Roland XV-5050 Demo Videos

[keybdwizrd]

I recently picked up one of these XV-5050 rack synths on ebay, and finally got around to making some demos with it.  My interest was re-kindled when considering that the XV-5050 has the same patches as the larger XV-5080, and all of these patches are included in the new Roland Integra-7.

Anyhow, this is one exceptionally cool synth.  I snagged about 30 sounds for these three videos, sounds that for one reason or another induced me to add them to the XV-5050's "favorites" list.

I bought my XV-5050 on ebay for less than $300, as I recall.  That was a great deal, but I still see them for $275-$350.

 

 

 

 

 

[cresshead]

nice vids! and i now understand why you bought the jupiter 50 and not the integra7 seeing as you already had this!

 

speaking of which....jupiter 50 videos soon?

[keybdwizrd]

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cresshead wrote:

speaking of which....jupiter 50 videos soon?

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Yes.  I hope.

I really need to completely understand the J-50 before I start making vids of it.  I mean, it's not exactly rocket science, but the approach Roland took with these things is different than the standard "patch/performance" architecture that has become standard with Romplers.  I finally got around to perusing the manual today.

Interestingly, the new Jupiter instruments aren't really Romplers.  They are really more like synthesizers, which is perhaps one reason why Roland included the whole XV-5080 sound library (with expansion cards) in the Integra-7.

 

One major disappointment so far is the iPad editor for the J-50/80.  I assumed that it would be a complete editor capable of tweaking every parameter associated with a sound, such as we've grown to expect with other PC- and Mac-based software editors.  Well, this doesn't seem to be the case.  As far as I can tell, it just accesses the synth parameters, such as LFOs, envelopes, filters, etc.  It doesn't deal with effects at all, or the business of combining Rolands "tones" into "live sets" and "live sets" into "registrations."  In other words, it isn't a true soup-to-nuts editor.  Boo hiss.

 

For a "performance" keyboard (which isn't how I am using it) the J-50 is maddeningly barren of knobs and whatnot that provide quick access to important parameters.  You get cutoff and resonance knobs, but that's about it.  Oh, and sliders to adjust the volumes of the lower/upper/solo parts, and buttons to turn those parts on and off.  But even my lowly MOX6 provides a variety of knobs for quick access to envelopes, effects sends, portamento, and user-definable parameters.  No such luck.

 

Thankfully, the J-50's OS is darn easy to navigate, at least compared to those on workstations like the Motifs and M3.  That said, I understand the value of the J-80's color touchscreen.  But street prices of the 80 are a full $2,000 HIGHER than what I paid for my 50.

 

At some point, when I know more, I'll likely post a full review of the Jupiter 50.

 

And some videos.

 

 

[Bernard]

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keybdwizrd wrote:

I recently picked up one of these XV-5050 rack synths on ebay, and finally got around to making some demos with it.  My interest was re-kindled when considering that the XV-5050 has the same patches as the larger XV-5080, and all of these patches are included in the new Roland Integra-7.

Anyhow, this is one exceptionally cool synth.  I snagged about 30 sounds for these three videos, sounds that for one reason or another induced me to add them to the XV-5050's "favorites" list.

I bought my XV-5050 on ebay for less than $300, as I recall.  That was a great deal, but I still see them for $275-$350.

 

 

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Great stuff.. like movie sound tracks, in a good way...

If they have polished the effects too much on the I7 you may have a better set up with those sounds!