Peace indeed Chas! Ok, now we have moved on, yes Ian, we have Yamaha arrangers in my store. We stock PSR-E223, 323, 423, S710, S910, all the DGX's and Tyros 4. We also have the whole Korg range. However, I am not here to tout for business.

Many years ago I worked for the biggest retailer of these intruments in the UK, and was invited to Roland Italy to have a look round and give feedback to the designers on their existing TOTL model at that time, the VA-76. I sat down and explained, along with another 5 top dealers from the UK, exactly what I thought should be in a new model. 2 years later, the G70 appeared. It had almost everything I asked for in it, though in fact I didn't like it when it arrived.

This wasn't due to the feature set, but the piano sample was litteraly swimming in Reverb (in my opinion again!) I spoke to my Rep, he fed the information back to Italy and it was fixed in a sofware update within a few weeks.

I had been holding off buying a Fantom X8 when it came out, waiting to see what the G-70 would be like. As I was so dissapointed, I went ahead and purchased a Fantom X8. A few weeks later, I was more than happy with the updated G70. So happy was I, that I bought it too.

When I was at the factory, the designers listened to everything we had to say intently. They really respected our opinion and were grateful for not just gratifying praise of their existing model, but also constructive critisism, and wishes for a new model.

Things we asked for included - the full VK8 organ, all the DisCover5 facilities such as cover and makeup tools, better sounds etc. We got all those! Also a media port - I had to get out my laptop and show the interface for the media bay on it to get my point across as they initally didn't understand what I was going on about. You could swap in a floopy drive or a CD drive on the laptop, and I said I wanted that kind of facility on the keyboard. At the time there was nothing else out with that feature. It became the PCMCIA slot on the back of the G70, so you could choose a media to save your song/styles/user programs to. We also asked for a return of the G1000 action (which most people told me they thought was better than the VA76 action, mostly due to the rough feel of the black keys). We asked for a colour touchscreen - got that too. Mark and Jump - got that too. Tempo-sync'd effects - got that too.

This is why I know Roland listen. I was one person in a multitude who visited the factory that year. I know they had visits from other countries too. I am sure Roland Canada and Roland US sent some people over too.

In the end, I came to view the G70 as a keyboard in which I had influenced the design of, and had gotten everything I wanted. I was litterally over the moon with it.

Roland still conduct research in this way. It is great that they get their top dealers to feedback ideas from customers. The designer who was at this years NAMM gave me his email address, and asked me to pass on any ideas I had directly to him. For obvious reasons I am not going to give that out, but I don't mind offering to pass on ideas for you too. Just let me know what you want!

At the end of the day, we are all musicians, and most will be far more skilled than me. I am self taught, but really have to work at everything I play. I am content with my current abilities though, as I largely play for my own amusement (other than shop work.)

Re the HX1, no I never got that one new. When they came out (1987) I was 16. Once I was nearly 18, I purchased a brand new HX5 System 4. I had to get my mother to front a loan for me. It cost me £6k. I had to get a job to pay for it! I gigged with it for a while, and had a residency in a local hotel. Unfortunately I had to give it all up when I later joined the Police. However, I kept my HX for many years. I have now owned 4 of them, as I have had to buy and then sell as I had space in the house for them. Young married life was hard, and cash was not always available. I have had to sell many instruments over the years to help pay the bills at times. (I really regret the Fantom X8 going) My currewnt HX-1 was actually put together from 2 different ones which I purchased to get the top spec machine. I have an atari emulator and the editing software for it - the main reason for going to such lengths to get one - as I believed that like the Roland arrangers I liked so much, I would be able to edit and customise the sounds to my liking. Little did I realise that you have to start each operator from scratch as every value is zero'd. It is a total nightmare - one which I recommend people don't try to get involved with. You can't start with an existing patch, it's always a blank canvas. Having said that, as a midi controller for someone who can play with their feet too, it is absolutely ideal (imo) and suits me perfectly. I won't part with it again. I am at a stage in my life now where things have gotten a bit better financially and am settled into a larger house than I have had before. It is really heavy but does split down easily which I am sure you will be aware of. My father offered to give me his old Yamaha AR100 (much newer than my HX1) but I declined it as I wanted the 2 x 61 note keyboards and 25 note radiating pedalboard. The AR100 is a spinet with 49 note keyboards, and so wouldn't suit my midi needs as well, though it's sounds are still passable.

Regards to all

John