Zuki.... one thing you'll definitely be giving up is that wonderful key-bed the VA76 has (and the G70 and G1000). You won't be gaining any more polyphony. I would think you really need to get to play one and hear the sound quality for yourself, preferably side by side with your VA76, before you make any decision....

Just curious as to why you think this is a move up?

Diki,

Not necessarily moving up, just a newer keyboard with built-in speakers and light enough to move around, etc.

Like you mentioned, I do believe the sounds and styles are "good enough" on the mid range arrangers to satisfy my needs.

I did not like the EXR series due to their limitations. It appears the E-50 has enough sophistication to not be terribly disappointed.

zuki

zuki,
After having the E50 for a couple of days now I will say Roland has finally done a mid priced keyboard they can be proud of. The EXR3,5,7 and 9 were very disappointing to me in both styles and features. Sounds were OK but everything else made me think these were very low end keyboards. The gap between theese and the G70 or VA76 was huge! Now, the E50 at a very moderate price is much closer to the high end keyboards than to the lower end models. It reminds me of the Yamaha PSR3000 in that the Yamaha is closer to the high end Tyros than to the lower end PSR's. I hope I am saying this so that readers understand my point here. Yes, it's not as much wave memory as the G70 and there is no vocal harmonizer or VK8 organ, but everything else sure seems to be there and for this I thank Roland for doing a good job.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Hi,

Any one knows where the E-50/E-60 keyboards are manufactured?

Also, can we expect a better key feel with the E-60 compared to the E-50?

Roland G 70 has 192 Mbytes
Roland E80 has 1024Mbits:8= 128Mbytes
Roland E50/60 have 512 Mbits:8=64 Mbytes.
It is better never to use Mbits as this may confuse readers.(In the latest list of specifications Roland does not use this anymore)
Difference between E80 and E50/60:
E 80 has more powerful sounds and they have a higher definition.
New drumsamples are stereosamples, but in E50/60 they are mono.
All sounds are compatible, which is very useful for styles and smf.

Keybed: The keybed of the E60 is different from E50.For me they play much better.They are also 8 millimeters longer.

Does the E-60/E-50 have separate EQs etc on each channel like the E-80?

Personally, by listening to the demos, I don't feel that the sound of the E-80 is that much better, to justify 3x the price of the E-50. Yes you can hear there is a marginal lower fidelity on the E-50, but it's not milestones away. And size is not everything when it comes to good sounds. I depends where the sound comes from. I've heard some pretty good sounds based on small samples. But I've only listened to a few demos of both instruments, it would be great to hear more specific sounds and such for a easier comparison. I love the way Ketron provide the same demos played on each model, for easy comparison on their website, Roland should do this to!

Doc-Z

Ruben, can you confirm that those numbers are correct? Because I've seen it listed as MB (Megabytes) on several Roland sites.

Doc-Z

What is the EXR-9? Can't find any info on it? Is that a EXR-7 with 88 keys or something?

Doc-Z

I am sure george meant E09, the model that is pretty much a EXR a little bit modified, with some extra sounds (drum kits)...
anyway, kind of OT, but just wanted to share this with you: my frind in UK confirmed this morning that the E60 i ordered arrived to their place... so, i am the owner of an E60 already!
in about two weeks time i should have it in.

They are manufactured in Italy, same as G-70, E-80, and the other (old and new) Roland arrangers (except E-09).


Yes, I think so. Not that better, but better.