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