What do you expect to see Nord release at NAMM?

[Bertotti]

Did you watch the vid? Funny it says " does an honest days work and won't put you in the red"

Black with a slightly similar look to kronos laid out sorta like the stage 2. 09 in the name of the synth. You just have to love the marketing guys trying to cash in everyway they can.

[Mr_-G-]

Did you watch the vid? Funny it says " does an honest days work and won't put you in the red"

Yes, I wondered about that awful punch line...
Anyway, too bad, I already have the red one!

The price is attractive (£739)
http://www.andertons.co.uk/stage-pianos ... yboard.asp

and so is the weight (5kg!), but until trying one you just can't tell... there is very little information.

[Rusty Mike]

I see this new Roland more as a competitor/upgrade to the Korg PS60 or maybe even the new Yamaha MX keyboard. Simple to use, small, lightweight with a subset of sounds from flagship products. I certainly don't see it as an Electro competitor - not even close. It can't possibly match the build quality for that price.

Remember also that Nord's "low end" line (Electro) uses the exact same sound library as the flagship product - there is absolutely no compromise in sound quality. The "Big 3" don't practice that way.

I think there is a lot of appeal of the VR-09 as a starter keyboard for a young person, or possibly someone playing a simple bar gig. But I can't imagine that many people like that are looking at new Electros. And personally, I think a used Electro 2 still has better organ and piano sounds compared to the introductory Roland video. But it cannot manipulate the sounds like the VR-09, which may have a lot of appeal for people who are into that sort of thing. The other added feature is what looks like a semi-capable synth engine.

If my teenager had a garage band, the VR-09 would be a contender.

[Bertotti]

Couple more good vids of the Roland vr09 on you tube now. Honestly I like it but I still think The NS2 sounds better. I don't see it stealing away potential Nord sales but it will get people who can't afford Nord. I still think Roland did a good job with this. All depends on bugs and reliability now.

[Cbas]

Did you watch the vid? Funny it says " does an honest days work and won't put you in the red"

Yes, I wondered about that awful punch line...
Anyway, too bad, I already have the red one!

Hahaha. I noticed the same. A small hint to those that kinda want an Electro, but don't like Clavia.
I still prefer "The Red" though. The organ sound from the video didn't impress me at all compared to the Electro/stage organ.

[Bertotti]

If you think the reference of going in the red is funny you should see the other teaser vid where the guy counts to five to show how quick it boots up! Lol


I just checked the on line shop sweetwater they have it priced at 999$ US. Really not to bad. I think considering the sounds and implementation that it didn't cost much to design and produce. I could be wrong but it seems like a possible profit generator for them. I am curious just what Nord will show us, actually it is driving me nuts! I'm still on the fence over which synth myself Stage2 or Kronos. I prefer the organs and pianos over the K but the features of the K are very tempting. I will have both which comes first os the dilema, NAMM may help me decide I hope.I also think both boards will be improved upon very shortly if not this NAMM within the next 18 months. Here's to an exciting NAMM and a lot more teaser videos. I think the sub phatty is priced the same as the vr-09. Also a very cool new addition!

[Mr_-G-]

I think that Rusty Mike's comment is spot on, they might be trying to fill a gap: those interested in a NS but not able to afford it. This is something that Nord is not targeting at the moment, so it might work for Roland.
The synth looks interesting, although does it support multi samples?
And what about polyphony?

[Gustavo]

The Roland looks like a poor mans Electro. But considering that its the same price as the Krome or the MOX, if I was a professional musician I'd get tone of those instead of the Roland (or try to look for a used Electro).

To me it looks like they are trying to refresh themselves, letting the workstation concept behind. You can see this in their top of the line Jupiter-80, its a great keyboard but they seem more performance oriented rather than studio. A bold move, let's see how that turns out in the end.

[jazzystu]

I don't think it's even a contender to go up against the Kord SV-1. It's a keyboard with a couple of nord-ish features.

I was expecting to see a major player introduce something to go up against the stage, but this has yet to happen.

When it does, it will result in Nord pulling more of their tricks out of the hat at once. As a consumer, I'd rather Nord got on and introduced their Stage 10 EX Squared early in order to keep the market the Yamaha Doitall P1000000000 takes!

[Darren]

Well unless they're holding something back, there doesn't appear to be any game changing new product this year judging by this photo at least: http://m.matrixsynth.com/2013/01/namm-2 ... +Atom)&m=1

Looks like it's all about pushing the already released E4?