Posted by: Fran Carango
My first impression of Roland BK-5 - 02/19/12 12:02 PM
My first impression of the BK-5 is a mixed bag...It is black and that is a good thing.. 
I think this is about 10 percent of my decisions to purchase keyboards lately..
The keys on the BK-5 are similar to the Juno keybeds size wise,
still considered full size but downsized from the great Roland keybeds
like the G1000, VA76, G70..It does feel better than the Juno g and di..
The BK-5 has some great styles, some are "must have" for me , like the organ swing styles...
It is a bit awkward to get around on the BK-5 at first..no more so than getting around on the Korg MicroArranger..
You will have to get use to the scroll wheel system.....unlike the BK7m,
where the 7m allowed you to push the scroll wheel to select,
it is annoying that we have to reach over to the "enter" button instead
of the same method as the BK7m..They are next to each other,
but the push method would have been ideal..
The sounds are excellent down to average, fortunately every category
has an excellent sound to choose from..
I do not care for the scroll select and enter process for selecting sounds..the good news ,
you have instant selection in each group of your favorite selected sounds..instantly..
The transpose is not as good as previous models..
.I rather hold a button down and push the + or - button to transpose.
.the BK5 you click on transpose button than you have to scroll
to the desired transpose..than enter...(dumb)..Transpose should never be menu driven..
As a comparison, I would take the BK5 over the MicroArranger in a heartbeat..(twice the price)
It is more playable, has better sounds, better player (including MP3/wave)..
A very decent sound system (similar to the Prelude)
As I have always thought about comparing the less expensive keyboards
to the flagship models from the same company...
There are differences between the quality of the sounds..
.The sounds on the G70 are richer, more detailed, than the Bk5...
Just as the differences between the E series and the G70..
The drums are very good on the Bk5..kits are plentiful and sound great...
Look for a more detailed impression , down the road...
I think this is about 10 percent of my decisions to purchase keyboards lately..
The keys on the BK-5 are similar to the Juno keybeds size wise,
still considered full size but downsized from the great Roland keybeds
like the G1000, VA76, G70..It does feel better than the Juno g and di..
The BK-5 has some great styles, some are "must have" for me , like the organ swing styles...
It is a bit awkward to get around on the BK-5 at first..no more so than getting around on the Korg MicroArranger..
You will have to get use to the scroll wheel system.....unlike the BK7m,
where the 7m allowed you to push the scroll wheel to select,
it is annoying that we have to reach over to the "enter" button instead
of the same method as the BK7m..They are next to each other,
but the push method would have been ideal..
The sounds are excellent down to average, fortunately every category
has an excellent sound to choose from..
I do not care for the scroll select and enter process for selecting sounds..the good news ,
you have instant selection in each group of your favorite selected sounds..instantly..
The transpose is not as good as previous models..
.I rather hold a button down and push the + or - button to transpose.
.the BK5 you click on transpose button than you have to scroll
to the desired transpose..than enter...(dumb)..Transpose should never be menu driven..
As a comparison, I would take the BK5 over the MicroArranger in a heartbeat..(twice the price)
It is more playable, has better sounds, better player (including MP3/wave)..
A very decent sound system (similar to the Prelude)
As I have always thought about comparing the less expensive keyboards
to the flagship models from the same company...
There are differences between the quality of the sounds..
.The sounds on the G70 are richer, more detailed, than the Bk5...
Just as the differences between the E series and the G70..
The drums are very good on the Bk5..kits are plentiful and sound great...
Look for a more detailed impression , down the road...
