New EXR-5 and EXR-3 Arranger Keyboards from Roland

EXR-3 (Click for a close-up)

EXR-3 Rear Panel (Click for a close-up)

EXR-5 (Click for a close-up)

EXR-5 Rear Panel (Click for a close-up)

At the 2004 Winter NAMM show, Roland announced the EXR-5 and EXR-3 Interactive Arrangers. These 61-note keyboards sport the latest sounds, 64-voice polyphony, and over 100 music styles with Roland's "Cover" function for realtime orchestration, along with powerful onboard speakers, USB and V-LINK video control.

The EXR-Series boasts a range of tones taken from Roland's sound library. These include stereo-sampled piano sounds, brass, strings, organ, bass and more--playable with 64-voice polyphony. The sound engine also includes tone maps compatible with GM2/GS/XG-format songs. And of course, these keyboards are easy to use: the large LCD display keeps everything at a glance, while dedicated buttons and a numeric keypad make selecting sounds and styles a snap.

The professional arranger features 100 music styles recorded by professional musicians, giving the EXR-Series rich and realistic styles in a variety of music genres. Variations can be created with the Style Orchestrator, while Standard MIDI Files can be re-arranged in real time using preset "Covers." Both models also sport Flash memory for loading in new songs and styles. The User memory has room for up to 99 new styles and 99 songs (1.5MB total), which can be loaded in via the built-in USB port (the EXR-5 model also has a floppy drive). And with Roland's V-LINK technology, it's easy to integrate exciting visuals with the music.

Both the EXR-5 and EXR-3 come with speaker systems with improved low end via new Digital Bass Enhancer technology. The EXR-5 goes even further with a Bass Reflex cabinet. Connections include a stereo 1/4-inch Line output, two stereo 1/4-inch Headphones jacks, a Sustain pedal jack, MIDI In and Out, and USB.

MSRP:

• EXR-3: $595
• EXR-5: $795