Published 3/4/07
New Roland gear announced at Messe
Japanese hardware manufacturers Roland were out in force at Frankfurt's Musikmesse with some interesting new products.
Roland claim that the 61-key V-Synth GT, their latest traditional keyboard-based synth, is "the world's most expressive synthesizer", thanks to the inclusion of their Elastic Audio Synthesis, Variphrase and Articulative Phrase Synthesis engines. These can be used simultaneously to create impressive sounds derived from the behaviour and nuances of musical instruments, and can be applied to live audio signals in real-time.
It's got 256 patches built in, with the option to store more on external USB flash memory (rather than using internal, and usually expensive, RAM boards). Also on-board is Roland's proprietary D-beam technology and the X-Y pad that was found on the original V-Synth and V-Synth XT. Rear panel connections include phantom-powered mic and line level inputs with line outputs. There's also a full complement of MIDI connections, plus stereo digital I/O on both optical and coaxial connectors. The V-Synth GT should be shipping in May.
Brand new from Roland is Sonic Cell, a 128-voice sound module with built-in two-input, two-output audio interface. It's a rather boring-looking (but probably quite robust) black box, with a small screen and a handful of controls, but under the removable panel, users can install any two of Roland's many SRX expansion boards, effectively giving it the sonic capabilities of the Roland Fantom. Sonic Cell can use external USB flash memory on which to store data, and it can function as a backing track machine. It even has the ability to play back WAV, AIFF and MP3 files, making it perfect for the computer-based musician on the go.
Adding to their popular V-Drums range, Roland have released the HD1 kit. Entering at the bottom of the range (costing around £500), the HD1 was originally designed for drummers who live in urban areas, where space is tight and noise must be limited. Although it may sound like a strange claim, Roland are the first to point out that the HD1 is their quietest drum kit yet! All seven pads (snare, hi-hat, three toms and two cymbals) are mounted on a central vertical stand, with horizontal arms to spread the hi-hat, cymbals and floor tom. The snare pad employs a mesh head, for a responsive bounce, while the toms, cymbals and hi-hat are all rubber-coated. Both pedals are effectively foot switches (as opposed to the mechanical beater and pad arrangements), which Roland claim to be especially quiet. The sound module, or brain, as it's commonly called, has just five kit presets, although each of these has a variation, to give the user a total of ten kits to choose from. Usefully, there's an auxilliary input on stereo minijack, so you can play along to songs on your MP3 player, and there is a MIDI output, allowing you to trigger devices apart from the brain. What's more, a special active speaker (the PM01), which directs the sound upwards through the snare pad, keeping noise leakage to a minimum, is available as an add-on for the kit.
Roland UK +44 (0)1792 702701
www.roland.co.uk
Roland claim that the 61-key V-Synth GT, their latest traditional keyboard-based synth, is "the world's most expressive synthesizer", thanks to the inclusion of their Elastic Audio Synthesis, Variphrase and Articulative Phrase Synthesis engines. These can be used simultaneously to create impressive sounds derived from the behaviour and nuances of musical instruments, and can be applied to live audio signals in real-time.
It's got 256 patches built in, with the option to store more on external USB flash memory (rather than using internal, and usually expensive, RAM boards). Also on-board is Roland's proprietary D-beam technology and the X-Y pad that was found on the original V-Synth and V-Synth XT. Rear panel connections include phantom-powered mic and line level inputs with line outputs. There's also a full complement of MIDI connections, plus stereo digital I/O on both optical and coaxial connectors. The V-Synth GT should be shipping in May.
Brand new from Roland is Sonic Cell, a 128-voice sound module with built-in two-input, two-output audio interface. It's a rather boring-looking (but probably quite robust) black box, with a small screen and a handful of controls, but under the removable panel, users can install any two of Roland's many SRX expansion boards, effectively giving it the sonic capabilities of the Roland Fantom. Sonic Cell can use external USB flash memory on which to store data, and it can function as a backing track machine. It even has the ability to play back WAV, AIFF and MP3 files, making it perfect for the computer-based musician on the go.
Adding to their popular V-Drums range, Roland have released the HD1 kit. Entering at the bottom of the range (costing around £500), the HD1 was originally designed for drummers who live in urban areas, where space is tight and noise must be limited. Although it may sound like a strange claim, Roland are the first to point out that the HD1 is their quietest drum kit yet! All seven pads (snare, hi-hat, three toms and two cymbals) are mounted on a central vertical stand, with horizontal arms to spread the hi-hat, cymbals and floor tom. The snare pad employs a mesh head, for a responsive bounce, while the toms, cymbals and hi-hat are all rubber-coated. Both pedals are effectively foot switches (as opposed to the mechanical beater and pad arrangements), which Roland claim to be especially quiet. The sound module, or brain, as it's commonly called, has just five kit presets, although each of these has a variation, to give the user a total of ten kits to choose from. Usefully, there's an auxilliary input on stereo minijack, so you can play along to songs on your MP3 player, and there is a MIDI output, allowing you to trigger devices apart from the brain. What's more, a special active speaker (the PM01), which directs the sound upwards through the snare pad, keeping noise leakage to a minimum, is available as an add-on for the kit. Roland UK +44 (0)1792 702701
www.roland.co.uk
