E-A7 is a great keyboard but I ended up replacing mine with a PA900. I prefer to have the harmony onboard, just so much easier to work with. I also prefer the larger screen and once I had the 900, I liked the keys better.

I still think Roland has the easiest "songbook" system-just set everything up how you like it and hit "write." Also nice to have the styles right on a USB stick if you want, although I think the later Korgs can audition from USB. E-A7 has more assignable switches and Transpose and Octave on the left side which I prefer. Korg is a bigger learning curve, but I am getting used to it. Sound wise, they are pretty close IMO.

E-A7 still has that glaring deficiency--no Break/Fill. You can use intro 1 for it sometimes, if you time it perfectly, but there are a lot of songs I do that need the break.
Seems the style part balance and one-touch settings are done better on Roland, but of course all that is easily adjusted.
The PA4X does read styles and songs directly from USB.

maybe Roland will surprise us down the road with a new arranger KB...?

Don't think we will se any new TOTL arranger model from Roland.

Forgot to mention, the speakers are better on the Korg as well. Good enough that I sometimes don't turn on my monitors and sub. Like the Roland Makeup Tools though. Seems like on Korg you have to use two or three different screens sometimes to do the same job.

Don, according to photos and the manual, the EA-7 has a Break button in the style control section. Again looking at photos this is something new even over the former TOTL BK-9.

Does the "Break" function not work for your needs? BTW thanks for your review. I've been interested in one of these for a while but right now I lack the budget to buy online. Music stores in north Texas don't seem to stock Roland arrangers :-(

Yes, there is a break button, and it "breaks" to one measure of dead silence, no riff, no tap, just dead air. It is only occasionally useful, and I haven't really found that occasion yet.
Intro one in many cases does what the break/fill should do, but not always. Sometimes it gives you a count-in. And you have to time it exactly right--never a split second behind the beat.

Some things I like not mentioned:

Seven assignable buttons.
Six phrase/pad switches.
User tone /drum banks.
Favorite section.
Sampler w/ edits.
Wave recorder.

DonM quote...it would be a really good tool to have in the arsenal.


It really is.....a great tool... and no matter how hard I tried... I could not justify, selling it..
I have several people that want me to sell it to them, but for so little money invested and what it does....It will stay put..

Didnt one of these roland arrangers recently come out and had audio multi pads that could be linked to tempo?
Thought it was the double screened model.
Jim