RK-500
VIMA Recreational Keyboard
RK-500: VIMA Recreational Keyboard
Explore a new world of sight and sound
Features


Experience a new world of audio/visual entertainment with VIMA, a unique and exciting instrument that will transform any room into an interactive theater of sight and sound. The flagship VIMA RK-500 is packed with hundreds of incredible sounds for you to play, all under the control of an authentic-feeling 88-note keyboard. The RK-500 comes loaded with a library of timeless songs to listen to and play along with, and you can add songs to your library as you wish. It can also play back CDs, and it lets you connect two microphones for karaoke fun. As you listen, play, and/or sing, the RK-500 can display a variety of images on the internal LCD or on a connected big-screen television to enhance the entertainment experience. It can even display the musical score “DigiScore®” or a piano-roll simulation of a song that’s playing back. Your parties and special gatherings will never be the same with VIMA as the recreational centerpiece.
- Unique audio/visual instrument for the ultimate in home entertainment
- 88-key Progressive Hammer Action keyboard with Escapement
- 128-voice sound engine
- 264 instrument Tones, featuring grand piano, and eight drum sets
- Echo and Voice effects (Kids, Bear, Robot, Duck, Alien, Computer, Female, Male, Pitch Correct, and harmonization to melody)
- Visual accompaniment modes, including Piano Roll, Slide Show, DigiScore notation, Lyric display
- Connect and incorporate portable audio/video devices, digital cameras, video cameras, CD and DVD players
- Powerful, high-quality sound system built in
Great Sounds, Natural Feel
The RK-500’s built-in sounds faithfully reproduce the characteristics of real instruments, and more. The piano, in particular, is based on stereo multi-sampling that fully captures the nuances of a full concert grand piano — from impressively strong bass end to sparkling treble. To complete the experience, the RK-500 is equipped with a Progressive Hammer-action Keyboard with escapement, which is provides an authentic, natural touch.
Integrated Music & Images
VIMA directly links to large-screen TVs and digital movie devices, so you can incorporate your own sounds with movies and images. Connect a host of devices, such as a portable audio/video device, digital cameras, video cameras, and CD and DVD Players. While you’re playing the keyboard with your right hand, for example, you can change the images with your left, as if you were playing the visual media as a musical instrument. Enjoy easy control over your music and images!
Friendly Features
First-timers and pros alike can enjoy the RK-500. The large, easy-to-read buttons are arranged according to function, making it easy to locate the controls you need. When a song is playing, the song title is clearly displayed on the onboard LCD panel. The LCD is also a touch panel, enabling a wide variety of friendly point-and-touch operation functions.
Songs for Everyone
The RK-500’s onboard songs span a wide variety of genres, ranging from timeless standards and pop hits to classical music, jazz, and beyond. The ever-expanding VIMA TUNES™ CD-ROM library (available separately) will continue to provide you with an ongoing source of new titles for building your collection of music.
Special Effects = Extra Fun
The RK-500 is equipped with echo and other fun vocal effects to enhance and alter your voice. Get into the party mood by changing from a woman’s voice to a man’s during a duet, or croon with uniquely altered voices that sound like a duck, robot, alien, and more. In addition, you can use the RK-500’s D Beam to make smooth alterations to the sound by moving your hand over the invisible beam. A simple hand motion can add an expressive touch to your songs.
High-Quality Sound System
Equipped with Roland’s state-of-the-art speaker system, the RK-500 delivers a rich, resonant, full-frequency sound that has presence and depth. Fill your room with great sound, and it’s all built into the RK-500, so there are no additional speakers, amps, or cables to connect.
In-Home Karaoke
To start a karaoke party, simply plug in a microphone (sold separately). With multi-colored lyrics displayed on a large-screen TV, everyone can sing along. If you connect another mic, you can enjoy duet performances. Use the supplied remote control to select songs and play, return, and stop, or to adjust the tempo and key. You can use Melody Mute to reduce the recorded voices on prerecorded CDs so you can sing lead vocals with the original backing band.
Piano Roll and Notation Display
During playback, you can see a graphical Piano Roll representation of the sound using computer-generated images. There are two modes: One is inspired by the classic punch-hole paper Pianola rolls of the early 20th century, while the other mode displays notes in colored bands. Additionally, you can chose to watch traditional music notation scrolling onscreen as the music plays. It’s educational and fun!
Single-Finger Play Mode
While a song is playing back, you can have fun by adding your own contribution to the music using a single finger. If you want to learn a song, the Tempo Adjustment and Melody Mute functions will make the process easier for you. For example, you can practice songs as they play back at slower tempo. By muting the melody part, you can play along with a full orchestra or band.
Recommended Sounds
Each of the RK-500’s songs is automatically programmed with three recommended Tone choices for the melody. When you activate a song, you can instantly choose from the trio of recommended Tones with just one button. You’ll likely find the sound you want from the selection of three, but you can always freely choose other sounds too.
Specs
- Keyboard
- Keyboard
- 88 keys (Progressive hammer action keyboard with escapement)
- Touch Sensitivity
- Medium, Heavy, Light, Fixed
- Sound Generator
- Sound Generator
- Conforms to GM2 / GM / GS / XG Lite
- Max. Polyphony
- 128 voices
- Tones
- 264 tones, 8 drum sets + Sound Effects, Manual Drums
- Master Tune
- 415.3--466.2 Hz (adjustable in increments of 0.1 Hz)
- Stretched Tuning
- On, Off
- Key Control
- -6--+5 semitone
- Effect
- Reverb: OFF, 1--10
- Player
- Tempo
- 50--200 % (Quarter Note=10--500)
- Beat
- 2/2, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 3/8, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8
- Melody Channel
- 1--16
- Count
- Count In, Count Down
- Melody
- Mute (Center Cancel), Guide
- Others
- Recommended In SMF, Demo
- Memory
- USB Flash Memory
- Playable Software: Standard MIDI Files (Format 0/1), JPEG picture, Save: Standard MIDI Files (Format 0)
- CD Drive
- File System: CD-ROM (ISO9660 Level 1), Music CD, Playable Software: Standard MIDI Files (Format 0/1), JPEG picture
- Internal Memory
- Over 60 songs, Over 400 photos
- User Memory (Favorites)
- 128 MBytes
- D Beam
- Pitch, Filter, Volume, Snare Roll, Applause, Wind Chime
- Video
- Piano Roll, Slide Show, DigiScore, Lyrics, Cam1, Cam2, DVD, Ext In, Transition
- Others
- Rated Power Output
- 50 W x 2
- Speakers
- 20 cm x 2, 8 cm x 2
- Display
- Graphical Color LCD (TFT) 800 x 480 dots (with backlit)
- Pedal
- Damper Pedal (half-pedal recognition), Soft Pedal (half-pedal recognition), Sostenuto Pedal
- Vocal Echo
- 2 types
- Vocal Effects
- Kids, Bear, Robot, Duck, Alien, Computer, Female, Male, Pitch Correct, Music Files
- USB (MIDI)
- Operating System: Windows: XP Home SP2 or later/XP Professional SP2 or later, Macintosh: Mac OS X v10.2 or later
- Connectors
- Audio Output jacks (L/Mono, R), Expression jack, Video Input jacks, Cam1 jacks (Video, S-Video), Cam2 jacks (Video, S-Video), Video Output jacks (Video, S-Video), Analog RGB Output connector (15-pin D-Sub type), USB connector, Ext In jacks (Video, L, R), Headphone Jack (Stereo) x 2, Mic Input Jack (Vocal) x 2, DVD input jacks (Video, S-Video, L, R), MIDI In connector, MIDI Out connector, USB memory connector
- Power Supply
- AC 115 V, AC 117 V, AC 220 V, AC 230 V, AC 240 V (50/60 Hz)
- Power Consumption
- 230 W
- Accessories
- Application Guide, Owner's Manual, CD-ROM (Roland Photo
- Options
- Camera Stand: BST-RK500, DVD Stand: DST-RK500, USB memory, Expression Pedal: EV-5, EV-7
- Size and Weight
- Width
- 1,395 mm
- 54-15/16 inches
- Depth
- 611 mm
- 24-1/16 inches
- Height
- 1,030 mm
- 40-9/16 inches
- Weight
- 83.0 kg
- 183 lbs.
- including the piano stand and the music rest
- *The specifications are subject to change without notice.
Accessories
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HL650684
The Best Songs Ever, Vol. 1
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 200 book, “The Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650685
The Best Songs Ever, Vol. 2
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 200 book, “The Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650686
The Best Songs Ever, Vol. 3
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 200 book, “The Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650687
The Best Songs Ever, Vol. 4
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 200 book, “The Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650688
The Best Songs Ever, Vol. 5
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 200 book, “The Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650689
More of the Best Songs Ever, Vol. 1
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 57 book, “More of the Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650690
More of the Best Songs Ever, Vol. 2
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 57 book, “More of the Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650691
More of the Best Songs Ever, Vol. 3
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 57 book, “More of the Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650692
More of the Best Songs Ever, Vol. 4
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 57 book, “More of the Best Songs Ever.”
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HL650693
More of the Best Songs Ever, Vol. 5
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 57 book, “More of the Best Songs Ever.”
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HL00650703
Songs of the ’60s, Vol. 1
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 232 book, “Songs of the ’60s.”
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HL00650704
Songs of the ’60s, Vol. 2
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 232 book, “Songs of the ’60s.”
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HL00650699
More Songs of the ’60s, Vol. 1
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 371 book, “More Songs of the ’60s.”
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HL00650700
More Songs of the ’60s, Vol. 2
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 371 book, “More Songs of the ’60s.”
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HL00650705
Songs of the ’70s
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 233 book, “Songs of the ’70s.”
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HL00650701
More Songs of the ’70s, Vol. 1
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 372 book, “More Songs of the ’70s.”
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HL00650702
More Songs of the ’70s, Vol. 2
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 372 book, “More Songs of the ’70s.”
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HL00650712
The Pop/Rock Era: The ’50s Vol. 1
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 408 book, “The Pop/Rock Era: The ’50s.”
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HL00650713
The Pop/Rock Era: The ’50s Vol. 2
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 408 book, “The Pop/Rock Era: The ’50s.”
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HL00650706
The Pop/Rock Era: The ’60s
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 409 book, “The Pop/Rock Era: The ’60s.”
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HL00650707
The Pop/Rock Era: The ’70s
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 410 book, “The Pop/Rock Era: The ’70s.”
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HL00650714
The Pop/Rock Era: The ’80s
VIMA Tunes CD-ROM companion for Hal Leonard’s EZ Play 411 book, “The Pop/Rock Era: The ’80s.”
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EV-5/-7
Expression Pedals
Durable pedals for controlling a wide range of effects parameters.
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RH-200
Headphones
Comfortable and accurate headphones for superior monitoring.
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RH-200S
Stereo Headphones
Offer the clarity, sonic accuracy, and comfort needed for mixing and silent practice.
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RH-300
Stereo Headphones
Roland’s top-of-the-line headphones.
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DR-30
Microphone
Roland deepens its audio product line with the introduction of three new microphones — two for the stage, one for the studio.
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DR-50
Microphone
Roland deepens its audio product line with the introduction of three new microphones — two for the stage, one for the studio.
Downloads
Brochures & Catalogs
Updates & Drivers
- Vima Tunes Player (Windows XP)
- This is the player application for Vima Tunes.
NOTE: This file is a compressed zip file that requires "unzipping" after you download. You can do this by using the WinZip application on your PC running Windows XP, or by using Stuffit Expander on your Macintosh (needed for OS 10.2.x or below). If you're using Mac OS X 10.3.x or above, then you will not need Stuffit Expander.
When you double-click on the downloaded file that you saved to your computer, WinZip or Stuffit Expander should startup automatically. If you do not have WinZip (PC) or Stuffit Expander (Mac) installed, then you must download it, install it, and extract/unzip the update files folder before you can complete the update procedure.
You can get WinZip from the following link:http://winzip.com
You can get Stuffit Expander from the following link:http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/ - Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 1.0.0 for Windows 8
IMPORTANT NOTICE: When the Windows SmartScreen is displayed upon installing the driver, please perform the following procedure:
1. Click [ More info ]
2. Click [ Run anyway ]
* Skip Step 1 If your PC is not connected to the internet.- Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 1.0.0 for Windows 7 32-bit Edition
- This is the Roland Digital Piano driver for Microsoft(R) Windows 7.
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 1.0.0 for Windows 7 64-bit Edition
- This is the Roland Digital Piano driver for Microsoft(R) Windows 7 64-bit Edition.
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 1.0.0 for Windows Vista 32-bit Edition
- This is the Roland Digital Piano driver for Microsoft(R) Windows Vista(TM).
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 1.0.0 for Windows Vista 64-bit Edition
- This is the RD-300GX, RD-300SX, FP-7, FP-4, and V-Piano driver for Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Vista(TM) 64-bit Operating Systems.
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 2.0.2 for Windows XP/2000
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Mac OS X 10.8
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Mac OS X 10.7
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 1.0.0 for Mac OS X 10.6
- This is the Roland RD driver for Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
- Roland Digital Piano Driver Version 1.2.0 for Mac OS X 10.5 and Earlier
- This is the Roland RD driver for Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) and earlier.
Support
If you have questions about operating your Roland, BOSS or Cakewalk product, please check our Knowledge Base for answers to the most common questions.
You can also contact our Product Support department by phone or email.
In addition, we have a library of Owner’s Manuals and Support Documents that you can download and reference. If Support Documents are available for this product, they will be listed below.

