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#501968 - 01/10/21 02:19 PM Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit
Delkeen Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/03/21
Posts: 28
Loc: Pennsylvania
Hi. Del Keeney here. Though I've "listened in" for some time, I am eager to make connections and to learn from this forum. My intro. to arranger keyboards was back in the late 90s with a Roland E-96. I actually still have that arranger keyboard, but recently took the leap to track down and purchase a Roland BK-9 keyboard. I just acquired the unit in December.

Prior to that, I added other Roland instruments to try to enhance the arranger with a better keybed (Roland A-70) and better sounds (Roland sc-880 rackmount). At the time, I was piecing together the equivalent of a G1000. Though I took piano lessons earlier in my life, these instruments have been for my own personal enjoyment, as well as for occasional use in the congregations where I have served (I am a pastor). I do some song-writing, and usually use the support of my spouse who is an capable pianist to actually share those tunes.

Over the past decade and more, I've added a sequencer (MC-80), and a vintage Roland A90 88 key controller, over the years. As I approach retirement, I decided to update a bit with something in the BK series. I actually was watching for a BK-7m to use with my A-90, and then found myself intrigued by the capabilities of the BK-9.

I'm very much in the learning stage now, and already have been helped through some other contacts with both Diki and Fran Carango. Thanks to them for their generous assistance!

At Diki's encouragement, I've posted here as well as on the Roland Arranger Forum in the hope that my questions and comments will be helpful to others.

That's it for now.

Del

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#501970 - 01/10/21 04:57 PM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Delkeen]
montunoman Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 10/20/09
Posts: 3208
Loc: Dallas, Texas
Welcome to SZ. It was interesting reading your background, and I’d say you have a fantastic and hard to find keyboard which I’m sure will serve you well.
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It not the keyboard, it's the keyboardist.

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#501973 - 01/11/21 08:08 AM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Delkeen]
Bill Lewis Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 11/12/08
Posts: 2441
Loc: Bluffton/Hilton Head SC USA
Welcome Good place to share info here. BTW I have botht he BK7M with my Roland FP90 piano and a BK9. The BK9 has some added features the BK7M doesn't have so I do prefer it for editing and live preformance. However like you I like a better keybed so the FP90 with BK7M is fun to play.
Good luck with the BK9, great keyboard, especially the organ section.
_________________________
Bill in SC --- Roland BK9 (2) Roland BK7M, Roland PK5 Pedals, Roland FP90, Roland CM30 (2), JBL Eon Ones (2) JBL 610 Monitor, Behringer Sub, EV mics, Apple iPad (2) Behringer DJ mixer

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#501974 - 01/11/21 08:10 AM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: montunoman]
Delkeen Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/03/21
Posts: 28
Loc: Pennsylvania
Thanks so much. Looking to continue to learn from all of you.

Del

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#501975 - 01/11/21 08:17 AM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Bill Lewis]
Delkeen Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/03/21
Posts: 28
Loc: Pennsylvania
Thanks, Bill. I expect have some questions along the way for you and others who are using the BK-9. So far, I'm just getting myself acquainted with the OS, and finding my way around the instrument. I am pleased to have access to the vast variety of sound and styles (remember, I came from an instrument that required loading from floppies for any additional styles beyond the 64 on-board).

Del

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#501978 - 01/11/21 12:41 PM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Delkeen]
Diki Offline


Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14182
Loc: NW Florida
I too was a little disappointed with the action of the BK-9 coming from the G70 (basically the same action as the A70) but IMHO it still fares favorably compared to PA4x76 and most TOTL workstations, with the caveat that it doesn’t have aftertouch.

I guess nothing really measures up when you come from the best plastic action ever made (IMHO!).

But I disassembled my G70 on several occasions, and removed the action. That action alone weighed nearly as much as the BK-9! As I age (I was 15 years younger when I bought the G70!) I have come to appreciate the weight savings. A 76 note arranger at 21lbs with next to no compromise in the action is a dream come true!

I have both BK-9 and a BK7-m, so I’m intimate with both. My one greatest regret is that Roland never made a BK9-m. So much essential (to me!) stuff is missing from the BK7-m, the Chord Sequencer, the SuperNatural guitars, the Hammond sim, the Markers in SMF’s, the Favorite Tones, the D-Beam, the extra MFX, the mic in... I could go on!

About the only thing in the BK7-m I wish had made it to the BK-9 is the one channel ‘mirror the Performance’ MIDI setup option, where a dumb one channel external controller could be mapped to all the splits on the main action.

No one was more enthusiastic about the G70 than me, and it’s still a gorgeous tactile experience to play, but in just about every other way, it was superseded by the BK-9. And lopping 25lbs off the weight didn’t hurt! 🥵😂
_________________________
An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!

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#501992 - 01/12/21 08:15 AM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Diki]
Delkeen Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/03/21
Posts: 28
Loc: Pennsylvania
I wasn't aware of all the differences between the BK-7m and the BK-9, so that is helpful to know.

At the moment, I have my Roland A90 set up in my church office (and the A70 in storage - actually have 2 of those, with one loaned to my son), with the BK-9 set up at home. I expect that in retirement (in a year or so), I may want to put the BK-9 on a second tier above the A90. Has anyone tried a set-up like that? With the A90 being a rather expansive controller with decent onboard sounds (VE-RD1), I may want to use it that way. As an alternative, I could put the A70 underneath and have it set up for a two manual Hammond. What I am curious about is whether others have tried such a configuration, and how difficult it might be to set up. Diki, you mentioned that the BK-7m had that simple one channel link feature for a dumb controller. Any insights on how that would work with a vintage (but quite capable) controller that can select midi channels?

As I noted, this is a future step, but thought I might as well put the idea out now. I am not dissatisfied with the BK-9's keybed, though it is a significant change back from a hammer-action keybed. Great for some things; not as useful for others.

I do have a very stable Quiklock Z stand with the solid second tier when that time comes.

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#501994 - 01/12/21 08:56 AM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Delkeen]
Diki Offline


Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14182
Loc: NW Florida
Personally, I try for a simple one keyboard rig to keep weight and complexity down, so it’s been a long time since I used to play surrounded by keyboards!

The truth is, you only have two hands, if you are taking one off one keyboard to play another, you can achieve the same thing by changing the sound to that which you’re moving to! So when I need more than one setup during songs, I simply program another Performance and switch to it on the fly! Roland’s ability to do this seamlessly makes it easy...

But if you want a full weighted action for piano, and a lightweight one for organs and synths etc. (I did this back in the day with a Rhodes and a Yamaha piano), I’d usually suggest the heaviest one at the bottom and the lighter as close as possible above it.

One issue we tend to have is that often the bottom keyboard has displays and controls we need to get to, which prevents us placing them as close together as the ideal layout, that of a two manual organ. The further your hands have to travel between manuals, the less seamless the move is... If you can turn the lower keyboard into a dumb one channel master, the need for the display and switches goes away and you can basically stack the top keyboard on the panel, and get that closeness back.

But in the case of a lower weighted 88, to be honest I’d reserve that strictly for acoustic piano and Rhodes, and maybe not even bother trying to link them together , and do everything else on the upper manual.

The more complex you want to be, the more you are going to have to jump through hoops trying to either get the arranger to set up the piano, or the piano control the arranger. The minute you want the piano doing its own sound in one half and controlling the arranger in the other, things get exponentially harder.

Simplicity rules! The way I’d approach this, at least, would be just to have the lower 88 doing a piano sound, and a MIDI or USB connection to the arranger only sending on the NTA channel for those times you want to trigger the arranger from the full piano playing (which the BK excels at) and defeat the connection the rest of the time.

But everyone has to make their own decision about how much faff they can deal with while playing. I prefer to concentrate on the audience, and limit my rig to the most barebones I can get away with! Yes, I miss a weighted 88 at times, but the price is a bit steep for that pleasure, IMHO.
_________________________
An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!

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#501995 - 01/12/21 09:00 AM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Delkeen]
Diki Offline


Registered: 04/25/05
Posts: 14182
Loc: NW Florida
And, BTW, the BK7-m was well under half the price of the BK-9, so in fairness the laundry list of differences is to be expected!

But a module BK-9 would have rocked!
_________________________
An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!

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#502001 - 01/12/21 01:29 PM Re: Joining you on this forum...and sharing just a bit [Re: Delkeen]
rikkisbears Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 12/22/02
Posts: 6020
Loc: NSW,Australia
Hi Del,
welcome.
Unfortunately my last Roland goes way back to the va7.
Hate to think how long ago that was. Haha
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best wishes
Rikki 🧸

Korg PA5X 88 note
SX900
Band in a Box 2022

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