I was talking to one of the members here on the telephone. He was telling me how he thought the Roland BK-9 keyboard sounded quite good, both styles and sounds. I,in turn, am thinking maybe that's what I need to get back into playing music.

No problem, I thought, I'll run down to my local GC or Sam Ash and check it out. I figured they might not have it "locally" and they didn't. But, at least, there was always New York City where they have just about any instrument you could want, and even some you don't want.

So, you guessed what my "nightmare" was! No Roland BK-9 keyboards in the NY stores. They take orders only!

Who in their right mind would spend 2k+ for a keyboard they can only hear on the Internet?

Are my missing something here in today's marketing strategies?

That is very surprising. All I can suggest is order one into a store that will give you a 30 days money back like Guitar Center. Take it home for a few weeks to see if it suits your needs and if not return it. While I prefer not to do business that way it seems you have no other choice.

Yes, I never thought about that. It might be worth it 'cause I'm hearing nothing but good reports about the BK-9. I'm hoping it will get me back into playing again. This PA3x is a great machine, but it's not my personality. I've always been a Roland person and it looks like they may have a Top 10 hit on their hands this time around from what I hear.

Mark

It really bothers me to read this. I have been following a thread on another forum where the original poster from South Carolina complained that none of the Guitar Centers around him were stocking Roland gear. They can order it. They just don't stock it. A couple of us were trying to rationalize this when a member from LA chimed in and said it is the same around him. The last time I was in the GC store on the south side of Chicago, they had the Juno-Di and Gi and a Fantom G6 and G7 out on display, but that has been 6 months or so ago. I wonder if there is a game afoot that we don't know about yet.

Think thats bad?...try finding a Ketron Audya anywhere in a store at $4k .... Online sales in the norm today....personally I would wait for TYROS 5 before investing in another musical tool at this time just before Christmas. If not follow Nigels suggestion above....Good Luck.
BTW what has you so enamored about the BK-9 vs the competition?

The Guitar Center on-line site does not show the Roland BK-9 either.

Guess what - no Tyros4, no PSR-S950 either.

Gary

When I have questioned GC personnel in the past, I am told that "arrangers don't sell, so they get no floor space". Fact is , they are not marketed aggressively (barely at all) as workstations and controllers are there. Not in the store, or in print or online ads. Of course, if they got more floor space, they might sell more....Then there is the attached inventory carrying cost. If they sit in the store or warehouse without moving, they are said to have a higher inventory carrying cost than something that moves fast (more $$ made utilizing the same space, etc). Add the GC attitude that markets to the 18-25 age group more aggressively than any other, and the answer becomes clearer. The last factor is the age of the sales force, which mirrors the demographic of the targeted buying group. It is really a manipulated demand rather than an actual one to me.

And Ketron? You said it Donny. At one point I was arranging a visit to the NYC distributorship (not a dealer- too expensive for them to stock and hope they sell it) to try out an Audya. The only reason I considered it was that being an hour from NYC is not so bad. But what about those who are not so close? And it would be by appointment between 10 am and 5 pm only, so it doesn't favor the average working guy who can't afford to take time off just to shop. He will need that $$ to pay Ketron's prices..

Sparky, I agree with your statement about GC. A couple years ago I went there to purchase a phantom power module and was messing with a PSR-s910 they took in as a trade-in. The store manager came over to me and asked about my knowledge of arranger keyboards when he saw me going through the menus and selecting various features. We talked for a couple minutes, I showed him some things the keyboard could do and he offered me a job on the spot. I politely turned him down. He told me that GC has a difficult time finding employees that have any technical expertise about anything. There was one person that I knew there that had some technical knowledge, but most of the time he BS'd his way through things. He was eventually fired for stealing.

Cheers,

Gary

I think most OMB folks are over 40. The store folks need to sell keyboards everyday, not once every year or so. We don't buy things like the kids do. We're the minority. Therefore not lucrative for the keyboard business.

One of the big problems of brick & mortar stores is competing with internet sites that don't charge you sales tax, if you are not in their states.
Internet stores will sell with small profit margin if you push them. The local store must match a low price AND charge us sales tax.
Our local dealer quit carrying them. He told me it was because people would come in, take an hour of the salesman's time, then go home and order it on the the internet, because he couldn't compete with the price.
He would rather have the staff sell pa systems or guitars, where profit margins are a little better, and turnover is much better.
DonM

Boo, from what I was told, the kids buy lots of guitars, amps, stomp boxes, lights, some drums, and a few mics - not arranger keyboards. And, when someone my age walks into a GC, we are pretty much ignored by the sales staff. You almost have to smack one of those kids in the head to get their attention. Then when you finally get their attention, they don't have a clue what you are talking about. I'm amazed that GC has managed to stay in business all these years. They must sell a Hell of a lot of guitars to the kids because the synths and arrangers never seem to move.

Cheers,

Gary

Actually GC is in serious financial trouble from what I hear.
Saw it on the internet so it must be true.
DonM

Did you try calling Alto Music in Middletown, NY? They just might have it. They have more keyboards on the floor than any other store I've seen. Wouldn't hurt to give em a call.

Friend of mine had a small shop here in NJ. He was a keyboard player so he was into the latest things, but as he told me it seemed as soon as he got the latest greatest keyboard something else would come out and he was stuck with the older model. It actually happened to me. Bought an Ensoniq piano from him and it was almost exactly what I wanted so I settled for it. Don't you know a month later they came out with exactly what I had asked for ! He was a good guy and begged the Ensoniq rep to exchange it for me and they did. Liked it so much I bought a second one. He got lucky and sold the first one quick.
Too much money tied up in stock will kill any business.
I agree that if GC or Sam Ash had any knowlegable sales rep to demo arrangers they would sell much better.

Mark

I think you'll love the BK9. Buy one from a dealer who will give you a 30 day return option and try it out. It does take a lot of time to get it to where you personally like it but from the get go the drums and bass on the arrangements will impress you. You can hit the track mute button with any style and just play piano with the drum/bass backrounds and sound great.
What have you got to lose except some time, give it a try.

The local GC near me has had less Roland keyboards than I've seen in years past. The only arranger keyboards are a PSR series and a MM8. Everything else is either digital pianos or workstations. I asked about the Roland VR9, which I figured they would get, and the Keyboard Manager said it was one they wouldn't be stocking it locally. The market didn't support the possible sell of it. I had thought that the VR9 would have been a solid keyboard for people that were looking for one that was performance oriented.

As for arranger keyboards, very few of the local stores around me have ever carried anything except the entry level ones. There's an independent store that still has a GW8, but the dust on it makes it appears that it's been sitting there for awhile.

As for the Roland BK series the local GC said that if I was interested, then I would have to buy it and have it shipped in.

Joe

If I ever had a second chance, I'd pick up a guitar and maybe a shot at fame in reality talent shows.. Really haven't seen an arranger player showcasing in these shows and maybe it's just a butterfly effect from media networks shaping our interests today....

Here in Germany, I think in the arranger section a lot of stores have focused on Yamaha and Korg in the past years and have increasingly ignored Roland since Roland gave up their TOTL arrangers after the E80. Now it seems to be very hard to get back into the arranger business for Roland, although I think the lightweight concept of the BK-9 is very interesting. I am waiting for the announced BK sound expansions though.

Good suggestion, Tim. I did call them. They have 2....1 in each store. They're boxed, but he said he's willing to open one and put it on display if I was genuinely interested.

I'd rather buy from Frankie V, but if he hasn't chimed in on this thread, then he's probably not selling them.

Frank, ultimately, is the best man to go to 'cause he knows everything about arrangers. How could he not?....he plays them on gigs!

Call him or check his Facebook page. He handles them I believe.
DonM

Mark if you can wait till T5 comes out I will sell you my BK 9. Brand new condition I want T5. 76 key. So no need for BK 9 at that point think about it or any other synthzoners that might be interested.

Ron

Another good suggestion....thanks Don. I checked his web page...Bingo!

http://www.audioworksct.com/search.php?search_query=roland&x=0&y=0

Frank will do you right every time!!