Again... wow.
More "repayable-down-the-track" statements that could make you look like an ass (as in "donkey), lol. It can't be all that bad, bro', surely?
You keep talking about derivative, "redux" models, but in essence that's all we're hoping for with an INTEGRA-7 follow-up. I mean, and I'll try to include the most obvious possibilities here, the ability to load all sounds at once, more outputs / MIDI channels / polyphony, a bigger screen, updated (taken from other Roland gear) FX algorithms such as a Vocoder and better reverb, enhanced as well as "simplified" MIDI CC functionality and perhaps soft keys involve nothing new. Nothing at all. Little R&D required there. Heck, you even mentioned an update specifically, which 'though it mightn't have set the world ablaze, was an update nevertheless:
lol wrote:Even the RD-800 was a slight upgrade from RD-700 series...
lol wrote:Besides, I should add, if they really did have a strong R&D dept at the moment...
Irrelevant. It's obvious "strong" R&D isn't required for an update to this model. All I (and I assume others) are hoping for is more of the same, really. Just more crammed into the box.
lol wrote:They're telling you, the market to conquer is now China, only place in the world with a strong middle class growth. Redux models, entry level gears, affordable goods, that's what they'll be designing for now.
... and making a sweet killing from that market alone. Still you claim there'd be no capital for R&D? Ridiculous, and as stated, there's no (significant) R&D requirement for an INTEGRA update.
lol wrote:... shouldn't they be able to offer fixes and long overdue updates to their current product lines, for issues and missing options/functions people keep complaining about? Someone was asking about the possibility to edit the cc numbers on the Integra-7, that kind of fixes, do we see them coming? No we don't...
Well, if there's ever going to be a follow-up model, it's good business practice to withhold as much of that stuff as you can get away with; all the more reason to upgrade. They
have been getting away with it of course; sales figures confirm this.
lol wrote:... and the reason to that is very crude : the development teams are gone with the wind, Roland is like an empty shell right now, plenty of old merchandise to sell, hardly enough spirit remaining to play the mere illusion of business as usual...
I suspect my explanation is closer to the truth. All those empty suits rocking up to work hard for Roland every day would be shocked to learn that they're merely creating an illusion for an empty shell.
Mate, your faith in Roland is underwhelming to say the least.
lol wrote:... either you're too young to know, or too naive...
Before you jump to conclusions as to our collective naivety and ages, best perhaps to think about what it is we're hoping for. We're not anticipating ground-breaking strides with a new INTEGRA. Dare I say it again, but simply more of the same. Expanded. More powerful, but still "merely" an INTEGRA. Oh, and whilst I can't speak for others, I'm certainly not too young, brother. I like to think that the many-lifetimes' worth of pain and suffering I've crammed into 50 years hasn't been for nicks... and it hasn't. I see no harm in continuing to hope for the best. Nobody's going to die if a new model doesn't come to fruition, but giving up hope only makes for a more desolate existence IMHO. I mean, if there's a possibility your favourite piece of gear will be improved, acknowledging this surely can't do any harm, right? Will
you acknowledge that it's a possibility? It seems not.
lol wrote:But dream on, dream on...
Thank you for the encouragement, lol. I certainly will, and so too will some others.
I took the liberty of speaking on behalf of all those who'd like to see an updated model. I did my best to represent you folks; sorry if I've not done so accurately or fairly.