This is my first post here, and I'm a newbie as far as arranger keyboards and synths are concerned (which will probably be evident after this post!).

I am in the market for a 'keyboard'. My main criteria are: range/quality of sound, on-board sequencer, and portability. I currently play guitar in a small church group and want to add some variety. The main brands available in my locality are Yamaha and Roland. Korg and Kurzweill also feature, but best availability is of Yamaha and Roland. I have ruled out Yamaha as I don't particularly like their 'sound' nor the 'feel' of the keyboards in the PSR range (including the PSR9000). I know others will disagree, but this is a very subjective area!

I have narrowed my choices down to Roland - either VA7 or XP60/80. I realise these are different kinds of animal, but here's how I see the options stacking up:

VA7 - offers me huge variety of quality sounds without having to outlay on expansion boards. It has what seems to me a fairly intuitive interface (I don't need to worry about extra screen-touches or button-presses slowing my performances - it is not a factor for me). It has built-in speakers (ok - not a lot of power, but OK for house /small hall gigs), so is quite portable. It also has Variphrase and built-in styles (not on my requirements list, but could be fun to experiment with).

XP60/80 - offers also great quality sounds, but need to purchase expansion boards to get the variety of the VA7. Interface seems a little more difficult than the VA7, but manageable. Needs external amplification, adding to the cost and reducing portability. Does not have built-in styles - user needs to program everything, or so the dealer told me.

I have been to my dealer several times for auditions. He always pushes the XPs, and did not seem to regard the VA7 too well (in fairness he did not seem as knowledgeable about it as he was with the XPs). I have read a lot about the XPs and VA7 on this and other sites. I get the impression that the XPs are very much loved, while the VA7 has its critics. Price-wise, when I add in the cost of amplification, plus an expansion board or 2, the cost of XP60 vs VA7 is very comparable, so my choice is not down to cost.

Based on my requirements, I am veering to the VA7. But I want to make sure I'm not missing something with the XP60/80. Any advice about this particular choice would be most welcome. In particular, how do the sequencers compare on these two platforms? The XPs seem to have some nice additional features like arpeggiator, but I'm not sure how useful that really is (as I say, I'm fairly new to this).

Thanks for any help provided.

Hi John

I you want an arranger, your choice is made. Get the VA-7. The XP are not arrangers: they do not use styles. The XPs are nice keyboards, but it could be your dealer is pushing them because they may be replaced next month. A more realistic alternative is the Roland G-1000 or Em-2000, since those are arrangers. However, I do not see any reason you would not be happy with the VA-7.

For my uses, the VA-7 lacks two things, vocal harmony and expansion boards. The Roland E-600 is the only Roland arranger with vocal harmony. You would be better off getting a VA-7 and adding a harmonizer. The XP have expansion slots, but, again, are not arrangers. One other option: Roland may introduce a higher-end arranger next year. However, the VA-7 appears to be a good choice for you.

the reason your dealer pushs the XP's because the market of this keyboards are seems very slow this days.as you have noticed on www.rolandus.com that you will get USD100 cash back if you got XP-60/80.for the VA-7 it's in CK devision and may be your dealer are not a CK dealer.

my opinion is that you go for the VA-7 if you don't like to spend money after buying your keyboard for any other options.the VA-7 have all you need and you wount need any thing to support the keyboard.plus you got a sampler, 128 voice polyphonic,and a huge collection of nice sounds and drums that will fit your needs 99%.plus it's an arranger so you got styles incase you want to play by your self.and many other things that you will like once you get it.if you want to go for the XP's I suggest you wait because I think that very soon roland's new workstations will come out(may be XV-61/76 or RS-7/9)because the xp's are old now .

hope this helps



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vic

John,
The VA-7 and the XP60/80 are all good boards, and being a former owner of the XP-60 I can honestly tell you that your best bet is the VA-7. Everything you pointed out leans towards you needing a good arranger. The XP60/80 ARE NOT ARRANGERS... Both are workstations. They have no styles or internal speakers. The biggest downfall to the XP series is that the boards really aren't worth a damn unless you get the expansion cards. Yeah the preset patches are ok, but they get old real fast. This was done intentionally by Roland. It's just there way of getting more money out of you. Plus the expansion cards are VERY expensive. They still run over $200 a piece in some places. The VA-7 has everything you want. If you got the money for it then buy it. You will not be disappointed at all.

Squeak