Roland MIDI Control Surfaces

The Roland PK-5 has a black/dark gray housing with brown pedal pads. One-octave pedals ranging from C to C. I've been playing bass for 45 years. Purchased from 8th Street Music in Philadelphia for $459. I wanted synth bass pedals but was unwilling to shell out $3000 for used Moog Taurus I pedals or $2000 for the new Taurus 3 pedals. I was able to purchase the Roland PK-5 and an Alesis Micron keyboard for less than $1,000. The Pk-% is easy to use, although I don't use even 1/4 of its capability. Eight presets enable users of Roland certain modules to control bass, poly, drums and SFX. Used with these modules, the user can trigger drums, background chords and bass while playing, say, another keyboard or guitar. I use the PK-% to trigger monophonic bass sounds from the Alesis via MIDI. I could do up to two notes at atime but that is impractical in my current setup. The pedals can be transposed over 9 octaves. Operation is simple -- plug in your MIDI cables, pick your octave, and play. It seems a bit fragile. A hard road case is a must. Well, built, but mostly plastic. A more rugged wooden housing, though, would increase weight and, probably, cost. The Roland PK-5 is a low-cost alternative for someone who wants basic bass accompaniment is a 'one-man-band' Setting, such as a keyboardist or guitarist who wants to use accompaniment. Functions range from simple mono bass notes via MIDI through a regular keyboard or using one of Roland's modules that offers drums and other polyphonic sounds such as strings that can be controlled via the PK-5. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com