Roland VK-7

Very intuitive, easy to use. I'm "technologically challenged" and there is nothing I cannot do in terms of editing with this board. The editing is easy, and because of that, you can customize your ideal organ sound in seconds.

Fantastic features. None of the new clones offer such a variety of amp types that the vk-7 has. Classic 122-147 rotary type amps, marshall stack type amps, combos of a stack through a rotary..i.e. .all of the "historical" hammond setups that have existed over the years are here and can be tweaked as needed. Great control of the rotary specs, chorus/vib, keyclick, leakage. Here is why the vk-7 (to me) is a much better clone than the new xk-3c. The vk-7 offers you just enough tweakbility without causing you to have a headache wheras the xk-3c offers way too many parameters with far too much detail. "Dammit Jim I'm a keyboard player, not a sound engineer!!!" I prefer the diving board "synth" keys. (like an L100) I am a very melodic "notey" type lead player (i.e. Hudson style) Sure, palm sweeps and glisses are a bit different with these keys, but the action and shape open up a whole world of melodic possibilities that are actually much more difficult to realize with waterfall keys.

The best, and still the best sounding clone out there for rock music. I'm sure many jazz organists will prefer the newer clones, (there is a world beyond Jimmy Smith's registrations!) but for rock and roll organ, there is no better keyboard. (i.e. ELP, deep purple, Bloomfiedl/Kooper, Uriah heep etc.) The "screaming" upper octaves which have been critiqued by some is precisely the reason why so many rock keyboard players still prefer this board. Bottom line: it cuts. The amp simulations are natural, warm and gritty. They drive in just the same way a b-3/leslie combo does with the pedal. I have done major label organ sessions with the internal leslie sim and have never once been questioned as to whether I used a real leslie. Best sounding clone. In 12 years of clone technology we have moved in circles, but not necessarily forward. I think it's great that there are so many manufacturers in the game, but Roland (once called Acetone) actually have the longest history making hammond substitutes. It's no mystery why this is still the best clone. The vk-8 was a major flop. Roland should go back to making this keyboard. BTW Here is my clone history: started with a vk-7 back in 1997; moved to a hammond xk-2; moved to a nord electro; moved to a korg cx-3 (digital); then to a bx-3 (digital) then to a nord c-1; then to a hammond xk-3c I did a tour where the only backline available was a vk-7. After the show, I realized how great this organ was. My soundtech said that this was the best he had heard of all of my previous boards. As soon as we got back, I started the frantic search on craigslist. (ended up grabbbng a vk-77 as well) So I finally went back to where it all started.... and the bottom line is that the roland vk-7 was, and still is, the organ that really started the whole "clonewheel" market. In time, it will be recognized as a classic keyboard. Please be aware though that you need to spend time tweaking it to get it sounding at it's best. Do not expect to be blown away with the presets. To anyone who has worked with vintage hammonds, you know that you need to put in alot of foreplay before you get laid.

unfortunately, the unit I bought on craigslist had a power problem. (rebooted itself arbitrarily every so often...) Brought it to a roland tech and they fixed it no problem. Tech said it had something to do with microscopic tears in the internal power source? It works like a charm now. I've never had a problem with a Roland product previously. Regardless, I will continue to service both my vk-7, and my vk-77 as long as needed as I now consider these keyboards to be vintage instruments.

The roland service department in my home town is top notch.

I adore these instruments as if they were vintage. I cherish them and would be sincerely heartbroken if they were lost or damaged. They are integral parts of my sound.

To be fair, I am not a real keyboard player. I play guitar primarily; I just love the Hammond sound and enjoy "knocking around" on it. Therefore, talk all my comments in context...

I have found the VK7 very easy to use. I rarely use the presets; I just play w/ the drawbars until I get a tone that sounds familar (I grew up on the Allmans, Winwood, etc).

I have edited some of the parameters and rarely if ever need the manual.

Having never owned an expensive keyboard, I have found the VK7 very "playable". I don't care for "weighted keys (remeber, I'm not a real keyboard player)".

I will say that the other tones (EP, strings, etc) are not very realistic. This would be a perfect product if it had realistic (usable) sounds.

The Hammond tones sound very good to this novice's ear. I bot it for that reason; anything else would be a bonus. Hammond tones (for me) get a 10.

The Leslie and the overdrive are certainly good enuf to gig. I also ran it thru a Real Tube pedal just for fun; that sounded really good in a Jon Lord sorta way.

As I mentioned above, the other tones are not acceptable for gigging; I had to buy a tone box to get piano, EP and other stuff that I need. I'd give the other tones in this about a 5; but that's OK because I bot it for the Hammond tone and it has that in spades!

I do gig w/ it and have owned it about 7 yrs; never had a problem.

No idea.

I'd buy this again if it were stolen/broken/etc. I really like the fact that some of the critical controls (for me anyway) like overdrive and reverb are just a simple knob twist away (no scrolling thru menus).

Killer Hammond sounds, fairly portable, reliable... yeah, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat!

The organ functions on the VK-7 are very straightforward. Can't imagine it could have been made any simpler. The factory presets are not great to my ears, but it's extremely easy to tweek them and replace the preset with minimal menu scrolling. I didn't even consult the manual beforehand. Within a halfhour I had a half-dozen honking presets. If you need the manual it's on Roland's website and seems to cover anything you would need to know. (It's 150 pages!)

61 (non-waterfall) keys, assignable keyboard split point, 1 set of Drawbars, (Hammond) percussion, (Hammond) vibrato/chorus V-1/V-2/V-3/C-1/C-2/C-3, stereo Leslie fast/slow/brake controls, 2 banks of 8 presets, overdrive level control, programmable keyclick, reverb control, programmable ring modulator effcts, 6 orchestral voices, organ mute, orchestral level, reverb level, master volume controls, stereo outputs, 120VAC power connector, MIDI, jack for optional expression pedal, jacks for 2 optional controller pedals, headphone jack, L-R (momo) 1/4" output jacks, 11 pin Leslie connector w adjustable output level.

Everything you need to use it as a tonewheel organ and a little more.

First let me say that I've had a Hammond B-3/Leslie 122 rig since 1969 and dragged it all over the northeast. This was the first tonewheel organ emulator to do it well. The virtual tonewheel tone generator with full polyphony that Roland developed in 1995 still rivals the best "clones" available now in 2008. If it had waterfall keys it would have it all. The Leslie simulation is excellent. The tonewheel voicing is superb from the lowest notes to the highest (the high register being where others turned me off).

But the feel of the keys is excellent so I've quickly gotten beyond even thinking about their not being waterfall shape.

The Leslie effect is one of the best I've heard and the effect is easily programmable in every way... separate adjustments on horn and woofer rotor speeds, times to speeup and times to slow down, horn level, woofer level, EQ, amplifier types.

In addition to the excellent Leslie effects, the vibrato/chorus very closely resembles the original Hammond effect. Overdrive goes from clean to insane (which is what happens when you plug the b-3's signal into a guitar amp). The reverb is smooth. If I use it at all, I use very little and it sounds perfect for the instrument. The Ring modulator is hideous. I don't know why anyone would want it.

The orchestral sounds are not great. It's interesting layer the Hammond on top of the Electric Piano, but beyond that there's not much there. Still, i could care less because you play this for the Hammond sound which is where it excels.

I find that if you EQ this to get a punchy sound out of your amp (I've been using a '69 Twin Reverb) it sounds and feels extremely responsive and alive. And I don't even have an expression pedal for it yet! Other organs that had only a volume pedal or no pedal at all always seems to just lifelessly lie there. This one spits and screams like a real Hammond. I have it set up next to my 1963 B-3/122 and it actually sounds better than the Hammond (because my Hammond needs new tone generator filter caps).

I run an electronics shop for amps and keyboards and I rarely see one of these. In fact, only one has come in in 5 years. So I'm going to give it high marks.

I deal with Roland's service and parts and they are pretty good compared to a lot of other companies these days (especially the new companies like M-audio that don't let you talk to a human being!)

If I lost this one I would definitely buy another.

The organ presets sound great, mostly cover all the styles you can play on a Hammond organ, from Gospel to Rock. Presets are always a good place to start, afterwards you can manipulate the sound with the drawbars, percussion, overdrive etc. There are some synth presets onboard as well, but I never felt the need to try them out, although I own this beast for more than a year.

Polyphony is full, everything like a real Hammond. I always thought that the action wasn't so good, because of the synth-type keys, but that was only until I tried a REAL B3 with waterfall keys, and had to realize that the feeling of the VK7's keys are pretty close to the original. It doesn't bother me at all now, and I pretty much like how they look identical to a spinet Hammond's keys.

This is the point where the old VK-7 can still hold his ground against the new clones. If you want to play rock, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, ELP style, forget the XK3-s, KeyB-s and any other clones, this one is the BEAST. The inbuilt overdrive effect is just unbelievable, sounds just as if you put a real tonewheel Hammond through a Marshall stack. 100% perfect Jon Lord sound, like it just came off of Deep Purple in Rock, Machine Head, or Made in Japan. It's also great for other styles, I'm really into Jimmy Smith nowdays, and I'm so satisfied when I set the organ up to match his sound. Flawless. The VK7 can simulate 5 types of amp overdrives. The Marshall is clearly outstanding, but the Leslie overdrive simulation is great as well. Perfect Uriah Heep sound.

It's also important, that I play this thing through a vintage Leslie 760, and it's the perfect match. I'm extremely satisfied with the sound of this combo. I tried the onboard Leslie simulation as well, just for curiosity, and hearing that right after hearing the real Leslie, I have to say, that it's very accurate.

It's built like a tank, never had a problem with it.

No idea.

Well, getting this thing last year was a real pain, the VK7 is pretty rare, but a LOT better than it's succesor, the VK8. If it was stolen I'd be willing to travel a whole continent to get it back. It was well worth. I love nearly everything about it, it looks pleasant with its wooden case, and it sounds like no other clone. I had the chance to play on a Hammond B3, after that I was even more satisfied with my VK7 than before. There are a lots of organ clones today, which I'm very pleased to say, because it means that the Hammond is really getting back. Most of the new ones are pretty good, but if you are into hard rock the VK7 is the best choice, and will be for a long time, no doubt. Together with my Leslie 760, this the gear of my dreams.

Presets are fine, you might wanna double check that you have "expanded banks" in the interface. This lets you enter 8 banks, instead of 2. Editing is not difficult but there are a lot of menus to go through to get where you wanna go, due to the small screen.

Keyboard action is plastic and synth-like. Leslie simulator is a disgrace, and the reverb is no good at all. The digital tonewheels, and the keyklick sounds however are exellent! Gain is basically just volume up to the point of digital distortion...

The sounds are good, not great but better than most. I use it mainly for blues and jazz type sounds and it gets the job done.

Built like a tank! Never had an issue.

Never had any problen vith any of my Roland products.

You get what you pay for. It??s a dependable machine with good enough action and sound to get you through any gig. If you only play organ, and this is not just another "part" of your setup, you might wanna look into something heavier and/or pricier. I myself have this board, a Yamaha S80, and a Yamaha motif xs6 on the road, and that??s when this is a handy, good enough piece.

I bought my VK-7 mainly for live performances, but have used it extensively in the studio. I don't need to edit patches or read the manual. I bought it for the rich classic organ sound and thats what I get out of it.

The action kicks ass.

I use my VK-7 primarily for hard rock and blues.

I have no worries about my VK-7. I always have other boards to use, but have never needed a backup for my VK-7 (although I have for the others).

I have had it for 6 years and never had to have any repairs. I have not had it upgraded.

I compared many different boards, but the VK-7 had exactly what I needed. The VK-7 has a beautiful rich sound and is a joy to play. Mine has taken 6 years of abuse in transit and extreme heavy usage and has never given me a single problem.

Can't get to the Chorus/Vibrato settings without going into a menu. Too many buttons that don't have to do with organ functions. Typical confusing Roland layout. Manual, like most Roland Manuals is a disgracae.

Stinky "Orchestral" voices that are unusable.

Anemic, castrated, and wimpy. I had to dime all the drawbars to get any type of sound out of this stiff. Percussion was synthetic sounding. The Chorus Vibrato was OK in a mid-sixties way, but that alone was not enough to haul the ashes.

It was built like a brick shithouse. Roland's good for that---But as I only had it for one night, who can tell

I'm a keyboard player in a big enough band to get backline supplied, but not big enough to demand exactly what I want. Cest la vie. Most of the time I get a Hammond B3, many times I get an XB-2, or an XK-2. Those instruments of course, all fit the bill. I even got an old Korg CX-3 once, and THAT was good. This Roland VK-7, however was HORRIBLE. I know enough about these things to know that the Roland was in good working order-so it wasn't that the thing was on the fritz. I've had bunches of Roland gear throughout the years, and even to today. The synth products and pianos were and are fine. This organ, however is a dud. I'm changing my part of our rider to ask for NO ROLAND VK-7, thanks you very much.

The presets sound great. THey are extremely easy access and they actually sound like presets that one would use on an organ. I set my VK-7 to the expand mode on which I use almost all the presets at one time or another. The editing of these presets is as easy as the pushing or pulling the drawbars which are, at first, in the position (digitally), as the preset. Teh manuel is great, it contains very useful knowledge as well as some interesting licks.

I'll have to say that the on-board reverb and especially the distortion, are two of my favorite effects on any keyboard I've played. Not only do they have analog control, but they also remain at the same function no matter what preset or edited sound you're in ( a problem with other keyboards is that the raved over anolog control changes digitally from one function to another between sounds, this is pesky.)

Well you wouldn't want to add this to your rig if you didn't want an organ. A problem with keyboards these days is that they contain so many sounds and options that all they do is perform inadequately at everything. This board is an organ and has done more than justice to every live or studio application I've put it through. It does wonders for any church woship service as well as rock, jazz, or pop applications, all of which have been introduced to my organ. I have not personnally used my VK-7 for classical playing but you could justy add the pedals and away it would go. The Leslie simulator is probably one of the best on any keyboard organ, ranking, in my book, next to that of the Korg CX-3. THis was a big part of my decision to buy it.

Not only would I use this in a live gig, but I have; for 3 and a half years, and yes without a backup. I cannot tell you how impressed I have been with this organs durability. It has traveled literally 1000's of miles in a trailer and hasn't given me trouble yet. If my VK-7 died tomorrow I would be happy that it has lasted thi long with virtually no maintenance.

I have never needed it upgraded or repaired. I have only dealt with dealers (ironic). And I have never had a problem.

If my VK-7 were lost or stolen I would either buy another one or one of those Korg jobs, the CX-3 I think it is, or a real Hammond. I've been playing the board since 2000; it is one of the best pieces in my rig which includes: an Alesis QS8.1, an Alesis QS^, a Roland KC-300 keyboard amp, a Berringer mixdown board (I think its the 1604A), a Mark II 73 Rhodes, and two Lesilies I run with a Combo II Pre-amp, a 760 and a 710. I went into the music dealer where I buy everything with the idea that I needed a Hammond XB-2; I had played one and knew I needed an organ for live applications. After serious reconsideration in the showroom, I decided upon the VK-7, alot in part because of the Leslie simulator, of which has now become fairly dormant due to my aquiring a couple of Lesiles. I am so thankful of my choice because last summer on tour, I played an XB-2 for several weeks and was dissappointed with it's sounds and durability. Part of me wishes I had the keys of a real Hammond, but I like the rest of the board better than the VK-8, and so I will be at ease with my early purchase of Roland's organ. The Vk-7 has been a dream in the studio and in every live application; it has run the gauntlet in every way imaginable. Everything from falling off stage, to me spilling Pepsi all over it, to the band using it as a plate for their pizza, this organ has perservered through the rough life of a live instrument in a full time band and I'm sure it has many years left.

quite straight forward i found the presets were louder than when using the manual button but that wasnt a problem to sort

the keyboard action was great for me although that can be a matter of taste for the individual still working on finding away to lower the volume on the bottom end of the keyboard has i have been used to playing the real thing (double manual)if any one has any ideas how i can lower the volume on the left hand id love to know thanks

not over keen on most of the orchestral sound but then again i only bought it for the organ sounds i played along with some hamond b3 cds and couldnt really tell the difference great expressive instrument when using the drawbars while playing but i think thats what a hammonds is all about i was always told if you can get that hammond scream you arent far away from the real thing and boy does it scream

ive only had the vk7 2 weeks but have always had roland gear i have a w30 workstation and the contacts on the keys can be a pain but overall great gear

sorry but i have found roland not to be the best people to deal with i have e mailed on a number of occasions and they have never gotten back to me also i had #3000 worth of roland gear at one time and they wanted to charge me #7 for a manual which i thought was a little mean

ok its not a b3 with a leslie but its the next best thing i have heard i want to try it with a stereo amp which i have not done up to now but yes i would buy another i hadnt played a hammond for a while went on to synths but but as soon has i started playing my vk7 it all came back if you want the nearest thing to a hammond without having a broken back lugging the real thing around buy it i did and i dont regret it at all

This beast is very easy to use - even if you have no experience with drawbar organs or synths. Some of the presets are great, but any organ sound (not mention other great sounds) can be achieved when you use the drawbars- and why wouldnt you use them???
The manual is not all that necessary for most functions and the quickstart is simple and quick enough to even get your drummer ready to make some great b3 sounds.

I love the feal of the unweighted keys (i realise its personal) The effects selection is not huge but it does what it does well. Adding a leslie makes a difference and i occasionally use outboard effects with it on less staight edged projects. I feel the same about the overdrive, except for the fact I would not use it at all and opt for a better overdrive source (i.e.Tubescreamer).
Basically it does everything it sets out to do and does it well (plus a bit more with some extra sounds/options)
Furthermore, this beast acts as an awsome controller if you want it to (yes - drawbars transmit midi messages!!!!!!)

The closest i have ever come to true b3isms - i tried all the opposition at the time and i chose this above all else. In a live situation no one would tell the difference between this and the original (especially with the aid of the correct amplification/effects device). the non organ sounds very from passable to outstanding.

Never had a problem. I have some sounds on my triton just in case...but have never needed them...nor can i imagine them being needed barring a freak incident.

no probs - hardly any contact with roland so far

Nothing comes close. I imagine the vk8 might...but all it seems to have is some useless gismos for the extra dollars...i found no need to try it as i am 100% satisfied with this beast.
If it were stolen i would be more than angry - and it would most definately be replaced - i paid a lot for this one but would pay that again if it came down to it. i love this one. its up there with my rhodes and my old prophet 5 (R.I.P.)