We didn't (or at least I didn't) set out in this thread to pit Yamaha against Roland, so I'll stick to the topic.

I still think the BK-5 smokes the G-70, which really isn't a bad thing. I'm not saying the G-70 sounds bad...it still sounds pretty good, but it is all the bigger the achievement for the BK-5.

In my opinion, of course.



Ian

There are just a few keyboards over the years that today still sound great as the day they came out the G70 is one of those others in my opinion are ?

oberheim obxa my first keyboard I wish I still had it
Roland juno 106
seq ser profit 5
Yamaha DX7
Arp oddesey
Moog mono for left hand bass loved that one as well

I think when it all said and done we will look back at the G70 as one of those it is a keyboard way beyond it day when it came out .

I still have my Jupiter 8, but, compared to today's synths, it is limited.

It does a few things exceptionally well...analog strings and brass and some sounds that defy description, but it doesn't have a piano sound one could live with.

The G-70 had the best sounds in the Roland arranger line, but, why should it be surprising that a company would improve on it's own products?

It was no more ahead of it's time for Roland, than was the G-1000 before....some still think that was the best arranger Roland had produced.

So it is still all a matter of personal opinion.

Ian

PS...We all know full well that Fran is a die hard Roland fan, and I make no bones about being quite fond of Yamaha, but in this case, I am being unbiased, and giving my own personal view on what sounds best to me within one brand of instruments.

We obviously take a different view of the G70 in the UK when I tried to weigh mine in the guy at the shop said he would be lucky if he could sell it, they are like a fart in a spacesuit here. To each his own I suppose or whatever your poison is just take it, I don�t think you can rank it along with the T4 it�s light-years out of kilter stop dreaming guys and get down to the audiologist this weekend, don�t forget your hearing goes over time and YOU don�t notice it, it�s not just volume that changes its frequency also, here endeth the third lesson! Suppose the two guys in the video are happy enough at the time maybe.

A good friend of mine has owned a G70 for many years now and personally I never warmed to it. And that is from a person who did nothing but program for days on end on the G800 etc. in the nineties !
However I think that Most top arranger keyboards do not fully come alive unless the player also starts programming and tweaking. I mean guys like Peter Baartmans can make any keyboard sing, even the cheapest Casio, but for us mortals we are limited by both our musical technique and by technical stuff ( tweaking etc). So all in all I think the G70 can sound terrific.
I concur though with what Ian remarked. This started as a tread about the new Roland and if they want to stay with it they have to improve on the boards that they released ten years ago, no matter what price-tag goes with it.

regards,
John Smies