One of the worst keyboard demos I have ever seen. What is the point of investing hundreds of thousands into a product only to crucify it with an atrocious demonstration by an obviously inept talentless demonstrator ? Would it kill roland to find even one capable arranger player to demo the product properly ?

To be fair, he isn't demonstrating the BK-3. He is demonstrating the integration of the iPad apps with the arranger...

You can't do one without the other and he made both look pointless and scream this is just for geeks

Hi Spalding

The fact that there is an iPad (Tablet) involved means you won’t see a geek for miles.

The younger generation (Where 99% are not geeks) will love it as it is the norm these days, along with smart phones.

The BK3 is also cheap and disposable which is also what the younger generation want.

You need to get “With it” to understand it, or it will just pass you by. (Put yourself in the shoes of a teenager and you will love it)

Bill

I get it

You have got to be joking bill right ? Do you think that by throwing an ipad into a poor demonstration will make young guys want to buy a badly demonstrated product , I tell you what ,let's see if your rational might apply to say the sale of say toasters. They are cheap and relatively disposable right ? The kids will love it ha ha !

In All seriousness. That's demonstration shows to me that Roland clearly do not know Who their customers are or what product they are actually selling. They are selling a musical instrument, that musical instrument needs to be demonstrated as a musical instrument. The fact that it can be connected to an iPad is of no advantage if it doesn't show that the musical instrument is enhanced by the addition of an iPad . The iPad cannot be used as a crutch to support a poorly demonstrated product. To sell your product, you need to Show that product making great music. It's a fundamental principle of any music product . I wish them well.

Sorry double post

Yep... Spalding, you are discounting all the GOOD BK demos out there, and suggesting that a demo that demonstrates what you can do with the iPad app should be the full deal. Maybe you have a problem extrapolating what can be done other than what you hear, but I can assure you, few people (other than perhaps the elderly, less technically orientated players) are incapable of figuring this demo out for what it is.

Diki,.. the elderly?......how old are you?...

Not old enough that I can't figure this out!

But, I would assume old enough to be considered "elderly" ?

Just sayin.... but its just a number correct?

Is this not an entry level keyboard?

The whole point of a demo is to promote a product in its best light. Companies that leave their customers to figure stuff out tend to lose customers. But I guess roland have already 'figured that out'. Are not the elderly and less technically able precisely the market arrangers are aimed at ? And if the demo was for the younger market did you think the styles chosen by this demonstrator would hit the mark? Please ! Roland dont know All the customers are. No wonder their Arranger sales have suffered so terribly when Yamaha sales And korg sales continue to increase .People generate sales, technology Can enhance sales it can't make the sale .

Haven't heard 'elderly' yet. 'Mature', sure! 'Elderly' is a state of mind and body, not an age.

For instance, I haven't the slightest interest in doing NH gigs. I don't feel I have ANYTHING in common with the inmates..! But I find myself playing to 20-30-somethings all the time, without any real generation gap feeling. From the neck up, at least, I'm still a kid!

And Spalding... you can quite easily tell what priority Roland put on arranger promotion and sales, especially over here in the USA. They have no TOTL arranger at all, in fact, no MOTL arranger any more. $1000 is the TOP of the line! Expecting a high quality arranger demo at NAMM from Roland is a long shot at best. Doesn't stop them sounding pretty good once in the hands of a proper arranger player. But those are few and far between over here!

I think you're referring to "residents", maybe? This is someone's home, where we're asked to come to and share some joy. There is great respect and honor in playing for the elderly. I hope someone comes to serenade me in 30 or 40 years, when I get old!

Explanation point to indicate the joke... (missed it?)

I don't disrespect anyone doing the gigs, and have no problem with the people in there. In fact, most Christmases, I strap on my accordion, and go round local NH's with a guitarist or two, a bunch of kids, and play carols to the residents.

But I also feel that the residents deserve honesty from their performers. Were I doing it simply for the money, and playing music that I didn't really want to, I feel I would be shortchanging them. I'm a child of the 50's, and grew up with music of the sixties, but mostly the seventies. Sure, I've played in bigbands, and listened to many of the standards' greats, but it isn't the music of MY generation. When 70's and 80's music becomes the main thing for NH residents, perhaps I'm onboard, but most of my career has been playing music from an even younger generation.

So, I simply feel that, unless my heart is in it, they deserve better...

Sorry if I missed the joke angle - and I agree that if you're not in it to please, you're cheating the residents. Too many performers think they need to go in a just do songs from 75 years ago ... NOT SO! I use R&R, Broadway, Current Pop offerings ... I don't do as many as before I started teaching, but I do pop in now and then. The nursing homes can be a very satisfying show for the performer, and dollars vs hours - they can't be beat!

Wherever I perform I play for "DANCING" every song that's MY bag always no matter what genre I'm into at the time, from Ballroom to R&R, Disco, Latin, Salsa, Polka, Ballads, etc,......500pp or NH, Restaurant, Club, or anywhere I gig doesn't matter to me....
Great Vocals coupled with a good strong FULL Band backing,
People are People.

Diki,

Most of us perform very few, if any, big band standards. Most everything is late 50s to early 80s. These are the songs they enjoy and danced to. And, if you look at the age makeup many of the residents in the nursing homes, assisted living centers and retirement communities are in their mid 70s to late 80s, and some younger. Take a good look in the mirror my friend - you're not that much younger than the younger retirement community residents - at least physically.

Cheers,

Gary

I got out of the nursing home business 'cause some of the inmates starting looking good

Hmmmmmmm........Diaper Envy ?

That still makes me 20 years younger than most of them. Just a hair too much for me, I fear. I definitely feel playing for the elderly is a calling. Just as you shouldn't play to youngsters you have nothing in common with (who may be only 30 years or so younger than you) and music of theirs you don't really relate to, playing to your elders if you don't feel a bond is not in their or your best interest. Money doesn't cure everything, at least for me!

Being a newbie you can discount my 2 cents & observations but please, no lower than MAP, I don't want to lose my franchise .

Wasn't this about a "questionable" demo?

IMO the guy doing the demo is/was a "Feature Preacher". "I can push this, that, more of this , and more of that, touch this, touch that (maybe you shouldn't touch this or that right now )'. SO WHAT, how does any of that benefit a BK-3 performer? To me that is where the demo was off track.

Re: NH, Residential Communities. It is a calling and if you get it you get it. We are fortunate enough to be able to do what we like at this time in our lives and I believe that's a good thing.

Just my babbling a little, now I can get a beer and go to bed

That was exactly my point. The Demonstrator did not actually demonstrate instrument to its best light or demonstrate how useful the iPad would actually be to a musician. However if all you want to do is pushbuttons ,that was a great demonstration!

Strange.... I understood EXACTLY what it could do from that demo..!

Then I read the manual to find out what it COULDN'T do!

As soon as you can do it, the instructions finally make sence !

That's right Diki.You got it so you were the one person that that demo was geared towards. so when is yours goong to be delivered then ?It's good to know that Roland know who their customers are ha ha! Unfortunately you're the one customer that is the most unlikely to buy that keyboard because you know exactly what it shortcomings are ! Another great example of Roland's splendid marketing model !

I actually already have a BK-7m... so what this can do is quite relevant to me. Ha! Open mouth, insert foot...

Mind you, I haven't got an iPad yet, but it is tempting. I might pick up an older used one, just for what these programs can do. Admittedly, it doesn't do everything I want YET...

But who knows? That's the beauty of software.

Then You are not playing fair Diki. It's clear that you actually owned tje module versionthis keyboard or a version before you saw this demo. Therefore Any comment that you might make about how good the demo itself was In terms of what you got from it is kind of moot . the demo in fact was of no benefit in helping you make your purchasing decision clearly. In fact you bought the module version for actually very different reasons than most people would buy the keyboard version and you did so regardless as to its iPad functionality it would appear. I can see how the module might appeal to you and a limited segments of the market But surely you would understand the difference between the needs of the person who buys a module compared to the needs of the person who buys the keyboard . its not the same product .Still it's good to know roland made a sale inspite of this awful demo. Perhaps you genuinely are Rolands target market. How many of you are there?

Thing is, as I already pointed out, this was the iPad demo, not a straightahead BK-5 demo. I had no trouble understanding what the iPad was doing, and I don't have one, so it can't have been THAT arcane!

You sure you guys are even trying? LOL

So ironically Diki. That demo might have actually sold you an iPad ha ha ! Way to go roland ! That will help their bottom line substantially..........hmmmm

Hi Spalding

You’re a little out of touch with the real world here.

Since Apple launched the iPhone/Pad (And everybody else has followed suit) it’s the Apps that sell the hardware, (Unlike the traditional way of a computer enhancing the hardware) so it’s logical that Roland and other manufactures concentrate on the Apps so as to push the hardware sales.

Look around over the last few years and you will find few apps have been designed in tandem with hardware, but the amount of hardware available to enhance the Apps has exploded. (Just pop down to your local newsagent (Or online) and pick up some Smart Phone/Tablet magazines to see what I mean)

It’s just the way the Smart Phone/Tablet market works.

Bill

Diki:

Off Topic:

I got a used iPad specifically for use with an app called iGIGBook. I don't know if you use sheet music for your performances, but if you do, I have found iGigBook, paired with a 1st generation iPad, very useful. Check it out if you are interested.

I'm not a sheet reader on the gig, and what lyrics assistance I need I can use a text file on my G70's display, so I haven't felt the burning need to use an iPad yet.

In many ways, I'm really holding out for another generation of these things. Their inability to do more than one thing at a time is a bit disappointing given how much they can do.

As I've alluded to in other posts, for what an iPad app could do that I could REALLY use, these apps don't cover it. About the only thing these do that seriously tempts me is the much easier Performance list editing and creation, and the keyboard letter input, to speed up naming and renaming. But, in fairness, there isn't anything that these do that you can't do any other way (other than the 'Favorite Tones' feature for the BK7m), so banging down $700 or so (not much point in one of these without the cellular option) just for that, or a more convenient .pdf reader seems a bit steep.

We are already seeing dual form tablets and laptops on the PC side. These seem to be a far more practical option, and I doubt Apple will resist them too long. I can wait...

If Roland offered a full featured editor for the BK's, then yes, it might be a more instant buy. But as you all know, given that I am still happily making music on my paleolithic G70, I am not exactly an impulse buyer, and like to extract the maximum value and familiarity with my gear. When they make something I HAVE to have, I'll get it. In the meantime, I can wait!