Alex, no argument here.... anyone that reads my posts, and surfs in at the Danish G70 site will allow that I am no apologist for Roland!!

However, I accused no-one of Roland bashing, dnj included, only a dig at the self-congratulary style of the topic and post. While the thread has definitely turned into a useful discussion, the original post doesn't seem to have been the reason for it! All I am trying to do is remind our members here how bad things got a while ago (and Donny was one of the more vocal participants), and to possibly try to not get the whole flame-war started again and lose even MORE useful members.

Without accurate sales figures (and NO-ONE is posting those, just 'impressions') all we have is conjecture. While I am willing to concede that Yamaha may indeed have a larger market share in the US, many factors play a part in that result. Technical superiority or overall user-friendliness may play a part in the result, but other factors need consideration,

Firstly (IMHO) Roland's disastrous decision to relegate their entire arranger line to the obscure CK division (in the US) with low store counts, product stocks and exorbitant prices (regional exclusivity results in higher markups). Plus Roland seem to be in an extraordinary state of transition right now........

My impression is (and I heard rumors to the same effect) that Roland cleared house after the lack-luster VA series, and brought in a lot of new blood to the arranger development team, who seem to have started almost from scratch with the G70. While this has brought many new and exciting features to the Roland line, it also saw the disappearance of several unsung, but useful, features that hopefully Roland are paying attention to.

Maybe Yamaha IS dominating the US market (arguments exist for that to be locally only), but many factors contribute to it, not just the arranger features. Only LISTENING to their customers will keep that continuing, and so far, I don't see ANY Yamaha response to the myriad requests for a 76 note Tyros. So there is room for improvement across the 'board.......

Once again, I call for more consideration of ways to improve these keyboards, and less self-congratulatory pats on the back for picking the market leader. Especially Donny, who has a better perspective after trying out so many arrangers, can't you come up with some requests to Yamaha for features you thought would improve your playing experience? Maybe the Makeup Tools from Roland, or the combined Style and SMF play concept from Ketron, or the Akai import from Korg?

While Yamaha may be the market leader, it sure doesn't make them perfect........