Hi

I bought the G1000 one year ago, and I like it much. When the VA-7 arrived, I tried it at my friend's home. These are my impressions:

- Sounds are improved, but not so well I expected. I've got the impression that many sound use same or very similar samples as G1000. The "incredible" piano sound look very similar as on G1000, but it's only better filtered. The really improvements are the Jazz Scat sounds, one trumpet, sax, and two excellent acoustic drum kits (unique recorded along with drumkit resonance), best of them I've ever heard. In total - about 15 sounds are markable better than on the G1000.

- The TouchScreen is nice feature for mixer, some non-realtime functions and selecting sound variations, maybe. But, I think that placing the most important functions (like variations, keyboard mode, synchro stop...) on the TouchScreen is an very big mistake, the main reason why I disappointed. I think the TouchScreen isn't definitelly think for a live performance, a soluttion with buttons or knobs for many important functions is much better.

- Keys are very soft (plastic-feel, similar as G600). Some people like this, some need semi-weighted keys. My postulate is that all model of the keyboard should have at least two options - with 61 key/Speakers and 76 key/No speakers (congratulations to KORG in that way - there are Triton 61key and Triton Pro X 88key, for example). About speakers...this is nice feature for working at home and training, but I think there is no professional player who need speakers - they have amps on the stage, and probably some speakers at home, so they will never use incorporated speakers - in ever case, the keyboard is some harder to transport, because of speakers. Also, speaker's magnetic fiels may destroy data on magnetical media disks when you place it on the speaker.

- D-beam is a futuristic feature, but I don't see the real need for this (instead of the ribbon controller), except for "games".

- Variphrase is an excellent feature, but only has purpose in some genres of music. The posibilitied are very limited, and this is NOT replacement for the very more needed Vocal Harmonizer, nor Sampler. I think it would be a great sampler if it had Key mapping and looping (like Solton, Kurzweil, SoundBlaster...). I tried it with many different samples and think that this is very great technology, but it's just on the beginning. There will be much of development in that way.

- Also, I tried to use the VA-7 to do same job as G1000, and I must say this is impossible in many cases.


Conclusion: I don't think that entire arranger category of instruments is "unproffesional", as some people say. The best prooves are G800, G1000, Solton SD1, GEM SK880 and Yamaha 9000pro, which are designed fully professional (without pictures of selected instruments, buttons in all possible colors and "video games" on the display). The VA7 isn't deffinitelly a professional thing, nor replacement for it's predecessor - G1000. This is nice solution if you buy keyboard for the first time but guys, if you have the G1000, KEEP IT, even if you buy some VA. Thanks to many great features, easy and FAST operations at live situations and, of course, very reduced price these days ($1.200 in U.S.), it's the best solution. We have to wait some time - I hope all arrangers in the future will be FINISHED technology, equipped with plenty of memory, a powerful sampler and serious Vocal harmonizer (there are already some ones, but not so good sounded as Roland's, in my opinion).

Keep your gear that do the job and TRY the thing every time before you buy.

Sorry for a long post

Good luck, everybody