xxx

[This message has been edited by Lucky2Bhere (edited 04-21-2006).]

I've owned or own all 3 of them, ask away

I own a Tyros2 and a Korg PA60, but, at the store where I work, we have the G70, PA1X and Tyros2, besides me, there are other 2 co-workers also arranger specialist, one of them is Roland 100%, and he finds himself playing more the Korg PA1X and Tyros2 than his (until now) prefered brand, I do admit, it has a great tone generation, but one of the main purpose of an arranger, are the styles and playability in real time, and this is MY opinion, at least 70-75 % of the styles are carryover from the VA 7/76, only a small section has new styles.
One thing, of the top 3 we have, (I wish we carry Ketron), the G70 has the LEAST amount of styles. Things I do not like from it, are:
Buttons are so close that if you are in a hurry to make a change, you may not make it, the irony, the GW7, has space between them....you wonder?...the styles, No sections separations and/or color coding also, ours, freezes...once in a while.
I wish the Roland G1000 designer team, would had made the G70.
And for the record, I had several Roland products, like the RA-95, JV1000, besides the BR1600 (I have this one, and is GREAT!!).

It's really hard to get an impartial review here on this board. Whatever people own, is what they recommend. Only the few who have owned them all can really give an objective review. Unfortunately, I only own the Tyros 2 and that is why I recommend it. I have researched the other extensively, the bottom line for me were the glorious samples and styles of the Tyros 2. I must admit, I miss 76 keys and some of the other bells and whistles, but at the end of the day it's all about not sounding cheezy.

Now for a difference of opinion..Of all the top models , the only one I would enjoy keyfeel wise is the G70[like the G1000 and VA76]..The Tyros[undersized and too light]doesn't do it for me at all..The Korg and Ketron are just okay...

Without ever playing a G70, but owning all the component models..No other company will come close to the G70 VK organ section, or DisCover vocalizer...Also Roland is the best at sequence[SMF]playback..

As for styles , out of the G70's 285 on board styles...41 are basically from the VA series, with changes including instruments, and fills....[that's 15%]...

As for repackaging...Yamaha is the reigning king, with Korg right behind...

Any of the top models are fine keyboards, and the average player would be happy with any one...but let's keep the facts straight, so one can make an acurate decision..

Here is a report from AJ[Ketron rep]..


Thanks to all those who made it and for your input as well. For many, it was a first at seeing the master-arrangers all in one place, all through the same system, all out-of-the-box settings (Scott, to be fair, I didn't do any tweekings to any keyboard - just wanted to have everyone know what to expect from the manufacturer). I did however go in detail with each to present how sounds, effects ... etc could be altered and stored. We looked at Sounds, Styles, Designs, OS, Unique features, pluses and minuses in MOST cases ...etc. For some, it was a wow. For others over the entire weekend, they ordered SD1Plus-EXPs and for some, it was the ROLAND G70 and then the TYROS-2. GEM GENESYS-S and KORG-PA1XPro got very very little attention or even a 2nd look at after they were presented ... remember, for the most part the A/B comparison was sound for sound on each board. Yamaha came on top for Guitars and Steel Drum together with Jazz styles and great Multipad effects. The Roland G70 topped with Ballads some jazz, Guitar mode and the best Organs - period - oh, they also had the best vocalizer. The Ketron SD1Plus-EXP lead the pack in styles (best drum and bass), brass and woodwinds, but with the EXP pack, the guitars and organs got some great reviews too together with the new Voc. settings and new jazz and big band styles!! We should have recorded Friday and Saturdays people expressions for this was a moment to cherish. How I wish I could repeat such for all the US states!!

Fran,

I am sorry to hear you still haven't had a chance to play the G70 - this is the testament to the poor marketing decisions of Roland.

I have tried it on two occasions. It still has the same polished (to my ear) Roland sounds. The few styles I tried sounded good, but I have not gone through all of them. Some or all of them may have been from the VA- series, but I wouldn't know it - I am still playing the G1000. Of course, Roland styles are more polished, more "smooth" than the others - not as gritty as Ketron's, nor as generic as Yamaha's, but I am used to it. I must have been playing the V2.0 instrument, since both the sounds and the styles sounded just fine to me, certainly no "too much reverb" feel. I am sure that the MIDI playback is also top-notch. I thought that the keys were similar to my G1000 - just perfect size and travel depths - I much prefer them to Korg and Ketron, and definitely to Yamaha (though T2 is an improvement over their previous ones). I also thought that the keyboard had a very solid feel, although undoubtedly adds to its weight.

As far as user friendliness goes - I did not think about Manuel's concern how close the buttons are, though if I owned this board, I am sure I would have come across this. What concerned me much more was the fact that now you absolutely have to use the touchscreen to change your selection - the buttons only allow you to select tone/style/performance banks, individual selections MUST be made via the touchscreen. This is horrible - on the VA series they had the goofy round buttons which changed colors, but now even they are gone. It would only take 8 extra buttons to correct this glaring shortcoming.

The other beef I have is with the sliders. In the short while I played the G70, I found myself getting confused by looking at the slider positions thinking that those are my current level settings for the parts - this is not at all true. The slider's position is only meaningful after you move it, and if the part was very quiet, and you moved it a bit down from where it was in the topmost position, its volume will jump. So at any time looking at the slider position is guaranteed to visualize the incorrect part volumes. You have to look at the screen and check part volumes there, and then move the slider to adjust the part volume, but this is as much assle as using up and down buttons of, say, Tyros. By the way, these comments also apply to Korg PA1x, except that Roland sliders have shorter travel and flimsier feel than Korg's. I am surprised that with instrument prices being well over $3000, Roland and Korg were too cheap to put in motorized faders.

I also thought that at this price, the G70 should have included the MP3 playback capability, but that is not really a problem.

For the record, I think that Roland has a near-perfect operating system on its Fantom. with the selection keys BELOW the screen, and no touch-screen. Why couldn't they just reuse it on the G70 is beyond me.

Both of my above concerns with the usability also apply to Korg's PA1x/pro. IMHO, Yamaha is the current leader in usability, and they have done it by keeping things simple, though its 61 keys are an issue for me).

Regards,
Alex

Hi

I have made a demo so you can hear the G-70 sound and vocal effects. Its my rendition of "Together in electric dreams". Its not 100% like the original. Im using the internal style "Electro Rock" with some sounds from the SRX-07 expansion board.
You can find it at http://www.selskabsmusikeren.dk

Regards
Niels

[This message has been edited by nielshs (edited 03-24-2006).]

If you don't have need of an onboard sequencer then go here:
http://www.ke-musik.dk/Upload/HtmlArticles/Article1284/index.htm

Scroll down to "...demoer mp3.." and clonk it.


More later,if you're interested.

[This message has been edited by casiobot (edited 03-24-2006).]

Thanks for the offer. Just a couple of questions. Which do you find the most realistic sounding (including individual actual sounds/styles/the unit as an audience would hear it)? The Tyros or the G-70?

Do you find any major faults with the G-70 that would cause me to think twice about buying it?

I've always been a Roland man viewing Yamaha as simply a wannabe arranger keyboard maker. Are they now up there in the big leagues with many support clubs available and an abundance of good dance styles?

Thanks in advance....looking forward to hearing your comments.





[This message has been edited by Lucky2Bhere (edited 03-24-2006).]