I was hoping for a new high-end Arranger from Roland even though I thought it probably wouldn't happen at this NAMM show. The global economy is still wrecking havoc and I suppose that has had something to do with not only Roland's meager offerings at winter NAMM '10 but also Yamaha and Korg's too. Actually Roland didn't do too bad as they did release several new products. The new VP-7 vocal processor module looks interesting for keyboardists wanting a vocalizer as well as the new 76 key V-Combo VR-700 B3 Organ Clone (with Piano and other voices included). One thing missing from the VR-700 is possibly still no way to route separate outputs simultaneously for Organ and e.g. Piano sound, leaving it unchanged from its older sibling the VR-760 it looks like.

A real letdown was the fact the RD700GX Stage Piano (released at the same time as the Fantom G) just got an expansion sound upgrade taken from Roland's V-Piano technology from what I understand, whilst the Fantom G received nada, zip, zilch, goose egg i.e. nothing at all.

Disappointing to say the least, and it has given me more incentive and a wake up call to seriously consider dumping my Fantom G7 for a new "76 key" high-end arranger somewhere down the line. Whether that's this year, next year, or the year after, only Yamaha, Korg, and/or Roland know for sure. Oh yeah, maybe an Audya II could be in the mix perhaps too. Although, hopefully at a much more reasonable price point.

All the best,
Mike