From eslawson@juno.com Wed Jan 23 11:50:25 2002
Subject:Re: VK-8 $1495.00

--- In CloneWheel@y..., Mark Z wrote:
>
> >> Too bad they didn't sneak another set of drawbars on there to
> >> directly compete with the CX3.
>
> The retail price definitely would not bee $1495.00 then. It's all
about
> price point in the MI.
>

Good point; I would not have expected them to give us 2 sets of 9s
for a street price of $1495 (I am assuming the MSRP is around $1995),
but would have still been interested if the street price came in
around $1700-1800 with 2 sets, which would be a speculatory MSRP
increase of $400-500. If Roland really wants to get serious and go
toe to toe with the CX3, why not go the distance with a little bit
higher price than the current VK-8 and add better features?

Who knows...maybe the VK-8 is dripping with personality and would
meet the requirements for many clone players. Heck, with the XK2 I
am using essentially the same box with Hammond innards...if the VK-8
has better tone and Leslie FX, I would consider upgrading and would
not lose too much money in the tranlation. In other words, trading
from the XK2 to the VK8 is more incremental than jumping right to the
CX3...which is what I will likely do in any event. But I remain
curious to check out this VK8 before making a final decision.

Right now the older VK7 is tugging at my wallet saying "Hey man, I'm
only $999! Buy me! Please! I promise you'll like me!" Like I said
a couple of days ago, the water is getting muddy in the pro clone
market, with the prices dropping on Roland, Korg and Clavia along
with the newer products at NAMM. It is fun to drool over them all.
Clone watching is a cool hobby in its own right. Playing clones and
other keyboards is even more fun. I love it all.

Regards,
Eric