I agree with turning off Roland Master EQ and compression (and, to be honest, most arrangers) if you are using a PA or decent studio monitors.

If you think about it, the onboard speakers in most (imho, all!) arrangers are pretty terrible, and can’t handle an arranger’s full dynamics at any decent level, and suffer from poor bass response. But the manufacturer slaps on aggressive EQ and compression to compensate. Unless you are using the built-ins or really crappy computer speakers, you are robbing your arranger of its dynamics. And those, compared to live music or well recorded music are already pretty compressed.

I keep my master compressor off at all times with one exception… if I’m in a performing situation that needs VERY quiet background music, but still energetic, I slap on the mastering compressor to tame the peaks.

I wish more people would try to appreciate the sound of their arranger without these artificial sound restrictions. You’d be amazed at how live they can sound when you’re not squeezing the bejeezus out of them!