Mo.... I agree that you said you wanted to pay 'a bit' more. Not as much as Roland want you to pay, but hey, it's your purchasing decision... So you want pretty much ALL the E80's features at the E60's weight (and being over 30 lb., even THAT falls outside of the 25 lb. target by SOME players here!). I still haven't seen you post about what you ARE prepared to give up for that $1500...

Why have we turned into a nation (or world!) of whiners and weaklings...? Back in the 70's, we (or our more elderly contemporaries) lugged around MUCH heavier equipment, and somehow got the job done. Have we atrophied that far?

Look, I understand that for many of you, key-feel, and solidity mean nothing. Some of you can't even tell the difference between a G70 and a T2! I don't expect you to 'get' it. Perhaps you learned on super lightweight keyboards with crappy actions and are used to it. Perhaps your playing level isn't up to the point at which a decent action would make a difference. Who knows (or cares)?

But the fact is, the entire keyboard industry makes keyboards that are WAY heavier than your 30 lb. target. If you were the majority opinion, do you think they would continue to do so? MOST keyboard players seem to prefer a solid keybed and a substantial weight, especially to 76-ers and 88's. Just be grateful that the arranger industry IS prepared to make ultra-lightweights for the seniors that often play them.

But PLEASE don't try to persuade us that this lightness comes with NO drawbacks or compromises. If that were so, there would not be a single keyboard out there over 30 lb.!

But, yes, I agree that they could be made a BIT lighter. My G1000 weighed about 5 lb. less than my G70. It was a bit physically smaller, and made primarily of plastic and composites, but had exactly (or close to it) the same key-bed. But that still put it at 40 lb.. WAY outside your target weight. Didn't stop it from being one of the most popular arrangers during it's product cycle....

Do you think that Roland, or any other manufacturer of 76's and 88's does NO market research? Do you think that if the vast majority of players looking for a 76 note arranger were unwilling to buy a 45-50 lb. arranger that they would still go ahead and make one? I'm afraid that you might have to admit that your feelings about weight are in the minority. The fact that these arrangers DO sell seems to indicate that for what Roland consider their target consumer, this is OK...

At least, these buyers are prepared to admit that shaving it down to 30 lb. would involve more structural and 'feel' compromises than they are prepared to take. When they eventually learn how to make an arranger that feels as good and solid as my G70 at 30 lb., I will be the first to buy one. But while there is any form of compromise, I am prepared to lug around a keyboard that is still 80 lb. lighter that the keyboards I used in the 70's and 80's!

What we have here is a failure to deal with reality. If all arrangers WERE under 30 lb. (and felt the way they do now), you wouldn't want to listen to me whine all the time about how much like a toy they feel. "Deal with it...' you would say. Now just flip that around.

Or maybe I can interest you in a balsa-wood piano? Or a chipboard B3.....?