Here is a Roland E80 review I wrote for my own website.

ROLAND E80 REVIEW

The Roland E80 arrived very well packaged inside the box with plenty of padding and the first impressions after taking this out were that it had an ultra modern and sleek design. The E80 was actually designed by a professional design company in Italy, especially for Roland and they certainly went to town with the design pulling out all of the stops.
It is fairly heavy compared to other arrangers on the market, but it is still easy enough to carry about.
There are 61 standard length velocity sensitive keys with after touch and the E80 offers 128 notes of polyphony. There are also built in speakers with a bass reflex system and with these you can electronically change the speaker modelling, to one of many different types from the options on the display screen. Personally I find this feature a bit of a gimmick, as the internal speakers seem to output far too much treble for my liking. You can of course change the EQ settings, but the E80 really springs to life when you take the outputs into a PA system, or an external sound source.

LCD SCREEN

The colour touch screen on the E80 is superb and very responsive. You can clearly see everything that you want to edit or assign, changing voices or styles is done very quickly and the operating system is fairly easy to get into after a short learning curve. The manual is very well written and is generally helpful when you are stuck and need an answer.

VOICES

There are many new voices inside the E80 which make up a grand total of 1100. The natural piano sound is very good, there are some really nice electric piano sounds, there are plenty of new guitar sounds and the electric ones are fantastic, strings and woodwind give a very warm realistic sound, the brass section is good but to my ears not quite as good as those on the Tyros 2, choirs and synth sounds are superb, the organ drawbars are excellent and the inclusion of sliders for drawbars is a must for any arranger, it makes creating organ sounds so much easier. There are also 54 drum kits inside the E80 and these kits really do give you a live sound that some other arrangers seem to lack and then you have also got the guitar mode with a dedicated direct access button to take you there. This mode is great for playing around with and you can even use this to add phrases into the music styles.
I would recommend that any E80 owner gets used to the MFX button as this adds things like reverb, chorus and EQ to the voices. Some voices can sound a little thin at first and do not have that much sustain on them. Personally I prefer to have little sustain on the voices so you can edit the voice and add your own amount instead, then just save the voice back out again. I did have the G70 when it first came out and found that the sounds were covered in far too much reverb, but this has been corrected in an OS update.
Things like reverb can also be controlled by one of the drawbar sliders, so you can add as much or little as you want whilst playing live – another great feature.

STYLES

Moving onto the styles now and as with the sounds I find them far better than those inside the G70, although there are similarities in both arrangers, so its case of do you need 76 keys or the 61 as found in the E80?
There are more than 350 styles split into 12 families and the E80 has 50 brand new styles not found anywhere else which were created by international specialists.
The E80 also has 4 Main variations, 4 intro and endings, 6 fill ins, break mute on assign SW, fade in and out buttons and my favourite feature is a button for the on bass variation so you can turn this on and off at will. Why on earth didn’t Yamaha do this with the T2?
There are also 4 one touch settings for each style which are all customisable and the make up tools allow you to edit things like songs and styles.
The sound quality of these styles is very good and they are all very useable. Where the Tyros 2 gives you that great studio/CD recording quality, the E80 has a more natural live feel about it with plenty of bottom end and punch to the drum section – fantastic. Many styles give you an immediate indication of what to play e.g. Angel Ballad immediately tells you Angel by Robbie Williams. You can use up to three master effects on each style and you can individually change EQ for each styles part giving loads of flexibility.
There really is too much to talk about in the styles and sounds categories so all I can say is go and check the E80 out as soon as possible.

D BEAM

The D Beam is a great feature on the E80 and you can assign this to different features. You can move your hand over it to make the variation go up or down and you can assign sound effects to this etc. It is a very handy feature to have.

SRX EXPANSION

The E80 has 2 expansion slots, unlike the G70’s single slot. These SRX boards offer superb sounds which the E80 can see immediately after inserting one. There are currently 12 available offering something for everyone and then there is also the SR-G01 board which is very good value for money.

Another thing the E80 has is the built in Vocal Harmonising unit. This offers loads of different settings, vocoder, harmony effects and auto pitch correction – very handy.

There are the usual connection and outputs on the back including USB2 and a PCMCIA card slot. These cards are very fast at accessing data so you can easily save and load all of your settings.

Well I think that is enough to give you an idea what the E80 is about. It really is a top end arranger and for me it is the best Roland has come out with since the G1000. The E80 is competing with the likes of the Tyros 2 and in many ways it gives it a very good run for its money. Neither instrument is better than the other, both offer something totally different. If you like the feel of a live band as backing from the styles with plenty of oomph to it, then you will not go wrong with one of these machines.

I rate the E80 8/10

The contents of this review may not be reproduced, republished or mirrored on another web page or website without the authors permission

[This message has been edited by Craig_UK (edited 05-13-2007).]

Craig thanx for the review on the E80...any demos?

None from me m8, I didn't have it long enough to do any, plus it's dificult with it not having a built in hard drive to record to as I never record as midi.
There are some demos on the resources links I've posted by Roland reps.

Nice review!
Just sustituite the "Roland E80" word with "Korg Pa800" and and the review for my Pa800 will be the same(+ or -) :P
dANIEL

Hi Dani.
If I did a review on the PA800 I'd sum it up in one word and that word isn't good lol
But everyone to their own m8, what works for some doesn't work for others unfortunately, but it's nice that there are so many arrangers out there to pick from

[This message has been edited by Craig_UK (edited 05-13-2007).]

Great review of the Roland E80. I had spent some time on the G70 at my local Roland dealer, and really liked it a lot. The touch screen was much improved over the E600 which I once had.

The styles and sounds were great, the operating system was easy too.

I was always a Roland fan, started with the E30, then on to E70, E86, E500, E600, VA7.

I really liked the E30, E70 and E86. The E500 and E600 had some good points, but I didn't like that they were just digital piano's in a keyboard case, and no long "workstations". The VA7 I didn't like because of the operating system. The display didn't hold much information, and most everything I wanted to do was 5 or 6 pages down. I didn't keep that long.

I gave up on Roland and have been playing Technics and Yamaha. I have the Technics KN7000 and the PSR3000. I have really been toying with getting another Roland. I have a lot of Roland styles I'd love to use again.
I liked the G70 alot, Roland finally get it all together again with that one. I just didn't want a 76 key keyboard and no on board speakers. Mainly no onboard speakers were the big turn off.

I no longer have a local Roland store so an unable to see a E80 or E50 or any of them. I have thought about buying the E50, but hate buying sight unseen. I guess I'd really like the E80. Anyway,just waiting and deciding which one or whether to buy either of them.

I hope to hear more about both keyboards.

I liked the Database manager for the VA7. I think that comes with the E80, not sure if it works with the E50 or not.

Marilyn

I have had my G70 over 2 years now and still wouldn't change it . (have owned Technics Kn6000/6500/7000 Yamaha EL70 , Technics GA1 , Yamaha PR702 and a few others) and this is the best . I have now saved several hundred tune sets up (by tune name) the music assistant is great - being flash memory it's fast to store and retrieve than say a hard drive - i have managed to store all tune setup s for all my music books - probaly a couple of hundred now . I usually create a first draft sound set up save it , then when i play again several weeks later i tweak it and resave - that way the sound presets get better in stages. Have found a few things worth doing - like adding reverb/ effects occasionally to presets makes all the difference , especially to the guitars and saxs . Also setting all sound channels - including style volume to 0 when volume pedal is at zero - that way you can use the keyboard like an ordgan ie: with "ecpresion pedal" at zero no volume then raise for all channels to increase in volume . This prevents drown out by the rythm. Also Roland guarantees are longer than other manufacturers. FOr every tune setting the right balance on all channels is a must , and the drawbars make this so easy , then once it all sounds right save to music assistant takes a few secs . The only thing is the styles are fewer than the other flagship keyboards , and are not that easy to find the rightr one to match a particular song , but they are all very good , and once mixed correctly (which is easy to do once you get into it) be controlled to create realistic backings for any music genre.

That all said i'm pretty sure the Tyros PA800 etc. are all probably just as good , it's just these latest keyboards are just better than the predecessors , now just about ready for the next G80 or Tyros 3 rollout , which i have read on this and other forums is not for another year - is that right ? If so i'll put the money in a high interest account

[This message has been edited by tony harbour (edited 05-15-2007).]

Hi Tony.

Yamaha do seem to favour a 3 year cycle. Their new S900 which is the PSR3000 replacement has taken about 3 years, so a T3 would likely be ready for release around November 2008.
I've already got money saved up for when this comes out. If they improve the sounds and styles again then USB/Firewire and make loading times of samples quicker (not forgetting Akai format support at least if someone from Yamaha reads this) it will be a very good machine. I would love to see hard drive streaming of samples but I doubt that will ever happen with Yamaha

You can keep your Rolands, Korgs, Ketrons etc, I've found what satisfies me at long last

Craig I think it is because you are use to the Yamaha stuff..If you kept the other boards long enough to learn what is wrong[to correct or modify]...or just overcome human errors...You may have a different opinion..

Since I totally disagree with most of your opinions[I guess that is why we call them opinions]..

BTW, I wouldn't trade my G1000 for a Tyros2..

Fran, that's a bit harsh, especially after that very fair review at the top of the post. Craig (just like you!) knows what he is looking for in an arranger's sound and operation, and this world is big enough that you can BOTH have different ideas of what that is...

Incidentally, Fran, what DIDN'T you agree with in Craig's E80 review....?

I think that Craig would be surprised to find that virtually ALL of the new styles in the E80 have already been ported over to the G70, and that OS3's new EQ options (3-band parametric on every Part, AND every single drum within a kit!) can get the G70's sound VERY close to the E80, as well as fixing any niggles about certain sounds from the pre-EQ days.

If the styles were the main difference between G70 and E80 to you, you might want to take another look at this one.

My take on the whole Yamaha/Roland thing is that the 'sound' is more live on the Rolands, and the touch screen is more intuitive than Y's buttons around the screen, but the Y's Mega and SA voices are to die for, especially the guitars. I have a guitarist, so the Roland is a better choice, but if I were primarily solo, it would be a much harder decision...!

I am investigating whether a Yamaha Motif module or cheapo arranger might add these voices to my arsenal, and then I get the best of both worlds. I just don't believe EITHER of them are clearly superior, which is why I don't flip when I see dissenting opinion. There's room for all of us...

Typical response from Fran, but you wont get rid of me from SZ that easy now I'm back lol.
I don't have to spend that long on any keyboard Fran to realise what I like and what I don't like. I don't go swapping keyboards left right and centre either. The PA800 I didn't like but the E80 if I didn't have the T2 I probably would have kept it.
As for the Wersi, that came faulty so it HAD to go back. The only reason for the new Kawai digital piano is so I can give lessons on it. I was intending to use the Wersi for this before it died on me

As with any keyboard you can edit them to your hearts content and put your own stamp into it, but in order to do this you have to like the sounds and styles that are in the machine in the first place. You have to have a good set of starting material.
Unfortunately for me, I wasn't impressed with the E80's dry internal sounds. Fair enough it is easy to add reverb and sustain etc but most of the sounds just didn't meet my expectations. I loved the styles which are very live, but the sounds to my ears were no way near the quality of the T2's (or even my old SD1 for that matter which I part exchanged for the E80).
It is each to their own. You love your Roland, you praise it every 5 minutes on here and I can't fault you for that. I love my Yamaha, but until the T2 I hadn't liked any previous Yamaha since the old V50. I was always a Roland person until the VA7 came out - aint life simple.

I also disagree with some of your opinions Fran but that's life. It would be a sad old world if eveyone agreed with each other, then again for Synthzone it would be good as there would be no bickering or mini wars on here anymore

Hi Diki I have heard the E80 styles on the G70 and they definitely sound good
I am certainly not knocking the E80 as you can see in my review above. It IS a good machine and for those who like what they hear from it they will get hours of satisfaction from it.

Craig and Diki, My response was to the last quote from Craig, prior to my post..nothing to do with is review..


"You can keep your Rolands, Korgs, Ketrons etc, I've found what satisfies me at long last "

Well, Fran you can hardly blame Craig for stating the EXACT same thing you say about your G1000!

Craig, do you find that MOST arrangers are a bit to 'dry' for you, or is it just the E80? I had exactly the opposite experience when I first got my G70, way too much reverb... What's with that European (not English!) fetish for sounding like you are in a huge ballroom..??!!

One thing I am very careful about is to not voice the arranger for what would seem to be the correct amount of reverb when you listen to it at home. Once you gig out, you have to factor in the sound of the room you play in, also. If it sounds perfect at home, or in the studio (small, dry rooms, and you sitting VERY close), it's generally going to sound TOO ambient once you play in a decent sized room.

Just my opinion, though, but next time you are in a medium to large-ish room, put on an SMF and walk to the back of the room. Unless you are VERY loud, it will sound a lot more spacious back there.

Hi Diki.

The G70 going quite a while back, I also found had far too much reverb, but it was the first version of the operating system when I had one and that problem is well in the past now with the G70's.

It's only been the PA800 and E80 that I found the sounds were really dry.
I do see where you are coming from with different sized rooms and I've always used an automated mixing desk when I go out. I have many different settings stored in here so I can just call up different ones depending on the size of the venue I am in -very handy.
I do like to set up an arranger in the home for which I either link to my PC's sound card and come out into Logitech 5500's or I also have a pair of Mackie SRM450's set up in my home studio which I use.

Maybe Fran is right and my ears have just got accustomed to the T2's CD quality squeaky clean sound in my old age lol

[This message has been edited by Craig_UK (edited 05-17-2007).]

Hi Craig_Uk , and others , I think all the latest keyboards are fantastic (atleast when you compare them to the weasy thin sounds of 70s farfisa organs!) . It's amazing how far sampling technology has come (would never have thought it possible 20 years ago). The "sales cycle" of new keyboards seems to be in sync with all the main manufacturers , i think the maker to bring out the next generation flapship model will undoubtedly reap the benefits of eager consumers who are anticipating the next big thing. My wish list - is a keyboard with 76 keys like my current roland , with SA voices (though the ROland guitars etc are good SA are perhaps a little better), and ditch the vocal thingy altogether - or atleast provide it as an optional extra for those who use it for gigging - i'm sure 95% of us home players never even plug the mike in ! - i have an extremely disagreeable singing voice , so have never used it - apart from 5 minutes trying out the novelty dog and robot setting . Sampling and AKAI imports and a good interactive web site interface (with pref tons of free online styles - like yamaha were supposed to being doing - but they are not free as far as i can see). Perhaps more instruments especially organs including complete theatre organs presets would be useful in the next keyboards - it's time they included a complete set of theatre organ presets to compete with the miditzer / haupwerk software organs . Also a dual manual version like the Yamaha D-Deck would be great (shame the D Deck has never made it to the UK shores).

Hi Tony.
The D deck is supposed to be being released here in the UK according to the grapevine, but no one's mentioned anything about this yet.
Total Transformation Technology have just released a CD (or USB stick) with Theatre sounds on for the T2 from the likes of the famous Blackpool Wurlitzer etc so things are getting there slow but sure.

Hi Craig
The general indications were that the D Deck would be shown at Blackpool; however this was not the case, so it looks as if the D Deck will not be available in Europe, (The surprise that was mentioned in the Keyboard Cavalcade magazine, turned out to be the S900)
Total Transformation Technologies withdrew their Blackpool Tower samples after the Pakefield Festival last year due to legal reasons (Wersi own the sole rites to all the Blackpool Tower Wurlitzer samples)
Total Transformation were at Blackpool with other samples, (Including those for the Tyros 2) however although there were more of them, they lagged behind the Wersi Theatre Option Pack in quality.
I will be posting a full report on the Organ side of the Blackpool festival on Organfax and/or Jazz Hooves, when I have the time.
Enjoy whatever you play

Bill


[This message has been edited by abacus (edited 05-19-2007).]

Hi Bill.

Karl Peacock has posted a few demos of the Theatre T2 Organ sounds since he has already got these. I'm not impressed to be honest by the sampled sounds, although it is hard to judge by online MP3's.
As you'll agree, they don't seem to be a patch on the Wersi theatre organ sounds but it's a nice addition since Yamaha do not release any new samples for the T2 themselves.

Craig,



On the Pa800, you can set the reverb as a global offset. This way, you can adapt it to any room.

Best regards,
Paolo

Yes, the D-Deck is in England. I have one. See www.mickreevesmodels.co.uk
Mick 01 354 653063

Craig , A great review . I know it's an old topic but , which keyboard would you say is best to use of the 2 and which has the best sound for the more modern stuff ie not big band and bert kampfaert !!