I haven't unpacked it yet, but I received 2 E-50 keyboards about 2 minutes ago. This is the lower priced 61 key with speakers version of the G70 which we've been hearing about in Europe but not seen yet. I'll report back later!
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566 www.kayesmusicscene.com

Geo -

Can't wait to hear your review. Approximate price please? Is it worth switching from the VA series?

zuki

Zuki,
This new E-50 is a baby G70! It has the same screen, same operation, same great sounds and most of the same styles. What it doesn't have is 76 keys, digital draw bar organ, vocal harmonizer and color screen.
It has 64 voice polyphony,1050 sounds in 8 families, 34 drum sets, 136 styles with 4 variation, intros, endings and 6 fills. It has all the same "cover" band functions for styles and songs like the G70 and you can manage up to 99,999 songs in the song finder with play and search functions.
There is the same 16 track sequencer with microscope and macro editing and a style converter to convert standard midi files to styles.
There is a floppy disk drive, internal memory and a PCMCIA to compact flash, memory stick, smart media or micro-drive adaptor.
When playing midifiles the display will generate chord changes you see in the screen even if no chords were provided in the midi file song.
There is a USB to computer port, midi and the system can be updated via Flash Memory.
This is a quick report. The build quality seems really good. The keys are shorter than the G70 and not semi weighted but they feel good. The keyboard weighs 8.5kg which i think is around 18 lbs.
The Retail Price here in the USA is $1499.00. because this product is sold by the CK division, I am only allowed to quote prices if you contact me. I am selling it for less than retail of course!
Please call me at 818-881-5566 PST or email me at gkayesmusicscene@aol.com
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

George, is Vocal Harmonizer an option?
Thanks,
Don

No Don, no vocal harmonizer can be added internally. It does have all the same song marker options, lyrics and score, etc. It works just like the G70.



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

Hey George!
Two questions about the new Roland:
Are the EPs anywhere close to the Fantom EPs?
Is there anything like the Yammy Multi-Pad available on them?
thanks....and thanks for the regular updates on new gear...they're appreciated...

So this sounds just like a G-70????
So a E-60 is basically a revamped G-70 without a harmonizer and drawbar organ?

Doc-Z

Will this take G70, E80 or other Roland styles?

I would think with the "E" designation that it would sound like an E80 which from what I've gathered is supposed to sound better than a G70.

Yes, E-50 is closer to E-80 than to G-70 since it has the new sounds (drums, piano, guitars, basses) that E-80 has and not G-70.

And yes, it is compatible with G-70/E-80 styles even if some adjustements could be needed if the styles use some features (equalizer, MFX, etc.) that E-50 doesn't have.

I am using my compact flash and pcmcia adapter I use in the G70 and all the styles play fine. I'm even playing the extra styles that come in the internal memory in the G70 since version 2. The owners manual says that the E50/60 are using sounds from the highly aclaimed Fantom X series of keyboards. This is the same as the G70. The Piano in the E50 is called "Natural Grand" and the piano in the G70 is called "Grand X Piano" (or something like this). Slightly different I suspect, although it was very hard for my ear to hear because the G70 was played through external speakers and the E50 was both through it's internal, using the digital bass enhancer and external. I will check more today.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California