but the overall tone of both is OK. I don't like the FF bright tone on the Nord, but overall it sounds better to my ears.

After listening through the tracs several times, I concluded that I prefer Roland RD2000 on most songs, as it is bright, it cuts through the mix and if feels mix ready, while the nord is more mid-heavy and and less bright in my ears. Would drown in the mix without heavy EQ processing. While RD2000 I feel would need little to no EQ at all to fit perfectly. I am listening to Yamaha HS8. Except on one track "The way it is" that for some odd reason I liked the Nord a bit better. I think it will be perfect match together with MODX+, Nautilus and MPC Key61 in my rig using Camelot Pro to contoll it all))

What kind of stands are you using? The keyboards don’t seem to shake at all.

I like Nord more. I would put it this way to explain my opinion: Roland sounds like the best and most amazing piece of "small home pianos" (I don't know how to call them propertly, I'm Russian, sorry). But Nord sounds as an Imperial class Grand piano.

It realy depends on the intro played, for some like Bohemian Rapsody, The way it is and Desperado the more muted jazz piano like sound of the Nord suited better, where the Roland has more hat grand piano sound. It depends on further available sound settings which is going to be favorite, and for a good comparission similar settings and not just the default settings should be compared.

What was the intro at 7:53? It’s sounds very similar to one of my favorite songs today. No doubt it was probably used as inspiration.

Nice one Tony. Will you be at Winter NAMM 2019 next month?