Roland’s V-Stage keyboard puts a studio’s worth of classic instruments and effects at your fingertips

The Roland V-Stage 76 and 88, photo by press

V-Stage 88: £3,459/$3,999/€3,999
V-Stage 76: £3,027/$3,499/€3,499
roland.com

Ask any serious live player what they want from a keyboard and they’ll likely describe a combination of sound, feel and performance controls you can access fast.

Roland’s new V-Stage models are aimed at people who prize all three and are willing to pay for an instrument that crams a studio’s worth of keyboard instruments into a single unit and then puts the myriad different controls for those instruments at your fingertips rather than burying them in menus. This is no simple task since controlling a grand piano, a Rhodes or an organ are all completely different techniques.

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Has Roland succeeded, and is there room for another red stage keyboard on the market?

Comparisons with Nord’s Stage 4 are inevitable. Both instruments are aimed at the same type of user, though the Nord is around £400 more expensive still. Blow-by-blow comparisons can be found online and we won’t re-litigate them but will note differences where they arise. My review model was the larger 88-key which Roland says weighs 22 kg but feels as heavy as other weighted 88-key models and is no picnic to move around – you’ll want a serious flight case for it.

It has an integrated power supply fed by a kettle lead, a welcome addition since it’s one fewer peripheral to lose. Then the rear panel has a serious array of inputs/outputs, reflecting its status as a pro gigging instrument. There’s a headphone out, dual XLR balanced outs, stereo jack outs and sub left/right balanced outs and on the input side, stereo line input jacks plus an XLR mic input.

Full-sized MIDI in, out and thru are present as are four control pedal inputs – hold and three controls, assignable to the various pedal types like organ swells or volume you will want to use. Some users have noted the ports here aren’t built as durable as the Nord’s metal versions, which we’d agree with. Aside from this, build quality is solid throughout.

You get handy extras including two USB-A inputs for connecting compatible MIDI controllers, useful for adding an extra organ layer for example. A USB-C port connects to your computer and turns the keyboard into an audio and MIDI interface, with the multiple parts that make up each sound appearing as separate MIDI and audio channels, great for recording or live mixing. Then another USB-A port supports flash drives, the means by which you manage firmware, backups and transferring patches from Roland Cloud. Though this works, it’s a bit anachronistic in 2025 with other developers – like Nord’s Sound Manager – providing far smoother computer integration.

On the other hand, V-Stage has a larger display than the Nord, making on-device editing more pleasurable. And while it’s arguably a matter of preference, I find the Roland’s layout to be more logical and easier to use, especially at a glance, which is just the ticket in a live scenario. My 88-key model uses a weighted keybed with escapement and ivory feel for a more authentic piano experience, but crucially allows enough fluidity for organ and EP runs without hurting your hands. This balance is difficult to get right but Roland has aced it here, making something that works brilliantly across all the different instruments.

Speaking of which, at the heart of V-Stage are four independent sound engines, each with a corresponding section on the front panel. First is pianos, using Roland’s acclaimed V-Piano technology with unlimited polyphony. Based on modelling rather than samples it allows an incredible level of tweaking of all the aspects of the different pianos. Then there’s the electric piano engine and a Virtual Tone Wheel organ with three independent upper, lower and pedal parts. While the organ engine’s polyphony is also unlimited, the electric piano shares a 256-note polyphony with the remaining, synth engine. Synth parts are powered by the Zen Core engine that support expansions via Roland Cloud – several free extra models are provided too.

There’s extensive layer and split functionality of course as well as a powerful system for storing presets. 512 slots are available for Scenes – complete keyboard setups – as well as 128 Scene Chains for managing complex sets. Then there are eight EX Scenes which auto-save changes you make in real time – perfect for capturing those moments of inspiration when playing. One really nice touch is that thanks to the powerful dedicated processors it’s possible to switch sounds or scenes while sustaining the last sound, without any dropouts. It might sound inconsequential but that’s invaluable in the midst of fast-moving performances.

Roland has done an excellent job of placing the most important controls at your fingertips respective to each of the four instrument sections. Each section has a dedicated level control plus a bunch of specific effects and settings, and drawbars, rotary speed and brake for the organ. There’s a total of 16 multi-effects with 93 types and a Master section with multi-band EQ and compression. You can simply experiment with these when you’re trying to sit your sound in a live mix, mid-song without needing the help of the sound engineer.

The sounds are excellent, perhaps not surprising given Roland’s vast experience and though the synths are nice to have it’s the acoustic and electromechanical instruments that really sell the V-Stage. The extent to which they have listened to pro players when designing the layout is clear – it’s a live tweaker’s paradise. There are loads of stage-ready presets as starting points but the reality of live performance is that it’s often necessary to change things on the fly. This is so simple to do here. Splits and layers let you build complexity into layouts, taking advantage of the impressive processing power of the keyboard.

If you’re spending north of £3k you’re not likely to be a beginner and this keyboard – and others like it – are really for more accomplished players, ranging up to working professionals. It feels and sounds beautiful and puts the emphasis on supercharging your live performances with hands-on, dynamic effect and sound editing like you’d get from the real instruments.

In truth, the V-Stage is an investment in the same way that a high-performance tool is to any professional. It makes playing a joyous experience, sounds amazing and puts a plethora of sounds and controls right in front of you without ever getting in your way.

If your business is music, the V-Stage just might be the last performance keyboard you ever need.