Anyone else jump on the VariOS Deal?

[1-2-Many]

Recently Musician's Friend was offering the Roland VariOS for $299
+ + + a Free D-50 Expansion Card!

It had arrived in the post today when I got home and I'm as giddy as a little girl
Looks like I'll have a fun evening tonight reading the manual and setting it up.

Wondering if anyone else jumped in on this?




...And thanks Atomic Afro for the heads up!

[sup909]

Unfortunately no. If I had known about it I would have jumped on the deal. I would have to findo ut of VariOS would work with a an IntelMac though.

[Rusty Shackleford]

IIRC the varios has the 303 and jupiter8 emulations... does it do any of the variphrase stuff though?

[atomic_(no)afro]

Damn, it's funny that Musician's Friend had to back down from $300 plus the VC-1. I guess they realized that they were practically giving it away.

Still, at $395 w/o the VC-1 it's not a terrible deal if you want to get it now... it's just not

I mean I pretty much bought it for the VC-1 D-50 emulation and the Jupiter clone... and it works pretty good.

However, I can totally see why this thing bombed though. I mean, in order to switch between modes (of which only one can be active at a time), you have to power down the unit (making sure you safely remove the flashdrive component of the device before you do), then you have to either slide in the VC-1 card for the D-50 or hold down a couple of buttons then power on for the 2 VariOS softsynths. Aside from this, the USB only handles MIDI & data transfer duties, no audio. If you want to route audio into your DAW, you have to use the analog or digital outs from the VariOS and plug them into your soundcard. Not too difficult, but still far from elegant (especially since the VariOS was marketed with computer integration in mind).

Now this would have been okay if Roland had released a TON of synths, effects, and other programs, or had opted to release an SDK for a true "open" standard. However there are only 5 programs that were released for the VariOS, 2 of which a user had to pay extra for, and one of those is damn near impossible to find now (trust me, I looked).

Had I been an early adopter and paid $1300 for a brand-new just released VariOS I would be feeling pretty burnt by Roland right about now. That's why Musiciansfriend is dropping the price like crazy, they just can't seem to get rid of these buggers otherwise.

Oh, and did I mention that if you're using an Intel Mac or possibly Vista (haven't checked to see if it works), you're SOL as Roland clearly has no intention of future upgrades or support.

But hey, a D-50 emulation + a couple other nifty softsynths in a hardware module for $300 is pretty sweet.

ATA

[1-2-Many]

... Aside from this, the USB only handles MIDI & data transfer duties, no audio. If you want to route audio into your DAW, you have to use the analog or digital outs from the VariOS and plug them into your soundcard. Not too difficult, but still far from elegant (especially since the VariOS was marketed with computer integration in mind).

Hmmmm, I had the impression from reading Roland's website that audio was all handled thru the USB connecton. I'll be a bit disappointed if that's not true.

The Power of VariPhrase in Your PC
Imagine having a software program that allows you to build complete audio-based productions in real time without draining your computer's processor. That's the idea behind VariOS. This open-architecture system combines intuitive V-Producer for VariOS software with a 1U hardware module to create the most powerful audio production system ever conceived. Create complete 6-part audio arrangements while freely manipulating pitch, time and formant. VariOS also comes with separate reverb, chorus and multi-effects so you can process and mix your samples in a plug-in like environment. A simple USB connection is all it takes to be up and running.

Easy Audio Encoding and Arranging
Building a song with VariOS is a simple process. First, browse your computer hard drive for .WAV and AIFF files. V-Producer can then quickly and automatically batch encode the data and transfer it via USB to the module. Once encoded and transferred, you can arrange tracks in V-Producer using simple drag-and-drop commands. Best of all, any audio file can be made to work with another, since VariPhrase permits independent manipulation of pitch, time and formant without unwanted artifacts.

But hey, a D-50 emulation + a couple other nifty softsynths in a hardware module for $300 is pretty sweet.

My thoughts exactly, with those synths, not to mention Variphrase, and the onboard effects, this was a killer deal - Just for a place to plug in the FREE D-50 card alone it rocks!

[atomic_(no)afro]

I know man. But the fact is that the VariOS (and trust me I know) does not stream audio via USB. It's strange, as V-Producer "previews" sounds via your computer's onboard soundcard. But once you transfer to the actual VariOS sequencer, the audio is streamed out from the analog or digital outs of the VariOS, and not the USB port.

I can understand where you got the impression, but you have to realize that if it did stream audio (and not wave file data) via usb it probably would have been marketed as a soundcard as well.

But hey, at least now you have a couple of kick-ass hardware synths in a module that you can take on stage with you. Both the D-50 and the JP-8 emulation can be controlled via MIDI without a computer. So if you've been in the mood to create a live set with a kick-ass lead synth, well now you've got it.

ATA