Hi Ian

While there may be other factors, I can tell you from first hand experience that their marketing was the major factor. I worked with a Roland dealer and they allowed certain instruments by divisions into different types of stores. At the time it seems to me it was the piano stores that were allowed to sell them only and the piano dealers didn't want to stock them because they didn't want it to interupt a sale of an $80,000 Steinway nor did they want to show them and have online retailers give them away. Also, they were very strict about selling out of your own territory and if you did and were caught you'd lose the franchise. This of course affected online stores, They had the absolute most stupid marketing plan I had ever heard of in over 30 years of music retail.

I was also with Techics dealers. In the entire piano, organ, keyboard music business seemed to have the most fly by night approach of any company I had ever seen. Every tech I ever talked to complained of after sale support. The organ dealers would mark them up so high, as in organ type sales and/or didn't stock them and/or hid them in the back room because largely the brain in the keyboards was the same as their organs and digital keboards but for a lot less money. Also, I feel they thought the small portoin of their sales was not worth it especially in a dwindling maret especially for home organs.


Scott L

Patty can PLAY !!!

I bought the Roland E 80 when it came out to supersede the G 70. It is a great keyboard but i only use it in the studio as at 55 pounds I can't carry it out anymore. Roland never did really support it either.
I have a 25 pound Technics KN2600 the last one they built after the KN7000 that I take out of the studio. It walks all over the E80 and the tyros I have.
bebop

Wow that's a big statement!....
I enjoyed playing my KN5000 years ago probably the best unit Technics made, never liked the Kn6k,65, or 7k just couldn't get used to the sunken keybed and unusable voc processor & VH, good speakers though.But their legions of fans still exist....wonder if Technics has an eye out on that fact?

Since reading your post, Scott, I have done some investigation (hey, I'm semi-retired...I have time) and the people I talked with (dealers, salespeople) are in agreement with you.

We also had a Technics dealer in my area (Boutilier's Music...now long out of business), and I can't tell you how many Roland (pianos) and Yamaha sales we made due to the dealer's (and manufacturer's) poor service...a real shame, as Technics made an exceptional product.

Ian