Roland arranger sound..

yesterday i walked into a music shop that sold Roland instruments...

And after toying with the E60 for half an hour i finally realised what bothered me with the Roland sound for all those years... It sounded to artificiall, to unnaturall for my ears, naturall instruments sounded still like a digitall instrument and not so much like the real instruments as the T2 or PA800.

Was this just my ears or does anyone agree to that, the typicall roland sound is a bit less naturall then Korg, Ketron and yamaha...

(Not that it sounded bad)

Same for the Roland build in styles...they sounded great, just not really alive. I also played E80 and G70 after that and that only seemed to support my previous opinion on the E60.

Nice start for an old discussion.
I should say maybe something is wrong with your ears.
A hearing aid could be a great help.

It was not only my ears... the salesmanager agreed with me..

Next to that, it could be an old discussion...which indicates that i am not the only one that thinks so. But then that discussion has been atleast some months ago..

All personal preference....this is a No Win topic....way too many variables regarding making an arranger keyboard sound great to your liking by using the editing tools.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-25-2008).]

this should not become a real discussion, because as many different players, as many different taste.
i like roland's sound, but i do not believe they are the best. btw, i have an E60, and it's sounds are particulary lower quality than E80.
but roland's styles... are the best to my ears.
sorry!

I might retort that I haven't heard much Wersi stuff that I am very impressed with (other than great players simply PLAYING them!), and very little Yamaha stuff sounds remotely 'live', very little Ketron stuff that sounds remotely contemporary, and Korg's issues with few fills are well known.

But all that would do would be to annoy users of those particular arrangers, and still be just my (and a few other people's) opinion. But I'm SURE, seeing as it's you, Bachus, that it must be a FACT, not just your opinion, eh?

Truth is, there is NO 'perfect' arranger... They ALL have certain issues. Including Roland. But an 'unrealistic' or 'artificial' sound isn't one of them, IMO. For starters, short of B4 in a VST arranger, the G70/E80's Hammond sim is easily better than most. It's grand pianos are by FAR better than most, and the drums simply have no equal for a good 'live' sound (having been ported from the TD-series drum kits - drummer approved!).

I play regularly in live bands, so perhaps my ears are a bit more used to that particular sound and dynamic that most home organ players, but whatever... If it's not for you, it's not for you. I admit that OOTB, the Roland's aren't necessarily as polished as some, but the raw stuff IS there for you to customize to YOUR tastes. Given your preference for Yamaha's and Korg's, I would simply say that you and I have a VERY different idea about what 'real' and 'live' sound like.

I played with two different live bands this week... and every one in them was blown away by how realistic the G70's sounds were. Maybe it's the gear, maybe it's the player, who knows? But so far, I haven't heard anything on another arranger that has even remotely made me go 'I GOTS to have one of these instead of my G70!'...

Well...

What i noticed on the Roland was a cutting sound, that can stand its own in a band situation very well, where as the yamaha T sometimes is a bit thin in its sounds and so may be a bit lost in a band situation.

I never said that Roland sounded bad in contrary, i just tought that they sounded less naturall, with indeed really phat boosted sounds to stand out in a live situation, but less naturall more synthetic.


Keep in mind that its just my opinion..... Or was it the opinion of the salesmanager trying to make me beleive the YAmaha's sounded better?


[This message has been edited by Bachus (edited 05-25-2008).]

MY OPINION after playing keys for 70 years, and keyboards for 35 plus.
I find the E 80 as good as any I have owned and played with the posible exception of the Technics KN7000 and those two boards each have individual bragging rights.
I have the Tyros 2 on another stand. I use them for different type of music. I also have the yam 9000 and use it mostly for country.
each keyboard has it's own individual advantages and likes for each individual player.
Bebop

I can not comment on the E60, as I have never tried one. But I own a G70 and a Tyros 2 and the Roland has a more natural sound than the Yamaha, for sure (to my ears, which I consider to be in good condition as I still can ear differences in sound just by changing the cables in my stereo Hi-Fi system).

Even with the SA voices on Tyros 2, I prefer the sounds of G70, which I found more natural.

To me, the biggest advantages of Tyros 2 over G70 are the style availability, Multi pads and Registration Memory (more versatile than the user programmes).

On the other hand, the G70 allows the complete style edition (not only the drum set, but also the instruments within the drum set, which I don´t think my Tyros can do) and I am now learning to use the built in Midi to Style function and I am sure we can find the appropriate style for every song we want to play.

I don´t think I will let go from home both the Tyros 2 and the G70, but if I couldn´t afford the two, I would stay with the G70.

Just my two cents.

This feature alone trumps Tyros/S900 which lacks many editing abilities other arrangers incorporate & is something I really miss on Yamaha arrangers for sure compared to my now gone G70....dissecting each & every part of a drum set to get the perfect sound is much needed to get the right sound in a style. The Roland makeup tools are unmatched.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-26-2008).]