Tomorrow at 1 PM my Roland rep and the Keyboard Product Manager will be bringing to my store a new G70 to get my opinion on the new 76 key model. It will be the first time seen anywhere in the USA. I will report back after our meeting.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Good news George,

If it is anywhere as good as it looks, I betcha that some of our 9000Pro fans might jump to the Roland since Yamaha refuses to listen to their Customers in that regard.

Looking foreward to your valued opinion.
Let us know when you'll expect one to keep for your store.

I might swing down and testdrive one.

Eric

George ... Please ask about the 6 fills. Hopefully one will be a 'Break' fill!! I am curious how they are triggered? Also, how will the Roland pedal board (I think it is the FC7?)work with it. It has 'fill to original' 'fill to varition' etc.....Thanks

[This message has been edited by JCkeeys (edited 12-07-2004).]

Great, George. I am looking forward to the sound quality as compared to Tyros.

George,when you check out the G70...can you find out if Roland has changed it's saving method to a standard saving process without the need of the Roland Data Base Manager and format...Thanks..

Geo -
Also, will it be available in a 61 speaker model?
zuki

The most reliable way to compare the G70 with the Tyros George is of course to run both keyboards through the same sound system. And the sound system (speakers, PA, etc.), should be high end ones, as they tend to more accurately re-produce the true sound of an instrument.

As always, we look forward to your intricate and detailed evaluations.

Best regards,
Mike

george take pics

The G70 was here for 1 hour before it had to return to Roland. I got to play around with styles and sounds but didn't have time to try the vocal harmonizer or sequencer.

The keyboard looks great and there are lots of buttons. Those of you wishing it didn't have a touch screen will probably actually like this one compared to others I've used. I also thought that the touch screen was really easy to use and the soft "beep" heard when you touch the screen was not anoying at all. The Product Manager thought that you could probably turn off the "beep" if you wish but we didn't have an owners manual or the time to experiment.

The Color screen looks great and the navigation seemed very easy.
The sounds are very similar to the VA76 which utilize most of the "best of the Fantom" series. I thought there was too much effects processing being used on almost all the sounds and suggested that Roland modify these before being released early next year. If not, just as the VA7, you can modify the effects easily to suit your taste. As usual the Grand Piano X is a very warm beautiful piano. I tried the Saxes, Brass, Guitars, etc. and they sounded as I said previously, very similar to the other Roland products.

Next I wanted to see the layout of the style functions. I saw 1 "Intro" button followed by a "main" button and bellow this are the 4 variation buttons. I asked how these worked and how I would get to 6 fillins but only could see how to get to 4 of them. Remember, the product manager was only showing me the keyboard with his having very little time on this keyboard and no owners manual. When you push and turn on the "main" button light and select say variation 3 and then you hit and turn on "intro" button and select say variation 4, you now get the 4th intro and at the end you get variation 3 playing. There is a button next to the 4th variation button called "auto fill" which gives you the fill when you hit variation 1 - 4. I questioned how do you get 6? we didn't figure this one out.

The styles range from very familiar styles heard on the VA products to some really nice new styles. I listened to all the live type styles to compare the guitar strums and fingerpicking styles to the Korg PA and the Yamaha PSR3000 type products and found the Roland to not focus on the fingerpicking and strumming styles as much as the Yamaha or Korg. I didn't have time to try every style and wished I could have had the keyboard overnight to really go through everything.

The keyboard has the same type keys as found on the VA76. Having the sliders just under the screen is great.

I see this keyboard as a grown up version of the VA76 and those that have liked the Roland sounds and styles will be extremely pleased with this new board. The voices and styles will be much of what you have come to like from Roland with the addition of some all new styles.

I was disappointed that there no middle eastern styles available in the G70. I sell many of these pro arranger keyboard to middle eastern musicians that need these types of styles and the sounds associated with them. I would like to see Roland provide these styles and sounds either in the G70 when you take it home or if not, provide styles on a website like Korg has done for their customers.

I asked about the ability to move files freely between the keyboad and a computer and I was told that by hooking up a USB cable to a computer, I can copy and paste things from the computer to the 50MB of internal memory and then store this on a PC card if desired.

I don't know the price of the G70 at this point. The discussion was that it might end up costing somewhat higher than the VA76.

George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California



[This message has been edited by George Kaye (edited 12-08-2004).]

Hi,

I cannot resist letting you guys know that I actually OWN the G70 now.
I picked it up this afternoon and played it for about 4 hours...... for me a huge disappointment.

The demosongs, the Xpiano and the drawbars sound great, but the styles are VERY poor and sounds seem to come from the CANVAS-age.

I expected a lot, but now I realize again what a great machine my SD1 is!

The G70 leaves tomorrow : Back to the dealer.

seems like psr 3k roars again.

BUMMER can you return is ASAP if your not happy?

Right on, Roel

The final verdict is not out, but first impressions on this keyboard do not look good. On paper, this keyboard looks incredible. Maybe it's not as good as it looks.

Enjoying my PSR3000 immensely.

Beakybird

Hi Roel,

Does this mean that you are not happy with the G70 or is it because you had to return it back sice it was a demo keyboard?

Godfrey

That's great news for me since I also own a SD1! I never liked roland arranger keyboards anyway.
Two days ago I went to a presentation about the new Yamaha O1X mixer and the Motif ES7... and THAT'S A KEYBOARD! That piano sound is amazing!! If only I didn't need using styles...

Luis Santos

[This message has been edited by Luis.Santos (edited 12-09-2004).]

The G70 to me did not Seem impressive on paper. On paper it just seems to be restructuring the G1000 and VA760.

However, I will reserve final judgment until it is fully out and there are more reviews. If they could just have the 76 key action of the G 70 by its self, that I would get.

Afetr 3 years of aitng too......so sad....
I hope its more then hat people are saying about this new Roland Release.....can't wait til Fran Carango gives it a real TEST DRIVE

Oh yes, and hopefully an UNBIASED one....

I have always found that to appreciate whether a board is right for you...you have to spend 24 hours at home in your own environment to be able to make a true decision.

I spent some time at the Music Live Show UK with the G70 and under those show condition I thought it was very good. I would just pick fault with the sloppy feel of the pots (potentiometers)

The Price in UK is £2299.00 This was the price of the VA76.

[This message has been edited by Graham UK (edited 12-09-2004).]

Dreamer, I can be unbiased..really..I stand firm when I find what works for me[G1000]..There have been many Roland keyboards that I have passed on, even though they had some great features, they didn't meet my requirements..
One of the keyboards I initially sold after acouple of months was the original VA-7..down the road I picked up a version2 VA-7,and I really got to like it[I used it for a year,and just recently sold it to make room for a new model]..
DisCover 5 is another example,I liked some features but did not like the sounds overall[they seemed thinner than the G1000],and the smart media card was inconsistant[problems]..so I passed..
The VR760 is a great board..it lacked some midi control..If it was able to upload more drum patterns,it would be a keeper....I may still get another one..

The G70 on paper seems like it has most of what I am looking for in a keyboard...If there are things I do not like[getting around,file reads and saving,sounds etc.]I will voice my opinions..One of the things I was hoping for is MP3 reading capabilities, not available on the G70..
This will cause me to look at a few others, The Korg PA1Pro may still be a canidate, though it didn't light my fire the first time[and second time] I spent with it..
The Ketron Midijay may be something I could use[will have to try it out],as well as the Genesys module..The last 3 models above all have capability to play audio files[MP3]..

If the G70 is a bomb,I will voice my discontentment...If turns out to be great, I will say so without bias..

This afternoon I heard and played a moment
the G70 and was not disapointed at all.
It could me my next.

This situation reminds me of when I bought my Roland EXR-7 in August. The first days I thought that the EXR-7 was not that good at all, but after a week or so I really started to like the board and now I really appreciate it. People in general are skeptical to changes, so many act too fast and discard a product just because it's different to what they're used to. I don't say it's the case here, but it may be.

P.S.: If anyone wants me to put up a review of the EXR-7 I could probably do that soon.

------------------

Robert.

Yes please do. I would also be interested in knowing what you did with the harsh voices. Did you get an external amplifier?
Starkeeper

It does not look like the G-70 is off to a good start after hearing the first impressions of George, Roel and others. I am still waiting for our local dealers to get this 76 key arranger.

Seems to me the Korg Pa1Xpro still rules.

If the new Roland is priced around $3000, I would ask potential buyers to look at alternate solutions. The most obvious one is the Yamaha P250 88 key stage piano with the Yamaha PSR3000 arranger. This combo has a street price of $3200. What you get is the best graded piano action keys with the best Grand Piano sample I have ever heard on a digital piano. Just play a few notes with the sustain pedal and immediately you will feel the difference as the special sample with sustain takes effect.

Get the free demo CD of the P series from Yamaha and listen to tracks 27 and 28 played on the P250.

The P250 is the closest that comes to a real acoustic grand both in terms of sound and touch. It also acts as a master controller with dual and split keyboard modes. Bye the way, the polyphony on the P250 is 128 notes.

Yamaha has cornered the arranger market with the PSR3000. Nothing sounds as good or has more features at a street price of $1400. It simply has no competition at this price range. Essentially, you are getting a Tyros for half the price.

This combo is a killer. I would go so far as to say that this is a better deal than even the flagship of the Clavinova series – the Yamaha CVP 309. You retain the quality of the sounds, most of the basic functionality, the superb feel and tone of a Grand and you have portability plus significant savings.

Damn, I should stop. I am sounding like a Yamaha salesman!

But seriously, if you were thinking of spending around three grand on a new arranger, you have to at least consider this option.

Tapas

Bevan, was this a 'brief' or 'l-o-n-g' moment? This could make all the difference. - Scott

I played and heared the G70 about half an
hour. Because I am a Rolandplayer and a real
Rolandfan I was not disappointed and I liked
what I heared and saw. I owned an Ketron X1
, a PSR9000 and the G1000 and many other
Roland keyboards before and for me is the
G70 a step forward.
With a Roland I can do what I like to do and
that is playing, editing styles, making sty-
les and more. Therefore the Roland suits me
best. This is not only a matter of taste but
these are facts.
Sorry for my english.