Roland A-90

I am here to post again... this keybord should give to Roland their first class action suit because of the terrible design of the key of this keyboard. I have 3 more broken keys after one night playing, I have a total of 5 broken keys in 8 hours of use.

Do not buy this controller unless you want to spend a load of money in broken keys.

It is a bit complex, not too intuitive but it should be complex for the sort of thiongs it does. But a learning curve is require. It is fun once you can controll all your external keyboards and specially the virtual instruments.

The sounds are fine, Roland texture just like the JV series with enough body. I had a JV 80 and JV 8080 and they were a bit weak. The A-90 is good on stage.

Features... a lot of controllers and the capacity to drive external modules on real time on the fly. If you play piano and like to add strings from another module and mix everything on stage this one will do it just fine.

The expansion board that comes with it is very good but the expansion is as good and has more sounds.

Again, the average JV series sound. Shiny, with body. I do not recomend this keyboard if you are into electronic music, it does the job but you would like soft keys. But as a piano.... is great.

The keys get broken inside. I had one broken and when I opened the keyboard to fix it... all the keys were about to breake as well. The plastic inside that balance the key is very fragile, there is a union between the plastic and the weight that is very weak, a bad desing.

Roland is a great as the operator that answer you. No very please, they tend to wash their hands.

Is a great controller to have, actually still the best option in the market. Just have to deal with the broken keays issue. If you were looking for an 88 keyus controller go for it.

Sounds better than my Kawai baby grand hooked up to Klipsch power speaker system. Great action. Easy to use as a piano and could not get better action. Lugging it around is well worth it.

Ability to modify patches with parameter buttons is great. Finally got a midi/audio/usb device and trying to figure out how to get the Midi out and in to work and it is virtually impossible to decipher the manual. In fact you can take out the virtually and I am modestly geeky.

Works great for jazz, classical piano music.

Reliable for cocktail music and classical music at the coffee shop. That's the only gigs I do. Would buy another one just like it if it died because of action and sound.

Unable to get any helpful online advice, so hope one of techy friends can help me figure out how to lay down tracts on sequencer

Using the A-90ex (VE-RD1 expansion card, I think that's what it's called). The piano, bass, organs, and rhodes presetes are good, the strings presets need tweaking, and the synth pads are a little weak. Editing patches is pretty straight forward. Hit the desired parameter button and edit. Roland manuals are notorious for sucking, and this one is no different. ROLAND, YOU MAKE GOOD PRODUCTS, BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE YOUR MANUALS COMPREHENDABLE TO THE AVERAGE MUSICIAN!! Saving settings and working with external midi devices is complicated, and you WILL need the manual for that.

This was my first "real" keyboard, I've had it for about 7 years, and didn't figure out how to "unlock it's potential" as a controller until about 5 years after I bought it. The up-side is that I still find new features to keep me interested in it. If you know a bit about controllers already, this one will be a breeze, but if you're new to electronic music you might want to find something else, or a Roland employee to teach you how to use it to full capacity.

***The keyboard action is incredible.*** It's the main reason I bought it. I have no idea what the polyphony is, because it's never peaked out. Maybe if I tried using 4 voices and hit all the keys at once...
I like the effects. It has chorus and reverb, which each have their own delay. Each effect is assigned to a voice and you can apply as much of the effect as you would like to each voice. The combinations are endless...
It has expansion capabilities for cards and memory. Not great, but it's a freakin controller! Save the memory expansions for a synth! This machine is a monster as far as midi capabilites, it has 4 outs, 2 ins, and a thru. One of the reasons I bought it was that I knew I would never outgrow it, equipment wise. It is intended to be the heart of much larger midi setup, and to that end it is ideal. Has pressure sensitive keys, no on-board sequencer, but controls for and external sequencer. It is a very flexible controller, but has a learning curve, esp. to beginners. Well worth the trouble though.

About 60% of the instruments are realistic. It works well for all types of music as a controller. As a stand-alone piece I would say it's best suited to classical and rock. I believe I just coverd the effects capabilities. As I said before, it reacts FABULOUSLY to playing. When it was released in 97/98 it was the best feeling controller available. It had hammer action. It reacts to velocity and aftertouch quite nicely.

I bought it in 97/98, carted it all around the state, pounded the hell out of the keys, kept in a smoke filled studio and it still works immaculately. One of the pad lights flickers sometimes. I would use this on a gig without a backup, and if it died, the gig would be the least of my worries, as hell had just frozen over.

Roland, if you truly supported your customers, YOU'D MAKE A FREAKIN' MANUAL THAT'S NOT IN COMPLETE GIBBERISH!!!... But I've never contacted them.

If it were lost I would buy another in a heart beat, especially since they're $1100 cheaper now. If I was going to drop 2 g's though I'd buy something more modern. I've played music for about 12 years. I own a digital home studio and have been actively recording bands for one year. I love this keyboard because of the hammer action, midi control capability and the "organic" patches. Saving settings is a pain in the ass, and don't get me started on using the manual. I compared it to the Kurzwiel PC-88mx when I bought it, and this one turned out to be much more reliable and sturdy. I wish the midi devices were not so difficult to initially set up, but alot of that depends on the external equipment. I'm still working on controlling parameters of external devices, but I know it has the capability. It definately helps more than gets in the way of making music. Overall, this thing is a steal for the price, if you can find one.

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The A-90 is a PRO-oriented 88 keys performance master keyboard with a excellent soft-medium hammer action. The MIDI routing and control features makes the A-90 the MIDI core of any keyboard player on a gig.

Working with a PC and a set of virtual intruments (VSTi, DXi) the A-90 is a excellent tool to control all the virtual instruments on you PC on a live performance without put a hand on the PC to change a sound.

Now the A-90 is discontinued, and miss another master keyboard with the MIDI features, elegance and reliability of the A-90.
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First of all, sorry for my bad english. I'm a 32 years old keyboard player, playing with my own band daily on a 5 star holiday hotel resort on the Canary Islands (a spanish islands placed on the North African Atlantic coast, that belong to Spain). I use here the A-90 there since 2 years and a half.

If you are looking for total MIDI control and a medium hammer keyboard action the A-90 is the real thing. The A-90 appeared on 1997 and has not internal sounds, but the A-90EX incluides the VER-DI card with a bundle of pianos and keyboard sounds. The card was 24 Mb, something impressive on that years. I writte this review on 2004, and now if you are looking for great piano sounds, you should consider to buy a external sound source instead upgrade an A-90 to A-90EX. So we'll forget the internal sounds by now, and later I will recommend you some good sound source for pianos based on PC.

The A-90 gives you control up to 8 layers. You can assign each layer to a MIDI channel and to one or more MIDI outputs. Also with the A-90 you can switch, merge, split, velocity split... and combine these LAYERS on so many ways as you want to imagine.

Lots of MIDI IN-OUT Routing! Using the 2 MIDI INPUTS you can play two external Master Keyboard as a extension of the 88 keys of the A-90, using on them the power of the MIDI filtering of the A-90. Amazing! There is also a lot inputs for pedals and footswithes ready to be assigned to any MIDI control or program changue. These external foot controls can be assigned to one or more layers on as many combination as you want. Total control!

After 2-3 hours of practique and a reading the manual, you will find the way to do this. The A-90 is a perfect tool to control huge sets of MIDI modules, or maybe a computer full of virtual instruments.

The user interface is not for begginers, some menus are long and complex, and some functions are very hidden. But there is a lot of direct access buttons that will help you to edit some basic and also advanced functions on a snap. Practice and all will be easy on the stage!

I love the buttoms!!! Are big and pretty, very confortable, like a JD-800. All the buttoms have a bright orange light (except the numerical buttoms). Even the Panic buttom has a light on it! Don't you love it?

The keyboard action is excelent. I feel like play a real piano!

The A-90 HAS NOT A HARD KEYBOARD. It has hammer action but a little soft. My fingers never get tired like other 88 hammer action keyboards I tried (specially Kurzweil and Fatar were too hard for play 2 hours each day). So remember this ... the keys are little soft, but there's hammer action.

The keys are also really solid. Forget your plastic synth keys, you will feel the key weights. The mechanics is the same than the RD series of Roland Electrical pianos.

There is 8 velocity curves. I always felt happy with the default curve and I need no changes. You can assign a different curve to each layer. There is also aftertouch, but I never used it.

I never used the Sequencer control buttoms, but I use the sliders all the time. There is 6 sliders but only five transmit MIDI. The other is the internal volume of the internal expansion board. There is not build in sequencer. Do you need it?

With the numeric pad you can enter any data or recall any of the 64 memories. I never used a memory, I always work switchin on and off layers. To create piano sounds I make several combinations of layers, mixing the acoustic piano of 'The Grand' with a N.I. FM7 DX glassy piano, or a Rhodes from N.I. Elektrik Piano VSTi. Just combining what I need of the 8 layers to create a sound of my choice, just setting up the volumes of each layer on the sliders. But there is hunders of work with the A-90.

The ver-di expansion board sounds were one of the best pianos ever heard on 1997, 98 and lot of top musicians used the A-90 as main piano. These sounds are not for me. There are inside the classical Roland pianos, and some pads, organs. But I recomend to plug the A-90 to any VSTi or DXi giga piano, like 'The Grand'. I tried the popular 'East-west Bossendorfer 290' with the A-90 with a friend's VST-MIDIfied laptop. Our conclussion was Bosendorfer 290 was perfect as classical piano or smooth jazz style, and 'Steinberg The Grand' was perfect for Rock-Pop. 'The Grand' is a dry piano, and B-290 is a wet piano.

Nothing compares to these two virtual pianos. I also tried several Gigapianos for Gigasampler, or the internal sounds of other electrical pianos as P-80 or RD-700, or even the aclaimed Kawai MP-9500 (the Kawai looks really ugly), but personally the real piano is 'Steinberg The Grand' on a Roland A-90.

I own an second hand A-90.

The keyboard external structure looks solid as a rock. All the keys work perfect after years of daily use. No broken keys, as other people report. No 127 velocity values after a lot of abuse. All works great. All the buttoms and functions work perfect. I use a lot the sliders everyday and all continues working right.

Just I have the same problem than the next review with the pitchbend. Please read it on the next review. If I move the pitchbend it doesn't works but changue a bit down the tone. So I think it's a general fault of all the A-90s. It was broken when I brought the keyboard, so I use the pich and modulation wheels instead the pitchbend.

I also have a led on a buttom that doesn't work. Unluckly is the led of the Switch of the Layer-1. It's a very important light because I can not check when layer 1 is on or off. I was using a lot this buttom so i guess when I use a lot a buttom, maybe the led will get broken. Any report out there with problems on the leds on the A-90?

No alarm, it is just one led after lot of intense crazy sessions. So I think the A-90 is totally reliable, even when doing abuse, but not totally perfect as we can see on the problem on the pitchbend.

I would like to fix on the customer support these little things, but I need the A-90 to work. I'm on Canary Islands and there is no customer support here. Is very expensive to send the A-90 to Spain and return back by air these 27 kg+box , so I'll live with these little faults, since the keyboard is totally operating.

The A-90 is my main playing tool. I use also Yamaha CS2x and a CS1X as master keyboards (not as sound source). Why? Just because the 8 rotatory buttons on the Yamaha's transmit MIDI controller. I assign the Yamaha's to a layer an the A-90 that plays N.I. B4 VSTi on the PC, or another layer that is connected to Steinberg Halion, a virtual sampler on the PC with lots of sounds from the Akai and Gigastudio library (Strings, Brass, Pads, Leads, Classic Synths). I love to control the filters and envelopes on the CS2-x buttoms. And I control all this through the A-90.

I brough the A-90 just because I can not find all these MIDI control features on another master keyboard. But I'll like to replace it, just because I get tired of the same keyboard every night during 2 hours. But I found nothing better as MIDI routing keyboard, so I'll continue waiting until something new appear.

Just a little mention to the Kawai MP-9500. If you are looking real hammer action go to the Kawai. Real hammers! and a solid HARRDD REAL keyboard.

The Kawai also has a good MIDI implementation, sliders and 4 layers, but far of the 8 layers and the vaste MIDI posibilities of the A-90.

I love on the A-90:
- Keyboard Action and key's feeling.
- Excelent MIDI routing and MIDI control
- 4 MIDI OUTS
- Lots of Pedal and footswitch inputs.
- Expands their MIDI layering power to external master keyboards.
- It has the best and prettiest buttoms I never found.
- Solid construction, reliable keyboard and nice design and lines.

I miss on the A-90:
- Some more sliders.
- Lots of buttoms but there is no assignable switch buttoms!!! Just switch the 8 layers, switch the 4 MIDI outs and switch portamento & monophonic.
- Easier menus.
- 8 layers is enough but if there is more layers I'll use it.
- As heavy as all the good hammer action keyboards. (27 kg)

Complex professional machine with great sound. I have the EX board.
Presets have 2 dozen pianos - only 5 of them average or better; but those five are magnificent. Other sounds are awesome. After 2 years and of course no manuals or website info. anywhere I still don't use more than a small part of its overall capabilities. Face it - this thing is exteremely complicated if you plan on creating midi or anything more than just playing using 'performance' settings.

Superb polyphony. Maintains sound with mulitude of layers on. Midi settings to PC for midi recording is difficult. Interface with Cakewalk Pro is complicated but works.

Sounds - several are ourt of this world.
Touch is excellent - the best I've ever used.

Very dependable. I gig weekly as my sole keyboard - playing Piano and hammond sounds with some orchestration/strings/vox thrown in - it is robust and reliable (so far). Its very heavy and ungainly, even in a soft case.

I know the guys at the Roland warehouse, where I got it, and even they don't know who to call for help. Basically - with no manual to speak of and no information on any web-site - you are on your own. Luckily for Roland (or me at this point) the keyboard is so well made and has such great touch and sound they get away with virtually terrible information services.

If it was stolen/lost I'd lok at alternatives before going down this road again. Hard to say. It makes great music and meets my needs right now. Geez - I think I'd better get an alarm for my van.
Its a great piece of musical harware though.