Roland VP-550: The Best Tool No One Knows About?

While browsing on some of the shopping sites this evening I stumbled across this instrument called the Roland VP-550. Never seeing it before I had to look into more about what it was. I found out it is a dedicated harmonizer/vocoder vocal synth.

In fact it is perhaps one of the best sounding vocal harmonizers I have ever heard, creating fairly realistic sounding choruses

Jordan Rudess has some excellent Youtube Videos that showcase some of the versatility of the VP-550. Quite frankly I am blown away and surprised no one else is really talking about this interesting instrument.