Roland

Roland’s unsung TR‑606 is the inspiration for their newest drum machines.

Nicholas Rowland is star-struck by Roland's frankly fabulous new hand percussion controller.

Roland's new guitar synth is their most affordable yet, but could it also be the best?

The new SP808 has little in common with its namesake, the TR808; one was an analogue rhythm unit, the other is a feature-packed sampler, multitrack digital audio recorder, synth and remix tool. Clearly, Roland are hoping that some of the 'hi-tech classic' status of the TR will pass to the new SP.

The first of Roland's eagerly awaited digital mixers, the VM3100 is an obvious spin-off from the mixer section of Roland's VS1680 digital multitracker. But it still packs a lot of functionality into a tiny space — and the basic version is the cheapest digital mixer yet!

Roland's innovative new audio workstation is the first multitracker to use a CD-RW disc in place of a hard disk, and offers a one-stop production station with multitrack recording, phrase sampling, and CD mastering.

Roland's eagerly awaited new flagship VS workstation builds on the success of the VS1680 and VS1880, offering a massive range of features including 24-track, 24-bit and 96kHz recording, a 64-channel digital mixer, up to eight stereo effects processors, 24-voice phrase sampling, and an enhanced graphical output for a VGA monitor.

Roland followed their first MC303 Groovebox with the well-specified MC505. Now there's the MC307, with a spec more like the 505, a price closer to that of the 303, and more DJ-friendly features.

The SPV355, launched in the late '70s, was intended to allow the pitch of instruments such as guitars and saxophones to control analogue synth sounds — which it does with varying degrees of success. Fortunately, it has other tricks up its sleeve, as Chris Carter explains.

Roland's new entry-level performance synth is a full-length yet lightweight synth-action keyboard with ready-to-go sounds derived from recent JV and XV expansion boards. Nick Magnus investigates the RS9's family tree.