New Roland Go:Keys 3 and 5 with Zen core sounds

[Paul Woodward]

Announced today....quite a lot of features there for the money, especially after the RD08 reveal...both preset machines as far as I can tell, but with downloadable content from Roland Cloud Manager.

 

The Go Keys 3 and 5 are similar in 'sound' other than the passive radiator/speaker system yet $150 difference. The 3 does not have audio lines out (or in)making it more of a 'fun' practice board and decent midi controller, although both have Bluetooth audio and midi.

 

£349 for the Go 3 and £459 for the Go 5 in the UK

 

https://www.roland.com/global/products/gokeys_5/features/

 

 

[Paul Woodward]

Aside from the 5 having passive radiator speakers??, its also supports more connections as you can connects a mic and use it as an all in one performing device.

[Paul Woodward]

Video pretty much sums up the target audience 😉

 

Feels like a nice little 'grown up' jam box to buy for the 'aspiring musician' kids that dad (or mum) might nick to get them through a pub gig

 

 

[Adan]

It's not for me, but I think the ad is pretty cool.

 

I'd like to see a new GO:Piano with upgraded sounds and 1/4" outs.

[ElmerJFudd]

52 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

Announced today....quite a lot of features there for the money, especially after the RD08 reveal...both preset machines as far as I can tell, but with downloadable content from Roland Cloud Manager.

 

The Go Keys 3 and 5 are similar in 'sound' other than the passive radiator/speaker system yet $150 difference. The 3 does not have audio lines out (or in)making it more of a 'fun' practice board and decent midi controller, although both have Bluetooth audio and midi.

 

£349 for the Go 3 and £459 for the Go 5 in the UK

 

https://www.roland.com/global/products/gokeys_5/features/

 

 

No audio io is how they offer zencore at the low price point, I imagine.  

[Paul Woodward]

22 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

No audio io is how they offer zencore at the low price point, I imagine.  

Says the USB C is class compliant for audio and midi....

Im assuming therefore that a USB C to USB C cable would connect the latest iPads as well?

Same feature on both boards, so if you just wanted a full size midi controller with Roland Zen sounds built in for £350....

[DeltaJockey]

Seems like quite a chunky footprint for a portable 61 though, bigger than the older version?

 

I wonder how good the speakers really sound.

[Paul Woodward]

10 minutes ago, DeltaJockey said:

Seems like quite a chunky footprint for a portable 61 though, bigger than the older version?

 

I wonder how good the speakers really sound.

Its only 5.5kg and the speakers are nearly half a Kg looking at the weight of the Go 3. Interesting that you can load up sounds and wave expansions too:

[Paul Woodward]

Aside from the 'entry level' vibes, its reminding me of the CK61 but geared towards the learner rather than the performer. If it had drawbars maybe to go with the rotary effects....

[DeltaJockey]

I can see the current fad of attraction with it being a controller and then loading up sounds onto it.

 

I meant it's form factor size being quite big., not weight. It clearly looks pretty light weightwise given it's plastic construction.

 

I hope you're not getting cold feet with your Keystage now that this has been released 😅  As everyone's pointed out, it's aimed at a different market.

I suppose it's cheap enough, you could buy one as well for the price of a few, no.."lots of coffees"?

[Reezekeys]

"GO:KEYS 5 is filled with ready-made chord progressions in various styles, all with the immersive sound of a finished record."

 

Another iteration of a musical product providing, as Buddy Rich famously said, "the assistance." 🙂 

 

At first glance this looks like the hardware equivalent of those Facebook ads promising you can "produce like a pro" with their "midi-paks."

[AnotherScott]

26 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

Aside from the 'entry level' vibes, its reminding me of the CK61 but geared towards the learner rather than the performer. If it had drawbars maybe to go with the rotary effects....

 

I hadn't seen this thread when I just replied to your comment about this in the other. 😉 But I don't see this as very CK-like, other than it being a small battery-powered board with speakers. I'd say it's much closer to the Casio offerings. To me, CK is all about the hands-on interface, the Roland has almost none. And like the Casio (and unlike CK), the Roland has built-in auto-accompaniment.

 

Some quick obvious CT-S500 advantages: For sound manipulation, besides pitch bend, Casio has 3 assignable knobs, Roland has none. Casio has 3-sound split/layer (2 layered sounds above the split point, 1 below), Roland has a max of two sounds at a time (either split or layered). And actually, these things make the Casio closer to the CK61 than the Roland is! Albeit just barely. 😉 But maybe Roland does have a better rotary implementation... it wouldn't take much to beat Casio there. And I'll also give you this one... Roland's display is more CK-like, e.g. showing more on the screen, an area where I really wish Casio had done better, e.g. scrolling lists of sound names, and displaying the names of your setups ("scenes" on Roland, "registrations" on Casio, "live sets" on Yamaha).

[D. Gauss]

9 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

  an area where I really wish Casio had done better, e.g. scrolling lists of sound names, and displaying the names of your setups ("scenes" on Roland, "registrations" on Casio, "live sets" on Yamaha).

 

Yeah Casio, really, we still can't name registrations in 2024? Bill Gates wants his 640Kb of memory back.  

[Paul Woodward]

52 minutes ago, DeltaJockey said:

I hope you're not getting cold feet with your Keystage now that this has been released 😅  As everyone's pointed out, it's aimed at a different market.

I suppose it's cheap enough, you could buy one as well for the price of a few, no.."lots of coffees"?

Lol, no....the Keystage is still in my setup and Im interested to see where they go with it. This just looks 'interesting' for certain applications, not something I am looking to buy. I think we have all tried to do a few numbers on a dodgy keyboard in the past. This looks like it could get through a basic gig and offer a little more in the studio, and would be great for a youngster who might also want to get into making their own music.

[RABid]

I assume that is pitch bend on the left, and no mod. For me that is a product killer. Shocked they did not use the Roland stick. Everything else about the board seems good.

[CHarrell]

1 hour ago, RABid said:

I assume that is pitch bend on the left, and no mod. For me that is a product killer. Shocked they did not use the Roland stick. Everything else about the board seems good.

 

Actually that wheel can be used for modulation, but you have to hook up your GO to Roland Cloud and pay for the "GO: PRO" upgrade that includes CC1.

[Paul Woodward]

Im surprised the audio interface is not locked behind a lifetime key......or is it?  Modulation is only possible via aftertouch which is an additional cost..... 😉

 

[nadroj]

13 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

Im surprised the audio interface is not locked behind a lifetime key......or is it?  Modulation is only possible via aftertouch which is an additional cost..... 😉

 

 

Activate the black keys for only an extra £30 a month!

[Paul Woodward]

Joking aside, if you don’t want the ‘extras’ of the Go 5, there is a full size keyboard full of Roland Zen Core sounds (and expandable) that can connect with your DAW for audio and midi for £350 (and expect that to drop a bit over the coming months). Jam with your friends, play with accompaniment for fun. Take it out with batteries, lend it to your dad to gig with at a push. Not bad really and it sounds pretty good. Add a basic iPad for a hotel room songwriting setup. I’m certainly more impressed for the price point than the RD08 announcement.

[Mighty Motif Max]

I'm not seeing any specs on polyphony yet - hopefully they didn't cripple it that way. The GO:KEYS 5 looks like a good contender for a controller with built-in audio for a Mainstage rig, maybe paired with a Nanokontrol for CC/mod control if necessary. I'm thinking for those basic use cases like at a church for a pads player, or something.

[Paul Woodward]

2 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

I'm not seeing any specs on polyphony yet - hopefully they didn't cripple it that way. The GO:KEYS 5 looks like a good contender for a controller with built-in audio for a Mainstage rig, maybe paired with a Nanokontrol for CC/mod control if necessary. I'm thinking for those basic use cases like at a church for a pads player, or something.

256 max

 

[ElmerJFudd]

Are these GO Keys 3 or 5 capable of syncing with Zenology in the cloud and downloading new/additional patches - as with RD88?  Or did they drop a set amount of waveforms in there and that’s that as with most keyboards in this price range? 

[Paul Woodward]

8 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Are these GO Keys 3 or 5 capable of syncing with Zenology in the cloud and downloading new/additional patches - as with RD88?  Or did they drop a set amount of waveforms in there and that’s that as with most keyboards in this price range? 

See screen grabs in an earlier reply, capable of loading new sound sets and wave expansions using Roland Cloud Manager

[ElmerJFudd]

Just now, Paul Woodward said:

See screen grabs in an earlier reply, capable of loading new sound sets and wave expansions…

That’s a big deal at this price point.  

[Paul Woodward]

6 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

That’s a big deal at this price point.  

Indeed, forgetting the somewhat gimmicky accompaniment, this has some decent features (even if they are presets). It can do splits and layers too, again making it a decent little board for not a lot of money.

[Reezekeys]

58 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

58 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

See screen grabs in an earlier reply, capable of loading new sound sets and wave expansions…

That’s a big deal at this price point.  

 

We haven't heard these "new sound sets and wave expansions" yet, nor any details on pricing... or is it a subscription? How many GB of empty memory is provided for adding these expansions? These are the kinds of things that may not concern the typical millenial this keyboard is targeted for. They just want to push a few buttons and hear their "hit song" come out those little speakers! 🙂 

[ElmerJFudd]

Roland software does require some digging in the cloud to figure out what is what.  

I would imagine you need Zenology - there is a free version.   And you can buy sound packs for it.

Do you need the subscription pro version to buy sound packs?  That I am not sure, I'll go take a look, but maybe someone already has delved into this.  

 

With all this stuff, there is no way around (at least as far as I can see) creating and account and installing their Roland Cloud Manager - so Roland will live on your Mac/PC along with Waves, NI, IK etc. who have done the same.   Avid still lets you decide if you want to download your software from the website or have their account management software running on your computer. 

 

My Mac is old, Late 2013 and I'm running Big Sur.   I'll be surprised if Zenology runs decently... let's see.  

[ElmerJFudd]

OK, here's what's in the .dmg

[AnotherScott]

42 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

How many GB of empty memory is provided for adding these expansions?

GB? lol. 😉

 

Seriously... the Fantom-0 is 256 mb for sample expansions. The RD-88 lets you load two EXP expansions... which implies 64 mb. I would guess it's that or half that for the GO. 

[ElmerJFudd]

During the install process the installer flips out and goes into reverse because I'm not logged into it yet.  Very strange, but it opens my default browser for me, Iogin at the website and then it brings me back to Roland Cloud Manager.