From billw_va@yahoo.com Fri Oct 22 06:55:50 2004
Subject:Re: Keyboard mag Clone shootout?


I'm not a big fan of the Keyboard reviews either. They have
a "corporate money" smell to them that I don't like. On the other
hand, it is really hard to get your hands on the clones to test them
out. I live in the Washington DC area. There are three Guitar
Centers and a local music store (all within 30 minutes of me), and
NONE of them carry these products on a regular basis. I've never
seen a VK-8, CX-3, or Nord Electro anywhere. One of the GCs has an
XK-3 hooked up to an entry level Roland keyboard amp (mono), so you
can't really get a feel for the "sound" from that arrangement
(especially when there are a handful of non-musicians beating on the
Motifs and Tritons at full volume).

I'm a Keyboard subscriber but I haven't received my November issue
yet. I'm guessing the VK-8 was either ignored or panned because
nobody who has read the shootout is mentioning it. I've owned the VK-
7, VK-8, and VK-8M and have gotten very good results from all of them
(in fact, I have a 2nd VK-8 on order). The Nord does sound great,
but I guess I'm surprised that it was held in such high esteem. I
use the VK to play live. I want everything in one box. I want real
drawbars. I don't want to haul a Leslie (or any of the myriad of
clones of that device) around, and I don't want to HAVE to carry an
outboard reverb (as would be the case with the Electro).

As Thomas has pointed out on more than on occasion, it takes some
tweaking to get the most out of the VK. If Keyboard did indeed shun
Roland, then it's a shame.

> This takes time, and time I guess, would be at a premium in a
> shootout.
> Thomas.