Members RockPianoman Posted September 23, 2014 Members Share Posted September 23, 2014 Anyone who doesn't have any Roland gear really ought to buy one Roland synth...the XV-3080 would be a good choice.....you'd get a ton of classic Roland sounds and this link tells you how to access over 1000 user sounds from the Smart Media card WITHOUT HAVING TO LOAD THEM....get a 128 MB Smart Media card (that's as big as they get)....also get a Smart Media card reader to backup all files to DVD with your computer (don't trust CD's....CD's fail)..... http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/...97213-36445521 Roland XV-3080's on Ebay (if they aren't $300, you should be able to get one for around $300 with patience)....128 note polyphony....this synth holds 2 SRX and 4 SR-JV80 expansion boards to add sounds but it has a TON of sounds http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...V-3080&_sop=16 These are demos of some sounds in the XV-3080.....there are tons more than these demos show (it has all the sounds from the JV-1080 & JV-2080): http://www.synthmania.com/jv-2080.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Etienne Rambert Posted September 24, 2014 Members Share Posted September 24, 2014 Anyone who doesn't have any Roland gear really ought to buy one Roland synth...the XV-3080 would be a good choice.....you'd get a ton of classic Roland sounds and this link tells you how to access over 1000 user sounds from the Smart Media card WITHOUT HAVING TO LOAD THEM....get a 128 MB Smart Media card (that's as big as they get)....also get a Smart Media card reader to backup all files to DVD with your computer (don't trust CD's....CD's fail)..... http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/...97213-36445521 Roland XV-3080's on Ebay (if they aren't $300, you should be able to get one for around $300 with patience)....128 note polyphony....this synth holds 2 SRX and 4 SR-JV80 expansion boards to add sounds but it has a TON of sounds http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...V-3080&_sop=16 These are demos of some sounds in the XV-3080.....there are tons more than these demos show (it has all the sounds from the JV-1080 & JV-2080): http://www.synthmania.com/jv-2080.htm BTW, I have two sets of Roland sounds - Fantom patches on my Sonic Cell and I have two RS-series synths, an RS9 in the US - that I love - and an RS-50 on the other side of the Pacific. Sonic Cells are great little boxes. They do a lot of stuff. Solo players would love it. Roland of course - stopped making them. I bought mine used on EBay. And it's one of the most useful pieces of gear I own. I've relied on a Yamaha MU 100 for basic MIDI playback for years. I am gradually replacing my MU100 with the Sonic Cell for sequencing now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_big_e Posted September 25, 2014 Members Share Posted September 25, 2014 I've got an XV-5080, love the sounds but I rarely use it.I'd like to use it with my busking rig because I think the sounds would be a lot better than the ones from the Lucina (although they are adequate for my needs) but it's just another big box (it's in a 4u case with a power conditioner and a tc electronics m300) that I'd have to lug around. Be interesting to measure the current draw and see how long I could play with that lot attached to my existing rig (battery power with an inverter).I'd really like to get an srx-07 ultimate keys card for it as well but at around $300 and up on flea bay, it's not going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted September 25, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 25, 2014 I bought my XV-5050 for $225 with free shipping and it's a small rack....1 rack space and not very deep and super light.....it has pretty much the same sounds but 64 note polyphony vs.128 ....64 note polyphony in the XV-5050 isn't as good but it works good.....that might be a good way to go..... Don't buy an XV-2020 or a JV-1010 as no sound titles is very frustrating.....there are too many sounds to not be able to see the names and using a list is a pain in the butt..... I compared the XV-3080 and XV-5050 and they sound very close....close enough that you don't notice the differences when not comparing them..... The display on the XV-5080 is awesome though.....it beats the Fantom XR display big time..... The XV-5050 does hold two SRX expansions if you ever did decide to buy that board.....all the SRX boards are expensive even used but if you watch Ebay close all the time, sometimes someone desperate for money is selling one for a lot less.....they usually still sell for what they cost new or more most of the time....I really like how they are always available with nothing to load and you can save things you make with them to the user bank.....they are super reliable too.....so are the SR-JV80 boards before them..... Free software is available to edit the XV-5050.....I absolutely wouldn't use that tiny display for editing.....with the software, it's awesome to edit and the USB jack in right on the front....I think that you can edit everything with the display though (reminds me of many older synths with tiny displays).... With the JV-1010, you can't edit everything without a computer and I couldn't get XP to work right (Windows 98 works great with it.....I bought the serial cable).....no sound titles sucks though.....they could have put a tiny display (like the display on a calculator watch)....doing side by side comparisons, the XV-3080 and XV-5050 sound a lot better than the JV-1010 but the JV-1010 still sounds really good....the JV-1010 has the Session SR-JV80 built in..... To anyone buying a serial cable for the JV-1010, they are not all the same.....you have to get the right one.....the sellers on Ebay can get you the right one if you mention the Roland JV-1010.....the editor kicks butt with the serial cable..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted September 25, 2014 Members Share Posted September 25, 2014 Don't buy an XV-2020 or a JV-1010 as no sound titles is very frustrating.....there are too many sounds to not be able to see the names and using a list is a pain in the butt..... They are well priced and nicely light and compact, though. I think you can get around the named patch selection issue if you happen to own an iPad or iPhone, by using a program like Set List Maker. You would create "songs" that are simply the names of the patches, and set it up so that whenever you picked a sound name from the touchscreen, it would send the MIDI Program Change command to call up that sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted September 25, 2014 Members Share Posted September 25, 2014 Not for me sonically Roland sounds are not that robust, their actions on 88 note boards leave a lot to be desired, and you don't see their stuff on many pro rigs. Most guys are using Yamaha, Korg, Hammond and Nord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted September 26, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 26, 2014 I prefer Yamaha weighted keys to Roland's, but Rolands do have a lot of great sounds.....when I flip through sounds on my Roland racks, I hear a ton of sounds I like.....they are extremely quiet synths too which makes them very useful for my songs.....the Roland XV-5050 has coax digital output which lets me record it digitally into my Motif ES6 (I bought an expansion board for the Motif that gives me both optical and coax digital in's and out's).....the Triton rack has optical digital output standard so I can record those sounds digitally as well.... If you make your own sounds on the Roland racks you can make sounds far better than the presets.....this is the hidden power of them.....they are more than romplers that can layer sounds.....they have real synthesis in them too.....the samples are very well done for a great starting point....the vintage synths sampled in them are really good for a rompler....I can make sounds so huge with my Rolands that they about shake my windows out of my house....the expansion boards are well done too..... One thing I like most about romplers is with a Motif ES6, a Triton rack and a Roland XV rack, I can fill my needs without needing to take a ton of gear to shows.....they compliment each other very well....some Roland sounds are definitely better than the same sounds in my Motif ES and the same with the Triton rack so the Motif ES doesn't win in all areas..... I also like to have a second keyboard and MIDI router where I store MIDI connections so anything is possible at the touch of a button.....I prefer 2 Roland racks (they are that important to what I do) and I have a Motif ES6 and the original Motif rack.....if I use my Karma as my top board which I usually do, and the Triton rack and this setup gives me 2 of all three technologies....I can have all six playing at once with a touch of a button on my MIDI router...... The complete rack is: Roland XV-5050Roland XV-3080Triton rackMotif rackDigital Music MX8 MIDI router and the keyboards are a Yamaha Motif ES6 and a Korg Karma and the rack also has the mixer, power amp and all effects.....it's a 10 space rack....I'd like either a Yamaha MO8 or MOX8 or MOXF8 to replace the Motif ES6 to give me weighted keys and I'd leave the Motif ES6 at home....the weighted keys would be my bottom board....I move the rack on a two wheel dolly and it's easy to move.....I strap it to the dolly with bungee cords and it makes it simple to move.... Another nice thing about having everything in the same rack is that the power strip, mixer, effects and everything else is connected at all times.....it's a breeze to setup at shows..... By the way, on the dolly, get hard rubber wheels instead of inflatable wheels......it's much easier to move gear and you can't get flat tires too as a bonus....also, inflatable ties don't handle heavy loads well.....I really like SKB racks as they are very strong and very light.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted September 28, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 28, 2014 Originally posted by RockPianoman View PostDon't buy an XV-2020 or a JV-1010 as no sound titles is very frustrating.....there are too many sounds to not be able to see the names and using a list is a pain in the butt..... AnotherScott They are well priced and nicely light and compact, though. I think you can get around the named patch selection issue if you happen to own an iPad or iPhone, by using a program like Set List Maker. You would create "songs" that are simply the names of the patches, and set it up so that whenever you picked a sound name from the touchscreen, it would send the MIDI Program Change command to call up that sound. RockPianoman The bad thing about using an iPad or iPhone is if you want to do something spontaneous on stage with different sounds (like requests) and then you run into the frustration of not being able to see sound titles.....at my solo shows a large portion of what I do are requests....I use a list with my JV-1010 but it is a hassle.......there are many hundreds of sounds in those units (I imagine the XV-2020 has over 1000 sounds) and even with a display that shows sound titles that's a lot of sounds to manage well.....I think the JV-1010 also has close to 1000 sounds because it has the entire Session expansion board built in and added to the JV sounds..... Another thing I worry about with the JV-1010 is grabbing a sound for a song and thinking you have the right sound number (but you don't) and then you blow the song by having the wrong sound.... Even if it was a display like on a calculator watch, Roland should have put a display on those two units to display sound titles.....you can buy cheap calculator watches for $5 or $10 bucks (generic calculator watches) and so it wouldn't have cost them much...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 The bad thing about using an iPad or iPhone is if you want to do something spontaneous on stage with different sounds (like requests) and then you run into the frustration of not being able to see sound titles.....It sounds like you didn't understand my suggestion. You can use the iPad to see sound titles. You can search for the sound you want by typing with the onscreen keyboard... meaning that it's easier than finding a sound on the 5080. Except you do have to go through the one-time procedure of typing in the names of all the patches you think you might want to be able to call up at a gig. Honestly, though, that's not likely to be 1000 patches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted September 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 I there any way to enter in all the song titles by having the iPad software scan the synth? If not it still would be easy to get the song titles as you can copy & paste all of them from the PDF sound title list......that would be a nice way to find them Changing the subject a bit Scott, is there a way to change an Alesis Data disk to SD card and USB reader for synth storage? From what I've read with synths, people have mixed results doing this.....I would love the finished product in my rack....with the MIDI router in my rack I could save or load to any synth.....I know LIne 6 makes a cable that allows you to use an iPad or iPhone for MIDI storage but I'd rather have a rackmount unit and iPads & iPhones are expensive....at this point I only have laptop & desktop computers....I have two Data Disks here but one was acting up..... I can't believe someone doesn't make a rackmount storage unit like that..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnotherScott Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 On the iPad, I don't think there's any way around having to type in your patch names manually to use it the way I described. As for the Alesis data disk, I don't know anything about them. I assume that what you're trying to transfer is some kind of MIDI sequence data? i.e. some kind of generic data and not anything Alesis-specific, which would require Alesis hardware regardless of what media the data was on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted September 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 Yeah....I wanted to store mainly sound libraries but I bought a Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer today so I can use an iPad....I have a lot of synths with no removable storage http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MidiMobil2 The Alesis Data Disk does the same thing but with floppies....I wanted to switch the floppy for a floppy emulator with a better type of storage http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...a+Disk&_sop=16 I'm still going to try to convert an Alesis Data Disk over to an SD card reader because I hate touchscreens, iPads, iPhones and anything like that.....they look filthy under the lights on stage.....I also don't like dark colored keyboards or guitars for the same reason.....they show every fingerprint....they make the musician look unclean and it's nearly impossible to keep that stuff looking good....it's not the musician's fault.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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