Hello,

I must say, the E-50 is a fabulous board. For folks like myself, that like to fool around at home, dream about being another Donny and play hours into the night, this is it!

Sure, it does not possess the power of the expensive boards, but it goes beyond that next step in mid-range boards.

I would be very comfortable taking this product live, in a heartbeat.

The OS is amazing. Roland has listened and done a great job in serving the 'live' player on this product.

I highly recommend taking a good look at this one..... it will grow on you

zuki

zuki, would you mind listing how many other arrangers you have owned or played, and why you preferred the E50?

Didn't you have a V-Series arranger?

Anyway, a very favorable review, anyone else's opinion out there.....?

i just... agree!

Zuki.........
Congrats on your new arrival.....you sound very excited & so It should be.....its Xmas time!!
Glad to hear your enjoying the E50 & it is doing the job for you.....hope to hear a few demos too when you get adjusted to it.......& you views between the VA series & the E series.

Good Luck

Congratulations, Zuki, glad the keyboard works for you and that you found the pianos acceptable.

Happy Holidays.

Ian

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Remember to leave good news alone.

Diki -

I've had:

PSR 740, 2000, 3000, 9000, T1
Roland EM-2000, VA, EXR, 1000
Korg I30, PA50
Gem SK88


The main reason I like this board is its ease of use. Everything is within reach. Again, I can't say enough about the styles. Like Adimitis said, they ALL are useable. They sound so 'real' to me - the programmers have put a lot of very cool and crisp instruments in the styles and the drums blow me away.

Versus the VA:

1. The E-50 sounds very much the same - sax, organ, etc. They said new guitars, but nah - still the same thin, shrill sound (but ok with me). I've fooled around with the guitar mode and it's interesting. It sounds like the real mccoy and will be another very useful tool. The E piano is a little thin (but I'm starting to get used to it).

2. The 'on the fly' buttons on the E are WAYYY better for live play and as good as anything else I've owned. I love the OTS linked and saved to a user program. I like being able to use a piano mode while the arranger is on and switching back and forth effortlessly. I would never go back to the VA after having this.

3. On past boards, VA included, there was a glitch in some style changes - NOT HERE - they are all dead on!

For me, I don't need all the ports as discussed before - a sustain and line outputs are plenty. I don't like a mic in my keyboard or the harmony feature - I end up sounding like a chipmunk. So, this was made for me.

This is a strange board. It looks as if they took the EM-55 case and buttons and added a host of great features. I love the look, featherweight and found myself playing hours into the night again - that tells me something.

Donny - I'll try to get a song posted soon.

Ian - You were right, pianos are a tad thin, but I can live with them and they sound great in the mix.

Adimitis - I, like you, am enjoying my new toy. I might consider going up to the E-60 in time (unless George wants to give me an E-80 for Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone

zuki

Hi Zuki,

Sometimes the "thinner" sounds do sit better in the mix.

I agree with you on the styles...the ones I tried were excellent

You sound like you're having a great time with your new baby.

All the best,

Ian

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Remember to leave good news alone.

Hi Zuki,
poor pianos will sound much better if you double it with octave plus one or two on 'Upper two' add to 'Upper one'. Best known as a 'Latin Piano'.
Greetings
Peter

Adimatis and Zuki:

Your comments have me interested in an e60. I like the sounds of the Korg PA800, but the 76 keys on the e60 is a big plus for me, plus pricing sounds right. Either one of those boards could be a great addition to my PSR 3000. I'm looking forwarding to hearing any samples you may post.

http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=826&ParentId=18

Roland's demo page for E60....

Peter,

Thanks for the tip. I need to clarify that these are not poor pianos at all. In fact, through the "extended" mode, I have come across a myriad of more sounds than I originally had no knowledge of! These includes some great pianos.

Stephen,

Will try to get my first song ever posted. My brother is an IT guy and maybe he can help me do this this weekend.

I've worked more on the guitar mode and it really sounds terrific.

The music finder templates are right on . . sound just like the cover - very inspiring.

zuki

as other members here noticed already, if you need/want 76 keys, in this price segment, E60 is probably the only choice.

on the other hand, even if you only need 5 octaves, E50 is one of the few alternatives one have for the price. meaning psr3000, pa50, maybe a second hand t1. but the set of features and functions makes it no1 option, imo.
let alone the styles! the sounds are good to very good, but the styles department really shine! i mentioned in another post, you dont even get to realize you only have 130 styles, because out of that, you can use very well about 125 of them.

zuki -
even if you won t get the 76 keys version anytime soon, i am sure you'll have much fun with your E! waiting for your song!

for those that don't know about the "best" mode and the "extended"mode in the G70 and in the E50 and E60, Roland has decided to not make you go through so many pages when you are looking for sounds. The Best Mode only has the newer Fantom type sounds and the extended mode has all the G series, V series and sound canvas type sounds. As an example, the Piano catagory has 4 pages of sounds when in the "best" mode and 7 pages when in the "exteneded" mode.


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