KVR Audio

IncarnateX · Post by **IncarnateX** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:59 am

It all started with the MC303 in 1996, didn’t it?
You design gear to associate it with something it is not, namely an analog TB303 or tr606. But it was a rompler not an analog device.

From 2004 and forward we got the Juno D, G, Stage etc.

And from 2011 we got the Jupiter 80 and 50.

I always thought this was aiming low, as if customers really would by their rompler engines based on such superficial similarities with their analog synths as physical design and name. Since they obviously not are analog, I also find that it is like saying that they are just poor emulations of the real things, thus at chance of backfiring with regard to PR value.

Now Roland has finally released some synths with partly analog engines and what do they do? They call them “JD”s, which appeal to one of their most famous digital flagships, JD800, and not some analog synth. Besides they wrap them in plastic, which gives associations to digital synths if anything. Are there any coherent strategy to be spotted at all?

What are your thoughts?

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:41 am

Well, compared to Yamaha's recent revival, I think Roland offer more bang for the bucks.

I was demoing the 4 Yamaha synths in a shop recently, I wouldn't say they are built like tanks. €500 for each is crazily expensive

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 10:49 am

If they insist on riding on their legacy wave (which i find quite yawnable tbh, where are the innovations please?...), they should release a legit remake, or better, successor to their JP-8000 synth. Not something like the Gaia, which was only a half-assed attempt, rather something which can compete with nowadays soft synths. Not interested at all in digital remakes of very limited, old stuff...

monomaker · Post by **monomaker** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 11:14 am

They've spent most of the last 25 years telling us why we can't have analogue synths any more. Then they make terrible sounding digital clones of everything, whilst Korg is giving us the goods, improved (eg MS20m). The Bassbot TT-303 shows how a Roland classic should be remade (better in some ways), why can't Roland do it?

IncarnateX · Post by **IncarnateX** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 12:28 pm

monomaker wrote:They've spent most of the last 25 years telling us why we can't have analogue synths any more. Then they make terrible sounding digital clones of everything, whilst Korg is giving us the goods, improved (eg MS20m). The Bassbot TT-303 shows how a Roland classic should be remade (better in some ways), why can't Roland do it?

I guess they go like "if it ain't broken don't fix it". At some level it must work for them, or at least it doesn’t harm them significantly. However like you point out, there are no reasons a real remake enterprise couldn't pay off. If Korg and smaller companies can do it, Roland must have the resources too. They have already broken their no-more-analog-synths wow. They should swallow it and take the next step.

sqigls · Post by **sqigls** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 12:42 pm

Korg kick ass, if Roland had the balls to try something NEW it might be nice. But the re-hash thing is SOOOOOO tired. I guess it survives because there are so many clueless romantics, and newbies who know the 303/808 name.
That said, the 808 is still fecking awesome. but damn, if your company is that big, and you have access to so much innovative technology, then why are they still making the same shit all the time?

The_Hidden_Goose · Post by **The_Hidden_Goose** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 1:52 pm

I actually quite liked the MC303 when I got the play around with one for a weekend many moons ago - possibly the second hardware sound thingy I ever played with (after a DX27) and for a total beginner like me it was quite easy to pick up and use straight away. Being a novice, and hearing its sound in a few contemporary records, it was quite exciting. I remember being a bit sad to give it back to the owner.

I liked the SH101 that I've played about with thanks to a friend owning one (now held together with sellotape!), but never managed to get my hands on a TB303 or the other classics mentioned. A mate bought the JP8000 and I got to hear the sound, but never did manage to play with it myself before he sold it. I thought he was a fool for selling it at the time, but he's a piano player and bought himself a very nice electronic piano (furniture-style) with the proceeds, so fair enough!

But I would rather they look to the future and not the past really though. Myabe that's a big risk with hardware, but sometimes the risks can pay off if you make something special and unique.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:47 pm

sqigls wrote:Korg kick ass, if Roland had the balls to try something NEW it might be nice. But the re-hash thing is SOOOOOO tired. I guess it survives because there are so many clueless romantics, and newbies who know the 303/808 name.

But that's probably only because they've been told by oldschoolers a thousand times, that anything produced before 1990 was sooo nice. Well, the one way or the other, it seems that especially that type of thing sells well, otherwise Roland wouldn't do it. So, bit of a bad testament to the buyers, rather than the company really. If everyone is like

everytime a monophonic analog is released, or a remake of some "famous" legacy synth then of course it will be the best for you as a company to serve what has been ordered...

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:06 pm

sqigls wrote:Korg kick ass, if Roland had the balls to try something NEW it might be nice.

Well they did do the V-Synth, which was pretty innovative and is still one of the nicest hardware synths around.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:28 pm

The new System-1M is modular, can be loaded in a Eurorack, and can load emulations of the System 1000, SH-101, SH-2, and ProMARS (the ProMARS is basically a single voice Jupiter

. Modular versions of those last 3 synths have never existed before.

The JD-XA Crossover synth looks amazing (both spec-wise and aesthetically):

https://www.jrrshop.com/roland-jd-xa

fmr · Post by **fmr** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:33 pm

aMUSEd wrote:
sqigls wrote:Korg kick ass, if Roland had the balls to try something NEW it might be nice.
Well they did do the V-Synth, which was pretty innovative and is still one of the nicest hardware synths around.

Yes, and they abandoned it, and didn't even create a software editor for it... Shame on them.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:35 pm

fmr wrote:
aMUSEd wrote:
sqigls wrote:Korg kick ass, if Roland had the balls to try something NEW it might be nice.
Well they did do the V-Synth, which was pretty innovative and is still one of the nicest hardware synths around.
Yes, and they abandoned it, and didn't even create a software editor for it... Shame on them.

Yeah annoying it was abandoned but I'm not sure why it would need a software editor - it has just about the most hands-on controllable UI in any synth I have tried - every function maps to a knob or button - and a lovely big touchscreen too.

sqigls · Post by **sqigls** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:30 am

aMUSEd wrote:
sqigls wrote:Korg kick ass, if Roland had the balls to try something NEW it might be nice.
Well they did do the V-Synth, which was pretty innovative and is still one of the nicest hardware synths around.

yeah, 12 years ago

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:13 am

Roland, Korg, and Yamaha have been, hands down, the three most underwhelming synth makers of the 21st Century...IMO.

What do you think of Roland's decades of "revival" synths?