LOL, nah the sales did not die, but they barely got out of nappies!!!

These were ghastly when first released. Took Roland a few years to get it right, (and even then not fully) but by then the damage was truly done. The same is true for the Fantom line.

Truth is Roland are now making so much money from their piano range and piano based range of arrangers and organs that they have no desire or need to go back to producing major arranger keyboards.

They may release a "new" Fantom type synth WS, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

The only reason they came out with the BK module was to augment the home piano range.

Roland usualy builds Top Quality units that LAST a long time inbetween releases, eg: G1000, G70, so just because we havn't seen anything in an arranger KB yet doesn't mean they still won't release anothet TOTL offering in the future...what's the rush? Just think people are still very happy with the G70 now thats a good bang for the buck I would say. I kinda miss mine & always on teh lookout for one for the studio or a backup unit.

I auditioned and played a G70 about 3-5 years ago and appreciated its solid build, loved the key feel and it's overall sound and instrument voices.

but . . .

Here are two important things (to me) that kept me from purchasing one:

1) Size and Weight: difficult to easily transpoert daily, and in a case much heavier still!

2) lack of rootless pro jazz chord recognition, of which the rest of the TOTL arranger brands (except Roland) now include as follows:

LH Smooth voicing leading II- V7 - I chord progression in all 12 keys:
Dm9: F1 -C2-E2
G13: F1-B1-E2
C69: E1-A1-D2

F13: (LH: Eb1-A1-D2) (RH: G2-C3-F3)

It's a big let down that Roland remains the only major arranger brand still not onboard with this.

They certainly are branching out in some strange, and perhaps, significant directions....this new product is arranger-based.




Very interesting indeed!

http://www.rolandconnect.com/product.php?p=at-350c

But, is there a market, and what else will follow...a piano-based arranger to augment the organ-based unit?

Ian

That's a good question Lee. Now let's compare a Korg PA500 with a Roland GW8. I own both and the big loser is the Roland. Every sound and style on the Korg is better except the synth leads which is the reason I bought a second hand GW8. The drums of the GW8 are good but not as good as the PA500. OS is much better on the Korg. And the Roland don't use pads and I and my PA500 do. A great Pro of the Roland is the MP3 playback and better GM compatible.

I'll chime in a little here, but I won't take Fran's bait to egg me into a real debate. He and I have been friends long enough for him to know that he's misguided and biased about Roland products, and he's only in the music business for the pretty girls in pink anyway, so it probably helps his "helpless old man" image when the young girls see him huffing and puffing as he wheels in what appears to be a coffin and then unveils a banquet table sized keyboard that makes him feel like he's sittin' at the dashboard of an Old's 98!

There is no way you can compare a 76 key, silent slab, overweight instrument with a portable, powered and sleek performance system. It just can't be done! LOL
Sure, they both have some of the same features, but honestly - they are aimed at 2 different markets. The buyers who need portable and powered (like me) will never have the likes of that G-Beast because it is simply too limiting for our needs. You know, I played a very small wedding once and the only amplification I needed was the internal speakers, PLUS - space was so limited that I was actually at the end of the BUFFET LINE! (serious!) I was right after the green beans and potatoes! If I had a G-70 there, I'd have no room for my amp, pole, vocal monitor, yada, yada ....

So, you see - there is no comparing these two instruments because they are different beasts...and Fran's PA800 will wind up as my spare before you know it anyway. (LOL)
Laugh it up folks - this was all meant in good fun. Except that I hated the vocal processor in the Rolands too. There is no way that a G-70 can compare to what I get out of my TC harmonies in the 800. Well, maybe the Roland scat voices sound better than I do ... but only a little! (I do LOVE that sound)

I had to demonstrate how I was playing the scat voices tonight. A customer insisted I was played "tapes". I wanted to slap her, but I was nice instead. It got me a nice tip instead of a slap back!
DonM

Tapes?....how old were they/...hahahahaha

Awful lot of opinion dressed up as FACT (especially FransN) but hey! That's SZ in a nutshell...

I think my take is that Roland saw the writing on the wall sooner than most. The market for arrangers is slowly dying out (there sure isn't a whole new generation playing them) and there's only room at the top for one to make a decent profit. So they bailed on the TOTL and MOTL segment, left it to Yamaha, and have concentrated on the low end. Each successive $1000 arranger has got better and better, and incorporated more from their old TOTL models, and in today's economy, that makes sense, IMO.

Maybe, if the economy turns round, and kids start playing arrangers in larger numbers, there's a hope they will return to TOTL production, but the market keeps shrinking, and Yamaha's share keeps growing. That's not a recipe for profits at the TOTL end. Unless you house them in a piano like shell, and charge a fortune..!

In the meantime, products like the BK-7m offer MUCH of Roland's TOTL technology (including the amazing Cover and Makeup Tools) at the @$1000 point, and that's a GOOD thing, isn't it?