From hammonddave2004@yahoo.com Mon May 11 07:11:07 2015
Subject:Re: First "gig" with the VR-09

Bruce and I were around when clones first started to be introduced into the market. As players we were surprised with the seemingly dismissal of waterfall keys from the manufacturers. They incorporated diving board keys that were clearly not authentic to a Hammond console. It was not until the XB2 that true waterfall keys made their clone introduction. Having a decent keyboard was a mark of acceptance for us Hammond players.

Other benchmarks came and went. Some of them still have not been met by the manufacturers. IMHO some have hit the C/V benchmark, some are close on the Leslie sim, some are going the wrong way with their drawbar design, and some have gone too far with their weight benchmark.

My point being is when we see manufacturers heading the wrong direction, we veterans of the clone wars get pretty riled up. The VR09 entered our world and many of us reacted somewhat harshly. My first reaction to the Roland rep when I played it at NAMM was. "What? A rickety diving board keyboard"? What are you guys thinking?" I was shaking my fist at the clouds as I exited the Roland booth. It was not until a few weeks later that I discovered the other compromises that Roland designed into that board.

People like Craig made the point that this was not just a clone, it was an inexpensive jack of all trades keyboard. Roland obviously made a very successful decision in producing such an instrument. So yes, it is a very good product and instrument for those who desire this function from it. But to compare it to a dedicated Hammond clone is unfair to the VR09. It was not designed to be just a Hammond clone, and its limitations and compromises (insignificant to some, critical to others) cripple it in comparison.

David

> On May 11, 2015, at 6:37 AM, ccmacdon@rogers.com [CloneWheel] wrote:
>
> Bruce, you are absolutely right on this point.. we clonewheelers tend to look at this as a clone (although some take exception to that based on it's lack of waterfall keyboard and perc going through the CV), but the VR-09 is definitely not designed to solely be a Hammond clone.. This is obvious not just when you look at it's sound capabilities (ie, drawbar organ, sample player, virtual analog synth) but especially when you consider the drum sounds/sequences, effects section and all of it's "looper" capabilities!