We gospel guys absolutely love the Piano sound in the Mks-20 and the P-330. Your average hit gospel record will have these recognizable sounds on it. I must admit I missed these great machines when they were first manufactured. I didn't get one until about 2 or 3 years ago. Now, I use the MKS-20 EXCLUSIVELY at my church. I run it through the house in stereo and it is off the hook. AND THAT RHODES...Oh my God!!! Most of my buddies absolutely feen over them. Some of us buy them 2 and 3 at time from local pawn shops, yes I said pawn shops. They are hot here in L.A.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Friday-Mar-01-2002 at 12:44
Stefan M.
a part-time user
from germany
writes:
Well - my Roland MKS-20 just arrived today - and I am very happy!! But I must admit that for my taste I like the acoustic piano even better than the EP Patch 7 that everybody is so crazy about :-) But that´s just me - I believe it´s because I´m a huge 80s fan and I instantly thought of Richard Marx - Right here waiting - remember that piano ??Guess what - I bet it IS the MKS-20! It has got something really cool. Of course the EPs are good, too, and I bet in a mix they will really stand out like all the other reviewers said! I like most sounds from the MKS 20, the CLAVI is real nice, too, especially if you play very low notes, cool bass! Piano 3 is a little bit bright - therefore good for techno in my opinion. Vibraphone is ok. I think the MKS-20 is a must-have for someone who´s looking for a kind of retro- & absolutely warm-sounding machine. Not like some of today´s digital crap :-) Chorus, Tremolo and the Equalizer are very good, operation is easy, even without a manual. Built quality is TOP , like most ROLAND gear and absolutely reliable. Why is everybody complaining that this thing is SO HEAVY? It ain´t for a 2 space unit! I´ve opened it up and looked inside, very well built, I fastened some screws and I wanted to change the battery - just in case - but the battery is not repaceable so easy - so better don´t do it or something could break - I didn´t do it because my preset patches are storable after all - and if one day not - I´ll get a memorycard because battery replacement is much easier there - and by the way - the user presets are soooo easy - there are only a few options - no problem to restore setting even if were lost! So - to come to and end - 5 out of 5 - very nice! Get it!
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Wednesday-Jan-02-2002 at 16:07
Steve Parker
a part-time user
from USA
writes:
The new sounds of todays electric Pianos still can't touch the MKS-20 and I've done my shopping around.The Electric piano sounds of the Roland D70, the P-200 by Yamaha, the Phantom by Roland, The XP80 by Roland. I could go on and on. No module out there can touch The MKS-20. I had been looking for a certain electric piano sound for years and I come to find out that It was not in the DX7 but in the MKS-20. The only downfall is no pitch bend.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Tuesday-Dec-18-2001 at 14:14
Steve Parker
a part-time user
from USA
writes:
The new sounds of todays electric Pianos still can't touch the MKS-20 and I've done my shopping around.The Electric piano sounds of the Roland D70, the P-200 by Yamaha, the Phantom by Roland, The XP80 by Roland. I could go on and on. No module out there can touch The MKS-20. I had been looking for a certain electric piano sound for years and I come to find out that It was not in the DX7 but in the MKS-20. The only downfall is no pitch bend.
posted Tuesday-Dec-18-2001 at 14:12
Mookie Siegel
a professional user
from USA
writes:
I bought the mks 20 new in the mid 80's and I still love it. It is incredibly expressive. The #7 ep is astoundingly musical. I also bought a Roland P-330 which seems to be a one rack space, stackable version of the mks-20. It also has many more (but not a lot) editing features. The biggest difference for me is that the mks-20 will not respond to pich benders and the p-330 will. On the other hand, the p-330 does not have the deep and rich tremolo found on the p-330. I'd love to be able to change these problems.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Tuesday-Jun-26-2001 at 16:23
David
a part-time user
from Australia
writes:
When I 1st brought this unit home, I was like what a tank of a thing & only having 8 patches really raised an eye. What it really comes down to is the sound & what this unit could do, & in that area, it is Godsend. I've owned a lot of synth/modules & out of all of them, the only 1 that came even close to sounding like this unit was the Roland D-70 Rhodes patch, yet that still didn't have the richness of this unit. If you're looking for a rhodes style piano sound that is flawless in a MIDI rig, then this baby is for you, I still wait to the day they start making sounds of this calibre again. I will never sell my unit, so if you see one, snatch it up fast, you will love it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Saturday-Apr-21-2001 at 16:00
Jesper Andersen
a part-timer user
from Denmark
writes:
This is my favorite! For years I asked myself "where does that great stage-piano-Elton John-expressive-supersound come from. The I learned that it was the MKS-20. I then bougt one (300$ used) and will never sell it again. The sounds are very expressive. This is because of a certain synthesis type which Roland threw out after the death of the ingeneer who designed it (true story). The MKS-20 sounds only made it in a few HP's, the P-55 and MKS-20. The chorus and tremolo is also great.
The sounds from the MKS-20 will work in a mix and stand clear live. It even has balanced outputs.
Try it and you'll get hooked. The funny thing is that it does not really sound like an acoustic piano - it just fills out the role of the piano perfectly and in many ways better than a real piano.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Tuesday-Aug-17-1999 at 12:04
Tony Campo
from USA
writes:
Yes, I just bought a MKS20 used yesterday for 219.00$. I have bought more electric piano master keyboards and modules than I'd care to remember in the last decade. I'am a real Little Feat Fan. I know Bill Payne used?/uses this piece. I didn't feel it was a realistic sound in the beginning when he started using it quit awhile ago, I knew alot of people were buying them 10 yrs ago. But I knew that feeling he was getting using a piece of equipment that could put out a powerful sound. When he swithched from using the Yamaha KX-88/MKS20 combo, and went with A Korg SGx/Pro I knew he wasn't just using the SGx/Pro but I wasn't 100% sure, I thought I may have been setting the SGx/Pro up wrong. I have a Korg SGx/Pro. I records great, The midi implementation is great, the non-piano sounds are exceptional. It just couldn't cut through a loud Guitar mix. Frequency cancelling was cancelling my bank account. The Korg on board piano sound is alittle thin but has a nice atmospheric quality I like, But the top end basically sucked at volume. It does record well though. Onstage the Korg was a dissapointment alone. I've Layered it with a Kurzweil Micro piano a Roland P55 module, and an old EMU performance. All layered like shit to my ear. I know this is long but I'm a gearhead and still excited from yesterday. I went up to Payne's keyboard tech at a Little feat show two weeks ago and had the fact verified by him. Billy Boy (I love him) layers the the Mks20 for alot of patchers with the Korg and pushes the reverb up on the Korg. It's beautiful, The MKS-20 lays down a bedrock fundamental Piano sound and the Korg sweetens, they layer very well. Better than the other modules I listed before because of the density of the digital piano sound in the MKS20. I can finally feel good about keeping the Korg SGx/Pro. And I think I'm Billy Payne (sometimes)when I'm playin.( alittle skitzed ha!) This rig is still second unit though, for now... (have to gig with it more!) First unit is Kawai MP9000 - Awesome piece of gear!! We'll time to actually PLAY piano.....!!!! Boy what a life! It's Rock and Roll anyway!
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Wednesday-Aug-04-1999 at 16:03
Scott Slaughter
a professional user
from California
writes:
This module is a keeper! A heavy 2 space, cumbersome beast. Don Garberg is right - make a half space version of this thing, maybe boost the polyphony and who wouldn't want one? I've played so many modules and piano keyboard that have a decade of technology on this box but can't touch it when it comes to sheer in-your-face presence. It's still used today by so many big time country sidemen - it's the best thing going live. Studiowise is a different story - stripped naked, the acoustic pianos will be a bit TOO is your face for sure.
Rating: 4 out of 5
posted Wednesday-Jun-23-1999 at 04:03
exxosphere
a hobbyist user
from France
writes:
The EP is the thickest u've ever heard, very upfront and extremely expressive. The first time I played with the keyboard version of MKS20 (it's a dinosaur Roland 'digital piano', dont remember the ref. RP3000 maybe??) I instantly fell in love. And still today, more than ever. U probably know one single sound is far enough to justify an instrument and to make a classic of it (do I need to take examples???) Jesus that EP !!! Wonderful vibes too, the exact warm&full sound I had unsuccessfully been searching for ages. It's a hot hot hot machine, I tell u, you cant get even a JV2080 (which I happen to own) to sound half as 'alive'. The day I found it was a day of mad happiness. Nobody seems to want them now but to my eyes this machine is already a 'classic'. It's simply a marvellous musical instrument.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Sunday-Feb-14-1999 at 15:24
Darren Jones
a part-timer user
from England
writes:
It's only got 8 basic sounds, but they are good, and it even has balanced outputs. Editing is a bit of a pain, mainly because the alpha-dial goes the other way from what would seem natural to me. Otherwise, really good. I paid £20 for mine last year, from a guy who was selling all his studio gear, and I only bought it because it was cheap, and I had a new rack with loads of space in it!. Bargain, eh?
Rating: 3 out of 5
posted Thursday-Feb-04-1999 at 16:10
Armando Fernandez
a professional user
from Mty.Mex.
writes:
y think its the best piano sound ive heard on a synthesiser,and its not very relistic ,but its the best expresionally speaking.y love the rhodes sound,and havent heard of a new sinthesiser with those sounds.i wish roland could make a reissue of it with more polyphony and multytimbral capabilities.but y just love it the way it is.great,great product
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:08
Don Garberg
a professional user
from USA
writes:
Geez, thanks Joseph! I almost sold mine, thinking I could always get the P-330 my friend owns...but they really aren't the same, are they?! I had to take it out of my rack last year-too heavy and long!-and replaced it with a Kurzweil Micro Piano. I really miss having the great Rhodes sound at gigs, but I still lug it to sessions. Nothing else plays like this thing, STILL! Even the crappy versions in other Roland keyboards don't come close. Hey Roland guys, put this thing out in a 1/2 rack space, 3 lb. box, add reverb, charge $500. - YOU'LL SELL ZILLIONS! If you have one, keep it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:08
Joseph N. Hall
a hobbyist user
from USA
writes:
Doggone it, this is the one piece of equipment I *really* regret selling.
By far the best sounding piano module I have ever owned. The EQ was great.
The sounds were great. I think I might have heard an Emu piano back in
the Emu II or III days that was similarly decent, but the others I've
heard are ho hum by comparison. I have a P-330 now, and it doesn't hold a candle to the MKS-20. I will
have to get another one some day. If you're looking for one, be warned--
if I remember correctly it is a very *looong* box and will stick out of the
back of almost any stack of rackmount units.
Rating: 5 out of 5
posted Thursday-Aug-06-1998 at 00:08
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