Demo 1
Demo 2
Demo 3
Demo 4
Demo 5

Ned Amazing Demos from my friend...
Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing, your friend is a "player" for sure!
I liked the way the demos were filmed. Could see everything.

BK-9 looking better and better!
Don P

He is a player too...but he also invited three of his colleagues to realize these videos...
all of them are fantastic players!

Unfortunately I can only listen and watch..too far far away from me

I am especially intrigued by demo 5 and the Steel Find Guitar. Can't for the life of me figure out how it's pulling off the strums and picking at the same time..!

Nice to hear the Keith Emerson quote, too!

I have to admit, there's a hair too much compression on the whole deal, whether added at the arranger or in post. Seems to squash it a bit much, and, despite the formidable skill of all the players, the mix is still a bit 'more me' when the drums come in most of the time. Even the best of us fall victim to this! But as usual, I'm just nitpicking... The guitar emulation on all of them is quite superb. Especially the jazz stuff. Nailed it!

I've got a feeling that, when (if!) I get mine, I'll be programming a fair bit of delayed vibrato on many of the lead voices. Without aftertouch to bring it in, seems like the player has to lift the LH a lot to get much expression into longer notes. Some long delayed vibrato might help out there...

But once again, proof that the player makes the axe... These guys could make anything shine! Bet you, put them on my old G70, you'd all be out scouring Ebay!

If the BK-9 can make me sound like that guy- I'm in!

I watched all the demos, and I really liked his version of "Stella by Starlight. The jazz drums sound very nice. With the CS, Audio loops, 76 keys, and a price point well under 3K, there's a lot to like about this KB.

Nice demos, well played, but nothing any top arranger out today couldn't sound like...the BK9 will do well regardless. Thanx for sharing.

The styles sounded OK, nothing to write home about. The right hand voices, particularly the brass and guitars just didn't cut it, at least for me. The pianos all sounded fine, but of course, much of this may be due to the player(s), who are in the outstanding category.

None of the demos wanted to make me jump up and plunk some hard-earned dollars down on a BK-9. Think I'll stick with what I currently play.

Thanks for posting the links,

Gary

Not sure why, but the more I hear the BK9 via demos the less I like it.

To be honest Roland Arrangers have gone downhill since the G70 made its mark. (The E80 was a case in point as while it was supposed to be more advanced than the G70, it never sounded real to my ears, it was just completely lifeless and well short of the G70s capability’s)

Ironically the Roland Ateliers (Organs) have gone from strength to strength, producing a quality of sound these days that is way above any current arranger. (Although you do have to play them, rather following what the style dictates, which is always beneficial)

Does anybody have any ideas why Roland Arrangers have gone downhill, while their organs have gone through the roof, in what is supposedly a declining market?

Bill

I noticed one of the players is playing 11ths in arranger mode..I can't reach the 11th with the root on my G70..I could on the BK5...here is hoping this is not the BK5 keys...I am pretty sure this is the same as the Juno Stage and Jupiter 50 keybeds..

Speaking of the Jupiter 50..I was so not impressed with this board..it is still basically a Fantom sound source with a few Super Natural tones..

I have noticed the Korg Krome keys are not holding up well...Two different stores and the same problem with the 61 key model..the upper keys are clanking (very noisy like they are worn already..Besides the sounds aren't great either..

For sure I will play the BK9 before I make a decision to buy one...

When I get back to my place and play the G70 and even the Media Station....it confirms to me that today's stuff just don't have the goods..

The two I have at home are the best key action available...and this makes a big difference to me..

As for the demos I thought they were okay sound wise...but i know how good the BK series sounds first hand...and there are quite a few styles that nobody can out do...and a couple were demoed..

I like many of the sounds on the Roland BK-9 and I do believe Roland has a hit on their hands. How big of a hit is yet to be determined. For instance, many arranger keyboardists on this and other arranger forums simply will not buy an arranger with 76 keys. Even though the BK-9 is extremely portable at 20 lbs. 12 oz. Therefore, it will eliminate roughly 1/2 of the arranger market right there. But there are thousands of keyboard players around the world that will gladly purchase an arranger with 76 keys, including me. Although the BK-9 obviously has several missing features that could also be a deal breaker for many people. No on-board speakers for one. No after-touch, no vocal harmonizer, no Sampler, no song lyric scroll except through the video output socket i.e. using an external monitor - like the $500 iPad that is required if you want to see things in color and view easily readable text.

So with the cost of an iPad it would bump up the price to $3,000 plus tax. Taxed at 8% (where I live) totals $3,240. Then you'll need a decent vocal harmonizer which can cost over $700 (if you don't already own one), such as the TC-Helicon Voice Live2 which costs $750. Now you're talking $4,050 with the Voice Live2. It all adds up. Again, I like many of the sounds on the BK-9 and the styles seem very decent also. The bonus is the physical drawbars for the organs (and the reintroduced chord sequencer) and I'm guessing the key action is also much much better than the Yammie PSR s-950 and the Korg PA-600.

There are many things to like about the BK-9 and the most important aspect to me is the sounds. Although herein lies the dilemma for many people in my opinion. Do I spend $2,500 (the cost without the iPad or the vocal harmonizer) on a decent sounding arranger that lacks several high-end features? Or does a person wait for the next generation high-end arranger from Roland that will likely include all the missing high-end features but won't be available for another 4 to 5 years down the road? The time period between the G-70 and the BK-9 was 8 1/2 years! Roland is likely banking on people overlooking the BK-9 shortcomings because of the excessive wait time for the next generation high-end arranger keyboard to appear. In theory that could mean not until 2020 or later! Therefore, if you want a Roland high-end arranger (that unfortunately has several missing high-end features) you better jump on the band wagon now or you could end up waiting an extraordinarily long time for their next generation arranger to appear. I see Fran is a little hesitant to jump on the bandwagon but Diki will probably bite the bullet. Again, I like the BK-9 but I hate the idea of having to fork over $500 extra bucks just to see things in color.

I currently own a bunch of Roland gear but I could just as easily sit this one out if it turns out the monochromatic (1980's era) LCD screen(s) don't cut the mustard. Although it seems quite apparent to me they definitely cut the cheese. Cheesy is an understatement. I definitely WON'T buy an iPad that's for sure.

When a company does something right I applaud them. When a company does something that negatively affects consumers, I call them out on it. Money is the biggest motivator for a lot of companies. In other words, money often overrules ethical business practices and/or the desire to put the customer first. It's sort of like a fishing expedition. The fish in the sea are you and me and the fishermen are the various companies wanting to sell their various products. These carefully planned products are baited with a certain amount of goodies and the fish are supposed the take the bait... hook, line and sinker. You know, like the situation with the Tyros1/2/3/4 and so forth. Yes, a business is of course in business to make a profit but Yamaha took that concept to a ridiculous level regarding the Tyros in my opinion. Greed is the only word to describe it if you ask me. But I digress.

On the bright side the BK-9 is probably around half the price of Yammie's Tyros4 successor. In other words, $2,500 (sans iPad, sans harmonizer) vs. $5,000+ for the new Tyros which will undoubtedly have a beautiful color, high resolution LCD screen and a vocal harmonizer included. But there are rumors circulating that claim Yamaha has decided to quit making high-end arrangers and will instead deal exclusively in low to mid-range arrangers. A real shame if it's true. On the other hand some sources say Yamaha will in fact release a Tyros4 successor by the end of this year. Only Yamaha knows for sure. Although if Yammie does release a Tyros4 successor and it costs $5,000+... it better be worth it. No way is the Tyros4 worth its current price in my humble opinion. As we know there is a devoted passion and strident following concerning the Tyros series keyboard. The first one cost $2,499 - introductory offer - (the one I bought) and Yamaha conveniently took advantage of its popularity and more than doubled the price in just eight short years. Although it's a cunning marketing scheme it's terrible for consumers who end up paying through the nose. Although a lot of people don't mind paying through the nose for a certain product and that's the people Yamaha is trying to take advantage of. If people continue paying exorbitant price(s) for each successive generation of Yammie (or other manufacturer's) high-end arrangers, then Yammie (and other manufacturers) will undoubtedly continue to charge exorbitant prices to people who don't mind paying through the nose. Nosebleed anyone? That's why the BK-9 has sparked a lot of interest in my opinion. It's a competitively priced product but the cheesy LCD screen(s) and the lack of other high-end features could end up being its Achilles heel. Especially when you consider a lot of people might forgo buying the BK-9 because of the necessity to purchase an iPad to see things in color. Most people don't own an iPad and $500 bucks is $500 bucks. To most people that serious dough and may prevent them from buying the BK-9 unfortunately. Although Roland must have factored that into the equation. Time will tell if it does as well as they are hoping it will.

All the best, Mike

Not to steal the topic, but I have to say I am very curious what the new Korg Pa900 will bring to the table. Given the extraordinary set of features/sounds/style the little Pa600 has, I am sure it's bigger brother will be a great offer too. And rumours are, the costs will be little less than $ 2.000 mark. Nothing for sure, but we could see it late this autumn.

Come on mate . You can't say "not to steel the topic " and then go right ahead and steal it ! ;Be fair and start another topic. No offence my friend.

I listened a little bit, and I thought it sounded very good - except for the soprano sax.

None taken. But I was honest - it was just in relation with costs and offers of the present keyboards.
Anyway, I do like BK-9 demos (on topic) but the price I think it;s about $500 too high.

very nice
great musicians
that demo 4 samba is horrible, IMO

i would love to see these guys demo the Audya

I'd like to see those guys demo a Casio

As far as I am concerned, it's the NEW BK-9 features that sell it to me. Obviously, we all miss Roland being in the TOTL market segment, but as Mike points out, at half the price (or at least $1000 less) of a T4 or PA3x76, you can hardly put the BK-9 into TOTL territory.

But the Chord Sequencer is a game changer for the decent player, a welcome return to Roland's feature list after an absence of more than 13 years, and unavailable in anything else short of a PA3x or PA600. Then there are the tempo synced audio loops, and although the demos of this feature are few and far between, so far, it's the REAL game changer. So far, unavailable on anything other than Ketron (for key-triggered version) or Korg (but with a lot more work to set it up for easy use) on multipads. Yamaha's version on the S950 doesn't count yet, because the idiots left off the ability to loop the audio! Not much point in having audio on the multipads if it can't loop, TBH...

But this feature alone can push your sound into MUCH more contemporary areas... the combination of styles and breakbeat loops is THE sound of contemporary jazz, hiphop, rap and techno just for starters.

Now, from my sampler days, and from having several TOTL beat loop libraries (I highly recommend Spectrasonic's StylusRMX), it is a snap to make audio loops at precise tempos for use in the arranger. So I'm good to go... Now, if you don't have all this stuff, or are uncomfortable trimming and tweaking loops, it might be a stiffer learning curve, but bottom line is, if you have been jealous of the hip stuff WS's can churn out in the drum and percussion dept., here's the answer. Without having to buy one (and haul it around!)!

So, as far as I am concerned, many of the features missing from the BK-9 compared to my G70 are moot. I loathe harmonizers, standalones blow any in an arranger away (and Roland don't make a standalone that competes with the best of them), speakers are simply dead weight at the volumes I generally play at (and insufficient to keep up with a live drummer), I doubt 5% actually USE any sampler on their arranger... I know I won't need one! Got that all covered in the studio if I need it for recording. So never missed it on my G70, won't miss it on the BK-9.

Cheap small video monitors for lyrics can be had for WELL under $100, no need for an iPad (I fail to be impressed with the Roland iPad apps, adding little that the BK-9 doesn't already do), probably the aftertouch (and the superb G70 action) will be the only thing I'll miss.

As I'll keep my G70's for live band, the ease of the touchscreen won't be a big factor, as solo work is always set up in advance with Performances. I doubt I'll need to menu around a whole lot...

Now, you guys know I am about as big a fan of the G70 as you are likely to find, but I am not crying over the change. For strictly solo or duo work, the BK-9 is a FAR better arranger than my G70! Tough to say, but I think true. The CS and loops will change my sound and playing radically, and the 21 lbs weight won't be a burden, either!

I look forward to trying one out.

I don't want to sound like my brand is better then yours but maybe it seems to musicians in the west use 5% of a sampler in an arranger but eastern musicians including myself use 100% of the sampler, and although I said it many times two of the companies that were way ahead of their time and are no longer with us, is GEM and TECHNICS, in my opinion KORG is the only company that gives you the most for your money and I see that in the PA600 and soon the PA900, but then again you simply weigh the pro and cons of the keyboard you want to buy, and make a decision based on that, for some musicians harmonizer is not important or sampler or 76 keys etc; If you stay with a company for a while and have previous material like styles or sounds that you want to keep you want it to be compatible with the new series that is out, now if I had a G70 or an E60 and moved up the line I would also consider a BK9 it does sound good in many ways, just close your eyes and listen, maybe just that alone is worth it?

I've played a friend's PA3x quite a lot. There is much that I love about it, but much that I don't. If I were doing more ethnic musics, where the built in sounds didn't cover my needs, I'd probably be on one today.

But my primary problem with Korg's is the much smaller style selection. Compared to Roland or Yamaha, their library is far smaller. I could probably make most of the rest of the keyboard work for me (mind you, paying more than $1000 more than the BK-9 would rankle!), but I would miss the huge style selection I have now...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not down on Korg in general. I still have a Triton, and love the Kronos (out of my price range, though!) but simply find for how I use them, Roland arrangers are easier to use and I like the sound... The drums are still hard to beat by anything short of a drum loop or sampled kit, and the new audio loop feature improves even that..!

Demo 6
Demo7
Demo 9
Demo 10

2nd part is ready... and I think that Demo 8 will arrive soon

I love the sample option on my PA600 and I am not am eastern musician It give me the option to change the PA600 into a whole different arranger for example the Musikant.

As for styles I told that several times there are enought styles for the Korgs.

There are also third party styles you just need to look around. See http://www.d-o-o.de or free ones at http://home.planet.nl/~aeduin/downloadKorg.htm

I happen to agree with Frans on this one Diki. How many styles does one need to go thru life contented ? I sometimes have the impression folks use them like sprinkled chocolate !!!
It is like how many sounds do you really need to perform well or to make your music enjoyable. For the crowds it hardly matters , for the discerning listener, as has been proven here time and time again it is often hard to guess where the piano , sax or whatever is coming from.
The more I see these kind of discussions the greater my respect for folks like Gary, who has been faithful to his PSR3000 for donkeys years and knows how to make it sing. I guess I am trying something in that direction with my Korgs though I have to admit I moved on to the PA800, but passed at the PA3X......
My request for advice in another thread concerning the possible exchange of my PSR750 for a Roland E80 could well be seen in the same light. The Roland has 350 onboard styles, thouasands on the internet and........the indepth possibility to tinker with them to your heart's content, often in a way that it has become difficult to tell how it sounded in the first place.
In shor, I don't think STYLES should be a motive for not including Korg, or any of the four major brands for that reason.

regards,
John

Just had a listen to the latest demos and I was just bored, music is supposed to move you, (Which is why I am out watching live bands and groups as much as possible) and none of the BK9 demos so far have.

Compare it with the old G70 (V2 and above) and there is just no comparison, you really enjoyed listening to the G70, and it made you sit up and go WOW that’s good.

The BK9 may be one of those boards that sound better live though; so I will reserve final judgment until I have heard it played live.

Bill

Can't say I agree with you, abacus. Having both (or at least the BK-7m for now), the basic meat of the rhythm section is far better in the BK's, the basses are far meatier, the guitars are better...

I think most of this, you are responding to what is being played, not what it is being played ON.

Not to mention, when the G70 came out, it was head and shoulders above Roland's previous arrangers (particularly if you had skipped on the V/VA series and thought primarily in terms of the G1000), whereas this BK-9 is simply a beefed up BK-5, which you have already heard.

I definitely find the styles to have been balanced better than the G/E series, and can discern little audio quality difference between the two. And that's from having a BK-7m resting on top of my home G70, run through the same Mackie HR824 studio reference monitors.

It's amazing how the material can sometimes color one's attitude towards gear!

And John... For me, I would prefer to never have to repeat a style during an evening. So a wide selection of styles, wide enough to offer me a dozen or so in any genre I want, is needed.

Does the audience notice? Probably not consciously, but hopefully there's SOME kind of awareness going on! And, bottom line, it's ME that wants the variety more than their needs, in the end! My goal is to convince MYSELF that I'm playing with a real rhythm section, and one thing a real rhythm section will do is never play two tunes the exact same way. In fact, a real rhythm section will rarely play the SAME tune the exact same way twice!

I'm good with just a few sounds but I like to have lots of styles pick from. The more the better. I don't even like to repeat the same style in a set unless it's a medly of songs.

Most everyone is good with just a few sounds, piano(s), half-dozen or so guitars, a few saxophones, a couple organs, some decent brass, strings for layers, a mandolin, a couple harmonicas, maybe a fiddle or two. As for styles, the more the better. Styles, especially great style files, are one of the reasons I've stayed with Yamaha for all these years. I have over 50,000 of them in my archives, and just about once a day someone posts another new one. Granted, they're primarily remakes of original styles, ones that have been modified by someone for a specific song. But damned, they really sound great, the audiences love them, and I love them.

I have all the G-70 styles that have been converted to Yamaha format. Also have most of the Korgs, as well as a half-dozen other makes, and dozens of models of each manufacturer. Each has been tuned and tweaked to perfection and the right hand voices are superbly tuned. What more could you ask for?

Now, I'm not a betting man, but I would venture a guess that the same process has been performed for most other manufacturers arranger keyboards. I'm fairly confident that someone has sat down at their PC and put together conversions of Yamaha to Korg, Roland, etc..., and I think they would probably sound pretty good. I just don't know, though.

Cheers,

Gary

Not a big time poster around here, but I've been following the threads about the Roland BK9. I've seen a few posts about sounds and/or styles. So I thought I would throw my 2.5 cents before taxes into this mix.

I play a VA5, started out with the RA800 which I used at church. I now have a drummer and bass guitarist so no need for an arranger keyboard in that setting, but the VA5 is used at home. With all the sounds on the VA5 and the other keyboards that I have owned over the years I typically find myself using a handful of sounds UNLESS I am really expermenting and doing a lot of computer based sequencing or recording. But for live performace it is usually one piano sound and maybe a dozen other lead sounds. As for teh styles? I prefer to have quite a few as my disposal. Most I probably will never use, but it's nice to go back and find one that I can freshen up with the sound set from the arranger.

One more comment on the sounds.....I have a Roland XP30 that I recently took out 2 expansion sound boards and another one that was on the shelf and sold them because I realized that I was never going to use them. The XP30 by itself has enough sounds for me.

Great forum, been lurking around for a lonnnngggg time. Lost of good information around here. So a big thanks to the mods that run this thing.

Joe

Demo 8

...the missing one!

Not the other way around.yamaha Styles can't be converted decently to Roland or korg due to use of mega voices within the styles.that's why Yamaha will have largest style library and larger than all other manufactures combined.
(also remember 4 fills and auto fill is new for Korg(starting from pa3x).Roland still lacks multi pads (Yamaha has been doing that since 2000's).
More yamaha styles especially if you play western (us/uk) music.not talking about Balkans or MId east music here(korg has the advantage there)

No argument there... Yamaha's style collection is probably the largest. Of course, not ALL of them address the newer SA sounds or the latest Mega voices, but even so, it's a great collection.

Bad news, of course, is that you have to play them through a Yamaha for them to work! I despair of Yamaha ever getting the lead out and providing some seriously good kits (adding one or two doesn't really cut it, just about all of them other than the new Live Kits are pretty bland), and the audio loop styles are few and far between, and not all that well integrated, sound-wise into the styles.

But the good news is, there a ton of really good guitar playing on the BK's styles, and you can do mix and match fairly easily, so the mega voices aren't quite the impediment to translation they used to be...

Phantom75,

Just sent you a PM. Please read and respond.

Thanks

One of the main appeals of the BK-9 is of course the inclusion of 76 keys which gives a person more real estate on the low and high end. With 61 keys you run out of keys and then you are forced to use the octave +up - down buttons which if not done precisely can ruin a performance lickity split. What also sets the BK-9 apart from other high(er) end arrangers is the much lower cost compared to the PA3XPRO and Audya.

After listening to several other BK-9 demos and the newest Demo 8 posted on this thread I've gotten a better understanding of the power and versatility of the BK-9. Listening to that nice distorted guitar in Demo 8 was really refreshing. It was an excellent patch and almost indistinguishable from a real guitar in my opinion. But... there's usually always a but right?... some of the sounds are less than stellar obviously. For instance the Soprano Sax was okay but nothing to write home about if you ask me. I noticed the trumpet sound in Demo 8 was also a little lackluster but only when pressing certain notes. Which tells you Roland's sample creation on that particular patch wasn't as precise as it could have been in my opinion. I admit I'm very picky regarding sound realism but the goal should be perfection right? Or at least as close as possible. Keyboard manufacturers should take a page out of the playbook from Lexus... the pursuit of perfection. Some people have mentioned that the BK-9 is a step backward compared with the G-70 sounds. I personally don't feel that way but you also need to remember the G70 was a lot more expensive than the BK-9. I did notice that the styles on the BK-9 sounded kind of robotic. We're in the 21st Century so you'd think they could figure out how to make styles sound more natural. Yamaha arrangers also lack in that regard in my opinion.

BTW, I thought the Brass section in Demo 8 was excellent. So there seems to be a little bit of 'hit and miss' regarding the sounds but that's to be expected on all arrangers unfortunately. I do think the plusses outweigh the minuses regarding the BK-9 and therefore Roland should be able to sell quite a few of them based on product marketing alone. In other words, the demonstrations have put it in a positive light and that's very important obviously.

BTW, here is Part 9 (Demo 9) from the series:



The nylon guitar is quite nice in Demo 9 and the string section (more like an Orchestral section) is also pretty good if you ask me. What will likely prevent me from getting a BK-9 is the crummy low-resolution LCD screen(s). If your eye-sight is currently okay it may not be after gazing at the BK-9's fuzzy LCD screen(s) for hours on end... figuring out what exactly you're looking at and/or how to navigate the various menu screens when for all intents and purposes it's rather hard to see things clearly, given the fact the rather small monochrome, low-resolution (and quite frankly fuzzy) LCD screen(s) are more suited for the 1980's than to the 21st Century. Unless of course you already own an iPad and then you'd be alleviated from that dilemma. But if you don't own an iPad - like billions of other people around the world who also don't - then you'll need to fork over up to $700.00 smackaroos for the privilege of seeing things clearly and in color. And that my friends could be a big anchor that drags the BK-9 down and indeed may end up backfiring on Roland and company. I think a lot of otherwise very interested people might forgo getting a BK-9 simply because of the aforementioned lackluster LCD screens. And indeed the almost necessity of purchasing a costly iPad if you don't already own one. Yes, that would be me and billions of other... oh never mind.

But if you can deal with the rinky dink low-resolution LCD screens and/or you already own an iPad... the BK-9 just might fit the bill to what is otherwise a highly capable arranger keyboard in my estimation.

All the best, Mike

If you are looking at the screen, you ain't looking at the audience!

Navigation IS a total PITA, even compared to non-touch screen systems like the PSR's. They at least have a plethora of buttons surrounding the screen, to allow you to select functions on the screen individually. But Roland's one wheel which ALSO doubles as the enter button is sheer stupidity.

So, for me, the G70 remains my live keyboard of choice. But all my solo and duo arranger work will be on the BK-9. I set all that up in advance, and have little need for complex navigation.

Also, to a fair degree, adding an FC-7 puts many of the buried functions at your feet (if you want them there) and there's a fair selection of functions that can be mapped to the 4 switches by the bender. So quite a lot of ways to work around the screen issues.

There's also considerable power under the sliders, which can now be mapped to live control of the voice programming, and, new to Roland, some of the MFX insert effect parameters.

Sadly, the current iPad offerings do VERY little to make up for the lack of a touch screen. If Roland want to make some quick cash, they ought to make an app that mimics the touch screen OS from the G70. I would happily pay some pretty good money for that (and happily buy the iPad - you don't need the full TOTL iPad, an iPad Mini would still be a larger screen than the G70's). But if you think buying an iPad right now gets you G70-like capabilities, forget it!

As usual with Roland, it's two steps forward, one and a half steps back. I honestly have no idea why they can't recognize the good and the bad of their OS's, and keep all the good and ONLY ditch the bad. The baby is constantly being thrown out with the bathwater..!

But I have my G70 and BK-9 sitting next to each other, running through the same mixer and Mackie HR824 nearfields. I can assure everybody, there is absolutely no loss of quality in the overall sound. Yes, there are a few sounds which are different... it doesn't include the entire G70 soundset (which included a lot of legacy stuff that even the E80 dropped), so odds are you'll find a couple of sounds you used to like gone, but there are hundreds of new sounds, some of which are quite spectacular. But overall s/n ratio, fullness of D/A converters and the like are identical, as far as I can tell.

I'm still a fan of the G70 for live band use. I don't think anything can or ever will beat it. It's OS and touch screen is the most logical, responsive, easy to use system of any keyboard made (and I've tried them all!). But the BK-9 will be my new go to keyboard for anything OTHER than live band use. You start digging into it, and it's quite deep and powerful, and has a live sound unequaled, IMO, by anything out there short of audio loops.

For a circa $2100 76 note arranger, nothing even comes CLOSE!

Can you use any other tablet with it- samsung, or kindle fire??

Currently, the iPad is the only platform for the Roland apps...

But the guy who wrote the Session Manager software for the G/E series is currently working on porting it for the BK series, and likely that will work with any Windows based tablet...

Once that is up and running, it will be a FAR better solution to managing the Performances and editing them than anything that Roland currently make.

Today I’ve discovered by chance that Roland produces a lot of expensive equipment for printing establishments like gigantic printers or scanners. I used to think that all their business was musical instruments.