New arranger from ROLAND

Announced from Roland Turkey

Roland E-A7 with 128 mb sampler

http://www.rolandtr.com/arrenger-klavyeler/e-a7-genisletilebilen-arrenger-klavye/

video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wZ3v93WVx0

Specs
http://www.rolandmusik.de/products/e-a7/specifications/

Good to see Roland back in the game.....

E-A7 as a versatile arranger keyboard, all professional sound and rhythm of the musicians who need the infrastructure in the world offers you. E-A7 thanks to the dual screen placed on the panel make sense, offering the possibility to use, fast and intuitive rhythms of the left screen, the sounds (over 1500) will control the right screen and also your performance with dedicated buttons for many functions instantly fast and easily everything to use You will feel at your fingertips. You can create your own instrument WAV audio files and uploading your wishes instrument / sound source directly, for example, you can get yourself sound by connecting to your keyboard. He said the buttons will perform songs AnlArIndA microphone input and offers a full keyboard that you can carry it anywhere with only 8 kg weight assigned with special effects easily. Where do you want to do music, e-A7 will offer you all there to help.



Versatile sounds from all over the world 1500
To be able to install internal sampling function and WAV files
Asia, Middle East, Turkey, large archive containing rhythm rhythm infrastructure from Europe and South America
Direct control buttons with a powerful processor and One-Touch arranger sound performance options
156 quick access to commonly used functions assigned to specific buttons
Dual-screen design with logical infrastructure rhythms left on the screen, use the volume control on the right screen
Microphone input and appointed him special effects
Only 8 Kg weight and easy to carry

nice, 2 new arrangers on one day, by 2 top brands..

Looks like a little brother to the BK9 mostly aimed at middle east and asian markets..

I guessing 3 to 4 thousand dollars or more. No more menu searching.

Looks like it has 2 screens, which I absolutely did not like on the BK9

The idea of two screens with controlers in the middle is just great... The implementation is just budget, which makes sense on a probably under €1000 arranger..

Make atop arranger with 2 7" screens and 9 sliders and 8 knobs in the middle.. And add the whole integra 7 soundset and midipads (not just audio)

Below €1000 euro, it has less sounds, less effects, less pro features then the bk9

Price for E-A7 is £859.00 from Andertons Music Co. UK

If Google's calculation is correct it is $1315.11 ???

That's what I expected. It must be more expensive than The BK-5, which is much simpler.

Interesting, I really liked the bk5, had I known of the iPad app , I would have kept it.

Assuming that the BK-5 is in many parts identical to the BK-7m, it is really a good instrument. But obviously the E-A7 is really superior and has some features which go beyond the 800-900 euro segment, e.g.:
- 1,500 on-board sounds (vs. about 1,100)
- over 600 styles (vs. about 350)
- WAV sample expandibility
- 2 displays.

However, as a very critical remark: Roland, if you are able to release a completely new mid-class arranger, WHY don't you care about keeping promises and release tone expansions for the BK-9? ("The BK-9 is equipped with a user storage designed for future tone expansions"...) Releasing new models and forgetting about the ones released 2 years ago, that's a way to lose former buyers, I have to repeat.

BK5 is way short of what the BK7 has. BK9 is more like a BK7 with keys, and quite a number of improvements.

Oh, is it? I never tried the BK-5, but as it has always been slightly cheaper than the BK-7m despite the additional keybed and speakers, I suspected there must be something missing... I still have a high opinion of my BK-7m except just a few weaknesses (e.g. acoustic guitars).
The main advantage of the BK-9 is probably its 22 SuperNatural sounds. The other 500+ sounds are not such a big improvement over the BK-7m, as most of them stem from the SonicCell module or the Fantom X and are thus a bit dated and not of the high SRX library quality.

What direction and target is Roland going with this new arranger KB release?

I think the most important message here is that they haven't abandoned the arranger market completely, which was to be feared after the dissolution of Roland Europe.
But with Roland Europe's demise, I think the BK line has been given up, so they are obviously taking up the former "E" line again.
As Bachus said, one of the target groups in geographical terms might be the Turkish/middle east/Asian market, but I guess it will be marketed quite evenly worldwide. With the WAV sample expandibility, I guess it is not primarily focused on the older age groups.

There's already a Polish demo:

Piano drums and bass sound o.k.

I think the drums sound great, better than BK-7m, piano realistic, too, it's probably based on the SRX 11 like the BK-7m Superior Piano.

So far this arranger peaked more interest with me then the pa4x... This one seems to have next to great sounds also some nifty fresh features.

Tough i still think its strange that Roland arranger only have audio phrases ( like audio pads) but no midi pads(phrases)

I will bet there is still not a Break/Fill and dedicated intro/ending buttons.

You will lose the bet. There is now a Break/Fill and dedicated intro/ending buttons.

That's a bet I'll be happy to lose!

Another demo from Poland, in this case e-pianos:

I'd rather hear all the styles demoed please.........
and what are the strengths of this new EA7 release besides two screens and very light weight?

And wheres Ralf Shink?

Maybe it is not completed yet, just a prototype. Roland seems to pursue a very quiet "marketing" with this model, it creeped into the website without big announcements, maybe they are still shocked about the marketing desaster of the BK-9...

Scanning through the available Youtube demos of the E-A7, I think it becomes obvious it is indeed focused on certain regions, mainly Asia, Arab countries, Eastern Europe - at least for the time being.
On the roland.com website it is kind of hidden, it's not presented as one of the new products on top of the page.

With the scaling buttons it surly is targeted for the middle east players and such,.....seems like a GW7/BK9 on steroids?
either way I'm sticking to yamaha just sayin'

Offcourse we are... sticking to Yamaha.. Did you know my T5 is still getting better with every day that passes, i only use the Kronos for pianos (mostly) Just cant get the KArma to integrate well with the T5 styles..


And about Roland, there hasnt been any real steps forward ever since the good old G70. And there is a good reason for that. People that can spend 4k on an arranger in general go for the best, and thats Yamaha, unless they have the need for deep edditing capabillities and creating a truely own sound, then they go Korg..

There is no room for a middle of the road between those TOTL arrangers. And so Roland stepped back out of the totl arranger market about 10 years ago.

This one is comparable to the PSR S770 in price, and they are aiming specifically at another market (eastern) to avoid the competition with YAmaha

Man, everybody seems to be so very knowledgeable about Roland...
Fact is, this little instrument, being priced maybe like a s770 seems to be really offering a much much value for the money.
We'll see. I hope there will be a 76 version of this, with added vocal processor.

I would love to see Roland come out with another TOTL arranger. Would be interested in Roland developing their great VH technology further and adding to their arrangers and stand alone units.

Marcus

I doubt you'll see that vision....
they went in another direction toward a different market then the rest.

The BK-7m sells well, this is where I hope to see an improved successor.

This particular aspect I find interesting about the perception over how Roland is doing that and that... For years now, people were saying that's it, no more arrangers from Roland, then before the BK9 came out, they say no MORE TOTL arrangers from Roland... And yet, it seems they are just doing their stuff and come up with models, no slower pace then any other manufacturer. What is with that? Why do we hear for good three or four years now - at least - how Roland arranger division is going dodo way and yet a new model (which looks quite impressive for what it is and for the cost) is introduced.
Anyway, looking forward hearing more demos of this. And more details about the packages for various regions or musical styles.

Lets face it is the New Roland arrangers even in the same class as the top 3 anymore?....
Well that's for the public to decide....?

I wish them luck in whatever direction they are going...

Roland is just making the first steps out of a life-threatening crisis, connected with the 2008 banking crisis and a number of desastrous failures in sales from Fantom G to the Jupiters. Several years in a row without profit.
Roland Europe had their last failure (in terms of sales and marketing) with the BK-9 in 2013, shortly before it was closed down by the parent company.
Then, as a next dramatic step, there was a management buyout.
So there were enough reasons to be sceptical whether Roland would continue their arranger division at all, and it is a pleasant surprise they have not abandoned it. It's logical they focus on the Asian market, you can read in their business reports that arranger sales were satisfactory there and desastrous elsewhere. I hope they will recover to the point where they can develop high-grade workstations or arrangers again, but it will probably take time.

How about a ROLAND/TECHNICS Comeback merger wow that would be nuts!!

The management buyout and the new management however is what will safe them in the end (hopefully)

So far the Aira range is a huge success
The RD 800 goes strongs a s a stage piano
The new LX and hp piano ranges sell great
The jdxi and jdxa are a mixed bag of beans
We have to see how the new arranger will handle itselves

Seems however that non yamaha arrangers only sell big time in asia and the middle east and eastern europe... In our western world, Yamaha seems to make like 80% of the total arranger sales.

But it looks like aroland is back to the core, creating instruments that are fun to play