I think Roland is trying to circumvent the problems that Yamaha had with the 9000 Pro: many typical Yamaha pro-line dealers wouldn't carry the 9000 Pro so a lot of potential customers never saw or heard it. Roland's direct-to-customer idea with the G70 seems like an interesting concept that at least may get demo models of the G70 onto the dealer floors. This concept also helps eliminate some of the problems that dealers have with being used as "try but not buy" places where customers try out the instruments but then buy from the web at cheaper prices and without sales tax. Same with customer help-desk issues. It also assures customers of getting new instruments and not a unit that has been demo'd to death and then repackaged (unless you buy the floor model of course, assuming you can at some point). And it takes the financial load off of dealers who often have to buy floor models only to watch them be destroyed by careless customers.

Except for the no-discount price thing and the inability to take a G70 home the same day you try it, I see this as a smart marketing strategy on Roland's part, particularly for local dealers. I know from being a former keyboard salesperson that I hated trying to sell keyboards to people only to have them buy it cheaper from an out of state dealer and then call me for help on how to use it. I couldn't blame them for trying to save money but I couldn't give away my time either and I often just wound up in a no-win situation. Like it or not, I'll bet we see other keyboard manufacturers adopt similar sales tactics.