Roland now into VSTi development, beginning with SH-101

[fmr]

You can run it on your host on you Mac or PC?
What do they mean by "run"? What host? What if my host is Logic Pro X (64-bit only AU)? Does it run? What about Pro Tools 10? Will it be AAX?

I think like with other range of AIRA instruments that means that you can run it to your PC or Mac via USB. For example TR8 and TB and VT can stream sounds fro mUSB to your HOST at 96khz.

OK, but that's not VST, is it?

[Kriminal]

The standard synth called "System-1" has 4 voice polyphony and that one is quite complex (all features that you see at the interface).

A synth with one envelope and one LFO is quite complex?

EDIT: OK, I just realized the filter has it's own envelope. It's still seems kind of basic.

bear in mind the kind of vintage stuff they are likely (imo) to emulate as part of this, it seems to fit pretty well into that formula....

[Frantz]

Dude don't be silly. Yes if you look on it, you have range of controls which seems "basic" but which with the combination of another button can store entire bank of controls.

I didn't realize I was being silly. Sorry I'll take off my clown nose.

The TR-8 and TR-3 videos that I saw emphasized dedicated controls for every function. No menu diving and hidden functionality. Probably a good thing but don't expect a lot of hidden power in the AIRA stuff.

[Kriminal]

No this is not entire truth. You should say something like: they tried it, but never did anything else after..I simply don't believe they adventure with VST turned out successful from the business perspective. I mean look here. How much does our KVR elite talk about them? Almost no talk about Korg VST synths. AFAIK their only activity in the last few years was porting that old code to Reason RE. Nothing new.

I think Korg has been way ahead of Roland in terms of products geared towards electronic musicians. They have had plugins of their old analog and digital synths available for ages. They released an analog MS20. They have the Volca stuff. They have a new iPad app Gadget that a lot of people like.

It's true that Korg are not focused on plugins but they are doing exciting stuff all the time. It's like Roland just found out that electronic music is a big thing.

Maybe Roland sell way more of the big synths and havent seen much of a market for this stuff until now?

[fmr]

It's true that Korg are not focused on plugins but they are doing exciting stuff all the time. It's like Roland just found out that electronic music is a big thing.

Roland is playing in and out for more than ten years. I already quoted VariOS. It was launched ten years go. That seemed to be a step in the right direction. Then, they abandoned it.

And what about Cakewalk? People seemed to forget that Roland owned Cakewalk for many years. What did they do to create synergies? Almost nothing. And what about Edirol? And the plug-ins launched that almost nobody knows/talks about (VSC and the others)?

These guys have been playing blindly for ages. They simply don't know what they want.

Sorry, it seems like I hate Roland. I don't. I have several Roland synths, and I love them. I just bought a V-Synth XT second hand (it's now my sixth Roland piece of gear). If something, I feel sorry that a brand with such glorious achievements in it's past regarding synths has been so lost for so long.

[Frantz]

bear in mind the kind of vintage stuff they are likely (imo) to emulate as part of this, it seems to fit pretty well into that formula....

Agreed. I think it's geared towards emulating simple vintage stuff. I don't think the goal is "complex" next generation synthesis.

[Frantz]

These guys have been playing blindly for ages. They simply don't know what they want. Sorry, it seems like I hate Roland. I don't. I have several Roland synths, and I love them.

Yeah. I loved my JD-800, JV-2080, and VS-1680 at the time. Now they collect dust.

I am rooting for Roland too. They are back in the game and are relevant again but these products don't get me excited. Perhaps the next round will have something for me.

[sodbuster-ca]

...

Roland is starting with an SH-101 soft synth. You can run it in your host on your Mac or PC.

You can run it on your host on you Mac or PC?
What do they mean by "run"? What host? What if my host is Logic Pro X (64-bit only AU)? Does it run? What about Pro Tools 10? Will it be AAX? ...

I've watched all the available videos and my take is:
The Roland System-1 "Plug-Outs" will show up in your DAW as a VSTI but the processing for the Plug-Out will be performed by the hardware DSP located on the System-1...not your computer CPU. (Which can be a good thing). So, the Plug-Out would require the presence of the System-1 to operate.

This is very similar to what Creamware did with their "NOAH" external module several years ago. Creamware called this their "XTC" mode. (Creamware later filed for bankruptcy and sold their assets to Sonic Core).

To a lesser degree (in similarity), this was also done by KORG with their OASYS PCI card and Creamware with their range of PCI DSP cards (Luna II, Pulsar II, XTC, Scope Pro). The virtual instrument's processing was performed by the hardware DSP located on the PCI card but the DAW saw it as a normal VSTI. The difference being the DSP hardware is located internal to the computer versus external to the computer.

Regarding Logic Pro X and Pro Tools, since the videos & literature discuss VSTI and not Au, AAX or RTAS, those applications would seem to require a Wrapper of some kind.

To be honest, treating the System-1 like any other hardware synth and just connecting to your audio interface with audio cables & MIDI would be less problematic in the long run.