I just bought a load of Roland E-09W (white) arranger keyboards for a very good price. I had not tried this keyboard out at last years 2008 NAMM show because I thought it was just the same sounds as the older EXR series boards but I was thrilled yesterday when I unpacked one and realized that it's the same sounds as the now discontinued GW7. These are the well processed Fantom sounds, not the sounds we are hearing in the new GW8L keyboard.
The E-09 has 130 factory styles (20 more than the GW7) and it includes styles from around the world, including Western, Middle Eastern, Indian and Asian. The Styles can be played as Bass and Drum, Combo or full band and there an original and variation button and one fill in button.
There are over 800 sounds and 70 Drum Kits.
The keyboard has built in good sounding speakers, stereo outputs, midi but no USB or Floppy Disk Drive. You can save 99 performances and then bulk dump out midi to save them and reload new ones.
There is a 16 track sequencer, however only one song can be stored and again you can bulk dump this information out to a computer or midi sequencer( a reason to use any older midi sequencers that might be lying around your house).
The keyboard weighs a mere 16 lbs and is one of the easiest to use I've played in a long time.
There is even a dedicated scale tuning button if you want to program middle eastern scale tunings and all this data can be saved in the performance memories.
Most noticable to me is how good the sounds are in this model. It's the best of the Roland Fantom sounds and expansion boards. It has the really breathy sax's and the expressive guitars, both acoustic and electric with all the velocity element changes taking place.
This keyboard is a perfect take around or even be considered a pro sounding model even though you don't load in new styles or play lots of midifiles. However, for sounds, you can't beat it for this price point. It has Roland's G70 piano sounds, both electric and acoustic. I think it even has a better selection of styles then I've heard in most arrangers costing up to $1000.00.
Best of all is the Price:
UNDER $500!!!
PS My guess is that Roland will discontinue this model soon too because they never marketed this one correctly either (like the E80).

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

I'm confused..... I thought the GW-8L's sound engine WAS the Fantom/SonicCell sound set.

George are you saying the E-09 has good quality Fantom sounds?

If you listen to the GW8L most will not like the effects that have been programmed into the keyboard's presets. Some sounds don't have enough and some have too much. When you listen to the E-09 you like it's sounds much more. I don't know if it's because it's different samples or just a different programmer, but they all sound great.
I've read comments here at the SZ which I agree with regarding how the GW8L's sounds aren't as good as a fantom or the older XP80 sounds. This E-09 definetely sounds better to me.
And, where the GW8L doesn't have enough styles which can be played in Blues, Jazz, Country, Pop, etc. and specializes more in the South of the Border Styles, the E-09 really has playable and very well programmed styles.
Also, the key feel on the E-09 has a better feel to me than that of the GW8L, even though the price is so much lower.


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

I have an EXR46 in my store and I just side by side compared the E09 to the EXR46. Although many of the sounds have the same name, the sounds are completely different. The 09 has so much more expression and just a better sound then the EXR.

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

Geo -

Thanks for bringing it to our attention. I'm very interested. Seeking a low cost, great sounding compliment to my 800.

It appears able to save a lot of info to Performances - probably just about everything I would need.

I see that main and layer volumes are saved to performance.

Questions:

1. Are OTS1 and OTS2 VOLUME CHANGES saved to a performance?
2. Can you change an OTS in a style and save to a performance?
3. Can the intro/ending buttons, when engaged, be saved to a performance (I would think not). I use this feature extensively on my 800 and not sure in live medley play that I'd want to fool around pressing intros/ending buttons.

Thanks,
zuki

George -

You mentioned 2008 NAMM. There are user reviews from back in 2006 on the E-09. Is the white just a repackaged unit from a few years ago, or did they make changes from the original one?

George... got an E50/60 in the store to compare it to?

You are right about Roland's lack of marketing. Seems like they gave up after the V/VA series tanked...

Yeh George - Do you have an E50? I'm looking to buy one now.

zuki

Hmmmm...., George's report has got me wondering now about something. I'm curious if the new Prelude will sound better than the GW-8L. Perhaps the same thing will happen with the Prelude in terms of sound quality when compared to its big brother (GW-8)

I doubt it squeak...

To me, most of this seems to be a styling team issue, maybe voicing team, too. Once upon a time, Roland's voice and style creators were the best in the business. Heck, they pretty much INVENTED GM/GS, which, for all the abuse it gets, is really a way of saying 'here are the main patches everybody uses, and drumkit layouts' and providing those in a consistent package.

This is where everyone has failed, lately joined by Roland themselves. Consistency. The products voiced around the Sound Canvas engines used to be that way. Once upon a time, it didn't matter which Roland E.Piano you selected, they were the same volume (if you didn't move the volume command). They sat in the mix roughly in the same place. Same with basses, strings, horns, you name it. EQ was consistent, if you took a style with a rock kit, and changed it to a jazz kit, it still worked.

Same with the styles. Roland styles were consistent. You changed styles in the middle of a song (I love doing that between different styles of the same genre, to add variety to a piece) and the volume didn't jump, the EQ balance didn't jump, it sounded usually pretty natural.

Now, sadly, a thing of the past. Change pianos, and you find yourself having to move the volume slider to compensate. Change styles, and sometimes quite different instrument balances, overall volumes and EQ balances change. It's as if, back in the Sound Canvas days (and a few products afterwards, like this E-09), there was ONE guy who did everything... or at least rode shotgun, and banged everything consistent before it was made public. Now it sounds more like a whole bunch of different guys doing their thing, with no one person making sure they all balance.

Cutting corners has NOT helped, I think...

Hey Squeak,

I too am interested in the Prelude. Speakers are a MUST for me. A deal breaker for me in a board is not having lightning fast performance changes for song play (medleys, etc)! I literally string/change songs on a downbeat. The 800 songbook is terrific for that and so is the VA7.

I think the board is out in April?

How's that vacant drug house - cleaning it up???????????

Zuki hurry with that website I still wanna hear those medleys ....or just email me a few I'll host them for you or put em on You Tube..

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 02-20-2009).]

This keyboard seems to sound really great. Check out these demos...

Guitars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjmPkpgCq0I

Strings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfNAbYTUnwE

Song: Men in Black http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCegTf9ez18

More Demos (from this User): http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=alpisofr&view=videos&query=e-09

Thanks for your post George and all the other useful information that you post here...

[This message has been edited by sunfactor (edited 02-21-2009).]

[This message has been edited by sunfactor (edited 02-21-2009).]

That guy did some great audio vids for this model. I saw these some time ago. The E-09 sounds really good in many areas. The Warm Strings tone was very nice.., and it was nice to see some tones with the XP patch names

The only down side to these (for me) would be the lack of the most basic voice editing. I wouldn't mind having something like the E-09, but for myself..., I know there will be tones/patches that I would want to adjust the ADSR and filters on. If I bought a budget Roland arranger it would have to be the GW-8. I'd love to have a speaker version of the GW-8 and YES it exists in the Prelude.., but Roland jacked the price of that puppy up to $1,000 and took away patch editing

The E-09 would make a great affordable keyboard for someone needing that "out of box" sound though.

Good to hear from you Squeak, you helped some time ago very kindly with my usual strange questions

Well, coming from a PSR-290, this Roland will at least for me be a great enhancement.
Actually I wanted to buy a Yamaha S500/550 but to my ears the E09 sounds better.

Recently I won an E-09 Ebay-Auction: 290,- Euro for a floor model with 2-year-warranty. At least for Europe it's a great price.

Lookin' forward to get this little black beauty...



[This message has been edited by sunfactor (edited 02-21-2009).]

George, I owned one about 18 months ago, black. I couldn't say anything negative about the sounds, but the arranger section is not what most of the SZers would call acceptable - three variations based on trio, quartet and bigger band? For it's price range, it was IMHO a decent board, but the arranger section was definitely entry level. FWIW

Cassp,
It's not exactly what you explained for the arranger section. There are 3 sizes of bands. Bass and drum, combo and full orchestra. In additional, there is also "original" and "variation". I think the styles sound very good in this model and although there is not the 4 variations we find in most keyboards selling in the higher price range, this keyboard sells in the less than $500 range.

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

Plus..., how much can you really expect in the style department in this price range Sure.., 4 variations would be nice, but for the price those styles still are quite nice..., and sure ain't no Casio either For under $500 you get 64 note poly, good sounds, above average styles, 16 trk sequencer, a D-Beamn.., AND MIDI JACKS TOO! Get your hands on some instrument defs for this E-09 along with a half decent software app and you got yourself a decent sequencing keyboard too.

If you're like me though and will probably feel the need to do some basic patch editing..., you may not be too pleased. However, the E-09 still offers a lot in the bang for buck catergory.

Yeah it offers big bang for the buck....but AFAIK there is no D-Beam on it (I think the GW7/8 would have one).

At least I don't see it on the pics http://www.rolandmusik.de/produkte/E-09/images/E-09_3-big.jpg

Whoops..., my bad! There I go assuming things again Thought it had the D-Beam...

this thing is a toy....man for that price pick yourself up a PSR3000 used ...

Better be a well pampered 3000 too. I wouldn't put too much trust into the button contacts on a used 3000 with some years of use. Yeah.., the 3000 sounds great (no question about that) and you can get one used for a good price.., but the life of the button contacts isn't really too promising. I know some here will disagree but the issue of poor Yamaha button contacts failing on everything from the semi-pro arranger to the Tyros 2 has been brought up here several times (Tyros even having problems with buttons "sinking' into the unit)

Squeak ive never had a problem with the 3k buttons at all...and if you did no biggie to change ......there is no need to smash the buttons like many do causing this problem....yammys hold up very well thru the years under gig conditions.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 02-22-2009).]

I agree Donny there's no need to smash those buttons like some do. However, the Yammie's don't hold up as well to button smashers I'd want to know the person who owned the 3000 and really know what their playing style was like. The Yammie's button contacts CAN and will last a long time.., but don't do so well against the other makers for the "button smashers" out there. I've always said Yamaha would make a killing on their semi-pro arrangers if they started shipping them with software editors. Software editors really extend the life of button on any keyboard.

PSR3000 wasn't worth $500 when it was new!!!

Over priced toy...

LOL, I love the comments of the die-hard Roland fans!
Heck, I am one too. Once you have driven a Mercedes of arranger-keyboards, it's hard to downsize to a Toyota!

Sorta like those $200 Powered No Name Ebay Speakers you just bought and got all giddy about (10" drivers getting down to 30Hz)

[This message has been edited by Kingfrog (edited 02-22-2009).]

As much as I think about having a used Yammy, I too had many problems with the contacts - with my last 2 boards - soured me!

I wouldn't quite say it was a "toy", but it is definitely not in the same league as a PSR-3000...the mega voices alone on the latter take it to a whole different level.

Having said that, the E-09 guitar sounds are the equal of the G70, it has built in speakers, and a pitch bender as well.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see in the manual that it can load in new styles...if not, that is a serious omission

Thankfully, it does have Bass Inversion.

It would be a great little keyboard to play for fun, and for those on a budget, or for those who don't want to lug around a G70.

Ian

Excactly