Acoustic & Electronic Instruments, Musicians, News, Tutorials, Videos & Interesting Finds
Acoustic & Electronic Instruments, Musicians, News, Tutorials, Videos & Interesting Finds

Roland BK-3 Backing Keyboard [NAMM13]

Roland has introduced its latest backing keyboard, the BK-3, following last year’s BK-5.

Designed particularly to suit solo performers and home musicians, while this is an entry-level backing instrument it still packs in a decent number of features.

The BK-3 features a wide range of international sounds and rhythms, making it a good fit for a variety of styles. There are over 850 tones and 50 drum kits built in, and compatibility with GM2, GS, and XG Lite formats ensures high-quality playback with Standard MIDI files.

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The BK-3 can play a variety of external backing formats from optional USB memory, including WAV and MP3 audio, SMF, and Roland rhythms (BK, E, G, and VA series). Playback tempo and song key can easily be adjusted to suit your vocal range or performing needs, even with audio files. In addition, a Center Cancel function reduces the volume of vocals in commercial WAV/MP3 songs, ideal for karaoke singing and minus-one playing.

A dedicated front-panel button makes it simple to record audio directly to USB memory, allowing you to capture full-ensemble BK-3 performances any time you wish for self-evaluation and sharing with friends and family. Your recordings are saved as CD-quality WAV data, making it easy to transfer them to your computer for burning audio CDs.

Compatibility with Roland Wireless Connect allows BK-3 players to communicate with an Apple iPhone or iPad over a wireless network via the optional WNA1100-RL Wireless USB Adapter. There are a number of fun, free iOS apps available, including Air Recorder for capturing BK-3 audio to your iPhone, and Lyrics Viewer for displaying SMF song lyrics on your iPad. And with Show Your Music, you can create video clips of your music performances and share them on your favourite social networks.

Features at a glance:

  • Portable, self-contained keyboard with built-in sound system
  • High-quality sounds, rhythms, and Music Assistants
  • Comfortable, intuitive user interface
  • Compatible with music rhythms from Roland’s BK, E, G, and VA series
  • Play a variety of backing formats (SMF, MP3, WAV, and rhythms) and record performances with optional USB memory
  • Roland Wireless Connect capability for cable-free communication with iPhone and iPad; free iOS apps available for music sharing, lyrics display, and more
  • Available in black or white finish

Being shown off at this year’s NAMM, exact specifications, pricing and availability to be confirmed.