I just checked again..still work here...

Does this mean you didn't think the styles were up to par for Roland?

A friend has one that I listened to. I wasn't crazy about the styles. They sounded too commercial. But after everyone here raving about the unit, I thought I must be wrong....or was I right?

Anyone else NOT impressed with the styles?

But...I WOULD consider buying it for all the features it has.

I still can't download or hear them. I also get this message:
"This user is not allowed to use direct links."

Anyone know what's wrong?

"A friend has one that I listened to. I wasn't crazy about the styles. They sounded too commercial. But after everyone here raving about the unit, I thought I must be wrong....or was I right?"

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No, you're not wrong. The styles suck as far as I'm concerned. The features are great, the sounds are average to good (pianos are very good), the styles are stuck in the last century. The module is probably ok for nursing homes, but little else.

My opinion and I'm sticking to it.

chas

BK7m....Wow, this is now running such a broad spectrum of opinions from "GREAT" to "SUCKS".....now I'm confused...guess I'll have to find out for myself when Fran gets his next week.
It can't be that bad?.....could it? The demos I've heard so far are pretty good ....but theres something I can't put my finger on....starting with the Bass in the styles, I didn't care for them due to the resonance of the sound.

So....I'm thinking even if ALL the styles are no good, what would be the drawback to just loading in favorite Roland styles from my past arranger keyboards. Wouldn't that be a good reason for buying it? To have ALL my styles on one machine? And have the ones I know I like instead of using the onboard styles?

Are my missing something here? No one is is talking about "it's worth the money to have a machine where they can use their own styles." And......have all the added features to work with (sounds, MIDI file playback, etc).

Seriously, are my missing something before I do something stupid like go and spend a thousand dollars out of my Korg Kronos purchase money?

It doesn't have a Style Creator either, so unless you already have a Roland arranger that has that feature, you're going to be very limited with how you edit styles.

A $1000 "keyboard-less" arranger that does not at least have Style Assembly?

However, in the instrument's defence, I thought the selection of BK-7m styles I heard demo'd were very good indeed...certainly they sound much more detailed than on a G-70 or E-80/60/50, and far better than Prelude/GW-8.

Why they left off even a basic Style Creator/Editor is a mystery.

Ian

Please Ian it's just a tiny module, and it DOES have on-board makeup tools. Style creation would be very difficult on that tiny screen anyway.

If Roland are smart (and I'm not holding my breath here), they should release an optional Version 2 FOR PURCHASE which includes firmware upgrades, and PC software that allows the module user to create and edit new styles, OTS settings, etc. on their PC. This would give users the best of both worlds: a lightweight, portable module, and a user-friendly way to organize and customize its content.

While they're at it, they could also bring back the nice Alteration mode event with its wrap / range parameters that went missing after the demise of the E-series, and add a retrigger parameter too! One can only hope!

Please, Ted...I'm hardly being rough on the instrument...just giving my opinion, like you.

Make-up tools? Are they actually in the same category as Style Assembly?

Tiny screen...it has a video out, does it not?

If it was a cheap module, I could see leaving off Style Creator or even basic Style Assembly...but it ain't cheap, and if it is your only Roland arranger, then your style editing is going to be limited to re-voicing, changing effects..hardly a myriad of options...again, in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong...I think it sounds very, very good...better than the older Roland instruments, in my opinion, but why leave it there?

Why stop at just sounding better?

Ian

chas, I am quite amazed at your comment that it is only suitable for a nursing home considering how you all wanted to put a bullet in my head for my Rihanna demo...... It was all a bit too modern for you lot!

Mark, I think your money will be well spent. In my opinion the module is very well priced. Here in the UK they are streeting at £765.00. This is excellent value for money in my opinion.

Ian, you opinion about a style creator on-board not being available is valid, until you realise that very few people actually use such a facility,that not including it helps keep the cost right down. For heavens sake, it is less than half the price of a G70 or E80, sounds better, has more new fresh styles, has pianos directly from Roland's grand piano series etc etc. I bought one immediately having seen it at the NAMM show simply because it is great value, and of course it's killer attribute, it weighs ol 1.7kgs!

The make-up tools make the instrument very tweakable. This is what makes Roland instruments great. I think that some people just don't get that, yet they are making sweeping statements without trying it out for themselves. I appreciate that some have purchased it and not been over impressed, but everyone has found something good in it. I believe mos people will like it, particularly if you have liked a previous arranger from Roland. To my mind, t offers almost all the features of previous instruments, at a fraction of the weight. Considering most people will already have another instrument, it makes great sense to have a bK-7m. Then there are all the people who use instruments which don't traditionally have arranger backing available for them, such as accordionists, guitarists with guitar Synths, etc. This is fantastic for them.

It is not trying to be everything to everyone. It is not even trying to compete with other arrangers. By being in a price league of it's own for a module, it will succeed, simply because by being small, light and cheap, most musicians could afford it, and it will refresh their existing instrument. I really can't see what there's not to like!