Members Nightsynth Posted November 11, 2008 Members Share Posted November 11, 2008 I'm looking to get a 76 note controller for a more portable option vs. lugging my A-80 around. I'm leaning toward the A-50 because it's the same thing as the A-80 basically. But, I wanted to see if there are any opinions on the A-70 that would suggest differently (internal sound expansion capability is not of interest really). Basically, is the A-70 a POS, or is it a worthy A-50/80 quality controller? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pilotwings Posted November 12, 2008 Members Share Posted November 12, 2008 I currently use a Roland A-70 as my main keyboard & love it. Although it has an expansion card in it which is comparable in sound quality to a Roland Sound Canvas, I don't hook up the audio outs on it and use it only as a controller keyboard. I'm a synth player and the keyboard is a joy to play. Years ago I bought a brand new A-50 keyboard to use as a master controller and returned it after a couple weeks due to a problem/compatibility issue I had using it in conjunction with my Roland MC-500mkII sequencer, samplers & sound modules. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly what the problem was ('cause it was such a long time ago), but I do remember speaking with Roland support at the time, & they were unable to solve the issue so I returned it. Both instruments are out of production now and the A-70 is the newer of the two... If the A-50 had worked for me years ago I'd probably still have it today, but speaking from experience, my advice to you would be to find an A-70 in good condition and go for that. The A-70 keys are similar to the Fantom X7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Aanalogaddict Posted November 12, 2008 Members Share Posted November 12, 2008 The A-70/90 series are great controllers. I have both an A-70 and an A-50, and I always found the editing a bit backwards on the A-50. Both are rare these days, and IIRC there's more spare parts around for the 70/90, so I'd get an A-70 if I were you. The only modern controllers that rival the Roland A series are IMO the Kurzweil PC3 series, and they have great built-in sounds too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nightsynth Posted November 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 14, 2008 In your experience, having played both, does the A-70 feel as solid as the A-50? Does the A-70 have a metal chassis? Is the aftertouch response decent on the A-70? How 'bout the poly AT on the A-50? With my A-80, poly AT is cool but pretty much unuseable because you have to basically stand on the thing to get it to respond. Is this the case with the A-50 as well? Would you say the A-70 AT is more responsive? Is the key action similar between the A-50 and A-70? I've played an A-90 and was pleased with the overall quality and feel of that board. Is the A-70 comparalbe quality wise to the A-90 as the A-50 is to the A-80? Sorry so many questions. Thanks for your opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Aanalogaddict Posted November 14, 2008 Members Share Posted November 14, 2008 Sorry so many questions. Thanks for your opinions. No problemo, hope it helps! I've actually sold my two A-90:s and bought a PC3X, the next logical step would be selling the A-70 and A-50 (after fixing it) to get a PC3 (76). The A series were king of the hill for many years, but the new Kurzes trump them in every way. Which they should, the A-90 was released in 1996 IIRC... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nightsynth Posted November 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted November 14, 2008 What's wrong with your A-50? If you decide to sell it, let me know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Aanalogaddict Posted November 14, 2008 Members Share Posted November 14, 2008 Thanks, but I'm in Europe... It's the rubber thingy undeneath the keybed. I suddenly started losing velocity from a key, and it turned out the rubber was getting old. I bought a new one, never got around to installing it, and a few months ago it was stolen from our storage (along with the spares for my Rhodes, aaaaaaargh!!!). And now it's sitting idle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrT-Man Posted November 23, 2008 Members Share Posted November 23, 2008 How do the A-50 and A-70 compare to the A-33 and A-37? I mean, with respect to the action & keybed, I don't really care too much about other features. I have an A-33 I'm very happy with, though I could use another 76 key controller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CTB Posted November 25, 2008 Members Share Posted November 25, 2008 I have an A-50. You need to hit the keys with a hammer to get the AT to respond in many cases. I believe this is partly due to the age of the unit as well as "that's the way they are." Some of the keys respond better than others, which must come from age, but even the good ones require high pressure to respond. If you like a light touch on the AT, you might want to look elsewhere. I haven't played a Roland that didn't have AT that acted like this. Also, A-50's have LCD's that grow dark with time. I installed a new one from Telesis in mine, and it was definitely better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.