My first impression of the BK-5 is a mixed bag...It is black and that is a good thing..
I think this is about 10 percent of my decisions to purchase keyboards lately..

The keys on the BK-5 are similar to the Juno keybeds size wise,
still considered full size but downsized from the great Roland keybeds
like the G1000, VA76, G70..It does feel better than the Juno g and di..

The BK-5 has some great styles, some are "must have" for me , like the organ swing styles...

It is a bit awkward to get around on the BK-5 at first..no more so than getting around on the Korg MicroArranger..

You will have to get use to the scroll wheel system.....unlike the BK7m,
where the 7m allowed you to push the scroll wheel to select,
it is annoying that we have to reach over to the "enter" button instead
of the same method as the BK7m..They are next to each other,
but the push method would have been ideal..

The sounds are excellent down to average, fortunately every category
has an excellent sound to choose from..

I do not care for the scroll select and enter process for selecting sounds..the good news ,
you have instant selection in each group of your favorite selected sounds..instantly..

The transpose is not as good as previous models..
.I rather hold a button down and push the + or - button to transpose.
.the BK5 you click on transpose button than you have to scroll
to the desired transpose..than enter...(dumb)..Transpose should never be menu driven..

As a comparison, I would take the BK5 over the MicroArranger in a heartbeat..(twice the price)

It is more playable, has better sounds, better player (including MP3/wave)..

A very decent sound system (similar to the Prelude)

As I have always thought about comparing the less expensive keyboards
to the flagship models from the same company...
There are differences between the quality of the sounds..
.The sounds on the G70 are richer, more detailed, than the Bk5...
Just as the differences between the E series and the G70..

The drums are very good on the Bk5..kits are plentiful and sound great...

Look for a more detailed impression , down the road...

Great Review Fran....cant wait till you have it in your studio so I can demo it also.....good luck!!

the Bk7m seems to be a better choice navigationally a good controller Kb can do more easily with the module....too bad..
for the price of approx two KMa's I would expect many of the things as you described. Sound & styles is only a small part of enjoying playing an arranger at any price.
No Pics or Video cell phone demos?..

Hi Fran,
Thanks for the review.
Do you know the wave Rom of the BK-5 compared to the Micro?
Thanks
Eric

Eric, I do not....but I am sure it is larger than the 32mg Micro..

Thanks

Fran, Thanks a lot for your review.
Just curious, how you compare the piano sound between BK-5 and G70?

Thanks again!!
Jo

Hi Fran, TNX for posting.

One of the big complaints on BK-7m is the way in which OTS are selected. You can't select them via foot pedal or with the variation buttons. Very difficult for accordion players!

Is it the same on BK5?? The dedicated buttons for the sound banks are a plus!

Also, do you know if the styles are the same as BK7 or are there different ones?

Don P

The BK5 has OTS editing, you can write your own custom OTS...they are selected by 1-4 buttons, I don't believe you can assign to a pedal to step thru...Don, I don't use OTS, so I am not much help there..I usually like to use the same "band" members...

There are many different/new styles on the BK5, as there are many on the BK7m that are missing from the BK5...130 less styles on the BK5 (305)..