SOUND ON SOUND
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'80s technology is still out there in abundance and going cheap. Derek Johnson spotlights a budget beatbox that has everything it takes to slot into the '90s studio.
Roland have repackaged their techno-centric Groovebox, the MC505, adding a keyboard and removing some of the performance features. The result is the JX305. But have they thrown out the baby with the bathwater? Derek Johnson finds out...
One of two General MIDI modules are simply a cut above the rest, and Roland's high-end Sound Canvases fit right into this category. Paul White retires to the studio with the latest in the line and dips into a seemingly limitless palette of sound...
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.
In the space of just two years, Roland have doubled the power of their hard disk multitrack concept, going from the eight tracks of the VS880 to the 16 of their latest baby. Paul Nagle admires the VS's sparkling new options.
While Roland's A70 in its basic form is a well-equipped but dumb controller, it can metamorphose into a Roland JV-style synth, a General MIDI synth, or a piano at the drop of an expansion board. Paul Ward has a controlling interest....
If you own a VS880, you can already record, edit and produce a stereo mix of your masterworks, all with out leaving the 880's tape-like hard disk recording environment, but now Roland have added the ability to make a CD master in the same way. Paul Nagle goes for the burn.
If you like your music production tools hip, knob-laden and all in one box, you're probably drooling over the MC505. Derek Johnson gets into the groove.
Digital multitrackers are now nothing new, but this one records to a built-in Zip drive using low-cost 100Mb cartridges. Duke Ashton carries on recording.
Though the V-Drum system is ideally suited to the hi-tech drummer, its modular brain features, modelled timbres and powerful editing features may lend it appeal as a source of high-quality sounds for the non-drummer. Nicholas Rowland checks out the beat feat.
If you need an easy-to-use controller keyboard Roland's latest mid-ranger master could be the one for you. Nicholas Rowland takes a spin down the A33.
The price remains the same, but Roland's VS880 is now different in many ways. Original 880 owner Paul Nagle's movin' on up...
Roalnd's D50 became the sound of the late '80s. Does it still have a place in the late '90s? Paul Ward takes a trip around LA...
Darius Pocha suggests that one of Roland's 'ones that got away' is an excellent second-hand buy: the S330 sampler. Additional material by Derek Johnson.
Roland's JV1080 was a great success with serious synthesists, and recognising that if it ain't broke there's no need to fix it, Roland have provided more of the same with the new 2080. Derek Johnson's spoilt for choice.
When Roland announce a new synth, endowed with a new breed of synthesis, it's time to sit up and take notice. The 'Analogue Modelling' JP8000 appears to offer the power and flexibility of digital control applied to analogue-type sounds. Can it be too good to be true? Paul Ward tries to stop tweaking long enough to tell us.
Though Korg have been making some inroads lately, notably with the Prophecy, Roland is still the name to drop in dance circles, so the announcement of a new, analogue-style Roland megasynth stirs the blood like little else.
Few electronic instruments are still as desirable, 16 years after their launch, as the 808, and even fewer become famous enough to have a band named after them. Chris Carter hits the perfect beat.
Does Roland's latest contender have what it takes to regain the MIDI Keyboard Controller championship? Gordon Reid is your ringside commentator...
Roland continue to champion the cause of the guitar synthesist, refining their respected line of guitar synths in search of the best combination of facilities, usability and price. Paul White finds out whether they've got the right balance right with the new GR30.