Hi all,

Does anyone remember the old good Roland G-1000? It was one of the best arrangers at the time, huge possibilities, awesome sounds, almost pro keys, good sequencer (btw up till now I still could've done a lot of good music with it!) - I wonder, the new BK-9 - is it a way step up from that time or somewhere in different direction?

My opinion is its a no brainer. The BK9's sounds are way updated over the G1000, especially Drums, Bass, and Pianos. Better Styles too. As for the keyboard I think the G1000 has a slight edge. As far as audiences go for most gigs you could still do fine with a G1000 but the BK9 will give you a bigger grin factor. And the updated Styles will be more useful.

There's only ONE thing the G1000 has got that is better than the BK-9.... and that is the keys. That 76 note aftertouch action is the best in the business. And it had aftertouch.

But in every single other regard, the BK-9 is a MASSIVE improvement. Better sounds, better styles, better OS, sliders, MP3 playback, audio loop synchronization, editing, Hammond organ, you name it.

I had a G1000 for ten years, then a G70 for eight or so, and now the BK-9. The BK-9 is a keeper...

Bk -9 is starting to really Grow on me , I am excited to put in the update for jump/mark purpose that is what I really wanted Does anybody have any good Midi Files for the Bk-9 I am using tune 1000 but the content is about 10 years old , I use yamahamusicsoft for my Tyros and they have lots of good new one designed fir Tyros but I would love to Find some place to get some updated files for BK-9 Diki you should start doing those I would buy them from you . I just do not have time to make up files working as much as I do.

Diki

( I had a G1000 for ten years, then a G70 for eight or so, and now the BK-9. The BK-9 is a keeper...)
Your starting to sound like Fran. LOL !

Good idea for the custom files, I'd be a customer.

We know a good thing when we hear it!

Bottom line for me is, if you are happy enough with an arranger, you don't NEED to upgrade every 2-3 years..! I still don't understand how Yamaha manage to get their followers to drink the Kool-Aid every new model, especially with how little they add each time. What is it about them that leaves their users wanting change so badly? LOL

Fran's a 'buy to try' kind of guy (I think he's bought most of the Roland arrangers over the years), but me, I just wait and wait and wait until something comes out SO much better I absolutely must have it. Plenty of arrangers between the G1000 and the G70 (I missed the entire V/VA series) and quite a few between the G70 and the BK-9 (the Preludes and the GW-8 and the BK-5/3). I just bided my time.

I did get the BK-7m, but that was always intended as a sound source for my keytar rather than a serious arranger (although it has turned out to be very powerful, and possibly soon to be updated), but all in all, I tend to think that I only hear subtle improvements between adjacent models, and usually, you can go ten years or so before something SIGNIFICANTLY better comes out.

Just look at the Yamaha timeline, and imagine how MUCH better each arranger would be if you waited 8-10 years between models! You would have gone from the original Tyros to the T4! Or the PSR3000 to the PSR S950 - That's change you can believe in..!

musicforyourday, Bill... I doubt you'd be into the same stuff I tend to do, and my sequences tend to be VERY minimal. I try to play as much as if I were in a full band with no tracks, so the files tend to be mostly bass and drums and maybe some rhythm guitar...

Not what most people prefer.

musicforyourday, I would start to spend a LOT of time working with your older files and the Makeup Tools, especially the drum kit edits, the new guitar and bass sounds, with especial attention paid to adjusting the velocities up or down to make the Tone get the most out of the different velocity samples, then adjust the volume to re-balance it. Also, you can get some great results using the per-drum EQ... Toms and side-sticks sound much better with a bit of boost from mid or low band EQ.

Don't forget you can now, instead of using a wanky sampled distorted guitar, you can change the sound to a clean guitar, and then run it through a variety of amp simulators and distortion effects to get a far more realistic rhythm guitar. Plus this, when you use the new Dynamic Arranger, these guitars hit the amp harder or softer depending on how you play. This can sound amazing, if you dial it in right. And you have THREE MFX insert effects JUST for the Song or Style Parts! That means you can have different amps on different guitar Parts, so they don't clash...

There are a ton of possibilities in the BK-9. I am getting some fantastic results with some of my older files and styles, and I haven't even scratched the surface yet.

Just do yourself a favor, and either turn OFF or at least dial down the Mastering EQ and Compressors... Try to get the sound you want from the style or SMF itself, and leave the Mastering stuff just as slight smoothing or room compensation usage. On the whole, I find the factory presets a bit too aggressive, and you end up with an overhyped, slightly squashed sound. Maybe that's OK for you, but I'm trying to get the MOST dynamics out my arranger, not the least!

Hope this helps.

I have very fond memories of the G 1000. I played one for about 8 years. When I go back to recordings I made using it, they are so bright, full of depth and just downright great. I moved over to Yamaha and I am very satisfied with the boards I have used. So far they are the Tyros 1, PSR 900, and S 950. I absolutely love the 950. My son has my old G 1000 and when I go over to his house, I play it and it's like renewing an old friendship. Just one problem, I can hardly lift it anymore. Oh well. You can bat around brands all day long but in my book Roland has always made some amazing boards. Especially when it comes to key feel. But I am very happy with Yamaha at this point in my career. I have never cared much for Korg. Not to say that some of you guys have done amazing things with Korg boards.

Joe