It was so prevalent in posts, discussion, just a few short weeks ago .....what happened?

HELLOOOOOO BK9 Players how you doing?

The reason we where discussing the BK9 changed keyboards as in PA900

Yep, it seems to have garnered a bit of interest here, and then mostly dropped off the radar, except for Bill Lewis who is quite happy with his BK-9.

I'm wondering if Roland has offered some sort of OS upgrade to deal with the non-transposition in the Chord Sequencer, considering the CS was touted as a great new addition and it seemed there were quite a few who were wanting such a handy feature.

Having said that, the Tyros5 clamor appears to be mostly over as well.

Oh well, Korg may be coming out with something soon.

Ian

try listening WITHOUT looking at the video....
gives you a better sense of what it sounds like.

also check out the AUDIO Tab PAGE HERE>>>

https://www.rolandus.com/products/details/1274/459#

I found the BK9 to be a great keyboard. It's just that some of the features I wanted weren't there and it was causing me to make some compromises in my setup. Still wish I could have kept it around too.
The other reason discussion has dropped off is that Diki is no longer here.

I think it's a great keyboard too, Don...it certainly sounds terrific, especially the drawbar organ section.

I think that is why some of us were wondering why it didn't make a bigger splash, especially at such a good price with the luxury (for some) of 76 keys.


Ian

Roland themselves have been very quiet about their arrangers since autumn when the European subsidiary was announced to be dissolved. I'm sceptical if anything will be released for Musikmesse. Nothing about the announced expansion sounds yet. According to the big European online sellers, the number of BK-9 reviews is very low; that's quite a good indicator for sales figures. I guess Roland hopes more to generate sales by the FA-06/08 now.

I am puzzled too. The BK-9 sounds really good in the online demos and comparisons with the Yamaha 950 and PA900. If I were to buy another Arranger the BK-9 would be it. It has a very realistic sound that is noticeably different from Korg and Yamaha and more realistic.

Again? That happens a lot over time.... Why he leave this time?

Luckily he is still discussing his BK9, i saw him posting the BK9 advantages on the Korg forums in a Post about Pa3x vs Yamaha..

I saw that. He is perfectly nice there and on the Roland forum he moderates. Seems to show a lack of respect here sometimes. Too many times.

Since my name was mentioned I'll chime in. The BK9 is a great sounding keyboard that does all I could want (so far ) I've played a lot of keyboards and Arrangers and this is by far the best sounding I've ever owned. The editing is easy and very deep, If you want to go that far. Plus it gives me a great Clonewheel organ, something I don't use much in a OMB sceniero but great to have for a band situation. I don't do MP3 backng tracks or sequences, I just play the thing. Too much button pushing for me. If I want something in Db I play it in Db. Somehow I remember in my lessons there are twelve keys and you need to know all of them ! This is my opinion only, but I feel that stuff makes you sound too artificial although it works for many acts, especially where I'm at now. People dont' care how the music comes out as long as it sounds good and they can dance to it. Vocals are #1 to reach a crowd and if they're good enough you can have dogs barking in the backround. LOL ! Sorry to drift off topic with that.
Most of this techno stuff is make us happy and have fun.
I just came in from the studio and had more fun going thru Styles and tweaking them. I can go from Piano Style full keyboard playing to holding chords in Arranger Style playing. Many other flexible setups are available and can be programmed into a single button push (or FC7 pedalboard )
This may sound incidental but its important to me and again, I don't think the crowd gives a damn, but it looks professional in Black and doesn't have onboard speakers which to me screams 60's HOME ORGAN. I think they sound like cr*p anyway compared to a good stereo system. My opinion for that comes from my Casio PX350. The onboard speakers are OK in the living room but put it thru my Stereo PA and --- Hello, I have a Bosendorfer !!! I've never owned another keyboard with onboard speakers.
And the BK9 is 16 lbs. I love that !!
I dont mean to tell anyone what to play or knock anyones choices, if your happy thats all that matters at the end of the day. I'm not familiar with the other brands so I don't offer comparisons. I can't afford to try all the boards out there, but the BK9 is a great professional board. For any situation it will do the job. Again, add the IPAD and you have your touchsereen that some miss, plus it will do many other functions.

Brian
No concerns about Roland. I think they're a big enough company to keep up with support of their products. Actually I can't remember if I ever needed to fix a piece of Roland gear and I've had a lot. I do remember I inquired about my concern of my G1000's case. I could feel it flex near the disk drive when I picked it up. Service tech told me he could get a whole new case if needed. If I do need any service there's a great Service Center in Edison NJ I've used fo other stuff so no worries.
Yes you do have to tweak the Styles as their too busy for live work. Or you can be lazy and hit the track mute button and it cuts out everything but the Drums and Bass. Sometime I just play piano over that as you do.
I've spent a ton of time first on my BK7M and then the BK9 and am happy with the results. The Drums and Bass are very good and everything else is just icing on the cake.
Last point. I used to be an organ guy and gigged with B3's for years and then bought and sold them. The organ sim is very good and usable for most any situation. Can Midi in my PK5 bass pedals or another keyboard if needed.

I had previously owned the Roland BK-7M and really liked the sound it produced. I thought the BK-9 would be the same but it just wasn't. Here is a song I recorded using the BK-7M. I was never able to get the BK-9 to sound the same.
By the way, I sold the BK-7M only because, not being a midi guru, I didn't know how to setup a controller to do all the work from the keyboard.

Deane

Now you've given me somthing to do on this snowy day. I have both units so I'm going to do a comparison. Stay tuned.

BTW Nice tune-- well done

Hi Deane

Nice smooth performance, can you remember which style you used on the BK-7 I was trying to replicate it on the G70. I have all the styles from the BK-7 but I can't quite seem to find the right one.

All the best

Col

Bill,
I will be very interested in your results. I was never able to replicate the BK-7M sounds on the BK-9. That said, I was a BK-9 newbie.

Col,
Try the easy swing styles. I don't remember exactly which style I used.

Donny,
Thanks.
Deane

Hmm...wonder if BK Partner uses Apple's standard control set so it would work well with VoiceOver - IOS Screen Reader. Many of these commercially developed apps have custom controls and unlabeled buttons which makes things difficult for us who use VoiceOver.

Anyone with a BK and an iPad want to try? Contact me off list and I'll give instructions. Note navigation is different with VoiceOver turned on.

Thanks,
Vince

Deane

Just did a BK7M / BK9 comparison. Ran both mono into the same channel on my PA. All I listened to was the OTB Styles. Went back and forth and tried hard to pick out any differance. First I thought the BK7M was a bit more detailed but then I thought the BK9 was somehow cleaner. After about a 1/2 hour of back and forth with about 10 different Styles I'm calling it a draw. They're the same to me. Now as to the Solo voices I didn't go there because I believe the BK9 has more variety. They both have the same basic soundset which is really all you need. I find myself narrowing down my soundset so I'm more familiar with the ones I use most.
Don't know what it was but its a shame you gave up on the BK9. I think it was simple fix of things like the the Makeup Tools, EQ on Parts, etc.
Good luck with your new board

Bill did you record the two devices? A/B

No recording sorry ! Believe me either one is a winner. I like the BK7M because I midi it and I like playing a full size keyboard, my Casio PX350. But I feel you need to FC7 pedal with it work live.
The BK9 has a decent keyboard and everything is there in front of you. The addition of the Organ is a big bonus. So the compromise puts me on the side of the BK9.
Gotta sell some stuff so I can get an IPAD to go with it.

Bill,

I just emailed you the setups I did when I had my BK-9.
Let me know how you like them.

Deane