Roland V-Combo VR730 - 73-note Live Performance Keyboard

First off, this thing weighs only 21lbs!! I’m coming from lugging around a 35lb Roland Juno DS88. As far as a keyboard for gigging musicians, this thing is dope! I play R&B, Soul and Gospel. It covers all those basses and more. The waterfall Keybed feels awesome. It has a straight forward layout that is easy to see on a dimly lit stage. The draw bars come in handy when playing organ. No regrets!!!!!

Extremely versatile gig and studio workhorse. The waterfall keys are so dynamic and springing with energy. Whilst the piano sounds will never be as perfect as a certain red keyboard, it more than does the job on a live rig and the organ, e piano and synths/samples are top notch. The transistor organ in particular was a big surprise as it has finally escaped that toy organ sound and become a rich and variable sounding tone wheel model. Icing on the cake are the Roland Jupiter/Juno/d50 sounds in the synth section; this one light 73 keyboard replaces my usual setup of 88key rd-150, Juno 106 and arturia minibrute when gigging, saving me money, peace of mind for my older gear and my back from all the lugging around. Very happy with it!

Just getting used to the VR-730 so these are just initial impressions.Organ sounds are great as are the electric piano sounds. The acoustic pianos seem a bit thin sounding but sounds can be easily tweaked to make fuller. Keyboard has a great feel to it. Enjoying playing it.

Very good for your basic B3 sounds on stage (but not a Nord).Electric pianos are awesome, as are most of the synth sounds and some of the pads and a few orchestral instruments. I really like the waterfall key action.Pianos and other sounds are ... meh. Okay to back up a band at a local club, but nothing you'd want in a big performance.There are some really cheap-sounding special effects, too.But the VR730 has some significant shortcomings in modifying sounds real time, or editing sounds and patches ("Registrations") before the show. It's extremely limited for a keyboard in this price range.There's no way to modify EQ of any sound, just a "Contour" knob on the front panel that is a mid scoop/boost. Onboard effects are equally limited in editing.

Great for Organs, Electric Pianos, and Synths.

You just can't get realistic Hammond Organ sounds and feel from any other instrument in this price range. The sound, the feel of the key bed, and the drawbars all come together to give a great Hammond experience. Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos are nice too. There are also some nice clavs, steel drums, and other sounds that make this a great keyboard for a cover band. The one weak link is the piano sounds. They lack presence and clarity. In a mix, they're ok, but if you're doing a solo accompanied by just piano, the sounds are uninspiring - for me, at least. So I pair this with a Yamaha MODX8. Between the two boards, I've got all the sounds covered.I could've given it 4 or 4.5 stars because of the weak piano sounds. But for the price, you can't beat it. And ... MoreYou just can't get realistic Hammond Organ sounds and feel from any other instrument in this price range. The sound, the feel of the key bed, and the drawbars all come together to give a great Hammond experience. Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos are nice too. There are also some nice clavs, steel drums, and other sounds that make this a great keyboard for a cover band. The one weak link is the piano sounds. They lack presence and clarity. In a mix, they're ok, but if you're doing a solo accompanied by just piano, the sounds are uninspiring - for me, at least. So I pair this with a Yamaha MODX8. Between the two boards, I've got all the sounds covered.I could've given it 4 or 4.5 stars because of the weak piano sounds. But for the price, you can't beat it. And the name is "V-Combo Organ" so even if it only had the Hammond feature, it would be a pretty good deal. So - 5 stars for great value.

Great organs and electric pianos

Great organs and electric pianos are stunning. Sadly the pianos and strings are not in the same league. Piano sounds are thin and decay too quickly. Strings are passable but again seem a little thin. Retuned it.

LOTS OF BANG FOR THE BUCK BUT COULD'VE COME WITH MORE SOUNDS

I owned the previous VR-09 model from 3 years ago. I upgraded to the newer VR-730 because of the waterfall keys. They have a great feel & make the organ perform like a true Hammond! Also the battery run option is included. The VR-730 registrations are compatible with the VR-09 so i didn't have to reprogram from scratch! The on board effects cover a multitude of sins in that you can change the timbre live in real-time! Roland should throw in more SUPERnatural sounds from the Integra7 & that would give it a 5 star rating. The 270 sounds are usable but limiting.Compared to the E-A7 & FA-06 (both costing 2 hundred less) which has 1500 & 2000 sounds respectively (many from bk-7m & Integra7), this is the main shortfall of this keyboard. I could think of quite a few sounds ... MoreI owned the previous VR-09 model from 3 years ago. I upgraded to the newer VR-730 because of the waterfall keys. They have a great feel & make the organ perform like a true Hammond! Also the battery run option is included. The VR-730 registrations are compatible with the VR-09 so i didn't have to reprogram from scratch! The on board effects cover a multitude of sins in that you can change the timbre live in real-time! Roland should throw in more SUPERnatural sounds from the Integra7 & that would give it a 5 star rating. The 270 sounds are usable but limiting.Compared to the E-A7 & FA-06 (both costing 2 hundred less) which has 1500 & 2000 sounds respectively (many from bk-7m & Integra7), this is the main shortfall of this keyboard. I could think of quite a few sounds that should've been included: whistle, sitar, banjo, ukulele, baritone sax, 2-4 more tenor saxes tamboura, bagpipes, pedal steel guitar, a few more acoustic & electric guitar sounds.... Hopefully they'll get the point & start offering these sounds & others thru the Axial site? We'll see. One general design flaw in all the VR combo models I'd like to see improved is the bank select. I'd find it easier & faster to find sounds in 10 banks of 10 registrations each, than 25 banks of 4 registrations each...just a suggestion. Then you can just toggle between the bank button & 1-10 registration buttons without having to hit the bank button, scroll thru 25 banks then hit enter, then select 1-4 registrations.

Review of Roland VR-730 V-Combo 73 Note Live Performance Keyboard

Keyboard action is great. User interface is a bit limited compared with more modern designs eg in being able to assign specific effects to different sounds or zones. Distortion effect is horrible. Done first gig with it and was v successful.

great keyboard!!

Great keyboard for my needs. The keybed is just right given the fact that I was brought up on organ but it has a little bit of extra weight to it makes great for the piano work. The sounds are really good as well and I especially like all the live controls buttons and knobs sliders and such with live performance. With only weighing 21 lb so, no problem to deal with moving it around which is also important for me having a bad back. I really can't ask for anything more this keyboard is perfect for me. Guitar Center and Roland made my day!!

versatile and portable performance keyboard

I bought this keyboard to replace an aging workstation (XP80) to use mostly in a live jam environment, for which it is well-suited. However, it is not a suitable sequencer workstation. Lightweight, good sound selection, easy to dial up the sound you want. Decent but not great pianos, very good selection of electric pianos, good organ sound and controls, and a variety of fairly standard synth sounds, with easy to select effects. Includes various drum kits, and the available drum patterns are OK but limited. Looper is functional but not great. Includes a D-beam gesture controller, and a pitch/LFO control stick. Has 9 organ-style drawbars, which double as ADR, cutoff & resonance in the synth engine, a leslie simulator, and a series of quick access sound memory banks. ... MoreI bought this keyboard to replace an aging workstation (XP80) to use mostly in a live jam environment, for which it is well-suited. However, it is not a suitable sequencer workstation. Lightweight, good sound selection, easy to dial up the sound you want. Decent but not great pianos, very good selection of electric pianos, good organ sound and controls, and a variety of fairly standard synth sounds, with easy to select effects. Includes various drum kits, and the available drum patterns are OK but limited. Looper is functional but not great. Includes a D-beam gesture controller, and a pitch/LFO control stick. Has 9 organ-style drawbars, which double as ADR, cutoff & resonance in the synth engine, a leslie simulator, and a series of quick access sound memory banks. Big bang for the buck, but at ~15 pounds, it has a light, almost toy-like touch.