Hi All!

What does everyone think about the looks of the new KN7000? Over the last 16 years I have purchased Technics instruments as they have sounded fantastic and they have always looked great. I switched from Yamaha some years ago because they started to look too futuristic and cheap ( although they sound very good). What have Technics Done? It is hard enough to pursuade our partners to allow us to part with the cash to start with (I'm not totally under the thumb!) but in the past my wife has always liked the appearance of the machines, as the keyboards are situated in our dinning room (Everything must match). Upon seeing pictures of the new KN7000 her reply was "I HOPE YOUR NOT THINKING ABOUT GETTING THAT UGLY THING!"
So my final point is this. Come on Technics, make our life a little easier by designing instruments which look pleasing on the female's eye. This way us men would not have to try as hard to pursuade our partners! I suppose I'll have to take her out on a shopping spree (OOH the pain of being dragged around 'MARKS & SPENCERS's).

Since our judgements of appearance are currently based on pictures from the web (apart from a few lucky individuals who have actually seen a KN7000), let's not be too hasty. The first (illegal) pictures showed a rather drab looking keyboard, and the official pictures could represent almost anything at all. But then came along some pictures at thkmcs.de, and to me they show a very stylish looking keyboard that I would be happy to have in my lounge room (which is where I have my KN6000). However, I have just checked back at that site and the pictures have gone! Fortunately I have a local copy of them.

Mike

I have to say that I'm a bit concerned when
it is the surface for "zillions" of buttons
and "fancy looking things" who are the main
"picture", and the keys needed to play the
machine are "hidden" downstairs with a wall
at both ends.

This bring me back to my whish about at least
76 keys, and seeing the pics, the KN would
have been much better looking if they could
add that too.
But again, who knows before the hands is on
the real thing....
GJ

I of course appreciate a keyboard's aesthetics, but not at the expense of functionality. Only by actually getting our hands on, and playing the KN7000 firsthand, will we know if the KN7000 delivers. We all WAIT in anxious anticipation. - Scott

Regarding the appearance of the new KN7000. This design is not new. Some years back I had a PSR6100 followed by the PSR6300. Both these boards had the opening lid just as the new KN. When not in use the lid shuts to make a clean closed PC.laptop like appearance. All very elegant and keeps the board dust free.

Graham UK EM2000 \ 9000PRO

Hey Graham.... Snap!
I had both too, together with Bill Norrie and Marilyn here, who had one or both too.

Changed to PCM sounds, which were just appearing then, after the 4 operator FM sounds in Yamaha. Do you remember the transpose on the 6100, which was a huge mechanical rotary switch? You excersised your pectorals using it, and it clunked around like the control on an old washing machine. But those machines did look VERY swish for their day, and everybody was impressed as I slowly unfurled the control panel. The display was a 3 digit red led, which showed funny meaningless dots and dashes if you wanted to set up the midi... happy days.

LOL Dicky, My Sister who cleans up for mum every week almost said the exact words! when I showed her a picture of it on the pc.

J5

I remember trying to do some 'midi' stuff with the PSR6300. What a job...it wasn't helped by the fact that my computer, a Commodore 64 was in one room and the 6300 in another, with a long midi cable between them. The program we used which I don't remember now required several keypresses. The PSR needed you to press the Brass and Chimes key if I remember. My husband did the computer part in the living room and I did the 6300 button, but it only worked about one in 5 times, we never could figure out why, or what the secret was. Do you remember those little Ram cards that went with the PSR they cost a small fortune and held mostly nothing. Ah memories.

Marilyn

Hi Marilyn, yes, I'd completely forgotten about those ram cards. My 6300 had a midi fault, which only came to light after a few months use, and apparently no one else had ever complained about it, but nevertheless it was not to spec. So they had to take it back in to change the rom chip, and when it came back the case was bust through being dropped by the carrier. Yamaha offered to change the case, but the keys were clanky too, I was unimpressed, so I got a new one as replacement. So I ended up with 2 cards without buying one. However I do not recommend this method to others if they like a hassle free life.
It was either the 6100 or 6300 where we finally got Yamaha to admit that they put demo tunes in the keyboard that could not be produced on the keyboard, ie they were done on a pc sequencer, and then put in the rom, which really is a bit naughty. I remember the story got into Keyboard Player magazine at the time.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jupitar5:
[B] LOL Dicky, My Sister who cleans up for mum every week almost said the exact words! when I showed her a picture of it on the pc.
============================================

J5
So what keyboard are you sporting these days then
Regards Johnnie

A Roland KR piano

[This message has been edited by Jupitar5 (edited 07-14-2002).]

what Roland KR you say? Is it similar to Va7?
How its piano sound is, compared with KN65000 one?

when the 'paper spec' experts talk of polyphony, they overlook the make up of voices from samples. The Yamaha CVP209 piano is 256 note polyphonic, yet note drop out is audible if played in chords with sustain pedal and cool and sweet voices. I did not believe this until I saw it myself.

Hi, Alec. The PSR 6300 is not the only instrument that Yamaha did that on their demo's. I had a small organ that was the same way. Impossible to duplicate what their demo could do. Nice to get your second card 'free' but a lot of trouble having to replace your keyboard to do it!

Interesting to read so many of us had the 6300, it was my first keyboard, I had been playing organ before that, and decided to add a keyboard since they seemed more fun. Now I strictly play keyboard.

This topic started out about the "looks" of the KN7000, I kinda like it. Maybe it's the nostalgia of the flip top.

Marilyn

Its so long ago now I can't remember but I think those cards held one song and were 32kB??? and cost £45 or $70 at the time??

That made them hold 2% of the capacity of a floppy disk - a measure of how far we have travelled since then

As far as convincing our partners to let us buy the kn7000, it is a lot of money. Women who do not play the keyboard go by looks and not features and sound. Therefore they are more apt to say that about any board. You wanna pay how much for that? I think looking futuristic is more apt to convince our partner to let us buy it. Better than it looking plain and like it ain't much more than a simple board. i remember an old girlfriend of mine saying the same thing about a guitar I wanted. It was a taylor acoustic and cost 1800.00. No matter what it looked like. She would have said that cuz the money was too great. I think that the bigger issue is that it cost too much.if it were 2k maybe it would not get that comment. But women expect it to have diamond inlaid for the price the 7000 sells for. They do not except the fact that instruments cost so much. It is a bit hard for me to except it and I have been playing guitar for 25 years. But I have excepted it/ Now I play the keys also and had to except the fact that if i wanted a real good one, it would cost even more than a great guitar. Ouch!!!!
I also want to agree with Technics player about the sample quality. I can remember when I had 8 poly and the sounds were made up of 4 crappy sounds. Now it takes one or two sounds to make up one sound because it is a good sample. Again though,,, technics is too expensive.



[This message has been edited by Sparky (edited 06-20-2002).]

What I like to say.... what a fuzz about the looks of the KN7000. Last week I had the opportunity to sit behind it and play and hear it. There was a KN6500 beside it. I selected similar rythm accomp. and melody sounds and listened at both keyboards. Despite what you think about the looks of the KN7000, the sound is really MUCH better, really surround sound with the speaker between the keys and display. I must admit that I prefer the model of the KN7000 over the 6000 design. Modern, no-nonsense design.

I really see nothing wrong with the apperance of the KN7000.. I may have prefered black but the silver will do nicely. Flipping the display over also protects what I am sure is a very expensive component of the keyboard and a good idea. As for the price..not bad at all for the features..(anyone here ever buy an FN3 for 30 grand ?) The new Lowery console organ is much more and my old KN2000 plays rings around it.

This is a hobby for most of us. My brother-in-law pays much more to golf.. At least I'm around the house which is why my honey said "you want it go buy it".. She doesn't care what it looks like either as long as I'm happy with it which I am sure I will be.
I just hope it doesn't take me till Christmas to get it.

True, all this is hobby for me, and fun too. I never thought about it before, but how would trading-up to the latest board about every two years compare to the costs of hobbies of others? I see guys pulling bass boats, trailers, RV's, ski boats, hunting gear and all the rest. Wonder what their wives say? Maybe they participate more in those activities than wives of keyboard players.

I just spent 7 hours in a sesison with Technics representatives in the USA who were showing area dealers the new KN 7000. It does NOT look as "spacey" as the picturs on the net. It's much warmer in person. I don't think to many people will find it ugly. when the lid is closed there is a neon blue light that illuminates the Play, FF, Rew, Stop buttons so you can play your midid files without the lid being in the open position.

Well I thought this was a Technics users place....
I'm wrong this is a beauty parlour....
For me the important is:
The Kn7000 is a good or bad keyboard?
Will I spent my money in "another" keyboard?
Is Kn7000 the keyboard i'm expecting?
Does it do everything announced?
It could be the "horror of Keyboards" but if it was the "best of keyboards" I will buy it anyway, because I never spent my wife's money