Roland Digital Synth Racks/Sound Modules

Hi, I’m not a big fan of Roland’s Boutique series. I’ve owned the Juno, the Jupiter and the TR-09, and I’ve long hesitated before getting this D-05 in loving memory of my good ol’ D-550 ;-) Well, I ‘ain’t been disappointed! It’s really lovely, smaller than the other models in the series I think – at least it’s not as wide. The original model’s color scheme is partly reproduced, as with the rest of the series. Accessing banks, presets and sequences is as easy as can be! I’ve read here and there there were output gain problems, so I took the step to plug my MindPrint preamp behind it, just in case… I still consider this new fashion of putting a minijack out irritating, but I must admit the size of the device would hardly have made a full-sized XLR a legit option ;-) The power supply, MIDI and audio all go through a mini-USB connector (mini-connectors for a mini-synth: quite logical somehow): just install a driver and here you go! Strangely, there’s only one knob on the back side for volume setting. All tweakings are done using the buttons and switches as well as + and -, just like on the original. Driver : OK, USB : OK, audio signal : OK… Here we go! It sounds great from the very start – a little cleaner compared with the original if I remember correctly, but it delivers the same warmth. The effects are not exaggerated. I’m getting my old feelings back! The small joystick seems quite fragile, but it does the job. The 2 ribbons sound interesting and are respectively used for pitch bend and modulation, plus a nice ladder filter. But let’s concentrate on the sound: well, this is where this nice little guy really shines! The sound structure is the exact same compared with the original, except it was modelled by Roland. Put them side by side in a blind test, and I dare you to recognize which is which. Regarding the editing process… Well, that’s less brilliant. Linear synthesis is approximately to Roland what FM synthesis was to Yamaha – that’s very harsh. Plus, you certainly wouldn’t consider getting into upper-level synthesis with a 2-line screen and four control buttons, so I looked for an editor and, well… that was not easy. For Windows, you’ll find what you need. For iOS, you’ll find what you need – provided you pay for it As for Mac OS X… well, not so much to be found. But don’t be afraid, you’ll still find an EXCELLENT software http://ctrlr.org/roland-d50-editor/ which is free, very efficient and comprehensive. So, now we can finally tweak it as we like. My advice is (as usual) to start from a preset you like and manipulate the dozens of sliders: you’ll soon understand which has which effect. Well, that’s not the most usual way into the world of linear synthesis, but that’s quite efficient. But for the lazy ones – and I shall know, I’m one – who are after the sounds from their youth, this tiny synth can get those of its predecessors, and god knows you’ll find many all over the internet. So… It’s a beautiful life, ain’t it?

This is an amazing workhorse of a synth. The only gripe I have is 3 master effects. Thats why I've not given it a 10 as I'd like to have seen maybe 5 master effects.... Price paid £1500 UTILIZATION Full marks - I found this a very intuitive module. Now I have an editor for this beast I'm in heaven. Manual gives good insights. Good build quality - if I was gigging I'd get this racked in a shock-proof case. Nothing has broken but I did have a problem updating my operating software on it as I had a power cut. Luckily I reapplied the update and everything worked again. Just at the same time a help response came from Roland - same day ! SOUNDS Sound quality is Immense. Stereo partials - amazing. I love playing this module with a velocity sensitive keyboard with aftertouch. Everything is pristine, great detail. Guitars, strings and pads, drums - everything in usual Roland warmth. OVERALL OPINION My girlfriend sits in a rack now and the 5080 sleeps with me. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: Unknown (January 2-, 2002)

Supernatural sound quality is perfect, i like it a lot! I got it with the expectation to have some 2 or 3 instruments playing along with me when playing piano. The sound get chopped up in small pcs and swallowed, because polyphony is too small, when having more than 1 part selected from all 16. Only 1 supernatural instrument can be used at the time, when I asked for support on Roland USA website, they just closed the question without even answering, i hope there will be some update or improvement in the future polyphony is so small, is there any upgrade chip? I do not understand we have dualcore - quadcore - octacore Full HD, but a polyphony of only 128 ??? That is a true shame! if you decide to buy it, it is good for the studio, and the sounds are nice. if you plan to use it live it will be very frustrating to you But there is no better soundmodule out there for now! i hope roland will learn from there mistake friendly regards to all fellow musicians

These machines are going very cheap at the moment In much the same box as the previous flagship D550, it likewise blurs the line between synth and ROMpler. For those who want a library of bread and butter, ready made sounds, there's four banks of 128 patches. Programming is similar to the D110, consisting of four tones within a structure, which offers various modulation options. The use of one tone to modulate another is familiar to older LA synthesizers and results in flexible and unique results. Free software editors are available, as are sounds. On the ROMpler side, there's 8mb of ROM expandable to 48mb. Mono sounds with portamento , legato and so forth are catered for too. Especially cool are the two DSPs, which have flexible routing options and are midi-clocked. UTILIZATION Like digital synths of it's era, there's a lot of parameters, a small screen, a single knob and a few buttons. Use of a software editor/librarian is a must for serious programming. Plenty of outputs for multi-timbral work. There's GM, but not GS. SOUNDS Factory presets are generally very like the Korg M1, Yamaha TG55/77 and other machines of the early 90s, late 80s, slightly clearer resolution due to cheaper chip space of the later years. However, it's more programmable than the M1, and you can use analog-style waves instead of acoustic ones and create "classic synth" patches or combine the two to give a D50-style effect. Use of LA structures gives the ability to do the latter with some accuracy. Would be nice to have "pure" LA oscillators like the D50 though. Drums aren't as well catered for as the M1, say, but expansion is possible. OVERALL OPINION This sort of instrument has been sidelined by virtual analog / physical modelling and soft synths. If you're an old school muso with an Atari though, it's the bee's knees. They go on eBay in the UK for about £150. Unlike the M1, there's no software clone. Though the GM implementation is basic (no GS/XG) the results on a typical midifile are very professional. I'd recommend this machine for someone with an analogue-based tape (or non-PC hard disk) studio setup who needs a digital synth to cover all bases, maybe with a hardware midi sequencer- it can potentially replace a whole rack of midi gear. I bought mine as I needed a hardware GM machine. Being hardware and having multiple outs, it's great for putting through all your FX, peddles, compressors and so forth. To sum it up, it's probably my least used synth, however if I had to get rid of all but one, this is the one I'd keep.

With the Version 2.0 update, the Vsynth is really really packed with features. You've got the oscillator section: PCM, Analog, or External sounds can be used as oscillators. The PCM lets you use your own encoded samples (covered above) and the Analog has a host of waves. And i do mean a freaking host. Seriously, knock yourself out. COSM section, also covered earlier. Very nice. It's got a post oscillator mixer section that you can mess with. Ever wanted to hear what a drum loop would sound like with a SuperSaw wave modulating it's pitch frequency? You can do that here (by the way, it sounds pretty freaking cool). Want to do some ring modulation? This is the place. Standard mixing of the two oscillators is also accomodated. TVA section is fairly straight forward, contains an envelope and the requisite LFO to control the amplifier. Dedicated sliders are helpfully located to the right of your COSM and Oscillator section so you can get right at that Release slider and "MAKE DAT JUNK SUSTAIN FOR A BILLION YEARZ". Thanks Roland! Version 2.0 also brings a fantastic Mod Sequencer that lets you assign up to 4 destinations for 4 seperate mod sequencers. I absolutely adore this feature, seriously. Great for external stuff. Control surfaces are also fantastic, and include the Time Trip pad and D beam. Oh yeah. $700 USD UTILIZATION Touch Screen. Plentiful Knobs. Sliders for envelopes. Selectable combination of OSC-COSM-MIX-TVA-EFFECTS blocks. Touch Screen. OSC/LFO Knobs double as Sequencer controllers. Touch Screen. mmmm. Built well. Nice knobs. No problems. SOUNDS I think the overall sound quality is probably the weakest point of this machine. The sample stretch and formant control is USABLE and works well for things like drum loops and what not, but for keyboard sounds and general key-played samples it's really somewhat unusable outside of the pitch area that the sample was recorded in. Say if the source sound (take a mellotron string sound, for instance) was recorded at Middle C, then you can maybe play 2 octaves above and below that without huuuuge quality loss. Even the Vsynth sample encoding process seems to degrade the punchiness of the sample, and seems to add some kind of compression. Not always the most useful thing. Aside from the sample engine, the Analog Modelling section sounds fairly good. Various lowpass and multimode filters are there for your pleasure, as well as a host of waves. I tend to use the outlandish v-synth specific waves the most (Juno wave? What the hell is that? I don't know, but i use it!) and relegate more common synth sounds to other VAs. The COSM blocks (which includes the various filters, as well as a few other toys) actually sound really really good for digital emulations. I frequently use that section to process external sources, such as drum machines/other synths/ me running objects together in front of microphones. The sample encoding technology still needs some work, but it's a great second generation machine from roland. Tre good roland. OVERALL OPINION I don't know if i REALLY love it, but i do like it quite a bit. It's a sound designers dream, it has a HOST of fun features, and it's really just a fantastic technology. Come to think of it, i guess i do <3 it! Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: DonaldCrunk ( 3-, 2006)

Based on todays standard it's a little low on the avalible patches and voices. I love the ability to edit a digital bassed synth from the front screen. Only now are they getting screens that show this much detail on a synth to edit it from. I think there are 6 outs, standard midi I,O,T, Strange ass Plug for power. 2 slots in the front for Memory card and Rom's, and a internal JV card (most people use the Vintage card) $1200 UTILIZATION Other than it's a Roland and it is at the start of rolands use of rolands combo buttons it's one of my favorate rackmounts. Editing is as close to a pc as I have seen on a synth without knobs and sliders. Built like a Tank. I would replace it again....and again..... and Again.... Verry happy with the build of this unit other than the odd power cord. SOUNDS One of the best products from roland in the early 90's. It set the scope for the JV-1080,JV-2080 and XV line. One of the Big thing's they was exploiting in the XV line was the fact that it had the JD waves. It has crisp basses,lush strings,excelent pads. You can press down or up to darken or weeken the sound. I have the Vintage card installed in mine so I can pull up any of the patches from that as well as the ones made specialy for the JD-990. I use a card so I have a extra 64 presets or I place on the 3 sets of rom/card in for added pleasure OVERALL OPINION This thing gets used. All the stuff in the studio is a workhorse and has it's purpose. This thing has been around for along time and I have never thought about droping it back in the market. I use it alone, as a layering device. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: kazper ( 7-, 2005)

Nice USB connectivity to the PC. $1200 UTILIZATION Very easy to use. ROland even posts a Cubase patch file on their web site. And Roland techs will walk you thru setting it up with Cubase (over the phone). Hasn't broke down on me yet, but I heard there were defects in the early models. SOUNDS The sound quality is pretty good. Nice variety to choose from. OVERALL OPINION It's definitely one of my staples in the studio. Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: SaltyDawg ( 8-, 2005)

It was hard to believe how much functionality was packed into such a compact unit, especially at that price. The sound was excellent—clean, with no noise. It’s not analog, but you wouldn’t guess it from listening. The engine was that convincing. The filter stood out as well: expressive, and with just the right amount of bite when pushed. It wasn’t perfect, of course. I personally preferred the Volca-style keyboard, which felt more immediate. The built-in effects were serviceable, but nothing groundbreaking. And the interface could be a bit confusing at first—definitely something that took a bit of time to get used to. Even though I sold it, I still recommend the S-1. It’s a clever, well-designed little synth that sounded far better than its size suggests.

The product is used for studio use. I have the studio setup for DAW and non DAW. I was impressed with several Youtube presentations of the JV-880 that I purchased 2 units. The JV-880 has: MIDI/in/out and thru. I've added some internal extension cards and retrofitted the screen with a newer technology screen which is white (letters) over blue - extremely easy to read in brightly lite or in low light environments. The screen worked out so well, I order and second one for the other unit. Background on the synths I desire: Roland JD-990, Access Virus (model C and the T-series), Blofeld and the Novation Peak. This will help to quality what my expectations are when acquiring a music instrument and while reviewing the Roland JV-880. Superb sound quality and a free editor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPQ5tBsh1ZE). The creator, Leandro Cleto has done a superb job with many options to adjust. (download: https://ctrlr.org/jv-patched-roland-jv-880-patch-editor/) Having the Roland JD: 990, the Famtom X and the Korg M-3, I see the JV up with these other synths on sound quality. Pros: Many pros - especially when you think of when it was released. Cons: No cons, I am with gratitude for this module.

I am satisfied with the features. I wouldnt mind having more MIDI ports though (only 16) Price paid $999 UTILIZATION Well the screen is small and I find the menus confusing. The manual is very well made so it helps though. SOUNDS Excellent for bread and butter sounds (pianos, basses, leads, pads..) The drums are good too. I am a fan of orchestral sounds and I think I'll have to spend some more $ to get extensions for those. The basic ones are good but not outstanding. Excellent module though, dont get me wrong! OVERALL OPINION Seems good. Never had a problem. I almost love it Originally posted on FutureProducers.com Posted by: Unknown ( 3-, 2002)