Some VERY significant omissions still peg the BK-9 as MOTL. There are only 2 UPR Parts, most TOTL arrangers have 3. There is only one LWR Tone and one MBASS (G70 had two LWR and the MBASS). There is no VH, only EQ and reverb for a vocal mike in (and I can't for the life of me find where in the manual the Mike Reverb is discussed, or whether it is separate for the arranger's reverbs). The action comes from a very MOTL WS, not Roland's usual butter smooth TOTL action, build quality is the same as their sub-$1000 BK-3 (buttons and dials, etc.). And of course, no touch screen (which is the worst decision Roland made with the BK-9, IMO).

Roland have taken the approach this time of taking their BOTL, and adding stuff to it, rather than the G/E series approach, which was to take the TOTL and start taking features OFF of it. I must confess, I would have preferred the latter.

But taken as a 76 MOTL, the BK-9 fares pretty well. It's only when you start to compare it to older TOTL Roland's and arrangers like the PA3x, Audya and T4 that you see where it sits in comparison. But then again, at a grand less, what you want for free? A rubber biscuit?