Roland VK-8Item ID: VK861-Key Modeled Tonewheel Organ with COSM Effects 
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Because of our great relationship with Roland, we can usually get this special order item to you within a week or two. Please note that special orders are non-returnable and non-cancelable. Order online or call for more information.
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12 Months Interest Free Financing!On purchase of Roland or BOSS products totaling $499 or more, made with your Sweetwater Card now through June 30, 2013. From Our Research Team:Classic organ tonesYou won't find much more traditional sounds than those onboard the VK-8. Roland went to great lengths to recreate the sound a feel of an real, "old-school" organ. The 61-note VK-8 delivers a huge range of classic organ sounds, including the virtual ToneWheel sound of the VK-77 double-decker combo organ. Stunning rotary speaker modeling (thanks to COSM technology) provides an amazing overdrive effect. The waterfall keyboard has velocity-sensitive keys - great for glissandos - and plays just like a "real" organ. Roland didn't stop with the sound; the VK-8 boasts a traditional panel layout, and it's housed in an authentic solid wood cabinet and vintage keys. But then the VK-8 takes a distinctly modern turn, with contemporary features like high-quality instrument sounds such as electric and acoustic pianos, brass, and even synths and "scat" voices. There's also a D-Beam controller and 2 MIDI inputs for connecting a MIDI keyboard or optional PK-7 pedalboard to enjoy full polyphony while playing pedals and keys.• 61-note single manual combo organ • Waterfall keyboard with velocity-sensitive keys plays like classic organs-great for glissandos • Sophisticated rotary speaker modeling with overdrive effect • Traditional panel layout: 9 harmonic bars, Vibrato/Chorus knob and new Percussion button • D-Beam controller with Preset templates for more expressive performance • New orchestral voices for a wider sonic palette (e.g. piano, strings, choir, etc.) • Onboard reverb and chorus effects • 2 MIDI inputs for connecting a MIDI keyboard or optional PK-5 pedalboard-enjoy full polyphony while playing pedals and keys! • Authentic solid wood cabinet and vintage keys
VK-8 Image GalleryCan We Help?Sweetwater's friendly and knowledgeable Sales Engineers are regarded as the most experienced and educated professionals in the music industry, with extensive music backgrounds and intense training on the latest products and technologies. As your personal contact here at Sweetwater, they are available to provide personalized advice any time you need it.Call toll-free (800) 222-4700 or E-mail us
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Hector, Kissimmee, FL Reviewsbased on 1 reviewinSync Review
by: Vince Faris
Roland’s new VK-8 Combo Organ is an updated version of their groundbreaking VK-7. Like the VK-7,... read more »
Nope
by Zach Meyer from Milwaukee, WI
Okay. If you love the Hammond organ, don't buy this keyboard. I have previously owned a Roland VK-7, and was recently given a Roland VK-8. Knowing that it's a new generation, I expected some improveme... read more [+]nts over the keyboard I had previously owned. While there have definitely been vast improvements made at Roland, bottom-line is that this keyboard does not feel like or sound like a Hammond organ.October 31, 2012 Music Background: Part-time professional musician, producer and engineer Compared to the VK-7, the chorus/vibrato on this model are vastly improved. Sadly, that's about as positive as I can get. When I dial in familiar drawbar settings, the sound is not what I expect. It's not terribly off, it's always just enough off that it's distracting. The amplifier overdrive simulation is better than it used to be, but still doesn't sound like a Leslie. The Roland's internal Leslie simulator is probably the weakest point of the whole instrument. In stereo or in mono, it introduces way too much frequency modulation, and not enough of the "smear" that comes from the sound of the Leslie bouncing around inside its own cabinet and off the walls of the room it's in. There's nothing realistic about it. Another long-standing criticism of these Roland organ keyboards is that the response of an attached expression pedal is nothing like the response of the expression pedal on a real Hammond organ. A real Hammond's expression pedal has a very linear response, where as the Roland seems to have an exponential response. That is, backing off on the pedal almost always decreases the volume more than I expected or wanted to. Again, when this keyboard doesn't respond the way I expected to, it distracts me from what I'm trying to play. Finally, there's been some criticism of the keyboard. If you ever played a real hand, you know that the feel of the keyboard is somewhat magical. The weight and "give" of the keys is perfect for lightning fast solos and amazing responsiveness. In comparison, this keyboard feels heavy and sluggish. More importantly, as has been discussed elsewhere on the Internet, staccato playing commonly results in a note being double struck, as it comes up after you release it and bounces back down under its own weight, sounding the note a second time. This would never happen on a real Hammond. I almost forgot, there are several settings within this keyboard to adjust keyclick, percussion volume and decay, leakage levels, split point, transposition, you name it. However, this organ has no LCD display. All functions are accessed through an obtuse system of holding down these three keys while you simultaneously push this one, et cetera. The instrument is not labeled for this functionality. The user must either memorize several pages of the user manual, or keep it on hand to refer to whenever he wants to do something as basic as adjust the fast speed for the Leslie. It's a huge pain. I gigged with this instrument once. Never again. It just didn't respond the way I expected it to after years of playing real Hammond organs. If that's your experience base, you likely will not be happy with this instrument. I would recommend looking at the very fine offerings from Korg or Nord for your purchase of a digital organ. close [-] Also popular
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