Ian, I never return..only resell..
But...I did not buy a BK9...yet....Maybe I will call Bill Lewis and try his BK9..

I know I would like it for the most part..as I liked the BK5 for media playback, sounds, and styles..add the Chord seq and full 16 track sequencer..and audio keys...I could like it a lot..

The get around operation is another story....It just isn't up to my standards..

There is also a remaining problem the way it handles system exclusive, that I don't like...the G70 handles it well..Just dismissing by stating XG files don't work is boloney...The G70 does it fine...They made short cuts that don't fly with me..
Without that touch screen...I am not sure I want one...and an ipad is not the answer..

Thanks for your candid reply, Fran.

One thing about you, you know what YOU want.

A former client of mine tried a BK-9 in Toronto last week (we haven't seen any here yet) and he said it had nowhere near the quality feel of the G-70, and yes, he said, it is much cheaper, but for a G-70 player it feels like he'd be taking a step back rather than moving ahead, despite the extra new features and sounds.

He has a G-70, a G-1000, and a new Jupiter 80, so he's a 76 key man like yourself. He is not too keen on getting the BK-9. I tried to interest him in a Tyros5-76, but he's a Roland guy through and through (except for the Yamaha Stagepas 600i I sold him), so no luck there. That's why I was wondering why you passed on it (at least so far).

Ian

I guess I'm not a Jerry Lee type of player, guys - never found the necessity and never had any keyboard move on the stand - not one, regardless of weight.

Now, the cost of a new Carbon Fiber guitar, ranges from about $900 to $1,800 for a quality acoustic guitar. I got to play one in Florida, and a lot of sailboat cruisers had them because they never have to worry about moisture. They were extremely lightweight, and sounded fantastic, much better than many of the heavy wooden counterparts.

It really makes absolutely no difference in performance quality of an arranger keyboard, amp, etc... if the case that houses the electronics is made of cast iron, steel, high-impact plastic, or carbon fiber. Now, speakers are somewhat different, but that too seems to have been changed with improved acoustic technology. I can clearly remember when in order to obtain great sound you needed a speaker cabinet made of inch-thick fiberboard, and until recently, I believe Peavey still used that stuff. If it got damp, the glue failed and the speaker literally fell apart. They weighed a ton - I'm sure everyone remembers them. Now, nearly all speaker cabinets are made of high-impact plastic - gee I wonder why?

Fran, I was never a car guy - I only wanted my cars to last forever, and get me to and from the jobs. I do, however, remember my son building a 280Z and spending several months building the 550 HP engine he put it the thing. Thank God, he never raced it. The guy that purchased it from him blew it up at the York Dragaway and damned near got killed.

Cheers,

Gary

Too light? A couple Velcro strips holds anything in place. I have an Edirol controller that weighs about 9 pounds, and they keep it from moving.
Heavy feel is good feel for piano players. Many of us are not, and have never been, piano players. Light is better for some of us. It's what YOU need and want, not what someone else thinks is best.

Don't confuse heavy FEEL with heavy keyboard...

Basically, as far as comparisons go, most arrangers have almost the exact same feel, at least compared to the wide range of other keyboards, from stiff old piano actions, to toy keyboards with no weight whatsoever.

There's far less difference between my G70 and a T5 than there is between different pianos alone!

But the construction of the CASE? That's where most of the weight differences between arrangers is coming from. And, unless you only play at home, cover up your keyboard with plastic while not in use and baby the switches and knobs, that's where you are going to see why stronger, hence heavier construction comes into play.

Now, I know on this forum of rabid equipment changers, few of you ever keep a keyboard more than a few years. But keep it ten years or more, and you will quickly see why a little extra weight pays off in the long run.

TBH, I have doubts my BK-9 will hold up nearly as long as my G70 has. Sure, lugging 25 fewer lbs around is going to be nice. But ask me again in ten years!

I'll probably be dead in ten years! Longest I ever kept an arranger was no more than three years. PSR8000, PSR2000, and Roland E50 lasted the longest, although they became backups to newer ones along the line. The PA3X has been around more than two years now, as was the Audya.
Ten years? Nope, not unless they quit making new ones or I go too broke to get one.

Ten years for my G1000, nearly ten for the G70 (the BK-9 still hasn't supplanted it for live use).

I'm hoping that ten years for the BK-9 is doable. Hopefully, the budget construction will hold up. And me!

My 10-year-old PSR-3000, which is sitting right next to me, doesn't have a single scratch on it, every button and key works as good as the day it came out of the box. This keyboard has been on the road for all 10 years, used in more than 2,500 jobs and never failed mechanically or electronically. Anyone that ever owned a 3000 will tell you it's a workhorse and was well ahead of it's time. If for some, unforeseen reason my S950 were to crap out, I could put that 3000 on stage the same day and wouldn't skip a beat.

All of my guitars, 6 of them, were in pristine condition when sold - not a scratch on any of them. They were cleaned and polished after each use, the strings were changed regularly, and in each case was an Silicone impregnated, multi-fiber cloth that was used to wipe it down every day it was handled.

I still have a 50-year old M-Honer harmonica in my office that is in the original case, nice and shiny and plays like the day it arrived under the Christmas tree.

All of the amps I sold went out to the buyers in original boxes, and they looked and smelled the same as they did when they were brand new. Same was true with non-powered and powered speakers.

I'm just as meticulous about my boat and mini-van. I know guys on this forum that I would never purchase any piece of gear from because I know how they treat it. That list just got longer.

Maybe I just anal about the way I maintain my gear, but that's just the way it is with me. I work damned hard for my money, and none of this stuff is inexpensive. Therefore, to me, it really doesn't make any difference if the keyboard case is made of cast iron or high-impact plastic - it gets treated the same - with kid gloves!

Gary

G70 is Beautiful keyboard from inside to outside. I think I was one of the first G70 player in Seattle area because I had to wait 3 months after I paid for it (it was not in market then). It helps me for gigging to make money for my college life. I appreciate this beauty and beast. G70 gave me a great help in some years of my life.

As a tactile experience, I think the G70 was as good as it ever got, by any arranger manufacturer.

Firstly, the best semi-weighted action ever made… 76 keys with full length keys (especially the blacks) that felt normal for piano players, who spend a lifetime developing muscle memory for position and force for dynamics and speed and accuracy. But not tied to a full weighted keyboard. While piano and Rhodes certainly benefit from full weight keys, nearly everything else in the keyboard world uses lighter (sometimes MUCH lighter!) actions, and that lightness influences the typical music played on them.

In my personal opinion, the action used in the G70 (also the G1000 and A70 controller) was the perfect weight to provide acceptable resistance for piano parts but light enough for clavinet and synth stuff. Not even my Kurzweil K2500 came close (too heavy for clavinet). Add to that the rounded key ends, which made organ palm smears and glissandos comfortable (full weight and shape puano keys, with sharp badges and an overhang are deadly if you smear a lot!).

Maybe if there was one slight niggle with the keybed, it was that the aftertouch wasn’t very editable, mind you, that was more a software weakness than the actual mechanism.

Next was the touchscreen. While most other keyboards hadn’t even gone there yet, and those that had (Korg particularly) had a somewhat sluggish response, the G70’s high resolution (for its time) color display was snappy and well designed. Not too much eye candy (the SX900 wastes vast amounts of screen real estate on graphics and cramps vital information as a result).

Then the buttons and knobs and sliders were crisp, precise, mostly well placed.

I can honestly say that yes, the feature set and sounds in a BK9 are considerably improved over the G70, but the tactile experience took a big step backwards. I miss actually PLAYING on my G70. What I don’t miss is lugging it around in its 35lbs case! Close to 80lbs once cased up, it was a young man’s game (by young man, I mean up to your 50’s!). My BK9 in its SKB hard plastic case weighs less than the G70 did alone!

But, in certain ways, the G70 was the zenith of Roland arranger design. The most comfortable keyboard to actually play I ever had!

Enjoy it, enjoywater. I have a feeling it will never be surpassed… 🎹