Well, the BK drums did pretty well in our drum track shoot out, particularly at the price point those BK3 and BK5 units come in at.

Overall, unless you are already dead set against Roland no matter what, it might well be worth waiting until the demos come out...

For a sub-$1000 unit, I am pretty impressed with the sound of my BK-7m. It compares quite favorably with my G70 (which was $2500 more expensive!) at many things. Sure, the BK3/5/9 aren't built as well as the G70, but sheesh! They sound pretty damn good for the price point (BK9 opinion to come!).

Yes the BK-5 and BK 7m sound very good and I have always said that. And the BK 9 will sound great no doubt about that, but if he costs really about 2000 Euro I expect more. For example a decent touch screen and a sample load option like the new PSR's and PA600

Now if I want one I have to buy also a Ipad to use the free apps and have a touch screen.

No touch screen on a PSR...

And sample import on the PSR is entirely ONLY Yamaha proprietary format. They either put out a Pack of the sounds you want (best of luck), or you might as well not have one.

For $1500 or more LESS than a G70 was, I think the BK9 feature set doesn't look too bad. I agree, disappointing that there's no touch screen, but apparently, Yamaha users seem OK with that!

Yeah I tend to agree with you on this Diki. It may not be for me, but it (the BK9) certainly is a decent offering from Roland...I still think around $2800 retail is a bit "up there", but that's just me.

April 4th is the unveiling according to http://www.rolandconnect.com Hopefully the polyphony will be greater than 128 but I kind of doubt it. FWIW, Casio just came out with a $1,299 ($999 street) keyboard (PX-5S) with 256 note polyphony. Casio has recently produced some amazing keyboards. But I digress.

Roland is back and that's a good thing. The new BK could possibly be a TOTL offering depending on several factors. If it has top of the line sounds then they're off to a good start. But no color LCD screen(s) is a huge oversight in my opinion. It has a mic input with reverb control but there is no mention of a harmonizer. It can play .mp3 but the Yammie S-950 can play both .mp3 and .wav and the Yammie is $800 less if the price of the new BK is correct. Plus the Yammie has a harmonizer. Although the mic-preamp on the PSR-S950 is a huge disappointment if you ask me.

76 keys is a bonus but we'll have to see if it has after-touch. There are some promising signs such as real draw-bars but I'm somewhat skeptical because of the oversight and omissions e.g. no color LCD, no harmonizer?? and no sampler possibly either. The price point makes it high-end in that regard but until we know more it could end up being a mid-range board depending on the features, sounds and functions. If it turns out to be a mid-range board at a high-end price then a lot of consumers will likely pass on it. I know, I know. Don't put the cart before the horse. We'll know in a few hours what's what. In the meantime it's kind of exhilarating to realize Roland is finally getting serious about higher-end arranger products again.

All the best, Mike

This is MOTL... Still no TOTL.

Basically, if Yamaha wouldn't be so stupid and put out a 76 S950, that would be the BK9's competition, not the T4.

TOTL is just that, the highest priced item in the lineup & at this time is the BK-9 holds that title in Roland's arranger KB category I would say..

We tend to use TOTL, MOTL and BOTL as comparison figures of speech rather than be pedantic in their use strictly in the context of the product lineup of that specific manufacturer, Donny.

I don't seem to recall anyone using the term TOTL for the BK-5, despite that being its literal place before the BK9 came out.

Mind you, Roland themselves use the term 'Flagship' for the BK9. Not exactly encouraging, if you (like me) are actually wishing for a REAL TOTL arranger.

To be fair, it IS real enough, just not with features and tools or hardware that some of us would like

It's a 76 note S950..!

It can't be compared to a PA3x or a T4 or even a G70. It lacks considerably compared to any of them (and is quite a bit less expensive). If it were $5000, I'd have to agree. At $2500 (and price likely to fall quickly... I was noting sub-$1000 BK-7m's within days of its release) it's firmly in what everyone ELSE calls the MOTL bracket. Remember, list on an S950 is $2500. Street more like $1900. That's an AWFUL lot closer than the jump to the $5000 TOTL T4.

TOTL is a FEATURE comparison word. The BK9 compares to none of those.

It's a VERY good MOTL arranger. But TOTL? ...Please!

Maybe we need new descriptors? BOTTOTL (bottom of the top of the line)? UMOTL (upper middle of the line)? SITOTLBIR (says it's top of the line but isn't really!)?

LOL