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Roland C-30 Digital Harpsichord Rental

SKU: C-30 Category:

Description

DIGITAL HARPSICHORD RENTAL

Rent this digital harpsichord for you event.  From solo performance to ensemble playing, the C-30 provides the perfect sound and touch for baroque music. Enjoy the best of both worlds — a new-generation digital harpsichord with authentic sound and touch, excellent playability, and soul-stirring expression.  Perfect for early music enthusiasts, students, piano teachers, harpsichord teachers, orchestras, chamber music groups, religious organizations, schools and universities, nutcracker performances, Handel’s messiah, basso continuo, etc.

Rental Information:

  • Contact us for specific quote based on your needs (Typical Rental Fee:  $150 for 3-ish day rental, $200 per week, longer term also available)
  • Local area only (~100 mile radius from our store)
  • Delivery & Pickup services are available for an additional charge
  • We only have one for rent, so it’s subject to availability
  • Click HERE to fill out rental application

December 8, 2020:  Are you wanting to buy a C30 Digital Harpsichord?  Sorry they are no longer made.  We have sold the last C-30 that Roland had made back in April 2020 when we had purchased the last 30 C-30 Harpsichords that Roland had manufactured.  We were the last music store in the world to have any new ones left.  It is very unfortunate that the pandemic has brought to Roland’s attention that the market is simply too small (not profitable) for Roland to keep manufacturing this much needed item for this niche market.  Every one of them that we have sold has received incredible praise from the musicians that play them.  We sold our very first Roland digital harpsichord (an earlier model) to a local Austin school almost 30 years ago that is still used on a regular basis for practice and performances.  Our store manager was one of 10 piano dealers in the world that had the unique privilege to tour the factory where this instrument was made as well as tour the Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments featuring the famous French Harpsichord that the C-30 was modeled after and has owned his personal C-30 since the day it came on the market and plays it often.  We are sad to see that this market will no longer be filled by Roland nor any other manufacturer.

Why did Roland make the C-30?  CLICK HERE

For more information: Complete Specs & Info at Roland.com

Our Favorite VIDEOS from various YouTube Channels:

  • RolandChannel:  Multiple C-30 Demonstration Videos with Hector Olivera
  • FrogMusicPress:  Awesome video explaining the details of this instrument with audio examples of each detail explained
  • BrittMusic:  Capital Music Center’s Store Manager’s C-30 Videos
  • James Gonzales: Local Austin Area C-30 Owner, Multiple C-30 Videos, and very good explanations of the lute, tuning temperaments, etc.
  • CapitalMusic:  3 young students of Capital Music Center trying out the C-30
  • Chris Benton: Johann Sebastian Bach – Sarabande from French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816
  • RolandIberia:  Fantastic Performance of “La Marche des Scythes from Pancrace Royer” on the C-30

Our favorite C-30 owner quotes:

  • The C-30 is absolutely awesome. I took piano/organ lessons for several years and I’m a huge early music enthusiast. I’ve always wanted a real harpsichord, but when I found out this existed I had to have it. It’s great that I don’t have to spend time tuning, and the organ sounds and historical temperaments were a huge bonus. After a month or so playing in Werckmeister or meantone, it’s so much less satisfying to listen to equal temperament now!
  • The C-30 is glorious! It arrived in perfect shape. It is much superior to the harpsichord I used to have. I was able to move all the components by myself. It fits awesomely well in my music studio. The real harpsichord took a lot of time to tune, and was out of tune almost immediately. No problem with the C-30. The sounds are remarkably authentic: I love the sound of the “dampers” falling on the “strings.” On the real harpsichord the dampers were always out of adjustment, creating a not very pleasant bleeding of resonance: not so with the C-30. The action has a wonderful feel, and this is also a nice touch. What makes it most addictive for me is the freedom not to play in equal temperament, which always sounds out of tune. On the C-30, the only chords that are out of tune are remote keys: exactly as the good minds of the baroque intended. ~Jerry G.
  • October 15, 2019:  The C-30 arrived Friday night, which was fortuitous. Assembly and setup went easily, good instructions. We used it Saturday in rehearsal and an out of town concert. It is incredibly easy to move, and since I had a wedding, then had to jump in the car and drive 90 min to the concert venue, it was very handy not to have to tune it. The sound is quite serviceable. I’ve been doing early music for 50 years now as my main thing, so I probably will always prefer acoustic instruments, but the sound of the Roland harpsichords (French and Flemish) is definitely better than a mediocre acoustic one, and the positiv sound was really pretty good in context. We did Bach, Jesu meine Freude. The convenience is amazing after years of schlepping instruments. I’m getting to an age where moving 100 lb instruments isn’t really feasible, even if some help is available. I am very pleased with the purchase, your service, your price, and the ease of use is wonderful. It’s also useful for home practice, and I was able to practice with headphones in another room even while the choir was rehearsing something else. That is very handy. The keyboard size, dip and weight were very comfortable. I’ll have several performances of Messiah in December, and the organ sound will be great for that. I play chamber music with an ensemble that, in addition to Baroque works, does about 1 contemporary chamber work with harpsichord a year. The 20th c works are often assuming a Pleyel sort of instrument, in terms of size and ease of register change, so having the full 5 octave compass, without the excessive size and weight of such an instrument, is fine. I see that some things can actually be programmed onto the damper pedal for quick changes and I’ll be looking into that. These performances are house concerts, so again, ease of load in, small size, and no time needed for tuning are real pluses. I think it generated some interest and I did mention where I got it to a couple of my colleagues. I will certainly send them your way if they want more info. So all in all, thank you so much for your help in this, and I feel I made a good purchase. All best! ~Julia H.
  • May 2020:  I am very happy with this instrument!  Thank you for all the help and patience.  Pianist, Harpsichordist & Harpsichord Technician at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

If you were looking for the Roland C-230 (which was discontinued several years ago) the C-30 may still fill your needs since it also contains two positive organ stops, celesta, and a fortepiano.