Roland New Synth

[Inell Krolick]

TheRoland FANTOM Synthesizer is a new kind of creative hub, where you can combine the power of FANTOM's synthesis engine, your favorite DAW and software synthesizers, and other hardware instruments like modular synthesizers, or your own voice.

Adrian looks back and fondly remembers his time working on the D-50 and his stories make for compelling viewing for any synth buff.

We were able to catch up with Eric 30 years after the launch of the D-50 to celebrate his memories of our legendary synth.

TBH I don't care about the Zenbeats synths, and wasn't all that impressed with the newer Roland sounds either. Love Zenbeats as a DAW though. Other than Loopy Pro, it has the best iOS DAW workflow for my purposes.

Now with all the Roland hardware and online evolution centered around the Zencore engine, I am looking forward to whatever Roland decides to bring to the Zenbeats table. A full-blown ZC2 synth? I-arpeggio? Of course a bunch of minor improvements in Zenbeats. An improved sampler with 16 pads just like the hardware?

Same for me I use loopy pro with Lk and have almost no limitations. The only drawback is a bit complicated and sometimes unstable workflow.

But very capable creative and powerful, even more than logic or Ableton. At least for me.

Q: What are vintage synths, and why are they so renowned/expensive?

The original synths were oscillator effect combinations that the user had to turn a certain way to achieve a specific sound. And they were powered by electric circuits which combined diodes, op-amps, potentiometers, and basic microelectronic circuits.

Having a understanding of how different effects and oscillator will definitely help you create cooler sounds, but honestly the best way to learn is by doing. By which I mean, experiment with whatever synth and effects you have, see how different presets are made while understanding how they work, and read relevant materials which interest you.

IMO, the Moog synth apps sound fantastic. But I'm sure the musician experience of will never be the same. Having said that, I think that for a given preset, an apples-to-apples comparison of the Minimoog to the Model D would come out so close that to most listener ears the difference wouldn't matter.

After I wrote the thread starter this morning, I fired up the iPad through my PAs to play a few ZC sounds. Then played with Synthmaster 2, Model 15, Animoog Z, and MKSensation X. And it reminded me how many high-quality synth sounds I have in overabundance with my iPad.

If you're going to say the JV1080 then I think the prize has to go to the XV5080 which was the ultimate version of that synth engine. With a couple of good SRX boards installed, 128 voice polyphony, lots of nice effects and a fairly easy to navigate user interface it can be a very handy piece of gear to have around.

Even the lowly JV1010 still has plenty of use left. Xylophones, Marimbas, Pipe Organs, Stereowww Bass, some low male Choirs, ringing tubular bells etc. All those patches are quite good and quite usable. The xylophone patch sounds better than a real one.

I've never thought of any of Rolands synth to be revolutionary. (Maybe variphrase). But they are still some of the best synths ever. I love my Jd-800/990 and the Jupiters are all great too. Today it's gotta be the V-Synth.

I also like my Roland GR33 guitar synth a lot - it's the best one they've made yet. It's based on the JV 1080 synth engine. I sometimes control it with a keyboard as well as a midi guitar and it sounds great either way.

you don't get the word "best". it's not about which is the most most most in everything now. fantom is just an evolutionary thing (as was 5080) i think, the thread is about the synth that had the biggest impact on music industry (and amateur scene). no synth comes close to JV1080. everyone has (or had) one, it's been used in more songs than anything else. and it doesn't matter that it had inferior synth engine than some other roland synths (like JD), it's about the sheer sonic power of the thing.

For those readers with an imperfect grasp of their V-Synth history, the original V-Synth was an innovative instrument that combined modelled analogue waveforms and PCM variphrase oscillators with user sampling. These audio sources were routed in a semi-modular fashion through a selection of COSM processors such as standard filters, amp models, waveshapers, side-band filters, frequency shifters, comb filters and more. Features such as the twin D-Beam controllers, 'Time Trip' pad, dedicated knobs and responsive touchscreen ensured that its unique "elastic audio" (as Roland described their 'Variphrase' concept) was highly malleable in performance.

Like the earlier XT rack, the GT has a colour touchscreen and sacrifices some of the original keyboard's dedicated knobs for a row of assignable ones. Conceived as an "expressive synth", the GT also features brand-new technology, in the form of Articulative Phrase Synthesis. APS employs a separate pool of waveforms and performance models to replicate some of the nuances of human performance.

Both the original V-Synth and its rack counterpart, the V-Synth XT, have received thorough examinations in SOS; to gain a complete perspective I therefore recommend that you read this review in conjunction with the earlier ones from the May 2003 and September/October 2005 editions of SOS.

Bonus style points are earned for the new synth by the neatly recessed colour screen and Time Trip pad (an innovative controller with various uses), and by informational panels lit by splashes of blue light. The aforementioned 320 x 240 colour TFT touchscreen sits at the heart of operations. With numerous pages of on-line help, a map function and graphics galore, it does an excellent job of conveying a large amount of information, and it only occasionally feels as though there's too much crammed in. There's even a selection of screen savers and wallpaper, and you can import your own bitmaps to do the same job, too, if such things turn you on. For the most part, I found the interface a delight, apart from several occasions when I noticed the screen laboriously redrawing itself. This typically occurred when complex patches were involved, or if I tried to simultaneously tweak and perform. Assuming the CPU shares its activities between the synth engine and screen updates, perhaps some optimisation can be achieved in a future operating system.

Compared to the first V-Synth, there are fewer knobs in dedicated roles, although the most important controls for oscillators, COSM processors and envelopes are retained. I missed having instant access to oscillator levels and LFO depths but, as I mentioned earlier, by way of compensation the GT offers eight assignable knobs (labelled E1 to E8), positioned below the screen. As far as possible, these correspond to on-screen objects (as they did on the V-Synth XT) and assist greatly during editing. In play mode they are assignable, but sadly on a global rather than a per-patch basis. However, for some bizarre reason they can duplicate the functions of the GT's existing knobs and sliders, yet can't be assigned to mimic all those of the original.

On balance, the V-Synth's new look gets a positive thumbs-up, whether for no-brainers such as the dedicated Write button (where previously there was merely an option in a menu) or for the more practically useful enhancements, including one that may not be so obvious: the D-Beam infra-red light controller has been moved away from the centre of the synth by 13cms. This minor feat of engineering is more important than it may at first appear, because it offers the user a fighting chance of stacking a smaller keyboard above the V-Synth GT without permanently triggering the D-Beam's, er, beams. Given the opportunity, I would have moved the D-Beam even further, but this is definitely progress.

Incidentally, the GT's knobs and sliders transmit System Exclusive data rather than CCs (Continuous Controllers), so don't expect to control your soft synths with them. And, in common with its older sibling, the V-Synth GT offers few concessions for those hoping to use it as a master keyboard. Having been reinvented, its remit now seems to be that of a stand-alone performance instrument, and in accordance with this it has also dropped the older models' multitimbral mode and rhythm kits. There isn't even an option to control its two layers via separate MIDI channels.

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