The E-86 was quite a nice arranger and would still be pretty competitive against much newer instruments.

I used it's predecessor, the E-70, but the E-86 borrowed some of it's sounds from the JV-80 synthesizer and also had a disk drive....a much improved instrument.

On-board effects were great, and would still stand up, even today.

Ian

Yes the the E line was certainly a classic....great memories.

I went through a bunch of them back then...Roland really knocked the socks off everybody else when they introduced the E-20...Yamaha had nothing to compare at that time, and neither did Korg.

I remember playing the E-20 and being wowed by the quality of the styles and sounds.

I sold a lot of Pro-E's back then when I was doing some sales work...and the E-70/E-86 were also class acts, to be sure, as well as the RA-series modules, quite something at the time...great chord recognition features.

Yamaha really caught up with the introduction of the PSR-8000, in my opinion, but before that, Roland had the edge.

Ian

Oh baby!!!!.., those demos really take you back. Simple easy arrangements not overdone with fluff..., and in 2008 those still sound good Demo 2 had that classic Roland harmonica that screamed of Stevie Wonder (who loved that sound). The sax in demo 3 could easily be used today and be able to pull off a very good solo with it.

I remember that 2nd demo with the harmonica... remember my drooling to be exact.

Sadly the E-86 was way out of my budget at that time.

I didn't jump in until the G 800. Then there was no looking back.

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala

I used an E-86 for damn near ten years. Gigged it to hell and back. A superb instrument. There was nothing to beat it as a live arranger for years. I even went back to it for a while after a brief but unconvincing stint with a Tyros.

Ian is right, from the moment the E-20 launched in '88, all the other manufacturers were in catch-up. Some would argue they still are.

Around that time, another keyboard ahead of the curve, was the Technics SX KN-1000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvVHqzHO4D8

Over the years, the biggest improvements in arranger keyboards, are the sequencer, display, and storage. Other than that, it's more of the same, including some styles that may never be eliminated. One thing that will never be missed is the ol' floppy disk.

BTW...In 1994, the KN-1000 sold new for $4,000

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Larry
The NEW SynthZone Map

Larry ... yes the kn1000 was a GREAT board ... but $4000 ????? ... in 1992 I paid $1500 for a VERY slightly used one ... if I didn't KNOW otherwise I would have sworn it was brand new ...
the only problem the kn1000 had was that it was not gm compatible ...

t.

The GEM WS2 had its fans in those days too. I wasn't one, I have to say, as I couldn't get past the fact that you had to go into a menu to control the master volume (!).

Please do not post this stuff!!!! It makes me feel VERY OLD!!
I owned most of them and had a "Love Affair" with anything Roland!!

G800 was my first Roland arranger. It got traded fairly quickly when the G1000 came out, primarily for the piano, the sax, and the Zip drive, which made storage and access speed moot. A good friend still has my G1000 (he has two, and a G70, plus several E20's, G600's etc.) and I still go a look fondly at those Chord Sequencer buttons...

But I got a good ten years out of my G1000. The way things are going, I'm going to get the same from the G70!

(Oops! Almost forgot... Had an RA90 for quite a while before the G800... back in the days when they DID have comprehensive MIDI control )

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 11-17-2008).]

Tony,

Check out the prices paid for the SX KN1000

Maybe you got a good deal, but 15 years ago Arranger Keyboards were not cheap.


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Larry
The NEW SynthZone Map

Let's see...back then I was playing a Yamaha HS-8T organ...loved it.

My god...I can only imagine today...if Yamaha put a T3 in a 2 manual, 25 pedal organ...and made the whole thing modular!
So, you could take the top (T3) only to gigs and have all the rest at the home studio!

Everything would have to be full integrated through MIDI (features not currently available on T3)

I would buy one for $4999.

Lee

According to Yamaha History , the Yamaha arrangers in 1993 were the
PSR-110, PSR-210, PSR-300, PSR-310, PSR-410, PSR-510, PSR-1700, PSR-2700.

Did they actually introduce that many at one time? I remember the 510, but none of the others.

BTW, IMO, Lee is correct, Yamaha had some nice home organs.

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Larry
The NEW SynthZone Map

Modular might make sense, give another revenue stream to the arranger division, although I'm not sure the organ and CVP lines really want the competition!

Yes, I saw that, Larry ...what's interesting on that page is one guy paid $4000, and the next guy says he paid 150 pounds ... I don't know what the pound to dollar relationship was back then, but in today's - 1 pound = $1.50 US - economy, the guy paid $275.00 for it !!! ...
I paid under $3000 for my kn6000 brand new ...to me THAT was a deal !!! .....
t.
PS ... what the heck is up with Donovan McNabb?!?!? ... He "didn't know there were ties in football" ??? ... and then he says he "wonders what would happen if it were the super bowl or a playoff game"??? ... too much chunky soup or what ?!?!? .....

t.

Upon reflection, you're right, I think the guy that paid $4,000 for a kn1000 was ripped off. I actually can't remember what I paid for a KN-3000 in 1996, I do know I got my money's worth, as I had 10 fun years with that keyboard.

(PS: The present day Eagles time has come and gone...they had their chances. McNabb dosen't know the OT rule? Unbelievable!)

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Larry
The NEW SynthZone Map

Nice to see someone else with the patience and love to keep playing the same arranger for ten years!

I just don't see the point of trading away a cherished and well learned piece of gear that keeps you and your audiences happy for a few more sounds and one or two minor features (oh, and maybe a dozen new styles!)...

Usually at the cost of several thousand dollars, too...

A lesson you sometimes have to learn the hard way.

I'm in my 9th year with the kn6000 and don't see anything that would make me change at this time ...
t.

Yamaha did - the D-DEck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OakuD0GcQA

regards
musicmanht