I am in the process of getting a G70, I have not been able to play one so I have watched video demos and such to see the different points of this board,

I have also noticed that on this forum almost everybody says the G70 is a dog, and a dissapointment when it comes to what is expected.

I really find it hard to beleive that Roland or any big manufacture would release a keyboard that would not live up to atleast it's older relative,

Now the people who have been able to play the G70, what was it that made you say it sucked?
How did it compare to the Tyros? was it a little difficult to operate so it was called bad? The Tyros has styles that I am assuming are Japanese/american programmers, the G70, PA1, Ketron, General Music, are Italian/american programmers.

I have played the PA1 styles and I have found them to be a little to plain and empty,

I have found the Tyros styles almost too much and very weak in the Latin/eurpoen styles

I found the Ketron styles very good but almost all over the top and polyphony and OS impaired.

George has said that since he has had the G70 in his showroom, his view has changed greatly. So I am thinking the G70 is not a keyboard where you turn it on and you will be amazed instantly?

If anyone can shed some light I would appreciate it

The best thing is to go where you can feel and hear this machine.
Many many members put their views on this great forum... and I think there are two 'camps' :
A. G.. is fantastic
B. G.. is not OK

You probably read my views since I owned one for about 1 day.....

Try to get one with a 30-day trial period, what will give you time for a test-drive.

I have some thoughts on what is and will continue to happen with the G70 keyboard.
First, unlike any of the keyboards Roland has made before the G70, there is a smaller amount of the internal rom set aside for the GM/GS tone set. Therefore, many of the older Roland styles which primarily used GS sounds within the style don't sound as good in the G70 without exchanging many of the sounds with G70 internal sounds. This information has been shared with me from sources at Roland. What this does mean though is much like Ketron and Generalmusic, most of the great sounds used in the internal style set are using Roland's "best" sounds.
I'm remembering back to when Roland first introduced the G600, then G800, then G1000 and finally the EM2000 and how the styles and sounds kept evolving into better and better styles and sounds. I believe the same thing will happen with the G70.
Now that we have USB connectivity and computers, roland will not have to come out with new models as in the past and be able to update the G70 with new voices, styles, effects, etc. with very little effort for the users of their products.
1.06 was a major improvement in the G70 and I've been told by Roland that this upgrade was a large one and that upgrades in the future will be quick and easy to install because they will require less memory and less time.
Finally, I believe Roland is listening to all of us and are working to give musicians the sounds and styles requested. I have personally spent several hours with designers of the G70 making them aware of what my customers are looking for in top of the line arrangers as far as styles, sounds and features. I can absolutely let you know that they listened to every word I spoke.
At my store I have the G70, Korg PA1XPRO, Ketron SD1+ (the three most popular high end 76 note models) side by side. Fans of Roland love the G70, Korg fans love the PA1XPR0 and the Ketron fans the SD1+, but all admit that all three are close brothers!

George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566

Roel,
I am type "B"
Dont like the sound of it at all,but the "hardware" is Great !
Put the Tyros soft in this case and there is a new Star !

Regards,
Arno

Couple of questions?

what didn't you like about the sound? I actually found that with the Tyros I was very forgiving on allot of the sounds because of the ease of the Operating system.

George, you said that Roland has dedicated less space for the GM/GS soundset, does that mean thier midi file playback will suffer, or is it still on par with thier older stuff.?

I've heard people complain that there is too much reverb and effects on the G70 sounds, it's kinda of funny, I think the PA1xpro is too dry, especially when playing in a band situiation,

You know I think I'll get the G70, just to be the only one with one, maybe Roland will built a shrine to honor me?

ha ha

Technics stopped making
Roland just stopped "period"
So we will have to see what the Tyros 2 has to offer

Therefore, many of the older Roland styles which primarily used GS sounds within the style don't sound as good in the G70 without exchanging many of the sounds with G70 internal sounds. This information has been shared with me from sources at Roland.


Dear George;

I don't understand why Roland would set up the KB as above. Does the version 1.06 upgrade fix this problem? If not does that mean a user has to reassign the g-70 sounds for those in the GM/GS file in order to reap the benefit of better style sound?

Have the over-effects problems I have heard so much about been rectified via the upgrade?

I to like Frankieve am concerned that if one plays midi files throught the g-70 it won't sound good, due to the situation you described above.

Also, your comments about Roland in the future making changes via software upgrades ( instaed of releasing new kbs---i.e. via usb etc..) How would Roland do this when the KB is fixed in its internal ROM, SSD, and with no means for external storage other then the PC card slot?

PS--Frankie--what do you mean the sd1 styles sounded over the top? ( I thought that if any of ther mentioned KBs sounded that way it would be more likely the tyros)

Regards;
BN

Blknotes,

yes I was short on that, I meant I love the SD1 styles, they are I feel the most musical and close to the styles they are trying to represent, at some of the styles especially in varations 4, there is so much stuff going on, it's great but, sometimes its a little much,

But don't get me wrong, if Ketron released a 76 note keyboard, with the OS system of a Korg/Yamaha a GM/GS soundset of Roland, and the styles and realism of the Ketron, and a at least double the polyphony or a better way of handling it, I would buy tomorrow

Dear Frankieve;

Thanks for the clarification. When I played the SD1 I didn't notice the complexity of styles that you mentioned, but then again I was rushed, and very well may have not made my way to variation No. 4 often. I was spending more time on listening to the sounds and various styles. The erogonmics & OS were terrible though.

On some occasions I like simplicity and on others complexity is required.

PS--I to am perplexed by the widely polarized views of the G-70. To my ears and eyes, the video & audio demos are fairly impressive. I guess one has to just hear it for themselves.

Regards;
BN

Frankie, I would not hesitate buying a G70, especially if it is still a GS instrument...I am sure SMF's will sound great on it,nothing has been better than Roland GS since the begining of GS..I would be surprised if the G70 does not select sounds from the G70 bank, as in previous G's.

The G1000 was distictively better than the G800, because it selected the G1000 sound bank[3],[automatically unless a dedicated bank system command was inserted in the SMF]..
Like wise the VA series added an additional VA bank[4]..
Don't sweat it ,Roland has always offered an overall improvement with each new flagship model...