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F*** Roland


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Oh? Any further insights into what was the last straw, and what else along the way soured you on the experience?

 

I have stuck with Kurzweil since my original K2000 purchase and, while I want to keep an open mind and keep evaluating other options, if I had to buy another master keyboard today it would be a second Forte. Luckily, I have a few more months before I need to commit to the master for my second space. An updated version of the Forte would be an easy choice but I will keep eyeing what everyone else introduces between now and then.

Acoustic: Shigeru Kawai SK-7 ~ Breedlove C2/R

MIDI: Kurzweil Forte ~ Sequential Prophet X ~ Yamaha CP88 ~ Expressive E Osmose

Electric: Schecter Solo Custom Exotic ~ Chapman MLB1 Signature Bass

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I thought it must be equipment failure also. Ironically I've gone away from Kurzweil because of my pc361 failing (and hearing from a tech about many others having screen issues). Hopefully they've fixed all that with their more recent boards. I try not to hold a grudge as long as my wife (we bought a very used 1992 sentra way back when, and had some issues with it...she still doesn't like the company!)
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They laid off Ed Diaz. Happy fricken New Year.

 

:pop:

 

Heard about that this afternoon; it stunned me. Ed was a very prominent part of Roland for a long time, and his videos and direct guidance have been invaluable to me in navigating their instruments. Recently we wrangled system 1.11 into a rather geographically separated pair of Fantom 7s. While I'll own some of the success of that venture (mostly due to blind experimentation with file organization), it could not have been pulled off without Ed's vast experience and knowledge.

 

I was looking forward to many, many more Fantom videos from Ed. Other than his efforts, there have been almost no direct tutorials and support articles. Considering that the instrument was a 'preemie' (I felt like a beta tester last October), and that NAMM is a few weeks out, this doesn't make much sense. Will be interesting to see how Roland intends to fill the hole they've apparently created.

 

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Also considering switching from Roland to Kurz as main board, possibly Forte or PC4. For me the reason was equip failure -- the RD subchassis has broken 4 times, each time replaced by new subchassis -- there is a design flaw there, no desire to chance that again.
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IMO, Ed is top notch, a great and patient teacher.

 

When you work for corporations, you have to expect them to be heartless, cold , fickle.

 

Simply, if the boss doesn't like you or woke up with s&^% in his spaghetti, he will fire an employee he doesn't like.

 

And I have been fired, laid off, whatever its called. I bounced back and did better after the so called event.

 

Ed has talent and will thrive.

 

Nothing we can do about Roland. Or any of these co's. Unless we are president, etc etc.

 

 

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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I had the pleasure of meeting Ed a handful of times at Gearfest and NAMM. I"ve always found him to be informative and helpful. Roland just lost a valuable asset.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

 

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Sorry to hear about Ed. The product specialist is a dying breed. The internet partially to blame we can answer technical questions faster and user how-to videos are often better. The questions we really want answered like the roadmap or when features will be updated they are not allowed to answer. The reps used to be the factory's conduit to the voice of the customer. With internet folks toil away daily telling Roland what they think they should be doing. What's left is engagement with the distributors. All of that is consolidating too. We no longer buy Rolands from the ma&pa, we buy from Sweetwater who does $800M in sales. Fewer, bigger distributors = fewer factory guys. I see it all the time in my day gig selling industrial flow instruments. The little guys get fired, big distys get signed up and then the factory cuts their direct sales channel.
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Man, it's hard enough trying to decide which keyboards to use. If I have to track their employment practices, that's going to be even more confusing.

 

Unless you're very very close to the situation, you can't be sure why someone was fired. Or "resigned." The reasons are usually confidential, and for very good reason.

 

My general feeling about Roland is they typically don't have the best sounds -- I'd often describe it as "good enough" -- but they design their systems in an accessible, user-friendly way that facilitates creativity without the need to earn a PhD at U of Kurzweil, or something like that. It's gear designed for people like me who aren't smart and patient enough to learn a complex system. That's why I'm a Roland fan.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Sorry to hear about Ed. The product specialist is a dying breed. The internet partially to blame we can answer technical questions faster and user how-to videos are often better. The questions we really want answered like the roadmap or when features will be updated they are not allowed to answer. The reps used to be the factory's conduit to the voice of the customer. With internet folks toil away daily telling Roland what they think they should be doing. What's left is engagement with the distributors. All of that is consolidating too. We no longer buy Rolands from the ma&pa, we buy from Sweetwater who does $800M in sales. Fewer, bigger distributors = fewer factory guys. I see it all the time in my day gig selling industrial flow instruments. The little guys get fired, big distys get signed up and then the factory cuts their direct sales channel.

 

Lots of truth there. Many of our keyboard products are getting more complex.

 

And, I believe these products will continue becoming more complex, not easier.

 

Ed's instructional videos were clear, step by step, in context.

 

User video's are hit or miss, IMO, and video quality is sketchy.

Find it annoying to skip along a 5 minute blah blah as the user

talks about whatever until he finally gets down to business.

 

Yeah, I know, its free, but my time is worth something.

 

I will take an Ed quality video due to his consistency and accuracy.

I don't need a 3 minute Roland commercial pitch on every instructional video.

 

Marketing and training/education is getting blurred by these co's.

 

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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Marketing and training/education is getting blurred by these co's.

 

True. And in smaller companies I can understand that to a degree. But with high tech products from larger companies it's important to maintain the role of product specialist - as a separate entity apart from basic marketing and training personnel. I've received demos from folks like that, and frankly I could do a much better job most of the time, off-the-cuff. Combining tasks, even when limiting clinician-level skilled talent, is a bean counter's delight. Then again it's possible we'll see a senior clinician assume Ed's duties, with them now doing the work of three people instead of two. BTW, This is my fill-in-the-blanks understanding, so far - based on Ed's statement on FB ("It was nothing I did, nor did not do").

 

Hey, I'm all for efficiency and wise use of funds, but more often now the pencils are far too sharp and the bottom line is worshipped above all else. And of course that can be a handy excuse to replace a subordinate...

 

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I liked Ed's videos. But I can't see basing buying decisions on a company's personnel moves, especially when I don't know all the facts. Maybe Ed was redundant with Scott Tibbs? We don't know. Roland is a huge company by industry standards. I would never expect family loyalty from them.

 

A lot of Roland stuff is pretty simple to understand, very consistent across different models and over time, and ubiquitous in music stores. It's distinguishable from approaching a new Yamaha in a store and saying to yourself "where have they hidden the envelope filter this time?"

 

 

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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Sad I've never met Ed but have benefited from his videos, I'm sure he'll land on his feet.

 

After working in the corporate world for a long time I can know the mindset the Suits would use in making a decision like this, it's strictly about money. Music industry has plateaued and even in a bit of a decline and the suits are going to protect the profit margins and their own bonuses. So they look at a marketing engineer (title varies company to company) and see a area that in their eyes isn't a revenue generator. Yes, yes I know Ed's educating owners and good will generate potential sales, but suits don't see it. It's same reason quality tech support disappeared in the computer biz it was cut because tech support isn't considered a revenue generator. This is what happens with companies are being run by the bean counters and not driven by the Marketing and Engineering departments. This is also why more and more products are going out the door with less and less QA testing and the customers are now consider part of the QA testing process. Like we said in the computer biz don't buy dot-zero releases, wait for dot-one.

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From what I've seen, the two have (had) different roles. Scott Tibbs did product demos, Ed Diaz did teaching videos, i.e. what the product can do vs. how to do it, sales vs. support.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I liked Ed's videos. But I can't see basing buying decisions on a company's personnel moves, especially when I don't know all the facts. Maybe Ed was redundant with Scott Tibbs? We don't know.

 

Scott is mostly involved in product development, and then he'll do some demos. Ed was a product specialist. He's a great guy, who shows boundless enthusiasm... a great spokesman for whatever gear/brand he represents. Hopefully he lands on his feet. There is always life after XXXX. I know that to be true...

 

Jerry

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According to a post he put on FB it wasn't anything he said or didn't say, nor anything he did or didn't do. This kind of falls in line with some of the previous comments about suits totally controlling the business. God forbid they would regard customers as anything else than peons to extract money from.
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Definitely sucks! I know Ed (he lives just down the road from me), you couldn't meet a nicer & smarter person. His life was Roland products & being the joyful ambassador of the company, Roland has great products but somewhere in "suit land" someone made a bad / sad judgement call.
You don't know you're in the dark until you're in the light.
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