Nice review Fran. I tend to agree with Diki on this one. The longer I keep my Yamaha series (2000/3000/900), the more I can just concentrate on using the best it offers and get my songs done better each time. Has everyone tried the Roland G70 styles in the S900 - WOW!

zuki

i am glad you like it, fran.

btw zuki, what i'd like to hear is s900 styles on e60... any ideas?

[This message has been edited by adimatis (edited 01-13-2008).]

edited for typos. sorry for uneven lines.
my mac browser's fault most of the time.
it's a drag to me too for my stuff to always be hard to read.

excellent review Fran. as an E60 user who only tried G70 in a store for an hour I did learn a few things. i use only bass/drums so i am not the typical user. only things i miss from G70 is pedal controller (seriously miss that) and mic input/harmonizer (input only for even more convenience than my nearby mixer- and harmonizer to use primarily as a vocal tuner--when I had genesys pro i set it for unison and pitch correction, and when u r not right near me u couldn't hear my voice, only mic, and pitch corrector makes even those with very good pitch sound even better,if it's used very subtly.

but i would not trade the portability and the
onboard speakers (nice and loud too for monitoring) and a backup unit for same price as one G70. but like Diki says--that's just ME.

I'm finishing up my CD: MO & MADAFO (he plays bongos/handpercussion)and will shoot some samples to y'all next week or so..I'm on E60
all the way 6 tunes , vocals on 2, sopranino
sax on one. I use piano, elec piano, piano/strings, harmonica, organ, scat vocals,
nylon spanish guitar. plus bass/drum swing, bossa, mambo, boogie blues.The piano sound is my own modification of Classic Piano on upper and Superior Piano on lower end. I think
you will be amazed how close to real piano it sounds. Natural piano on G70 and E60 are far
inferior. i played them for rec engineer at session and he agreed not even close to mine.
For organ i combined All Skate w/Organ Bass
(layered/not split)and it's very B3-ish

This follows CD i made just prior called ME AND MY 'NINO which features my sopranino sax and vocals w/a regular trio rhythm section.
pianist/organist Brian Murphy plays his ASS
off, i think u B3 guys will flip when u hear him. this will be first time i ever posted stuff on any forum. I'm a little nervous about the sharpshooters here, but bring it on!!!! I'm feeling confident, because i did my best here and if not up to what u guys expected, I'll know i need to get better.
I'm only 68 so have 20 more years to improve
(at least)

------------------
Miami Mo

[This message has been edited by keysvocalssax (edited 01-13-2008).]

Well I finally got to use the E-60 are the job last night...Cass , can you email me your shipping address..

Just kidding

The E-60 worked perfectly with the band..it didn't miss a beat..

I even found a couple short cuts while playing..namely the split icon on the main screen and the icon for the transpose was there too..still not as functional as the G70, but workable..

This stage [Alfe's] is crowded and normally a pain getting the keyboard out of the case and maneuvering to the stand [G70 to an Apex stand].But the lighter E-60 was a pleasure in this situation..

There is no obstacle in the learning curve...more than 90 % the same..

Now that I have some time , I will set up the user programs, that I am use to using on the G70..including the same styles from the G70[custom locations].

After playing the "toy" keyboards the past month [looking for something that would fill this need]..It was a pleasure playing the E-60 keys..true they are not the G70 key bed, but much better than the last 3-4 entries I tried this month..

Some of the things I used on the E-60 that I normally use with the G70..the D-beam for sound effects and instruments,,,with identical results..

What I did miss was the sliders for quick changes..this I will have to adjust to the new method [select and data wheel]..

I also noticed the modulation control has a short motion to it compared to the G70..Here I rather use the G70 with a full motion..
The other noticeable difference is the mixer button that selects levels of style/ song/ and keyboard parts..where as the G70 has the individual dedicated buttons for the same groups...It didn't take me long to get use to it though..

To recap things..There are a few differences in operation..nothing that would screw up your performance..

As a side bar..another reason why I like this E-60..as I typed this post and my other post at Roland-arranger.com....my 11 year old gran daughter was playing the E-60..It only took a minute for me to set it up for her..

Hi Fran,
great comparison.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Fran Carango:
[B]

Fran,
I'm glad you are happy with your purchase. I"m glad it got to you for your weekend playing. All the way from Sunny California!


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

Fran,
I'm wondering why you didn't mention in your comparison the differences in the drum sounds.
To me the new drum sounds of E-60 (taken from E-80) are far better than G-70 and are the real plus of these small arranger keyboards.
What do you think about it?

o3bor..thanks for verifying the drum difference.....but I prefer the G70 drums over the E-60 drums..I guess it is a matter of individual preference..
Could be I am use to the G70..and maybe you are use to the E-80..


George , thanks for the E-60...shipping received without a mark on the box [FedEx}..

I just spent some more time A, B ing the drums...most of the drums [kits and accessory sounds are identical] with some pitch and filter changes..
The G70 sounds more to my liking for the most part...I do like both instruments' drum sets..

The G70 is richer on the cymbals..more harmonics and decay differences than on the E-60..A more natural feel to me..I am sure that most of the drum kits can be edited on the G70 to match the E-60..if someone wanted the E sound...

I don't see either instrument drums as "far better"..unless we are comparing drums of another brand..

Fran,
Of course if you compare drum kits having the same name in both keyboards there's no big difference, but did you check the "New Pop", "New Rock" and other "New Xxx" drum kits of E-60 and compare them to the corresponding Pop, Rock, etc. drum kits of G-70?
As you say, it's always a matter of taste, but to me the "New Xxx" drum kits sound more natural and expressive.

[This message has been edited by o3bor (edited 01-14-2008).]