hi
Further to my earlier post, I have been investigating the above.

I don't need 76 keys for this boar, but neither do I need (or want) speakers. The main points for me are ease of use and great sounds. I play standing up, have to sing, drive the desk and lights, read the audience and pick the songs (no set list)and depending who I'm playing with be able to transpose a SMF on the fly. From what I see, there is not much difference between the two, especially with v3 on the G70. The one thing that appeals to me about the E80 is the fact that I can use two SRX boards instead of one. Depending on the quality of the onboard sounds, i would pick two from three - the three being Ultimate keys, symphonic strings, brass ensemble. (I have Sax and guitar covered by other musicians, and I am looking for 'realistic' live band sound.

Can anyone shed any more light on the differences between the two - note, I can pick up a used G70 both more easily and far more cheaply.

Thanks

Nick

For me, it's simple. I can't play full (or at least, close to full!) piano parts on a 61. I can on a 76. If you are playing with a full live band (or ever need to), that pretty much dictates the 76.

Yes, the extra SRX slot is great on the E80, and the extra MFX insert effect for the Style or Song Parts (but you can do the same and better on the G70 with a workaround), and separate Mastering EQ and comp for Style and Keyboard Parts is handy too...

But none of them beat the extra SPACE to layout the sounds you want on a 76, IMO. 61 just forces your hand when deciding splits a lot more than a 76.

If Roland had ever turned the E80 into the G80 by adding the 76, it would be a no brainer for me, but sadly, what you get EXTRA in the E80 doesn't make up for what you lose. 15 more notes makes all the difference for me.

But if you NEVER play full piano, or Rhodes, don't split up the keyboard into three zones much or ever feel cramped on a 61, I'd go with the E80...

BTW, don't forget, if what you play requires separate outputs for different Parts (say you want to split the bass off to a bass amp or organs to a Leslie), or you want to use the VH and want a separate output for that, only the G70 has independent outputs. Four for the arranger, and a separate stereo output for the VH.

Nick I have owned and worked with both models..

My choice of the two is the G70...

I did not need speakers, and it added another 3-4 pounds over the G70..

76 keys are a big plus to me..don't forget you can zone 3 sounds across the board..extra key range helps..And the key feel on the G70 is better..

The G70 has separate outs..the E80 does not..If you ever wanted to route parts to an external out put...I use this (separate out) as a way of muting G70 parts when I use the g70 as a midi controller (external sound source)..

The D-Beam is dead center on top of the E-80..a bad placement if you have a laptop or module on a second tier..The G70 has the D-Beam to the left side of the keyboard..

The E-80 has an awkward size..and finding a case is harder to find than the G70 case..

The sounds are great on both..and even a single expansion board works well..I use the "studio" board and it adds the basses, brass etc sounds I like..

The E-80 has slightly different drum kits than the G70..but both are great...and completely editable..

The E-80 allows 3 insert effects to be used at the same time (different parts use a single insert effect)...where the G70 uses a single insert effect....A trick though with the separate outs ..a part can be routed back into the aux in and use the effects from there..

Also the E-80 has a MP3 player on version2..but it is a bit complicated and slow to use...not bad , but nothing like the player on the Roland Prelude..


As I said ..for me the G70 is the over all winner of the two...but you can't go wrong with either of them..

Sorry Diki, I didn't see your post...and repeated a lot of what you said....I guess you can say I confirmed what you said..

Hi

thanks for the replies, that's really useful. To give you a bit more information, I used to be the keys player in a full band. Economics have forced me in the last ten years to dispense with that luxury, and now I'm a kind of one-man-band with guest musicians. I pretty much drive the whole show. I love 76 (or more) keys, but if I returned to full band, I have fantomx 8 and quadrasynth to use. I am specifcally looking for a replacement for my discover5. I don't really need to worry about styles or arranger play - if I play 'interactive' at home, I use my Korg Karma. (I love that board). So what I am after is a 61note board(sorry) as I have too much to do on stage to worry about much more than the odd b3 or rhodes solo - even more so given that I have to (but don't particularly like) having to play standing up. I also have enough to worry about just routing my ae5400 into the harmoniser on my discover5, given the limitations of my Mackie mixer - I do have another far more well specced mixer, but it doesn't have onboard effects, so thats more setup and breakdown time, patch leads etc. - Hell, I have a TC Helicon voice one, but for simplicty, I go with the VH on the discover5 (which I actually think is pretty good (try the smf for I need you by America with the VH programmed in).

At this stage in my life, I want the (seemingly) impossible. The best possible sound, with the minimum amount of effort. If that makes me sound lazy, I would auger that I am putting 5 kids thru uni (college I guess ) and am working a 70hr week and gigging at the weekend. Blimey, that turned into a rant unintentionally

I have been through the stage of 5k+ rigs with full lighting, and incredibly complex rigs. These days I prefer simplicity. On another note, I recently bought a pair of KAM powerbars - what a revelation!

er...

that last post went slightly out of [url=synchttp://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/icons/icon9.gif][url=synchttp://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/icons/icon9.gif][url=synchttp://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/icons/icon9.gif]synchttp://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/icons/icon9.gif[/url][/url][/url]

As did that one..

Thankyou, colonel Smirnoff. (different timezone here)

While you may still have a Fantom for live band... trust me. The G70 is BY FAR the easiest to use, most flexible, most comprehensive live band keyboard I have ever used! I still have a Triton and a K2500, have used Motif's and Fantom's, and wouldn't DREAM of going out on a live gig with them, especially a pickup gig in which I didn't have time to create Performances for each and every song in advance...

It has many of the best samples from the FantomX, including it's best piano, it has a slightly stripped down VK-7 organ section, the drums are taken from the drummer-approved V-Drums, and its' live operation could NOT be easier. I can create splits and layers, assign effects, correct volumes, assign hold pedals and other controllers, completely on the fly, while I'm still playing! I've never seen a WS that even comes CLOSE.

It is why I continue to use it, even though it isn't necessarily the best 'pure' arranger, it is still MORE than serviceable, and on top, it adds in the best live keyboard I have ever played...

Not too shabby for an out of production relic that you can pick up for a song!

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 09-29-2010).]

Forgive my duplicate posts - I am a newbie, after all.


Diki makes a cogent case for the G70, and hey, there's one on fleabay for £340 with less than a day to go. I even think that it might recognise my discover5 smartmedia, therebt
y saving me even more time...

PS Diki, before I registered, I 'lurked' for quite a while (not sure if our terminology is the same?) and thought your posts were constructive and well thought-out, unlike some of the Yamaha fan-boys....