Well, it finally arrived yesterday, so I've only had a couple of hours to fool with it. This is a very simple instrument to critique as it is one-dimensional. I'll start by saying it's a barrel of fun but certainly not for everybody. It's very simple to operate, as you'd expect, but would be a handful to use (effectively) along with an arranger in a OMB setting. I tried midi'ing it up to the pa1x (both directions) but just too ungainly, whichever one you used to drive the other. This KB would work well with another synth in a band setting with you doing the BV's and other synth parts. Of course, it is wonderful in the studio, which is how I will use it. It's probably a little overpriced but is well built and does what it does better than any vocoder/harmonizer/voice processor that I have used or owned so far. It only has 49 keys but that is sufficient for it's intended use. Expression can be achieved using either a exp. pedal (EV5), d-beam, or mic input level (very neat...your voice is the expression pedal). It also has some string voices which I would consider average, at best. The choral voices blend well with the vocoder/processed voices, giving you a really big choral sound. There is a Scat Voice (best used for jazz solos) that is to die for. It changes with key velocity and with a little practice, gives some really tasty effects. Believe it or not, assuming you can play (not sing), you can come very close to that Don Lewis demo on the Roland site. Although (as Squeak noticed) you can record a playable loop, it is only 10 seconds long and so is of limited use. It was intended for a sound-check only and cannot be saved. Another small deficiency is that it only recognizes 3 midi channels (send and receive), one for each of the playable sections. This makes it difficult to be driven by say, an arranger, as each section will only respond to a fixed midi channel (might be confusing but once you tried it, you'd immediately see what the problem was). Lastly, the quality of the vocal sounds is outstanding (the reason you bought it in the first place) and for anyone who can't sing (either never could or time has eroded the old vocal cords), it's a godsend. The tones are determined by the keys you play and not by the tones you input through the mic so the pitch correction is built in (great for some of you that have some ah..pitch problems....you know who you are ). It does so well at disguising my voice (or lack, thereof) that I may actually put up a small demo. My problem is trying to find the right material to display it's talents (not mine). We'll see.

chas

Cool, glad you're finding use for this new unit I look forward to any demos you post. I agree for the arranger player, this may be a little difficult to use in a live situation--which is where the onboard VH's come in handy. However, in a studio or live band this beast will probably shine like there's no tomorrow.

personally I don't see the 10 seconds as too much of a limitation. That's a decent amount of time for a looped vocal phrase. I like that you can use it "live" in the way Don Lewis did in that demo.

Enjoy your new toy--keep us posted on your progress with it as well.

Regards,
Squeak

Congrats with your new unit it sounds very interesting....hope to hear some of your work with it soon !!

Good Luck

Just noticed a review of my newest toy in this months Keyboard magazine. Got an ok review. I'm still having tons of fun with it. Finally found a mike that sounds good with it (with my voice). A Equitek E-100 played through a Rolls Phantom Power converter. Sounds better than the dynamics that I tried (SM57/SM58). Just thought I'd pass it on in case some of the church music directors/choir directors here might be interested (that would be a great application for it).

chas