Roland XV-5080 ...thoughts?

[Examigan]

While I am still deciding between the Sub or Slim Phatty that I mentioned in another post, I was also thinking it would be great to have a synth module to go along with it. Especially if I can find the Sub Phatty for a decent price, maybe even a used one.

Anyway, I was researching a bit, and it seems the Roland XV-5080 looks like a great synth module from what I've read. Anyone have one of those, or had one in the past? I've seen them for less than $600 on ebay.

[BertKoor]

It's a great synth module, maybe the best Roland ever made. But I would never want to control it with a dinky 2-octave keyboard. You can get a brand new 4- or 5-octave midi keyboard for less than $100.

[Examigan]

It's a great synth module, maybe the best Roland ever made. But I would never want to control it with a dinky 2-octave keyboard. You can get a brand new 4- or 5-octave midi keyboard for less than $100.

Ok thanks, and I forgot to mention I'm planning to get a new 49 or 61-key MIDI keyboard also.

[Harry_HH]

Tripple.

[Harry_HH]

Tripple.

[Harry_HH]

I got that, with all the expansions plus external drive you can play sample CDs. Bought it new in 2002, if I remember correctly, paid for the whole set appr. $ 2700.

In that time THE state of the art synth, not old enough to be a retro yet. In fact, many of the Eric Persing sounds still today modern. Play it sometimes for fun. H.

[Examigan]

I got that, with all the expansions plus external drive you can play sample CDs. Bought it new in 2002, if I remember correctly, paid for the whole set appr. $ 2700.

In that time THE state of the art synth, not old enough to be a retro yet. In fact, many of the Eric Persing sounds still today modern. Play it sometimes for fun. H.

Nice! Are they any editor/librarians for it?

[Harry_HH]

Nice! Are they any editor/librarians for it?

You mean computer software? It´s always been connected just to the Alesis Quadrasynth Piano Plus (and to the sequencer). I think Roland has dedicated software editors for the XV but haven´t used them.

[Examigan]

Yes I would like to be able to edit and create presets on the PC's screen vs the module's display

[zerocrossing]

Yeah, there's an editor. It's stand alone though, not VST. Works well. I had the little brother, the 5050. I loved it. Great little module. Sold it when I had to go ITB. Later replaced it with a SonicCell... it had a VST editor that didn't work all that well most of the time, but the basic sound was the same. In the end I found working with software for such sounds worked better for me so I ditched it, but every now and then I miss the ol' 5050. One thing about it that bugged me was there was no way to universally sync to a MIDI clock so you had to save a preset that did that and there was stupidly limited preset memory.

[tbugz]

Had mine for almost 8 years. Very clean, well crafted sounds. I really liked that they kept their heads with the patch effects so would always fit nicely in the mix.

I had problems with limited polyphony at times.
Also, after a few years of only moderate use, the main data entry/patch selection knob started skipping values, probably from dust deposit or maybe actual failure. You could still use the up/down buttons for precise navigation though or use MIDI.

Ended up selling mine due to using more samplers for ROMpler type stuff. From what I remember I would think the sounds remain relevant for certain genres.

[Examigan]

Yeah, there's an editor. It's stand alone though, not VST. Works well. I had the little brother, the 5050. I loved it. Great little module. Sold it when I had to go ITB. Later replaced it with a SonicCell... it had a VST editor that didn't work all that well most of the time, but the basic sound was the same. In the end I found working with software for such sounds worked better for me so I ditched it, but every now and then I miss the ol' 5050. One thing about it that bugged me was there was no way to universally sync to a MIDI clock so you had to save a preset that did that and there was stupidly limited preset memory.

Great thanks for the info

Is the editor still available and do you know if it works with Windows 8? I know it is an older synth module, so I thought that any editor for it might only work with older OS'es.

[Harry_HH]

Yeah, there's an editor. It's stand alone though, not VST. Works well. I had the little brother, the 5050. I loved it. Great little module. Sold it when I had to go ITB. Later replaced it with a SonicCell... it had a VST editor that didn't work all that well most of the time, but the basic sound was the same. In the end I found working with software for such sounds worked better for me so I ditched it, but every now and then I miss the ol' 5050. One thing about it that bugged me was there was no way to universally sync to a MIDI clock so you had to save a preset that did that and there was stupidly limited preset memory.

Great thanks for the info

Is the editor still available and do you know if it works with Windows 8? I know it is an older synth module, so I thought that any editor for it might only work with older OS'es.

A quick google search revealed that most likely the latest Roland editor for XV-5080 is available for the Win XP. However, as in many "sub-cultures", there are innovative people finding/creating new ways, found e.g. this one, may be worth reading through:
https://synth-voice.sakura.ne.jp/Integr ... glish.html

[zerocrossing]

I know I had the 5050 editor working in Win 7, but beyond that I can't say.

[Examigan]

I just searched around and found this one, not sure how good it is:
https://squest.com/Products/MidiQuest11 ... index.html