Roland GP-3 Review: The Compact Digital Grand

Who Should Buy It

Key Specifications

A Grand in a Small Footprint

Roland's GP series are digital grands, and the GP-3 is the entry: a low-profile grand cabinet with a lid that opens, three pedals with half-pedal support, a custom stereo speaker system, an 88-key hammer action with escapement and Ivory Feel, and Bluetooth for play-along music and MIDI apps. The listing confirms all of that and a 174.6 pound weight; it does not publish polyphony, voice count or the action by name. Roland's specification identifies the keyboard as PHA-4 Standard and the engine as SuperNATURAL Piano.

The GP-3 costs several times what a console with the same action costs, and the difference is the cabinet.

Action

PHA-4 Standard is Roland's three-sensor graded hammer action with escapement and Ivory Feel key tops, the same keyboard as the FP-30X, RP107 and F701. It is a proven, pianistic action and the reference in its class. In a grand cabinet at this price it is modest; Roland's GP-6 and GP-9 move to the PHA-50 hybrid action, and the Kawai CA and Yamaha Clavinova consoles at the GP-3's price use wooden-key actions. A buyer who prioritizes touch should know that going in.

Sound and Speakers

The SuperNATURAL engine gives the GP-3 Roland's expressive modeled grand with string and damper resonance, and the custom stereo speaker system in a grand cabinet projects it into a room with a sense of scale that consoles cannot match; opening the lid brightens the tone as on an acoustic. Polyphony and the voice count are not published on the listing. Roland's Piano Designer settings are reachable through the app.

Pedals and Connectivity

Three pedals, sustain, soft and sostenuto, support half-pedal techniques. Bluetooth audio streams a phone's music through the speakers and Bluetooth MIDI connects lesson apps and Roland's Piano App. USB connects a computer. Two headphone jacks allow silent practice for a teacher and student.

Placement and Delivery

At 174.6 pounds the GP-3 is delivered and assembled rather than carried upstairs, and it needs a floor space roughly that of a small acoustic baby grand's depth though much shallower. It is the kind of purchase that is measured for and placed once. A matching bench is typically included with GP listings; check the listing details.

GP-3 Against the Alternatives

Against the Roland FP-90X, the FP-90X has the PHA-50 action, PureAcoustic modeling and a four-speaker system for far less, without the cabinet. Against the Kawai CA401 console, the Kawai has wooden Grand Feel Compact keys and documented specifications at a lower price. Against the Roland GP-6, the GP-6 adds PHA-50 and a larger speaker system in a bigger cabinet for considerably more. Against an acoustic baby grand, the GP-3 never needs tuning, plays silently on headphones and connects to apps.

Buy the GP-3 for its shape and its silence; buy a console or the FP-90X for touch per dollar.

Living With a Digital Grand

Day to day the GP-3 behaves like a console with a lid: switch on, open the lid for a brighter, more projected sound or close it for a softer balance, and play. Bluetooth audio streams play-along music through the cabinet's speakers, Bluetooth MIDI connects Roland's Piano App for tones and settings, and two headphone jacks make silent practice possible for a teacher and student. The three pedals with half-pedal support teach proper pedaling. Because the GP-3 never needs tuning and is unaffected by humidity, it is the grand that a busy household can own without maintenance.

Long-Term Fit

The GP-3 is a furniture piano that a family keeps for decades, and its reliability and lack of maintenance are the practical arguments against an acoustic. Pianists who progress beyond its action tend to keep the GP-3 in the living room and add a better keyboard elsewhere rather than replace it, because the cabinet is why it was bought.

Strengths and Limitations

Alternatives to Consider

Roland FP-90X

Serious pianists and performers who want Roland's flagship action and modeled piano without a cabinet

Read the Roland FP-90X review →

Kawai CA401

Pianists who want wooden keys at the lowest Kawai price

Read the Kawai CA401 review →

Roland F701

Buyers who want the RP701's features in a modern, shallow cabinet

Read the Roland F701 review →

Questions Buyers Ask