There has not been much activity in this forum for some time. It's not like the old days when we would meet at the Canadian site. I still maintain the Technics Players List, although I considered discontinuing it after my move from Kansas to Pennsylvania. Wanted to know if anyone heard anything about a new KN, and suppose it will be called KN7000. I read some discussion about it in another forum.
http://www.charterpa.net/rdross

Hi Dave,
I spoke to a Technics rep here in California last week. There is to be an upgrade of the 6K with the sound card or perhaps (cards) installed. He has no info re a totally new board in the near future. At least that is his story. I hope you never give up the Player's List. It is a GREAT resource.
Frank Bez

Dave and Frank, nice to see your postings here. Where is everybody else hiding out? Seems like this Technics board has lost a lot of steam recently.

Could it be because Technics currently doesn't have a "brand new" keyboard just on the horizon? or is it because there are now many more other competitive arranger keyboard brands/models on the market? Another reason this board may be losing interest is because there is now a Technics keyboard "model specific" message board where Technics arranger keyboard folks can meet:
http://www.technote.com/forums/

The newest thing I've heard regarding Technics is the KN6500 which I hear will be released in the first quarter of 2001. It is basically the KN6000 with an added (EW-01?) expansion board which supposedly includes an 'even' better sounding acoustic piano. Anyone out there own or heard the sounds on this expansion board? I have also heard that the earlier KN6000 OS bugs have been fixed. Can anyone confirm that here? That being said, I interested in checking out the EW01 expansion board and or the KN6500 when it is released here in the US. With the current hype over the KN6500, my guess at this point is that a KN7000 model won't be due for release till late 2001 or early 2002. This is only my guess, not fact.

Current feedback on the new expansion board and/or the upcoming KN6500/KN7000 and anticipated prices would be appreciated.

Happy Holidays to all,

Scott

California, USA

PS: It would be great to see postings from the rest of you Technics friends out there (especially the many of you who had posted on the earlier Technics Canada Message Board site). At least let us know that you are all ok.

Good to see familiar names on this forum. I have also been folowing the KN6000 forum at Technote. I saw one post that said that the KN6500 would contain a built in hard drive as well as the expansion sound board. That is what I am waiting for. But you can't always bank on forum stuff. Much is just rumor. I will wait for Technics to go to a faster CPU, 128 note polyphony and a hard drive before I upgrade from my KN5000. Cheers!

Good to hear from some of the old gang. I found this site:
http://www.wtenaykeyboardstudios.com/KN6000.html

It provides information on the EW01. $290.00 and delivered anywhere in the US. I'll link to this page on my site for future reference.

There are several demo's. I downloaded one and it sounds great!

Bob: I have been neglecting the Tips and Tricks page on my site lately and wondering if you have any new tips/tricks that you have not posted yet?

I see that the Canadian forum finally removed the 'under construction' notice. I assumed they never had any intention of returning with the forum after all the negative comments about the kn6 when it came out. I really enjoyed that forum and although there are others, I just don't get that comfortable feeling that I had there.

Hope everyone is well

Dave Ross

[This message has been edited by rdr (edited 11-27-2000).]

[This message has been edited by rdr (edited 11-27-2000).]

Great info Chaps!

J5

Hi all,
I am contemplating the idea of purchasing a KN6000 or KN6500 (when it is released in 4/2001?). I currently own the KN5000 w/ optional hard drive. I have hundreds of custom made song styles saved on my keyboard's hard drive and want to be able to import them into whatever keyboard I eventually upgrade(?) to. The KN6000 or KN6500 seems like the natural choice, especially with the new added EW01 expansion board option. I heard (rumor?)that the KN6500 will include the new expansion board and a hard drive. I heard that the included KN6500 hard drive (1 GB?) will be smaller than the hard drive currently only available as an option on the KN6000. BTW, can someone here tell me what the actual size (in gigabytes) the current KN6000 model HD-SX6 hard drive is? Also, I heard (rumor?) that the KN6500's hard drive will not include the full capabilities (cannot be accessed from a desktop PC?) of the KN6000 hard drive. Can anyone confirm this?

Lowtec,
I've been contemplating the possibility of purchasing the KN6000/KN6500 from your recommended source, Whitley Bay Organ in the UK, as the prices are substantially less than the prices here in the US (even with shipping/customs calculated in). My primary concern is warranty coverage and potential voltage conversion problems. Lowtec, did you purchase your KN6000 from Whitley Bay Organ? Would you recommend me purchasing overseas from them? Do you find them an honest and reliable company who will stand behind their product even if purchased from overseas? I hope you might email me directly with any additional information/advice.

Thanks,

Scott
California (SF Bay Area), USA

scottyee@aol.com

Hi Scott & Lowtec
Yes, the Whitley Bay price on the KN6000 is much, much better than what US dealers want to charge. The lowest price I could find here was $3000 US. But, aside from the voltage problem of buying overseas, you might have to pay import duties. And you would get no warranty. And, repair & parts might have to be done overseas (according to a US Technics dealer I was talking wit). I can not see why US dealers have to make such a huge profit on these boards. It's a shame.
Tom

Hi Tony (aka Lowtec):

I emailed Joanne at Whitley Bay Organs regarding KN6000 shipping costs and customs duty fees this morning and she got back to me right away saying she will look into it and get back to me.

Tony, I want to let Joanne know that 'you' referred me but perhaps she will want to know your 'last name' as Tony is a fairly 'common' name (at least here in California anyway). Could you please email me directly with your 'last name' (if you feel more comfortable not revealing your full name on this board)? I'm sure Joanne will be very pleased that you are sending potential customers to her.

I had a chance to listen to the EW01 sample demos posted at:
http://www.wtenaykeyboardstudios.com/ew01.html

and was impressed with just about all the many new 'fresh' and most importantly very 'usable' sounds featured on this board -especially liked the vocal, strings, bass, horns, and piano samples. Tony, looking forward to hearing "your" feedback on the EW01's sounds, after you install your EW01 in your KN6000 and take it on a "live" test drive . . . afterall, I (unfortunately) only got to hear an MP3 compressed version of the EW01 sounds.

Also, did I read (or did I just imagine it -wishful thinking?) that Technics is going to be releasing an EW02 board in the future for the KN6000 and that the KN6000 has space to accomodate both the EW01 an EW02 boards simultaneously?

One other question to Tony and all. Do any of you own the optional HD-SX6 hard drive for the KN6000. I would really like to receive feedback on this hard drive. Does it perform well?

- Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 11-28-2000).]

Looks like we have some excellent activity going here from the Technics gang. Let's keep it going and spread the word that this is the place to meet.

Would be nice to hear from some of the others from the Canadian forum: Jaap Keller, Jerry Silberstein, to name a few.

BTW: Jaap Keller at one time had a web page with all his Technics patterns. They are still available and can be found at:

http://home.c2i.net/gjgotaas/

Look for Jaap's files in the left column.


Dave

[This message has been edited by rdr (edited 11-28-2000).]

[This message has been edited by rdr (edited 11-28-2000).]