The announcement of the Roland VR-09 - the latest in the V-Combo line from Roland didn't really rock my world, but several people have commented on the need for a reasonably priced "meat and potatos" keyboard for working or gigging keyboard players, which the VR-09 is squarely aimed at.
Little known Roland fact - Mr Kakehashi, the founder and CEO of Roland Japan, prior to his Roland days, was MD of Hammond Organs in Japan and when Roland was first formed, the VK-09 was one of the early products - a drawbar organ.
The VR-09 also features an Organ drawbar section to compliment the Piano and Synth Sections - but what's most apparent is the amount of creative control afforded by the 7 performance effects.
I'll let Roland UK's Gareth Bowen take you through the featues of the VR-09, with its 128-note polyphony and a street price of just over 700 quid, it weighs a mere 5KG.
Available April 2013
Older Music Machines & the People Who Still Use Them