hi folks, we all talk about there being no more Technics keyboards .

Can anyone in the forum explain the reasons why Technics has withdrawn from the market ?? it could not be that the keyboards are not good enough , lack of distributors ,could not keep up with the competition !!! lack of innovation !!

i think we would all be interested in the truth .

Regards .......Giovanni

Giovanni,

Using search you will find many threads on this subject. I do not think it was any of the reasons you state. I and others believe the profits were not there for home organs and keyboards.

Fran in Florida

The way I heard it ... there was a big-whig with the company that had a passion for keyboards, and he headed up the department. When he left that position, no one else shared the enthusiasm for a very competitive market and the line just folded. Remember, the parent company is Panasonic ... they sure don't need keyboard sales to exist in the electronics world.\

That's just they way I heard it ..... don't quote me.

The parent company is Matsushita and they for whatever reason decided to get out of all musical instruments period.
Let's face it the only reason any company runs any line is purely for profit so not enough profit goodbye.
The bottom fell out of organs ages ago and the keyboard market was declining and although the keyboards were good they were in a very niche market I.E. the older person and Technics just could not compete with the likes of Yamaha on shifting units, the same goes for piano's the Clavinova has it.

Found this ...... maybe it's a STEP parent!


Panasonic
Matsushita Electric Corporation of America
One Panasonic Way
Secaucus, NJ 07094

Matsushita/Panasonic/Technics in that order


The Matsushita group of companies is a most comprehensive worldwide electric and electronic product manufacturer whose products range from electronic components to consumer electronic products, home appliances, factory automation equipment, information and communications equipment, and housing-related products.

Outline of Matsushita Electric
Company Name:
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Head office location: 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka 571-8501, Japan
Tel. 81-6-6908-1121
President Kunio Nakamura
take a look on the link below below http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/about/corporate/index.html

I wondered if their more recent models, KN7000 especially, had drifted a bit too far into adding "fairy dust" features, and maybe neglected the main guts of the instrument - sounds, styles, FX, playabilty.

When things like the KN2000 & KN3000 were launched, I looked at them very seriously. Whilst I ended up choosing another brand of arranger at the time, I saw those Technics models as very serious market contenders indeed.

When the KN7000 came out, I again had a very good look at it. However, I came away with the impression that it had been developed with most of the designers attention paid to it's capabilities as a multimedia device. On the other hand, it didn't seem to be offering much that it's predecessors already had, from the point of view of use as a straight musical instrument.

This is not to suggest that it was a bad instrument in any way, but just that it had maybe drifted in the wrong direction in terms of it's balance of features.

Could be that others felt the same way and it didn't sell as well as Technics hoped?

Mike,

In the U.S. there were waiting lists to get the 7000. Folks are still looking to buy.

Fran in Florida

No,

The main reason for Technics to quit was that it was no core business. The mass volumen gadgets like DVD-players GSM's etc. has better ROI and probably the competition was to heavy. A Tyros also has great sound, but don't compare the quality of their build. Don't use the Tyros on stage, becasue buttons might break up.

Regards, Fred
http://www.kn7000.net/Fred_Mellink

Seems a shame they couldn't have sold the keyboard business and the tooling off to another company - maybe not one that currently makes arrangers.

Whilst their most recent products were not quite suitable for my purposes, they were certainly very good, and seemed well made. I always felt it was healthy to have Technics active in the arranger market, both for extra choice and to provide a different slant on how to design that type of product.