Cass watch what you wish for those answer will show it's head very soon as more people start playing the BK-9.....no one is saying the G70 wasn't a great arranger in it's heyday ....
but times they are changing. Good luck selling yours.

Some VERY significant omissions still peg the BK-9 as MOTL. There are only 2 UPR Parts, most TOTL arrangers have 3. There is only one LWR Tone and one MBASS (G70 had two LWR and the MBASS). There is no VH, only EQ and reverb for a vocal mike in (and I can't for the life of me find where in the manual the Mike Reverb is discussed, or whether it is separate for the arranger's reverbs). The action comes from a very MOTL WS, not Roland's usual butter smooth TOTL action, build quality is the same as their sub-$1000 BK-3 (buttons and dials, etc.). And of course, no touch screen (which is the worst decision Roland made with the BK-9, IMO).

Roland have taken the approach this time of taking their BOTL, and adding stuff to it, rather than the G/E series approach, which was to take the TOTL and start taking features OFF of it. I must confess, I would have preferred the latter.

But taken as a 76 MOTL, the BK-9 fares pretty well. It's only when you start to compare it to older TOTL Roland's and arrangers like the PA3x, Audya and T4 that you see where it sits in comparison. But then again, at a grand less, what you want for free? A rubber biscuit?

Or maybe a wish sandwich..

Have you guys ever used any source as a benchmark.....you know, something that you compare all others to..

Well the G70 has been my benchmark since I bought it...a benchmark that has turned every other keyboard I have owned or played..away...they all come up short in comparison..

For the next couple weeks I think I will use the G70 exclusively..and re affirm what I know to be true..It is still my benchmark, so stop spinning wheels, looking for a compromising keyboard that I know will not make me happy (as a performer)..

I look at the reasons I want to play, at the venues I do, and my reasons must differ from most folks..

Sure the light BK series are great for senior gigs..to get the job done with little effort, but I want the luxury of what the G70 gives me ..yes that benchmark stuff

I don't care about the quick in and out..or a little lifting..or how many I can do in a day (I rather enjoy what I do, and not in it for the most money)..

My reason for this writing..I most likely will like the BK9 and it will do great for the senior stuff and the band...but I know I do not want to compromise the goodies the G70 gives me..

The ease of changing on the fly..drum and percussion edits, not only because of the G70 features, but the unsurpassed touch screen..Maybe just a quick EQ change to a drum instrument, not the drums as a group...or change that dance tune with an 808 kick drum and eq it a bit..
This is nightmare editing on even the instruments that can do it...not as well as the G70 though....but without the ease of the "benchmark"

Some of you guys are trying to sell your G70's..I really wonder if you guys ever learned how to use your keyboard...maybe you never made it your benchmark..

Things like, besides the edits..quick mic settings , a smart harmonizer that knows what you need...Mastering tools at your finger tips..effects and routing the same...

Sliders that function for many things..etc..

I will have reservations about getting the BK9..maybe just being a new toy will keep me happy....but don't be surprized if the benchmark does it's job like it has against every other keyboard I have owned the last several years..Keyboards like the G1000, PA800, Tyros3, and lesser keyboards like the Micro Korg, Prelude, BK5.....and most likely the new BK9..

Now you guys know what keeps me awake at night

that extra cup of coffee?

Tony, in my case it is tea..

Good comments Fran , I feel the same , I sold mY G70 but still feel it is the best key feel out there still. I do not think the Bk-9 will be close to the G70 in the areas said but it will bring some new things to the table , I do not know why Roland only has 2 upper tones on Bk-9 hell thew bk-5 has 3 go figure we will see soon what everybody is talking about first hand, I am waiting for my buddy to call who has connections here in so cal at Roland when they get one I will get a chance to play it .

Bk5 also has only two upper parts.

I happened to be in FrankieV's AudioWorks today and we were discussing various things, one of them being this very thing and we were commenting on the fact that there are so many 'voices' on most if not all newer KBs that are already multi-layered: piano and strings; piano and scat voices, sax and brass, etc., that even with only two upper parts you have the ability to layer 3 or more ...

The thing that is tempting me to get the BK-9 is the Chord Sequencer and the key-triggered loops. For the solo performer, both of those are game changers if you want to do expressive solo work. As I've said, I won't be changing my G70 for live band use. The touch screen system makes live use FAR easier, especially for doing pickup gigs where you don't have the luxury of setting up Performances for all the songs in advance.

Plus that action is like butter!

One issue I have with most preset 'layer' sounds is that you have little (if any) control over the layer. Particularly, the velocity response. Most layered sounds suffer from the pad or string sound jumping out too much compared to the piano. If you make your own layer, you can set up the string/pad layer to be much less responsive to velocity than the piano. So the sound starts out a bit more pad heavy at low velocities, and when you pop notes out on the piano sound, the pad stays relatively the same, avoiding nasty sustaining sounds. I have rarely come across a factory preset that does this, so I need two Parts just for that trick. One more reason why three UPR Parts are a great help...