This is his truth.. What is truth for him. With a username like Rolandfan, I am sure he is being objective about what is true for him. As much as Rolandfan would love to like a Roland, they have failed again in his opinion. I have not tried the G70, problable never will, but I have tried other Roland arangers and was disapponted compared to a similar priced Yamaha. I guess I am a Yamaha convert. I still own a Roland keyboard... for now.
Starkeeper

Dear Scott/Others;

I have a problem with you saying that RolandFans Reviews is balanced. How can you have an insight into a G-70 review if you have never played the G-70? I believe what you are reading in Rolandfans review is the anger and frustration that he is expressing because he is unhappy with the new release compared to his VA series ( which I can understand). I also think that he is not being very unbiased by giving it 3/10 --"it sounds like crap" Ratings of 3/10 for sound are usually given to Kbs that are sold at walmart for $200. Further, the statement that one keyboard "blew away" another keyboard is just inflammatory. Kbs in this category have similar technologies, and it is not until you go into the realm of OAS/softsynths that one leaps in terms of sound quality.

As I mentioned in another thread. All these top model aranger keyborads are very similar and are really not that different. Each keyboard has its pros & cons. They are ultimately chosen by consumers based on personal preference. Remember, one man's barn is another man's castle. So, to say one Kb is superior to another can't be the case. One has to take into account the frame of reference and ask the next question, superior for what player & why?


Regards;
BN

BlkNotes: Hmmm. By balanced, I meant that I felt Rolandfan pointed out not only the G70 features he didn't like, but GOOD features he liked as well:



BlkNotes: The G70 has been receiving the most 'mixed reviews' of any arranger keyboard released that I can remember. As I pointed out (and quoted) on another thread:
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/010744.html

Steve Fortner, of Keyboard magazine gave it a stellar review. As I stated earlier in this thread, I myself am with-holding personal judgement re the G70 until I've had a chance to audition one myself. In the meantime, I certainly appreciate reading the wide diversity of personal opinions expressed here about the G70 as well as any other arranger keyboard.

Scott

I am interested in learning as much as I can about the G70, so I will read almost any thread that mentions it. Rolandfan's topic sure got us to read his opinion, didn't it - that's the point.

NOW, as I read the first few replies, I said to myself this is exactly why The Pro and others have left the forum. This is petty stuff. It wasn't until Scott, Starkeeper and others started replying that I felt anything of value was being said. This is my complaint about new members. They are easily offended and tend to get snippy over useless stuff.

I still think the VA will be hard to beat and continues this day to be my favorite board. Different strokes for.....
zuki

Dear Scott;

I re-read Rolnafans's reviews again to make sure i perceived it correctly the first time. Here are the only positive items he mentioned about the KB.

"The G-70 is a huge impressive looking keyboard at nearly 1.3 metres long and quiet heavy but I'm afraid thats where it ends."

"Yes there are lots of editing features, the vocal harmony is better than tyros, lots of buttons"

I believe there is much more negative then positive comments on his review. My intent was just to point out his that I didn't think his review was non-biased. Because of comments like; " 3/10 because it sounds like crap", " it was blown away", "not in the same league" etc.. As well as the extreme range of comments. Having experience with all of these KBs, not one of them "blows" the others away.

I also read the Steve Fortner's review in Keyboard magazine and found it to be a very superficial non-informative piece. I found it to be disappointing and almost like a info-mercial. If one compares past review articles on KBs ( in particular the Tyros in KB mag) it is easy to see how the G-70 deserved a much more thorough assesment. What do other SZ members think?

Regards;
BN

Good to see 'On Topics'

All I can say is I am going to the doctor to get my hearing checked??? To say the sounds are useless on the G70 means I have a hearing problem!!

[This message has been edited by JCkeeys (edited 05-18-2005).]

After all the different comments it's clear you can't argue about personal tasts, but there's one thing never mentionned so far!

A lot of the likes or dislikes could have something to do with the playing technique!

To get expressive sounds from a Roland(exception are the hammond simulations) you need to be able to make use of the aftertouch, where Roland excels in my opinion.
On the other hand this means that playing the board as a synth it will very often result in dull sounds.
Personally I never needed any volume pedal on the roland boards with aftertouch.
Hitting hard is hard.
Hitting soft is soft.

This is one of the reasons I do not feel comfortable on a Yamaha (also the keys are too small on a yamaha).
It's allways hard for me on a yamaha , I cannot play soft/mellow on these boards.
It seems that unweighted keyplayers prefer Yamaha and from origin piano players prefer Roland?

Interesting to find out...

For what it's worth, G70 is the best professional looking arranger keyboard in my opinion, I do own SD1 that I love and Tyros, but still like to have G70, unfortunately it's price is too high for me.