Russ,
the styles in the E80 have the edge on the G70 because of sounds and drum kits not found in the G70. You also have to choose between 76 keys and no internal speakers or 61 keys and a very good internal speaker system. The layout is also more user friendly because of it's newer design. The other thing for someone like yourself is the ability to have two srx expansion boards available for additional sounds. This might seem so important, but if you want to have killer organs and vintage keyboards from one card and then would like to have Rolands great Studio collectin or World collection or strings and orchestral sounds, you would only get to have one of these on the G70, not the two as the E80 will allow.
The E60 has the same Compact Flash capability as the G70 and the E80 for storage like a hard drive. The biggest difference is that there is more internal memory on the G70 and the E80.

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George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com

Get your Roland E and G info here from happy and satisfied owners of the keyboards: http://www.synthzone.com/cgi-bin/forumdi...Forum&number=38
Bebop

Russ, your slutty side is starting to show (as in gear slut ).

On the other hand, when it comes to spending the kid's inheritance, I'm with you 100%.

chas

chas

Roland makes one of the best inboard Vocalizers on a keyboard I ever heard so far.....G70, D5.

Chas, I've been an unabashed gear slut (music gear, motorcycle gear, cameral gear and more). for years!

Love my toys!

R.

First and foremost, you've got to decide if you can lift and gig a 45+ lb. arranger (E80 is close to 50 lb.!). If that is out of the question, forget both... They are GREAT arrangers, but heavy.

There are probably only two good reasons to chose the G70 over the E80... firstly, the G70 has an unbelievably good keybed (IMO, the best EVER!) and 76 keys. That piano (the GrandX patch) is SO good, you are going to want to play full piano with it sometimes, not easy at all on a 61.

Secondly, if you need separate outputs for Arranger and Vocalist (probably a good idea if you run a pro show) plus a pair of aux Outs, the G70 is your only choice. E80 only has ONE stereo output for EVERYTHING. You MUST mix 'in the box', forget any external processing on your voice, for instance).

OK, OK, three reasons...! You can probably find a G70 for close to a grand US less than an E80. The E80 is a great arranger, but a grand better...?? Not IMHO.

Diki...thanks for the info about the mixing situation. this may make me get the E-60..76 keys, lighter, and I would use an outboard harmonizer. Don't really think I'd use the harmonizer much, but have never had one, so that might change. 50 lbs is no problem...I believe the MS-60 I've been playing for years is close to that.

Do you know about differences in memory between the E-60 and E-80?


thanks,


R.

There's a considerable difference between the E60 and G70's Internal memory size... after the ROM styles are in the E60's memory (it shares it with user data) there is not too much room left). However, it still has a card slot, and external memory functions identically to Internal, so it shouldn't really be a problem...

The E60 has exactly the same single stereo out as the E80... If this made the decision for you, if you can afford it, I HIGHLY recommend the G70... Two years of trouble-free gigging so far, a joy to play and listen to.

Diki, one of the great things about the Ketrons is 4 separate outs. That allows you to use different channels in a board, or different tracks during recording to adjust things (bass, drums, etc,). Man, I wish they made the board I need!

R.

Russ,
Having both the E60 and the E80 at my store let me tell you that although the E60 is a very good $1595.00 keyboard, there are still so much more internal rom for the factory voices in the E80. Actually, twice the wave rom. Also, the E80 has your seperate outputs which the E60 doesn't offer.
You would also love the drawbars for the great virtual organ sounds which the E60 doesn't have.


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George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California
818-881-5566
www.kayesmusicscene.com