I hope that was just the prelude to the Prelude videos...I really wanted to hear more...like the various voices, etc.

Yeah.., this video was pretty poor, but I'm not holding my breath here for RolandUS to post another video. Hell they never went beyond audio demos for the E-50/60 yet they gave more attention to promoting the E-09 on the US site. RolandUS just sucks it big time when it comes to promotional material for arrangers.

AMEN...

prelude does not sound bad at all...
i like what i hear.

Did Roland at least add the Lyric Reader on the Prelude?.....because the Gw8 doesn't have it.

Don't hold your breath Donny.... So far this appears to be a GW-8 with speakers, minus patch modify. I'd be surprised if they added that feature to this model.

So sad...a company with so much potential, but they just don't get it when it comes to promoting and selling.

Nope, George K said it's exactly the same as the GW8 plus speakers. If it had lyrics I'd be ordering one.

I wonder how many mp3s it can hold at one time.

Glenn

I dont see the advantage of this model over the GW-8 really. It's $150 more.., and stripped of some features. You could buy the GW-8 (get the patch modify back) then take that $150 and spend it on something else. I would go as far as saying that many who buy this thing for $1,000 probably won't even know the GW-8 (better built more pro version for less) even exists.

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 01-23-2009).]

Not a bad overall sound at all, drums and most of the demoed voices were very good...I thought the Sax(?)was very anemic, but the styles had lots of life.

For those not needing to alter sounds, it seems like a nice entry level arranger.

Ian

I thought the sax was pretty boring too, but honestly when looking at that video again I blame the player for that The sounds were def very good though, but I still don't see the value in this thing. They drop features, add speakers, then charge more for it. GW8's a much better bargain IMO.

What would you say it's meant to compete with...what PSR, for instance?

Honestly at first glance when I saw this thing (prior to the price release) I figured it would compete with the PSR-S550. I figured if it was priced close to the GW-8 it again would fair well against the 550. However at this price range it's up against the S700, but the S700 has quite a few features on the Prelude and gives you those extra features for the same price such as style recording, basic patch editing, ect. The Prelude has a few features on the S700 too, but I'm shocked the price is at $1,000. I think the Prelude makes the S550 and S700 look like even better bargains.

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 01-23-2009).]

Yeah, but on the other hand, the Prelude has MP3, WAV and AIFF, which the S700 does not.

It will be interesting to see what kind of buyer it attracts....it seems to be focusing more on playback, i.e to play over an MP3, WAV etc.

I agree the GW-8 is the better deal...decent speakers aren't expensive.

GW8 it's a better deal to me too.

i don;t think prelude is focusing very much on playback (except for mp3 playback) since does not give much possiblities for editing midi files.

on the other hand, even though s500 has more features, prelude/gw8 gives you better build quality (probably...) and more professional look.

the sounds, at least from this demo, are quite good. i mean the styles sounds, as that sax was not great... but general sound i believe was very pleasent and i am sure many people will buy it.

still, GW8 seems more appealing to me.

I've played the GW8.....& let me tell you Yamaha has nothing to worry about.

I played the GW8 too. I think compared to S700 or S550 it's a more professional sound. It doesn't sound as a usual homekeyboard and has more live character. On the styles there's MFX (the E-guitars sound more realistic) I think, which does not even have the Roland G70.

Greetings
Michael

I have to agree, Donny, but I think it's not really meant to compete directly with the Yamahas...no style editing, and with no sounds comparable to mega voices, the styles tended to sound a little less realistic, although the drums were more "live" sounding.

I played a GW-8 a several weeks ago whilst at Music Stop (now Long & McQuade)in Halifax, and it was hooked up to a good set of monitors which helped to give it an impressive and warm sound, but hearing the PSR-S700 through the same system, the latter produced much better sounding styles, although the RH voices were much closer in quality between the two.

Ian

Data is stored on your thumb drive

Besides all the feature drawbacks I would go as far to say the Gw8 isn't even in the same league sound wise as any S series unit.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-25-2009).]

What! Come on fellas.., I can understand comparing the GW's sound to some of the upper end, but saying the GW's not in the same league as the S series is a stretch. I've played the S700 by the way. The GW-8 uses the Fantom/SonicCell sound engine. The S-700 may have a few features on the GW-8, but in terms of sound quality..., the GW's got it. GW's pianos are much better.., GW has better drums, and is better in several other sound areas. I wouldn't even begin to compare it to the S550. The GW's also built much better than the S series.

Now comparing it to the S900's a bit different. The S900's got the SA voices.... However.., it has also been said that some of the GW's voices were trickled down from the SRX boards (as they did with the new Fantom G line)



[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 01-25-2009).]

I found the sounds pretty close in overall quality, but the big difference is the old chestnut that Yamaha and Roland have their own characteristic "sound"

So, one will tend to favor one over the other, depending on what sounds best to them...the "Yamaha" sound or the "Roland" sound.

I like the "Yamaha" sound...that's why I play one.

Style wise, the Yamaha S700 clearly has an edge because of the mega voices, of which Roland has no equal...again, that's my personal opinion.

Roland's drums are more "live", Yamaha's are more compressed...I like "compressed" for my type of music and for where I play...others may prefer a the former, depending on their needs.



Ian

donny...
i suppose that was not a joke, but i have to take it as it was. everything is not about mega and SA voices. many players prefer better keys and solid build instead, and guess what - fantom sounds are quite good, definitely more appealing to many compared with SA voices. and if only take drum sounds in discussion and we said it all.
when it comes about features, yes, s700 might be more interesting, but roland does provide a new unique thing with center cancel...

I'll agree the S700 has a few more features such as style recording, and more indepth sequencer (meaning more post editing options)..., but I think the GW has the S500/550/700 beat for sounds. Too much hype on mega voices IMO. SA voices are another thing though as they're in a league all their own.

I thought the styles on the S700 were pretty good.., but I would say my only gripe with them (which has been brought up a lot) was they sounded way too compressed and over quantized..., and he drums were usual Yamaha (some like them some don't)

Again, it's all about what a person wants to hear coming out of their speakers.

Some like a more compressed CD quality sound...some don't.

It's nice to have a choice.

I'd say pluses for the Yamaha's... Mega voices (at this price point you can't use the SA ones) and better styles (but only some genres. Roland's modern beats are much better, IMO).

Pluses for the Roland... The drums, without a doubt. Almost ALL the sounds in the main drumkits (several kits worth of them) are multi-velocity, and if you get the GW-8L (no news yet on whether the Prelude will have a GW-8L clone version), a set or two of multi-velocity latin percussion to die for. Much better pianos (unless you LIKE that brittle thin Yamaha sound!), E.Pianos, etc..

So, all in all, it's pretty much the same old, same old when it comes to Yammie vs. Roland. Are the style guitars more important than the drums and bass? Do you want punchy and warm, at the sacrifice of style selection? Do you LIKE cold thin pianos?

I don't think the battle lines have moved much with this model...

Ian I agree I've learned my lesson I'll stick with Yamaha for now.....& thats after seeing the Audya....great live sound & features but I have no need for it at this time..



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-25-2009).]

One more thing lacking on the Prelude/GW-8 is EQ for each style part.

Ian frankly I thought it was a toyish feeling when I played it in the store.. IMO. but what can you expect for the price.




[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-25-2009).]

Actually, I found Yamaha's mega basses much more punchy and warm than the basses in the GW-8...and this is through the same speaker system...KRK powered monitors.

The drums are more "live" in the GW-8(and hence, the Prelude) but the lack of style part EQ provides much less flexibility than the S700, and the former's pianos still suffer from unevenness in the middle octave, although that may not bother some.

It is surprising that one has to go all the way to Roland's TOTL arrangers for style/part EQ.

Ian

At this rate the G70 could be the "LAST" TOTL arranger KB Roland ever makes.
I wouldnt be surprised at all. As is the Audya also. I feel Yamaha will be the
"Last Man Standing" in the arranger world downward spiral although I hope I'm wrong..........



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-25-2009).]

The G70 is still listed in Roland US lineup, although they only mention OS Ver.2 upgrade and nothing about OS3.01.

It must be current because the Prelude is there.

Lots of layoffs at Roland in Italy, where I believe the arrangers are made, so maybe they will try and compete in the lower priced home arranger market (the Prelude and GW-8 being the first attempt)..let the high end model's features trickle down like Yamaha does...certainly more profit in the long run...only thing is, they are a little late getting there, as it is pretty well dominated by Casio and Yamaha at present.

I would love to see another G-series, as competition always improves the breed...only time will tell if Roland feels it is a feasible venture.

Ian

If you re looking for timely information about Roland arrangers, you might as well give up on RolandUS's site. They are so far behind what is current it is embarrassing. Version 3 for the G70 has been out since Oct 2006. Well over TWO FRIGGIN' YEARS...

And not word one about it on the US Roland site.

I just hope when I stroke out and start drooling, I too can get a job promoting Roland arrangers in the USA

how long has passed after G1000 release to have G70 show up? does anyone remember?

G-1000 came out in 1998 or so.

I believe the G70 was out in 2005.

7 years in the difference.

So next G will be 2012?

Don't hold your breath....times are very bad.

Actually, Roland came out with the V/VA series in the interim between the G1000 and G70. Including the VA76, which was, at the time, basically Roland's replacement for the G1000. The fact that it didn't catch on didn't stop it from being Roland's direct replacement.

But, of course, Donny and Ian knew THAT!

Personally, I hope Roland DON'T come out with a G70 replacement any time soon. This, at least to me, seems a terrible time to introduce a very expensive keyboard, especially one without an innovative approach to what is turning out to be a changing market. Let their 'competition' go broke trying to cater to a dwindling customer base, with dwindling resources (wait six months before you argue this point!) with unproven 'cutting edge' products at inflated, pre-recession prices.

In the meantime, as I keep saying, my G70 continues to wow others in the studio and live bands, AND as a solo/duo accompaniment device. And, I'm sorry, but so far, no-one else has yet managed to come out with anything I have to say 'I GOTS to have one of those!'...

Only a gearhead changes for no good reason. Me, I've got to find something truly BETTER before I'll even consider it.

The question was..."how long has passed after G1000 release to have G70 show up? does anyone remember?"

No one mentioned anything about VA.

yes, my bad, i all forgot about VA series.

i still believe the "prelude" is a prelude to the new top arranger from roland. now, it might come in later than they wanted, due to the bad economy, but later this year or next year they will do it.

and i believe, and hope for, that next roland TOTL, just as prelude, will introduce some (more) serious synth features, like arpeggios, real-time sound modify, in-depth sound editing, etc. and since prelude is another form of the GW-8 synth, why not hope for a fantom-G arranger?


why wasn't VA so succesfull btw? or was it?

I imagine Roland would be more concerned with selling the remaining units of it's 4 year old G70 line before it will venture towards a replacement.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by adimatis:
[B] yes, my bad, i all forgot about VA series.

i still believe the "prelude" is a prelude to the new top arranger from roland.


If that is the case then they need to call it The Roland Fugue...

maybe... "apogee"?

Sounds like they may be going Baroque.

The VA series was probably a very big flop for Roland. They offered some new features with the style morphing and d-beam. But one of the biggest negatives on the VA was almost everything was controlled through the touch screen. The G1000 had a nice layout but the VA almost had no layout. Also the styles were just about the same, but there was new voices added. I had a hard time adjusting to VA coming from G1000/EM2000 board.

Let me also say I'm just talking about Roland US, I can't say for Europe, also one of big factors was also the price when it came out.




[This message has been edited by mc (edited 01-27-2009).]

You all get so worked up about the first letter or so of a product's designation...

The V/VA series WAS the replacement for the G-series. They changed the designation because so many new features were added it seemed appropriate. Kind of like when Yamaha dropped the PSR from their 9000 series and went with Tyros after THAT embarrassing flop

The V series was when Roland moved away from the Sound Canvas only sound set, it was the start of adding in V-Drum TD multi velocity drum samples, and samples from their TOTL WS products, and yes, just like Roland so often do, rather than build slowly (VERY slowly!) and incrementally like Yamaha do, Roland try to reinvent the wheel almost every model, and added in the 'flexible audio' features from their Varios system.

And yes, they tried to channel everything through the touch screen (but allowed MIDI hooks and FC-7 control, so it wasn't exactly cut and dried there..

But no, it wasn't a great success, and in all fairness, I think returning to the G-designation after the V/VA series wasn't a great success seems to have been a good idea. But the change of designation was just a marketing decision, as was the G series return, just as Tyros WAS the successor to the PSR 9000pro... (I don't imagine many are waiting around breathlessly for the PSR9001pro other than the return of the 76!)

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 01-27-2009).]

Is there a manual yet for the Prelude?

Or perhaps with regard to the G-70 and E-80, it's a case of if it ain't baroque, don't fix it.

How can something be "baroque", if you can never get your hands on it. It's hard to break something you can't find.

I think Fran and Diki are hoarding them up for spare parts, just in case Roland reneges on a G70 replacement.

Ian

I would say Roland thinks that they don't need a G70 replacement for a long while coming........after all it's a great sounding arranger it its own right as is...
less the weight issue.

But how many mp3 songs on the thumb drive?

Speak for yourself. They're ubiquitous where I live.

Certainly not ubiquitous in the USA.

figure about 3-4 MB each on average ro about 99 per folder divided by the size of your Thumb drive.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-27-2009).]

That's not the fault of the G70. That's the fault of RolandUS.

You can't find an S900 within 100 miles of me. Does THAT make it an unsuccessful arranger?

Doesn't matter...it still is a pretty scarce instrument, which was what my statement was about.

So are Fazioli pianos... or Bugatti cars.

Doesn't stop them from being amongst the best available.

I doubt that's the case. I'm guessing also that there are very few G-70's left to be sold if the truth were known. First of all, if the G-70 didn't sell all that well to begin with, Roland no doubt would have scaled back production at the factory before a glut could occur at the retail level. If nothing else, they could use some of the parts of the (God forbid) "left over" G-70's, on the production of its replacement.

Make no mistake and don't let anybody fool you. Roland is at this very moment working feverishly on the G-70 replacement and will, in due time, make the much anticipated announcement upon its completion and according to Roland's own timetable.

The reason I believe this so adamantly is because Roland HAS TO KEEP UP WITH THE COMPETITION. If they don't they will start losing precious marketshare, and not just in the Arranger arena but company wide. They are also well aware of what their competition has recently released and they know that their 4 year old G-70 is long in the tooth and past due for retirement with a new replacement in its place.

I think we're looking at either Musikmesse '09 or Summer NAMM '09 or in the worse case scenario Winter NAMM 2010 for that long awaited, and also much anticipated, announcement finally being released to the public. But regardless of the exact timing, it IS coming in my humble and honest opinion. Sooner is preferred though, of course.

All the best, Mike

I believe that there will be a replacement G70, but if rolandus really does not care about arranger market we may not see it in the states.

Don't misinterpret poor marketing and product placement with rarity.

They aren't too hard to find, according to Fran...he knows where there's all kinds...it's just a real hassle trying to get people to buy them.

Let's hope you're right Mike...competition always improves the breed.

I still think Diki and Fran should buy a few spares...just in case.

Don't assume that what happens to be the case in one particular territory - and a pretty minor one for arrangers at that - is also the case globally. It manifestly isn't.



[This message has been edited by Seamaster (edited 01-28-2009).]

Certainly I would not be so presumptuous, but my point was that it's presence is a bit wanting in the USA...which has been already acknowledged by yourself and several others in previous discussions.

How did you arrive at that assumption?