Demo by Daniel for the SD7 and G70 … Good comparison

When the V2 software update came out for the G70 it became one of the best arranger keyboards ever made and most are still in use today (Users like it that much that they have just added a modern keyboard to add new features)
Another thing about Roland at the time was that they did not need to make special voices to make a style sound great, they were just brilliant anyway, plus you could modify them to your hearts content and they still sounded great. (Unlike a number of other keyboards at the time)
The SD7 (Or any Ketron) I have never been enamoured with as while the Real Drums (Audio Loops) are great, the samples used for the voices have never done anything for me.

Thanks for posting.

Bill

Hi Fran,
admire that you managed to find the right keyboard and you actually stuck with it,
over the years.

Wish I had that sort of commitment . Haha

Think my favourite was my Kn7000, other favourite, whatever happens to be my latest.

Still have a very big soft spot for the PSR 8000. I also really liked the GEM WX2 that I briefly owned, way ahead of it's time but the problem for me was it was very limited in factory styles and the polyphony was poor, but sounded amazing for it's time.

They were all my favorites until I got bored unexcited and dumped them quickly..
little incremental changes each model released
vs something really different to this day is the culprit.
they keep leading the meek to their slaughter at the register....sad.

That said Live sound/style wise Ketron is tops
and lately SD7/SD9 has some very useful features.


PS where is Gary & Chas

Gary quit. Don't know about Chas.

Out of the "big three" I like the Roland operating system the best and Yamaha the least. Sticking with Korg though until Roland gets something with a decent screen. And according to the majority here, they are out of the pro arranger business. So, hoping for a PA5X release soon so I can see what features might trickle down to the MOTL where my budget is. Staying with PA900 until then.

OK, I'll chime in.
I think the PA-4x is the best designed arranger I ever owned. The harmonizer is top notch, the navigation is intuitive, the editing is deeeeeep, and the size/weight factor puts it in the most convenient to travel with category. Key feel is excellent, build quality is first rate, and so far, anything I wanted to edit/change has been possible. Multiple outs, organ drawbars .... it's the whole package. If it had speakers, it could possibly be wife #4.

Hi Don, how is Gary going?

He is not doing well. His lungs are very bad. Has to stay on oxygen most of the time, and take lots of medications. He had a fall a few days ago, an accident with his motorized scooter thing. No serious damage though.

Surely we do need him back, his knowledge on various things and the way he shares it is by all means very appreciated.

Hi Don, please wish him well, and tell him we are thinking of him.

Gary and I haven't seen eye to eye on some things, but no one likes to see someone suffering with bad health ...
Even though he is a self-proclaimed non believer, Gary is in my prayers ...

The G70 indeed has features not find on current day keyboards. In its time it stoof out above the rest..

But i also remember a lot of negativity onhere when it was released.

Apart from Roland Fan Boys it did not do well when released, however when they bought out the V2 Software Update (Which fixed things and added more) it became one of the best keyboards of all time.

Bill

Bill, you are right. I had the G70 at the time, and was about to give up on it until V2. It made a huge difference. The G70 and KN7000 were both ahead of their time.

Strange thing is, the orriginal Tyros from the same time seems to have set the mark for future keyboards from there on...

Actually the Tyros did not do that well (The Technics KN7000 outsold it 2 to 1) however when the T2 came out it was a game changer, purely because of its SA voices, (Not up to pro standards of the time but for the domestic market WOW!) which really put the Tyros range on the map.

Bill

Yes i know...

Thats what i said, the least performing keyboard range of that time has grown to become the dominant force (atleast in numbers)

Solton MS 60. Bought 2 in the late 90's. Played the first one on a patio for 14 years, and used it for all my score roughs until the internal battery died. Using the 2nd one now and will replace the battery in # 1 next week. Also use a Clavinova 65 at home for roughs.

Since I don't use arrangers live anymore, these are my 2 favorites. Have an "in the box" SD-5 if the MS-60's poop out.
And a Midjay. And a Roland 7. and a Casio 88 key thing bought from George Kay...in my office.

Neat old worthless stuff I make a great living with.

Russ

My favorite two are the ones I play now, the Korg PA4x and the lowly Roland EA7. Each as it's strengths and neither is perfect, though the Korg comes very close.
Having said this, there are so many great arrangers available now and it's wonderful to have all these great options.

Yet none of them is perfect
Which will probably never happen..

I think we live in a great age for keyboardists too

With the pa5x just around the corner, and probably some new Roland products too