Roland Go: Piano88 Review – How Good Is It?

The Roland Go 88 is one of Roland’s super affordable digital pianos that has raised the bar when it comes to budget digital pianos.

In this article, we are going to break do the Roland GO 88 and everything that makes it a great keyboard.

My opinion is that the Roland Go 88 is an entry-level digital piano that is good for beginners and musicians who are wanting to add another keyboard to their collection. It works nicely for composing songs in unorthodox places since it light-weight and can be powered by batteries. The onboard speakers are a great touch as you don’t need to have an amp with you. Continue reading to see my final thoughts on this keyboard.

If you’re looking for a complete guide, I recommend viewing our post here which breaks down the best digital pianos and keyboards.

Roland Go 88 Review

The key-bed is decent, although not my favorite as it doesn’t have the traditional Roland digital piano keys.

Keep in mind that this is an inexpensive keyboard, so they have to cut costs at certain spots and this is just one of those spots.

I would’ve expected weighted keys, but after all, it’s not the end of the world since this isn’t Roland’s main focus with this keyboard.

This being said, when I began playing chords, it still played nicely and this was a surprise to me.

Bluetooth For Connecting To Devices

This is a big win here for Roland. I think going Bluetooth is extremely smart as there are so many great learning tools that beginners can take advantage of with Bluetooth technology. Look to see more companies taking advantage of this in the near future.

The technology works great on the Roland Go 88 and you can use it with all of your favorite piano apps to take your game to the next level.

If you would like to read about more Bluetooth digital pianos, you can do so in this roundup here.

The speakers are Bluetooth which allows you to connect to your device and immediately get sound. 

Play Anywhere

With this keyboard you have the ability to literally play anywhere you would like at any time. This is a big selling point for me. I don’t personally think this is a groundbreaking instrument, but I think it is great for beginners and musicians who want something portable.

Musicians love the ability to write wherever they are and I think is why Roland decided to make such a portable instrument.

The Sounds

The sounds to me are decent. I don’t believe they’re the best sounds Roland has to offer, but keep in mind the price point here. There aren’t any crazy sounds on this, but it’s also not what this keyboard is designed for. This is meant to be a nice, cheap keyboard to get you started.

A plus is that there’s an onboard metronome built into the Go. This means you can turn a click on if you’re learning a piece of practicing drills to a metronome. I’ve always personally loved this on the keyboards that I have owned as I think that metronomes are vital for pianists growth.

Because the speakers are Bluetooth, you can actually use the speakers to listen to music from your phone if you really desired to. I think this is neat as you can learn songs by ear from doing this.

Overall

The main thing I don’t like with this keyboard is the lack of weighted keys. I get that this is a portable keyboard, but I think weighted keys would make this even more of a win for keyboardists. To some, it might not be the end of the world, but to some, it might.

I think overall that this is a good keyboard that most pianists will get a lot of use out of. If you’re an advanced pianist, it may not be your main keyboard, but you will still have fun playing on it. I would use this as a secondary instrument to maybe take with me on trips or writing sessions as it’s light and quality.

If you’re a beginner then this is a good look at an 88 key keyboard that is still, after all, a Roland keyboard. The Bluetooth and portability are the main things the Roland Go 88 has to offer in my opinion.

One thing that I would recommend, is to also check out the Roland FP10. This is a little bit more money, but a nice step up if you’re looking for a digital piano.

Conclusion

Have you played the Roland GO88? What are your thoughts? Let me know below!