I think the BK5 sounds up there with my PA 3x to be brutally honest. It probably hasn't got the same level in some voices such as DNC or Yamaha's SA voices. but the overall mix sounds great - very warm and live.

Another major plus is that is seamlessly plays almost any or all Roland Style formats from previous G and E series keyboards!!

the one big drawback for me is that the BK5 doesnt have dedicated part mute buttons for the 8 style part tracks.

Neither does the PA3x but it at least has the faders and the 3 assignable switch buttons which i can allocate to drum, accomp, and bass part mutes without having to go through menus during live play.

Just my 2 cents

-Nick

My G70's main battle piano still blows all these newer Roland's away.

And Ian.... most of the sonic difference between the older Roland's and the new ones comes down to the styles having been mixed and EQ'd better. If you take a BK-7m style, put it in the G70, then copy all the EQ settings to each individual drum sound in the kit, and the EQ's applied to the other Parts, you can get remarkably close.

The G70 was the first Roland to have individual 3 band semi-parametric EQ for each drum sound, and one for each Part, style or Keyboard. And this capability only came a couple of years or so into its life with an update. So, quite obviously, not only were the original G70's quite different sounding to the later ones, Roland themselves were not very familiar with the new capabilities, and it has taken them several years to really get used to the way styles should be mixed for best effect.

Thing is, those capabilities ARE in the G70, so all it takes is some editing.

There are a few kits in the BK7m I wish I had (they got introduced with the E80) but overall, with work, the G70 can still hang! Add to that an SRX-07 board, with wonderful fat basses, more guitars, tons of great keyboard and synth sounds, and much of the modern Roland's overall sound can be achieved.

You can even do a cabling workaround, to add an insert effect to any Style or Song Parts (which the G70 can't do OOTB), so putting better distortion on rock guitar rhythm parts, or a fancy panning tremolo on a Rhodes style part, etc., is very possible.

For all its age, there's a lot of life left in the old horse!

Well, that explains why the styles sound better...it is too bad they didn't add a sprinkling of SuperNatural voices to improve on the right hand voice selection (it's not like the technology is new) but again, it is advertised as a "backing keyboard" so that probably wasn't too much of a priority.

Korg managed to add DNC to their PA-600 (yes, it is more expensive, but it is also newer) so perhaps Roland will break down and add SuperNatural voices to their next BK-series keyboard/module.

Ian

It's probably likely.... but I doubt for a while. Roland is getting VERY late into the DNC/SA game, and still has quite a ways to go, IMO to catch up. Currently, the Super Natural voices tend to be in Roland's remaining TOTL keyboards, and in all fairness, it took Yamaha and Korg several years before that technology trickled down to a $1000 arranger.

But while I might miss out on the odd SA type voice for my RH, the power and live-ness of the drums and style section more than make up for that minor shortcoming. I have spent quite a bit of time with the PA3X, and, to be honest, it's still a push in the sound department for me compared to my G70. A few things better, a few things worse. Yes, the Chord Sequencer is back, but Korg have a fair bit of work to do to get it as useful as Roland's used to be, let alone push the idea forward into the 21st century.

And sorry, but Yamaha have a VERY long way to go to getting that 'live' feel from the drums, and this Audio Style feature seems a VERY bad idea, IMO.

I'm still content. My audiences and band mates are content, and a couple of non-arranger users that are WS players have bought a G70 in the last couple of years (after hearing and seeing how balanced and easy to operate it is for ANY task) are content..!

It is still the finest all-round gigging keyboard ever made, IMHO. Not the best arranger, not the best WS, not the best stage piano. But able to hold its own comfortably in ALL arenas, and shockingly simple to use live. That's all I have ever wanted in a live use keyboard!

Diki you forgot to add G70 one of the Biggest, Bulkiest and Heaviest ever made also ...older technology yes,.....but a very capable KB in the right hands none the less with many very useful features...it's not for everybody.

Ditto!!!

Fran
Please tell me your serious about the 76 key BK5. As you know the reason I won't buy the current one is the keyboard.
I fell into a BK7M for a great price and have it mided to an old Roland 76 key piano. So far I'm impressed. I just called Roland with a technical question and did ask about a new 76 key BK model. Roland help guy said definately not. As for running with the big boys its all in the players taste. I think the BKs are fine for any gig. If a 3-4 K arranger makes you happy go for it, but as we all know the audience really doesn't know. I did one of my regular Xmas gigs in Atlantic City last night and got many compliments. Did all the old standard Xmas songs but with upbeat Dance and Latin Styles. Imagine, people dancing impromtu at a cocktail reception to Xmas music. Gotta love it !
And Oh, BTW, I did it on my G1000.







Why test the market...you say....Rumors of a 76 key BK are in the works... [/quote]

It's nice to see players happy with the status quo...there are lots of Tyros 1/2/3 and Korg PA1/2 users that feel the same way.

If we are to peek a little deeper into the above postings by experienced Roland users and aficionados, we might learn that one can pick up a second hand G-70 or E-80 (or keep the one they already own), and, aside from the excessive weight and bulk, have an instrument would offer the player mostly everything (and perhaps more in some cases) available on Roland's current offerings...except perhaps, a warranty.

Cool!

Why not re-introduce the G-70 (on which R&D is already paid for) with the new features present on the BK-5/7M (R&D also paid for) and be right up to Roland's current arranger technology standards, but, because of the aforementioned paid R&D, be able to offer it at a much reduced price, and have a much needed (according to some SZ'ers) and very competitive (actually, it would have no competition), 76-note arranger in the higher portion of the MOTL range?

Ian

That's some good ideas there, Ian. And if they could chop down the weight as well, i.e., less material used = cheaper to build, well, bonus.

Ian

Forward that idea to someone in Roland. Your right, the R&D is done and adding some newer sound chips or whatever to the G70 is a great idea. Maybe find a way to shed a few lbs. too.

Bill in NJ