Product Review for the Giovanni Roll Out Keyboard

Hey, if anyone is looking for the least expensive way to get a half-decent soundng portable keyboard for either practice on the road, or perhaps for a child to learn with without a major investment - ASOTVI has reviewed the Giovanni Roll Out keyboard.

This is the one with the "rubber" keyboard that is four full octaves of full sized keys. Granted, it doesn't feel like real piano or synthesizer keys, but it can roll up into about the size of a book and go in a backpack or purse, has 100 voices, MIDI interface, record & playback, effects, a lot really. And brand new they're less than $100.

To see a video review of it and full write up, go to asotv.info. It's not a toy, but a very inexpensive instrument.

I wouldn't recommend using this to learn. It's like learning to play drums by hitting pots with spoons and kicking the oven. If you buy them crippling tools they will produce crippled result. Given, it probably will teach the basic music theory and the layout, but they will have to do alot of relearning if they wish to persue keyboards or piano, which will cost more rather than less in the long run. Unlearning bad habits takes several times longer than learning them. I stopped playing keyboards all together because I had a crap keyboard, but took it up again once I got a decent one. Don't screw yourself or your children by thinking this is a good way to learn.

Shouldn't be a problem though if you have no intention of playing on real keyboards though(the ones with keys that go down when you press them and raised black keys). I know full well the difference between playing on weighted and weightless keys. I could barely play the pieces I practised for my lessons because they had weightless keyboards there. Imagine what something like that rubber keyboard will do. Plus I have concerns about playing dynamics. I havn't played on it but the shock and resistance you get from playing louder dynamics could cause joint problems. It's just a neat toy at the end of the day.

I wouldn't say practise, but the portability of this thing does make me want to own one, but I'm inclined not to buy one based solely on the way it's presented.

All in all, I would say the advertising around it is really misleading, all the hype they generate making it an "offer you have to be stupid to refuse" really irritates me. It's like "buy this and you WILL learn to play piano(I can play piano? Really? That will make me popular!) and become a musician plus you only pay $120(damn) no wait $90(alright! I'm saving 25% already) plus we give you $70 worth of stuff free(no way!)." The way these people use subconscious emotional manipulation to sway decision making is just, well, evil. Just a note, that $70 worth of stuff is two cd's and a headset. The material costs of cd's is something like $2 or $3(it's just classic songs like chrismas carols and classical songs no longer under copyright, played by the guy who invented it), and the headset doesn't look very good either(they claim it's $30, bullshit, no one would buy a headset like that for $30). They also give you a "$30" microphone, but you have to give it back when you return it. Can't judge the mic just by looks though. I'm still leaning on the "it's not really worth $30" view anyway. How they determine it's worth is not mentoined at all.

I really really hate advertising that tries to mislead people, and since asotvi(the company specifically, but I suppose the user here is employed by them) seems like an infomercial promotion business, misleading advertising is their business, or atleast trying to make it look more creditable. Hey, they probably get a cut of the sales(they have links to the site that sells it and the way the url looks seems alot like it gives reference information, hence, money). I remember one saying going "Marketing is the art of getting people to buy things they don't want or need".

I know the people on the forum isn't stupid enough to fall for any of that, but I still feel I have to say all this.

And a last note, this is the classifieds section. Not an marketing bullitin board.

By that same reasoning, a rock is not a toy, but a very inexpensive instrument.

Now begone!