From BenWaB3@aol.com Sat Apr 26 20:42:38 2003
Subject:Roland VK-7's & 8's - Comparisons & Questions


I had a chance to test out the VK-8 for a little while today. I used to own a
VK-77 but sold it w/in the last year so will have to go on memory in the
comparison. I really liked the 77 as a MIDI controller. For my purposes it
was really versatile controller; from what I can discern from fellow list
member's posts it should be much better than the BX-3 in that regard. However
it did have one flaw (IMO anyway) that I couldn't program out of it which was
the final factor in deciding to sell it. We'll get back to that later. As
far as the environment, I had to listen through headphones exclusively. There
was some sort of mass piano rehearsal going on in the store w/ about 15-20
grade & middle-schoolers playing simultaneously at any given time. Kinda gave
the whole place an "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" type of vibe. Anyway, all
observations have to be tempered through the headphones factor.

Certain parameters on the VK-8 seemed to work more efficiently as far as
range of change. Maybe it was just the unit I got but many of the different
choices on the 77 seemed to only bring out the subtlest of changes. The 3
vintages of keys on the 77 had some difference in the basic sound but nothing
compared to the 8. Also certain things change a lot more on the 8 in that
regard. With Vintage 2 tonewheels (early 60's) the chorus level automatically
drops way down. Ch.-3 is about as pronounced as ch.-1 on the other 2
vintages. The chorus doesn't sound as artificial in the upper range as w/ the
77. On the downside for the 8, if you flicked your finger on the edge of the
key it would double trigger badly as the key bounced up. Overall though it
seemed like the differences in the individual parameter sections were more
overt and you could get much more varied basic organ sounds w/ the 8 than w/
the 77.

One question for those of you who have the 8: Is the brightness control some
sort of sweepable band boost filter? That control wasn't on the 77. My main
problem w/ the 77 was that there was an annoying resonance in the medium to
upper midrange. I tried to program that out every way I could but it still
remained. Like I said, it could have just been the unit I had. I seem to
attract any defective units for some reason. Must still have a lot of karma
to work off. Anyway, with the brightness control on the 8 that resonance is
there w/ the knob in the center position but it goes away as you turn the
knob far enough either way. If the 77 had had that I'd probably still happily
own it. It had (as I recall) a setting for bright, mellow & something else
(mid-boost I think). But the differences were much more subtle & the
resonance still remained on all 3 settings.

Some othjer questions for the 8 owners would be: Are there certain parameters
that you can still set even though they don't have thier own dedicated
buttons & knobs on the panel, such as key click & the volume level of the
normal & soft precussions. Also if you're switching between patches can you
program the unit to maintain the Leslie speed from the previous patch, or do
you need to toggle it all over again once you've made the switch? I seem to
recall the 77 giving you that option.

Overall I thought the 8 was an improvement over the 7. Some people have
stated that they still prefer the 7, so it just proves the mileage may vary
maxim. But if any of you 7 or 8 owners would care to add your comments,
whether agreeing or disagreeing w/ my observations, it would be most welcome.
Thanks.

Ben Ninmann

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