As I said in a much earlier post, some months ago, Roland will be continuing arrangers but within a new KR piano series of keyboards. Whether the arranger part will be as good as the G70/E80 remains to be seen.

There will be no further dedicated arrangers in the G70/E80 class.

I got that info from a contact who is in the biz, and had just returned from a Roland trip where they (Roland) introduced reps to the new super duper Roland piano. The one that costs a gazillion dollars

Dennis

Fran...At least it's Nice to see Roland and Roland US Supporting the accordian Market...I remember taking lessons as a child for a couple years...What I learned and remembered I was able to use later in Life to Teach Myself Organ,Piano, and Keyboard.(Plus My Wife is a Pianist)...Both My Parents are Passed... I'm So blessed they provided the accordian and lessons for me!...Plus Money was very tight at the time...That was about 50 Years ago...I remember My Parents were so Proud, when We Had Guest at Our Home They Would Have Me Play Music for Them!...Once Uncle Alford came one Sunday Afternoon to Visit. My Father shared about My talents...Of course Uncle Alford wanted to Hear (I really wasn't In the Mood, but didn't show it for respect)...So I played....When I finished Uncle Said..."Young Man If You come to My Church and play a song or two I'll Pay You $5.00.."...I know My Eyes were as Big as baseballs, remember sodas were 10cents...Before I could get it all spent in my dreams, My Dad said "Oh No, He will gladly come and Play, but You really don't have to Pay him"...My heart Sank...To end to Story, I played, I received the $5.00...I was GREAT...NEVER will forget it!....Have a Great Day Everybody, Harold

My prediction - Roland will "roll" with the economy and the market. I'm sure there will at least be a new, upper level E series or similar. The G series will once again go into hibernation until something really BIg comes along. You will see a lot more integration of chord recognition and rhythm looping, maybe even chord sequencing into the sythesizer line. Juno-Di is a look into the future, and so is VIMA - like it or not.

Maybe not for most of us, but there are plenty of keyboardists turning forty and tiring of playing bars every weekend...

What you have to look at though is the current trend too. The makers are also catering to the economy as well. The trend for a while now has been in the budget synths and budget workstations. Think about those numbers too.

Good examples:

Roland Juno-Stage
Roland Juno-G
Roland Juno-D/Le
Korg Triton Le/TR
Korg M50
Korg X50
Yamaha MO6/8
Yamaha MM6

The soon to be released Roland Juno-Di (that's sure to be a big hit and a big seller too). All these models have had very strong sales. The keyboard makers catered to those cash strapped individuals.., and due to economic times "cash strapped" isn't just a struggling teenager or college student. Well seasoned musicians (full time working adult and parents with homes) are buying the budget models too.

That's just the current trend. The budget synth/workstation outsells semi pro and pro arrangers here in the USA by a huge margin too.

Yep...I was at Sweetwater today and G-70's are in stock at $2999.

Lee S.

[This message has been edited by leeboy (edited 07-14-2009).]

G-70 and E-80 are still on sale in Europe.

G-70 and E-80 are still on sale in Europe.

As you can see, even though the G70 is discontinued in the US, there are still a few dealers that have them, so their being 'available' in Europe doesn't necessarily mean that the model HASN'T been discontinued.

We would probably need to hear from Roland Europe or a dealer/spokesperson for them to know for sure whether production is still ongoing, or whether they are merely selling existing stock...