Roland EM-55 Interactive Keyboard

Roland Updated: 2009-02-14 RSS
Roland EM-55 Interactive Keyboard

The EM-55 Interactive Keyboard offers beginners and pros thousands of top-quality Roland sounds and hundreds of musical styles-all in a compact, 5-octave keyboard with a built-in sound system. But this new kid on the block also makes performing music fun, thanks to new Session Partner Pads for triggering live phrases and a D-Beam controller with 50 ready-to-use templates.

* 61-note velocity-sensitive keyboard brings new interactive features to an affordable price
* 64-voice/32-part multitimbral sound engine with 3,559 tones + 116 drum kits
* Up to 128 onboard musical styles (64 ROM styles and 64 via floppy disk)
* Helpful Music Assistant with setup templates for 100 popular songs
* Light-sensing D-Beam with preset templates for controlling various functions
* New Session Partner Pads for triggering phrases and muting parts
* Create cool DJ mixes using DJ Pads with 64 realtime phrases
* 16-track song recorder for recording performances or loading Standard MIDI Files
* Game function (Guess the Tone and Guess the Chord) helps students learn about music using interactive games
* Built-in stereo sound system and 3.5" floppy drive

An Impressive Variety of Sounds and Styles
At the heart of the EM-55 are 3,641 of Roland's finest sounds and 116 drum kits. These Tones include everything from piano, strings and bass sounds to synths and sound effects. If selecting from thousands of sounds seems a bit daunting, simply use the helpful EZ Search function. And with 128 onboard music styles, you can start making music right away.

New Session Partner Pads
With the EM-55's Session Partner Pads, you can trigger pre-recorded phrases as a style plays—or mute parts within a style such as drums, bass or piano—allowing you to rearrange the music in a fun, interactive way. Choose from 96 phrases, which can automatically follow the left-hand chords. Or use the pads as "DJ Pads" to trigger scratching sounds and other cool DJ effects.

D-Beam Controller with 50 Presets
A D-Beam Controller lets you perform a variety of functions—such as playing melodies, muting parts, changing filter cutoff and more—by moving your hand over an infrared beam of light. Imagine the fun of triggering sound effects with the wave of your hand! And using the D-Beam is easy; simply select from one of the 50 Preset templates and you're ready to go!

Easy Setup and Cool Musical Games
An onboard Music Assistant provides setup templates for 100 popular songs, letting you focus on playing music instead of searching for sounds and making other keyboard settings. And to help children and students become more familiar with music, the EM-55 includes two musical games: Guess the Tone and Guess the Chord. There's also a 16-track song recorder for recording performances or loading Standard MIDI Files.