Roland Classic Keyboards at MIAC

[arie v]

Hi.

A week ago the MIAC/PAL show was on in Toronto. For the uninitiated it is the music trades show for Canada. Because just the music show is so small, they twin it with the Power and Lighting (PAL) show. I have been going to MIAC since the early 80s. Lately I have been going maybe once every 3 years.

It is interesting how things have changed. Power and Lighting dominated the show. Also Yamaha and Roland were the two giants on display, and they were in both sides of the show.

A few observations. There were no acoustic pianos there at all. NONE. There were only a few digital pianos on display, and all but three was either a Yamaha or a Roland. Sign of the times perhaps. Trying to sell pianos part-time, I know that sales are slim these days.

What surprised me though, was in a separate room, Roland was displaying some digital pianos including the new V-Grand, and the Roland Classic keyboards, which consist of a Harpsichord (C-30) and some organs (C-230, C-380, C-200) I'm not sure how many attendees would have been interested in these instruments, but I do find them interesting. These instruments are different than what anyone else makes. My guess is these instruments are not marketed as profit making products, but rather from a creative point of view. I have seen the harpsichord a few times, and it is the star of the bunch. It sounds really good.

Anyways, not much else was interesting to me.

AV

[jdoc]

Let me know next time the show is on. Is it open to the public? I am in the GTA almost weekly.
Thanks Joe

[nullogik]

What surprised me though, was in a separate room, Roland was displaying some digital pianos including the new V-Grand, and the Roland Classic keyboards, which consist of a Harpsichord (C-30) and some organs (C-230, C-380, C-200) I'm not sure how many attendees would have been interested in these instruments, but I do find them interesting.
AV

Here is a link showing Hector Olivera demoing the new C200 keyboard:

[arie v]

Joe,

The MIAC is really a trade show, in other words it is for business folks, for manufacturers and distributors to come in contact with dealers and re-sellers.

You can get in if sponsored by a dealer/retailer. So you have to have friends in the music business. It is free to get in, but parking cost is high, and a hot dog on a soggy bun with a drink to wash it down is $7.00.

AV

[arie v]

Hi Nullogik,

Thanks for the link. I think Hector Olivera was part of the design team, like he is for that whole line. He is the right guy to demonstrate it.

I didn't hear anything in the C-200 that made me say WOW!. The individual organ sounds were not bad, the ensemble had a very electronic/digital feel to them. The reverb sounded somewhat like a tin can delay line. The orchestral sounds were typical Roland, which means they are very good indeed. In concept this unit is similar to the C-190. At this point I think it is still in prototype stage, but should be available sometime this summer. Selling price in Canada around $2,000.

The C-230 was also there. Said to be a higher quality instrument than the C-200. Very small and compact, 5 octaves, some organ stops, and harpsichord. I cared less for this unit than the C-200. Had a sub-woofer hooked up to it. Sound in the bass was ill-defined, and the treble very electronic. The reverb again was obtrusive and thin sounding. With better speakers I think this unit would sound better. Selling price in Canada approx. $3,000

The C-30 harpsichord is really quite nice. Why it sounds better than the 2 above mentioned instruments I can't say, but it strikes me as having a realistic harpsichord sound. Also the organ sounds were nice. Maybe the speakers in it are better, I don't know. If I remember correctly, this unit sells for around $4,000.

The C-380 is a variant of the C-330, a 2 manual and pedal, small profile organ. The C-330 is quite popular these days, and the C-380 builds on that. The C-380 adds a roll top, and some pistons. The sound is again quite nice on the individual voices, but gets congested sounding when many stops are added. Again, the Rodgers/Roland folks added a sub-woofer to demonstrate the organ, in particular 32' stops. You say, why a 32' stop on such a small organ. Good question, but there are a number of 32' stops on board as MIDI sounds. Looks like they put in a good portion of the MX-200 expander in this organ. So there are lots of extra organ sounds as well as orchestral sounds. This organ has 2 channels, and the speakers are small, the woofer being 8". There are also 2 satellite speakers which were supposed to do reverb, and they look to be maybe 4" drivers. The overall sound I would say was good, but not revolutionary. I think with better speakers, and forgetting about the sub-woofer and 32' sounds, the organ would sound better. The reverb again was noticeable and thin sounding. The C-330 and C-380 are made in Italy. There is a Rodgers variant numbered 558 and 568 which have AGO pedalboards, more MIDI sounds and some other goodies. These organs sound much better than the low end Rodgers used to, and I take it the reason for the success of these instruments is because of the sound.
C-330 price in Canada about $14,000 and C-380 about $18,000. These instruments are multi-taskers, in other words they can sound like a classical organ, an orchestra, a gospel organ, a pop organ, theatre organ, or a combination thereof. Very interesting from a versatility point of view.

In the same room, they showed the new V-grand digital piano, which uses physical modelling for it's tone generation. Nice instrument indeed. Problem is the price. At $20,000, one can get a nice grand piano, so my guess is it will only sell in very, very low quantities.

I have to hand it to Roland for bringing these sort of unusual products to market. I'm sure Roland does not butter their bread building this kind of stuff, but they do supply a niche market with instruments that otherwise they couldn't get.

AV

[radagast]

Hi Nullogik,

Thanks for the link. I think Hector Olivera was part of the design team, like he is for that whole line. He is the right guy to demonstrate it.

I didn't hear anything in the C-200 that made me say WOW!. The individual organ sounds were not bad, the ensemble had a very electronic/digital feel to them. The reverb sounded somewhat like a tin can delay line. The orchestral sounds were typical Roland, which means they are very good indeed. In concept this unit is similar to the C-190. At this point I think it is still in prototype stage, but should be available sometime this summer. Selling price in Canada around $2,000.

AV

I have seen some demo videos, on Youtube, of Hector on the C-200 and I thought it sounded pretty good, especially full organ sounds. It was played in a church so it had the advantage of natural reverb. The horn sound he used with the organ sounded fairly realistic. It made me wonder if it was using Roland's "Supernatural" technology. Another video on Youtube at the location had him playing Largo with string celestes. I thought that sounded pretty good too. If I were in the market for a one manual digital organ, I would choose that over Viscount or Ahlborn's models.

The C-200 seems to be very similar to the C-190. I wonder what the differences are?

[Bejoy Thomas]

The Roland C-200, our new Organ, a worthy instrument for a church choir. Its sampled sounds of pipe organ makes the mass congregational singing a heavenly experience. This is an affordable 76 key organ of digital pipe organ category. It easily lets you simulate dual-manual performance via programmable keyboard split points and zones. For additional performance flexibility, an optional pedalboard can be added. Wide key range for the Fortepiano and Piano sounds. It has Internal Orchestral sounds for Pedal, Manual I and Manual II. The C-200 has 60 sumptuous organ sounds that include all the major tonal families, including rich pedal stops to round out any registration. Explore the 24 orchestral voices for evocative arrangements with oboe, trumpet, harp, strings and chimes. The C-200 is the ideal instrument for classical music students, small choirs, and intimate churches, chapels, concert halls, and theatres.

- - - Updated - - -

[Bejoy Thomas]

Watch these videos. Its our C-200 sounds...
Links -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPn_jbANs64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2-BTtfNhh8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDBYz47PJbw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S0k-aSlHFw