Originally posted by Bachus:
Imagine that Roland could finally do it
Incorporate the UI and base of the Fantom X. Add the V-piano and V-synth (including D-beam and V-link controllers) in a great 76 keybed.
And then finally make a style session that both inspires old and new (It could be a combinaton of an arranger and a fullblown arpegiator or even something like KARMA)
I am expecting Roland to try and push arrangers in a new direction and with all youtfull musicians being addicted to loops and arpegio's it just seems right to blend the old with the new and give it a different name
I wouldn't want to THINK what that shopping list of ingredients would cost, Bachus
At this point, especially given Roland's marketing of the GW-8 (basically, they don't even want to CONSIDER using the word 'arranger'
), I have a feeling that, other than low end stuff (EXR's, Preludes, that kind of thing), Roland are leaving the arranger field.
Most young players aren't even remotely familiar with arrangers other than to bang around on their granddad's Bossa machine
There has to be a demand FOR a product before it gets made, and so far, the WS seems to be keeping the youngsters happy enough...
All I am hoping for, at this point, is that WS's adopt enough of the arrangers' basic concepts (especially being able to hit fills whenever you feel like it and they stay in sync) that they can take over from our current machines and be usable, at least, from an arranger perspective. The MotifXS is getting very close, just needs a couple of things and it is ready...
Thing is, if you play modern music on a WS, it ALREADY is ready for prime time. Fills aren't all that big a part of the modern loop driven sound.. But with almost mutually exclusive markets, I don't think we are likely to see a product that straddles both worlds. Not too many kids into hiphop AND ballroom music, and not too many oldsters into bossa AND deep house, or gangsta rap