Proof that Roland are indeed insane.

[bochelli]

We are back releasing gear no one asked for or wanted comes to mind .. Memorymoog blows that shite away on one key note.

Ah the Memorymoog. Releasing that sure did some things for the profitability of moog music didn't it?

The memorymoog will continue to be discussed on forums still in 20 years time, this offering from Roland will be well dead and buried before then if not by xmas

[volumetrik]

No I'm not saying that. But as pointed out earlier, that list= 12 sales. Conversely, Roland is a high volume seller.

At what point does something sell best? if say their wedding keyboards sells 100,000 units and an analog synth sells 30,000 units does that mean its not a success its just bullshit and should not go into that business?

That depends on the size of the company. There is a wide range from Cwejman to Roland and all sizes in between. Each caters to a demographic and works their business model to make money. Which is why it's pointless to get annoyed with Roland. There's something to suit everyone these days.

Thanks for the pdf, very interesting. Where did you find it? So the new guy was in charge of the "Classic Project" in 2007. Obviously he done good. More Junos and Jupiters then!

bit one dimensional?

Tiesto Facebook 14+ million likes
Deadmau5 7+ million likes

you would imagine quite a bit of those people like to make tracks with hardware?

[tekkentool]

The memorymoog will continue to be discussed on forums still in 20 years time, this offering from Roland will be well dead and buried before then if not by xmas

Nah the memorymoogs will all be dead by then. We'll be discussing how phat Microkorgs are by then

[Dr. Phibes]

Because new= reliable and they can afford to pay for it. Because they're actually professional musicians i.e. earning money from music. And lastly the majority of shops (that I have seen in Ireland and Spain) stock them because that is what sells best.

I understand what you are saying, but I don't think professional event musicians are necessarily more willing to replace an expensive keyboard if the demands of the job don't call for it. We've had decent enough piano + electric organ emulations for years. The second hand market is awash with what was a 'revolution in sound' 3 or 4 years ago. When you fork out for something like this you don't even have the consolation many of us on this board have when buying an old synth, i.e. at least I can sell it for what I paid for it.

And yet all of this might be excusable if Roland had products that were truly impressive, but that's the problem - they're not. Although I may not be in the target demographic (although I do play piano a lot more than I play synth), Roland's boards just seem so prosaic when contrasted along the side the offerings of other manufacturers like Clavia Nord.

Yes, ok, we may be beating a dead horse when we whinge about Roland on a vintage synth forum, but Roland does have a serious image problem now and it is largely their own doing. The fact that relatively niche enthusiasts such as ourselves can be a bit snooty doesn't exculpate Roland. They've been treating their customers like dupes and people soon catch on to such tactics.

[Hybrid88]

Some more reading...

http://www.roland.com/ir/financial.html

http://www.roland.com/ir/strategic.html

[Hybrid88]

...They've been treating the customers like dupes and people soon catch on to such tactics.

Exactly, image is a big thing when it comes to big brands and they've done theirs no good at all.

[bochelli]

The memorymoog will continue to be discussed on forums still in 20 years time, this offering from Roland will be well dead and buried before then if not by xmas

Nah the memorymoogs will all be dead by then. We'll be discussing how phat Microkorgs are by then

i thought those toys were already buried

[bochelli]

Im not sure what Roland actually want i assume they have money to develop and trial products, perhaps a time out of the loop for them and go away and think of something worth investing in, nothing will ever be lost in talking to people the consumer, treating people like they have just learned what a keyboard is will come with a penalty, and the world is becoming ever increasing competitive to play silly.

[tekkentool]

i thought those toys were already buried

Heard more microkorgs on good tracks recently than I've heard memorymoogs that's for sure.

[madmarkmagee]

Look the

The memorymoog will continue to be discussed on forums still in 20 years time, this offering from Roland will be well dead and buried before then if not by xmas

Nah the memorymoogs will all be dead by then. We'll be discussing how phat Microkorgs are by then

Haha

Another "Roland is going down the tube" thread...

Look this VH VR 670 isn't that bad... My understanding is that it is a VA, a limited rompler and a drawbar organ all in one...

Yea sure it isn't particularly interesting or original, but if I was your vanilla blues/ progrock keyboardist, and I walked into my local music store looking for a new keyboard, cause my old one got dropped and is now in lots of pieces, I may hypothetically buy one...

There's nothing new about the fact that Roland is losing money. I don't think you can solely blame that on the fact that Roland hasn't been making synths for synth nerds like us....

Hardware keyboards are only one small thing that company makes....

"MAKE ME A NEW JUPITER 8 BLAHHHHHH!!!!!!", scream the cashless hipsters...

[madmarkmagee]

Like how come when korg releases an organ keyboard like the SV-1, people aren't frothing at the mouth?

Companies target demographics. Roland builds romplers for vanilla consumers atm... Who else make 700 dollar uber romplers? No one, so they have a monopoly over that market... That is appealing, they are a business...

[balma]

cool!

[Hybrid88]

There's nothing new about the fact that Roland is losing money. I don't think you can solely blame that on the fact that Roland hasn't been making synths for synth nerds like us....

No, but the lack of coming up with anything innovative might have something to do with it

...they are a business...

Yes, one currently losing money.

[Stab Frenzy]

We are back releasing gear no one asked for or wanted comes to mind .. Memorymoog blows that shite away on one key note.

Ah the Memorymoog. Releasing that sure did some things for the profitability of moog music didn't it?

The memorymoog will continue to be discussed on forums still in 20 years time, this offering from Roland will be well dead and buried before then if not by xmas

Discussing a synth online does absolutely nothing for a company's bottom line, and the bottom line is what Roland are concerned about at the moment. The Memorymoog came onto the market as a big, heavy, unreliable relic from the past which pushed the company over the edge into insolvency, it's a prime example of what not to do if you're a music instrument company. A more recent example is the Alesis Andromeda. Talked about a lot on forums and now sell for more than they cost new, but Alesis don't see a cent from that.

[Hybrid88]

Talking of innovation, I would love to see the sales data of the original V-Synth and the Jupiter-80 just to compare.