I was over SamAsh (Tampa) the other day to pic up a new Mic and was talking to the Keyboard dept. manager who I've become friendly with. I mentioned my recent purchase of my Roland VP550 voice processing keyboard and how much fun I was having with it. He was super suprised that I had been able to get my hands on one and told me that he had only gotten two and they were sold on the same day to music directors (church and school), and that Roland had only shipped 100 to America and he wasn't expecting another shipment in the near future.

My question is, why do companies like Roland sometimes hold out on a popular product (much like Toyota and the Prius for which I had to wait as well as pay a hefty premium). Is it to create a pent-up demand? What could some of the possible reasons be? 100 is barely enough to demo the product throughout the country. I think I got mine because I paid in advance through the net and then waited for one to arrive. I had no idea there might be a shortage at the time, as the big three are usually more than ready to take your money with a surplus of product. What's the deal?

chas

Chas,
Here's what I was told by Roland. Roland US buys what they want from Roland Japan. It the case of the VP550, Roland US was worried that the price point of this product would make it a hard sale here in the USA. As I've posted, I thought this product would do really well if it could be sold for around $495.00. I actually returned my one I bought to my Rep because I thought my customer base would not buy it for the price Roland is asking. I understand the technology is expensive, but even those I know at Roland understood my desire to return the product for credit.
So, if there is a shortage, it would be because the music industry has been a little off the past year or so and Distributors have to worry about how much stuff is sitting in their warehouses and not being sold. Perhaps the salesman at Sam Ash is correct stating that these are so popular they just can't get enough or as I just stated, Roland was worried about how many would really be bought by dealers.


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

Hi:
Another case also with a Roland product is the R-09, a small but powerful digital recorder that you can select to record in MP3s in diferent resolutions and also in WAV with same option of different resolutions...I think nobody can predict what product is going to be "HOT".

Thanks for the replies, guys. George, I suspect you're right about the pricing. This technology can be had in other forms at a cheaper price but this unit is so darn convenient and easy to use.....and we, the consumers, WILL pay a premium for convenience. That's why we buy automatic transmissions and arranger keyboards.

I've had various standalone vocal processors and harmonizers and this (the VP550) is by far the easiest to get decent results with. The only downside I've found is that it tends to sound slightly metallic in the higher registers; this can be somewhat controlled with volume control of the input signal (singing dynamics) and the right combination of mic and voice.

As far as pricing, I paid about the same for my TC Helicon module and this (VP550) has the convenience of having it's own keyboard, so personally, I feel that the pricing is about right.

Thanks again for shedding a little light on this confusing policy.

chas