Yes, I have contacted them John, and also I'll be talking with the local Roland rep, who I worked with for several years.

My apologies as well about your name, as you hadn't given one, and yes, I noticed the "Sweetie", but was unable to edit.

You say you have a retail store? Do you sell/promote Yamaha arrangers as well as Roland?

Good to have you on the forum...really!

Ian

BTW...I used have an HX-1...I used to teach Electone for some time...nice to see one again...you buy it new?

Although you have misinterpreted a couple of my comments (it's okay, you're not unique in that respect) and taken the 'bullet' comment far too seriously, considering the joking context in which it was both said and responded to by other SZ members, I'm not going drag this on. BTW, Nigel is a pretty smart guy and knows when he's being buttered up . Here is my final word. If you go back and read all my posts on this module, you will find that I have had ONLY ONE BASIC CRITISIZM. I DON'T LIKE THE ON-BOARD STYLES. I have praised the ease of use (OS), commented favorably on the 'tones' (Roland-speak), and made NO negative comments on any other aspect ie. weight, size, feature set, etc. I JUST DON'T LIKE THE STYLES, GOT IT. I probably just don't care for Rolands general approach to style creation. I could care less about Ian's 'pitch bend' concerns or the fact that it does not come with a style creator (which I'm not going to use anyway). I just don't like the styles. I don't think they are as 'musical' as say, the Korg or Yamaha styles. I think it's the lack of natural dynamics in the playing of the style parts; I really haven't put my finger on it. I think it would be great for TRANCE, since EVERY style on board could be used for it .

Look, I bought it, I'm going to hold on to it.......'til some third party comes out with some killer jazz, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and funk, styles. Some really good Latin stuff would also be nice. In the meantime, I appreciate the perspective you bring as a 'store' seller. It obviously helps to be able to make certain equipment comparisons that most of us can't do. You seem to know the equipment well and that can only be an asset to this board.

Peace,

chas

Sweentech ... nice and long post ... Congratulations ... When asked about making it for style, all was silent, but now waking up ... Those that have heard the demo is really only suitable for old people's homes ... I do not want to offend ... Anything Could Put Sweentech normal and as someone said here in 2011 at more style ... ok? For the Rumba, Chacha, Ballad has really sucks .... Thanks ... And I have to choose GW8 - BK7m ...

Peace indeed Chas! Ok, now we have moved on, yes Ian, we have Yamaha arrangers in my store. We stock PSR-E223, 323, 423, S710, S910, all the DGX's and Tyros 4. We also have the whole Korg range. However, I am not here to tout for business.

Many years ago I worked for the biggest retailer of these intruments in the UK, and was invited to Roland Italy to have a look round and give feedback to the designers on their existing TOTL model at that time, the VA-76. I sat down and explained, along with another 5 top dealers from the UK, exactly what I thought should be in a new model. 2 years later, the G70 appeared. It had almost everything I asked for in it, though in fact I didn't like it when it arrived.

This wasn't due to the feature set, but the piano sample was litteraly swimming in Reverb (in my opinion again!) I spoke to my Rep, he fed the information back to Italy and it was fixed in a sofware update within a few weeks.

I had been holding off buying a Fantom X8 when it came out, waiting to see what the G-70 would be like. As I was so dissapointed, I went ahead and purchased a Fantom X8. A few weeks later, I was more than happy with the updated G70. So happy was I, that I bought it too.

When I was at the factory, the designers listened to everything we had to say intently. They really respected our opinion and were grateful for not just gratifying praise of their existing model, but also constructive critisism, and wishes for a new model.

Things we asked for included - the full VK8 organ, all the DisCover5 facilities such as cover and makeup tools, better sounds etc. We got all those! Also a media port - I had to get out my laptop and show the interface for the media bay on it to get my point across as they initally didn't understand what I was going on about. You could swap in a floopy drive or a CD drive on the laptop, and I said I wanted that kind of facility on the keyboard. At the time there was nothing else out with that feature. It became the PCMCIA slot on the back of the G70, so you could choose a media to save your song/styles/user programs to. We also asked for a return of the G1000 action (which most people told me they thought was better than the VA76 action, mostly due to the rough feel of the black keys). We asked for a colour touchscreen - got that too. Mark and Jump - got that too. Tempo-sync'd effects - got that too.

This is why I know Roland listen. I was one person in a multitude who visited the factory that year. I know they had visits from other countries too. I am sure Roland Canada and Roland US sent some people over too.

In the end, I came to view the G70 as a keyboard in which I had influenced the design of, and had gotten everything I wanted. I was litterally over the moon with it.

Roland still conduct research in this way. It is great that they get their top dealers to feedback ideas from customers. The designer who was at this years NAMM gave me his email address, and asked me to pass on any ideas I had directly to him. For obvious reasons I am not going to give that out, but I don't mind offering to pass on ideas for you too. Just let me know what you want!

At the end of the day, we are all musicians, and most will be far more skilled than me. I am self taught, but really have to work at everything I play. I am content with my current abilities though, as I largely play for my own amusement (other than shop work.)

Re the HX1, no I never got that one new. When they came out (1987) I was 16. Once I was nearly 18, I purchased a brand new HX5 System 4. I had to get my mother to front a loan for me. It cost me £6k. I had to get a job to pay for it! I gigged with it for a while, and had a residency in a local hotel. Unfortunately I had to give it all up when I later joined the Police. However, I kept my HX for many years. I have now owned 4 of them, as I have had to buy and then sell as I had space in the house for them. Young married life was hard, and cash was not always available. I have had to sell many instruments over the years to help pay the bills at times. (I really regret the Fantom X8 going) My currewnt HX-1 was actually put together from 2 different ones which I purchased to get the top spec machine. I have an atari emulator and the editing software for it - the main reason for going to such lengths to get one - as I believed that like the Roland arrangers I liked so much, I would be able to edit and customise the sounds to my liking. Little did I realise that you have to start each operator from scratch as every value is zero'd. It is a total nightmare - one which I recommend people don't try to get involved with. You can't start with an existing patch, it's always a blank canvas. Having said that, as a midi controller for someone who can play with their feet too, it is absolutely ideal (imo) and suits me perfectly. I won't part with it again. I am at a stage in my life now where things have gotten a bit better financially and am settled into a larger house than I have had before. It is really heavy but does split down easily which I am sure you will be aware of. My father offered to give me his old Yamaha AR100 (much newer than my HX1) but I declined it as I wanted the 2 x 61 note keyboards and 25 note radiating pedalboard. The AR100 is a spinet with 49 note keyboards, and so wouldn't suit my midi needs as well, though it's sounds are still passable.

Regards to all

John

Sorry Technicsgiedrius, I have no idea what you are trying to say. Please don't take offence, I just don't understand.

At least make sure you butter me on both sides lol

Best way to butter Nigel is to hit that Paypal button at the bottom of the page and kick in a few bucks to help him run this thing!
DonM

Sorry for my English, because they had been using the dictionary ... I wanted to ask, to show more of new style ... And what better advise ... GW8 or BK7m? And yet I only heard sound of drums ... Thank you.

Hi Technicsgiedrius

Thanks for explaining what you were saying again. I have had very little time in the last couple of weeks to do more demos. There's 6 on my you tube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/Sweentech1?feature=mhum )though which you are welcome to view. All have been posted in this thread at some point. I have a day off today, and if I get some time later, I will post more. Unfortunately, there's lots to be done around the house, and it's also the first day I have had off when the sun is shining this year! However, I'll see what I can do.

Cheers

John

Thanks Sweentech1 ... When the sun shines on the time to go and something to work with ... Waiting for news ...