Waking up Roland using Social Media?

Started by Baldadi, January 08, 2013, 05:33:56 AM

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Kevin M

Quote from: Hennisdk on February 01, 2013, 05:49:58 AM
I saw they released a Windows 8 Driver for the VG-99, so maybe they are lurking!  :o

Highly unlikely they are lurking.

LeeMorant

My VG99 is dead to me(due only to Roland's lack of support), I'll shortly get a JTV89f and hook it to my kemper= awesome setup with regular updates.

PD FX

Quote from: LeeMorant on February 01, 2013, 07:17:05 AM
My VG99 is dead to me(due only to Roland's lack of support), I'll shortly get a JTV89f and hook it to my kemper= awesome setup with regular updates.
jep, thats a nice modelling guitar, Lee!..
And:if you need a synth you can always plug in Midi Guitar or use triple Play.
I'm curious what apparatus Roland will bring next, they are totally fixed to their old stuff, I hope that they will show some fresh creativity, to keep competition alive..
Roland's modelling of existing models is really cumbersome compared to the variax (I own both)
So Roland looses ground, they had the only guitarsynth on the market for a few years, that made them lazy.


Smash

The Variax acoustic models just slay the VG99...

vanceg

#29
Quote from: Brent Flash on January 13, 2013, 06:18:28 PM
It is here: https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=256.msg176901#msg176901

Yes, that's 2008.  2008.  2008.  It's 2013 now.  Updates to this box are not going to happen. Notgonnahappen.

Start figuring out who can hack the VG-99 if you really want to have it updated.  Or wait.... forever.  Or just play with the vg-99 you have.  Which is what I think many of us have decided to do.

vanceg

Quote from: Hennisdk on February 01, 2013, 05:49:58 AM
I saw they released a Windows 8 Driver for the VG-99, so maybe they are lurking!  :o

Please prove me wrong Roland. Prove to me that you all haven't completely given up on the VG-99.  I think my ego is safe on this one. C'mon, I double dare you to make an ass out of my saying "Roland will never update the firmware and enhance features of the VG-99".

Elantric

#31
I recently learned my old friend Chris Bristol (former CEO of Roland US) has now retired effective January 2013.

When I was Service Manager at Valley Arts Guitar 1980-1986, Chris Bristol was my local Roland Sales Rep. He was at Roland 35 years, climbed the corporate ladder and until recently was Chairman of Roland US.

This is an old press release, gives an overview of the changes at Roland in the last couple years.

http://www.rolandus.com/company/press_releases/article/990

ROLAND U.S. ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT CHANGES
Los Angeles, CA, March 24, 2010 — Roland Corporation U.S. is announcing a series of changes to its executive management:

Dennis Houlihan – Chairman
Dennis Houlihan, currently President & CEO, will assume the responsibilities of Chairman of Roland Corporation U.S. He will also continue in his role as a member of the Board of Directors of Roland Corporation Japan. He has been with Roland Corporation U.S. since 1993.

Dennis succeeds Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi, Founder and Special Consultant of Roland Corporation Japan who is resigning from his current roles as Chairman and Director of Roland Corporation U.S.

Chris Bristol – President & CEO
Chris Bristol, currently Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, will become the new President & CEO of Roland Corporation U.S., as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Roland Corporation U.S. Chris has been with Roland since 1978. For many years, he was one of Roland's most successful District Sales Managers covering the Southern California area. Since moving into the management team in 1993, he has held a variety of sales and marketing positions.

In this role, Chris will assume primary responsibility for all day-to-day Company operations.

===========

Back to present day 2013,  Changes are taking place at Roland, but we will wait and see which direction they are currently headed.
Click this link each week to see if they make formal announcement / press release of the new pecking order at Roland.
http://www.rolandus.com/company/press_dealer_resources/press_releases/


In other news, at 6:00pm today i got a call from Line 6 - they are randomly calling JTV-59 customers and asking several questions on how Line6 can improve things, and how are they doing as a company. My JTV-59 is a fine guitar - (after I filed the Nut and lowered the action), I spent about 40 minutes with them, explaining I own several several pieces of Line 6 gear, and I had to go through Three JTV-69's before I got one with a straight neck, (first two had necks that were "hourglass" shaped, when viewed directly from the front of the guitar, a result of overzealous neck sanding during manufacture.  But Line 6 worked with me, and finally delivered a great guitar.   

In this downturn weak economy, its going to be survival of the fittest, I predict a few companies we take for granted as always being there, may not be around in another few years.   


And yes - I predict no further updates to either VG-99, VB-99, or GR-55.


Elantric

#32
QuoteHighly unlikely they are lurking.

Well, based on my conversation with Peter Swaidon last weekend at NAMM, i suspect that is changing - although they are very stealth.

But who are they kidding when 90% of Roland US is clueless about the capabilities of their own products:
Its embarrasing

Case in point

http://www.rolandus.com/blog/2013/01/28/g-5-vg-stratocaster-review/

QuoteReview by Michael Hodge

A few years ago, Roland and Fender got together and offered a Stratocaster with a built in Roland GK Divided Pickup system.  I have one and love it for programming since I am better on guitar than keys.  You can also double stuff via MIDI and make cool layers behind chords and solos, adding synth tones to what is coming out of the amp.

Continue reading this review in the July/August issue of Worship Musician! magazine

True Michael Hodge, may be referring to the Fender Roland Ready Strat - but his recent Roland G5 review leaves the impression that the new Fender / Roland G-5  can also drive MIDI synths.
(Hint - the Roland G5 completely lacks a 13 pin Output jack  - so not sure how he is using a 2012 Roland G5 (or the 2007 Fender VG Strat) to trigger MIDI ??

But back to Social Media - Im sure some Roland middle manager thought the ideal path for Roland to enter "social media" was when they dreamed up the lame "GuitarFriend JAM".

http://www.rolandus.com/company/press_releases/article/1571

If only those same resources were focused on fixing the known 7 year old bugs with the VG-99 instead.
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1319.0;attach=1484

aliensporebomb

I'm probably a company's worst nightmare since I hold onto and use gear forever.  I still have and use my JC120 from the early 1980s, my Mesa Studio preamp, my Lexicon Vortex ($150 at the blowout sale at Guitar Center in 1995 almost 18 years ago), among other things.

I'm still discovering stuff with that 99 but I'm not ignorant to the new stuff out there.  Maybe with Roland's chairman stepping down and other management changes it's unclear as to what is going to what direction is going to be taken just yet.  Maybe people are just protecting paychecks by not making controversial decisions or big changes - status quo might be safest career wise.
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Elantric

#34
http://www.roland.com/ir/

http://www.roland.com/ir/financial_category.html


http://www.roland.com/ir/pdf/2013/20130208_2.pdf
ROLAND Consolidated Financial Results
for the Nine Months Ended December 31, 2012

QuoteDuring the nine months ended December 31, 2012, with regard to the global economy, signs of an economic recovery were observed in some sectors in the United States, but the recession continued in Europe due to prolonged financial problems. Also, although emerging markets, for the most part, achieved strong growth, the pace of economic growth became slow in China. Meanwhile, in Japan, the business environment remained harsh because Japanese economy entered a recessionary phase due to factors such as a decline in exports stemming from the rapid appreciation of the yen and a slowdown in overseas economies.
Amid these circumstances, with respect to the Electronic Musical Instruments Business, in Japan, North America and Europe, new products of electronic drums and digital pianos contributed to sales, but sales especially of existing products, such as stage pianos, synthesizers and guitar-related equipment, generally decreased. As for emerging markets, although the growth rate in China slowed down, sales grew steadily in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia.
As a result, combined with the significant impact of the strong yen, net sales decreased by 6.0% year on year to ¥29,361 million. In terms of profitability, the Company posted an operating loss of ¥1,166 million (from an operating loss of ¥756 million for the same period of the previous fiscal year).
In the Electronic Musical Instruments Business, developed markets, which have been experiencing a lull since the Lehman crisis, have yet to recover and are recording stagnant sales. As such, the Company is undertaking structural reforms in an effort to establish a system that can secure profit on the current scale of sales. To this end, we are engaging in consolidating the organization and narrowing down the products to enhance the efficiency of development, consolidating domestic factories to enhance cost competitiveness, relocating production to countries such as China, Taiwan and Indonesia, and consolidating sales offices in Japan and abroad, among other initiatives. In addition, as part of such reforms, the Company is pursuing the optimization of the organization through a personnel cutback of 350 staff members, equivalent to roughly 15% in the Electronic Musical Instruments Business.
In the Computer Peripherals Business, in order to bolster our competitive edge in emerging markets, a manufacturing subsidiary in Thailand commenced operations in October 2012. With regard to the sales system, a subsidiary was established to aggregate and enhance the efficiency of back office functions of the European sales subsidiaries, and a Chinese sales subsidiary was established with the aim of expanding sales and developing new markets.
In Japan and North America, robust sales were recorded mainly for new printers, which were launched in the previous fiscal year. In Europe, however, sales fell below the same period of the previous fiscal year, due to the effects of the economic slump in Southern Europe and the strong yen. In Asia, sales decreased year on year, reflecting the slowdown of economic growth in China, the change in the sales network in Korea, and other factors.
As a result, combined with the significant impact of the strong yen, net sales decreased by 2.0% year on year to ¥23,652 million, and operating income decreased by 27.9% year on year to ¥913 million.
-3-
As a result of the factors described above, overall net sales decreased by 4.3% year on year to ¥53,013 million, operating loss was ¥252 million (from an operating income of ¥510 million for the same period of the previous fiscal year), and ordinary loss was ¥465 million (from an ordinary loss of ¥38 million for the same period of the previous fiscal year). Ultimately, the Company posted a net loss of ¥2,714 million (from a net income of ¥268 million for the same period of the previous fiscal year) mainly due to expenses of ¥1,400 million associated with soliciting voluntary retirement implemented as part of structural reforms and tax expenses of ¥700 million.
The average exchange rates for the nine months ended December 31, 2012 (*) were 79 yen to the US dollar (from 81 yen for the same period of the previous fiscal year), and 102 yen to the euro (from 113 yen for the same period of the previous fiscal year).
(*) Average for January to September 2012, because the fiscal year of the Company's foreign consolidated subsidiaries is from January to December.
Results of net sales by business segment are as follows.
<Electronic Musical Instruments Business>
[Electronic musical instruments]
Sales of electronic drums increased due to the launch of new products with new sound engines. Sales of existing products such as stage pianos and synthesizers were sluggish, mainly in the United States and Europe. As a result, net sales for this segment decreased by 5.4% year on year to ¥10,957 million.
[Guitar-related equipment]
Sales were weak for existing compact type effects and multi-track recorder products for guitars. With regard to guitar synthesizers, new products which were jointly developed with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of the United States contributed to sales, but sales of existing products declined in North America. As a result, net sales for this segment decreased by 9.2% year on year to ¥5,793 million.
[Home electronic musical instruments]
With regard to digital pianos, even though new products contributed to sales, sales have been stagnant since the third quarter in Japan. Meanwhile, sales of new products of keyboards with automatic accompaniment adapted to the local musical style were robust in Asia, Central and South America, and the Middle East. As a result, net sales of this segment decreased by 4.3% year on year to ¥7,422 million.
-4-
[Professional video, professional audio and computer music equipment]
With regard to professional video equipment, robust sales of all-in-one AV mixers for live online video streaming were recorded, but sales of professional audio equipment were low primarily in the United States and Europe. In computer music equipment, however, sales of music production software and peripheral equipment were weak. As a result, net sales for this segment fell by 13.4% year on year to ¥3,353 million.
[Others]
Sales of sound engines for online karaoke machines were favorable in Japan. As a result, overall net sales for this segment increased by 12.2% year on year to ¥1,834 million.
As a result of the factors described above, net sales for the Electronic Musical Instruments Business decreased by 6.0% year on year to ¥29,361 million.
<Computer Peripherals Business>
Regarding printers, compact UV printers capable of directly printing on three-dimensional objects and desktop size low-solvent printers have performed strongly. Also, at the end of September, we launched a flagship model of large low-solvent printers capable of producing items such as high-quality posters and signboards. As a result, sales of printers were at almost the same level year on year.
In 3D products, sales of dental milling machines increased steadily mainly in Italy and the United States, but sales fell below the same period of the previous fiscal year because shipments to sales agents were concentrated after the launch in the previous fiscal year.
Sales of supplies were flat year on year because sales of inks in the Southern Europe region decreased while sales of inks in Japan and the United Kingdom increased.
As a result of the factors described above, net sales for Computer Peripherals Business decreased by 2.0% year on year to ¥23,652 million.
(2) Qualitative Information on Consolidated Financial Position
Total assets increased by ¥1,394 million from the end of previous consolidated fiscal year to ¥75,038 million. This is mainly attributable to a ¥1,105 million increase in cash and deposits and ¥2,077 million increase in merchandise and finished goods, as well as the decreases of ¥681 million in notes and accounts receivable-trade and ¥934 million in other current assets including accounts receivable-other.
-5-
-6-
Liabilities increased by ¥5,798 million from the end of the previous consolidated fiscal year to ¥19,181 million. This is due mainly to increases of ¥902 million in notes and accounts receivable-trade, ¥2,341 million in short-term loans payable, ¥993 million in long-term loans payable including current portion, and ¥1,800 million in other current liabilities including accounts payable-other for structural reform expenses, etc., as well as a ¥718 million decrease in provision for bonuses due to payment of bonuses.
Net assets decreased by ¥4,403 million from the end of the previous consolidated fiscal year to ¥55,856 million. Key factors included the posting of net loss of ¥2,714 million and the dividends from surplus of ¥416 million, along with a ¥1,202 million decrease in minority interests due to the purchase of stocks of subsidiaries and affiliates and other factors.
The equity ratio was 54.6%, down 5.3 points from the end of the previous consolidated fiscal year, mainly due to an increase in total assets and a decrease in net assets stated above.
(3) Qualitative Information on Forecast of Consolidated Financial Results
The Company has revised its forecasts of consolidated financial results for the full year of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013 announced on November 7, 2012. Details will be disclosed today in a separate document, titled "Notice of Revision of Financial Results Forecast."
2. Issues Related to Summary Information (Notes)
Changes in Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Corrections of Errors
(Changes in accounting policies difficult to distinguish from changes in accounting estimates)
The Company and its domestic consolidated subsidiaries have changed their method for depreciation reflecting the revised Corporation Tax Act from the first quarter ended June 30, 2012, following the revision of the Act, in respect to property, plant and equipment acquired on or after April 1, 2012.
The impact of this change on the operating loss, ordinary loss and loss before income taxes and minority interests is minimal.

oddguitar

My VG99 is dead to me(due only to Roland's lack of support), I'll shortly get a JTV89f and hook it to my kemper= awesome setup with regular updates.

Quote from: Guitarpolson on February 01, 2013, 09:33:14 AM
jep, thats a nice modelling guitar, Lee!..
And:if you need a synth you can always plug in Midi Guitar or use triple Play.

I was thinking of picking up a JTV89f as well, but there isn't enough room between the Floyd Rose and the bridge pickup for a GK3 or Fishman Triple Play hex pickup.  The neck on the JTV69 is too big for my liking & I'm not fond of the arched top (digs into my forearm) or switching setup of the JTV 59 (not to mention no trem)......I can't win :(

-oddguitar

Elantric

#36
QuoteThe neck on the JTV69 is too big for my liking

Many swap the JTV-69 Neck for this one - which is thinner

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bodies,_necks,_wood/Electric_guitar_necks/Replacement_Neck_for_Strat_Guitar.html


http://line6.com/support/message/373296#373296


GovernorSilver

Korg is the only one of the Big 3 Japanese makers that has maintained some sort of social media presence.  RichF of Korg has several instructional videos on Youtube and has posted on a couple of forums.  Before him there were a couple of guys named Jerry and Dan representing Korg on the interwebz.

Not a coincidence, I think, that it's Korg rather than Roland who is reissuing products such as new analog synths, iOS apps, etc. seemingly in sync with musicians' evolving tastes.  Yamaha got in to the iPad thing a bit, but they're even more "remote" than Roland in some ways.

That all said, I'll keep using my VG-99...

musicman65

Why would lack of support from Roland make the VG99 any less valuable than it was the day it was released? I'm keeping both of mine. They still work the same way I expect them to. One is now a front end to a Kemper.

bd

oddguitar

As much as I would like Roland to update the VG-99, I think we have to look at the financial reality of the situation.  At the end of the day, Roland (and every other company on Earth) exists to make money.  The VG-99, whether by design, poor marketing, or both, has been a failure in terms of sales.  It is a very expensive, specialized product that has a steep learning curve and requires the affixing of a hex pickup to the guitar.  These are not generally qualities that ensure success in the super traditional conservative guitar market.

In any event, the bottom line is that updating the VG-99 is not going to make it a successful product in terms of sales.  If Roland wants to build goodwill among the VG-99 faithful and update the product, that's all that will result from an update.  There will be no new revenue stream resulting from an updated VG-99 that will pay for the investment in the update.  Especially not from a market segment that is down 9.2% year to year.  I can't imagine that if any one of us were placed in the position to be running Roland that we would decide that investing capital in a sales dud this far into its lifecycle (2007-2013) would be a good idea.

Typically Roland comes out with an expensive flagship product with new technology, and then cycles that technology down into more affordable, less radical and ultimately more saleable products until the next new flagship product is released and starts the whole cycle again.  They are currently doing this with their digital piano line....they released the super expensive revolutionary V-Piano, and then cycled the Supernatural (modeling + sampling) technology down into the rest of the digital piano line.

If history is any guide, Roland will release a new flagship V-Guitar product that will introduce the successor technology to COSM, and then cycle that new technology down to more affordable products.  If we are unlucky, Roland may just throw in the towel on the entire V-Guitar segment given its relative unprofitability.

Not trying to be a jerk, just being realistic that product decisions are based first and foremost on whether they will make the company money or not, which is something that is easy to forget when one is a fan of a company and their products.

-oddguitar

GovernorSilver

Oh yeah, I forgot that Bill Ruppert started loading VG-99 profiles into his Kemper Profiling Amp.  This alone makes the KPA a useful thing to put on my future gear shopping list - so I could use some of those sounds on guitars that don't have a hex pickup.  For example, I've been eyeing a Strandberg Boden 8 8-string guitar, but the way it's designed it doesn't look convenient to put a hex on.

Now_And_Then

Quote from: Elantric on February 02, 2013, 02:18:14 AMI predict no further updates to either VG-99, VB-99, or GR-55.

Well that says all that needs to be said: the GR-55 seems to be a popular product.

This seems all to be a corporate-mindset kind of thing: if a product (like the VG-99) is unsuccessful, then there is no point to investing resources in updates. But if a product (like the GR-55) is successful, then there is no need for updates either because it's already selling well and users are happy (i.e. happy enough for Roland). 

So Roland's policy is that updates are never needed.


Elantric

#42
Well one new twist - i found the Roland GK-3 Patent online last night  - and it names all the Roland Engineers who actually designed the GK-3 that drives the GK 13 pin gear we talk about.

They are listed in the red box on the left:


Next NAMM show, I'll be sure to pay attention to read names on the NAMM Show badges for all Japanese Roland folk who attend NAMM each year.

I will see if I can have a friendly chat with :

Ryohei Kanayama

or

Yoshifumi Sakai

or

Yasunori Nagaoka



EDIT:


These are search results (Feb 2012)


Mr. Ryohei Kanayama (confirmed )
http://www.youtube.com/user/goldmine196909
http://www.facebook.com/ryohei.kanayama.1
https://plus.google.com/112750982002483627203/about

QuoteIntroduction
Born in 1969.
Born in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture. Living in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture since 1993.
During the day on weekdays, pretending to be a designer and manufacturer in certain mechanism.


Predisposition to respond to the keyword Beatles, Star Wars, Toshikazu Ishii, Doraemon, Dragon Ball, Patalliro, Harry Potter, Lions, and Apple gadgets.

There is a little connection with the people of that district parents and uncle since I was the author of the animation though not prominent in human affairs.
Bragging rights
Also can play left or right at the base only Beatles number. Apparently I have been to the beach with family Hayao Miyazaki
Occupation
Company employee
Education

     Saitama University
     Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, 1989 - 1993
     Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefectural High School
     1985 - 1988


EDIT: Gotta love this job description ;)
"During the day on weekdays, pretending to be a designer and manufacturer in certain mechanism."

Mr. Yoshifumi Sakai left Roland in 2010 -
now works for Toray Industries, Tokyo
http://www.toray.com/aboutus/index.html
http://patents.com/us-20120128898.html


and best I can determine -
Mr. Yasunori Nagaoka now works for Ernst and Young.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/yasunori-nagaoka/1a/278/9b2

Elantric


aliensporebomb

Wow!  That would be amazing. 

I wonder if the VG-99 is in there somewhere too?
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Elantric

#45
http://www.audioprointernational.com/news/read/roland-appoints-new-president/05805
Roland appoints new president
The Roland Corporation has announced the appointment of Jun-ichi Miki as the firm's new president.

Miki joined Roland in 1977, beginning his career working in the production department of the tape echo and rhythm machine facility in Osaka. During his tenure as a Roland engineer, he was deeply involved in developing products such as the HP-2700 and FP-8 digital pianos, JV and XP series synthesisers, SRX series expansion boards, the C-30 digital harpsichord and most recently, the VR-09 V-Combo.

In 1994, Miki joined Roland's board of directors and since then has led many technical and product-development teams, including those responsible for overseas production facilities.

"The Roland group of international sales and manufacturing companies is firmly tied to a fundamental philosophy. The entire Roland family strives to listen to the voices from the market and to inspire the enjoyment of creativity through the development of exciting new products and applications. Our goal is to be evermore valuable and inspiring to customers, the industry and society while staying true to Roland's fundamental slogan, 'We design the future,'" commented Miki.

===
http://www.audioprointernational.com/news/read/roland-systems-group-partners-with-leisuretec/05652
http://www.rolandsystemsgroup.co.uk/

Roland Systems Group partners with Leisuretec
Adam Savage

by Adam Savage

Roland Systems Group (RSG) has announced the appointment of Leisuretec Distribution as UK distributor for its expanding pro audio and video product range.

Leisuretec, which has been supplying audio equipment for 23 years, will now carry RSG's complete pro audio offering including its award winning Roland V-Mixing systems, digital snakes, live personal monitoring lines and field recorders.

"After a successful year in 2012, we were looking to further broaden the choice we can offer our customers with unique specialist products. As a result, we are delighted to have formed a working relationship with Roland Systems Group," said Cliff Dounting, commercial director for Leisuretec Distribution.

"Roland's high profile and professional reputation fits perfectly with Leisuretec's technical expertise and commitment to stock holding, which means together, we are able to easily help our customers specify, commission, and demonstrate Roland professional video, audio and field recorder systems.

"This trade partnership means that for the first time, Roland Systems Group products are fully accessible to the general trade from a dedicated wholesale trade distributor, Leisuretec."

Simon Kenning, sales manager for RSG, added: "We are delighted to make this announcement. During our discussions with Leisuretec we discovered early on that the synergies between our companies is actually very close. This along with our product offering cemented our relationship, and we very much look forward to working with the Leisuretec team into the future."




Kevin M

...and the new president promptly commented that the same level of commitment to the VGuitar line of products would be maintained.  :-)

vurnt99

          As disheartening as Roland's lack of firmware for the VG-99 is, I would note that their updates to the VG-99's Editor/ Librarian are Mountain Lion 10.8 up-to-the minute, at least Mac-wise- So they haven't TOTALLY abandoned the VG platform. The GR-55 is NOT a VG-99 replacement. I suspect that debate quietly rages behind the scenes about what the VG platform's future is.
   The democratizing salvo of personalized modeling the KPA represents & the incredible sonic quality of Axe-FX are not lost on the people who helped introduce the technology to start with. Having said that; I don't think there will be another firmware update to the VG99, but  a new VG unit altogether- call it a VG-1010, which will be the flagship of Boss/Roland guitar technology at a lower price point than the current VG-99. 96K, Bluetooth, maybe we'll get to model our own guitars as well as our own amps too. A seriously updated Feature Set.  They're gonna want to show their competitors who is Boss.
    It's astounding that the VG-99 is still relevant despite the serious lack of updates-of all the other virtual platforms out there it remains the easiest to program by a wide margin, which allows for incredibly satisfying musical results despite it's limitations. Roland may want to take full advantage of Social Media, but only to promote a NEW product, not support this aging AMAZING one we love.

Elantric

I hope you are right and a VG-1010 arrives.
Quote  The democratizing salvo of personalized modeling the KPA represents & the incredible sonic quality of Axe-FX are not lost on the people who helped introduce the technology to start with. Having said that; I don't think there will be another firmware update to the VG99, but  a new VG unit altogether- call it a VG-1010, which will be the flagship of Boss/Roland guitar technology at a lower price point than the current VG-99. 96K, Bluetooth, maybe we'll get to model our own guitars as well as our own amps too. A seriously updated Feature Set.  They're gonna want to show their competitors who is Boss.
    It's astounding that the VG-99 is still relevant despite the serious lack of updates-of all the other virtual platforms out there it remains the easiest to program by a wide margin, which allows for incredibly satisfying musical results despite it's limitations. Roland may want to take full advantage of Social Media, but only to promote a NEW product, not support this aging AMAZING one we love.

aliensporebomb

I've pretty much determined the VG-99 was almost too flexible.  If there's a sound out there, I can achieve it.  It might take time but I can do it.  Even the AxeFX sounds I was interested in I can do.

The whole idea that Kemper instituted of "sampling amps with the touch of a button" would make things a lot faster.   

The Ruppert examples showed what the VG-99 could do but I get the idea you can go even farther.  The deeper you go the more things you find that don't seem immediately obvious.

The fact that you can order things in any order you want really maximizes your timbral possibilities.

I'd be interested to see that a VG-1010 is - but for now the 99 is so flexible I kind of wonder if a 1010 would be using a subtractive feature set or a similar one with higher quality audio and higher bitrate USB/I/O.

My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.