The Roland Ea7 Keyboard. April, 8,2021

Just bought a Ea7 to add to my Sx900. The instrument sounds are great, the styles are alive, and the weight is just right. After 20minutes I remembered doing the same thing when I had my Kn7000; I added a Roland keyboard, the model just before the “D” beam came out.

The manual and the keyboard are not friendly. I am basing my opinion on owning and performing with a Psr 2100, Tyros 3, Korg 800, 900, Pa 1000
And a Pa4x —- and now A Yamaha Sx900. My best guess, it appeals to the people in the eastern countries. Ho, one more thing, at 89 years old, I keep forgetting 50% of what I just read. Ouch!
All that said I feel it is a great keyboard.

And now HELP!
1-Right window— Instruments. I am trying to select instruments and volumes for rt,1,2,3,lower. In the window, top left corner there is U1, How do I change it to rt 2,3, or lower?

John C.

Congratulations John! Be patient with yourself, as every brand has their own way of doing things.

I don't have an E-A7. Looking at the manual, I would try the buttons to the right of Screen One (the left screen) to select Rt2 / Rt3 / Lower, and then the numeric buttons on the right side of the keyboard with the sound families to select a different voice. Good luck!

Teds, you are so right, be patient. I woke up early this morning, read your post, and went to my Ea7, and did what you said.
Nice, thank you, John C.

I find the easiest way to remember stuff from the manual (as I get older myself!) is to concentrate on one thing at a time, but to actually DO whatever it is I’m reading...

Somehow, my mind will absorb it by the old ‘monkey see, monkey do’ process, but if I just read about something and don’t immediately do what I’m reading, it’s gone down the black hole of my mind!

Roland have never really done tutorials... their manuals have rarely been instructional, more reference books. The index is your best friend! But there IS a certain logic to them, as long as you don’t try to grok the whole thing in one go.

Make sure you have ALL the manuals... there is a reference manual and a general one, if I remember rightly. Possibly a MIDI one too (anyone?).

Sadly, the main weakness in the EA7 IMHO, was that its two brand new, long requested features came with ZERO content. After years of waiting we finally got a sampler. With no content! And zero compatibility with any multisample format, including Roland’s own legacy S series format. What a blunder..! Sure, it was a measly 128MB in size (very 90’s!) but even so, there’s a ton of Akai, Roland and Kurzweil sample sets that fit quite nicely into 128MB of RAM. But can the EA7 read any of them? Hell no!

And after waiting YEARS for a multipad system, Roland provide just a tiny few MIDI ones, no audio loops, and no way to import MIDI to the multipads. It all seems to halfhearted. Finally the features their users had begged for for two decades, then basically they said ‘Here you go, make your own content!’ 🙄

I hate to say it, but arranger users are mostly into content being provided. Imagine if a Yamaha came with no multipad content, or nothing for the sampler... 😱

It’s so sad, to finally have what we’d been asking for for decades, and then slapped in the face with how little they did with it....

DiKi, thank you for your impute, it helped me keep my original thought -- I bought the Ea7 to fill in when I was becoming board with my world; you know, something new to do.

I do work as you suggested, one thing at a time, Thanks.
I am now working on saving user programs. When I went from the Kn7000 to the Korg pa800, I forced myself not to use the same thinking; I am trying to do the same with the Ea7.

Having most of the Ea7 You Tube tutorials in a foreign language is not much help. I do have all the manuals, thanks to Donny.

I started working on how to a create and save a User Programs, all help appreciated.

But I am enjoying my new challenge, John C.

John C, enjoy your new KB. It always fun playing on a new instrument and I admire your curiosity for learning new things!
Personally my patience can be quite low, and I tend to stick with what I know, which not always the best mindset.

I think our biggest hurdle going from one brand to another is wanting to do what we already do... But if you boil it down, the whole reason we tried something new was because we DIDN’T want to do what we were doing!

There’s a lot to be said for sitting down at a new instrument and just letting it surprise us. What does it do we weren’t expecting? What does it do to change our usual input into something we don’t quite recognize? Is it cooler than what we are used to? Does it make our juices flow? Does it make you realize you’ve been jamming for a couple of hours without noticing the time?

There’s time for all that tedious wonk stuff later, figuring out how to store setups we like, learning how to edit things that are ALMOST perfect into something completely perfect...

But don’t take the joy off the experience, the bloom off the rose in a premature attempt to shoehorn something into well-worn habits. Let it delight you first... for as long as it can! Especially if you already have your old familiar around, you are still covered if you REALLY want to do your usual thing. But you never get a second chance for something to amaze you if your primary concern is to whip it into your usual habits.

Let it be what it is... 😎🎹

Montunoman, thank you for caring, your words helped me to remember the joy of a new keyboard. I sometimes wonder why I keep looking for new challenges, but I will be 90 this September, and I’m still going, to late to change. (smile)

Thanks again, John C.

Diki, wisdom, wisdom, wisdom, you have so much of it – and I think it is good because I share many of your beliefs. (smile)

I am basically a happy guy, I am 89, and soon to be 90 – I have made it, and I am still doing many of the things I did when I was younger, but slower. And I am still open to learning, thanks.

Today I have learned, from my friend Diki, to enjoy playing my new keyboard, play without trying to save and build. Just enjoy having the new keyboard. aaaaaaaaah! And you are right, thanks.
John C.

Nice post Diki. 👍
I've often found myself looking for what and how I could do things at earlier models instead in look for the new and exciting possibilities.
🎵🎹🎵

Gunner, and what we were doing had nothing to so with the keyboard -- just how we were using it. Amen!
John C.

Don’t get me wrong... I have made the same mistake myself, even when I kept my old familiar!

As a working pro, yes, there’s that rush to show off the new toy on the gig, and it sometimes left me moaning about well rehearsed habits no longer being valid. I struggled for quite a while with the loss of the touch screen going from the G70 to the BK9.

But eventually, I realized that less tactile alternatives often worked out better. Nowadays, I set up at home far more carefully, with the upside being on the gig I now do next to nothing except play and sing, and my show and my enjoyment is the better for it. Without being willing to abandon my regular workflow, I may never have enjoyed all the considerable advancements the BK-9 offered.

Sometimes, to fly, you have to let go... 😎🎹

I may want to sell my Roland Ea7. I feel it is a very complete keyboard, and if I were younger (had a lot of years left) the Ea7 would be the keyboard of my choice. The gentleman who sold it to me included a large amount of styles, and more.

If you are interested, PM me.
John C.