kday wrote:PauloF wrote:
Don't agree with your view.
Roland learned and understood that the future is not the hardware workstations market, due to the incredible development that the computer based Apps have reached.
With JP-80, JP-50 and Integra-7, Roland leads the way to a new era of expressive synths and those 3 are a good example of that, blowing away the competition on innovation, Sound and build quality and expressiveness.
I could be wrong of course, but I think that a new Roland Workstation will not see the light of day, as they are leading on a different way now.
Just MHO
I don't agree with your view.
You must have forgot that Roland is a "hardware" musical instrument company, and not a software one.
Software is never the future when hardware is always and forever will be in demand. Hardware is constantly needed by bands, professionals and cash strapped musicians looking for latest greatest MI toy. hardware will never go out of style regardless of what software has to offer because hardware is always better. When a great synth hits the markets it sells in droves. Take the Motif XF and the Kronos, both sold great numbers because people with money were excited at the newer technology those keyboards had to offer.
Roland just failed because they hadn't offered anything new in nearly 10 years, while Korg and Yamaha offered something other than rehashed sounds in a new redesigned case.
If Roland offer a keyboard with the Integra sounds and no new bells and whistles, no innovation, no comprehensive multi-sampling, no hardrive storage, no new analog synth engine it will again be a failure. Roland has to go back to the drawing board and think long and hard on how to compete with Yamaha and Korg to survive.
Software is not the future, software sucks! Software poses too many problems and often becomes obsolete for live players who buy hardware synthesizers that expect to last for years and years in 100% reliability.
I agree that the hardware Synths should be here to stay, and I do prefer that to software world too, but that is not what the market trend indicates...
In Roland's case, since the Fantom G, we are seeing them going Synth based products (Juno Di, Juno Gi, JP-50, JP-80, Integra-7) where they scrapped all Sampling, Sequencing and Audio Recording (except some simple WAV Audio Recording) and passed those functions to software DAWs, as they are more powerful and sophisticated than never.
They own partially cakewalk, and that also makes some sense, as it will be difficult for any company to produce an hardware based DAW as sophisticated as Sonar, Live, Logic, Cubase, etc
Some integra adverts show a Multitrack Audio Interface and SONAR X1/X2 together with the module suggesting that for a complete workstation, maybe it is just a subliminar clue...
Now...if Roland decides to go for a real Workstation in 2013/14, even considering the economic crisis where we all are and the particular situation they are suffering, it's up to Roland to decide, but I think they will try and struggle to be alive in the next few years, even if that tells them that they should do different products when compared to their more direct competition.
The economic times are not good for adventures...
But as I said, time will tell.
;-)