I saw this at one or two of the big internet dealers today.
I couldn't believe the PA1X pro for that price.
It might have been Zzounds. I'm not sure. You internet Professionals should be able to find it.

this is a B stock unit and it is not an "Elite". The new "elite" comes with the CD Burner and the MP3 Recorder and sells for the same price as the original PA1XPRO without these two options.


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George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

Never have understood that one..... Who, in their right minds, that have enough money for a PA1X, haven't already got a CD burner in their computer or laptop? And if seriously interested in recording themselves haven't got FAR more capable software with vastly greater capabilities than available in any arranger?

I think there is so much R&D money wasted on putting features like HD recording into arrangers, at the cost of short-changing other, more performance oriented features. It would be NICE if it all was combined, but the price you pay is too high. Inflexibility, only 16/44-48 recording quality (if that!), no flexibility with effects, forget plug-ins, tiny, non-intuitive displays.

Some may THINK recording a whole production on a computer is complicated, but trust me, trying to do one on a built-in HD recorder, unless it is moronically simple (a voice over a recorded backing, e.g.) is FAR more difficult, and cannot easily be made to sound as good.

Remember, an arranger only gets SO much money for it's R&D, and the more spent on gewgaws like HD recording (and samplers that are too slow to load to be practically useful), the less gets spent on style development, or fancy new OS ideas like multipads, or more fills, breaks and variations (or a Chord Sequencer!). Stuff we are going to use 24/7.

Let's just keep the arranger as an ARRANGER......

Well i thank goodness that there are product available that offer an all in one solution.

Diki ..

What type of keyboard do you own ?

And what is your definition of a Chord Sequencer ?

Are you talking about step recording, which is the ability to look at a piece of music and program the chord changes of the song using your keyboard ?

Dan, if you do a search for Chord Sequencer here, most of the posts that come up will be mine! It's a Roland feature they have dropped since the G1000, and no, it's not a step recorder for chords (well, in a way it is!) but something that just records your chords WHILE YOU ARE PLAYING, and can loop them on the fly, without interrupting normal play.

You can record just the chords, or record the chords AND the fill and variation changes, but my favorite was just the chords, then you could repeat the section, but have the variation and fills different each time around.

The simplest way to use it would be to start your arranger, have it play the intro, then during the bar before the intro ends, you hit Record on the CSeq. Now play the first verse and chorus of a tune, and in the bar before the end of the chorus hit Play on the Cseq.

Now the entire verse and chorus chords (which are likely to be the same!) get played for you, but you still have fill and variation control so it isn't repetitive. Now you can switch off chord recognition, and concentrate on playing normally, with two hands (gasp, what a concept!), while the chord input gets done for you.

The icing on the cake is that at any time, you can switch the Cseq off, play a bridge or vamp, whatever, and then hit Play on the CSeq and start your loop again. ALL without ever interrupting the beat. You can even change styles or registrations while the chords keep getting played.

It is the perfect combination of true, free-form arranger play, and the rigid structure of SMFs. It allows you to concentrate on your solos, where you can be a LOT freer with the bender, or two handed techniques, without being tied to the necessity of HAVING to play the chords 24/7, no matter that they are exactly the same as you played in the first verse and chorus.

For the life of me, I still don't understand why this feature isn't on each and every arranger out there. It was the most practical addition to an arranger ever made, and very simple to implement. Roland got it perfect over 15 years ago, but few realized it's usefulness.

Oh well....... Next year in Jerusalem, eh?

diki, thanks for the description/ definition.

funny how a manufacturer decides to eliminate a feature from a product line, what did Roland gain ? More sample ram.. ??? lol
I have many customers who swear the E-86 is still the best roland arranger product.
For me personally, I could not get use to the navigation of Roland E and G series products.
I'm a Ketron Man...

[This message has been edited by DanO1 (edited 02-17-2007).]

The Roland E86 had the best styles i have ever heard from a roland product including the g70. The sounds were fantasic.. Sc55 right? I agree wid ur customers

Diki, I agree the chord sequencer is a must have feature..I also like to put down a chord progression, and get ideas for a tune by selecting different styles, tempos etc..as you mentioned , it gives us freedom that other boards can't match...

The neat thing also [as you know], when you find the perfect style and rehearsed what you want to do with the free hands, you can push the record button[on G1000] and record the entire song..all without stopping the project from the very beginning..We still have the freedom to select variations , fills..even intros again...and another great feature we can play different chord changes if we want ..they take preference over the chord sequencer progression, and will revert back to the chord sequence...It is a writers dream...

After you save the song[SMF], you can edit whatever you like with song tools...and re-save your finished tune..

Rolandfan, we've talked in the past, and I think I understand where you're coming from, but I'm afraid I have to disagree even more now than when I got my G70.

Sonically, once you get used to the fact that the G70 sounds different to earlier Roland arrangers (and I never saw the point of upgrading to something that sounded the same!), you get a degree of realism, especially from the V-Drum kits, that no Roland has ever had.

If your ears are accustomed to the older, non-velocity switched kits, it's definitely a big change, but there are half-open hi-hats, ghost snare drum hits, flammed tom-toms (all velocity switched, for realism and variety) and loads of other drum and percussion sounds that are a big step up from the SC engine.

The one area I used to have the most problem with on the G70, that of balancing the low end of fingered and upright basses has now been solved by OS3's new per-part EQ.

If you haven't played a G70 since V3, rolandfan, give it another listen. A parametric 3 band EQ on every single Part, keyboard song AND style (AND each and every drum sound WITHIN a kit) has changed the overall sound of the G70 drastically.

Add to that the problems with the OTS have been completely solved, and the styles all re-voiced and EQ'd, amongst other OS improvements.

Whenever I hear an older Roland arrange now, I always tend to think how 'brittle' and undynamic it sounds. I swear, if it weren't for the Chord Sequencer, I could probably play this for the rest of my life! I've got other keyboards (K2500, Triton, etc.) but I prefer to gig with just ONE, and the G70 beats both of those for sound and convenience.

Of COURSE, each and every arranger has some sounds that are stellar, and some that others beat. but as a whole package, especially since OS3, the G70 (and E80) are hard to beat for that 'live', real band sound. Add in the perfect key-bed (and damn the weight!), awesome style and SMF editing tools, and one of the better Harmonizers out there, and it's tough to find something better, AT LEAST FOR ME......