Don now that you have had the BK-9 a day or so how about a
Full review?..... I know you will make that KB sound fantastic! I for one wait anxiously.

I'd be interested also:

1. Does it contain enough versatile styles to do all kinds of music (I know I can delete, etc, but that doesn't work if the style is lame to being with!)

2. What advantage (besides 76) considering it has NO vocal harm, NO pads, etc?

3. Seems to me that Roland sounds are "thin", especially acoustic guitars.

All said - I would really like this to work - kinda tired of the same board.

Thanks.

as for styles I would assume you can always draw all the great G70 styles from the Roland library into the BK9 also and make it your own..but we'll see what Don thinks about the KB soon enough and hopefully a few demos videos too.

So far I haven't done much besides play it for a number of hours, getting familiar with the controls and navigation.
I hooked up my FC7 pedal and assigned functions to it, including a really neat feature that instantly changes voices from Upper one to Upper two and back. I forgot about this being on the other Rolands. You can also assign Volume pedal to fade Upper one and Upper two voices, with one assigned to positive value and the other negative. It's a long-time Roland feature.
I assigned one switch to break/mute, and have the others to call up style variations. I'm using an assignable pedal for the Style Part/midi file Mute function.
I plugged in a mic, e.q.d it just a little and adjusted the reverb. Very simple controls and functions, but it sounds really good. No Vh of course. I do have a Harmony M if needed though.
I plugged in the USB drive from my BK7m and it read all the Performances just fine, except a few where it couldn't find some styles. No problem there either, simple to fix. However I want to be certain I'm taking advantage of the newer sounds from the BK9, so I'm changing most of them, editing OTS settings and such.
Every on board style has its own individual number, so I went through every style, writing down the number and some notes if I thought it would be good for a certain song or genre.
Any style can be instantly called up using numeric entry method.
After that I went through most of the Factory Performance List, trying their setups on songs I recognized. Didn't do them all, because there are so many it would take all night.
During this time I also set up the Global settings to my liking, including such things as Split Point, Fingering Mode, Touch Settings, OTS behavior (holds), Performance Holds, etc.
I also fooled around with the E.Q. and Compression settings. Haven't made any drastic changes because I've only played through several different sets of headphones and the Logitech Z2200 in my office. Today I will set up the Nano system and try that.
Next, I will set up a couple banks of my Favorite sounds, which can be instantly called up via buttons.
I downloaded the Ipad apps but have not yet connected it to the keyboard. Looks interesting and will make setup pretty easy, but I wanted to learn stuff the hard way first.
As to the Styles, I believe everything can be found. If not, there are tons of them floating around. I have a full library somewhere on my computer. However, again, I want to take advantage of the new ones whenever possible.
Two of my favorites from older Rolands were not there, but I loaded them and they play great.
Zuki, the Supernatural sounds are really great, certainly no thin. It is so easy to edit sounds that any of them can be easily adjusted to your liking. I don't find them thin.
I think one of the strengths is the variety of styles, a lot of which I'll ever use, but your needs may differ. I think you'll find most anything you need.
Other advantages include the best organ sims I've heard on a keyboard, or perhaps from anywhere! I've always liked how you can hit the joystick and the leslie winds up or down-very realistic.
I have not yet experimented with the Audio Loop thing, but it will be more capable than multipads for sure. Possibilities are almost limited with that.
I really like the key touch, very responsive, yet with enough feeling for expression.
The chord sequencer is seamless. Far easier to start and stop than the Korg, and the Chord loops can be saved for later use!
I like the style part Mute feature, allowing you to mute selected style parts with one button push.
Yamaha sustain pedal works fine.
As for drawbacks, of course they are there too. The Break/fill is still merely a Break (no fill). As mentioned, no vocal harmony. I miss the touch strip from the Korg. Have to work with D Beam I guess. I miss some of the styles I was using. That can be remedied.
Although you still must often press two buttons to get the ending or intro you want, at least the endings are well done. MANY of the Korg endings, particularly the short ones, cut off too quickly, like someone just pulling the plug. Had to work around those.
I have to use a different keyboard stand because of the length. I have several though. Same with bag.
If I could find a way to have text files pop up automatically with Performances I would really like that. The BK9 does not store text files, only lyrics from midi files.
I will not have a problem performing with this keyboard (or with any of the current ones for that matter). Is it better than the PA3X. Certainly not, but it's different. I had a chance to sell the Korg for a good price. If the BK9 doesn't work out as expected, there are other options (PA4X?? next year maybe.)
Meantime, I'm moving in and out so much now, the light weight will be much appreciated.
I will update when I know more. So far, so good.
If there are specific questions, shoot away and I'll try to find the answer.

Thanks Don,

Sounds like a terrific board. I'd still miss the VH (but was using less). Lyrics...oh well

question:

1. Can you make your own music while on one of the end/fill buttons?
2. Is it as easy to go from song to song (medleys I could do lightening fast on the 800)?
3. Is the keybed similar to the VA76/G70? Yummy!


If the sounds and styles are there, I'm going to jump on this next. I think the audio input is spectacular (harmonies, arps, friends stuff (send me some guitar licks please and 76 keys? wow

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. It's been a long time since I played G70. This one may be a little lighter touch, not sure. Suits me very well though.

Don sounds like your having fun with the BK9 for sure.......
As soon as the "HOMEWORK" is all done I Know you will be kicking A$$ on stage with this KB. Keep us posted on your progress and tips & tricks setting it up. Glad you dumped the Pa3x also ....now there's no crutch to fall back on and can really concentrate on making the BK9 work for your needs

Well, it hasn't actually left the premises yet. I hate to see it go. . .

Either that or back to the AUDYA...

Don

+1 on all you said. I'm working hard on Editing all the Styles I use and am very happy with the Editing choices they give you. Being able to choose a new Drum set and then go in and edit the individual instruments in that set is really cool. Yesterday I spent an hour on one Style, changing instruments, volumes, EQ, etc. and about 15 minutes getting the snare drum just right. I like a strong backbeat and bass so for me it was time well spent.
I can't wait till Dony and Fran get theirs and can read about all the amazing things they're doing with it .
BK9 is a great design for the working pro.