I have not used my Roland JV2080 for a few years now, so I have been considering selling it. However, I have seen two of them sell on Ebay recently for under £190! Bearing this in mind, I thought I would switch mine on and have a play for old time sake. But…. and a big but…. I was shocked to hear how good this synth still sounds today. Having moved over to a PC based DAW in recent years, I have not had the need to use the JV2080. If I was to buy one of these now for under £190, I think “a bargain” would be an understatement. I am beginning to think that everyone should keep at least one hardware synth, and for me, this is definitely one that I will be keeping hold of. Have any of you had any similar surprises lately?

and there was me thinking you were suggesting that the JV2080 was used to make the theme tune for Waking The Dead...



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hourglass | random thoughts | doubledotdash!? collective

I have an XV5080, Roland's ex top of the line module. 128 voices of polyphony, decent onboard FX including the SRV3030 reverb (I also have one of these knocking around which I don't use either, and it's actually a decent unit, though rather painful to tweak) and very nice patch programming.

We get so used to the convenience of virtual instruments, that using "real" ones with limited resources sometimes becomes a bit of a pain, unless you have them permanently wired up and ready to go.

But it's surprising what you can get out of any instruments with some effort. We often think "the new thing" is better, but often, fully exploiting your existing resources can sometimes be more rewarding.

For instance, my second ever keyboard I got when I was about 11 years old was a Yamaha MK100 home keyboard, which was quite advanced for it's time. I loved that thing back then, and so I dug it out and multisampled it, loads of sounds and custom sounds, drums, rhythm patterns and so on. Played with via a sampler, with velocity sensivity, real filters, and the new FX we all have now sounds fantastic.

It's often worth having little "sound design" days or evenings, where you free yourself up from doing "music" and just play around and generate new sounds. Then when you go back to your music sessions, you have some new sounds and resources to work from - and they are "your" sounds, rather than thousands of presets done by other people.

I don't have a JV2080 but I know just what you mean. Logic, which I use, can't match the JV2080's quantity and variety of useable sounds.

I'm not sure I want a JV2080 but I do often wish that Logic's factory package was as good.

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You live. You learn.

Quote desmond:

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I have an XV5080, Roland's ex top of the line module.

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My 'go to' synth along with the Kurz K2000 and Eps 16.

I be old skoolie.

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

xv5080 here too. Still get mileage out of my old Prophecy, which is so hands on it's ridiculous compared to softsynth tweakability. I keep on thinking about flogging both of them, but with the money I'd make, what am I going to buy that'll be as much fun? Short of an EMS or multi-knobbed wonder from Roland / Korg / Moog / Oberheim, there's not much visceral enjoyment to be had fiddling with a mouse and screen.

Quote Zukan:

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Quote desmond:

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I have an XV5080, Roland's ex top of the line module.

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My 'go to' synth along with the Kurz K2000 and Eps 16.

I be old skoolie.

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Nice! Especially the Kurz IMHO,that's a classic. I have a JV-1080, it's still super. I have some older stuff too! Like the Casio VZ and CZ, also impossible to replace virtually.

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madtheory creations
Synths and pianos for Kontakt

I'll never give up my Korg 01R/W, Emu Audity 2000, Ensoniq ESQ1, Ensoniq VFX-SD or Kawai K4r....the Kawai K1r however, is a little piece of poo poo!

I'm actually considering more hardware synths...I quite fancy a Korg TR Rack and a Roland XV5080/3080. Would also like to get a vintage Koogerheimland of some sort!

Edited by The Pearl Works (01/10/09 12:53 PM)

Quote The Pearl Works:

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the Kawai K1r however, is a little piece of poo poo!

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Indeed, I very very much agree with you on that!

Quote The Pearl Works:

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I'm actually considering more hardware synths...I quite fancy a Korg TR Rack and a Roland XV5080/3080. Would also like to get a vintage Koogerheimland of some sort!

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I'm amazed for how little money the XV stuff goes for (and the earlier JV stuff too). It's like the XV's didn't quite hit "cool" status.

You can get an XV3080 for about the same price as a DX100. Crazy!

Well, considering how much you can pick some of these synths up for now, its cheaper and easier than buying a software equivalent.
I have always found it hard trying to find a software "workhorse" synth like the Roland JV, XV or Korg TR series that sounds as good.
The rate at which second hand prices for legendary hardware is dropping, you could find a pretty powerful set up for a reasonably modest price to complement any DAW.

Quote N WILLIAMS:

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I have always found it hard trying to find a software "workhorse" synth like the Roland JV, XV or Korg TR series that sounds as good.

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I bought Sampletank a few years for this purpose but was completly unimpressed with it. I later added Hypersonic 2 to my s/w collection, it's better than Sampletank but still lacks the 'touchy feelyness' of hardware. It's just gathers VSTD (Virtual Studio Technology Dust!)

Quote desmond:

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Quote The Pearl Works:

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the Kawai K1r however, is a little piece of poo poo!

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Indeed, I very very much agree with you on that!

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Noooooooo!

It is the fact that it is so crappy that makes it beautiful. The flute is gorgeous and the strings have the crunchy charm of the Mellotron in their own way. I really miss mine, but it has a PSU, so it had to go.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

The K1 samples very easily, if you go back to the raw PCMs. Kontakt can do everything the synth engine can do. A few of the sounds are worth the couple of hours it takes.

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madtheory creations
Synths and pianos for Kontakt

So, given that folks who like hardware are all gathered in one place, what's the vote on 'best_bit_of_hardware_for_noises_you'll_struggle_to_get_out_of_a_'puta' - say a second hand budget of up to a grand and a half?

Obviously that knocks some wonderful stuff out of the frame (farewell CS80, I would have liked to get to know you well) - but there must be some real gems at that price and under. Suggestions?

Quote Tomás Mulcahy:

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The K1 samples very easily, if you go back to the raw PCMs. Kontakt can do everything the synth engine can do. A few of the sounds are worth the couple of hours it takes.

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I take it you've done this already and have a Kontakt instrument all setup ready to share?

Much as I hate the K1 series, I do wish I'd sampled mine before I sold it, just for the handful of raw samples that are unique to it - largely to recreate some old stuff if I had to.

There are a few patches in there that are quite ok, but as a sound design or programming tool it was pretty poor.

The 1080 / 2080 synths are still a great source source. I got rid of my 1080s and replaced them with a 5080 and a select few SR-JV / SRX cards. I still get a smile on my face when I play with this synth. It has stuff I just can't get from soft synths.

P

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Composer, Producer, Sound Designer
www.universal-sound-design.com

Quote Tomás Mulcahy:

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The K1 samples very easily, if you go back to the raw PCMs. Kontakt can do everything the synth engine can do. A few of the sounds are worth the couple of hours it takes.

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Did that before I sold it!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote reid:

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So, given that folks who like hardware are all gathered in one place, what's the vote on 'best_bit_of_hardware_for_noises_you'll_struggle_to_get_out_of_a_'puta' - say a second hand budget of up to a grand and a half?

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Every piece of hardware I still have is there because it can't be replicated to my satisfation in the computer. The gear I'd most miss would be my Moogs (Mini & Taurus) and the Hammond T202. They get used on nearly every project. The Pro-One is a mainstay too.

I haven't had it long, but I don't now know how I'd manage without my Roland Dimension D (UAD emulation excepted - no idea how good it might be).

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote reid:

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So, given that folks who like hardware are all gathered in one place, what's the vote on 'best_bit_of_hardware_for_noises_you'll_struggle_to_get_out_of_a_'puta' - say a second hand budget of up to a grand and a half?

Obviously that knocks some wonderful stuff out of the frame (farewell CS80, I would have liked to get to know you well) - but there must be some real gems at that price and under. Suggestions?

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Alesis Andromeda A6 for me!

Quote reid:

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So, given that folks who like hardware are all gathered in one place, what's the vote on 'best_bit_of_hardware_for_noises_you'll_struggle_to_get_out_of_a_'puta' - say a second hand budget of up to a grand and a half?

Obviously that knocks some wonderful stuff out of the frame (farewell CS80, I would have liked to get to know you well) - but there must be some real gems at that price and under. Suggestions?

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I can think of many:

Macbeth
Oakley modular
Jup 6
Oscar
Wasp
Obxa
Sem2
SH5
System 100
Arp 2600 (plus an organ or two)
Elka Synthex
CS 60
Matrix 12
Odyssey
SH101
Zukan MC Euphonics fund (add to your self worth)

and so on and on......

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Samplecraze
Stretch That Note

I was wondering whether the answer to it all is for manufacturers to re-release their legendary gear in software format - some have. Korg did it, for example, with their M1 workstation and the software also included all the data from the expansion boards available at the time for the M1. This makes everything more affordable and you get a lot more for your money. Not only that, cheaper products encourage more people to get in to recording their own music. You only have to see the amount of artists releasing their own stuff on the net these days to work that one out.
Legendary synths are still very much in demand with the sounds of it. But, the manufacturers make no money from the second hand market. The future obviously seems to be total DAW based so why not re-release some of the old with the new.
Thats what I think, does anybody agree or disagree?

My K1r is going on fleabay this week.

I just replaced it with a TR-Rack for £165!

So based on that I reckon the K1r could fetch as much as a tuppence!

Quote The Pearl Works:

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My K1r is going on fleabay this week.

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I don't want it.
I don't need it.
I don't want it.
I don't need it.
...
And breeeeeaaaaathe!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Whilst I agree with the general sentiment, I would advise ditching the JV2080 for an XV of some kind. My 1080 begat an XV5050 which sounds a _lot_ better all round. And it has USB and an editor, which is nice.

In the 'hardware for a reasonable cost that everyone should own' category, a Kurzweil K2 series synth should be on _everyone's_ shopping list. They are the sort of synths that don't strike you as particularly impressive up front until you realise that it just sounds so good in the mix. It doesn't overbear, or need loads of eq to fix, or have silly amounts of FX to clog up the track. Then you look at the voice architecture ..... and you start going all misty-eyed ....

I've had a couple of these puppies over the years (I had a habit at one point but it's under control now) and if you can find a K2600 or it's rack version - or a K2500 with the KDFX installed - for a reasonable amount, snap it up. You won't be disappointed.

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Veni, Vidi, Aesculi
(I came, I saw, I conkered)

I've recently traded my XV5050 for a XV5080 and a few expansions: vintage keys, keyboards of the 60/70s, SRX World. Now I just need to get some RAM and a smartmedia card or two.

BTW I do miss some of the sample disks for my S50 (synths, strings. Has anyone with a S770/750/760 converted the S50/550/330 disks to S700 or 5080 format? Or are they all available in S7xx format already?

Back on topic, I still haven't found a VSTi that sounds as good and is as quick to use as a hardware ROMpler.

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TritonExtrMOSS/EX800, NordRack2, ATC1, D550/XV5080/MKS70/MKS7/MKS50/MKS80/S550/JP8080/Ju60/JD990, Blofeld, Mopho, TG77/An1X, ESQM, Emax, Esynth, AkaiS5k/MPC1k, Indigo2, Rogue, Machinedrum, ProOne

Quote N WILLIAMS:

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I am beginning to think that everyone should keep at least one hardware synth, and for me, this is definitely one that I will be keeping hold of. Have any of you had any similar surprises lately?

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Due to laziness and a thought to 'just how long will those chips last?' I've been more prone to use Arturia's Prophet 5/VS software, rather than my real VS which sleeps quietly in its flight case, most of the time. For basic pad work, the software's fine, in fact a tad cleaner than the original, but recently I got the old dear out of its case, since it has waveform mixing functions that the software doesn't have (a major omission, Arturia...)

It blew me away, of course. Fatness, harmonic overtones, and all kinds of interesting madness which are 'sort of' there in the software version but just don't move the air like the real thing does. One of these days those chips will die, but even so, I think I'll be turning it on a bit more in the future.

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http://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/ http://anotherfineday.co.uk http://apollomusic.co.uk

Quote Dave B:

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In the 'hardware for a reasonable cost that everyone should own' category, a Kurzweil K2 series synth should be on _everyone's_ shopping list.

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+1 Totally agree.

I had no idea their price had dropped so low, but from what I saw of last year’s K2k prices it’s almost ludicrous to pass one by.

I replaced my cherished old K2000 with a K2600 keyboard in 2009 and it was like falling in love all over again.

The K2000 still sounds ‘right’ in a mix – even the piano, which has no right to sound so good after all these years. Why throw money at JV expansion cards when you can simply load new waveforms into a (sample RAM-loaded) K2000?

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote The Pearl Works:

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So, given that folks who like hardware are all gathered in one place, what's the vote on 'best_bit_of_hardware_for_noises_you'll_struggle_to_get_out_of_a_'puta' - say a second hand budget of up to a grand and a half?

Quote reid:

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Obviously that knocks some wonderful stuff out of the frame (farewell CS80, I would have liked to get to know you well) - but there must be some real gems at that price and under. Suggestions?

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Alesis Andromeda A6 for me!

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+1 for the Andromeda from me

when I'm stricken with the urge to twiddle knobs - no other synth will do!

if you have £1500 to blow on a fun synth - get this - it'll expand your mind

I love my JV2080 too but i must say my older JV880 sounds better (though far less versatile)!

I'm pretty much a hardware man. Just don't like twiddling with stuff on a computer screen because I find it counter-productive.

I'm still using a JV1080. It's my bread-and-butter sound module suitable for a wide range of stuff. It does a capable job of providing a wide range of sounds which are not particularly outstanding, but which are at least very decent.

For piano and strings I prefer Kurzweil, and I usually use samples for drums but other than that the old 1080 still does surprisingly well.

Cheers,
Frank

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Imagination is more important than knowledge - A. Einstein

Quote reid:

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So, given that folks who like hardware are all gathered in one place, what's the vote on 'best_bit_of_hardware_for_noises_you'll_struggle_to_get_out_of_a_'puta' - say a second hand budget of up to a grand and a half?

Obviously that knocks some wonderful stuff out of the frame (farewell CS80, I would have liked to get to know you well) - but there must be some real gems at that price and under. Suggestions?

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Yamaha PSS-390. No joke. Patch 41, FM synth enabled.

Quote Fibes:

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Yamaha PSS-390. No joke. Patch 41, FM synth enabled.

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Audio demo, and 24-bit multisample in Kontakt/EXS format or STFU..!

2 patches on keyboards I have loved;

Wurlitzer patch on Ensoniq Mirage (just so aggressive)- loads of great old stabs and other cheesiness too. Fond hexadecimal memories.

This next one for me has never been bettered for simple, single manual Toccata madness - Full pipes on my Korg T2 ex, which I still use as a controller after all these years. Honestly - it is massive and quite amazing and I have nothing better after all this time.

My 1080 is looking straight at me in a cheerless way and I can feel the unused Emu 5000 (and it's beat munger wierdness) calling to me from my left (honestly - I couldn't sell that thing for tuppence and it has sooooo many sounds). Mind you plenty of other keyboards sitting round this room silent and unloved currently.... too many to list. Makes me feel kind of guilty and my only excuse is latency for use with logic. I really need to wire my mixing desk back up with all of them and just use them regardless....

Beleive it or not, the Kawai K5000s is one of my favourite, unique hardware synths. It's got some real quirks to it.

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Visit my band's website

Quote The Elf:

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Quote Dave B:

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In the 'hardware for a reasonable cost that everyone should own' category, a Kurzweil K2 series synth should be on _everyone's_ shopping list.

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+1 Totally agree.


The K2000 still sounds ‘right’ in a mix – even the piano, which has no right to sound so good after all these years

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Maybe I should start using my K2000R more. I've only been using it for the orchestral flute sound, which I love. (Best flute sound ever IMHO.)

Seems pretty noisy compared to my newer kit though. Is that usual, or is it just mine? Maybe I shouldn't worry about a bit of hiss here and there.

Quote BJG145:

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Maybe I should start using my K2000R more. I've only been using it for the orchestral flute sound, which I love. (Best flute sound ever IMHO.)
Seems pretty noisy compared to my newer kit though. Is that usual, or is it just mine? Maybe I shouldn't worry about a bit of hiss here and there.

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I always considered my K2000 to have a very clean signal. I’m using a K2600 now, which has hotter outputs and I suspect the KDFX is likely quieter than the K2000’s FX processor. Does FX on/off make any difference to the noise level?

These days a little hiss or buzz doesn’t bother me like it once did. You can make even the noisiest of instruments usable in your DAW.

For flute, I always loved the K1/K1r – happily I sampled it before I sold mine.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote The Elf:

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For flute, I always loved the K1/K1r – happily I sampled it before I sold mine.

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What did you sample? Waveforms? Particular patches?

Anyway, multisampling *anything* I sell that can't easily be replaced in software is a standard working method for me these days - though I wish I had done this for my old CZ-101 before it went... still waiting for a software full CZ synth emulation...

Didn't sample my K1r though, as I really hated that thing

Edited by desmond (02/03/10 05:07 AM)

Quote desmond:

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Quote The Elf:

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For flute, I always loved the K1/K1r – happily I sampled it before I sold mine.

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What did you sample? Waveforms? Particular patches?

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Raw waveforms - which was practically all the K1/r played!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Quote The Elf:

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Raw waveforms - which was practically all the K1/r played!

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Indeed!

And that was the biggest weakness of the K1 - were it used the few decent sample waveforms it had, it was decent enough (for it's budget class). However, there weren't that many of them, and the synthetically generated waveforms were pretty nasty, harsh, buzzy - and with no filter, there was really very little you could *do* with them.

So you ended up making sounds using those sample of decent samples, and leaving the crappy ones alone, and therefore it all got a bit samey.

For a bit of trivia: when I first got the K1, I got it home and wired it up, and was rather dismayed to find everything sounded like cymbals. I loaded a string patch, and it sounded like cymbals. Hmm... is this me doing something wrong? I thought? Perhaps strings *do* sound like cymbals..?!

Obviously, something had corrupted the ROM sample memory somehow and it wasn't behaving properly, so I took it back to the shop and exchanged it for one that could do cymbals... but didn't *always* do cymbals...