Sales Engineer??? Please don't tell me salesman are calling themselves "engineers" now too?

Ah, we get Sales Consultants over here. Just as bad.

Nah I'll give them "consultant". After all, all the consultants I know are over-paid under-skilled desk-jockeys who's only sign of intelligence over the past 20 years was to take the redundancy package offered by their employer before the company realised the "restructuring" program implemented by the pimply-faced MBA fresh out of grad school was a load of bollocks, and re-employed all the previous staff as "consultants" at twice their previous pay and conditions.

Edit: Sorry, what was the question? :P

Yeah thats what they're calling themselves but this guy is quite knowledgable.

Sweetwater is different ...... they really are sales engineers they often know much more then you do.

I ordered my RD-700NX last Friday @ $2599, and emailed my sales guy, told him about the $2399 RD-700NX price at Zzounds and he matched it. Just saved me $200, which covers the cost of my RPU-3 plus another $100! I'm a happy camper.

Way to go Zac, theres always a silver lining. You just have to look for it.

Thanks Greg, and congrats to you on your purchases. It sounds like you and I have the same (see great) taste in musical instruments! A killer combo to be sure-RD-700NX + RPU-3 tri-pedal. :-)

Yeah I guess we do Zac Wasn't sure about the tri-pedal setup but figured I could use it to control some other functions of the keyboard. This is my first DP so it'll be a little bit of a learning curve I guess. Anyway I'm ready! Just wish I didn't have to wait till Thanksgiving for mine.

lol you guys are making me want an RPU-3 for my 700NX!

Go for it 7even!

They have called themselves Sales Engineers for years. Who cares? If you like the prices and service it matters nought!

Maybe real engineers care, you know, the ones that spent many years at university for the right to call themselves Engineers! What's next, "Sales Doctor"? "Sales Professor"? It has nothing to do with how much knowledge a person may have, it is a title that is earned. Just a general dumbing down of qualifications, real ones, that I don't think is right, and hugely disrespectful to those who have done the hard yards. Medical Doctors now comment that thanks to the internet, many patients are presenting with a better understanding of their own specific medical condition than the doctors themselves, but that sure as heck doesn't mean the patients are doctors! I wonder how some experienced musicians here would feel if I announced I was a "concert pianist", after all I've been playing a month now, matters nought right

Sorry for the OT digression, just POed by those who are too lazy to do the deal themselves and just claim the end result. Now about the 700NX

Does Roland make a double pedal set? With the 3 pedal inputs on the NX I'd like to have 2 pedals plus an expression pedal.

The 3 pedal unit has 3 separate cables. You can plug them in whatever holes you want.

Tell us how you really feel Pete

Nah, I'm the shy, quiet type who likes to keep his opinions to himself

Sorry for the OT digression, but I must admit it was a term I'd never come across before. Sales "Engineer"... FFS!

Edit: Unless they ARE actually engineers who happen to work in sales. Goodness knows the money is better there so can't say I'd blame them!

I emailed Roland to find out when they would be putting up the manual for the NX & they said they hadn't received it yet from Japan. When they do get it then they'll put it up for download. Can't believe these DPs are already selling here in the US but no manual yet.

Not of any significance but I'm jumping on the wagon as well. I havn't tried it but getting a MP10, my previous first choice, would really be buying a pig in a poke. Can't find a dealer with the GM3 Grand keybed in stock and can't make anything out of kawais product presentations. Another con for me I don't have the time to wait for the MP10 to hit europe. Might not happen until january even if you order it straight from Japan. I don't have a piano at all at the moment and my local dealer (wealer?) is probably going to blacklist me for coming in every day jamming out at the store without buying anything.

The 307 (and even the 305) was a pleasant surprice and I think the NX will just be 'good enough' for me.

I still plan getting a MP10 but it'll have to wait.

Writing in slight apprehension hoping someone will pat my back and say: yes! you made the right choice son! Guess I'll find out the hard way in about four weeks.

Yes! You made the right choice son! Seriously I think the NX will be a great piano so much so you just might forget about the MP 10!

I second Greg. I think you made a good call going with The NX. I have to ask though, is this going to be a home DP or a stage DP??

Stage use is the main idea. I suspect though since I rehearse and practice at home more than I play live you could also call it a home DP. But I'm not buying for it's aesthetic qualities, or lack thereof
My current home also happens to be a studio so whatever I put in there is going to look out of place unless it has an LCD screen and knobs somewhere.

I'm not yet at the point of my career when I get to play at venues that has a grand in the back, or an extra DP at home for that matter, but we're getting there. Someday hehe.

Now, what were we talking about again?

Fred

P.S. Thanks guys, it does feel a bit better now. D.S.

Mine is going to be used as a home DP much more than on stage. Just couldn't pass up all those extras on the NX.

Well then, I think you made an even wiser choice. Even though the RD-700NX weighs 55lbs, it's still much lighter than the MP8, MP8II, and the upcoming MP10. Heck the MP8 weighed over 70lbs, and MP8ii weighed 77lbs! The weight makes a big difference when you're hauling it around all the time. Aside from the weigh though, with the SN sound engine, and PHA III action, the NX is going to be a monster stage DP.

Got my reservation of the first batch hitting europe confirmed. It seems to be the 25 of november, two weeks later than you guys. Also mailed thomann.de if I could pick it up earlier in Germany as I travel there now and then but they get it in the first days of december - even later.

Irony strikes back yet again. Finally heard from a dealer a train ride away who gets the MP10 in by 1st of december and will be able to ship it to my doorstep about the same time. Had he been about six hours earlier I might have ended up with an MP10 instead haha. I think I will juggle this in my head until I get the NX and sit down and play it. Gosh I wish I had money to buy them both.

Fred, just curious, but why the hurry?

Cheers,
James
x

Never had ANGAS -- Acute New Gear Acquisition Syndrome?

Apple coordinates their new product introductions so that people are camping out in front of the store to be the first to buy with clear introduction dates and ability to deliver immediately.

Some Japanese Digital Piano companies have different tactics such as not being specific, not naming prices, not knowing when products will be available, ignoring customer requests for more info, etc.

And we wonder why kids would rather play games than the the piano.

James - well it's a bit personal really. I ran into economic trouble and had to sell my previous piano. A few month later I ran into this amazing guitarist and we just clicked. We got all these people involved and they're all waiting for me to get back to composing. I only have a guitar and I don't write well with it. Made some quick decisions and moved to this country to build a heap of money, get the piano and back to writing. So well, thats why I hurry. I could go out and get just any cheap synth but, I don't know, it don't feel right when you have the option to get a great instrument you're going to live with day and night for months to come.
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I was just thinking about that the other day theJourney, about how you turn interest and hype into sold products. Apples aproach is say absolutely nothing and let the product speak for itself at set keynotes then set often accurate releasedates. It sparks both trust and hype. Then there is this other way you often see smaller companies with less balls employ. You announce your products early to gain funds or analyze the market. It leads to interrest and to quench the masses' cravings for information you squeeze out press releases and odd commercials promising things you might not have time to deliver, all during production. A juggling act when someone starts throwing all kinds of things at you.

I'm a sucker for ANGAS, but I've learnt to deal with it. The solution works best accompanied by an empty wallet.

It does seem awfully strange that Roland has been seemingly quiet on the releases for both the RD-700NX and FP-7F. I remember when the RD-700GX came out, they made a big splash about it. It undoubtedly is because the difference between the SX to the GX was far larger than the difference between the GX and NX. Just seems odd though that we haven't seen more on the RD-700NX particularly.