Schlepping two kbs on a gig is ridiculous day after day.....not needed IMHO FOR A Omb act...

If I had the skill set needed for a OMB act, and wanted an arranger in the mix, I would use my VP770 midi'ed to my BK7m. That would give me access to two sets of Roland voices plus some 'insane' vocal possibilities. With a little programming effort, the VP770 makes a half way decent controller for arranger duties. What about it Donny? Would a keyboard and a module be acceptable? Think of it as a compromise solution. BTW, if anyone was willing to dedicate two solid days of checking out a VP770, at least 50% of you (especially OMB's) would have one in your rig. In the top ten of 'most fun' keyboards. Only downside; pricey.

chas

Donny, when we are thinking "I can get by with just this board"...It is true, and for multiple daily 1 hour jobs..maybe it makes sense.....but (You knew that was coming0

If I am doing a "fun" 4 hour job..(fun, meaning enjoying myself, with the right folks on stage with me ..)..I would love to have two keyboards on stage...My logic..my current two arranger keyboards offer the best of everything..and what one lacks the other has ..

When I want my best..I have the G70, offering me the sounds, stage friendly, mic inputs and harmony with all the mixing I need...lacks the MP3/wav play..so I carry a laptop for that, but why not use the BK5...it handles the MP3/wav chores of the laptop...and it gives me a lot of new sounds styles, drum kits etc...besides another keybed for dual manual operation...

Just adding another 16 pounds (25 pounds in the case)...same amount of time to set up as the laptop..It has 32 gigs of MP3's on board(and that is a lot)

Some additional reasoning....One hour gig with the 16 pound BK5..I need a mic with effects..so that would be either the Edirol mixer (and Cube) or BA330 ...Both are efficient...Since I do not play any MP3's on the one hour jobs..it is just as practical to use the G70 and a Cube....for a complete arsenal..

Although the BK5 and G70 are basically the same sound engine..they are different in drums and styles and also a large variety of different tones..

Thankfully I have the options, and any one or combination can do the job

Now if I can figure out how to use my accordion, and Mediastation...in a practical way...

Chas , you are right..but you will never convince anyone other than a Roland user to try the VP series....they believe what other non users say..and won't listen to you...

The one draw back to me is only 49 keys...yes I know "we can get by with 49"....but even 61 would be so much better...

I have given consideration of adding the VP7 to the BK5...a reverse of your suggestion....Yes the VP770 is superior over the VP7...but it would function well with the BK5..

Modules Chas...midi hookups?......don't get me started....no way Jose!!!

Donny, You change keyboards quite frequently which tells me you do not get into the many options that they offer. You say you can make it on any keyboard and I believe that so changing keyboards is not a big task for you. I’m betting you become tired of the same type of sounds and styles so changing keyboards takes care of that problem for a while.

When you get a new keyboard it is always the best -- excitement -- new sounds – new styles, and there ain’t anything wrong with that. So do make the change and satisfy you. I spend a great deal of time getting into the depths of a keyboard but after a time (much longer than you) I’m glad to see it go. My deep down desire, and I’m guessing yours to, is to get what you will never get from a keyboard – and that’s sounding live. They do come close, but they do miss the mark.

My only thought is that Korg offers a lot of drive for your audience, you may miss that. But you can always sell the BK5 and buy the next thing you fall in love with, (smile) Life is good, go do it.

John C.

Tuesday.....after my morning gig lunch and a Pro Bk5 demo at Fran's studio..!! To be continued..........

Did you take a look in at the settings of each Master Tools, Fran? Are you guessing they are different, or do you know?

I can assure everybody that there ARE the E80 drumkits in a BK-7m (you must have missed them somehow, Fran) including the New Pop, New Folk, New BrushPop, NewPBrushPerc, New Pop Perc, New Rock, plus several more ethnic kits. They aren't in the Manual, which is why you need to actually MESS with them a bit, Fran! v1.06 update added a couple of Greek Kits, too.

These new kits are one of the primary reasons I got this unit. They push the styles from already being lively into new dimensions of great feel and exceptional liveness.

Until I get them side by side, I guess I am just going to have to guess, but if I were a betting man, having had the G600 and the G1000 next to each other back in the old days, I would guess that Roland are doing their usual trick (and most manufacturers do this too) of squeezing the compression harder on the samples (more samples in less memory, shorter loops, less multisamples) and using lower price and quality D/A converters on BOTL gear. On IDENTICAL patches on the G600 compared to the G1000, there was a noticeable drop in sound quality, a sort of 'brittleness' and lack of 'life' and whole styles felt brighter and thinner.... Just a hair, but noticeable, nonetheless.

I guess, with the BK-5 and BK-7m being comparably priced, Roland had to cut SOMETHING to add speakers, a keybed and a full case. But I am sad to hear it is the sound quality. And the Cover Tools. I find these of great value squeezing extra mileage out of styles with the minimum of effort. Thank God they didn't drop the Makeup Tools is all I can say!

Oh well...

I found my info in the manual..The G70 and BK7m share the same drum sets....and the BK5 shares the same as the E80...Here are the pages from each manual..

Diki, I am not convinced the sound quality does not measure up to the BK7m...The Bk5 sounds great to me..I have a pro player friend that played the BK5 and said it was a lot better sound than the Prelude...(I already knew that)....So other players can tell it is quality sound....

I have not played the two units side by side...so I can not swear there is no difference....

I did play the E-60 and G70 side by side, and yes there was a difference between common tones...as you mentioned, most likely sample size or converters..