I have real concerns about Roland too. For what it's worth I played a G70 and didn't really like it all that much. To each his own though. One thing that plagued the G70 was its lack of more current technology but you can understand this when you realize it's been around for ever it seems. Plus G70 sales didn't generate the income Roland was hoping for which I think is the reason they haven't offered anything new in the high end arena in 76 keys. Roland recently scrubbed the G70 from their website and hopefully it will mean a new high end arranger (in 76 key flavor) that will grace winter NAMM 2011. If not NAMM maybe Musikmesse 'll. If not Musikmesse then God knows when but perhaps Roland will indeed forgo anymore high end arrangers or even bow out of the arranger arena altogether like some are suggesting. Pity if they do because less options means less competition and less competition means higher prices and less choice for consumers. Can you imagine if everybody bows out except Yammie?? We'll have the Tyros29 with mediocre Drum Kits, only 61 measly keys, costing upwards of $20,000 in the year of our Lord 2032. And Yammie will probably still be selling a boat load of 'em to devoted Yammie fans willing to take a second mortgage out on their house to buy the next 'incremental' quote: "wonder" - depending on who you talk to - from the folks at Yamaha Japan who are laughing all the way to bank in Hamamatsu - at your expense. Which is a sad joke Yamaha is playing in my opinion. Which unfortunately a lot of people don't mind playing along with them. To each his own I reckon. One thing it does do is to stimulate the economy with a massive influx of money into the global economy in these dire economic times. Yamaha thanks you from the bottom of their "bottom line" heart I might add. Minus any Indian Drum kits or other Indian instruments of value to speak of on the Tyros4 I should mention too. Or the 76 keys that roughly half of all arranger players would rather have as well. That hasn't swayed Yamaha though obviously.

All the best,
Mike

You bet your bippy they'll sell a boat load...did you ever figure it's because they know their market very well?

Swaying any successful company from it's course takes accurate figures...and so far, none have been forthcoming.

Ian

Korg is here to stay.
At least in the forseeable future.

It may however come down to those 2.
IMHO

Lee S.

Seems like Fran is the ONLY one who likes the Prelude

I might try one for 30 days.

I thought the GW-8 was quite good from a technical standpoint, but it's main problem was that the styles themselves were not mixed that well, and a lot of them weren't even written that well.

I keep going on and on about CONTENT, but for an arranger, especially NOT an open one that seems to be popular amongst those willing to do everything from scratch (mind you, with decidedly dodgy results), it's almost the ONLY thing... Roland stopped doing their styles in house quite a while back, and going to MidiSpot, a third party house, looking to make styles that worked in a variety of manufacturers' models has turned out to be a very bad move.

From having worked with a GW-8L for quite a while, I can assure you that in the sounds and technology, at its' price point, it was an excellent arranger... But what SUCKS is how well the style developers leveraged that technology. It took me no more than ten minutes per style to tweak them into something FAR more even and usable, but this is post OS2. Originally, when it was released, no editing at all, virtually. Now you have a Makeup Tools system, similar to the G70 etc. (but harder to use because no touch screen, and no detail drumkit editing, either) and you CAN tweak away.

But someone needs to tell these idiot manufacturers that they need to pretend that NO editing can be done at all. And that it should NOT hit the shelves until it sounds its' best.

I truly believe that Roland needs new blood. It's founding father Ikutaro Kakehashi is now 80, and little innovation is going on. These are certainly difficult times for the keyboard industry... global recession, stiff competition from software instruments, a decline in live music and in music education programs, the list goes on and on. It is hard to see where things will end up.

But Roland may well have decided that the BOTHER of making a good arranger, given declining overall sales in keyboards, and their unwillingness to make sure a new release is PERFECT OOTB, isn't worth the trouble any longer. I can hardly blame them.

In the meantime, they went out on a high note. I now have a backup G70, and, as I have said for a long time, nothing exists from ANY manufacturer that does what it does best... I have no problem envisioning playing it happily for as long as I can lift it! Were I to need a 'pure' arranger for solo gigs, I might take a look at Yamaha, if they make a 76. In the meantime, five years and counting, still getting wow! comments from everyone I play with, and not the SLIGHTEST desire to move away from it...

Not bad, Roland... Not bad! You'll be missed by a lot of mayflies, who are constantly looking for the NEXT best thing, to assuage their lack of, well who KNOWS what they find so lacking in what they have?! I'm just glad I got the BEST thing you ever made (apart from maybe the Jupiter8!)

Appreciate your post Diki. I hope to find a GW8 locally here to check out these unbalanced styles you mention. I sure am spoiled with the 800 ease of editing - a breeze. In fact, that whole board is designed for a tech novice like me.

I dunno. I'd still prefer to put some effort into an E80, but they are very pricey.

I have so much work to do and songs to complete, it's ludicrous to think about adding anything else at this point.

Zuki - As I mentioned in my post, there is an E-80 available (last time I was there)through Jim at Brent's Music in Fort Myers, FL. The instrument is in beautiful condition and sounds great. I know he is anxious to sell it...so it might be worth making him an offer if your interested. I wish I could swing it myself. Phone number is 800-936-7625.

Mitch

Jim, E80 can be found...cheap...Don Mason just sold his for around $1,500..in perfect condition..

Also the Prelude is the better buy over the GW8....The lyric read alone (only on the Prelude) is worth the choice...and I know you like built in speakers..

Crystal ball again?...all unfounded info about Roland.

Diki quote.."In the meantime, they went out on a high note. I now have a backup G70, and, as I have said for a long time, nothing exists from ANY manufacturer that does what it does best... I have no problem envisioning playing it happily for as long as I can lift it! Were I to need a 'pure' arranger for solo gigs, I might take a look at Yamaha, if they make a 76. In the meantime, five years and counting, still getting wow! comments from everyone I play with, and not the SLIGHTEST desire to move away from it..."

I am in agreement with Diki...I too am more than content if this was the last keyboard I would own....I also found it to be the best all around keyboard I ever played...

When Roland does release a new model (and they will.. )....it will have to be something special to make me change...just as the G70 did with my G1000...a deciding factor for me would be the same quality I found in the G70 ..with the added media player from the Prelude...