WE ARE BACK ?

[KEYS88]

What could this be ??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxR7Q53Z9hg

[alpha_C]

BK-9

[n3oz]

I think that is an arranger... a new BK with supernatural organ and piano like new vr-9? If you see the display screen there is a "Cmaj" and a Mic-reverb knob!

[en76]

well, from the look of it. new BK 76keys.

[keysme]

Definitely a new BK arranger keyboard. The BK-5 asking price is $999.00 and therefore it's a low-end arranger with 61 keys and few frills i.e. with few advanced features. This new offering from Roland appears to have 76 keys with a Mic input and perhaps even a vocal harmonizer. In the short video an organ patch was playing in the background which I feel represents a previous generation of sounds, and therefore, it is basically the same ole' same ole' type of sound samples released by Roland many years ago. Roland seems unwilling to take the bold steps necessary in order to vault itself into the forefront of keyboard technology. Yamaha and Korg, on the other hand, have introduced non-volatile flash memory storage capability and solid state drives plus a plethora of other advanced features and many new pristine sounds. Roland is playing it safe in my opinion and unless their top management team decides to take some bold moves (risks), I feel Roland will continue to lose ground to the competition.

We'll have to wait and see what this new arranger really provides but I'm guessing it's going to be a BK-5 with 76 keys and a few minor enhancements, at a relatively affordable price. The world economy is in many ways still reeling from the market crash of 2008 and therefore it's noteworthy for Roland to make lower costing products in a time of economic uncertainty. But of course 'middle of road' products (where if you're not careful you might get run over by the competition), have both positive and negative consequences. Sure more people can afford them but what you end up getting may not result in total customer satisfaction and the profit margins are significantly lower for Roland and company. On the other hand, high-end products may cost more but the benefits can, in many cases, exceed a person's expectation. In other words, more advanced features plus a huge assortment of excellent sounds and a superb key action and an overall better build quality that keeps a person on the cutting edge of technology for possibly many years to come.

Roland's new arranger will likely be a nice tool for composing songs. Arrangers can make composition easy and quick and some of the big names in music even use them. I do hope the majority of sounds are better than that introduction though. ;) Time will tell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... xR7Q53Z9hg

[specialplant]

This is what I already posted about the BK-9 yesterday in another thread ('Roland has discontinued its workstations') here:

There seem to be some people with insider information about this BK 9, especially French-speaking:
see this forum:
http://www.audiokeys.net/forum/showthre ... K9-sera-présenté-au-Musikmesse-)/page2?s=91ba05dd7b82b066c53d0b7b8a324cb3

It is supposed to be a 76 key arranger with a double display.

[Jan_nl]

The BK-9 is real indeed, I stumbled across a demo clip on YouTube.

Depending on the price the keyboard has a lot to offer to those who like keyboards, but to state that this will bring Roland back...
Personally I was looking forward to a workstation, or maybe a synth, but somehow I think I better be prepared for the notorious piano bench.

[specialplant]

The BK-9 is real indeed, I stumbled across a demo clip on YouTube.

Depending on the price the keyboard has a lot to offer to those who like keyboards, but to state that this will bring Roland back...
Personally I was looking forward to a workstation, or maybe a synth, but somehow I think I better be prepared for the notorious piano bench.

The video has been removed by the user acc.to youtube. One of these typical teasers, employees revealing things too early and being stopped then...

[Jan_nl]

The BK-9 is real indeed, I stumbled across a demo clip on YouTube.

Depending on the price the keyboard has a lot to offer to those who like keyboards, but to state that this will bring Roland back...
Personally I was looking forward to a workstation, or maybe a synth, but somehow I think I better be prepared for the notorious piano bench.

The video has been removed by the user acc.to youtube. One of these typical teasers, employees revealing things too early and being stopped then...

I don't understand why the video was removed because it featured two songs with the BK-9 and did not reveal too much about the details.
Except that it can sound great as a result of the Supernatural instruments included in the BK-9.

[alex-f.s]

Here is the a sneak preview pic:

http://info.rolandce.com/bk_sneak_preview

[JunoJohn]

Roland has uploaded a second, more detailed video teaser for the BK-9 (or whatever it is).

Roland is BACK! (Part 2)

It appears to have two touch screens.

[Quinnx.]

Its a supernatural aranger...

Borrrrringgggg!!
Yawn!
ZZzzzzzzz

[Jan_nl]

In all fairness, you have to assess this instrument in terms its target group, which is the group that likes to work with keyboards/arrangers, and it probably has a lot to offer in that area.
But to those who were hoping for a workstation it's a disappointment.

How long has it been since the release of the Fantom G, 5+ years?
Then again, IF Roland is developing a workstation I prefer that they take the time to do it right than opt for a premature release.

[specialplant]

I think this new double-display arranger which you can see in the video mirrors what is stated in Roland's latest business reports: they try to get back into the profit zone despite sales continuing to be low and with reduced costs. Obviously, this new arranger takes over components like the display size from models already existing: the display from the BK-5, just built in twice, the organ sliders from the VR-09, the buttons and arranger functions from the BK-7m etc. This way they save costs by combining established components but try to return into the medium-prized arranger market.