Roland VA76 ....... in the house

I decided to take a trial run with the VA76 (as a studio only piece) because of a special deal and the sale of my psr9000 (which was part of a huge studio swap).

I like having a duplicate for my stage rig, but to be honest - I never had to use one! It was an "insurance" policy of sorts, and made recording easier because of the similarities bewteen stage and studio.

I want to give this one a whirl because I really liked the sounds on the VA7 that I had a while back, and the keybed, and solid construction of this unit will probably make it a good studio controller, if nothing else.

This is not something that I consider taking on the road, so I won't be posting any new "no speakers" threads ...... don't get excited. I want to use this to generate solid, harmony laden, backing trax that I can use in an upcoming job based around a grand piano. I'll record some simple string, bass and drum trax ... ad vocal harmonies with the TC and put them on the laptop so I can still get harmony when I play the acoustic piano. This gig (yeah, yeah ... I say it SOMETIMES)is a steady Friday starting in August so I want to be comfortable without a live harmonizer on the job. I still may put the PA80 on top of the piano anyway ...... haven't decided yet.

So, I just thought I'd throw this out to the gang for digestion before i actually pick it up. I have a guy that might be interrested in it if I tire of it too quickly, so my risk factor is minimal !

Wish me luck ...... It feels like a step backwards in some ways, but as a controller ..... it's a nice feeling, solid, 76 key controller with great sounds as well. Can't be too frightning, huh?

Good Luck with it Dave.. I'll check it out when I come over...I'd like to see the differences between the G1000/Va76...

Hi Dave,
For the first time u seemed to me like an
innocent boy,affraid of his SZ fellows for
having a Roland VA.Come on enjoy the VA76
with open heartedly.I wish u have a very good
gig and stage with your VA76.Roland also make very sild boards,but its a matter of taste.

Hey UD, welcome to the weenie club. Perhaps even you (as Donny Pesce and I recently did) can become weaned off the absolute need for onboard keyboard speakers now. I recently played a VA76 and enjoyed the keyboard feel & sound, but . . . that touch screen still drives me nuts.

I liked the VA76 a lot when I demoed it. It's another one of those " If I had the room and the funds I'd be looking at it here in the studio ".. boards. Good Luck with it UD

AJ

Let's not forget my "silent slab" policy. No way that this is going on stage with me. It's too much of a sacrifice. Last week alone, I did 3 jobs that I didn't need an amp for. There wasn't even ROOM for one. I have one coming up next month that is the tighest setup I ever did - A small Italian resteraunt (Brender and Eddie?) that only holds about 35 people in the dining room that I'll be in.
No dancing .... very light vocals ... just pretty background music. There isn't even room to sit down .... which is one of the reasons that I started standing years ago.

I fully expect to enjoy the VA76 at home - I loved the VA7, so this HAS to be even better. More keys, more buttons .... all good things.

Scott,
With respect to the weaning .... Lately, I've had 2-3 pieces out a number of times, and I never use the speakers then. It's too much sound competing on stage, so I shut them off, but the mains are ALWAYS very close by in these situations, and I have a monitor in the car in case I have trouble hearing. I won't strain if I can help it.

My need for speakers is linked to the times when I'm playing TEENY, tiny spots that amps won't go. I also like hearing some sound coming from right in front of me, as if it were an acoustic piano.... makes it more realistic for me.

I remember really liking the drums and the morphing in the VA, so this will be a good thing for a while, and Roland sound engines are quiet as mice - perfect for the studio. And the VA has 4 independant outputs ! Great feature that I use all the time on the PA80. I love that submix capability.

The VA,
Good press for an excellent product! Great to hear.
Zuki

A Bit of interesting song trivia:

"Brender (Brenda) and Eddie," as Billy Joel fans remember, were "the King and Queen of the Prom," featured in his song, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." They were drawn, roughly, from a popular couple Joel had envied growing up on Long Island. Joel went to his 20th high school class reunion...to catch up with Brenda and Eddie. "Let me tell ya; Eddie was, like, old and all shriveled up," he chuckled, "And, Brenda, forget about it, man. She didn't look good." What he did notice about his classmates, however, was 'the nerds.' "They were all the successful ones now, with the beautiful wives. It was very surreal.

In case you're interested in having a "bottle of red" or a "bottle of white" in the restaurant from "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," Joel says it was named for Rome's Trevi Fountain and (is/was?)located at 151 W. 57th Street in New York City, directly across from Carnegie Hall. "If you want to go see it for nostalgia, fine," Joel cautioned, "but the food, as far as I remember...it was only so-so."


Scott

I remember Billy on "inside the actors studio" (one of my FAVORITE shows)and he mentioned that a waiter came up and gave him the first line as he offered him a "bottle of red, a bottle of white....?"
Billy said "thank you" and the song was born !

Yes, I remember being glued to the TV watching that memorable 1999 "Inside the actors studio" Billy Joel interview show as well, especially because most all the other interviewies on that show are actors, not musicians. The show was aired here (California) on the Bravo Network:
http://www.bravotv.com/Inside_the_Actors_Studio/

I only wished my VCR recorder was working the evening I saw the show because I believe I missed the first part. Anyway, I'd really LOVE to see that show in its entirity sometime. Does anyone know if that episode might be aired again (Bravo Network or?), or if it can be purchased or obtained anywhere? Thanks. - Scott

Ever see the SNL spoof of that show??? It's unbelievably funny. The character of James Lipton makes me pee my pants..... "You're a DELIGHT ..... " funny, funny stuff.

Will Ferrell is a riot as Lipton! My fav was that classic "inside the Actor's Studio" sketch where he interviews Screech (from Saved by the Bell) played by Tobey Maguire. That one really had me rolling on the floor.

You're right - that one was a hoot ! They're all priceless - the way he sits there with his head tilted, staring off into "nowhere" ..... I have to laugh just thinking of it !

Well....is it in the house yet?

It's here on the stand ..... Ally and I are headed to the pool for a few hours, and we'll be back at dinner time. You and Donny coming over for supper? Call my cell...

It's 9PM here on the East coast, and 2 of the "Three" Stooges just left.
Donny and Fran came to fiddle with the VA76 and we had a nice dinner before the session.

You should have seen us three ...... trying to figure out why the volume was so spiratic ...... we never thougfht to look on the floor !(at the EV5 expression pedal, that I forgot i hooked up )
In playing the sustain, we accidently bummped the EV5 and lost most of the volume !
(Idiots for the moment)

After that - we had a pretty good time comparing notes on an instrument that we are already somewhat familiar with.

No big surprises - great sounds, great styles, LESS than great real time control of things like:
octave shift
manual bass
part volumes
seq play

lots of hidden menu stuff. If you set up performances ..... it's got a lot of potential, but for "on the fly" adjustment ....... what a nightmare. It'll live very happy on my studio desk till something else excites me.

Dave, break a leg with the VA, it's always been a board I've wanted to like.
Terry

------------------
jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Terry,
I agree .... it's not an instant love afair, but to be honest - it sounds fantastic. It's just not as quick at the draw as some others. Even my Korg, which is a bear to learn has more real time control, once you find out how to use it ! The VA is clearly aimed at "performance" oriented players (not a bad thing at all), but when you need to make spot changes with no notice - it's impossible to access many of the important parameters.

In the studio, it will be a terrific sound source, a great controller, and a handsome unit to complete my recording desk. I'll take a pic as soon as I decide if it's staying ! (I'm sure I'll keep it for a LITTLE while, at least. )

The VA has been here a whole day so far, and my original concerns still stand.
1-sounds fantastic
2-feels great
3-drums are wonderful
4-scat voices are the best in the biz

...with all that going for it, I predict that the VA76 will never be widly accepted on stages for these reasons (among others):
1-touch screen(slow - hate it)
2-button placement(fills etc, too far away)
3-no quick octave or transpose
4-except for style morphing, no quick edits on the fly
5-no mic input

It's not a disapointment, because I have other plans for this baby, but it reinforced the need for quick edits in a stage situation. If all you do is play "pre-determined" performances from begining to end .... you could learn to make this board sing(it actually CAN "sing" ), but if you change beats and tones within a song, like i do ..... it just can't compare to the ease of the competition.

For strict ease of use - Yamaha has my vote for the overall BEST in the biz.
Technics is next, and everyone else follows after that.
Too bad, ease of use isn't the only thing that we need on stage!

So..... no surprise here folks - just a great keyboard with huge potential as a studio controller and writing/arranging tool. It sure is pretty too !

oh man i miss mine. kinda regret selling her.
oh well, there will be other loves.

Also, don't forget the very nice D-Beam controller which can be used for fill-in or simply for more realism on sax/flute sounds.

Claude

So Dave when are you selling it?

Donny...give him at least one week!

One week? thats a lifetime for Dave if he ain't happy!

Since I tried it out, I've always wanted one for the studio, but wouldn't want to use it in a live setting either. Funds and space be damned.. IF and when you're ready to sell, I might be interested UD.

AJ

I'll consider any reasonable offers. The studio role is very easy to acompish with almost anything out there for me. It's brand new, but I don't have the original box.
Email me with offers if you're interested - this isn't the forum to post prices on.
To be fair ..... I won't be motivated to move it unless the price is right. It'll be less than the stores are selling it for, but I won't give it away either.
Sell it - Keep it ... make little difference to me at this point ! I just need something in the studio.