I can only re-affirm that I auditioned a G70 (with OS2) too, and still believe Tyros2 sounds far better. I acknowledge though that the G70's keyfeel & 76 note keyboard build more solid (abeit substantially heavier in weight: 32 vs 45.6 lbs and bulkeir), and includes an intuitive user friendly navigation. The lackluster styles sound disappointedly reimiscent of the Roland G800 styles (of which I owned the RA800 module version). In addition, Roland has yet to implement rootless jazz style chord recognition, of which is so critically important to me. If Roland would only come out with a lighter weight E80, or an arranger with rootless jazz chord recognition, I might finally re-consider. When will Roland finally wake up and join Yamaha, Technics, Ketron, and Korg with this important to jazz influenced keyboard player feature? - Scott

As Fran said this was only a first impression and nothing more than that. After a longer use of the G70 he could have a total different and more positive impression based on experience.

I prefer the G70 and not the G1000 which I had before. I am a styleplayer and do not use the sequencer. When I had the G1000 I did not use the chordsequencer so I do not miss it on the G70. I only play the G70 and do not use Midi.
The many styles I have today in my External Memorycard placed in the G70 are all tweaked and edited by myself to my personal taste. The result of that editing and tweaking can not be reached at the G1000. In that point the G70 is far easier than the G1000 and the result is far better.
Because the pianosounds on the G70 are better than on the G1000 the styletracks that use a pianosound are better too. And the same can be said of the other better sounds of the G70 and there are many!!
But as I said I am a styleplayer and that makes a difference of course.

The more time I spend with the G-70 the more I like it. I have been making set list, which is fairly easy. The on-board styles sound very good but I have not gone through all of them so I might find what I need to use on the job in the keyboard. For me the chord recognition feature on midi playback is very useful when using harmony.
(Down side)
I was under the impression that you could attach lyrics to style playback like on the Ketron but was told by Roland service department this can’t be done; although this was disappointing I still like the G-70’s ease of maneuverability on the fly.

Hank

Thanks for the report Fran. I'm going to try to spend a few hours with the G70 and T2 side by side. At this point I'm still thinking I'll walk away with a T2, but until I play both together, mess with the harmonizers, simulate a couple of live performances, and go thru the menus, there is no way to know for sure.

If only the T2 had the G70's keybed and 76, the choice would be simpler.. Ahhh.. If only....

Perfect doesn't exist, but I hope to walk away with the machine that works best for me and my playing needs.

AJ

AJ , really look deep into the G70..Personally I think it is far better than the Tyros2 overall..They both have their strengths and weak points as sounds go, but overall they both sound great..

If you want to set up the G70 to meet your needs..it will be a complete super performing instrument..

People are reading my impression wrong because I favor the way the G1000 does certain things..It doesn't mean the G70 is not a great keyboard..in fact it is..

But to me the G1000 is greater in certain respects that I value...If my G1000 died tomorrow[and I couldn't replace it with a clean G1000]...I would have a G70 sitting here the same day..

The Vocalizer alone is worth buying the G70 over the Tyros2..If you consider the other superior features and quality...it is a No Brain-er to me..

I know you are open minded..look deep, you are not going to go wrong with either one, but one is better than the other....

"but one is better than the other.... "

... and we have different opinions about which one that is!
DonM

I am not having a personal stab at anyone here, I wish to throw in my input on this topic. Although I do not post alot on this forum, I definitely read alot of posts everyday and know whats happening in the arranger world.

I truly beleive people judge keyboards in too much depth by their "features" over the sound quality. Features of coarse are important, but at the end of the day you are playing a keyboard to make music to be heard and enjoyed. doesnt matter what features the G70 or G1000 may have over the Tyros 2, if you close your eyes and listen to them being played, the tyros is much more pleasing to the ears in all genres.

Nothing yet has been released to say "yes that definitely makes the T2 sound dated".

by all means choose the keyboard that suits yourself and your own playing style, but to say that the G70 is a "better" keyboard than the Tyros 2, I have to say, thats a very broad comment and leaves yourself wide open for arguement.

If Tyros 2 had sliders and 76 keys with its existing setup and sound engine it would by far be the ultimate keyboard for a long time hands down with no competition at all!

Perhaps Nick, but ease of use is important to me as well. I want to perform, and think a little less about the other things, if that makes sense. I like more keys.. what can I say ? Also sound is subjective anyway, and I like the sounds coming from both of these arrangers. I have a much deeper sound palette inside of my laptop ( many gigabytes of high quality sounds and modules ) than either of these arrangers is going to give me anyway, but the main point of going for an new arranger is that I'm also looking for something that I have to think about less to play.

In reality, my software OMB setup sounds better than my PA80 does. Not the styles per se, ( though often I like the simpler Yamaha styles ) but the lead voices are so much better coming from the laptop that it isn't even close. The caveat is it's not always so easy to setup and navigate more advanced features in the laptop when I compare it to a hardware arranger.

AJ

Nick, I gave my reasons other than subjective view on sounds..There is nothing subjective about more, better feeling keys, a superior harmonizer, a much better organ drawbar mode, a guitar mode..and better quality construction..