First impression of the Integra7

Integra7

My first impression of the newest member of my family..Integra7.

If you have a studio, or want the absolute best overall sound source, this is a must get..

In past years I tried to use a G1000 and XV5080 together, but they didn't play well together..

The Integra7 has none of the issues the 5080(and g1000) had..

It is compatible with the G70 and the BK9.. Also works well with MixCraft pro 8 (DAW)..

A bonus, the version 2 editor with the DAW, eliminates the need for the ipad apps..

I found myself getting comfortable with the Integra7 front panel..

Now about the sounds.. I spent hours listening to all the great arranger keyboards with the best sounds,
namely 2 or 3.. Yamaha Genos, SD90, and BK9 ..

Much to my surprise, the Integra7 wins hands down ( because the SuperNatural sounds are that good).

Even with the strenght of Ketron bass and drums.. not only does the I7 match up... it surpasses Ketron
drums and bass (with SN sounds).. The V-drums are unbeatable..

With 256 SN acoustic sounds on board plus 6 more expansion boards (SN virtual boards).. It is loaded for bear..

After I purchased the BK9, I was disappointed, that I could not use the SN sounds in style or SMF's.

I tried some old MIDI tricks, but ran into too many obstacles with GM resets..

Then I decided to get the Integra7.. I was fairly sure I could get it to work for me.

What I wanted to do... assign supernatural sounds to my styles (band).. I only needed the basic players.
V-drums, V-piano, bass, jazz guitar.. I could add the color sounds in my right hand..again SN sounds..

I had to turn off the GM and GM2 resets as well as program change.. I only needed this single set up.
Save it as a studio set up.

It works like a charm..I just bring up a style, play the style with the I7 studio set up.

I found the better of the 2 keyboards for this combination is the G70 over the BK9.
It is faster and easier to mute style parts (also easy with volume sliders on the BK9).

The availble SRX sounds (12 virtual boards), add to the value..
Also motion sound, sounds teriffic...

You can also download from axial.com more sounds if the 6,000 sounds aren't enough.

The sound finder works great ..sort of like a vst search in your DAW..

More to come after a few more days with the integra7..

Sounds interesting Fran. Would love to hear some music mixes when you get the system the way you like it.

Thanks,
jingleman

That's great, Fran! Happy for you! I've wanted an Integra-7 since it came out. Maybe one day.

The fact that you can replace your keyboard's voices with the Integra-7's SN sounds is really cool! I'm dying to hear what that sounds like! I've been secretly hoping for years that Roland would make a new arranger keyboard with the Integra-7's sounds. Now, thanks to your know-how, it's possible. Have fun!

The imtegra 7 is incredible..
It offers all sounds Roland has to offer..

It also functions well as a laptop stand..

Fran - Guess that means the unit made it and you are up and running. GREAT! and glad to hear you are enjoying it. We recorded a ton of tunes using the Interga7. For now, we are off to explore out Ketron SD90 to see what it can do.

Fran you gonna take it out on gigs or?

Our duo just bought an Integra 7 as part of a system to add MIDI sounds to live guitar. The great thing is that the Integra allows us to play bass and drums to accompany the songs we will be playing (run from an iPad), but we can then switch between our real guitar sounds to play other instruments such as sax or electric piano.

Glad to hear you are mixing it up good luck.

Not sure, I have the right gear for the senior gigs.. BK9 or G70..

I will spend some time with the integra7 till I know it well..

It is a perfect studio gear..

Most likely , my main use will be to make backing tracks with the superior Supernatural acoustic sounds... Save them as MP3 or Wave, and add lyrics in sync with the tracks..

This I7 will multi task a lot of possibilities..

Serves as a midi and audio interface.. Has routing for every process.. and will handle 5:1 surround sound.. Motional surround feature gives great imaging..

That's great Fran I'm glad to see you're mixing it up enjoy!