As a New Year dawns upon us, we, as very musically gifted people, can look forward to the new technology that beckons towards us.

Arranger keyboards - and all musical technology for that matter - is moving faster nowadays, and one can hardly keep up. And only when some people have finished going through the "tone banks" of the Yamaha 9000, there is a "pro" version round the corner.... Albeit - without speakers.

Well, I have had my fair share of swapping/upgrading keyboards - right from the Roland Jupiter4 - to the kn6000 - and 18 keyboards in-between.

I am going to put a stop to this by buying a new sound module/sampler next year (around Feb). For all the keyboards I've had - I've never had a sound module! - Not one.

I was thinking of getting a Yamaha sampler (A4000), and thought that my budget of £700.00 would be ample. Well, in a way it would be...but It would be bare bones stuff! A dealer can get me one for about that, but tells me I will want: SIMMs, HARD DRIVE, ZIP, CD ROM, etc - to get the best out of it (not all of these, but at least some) I worked it out that with just a CD-ROM at £120.00 would be too much for me.

So then, I have elected to go for the more "user friendly " option, and that being a sound module. What I need now though, is some good recommendations of you very knowledgeable guys, and what would be best for me at this price (about $850 Dollars)

There are SO MANY sound modules on the market now, that it would, it seems, be impossible to get the right one the first time. I know sound is "Subjective", but there comes a time when a "Musically untrained" ear will know a good module from a bad one.

The modules I have in mind are: EMU Proteus 2000, Yamaha MU 128, Roland SC8850, to name a few. I like the "JV" models by Roland, but it seems like I'm limited to a JV1010 -, as the new "XV3030" is a bit too much for my budget. (£1,299)

I am after good solid sounds, and not anything specific (like a dance module), so good Synth pads, sweeps, Thick-Strings, etc, are on my main "must haves". Also, A module that can reproduce sounds of the "Gregorian chants", Choirs, etc are needed (it's these Choir/Gregorian sounds that I need for the music I want to compose)

I know the "JV1010" with the Vocal card can do this, but what I've heard from other people regarding this module - and it's "User-UN-friendlyness" - and also reviews (73%) (see link) I would be best to go for something more "upmarket" I'm told, and that the JV1010 wouldn't really do my KN6000 a great deal of justice....at least without the Expansion cards...

So then, I have my eyes on the "EMU Proteus 2000" - and with a review of 90% (see link for lots of reviewed gear etc) It looks favourite at the moment.

Any advice, and help would be much appreciated - Especially on the EMU 2000 module - which I've been told is quite a good piece of kit (never heard it though - any Demo's available?)

Samplers are a bit out of my depth I think, and maybe a bit too "technical" for me. And also the fact that 9/10 reviews associate samplers with Dance/Rave/Techno/Drum loops etc...something I'm not totally into - save the "odd" moment! - Must have those Choir/Gregorian sounds though - even if it does mean relegating down to a JV1010!

Thanks all in advance, and a happy New Year to you all.

Jupiter5

http://www.futuremusic.co.uk/search_awardwinners.asp?ScrollAction=3



[This message has been edited by Jupiter5 (edited 12-30-2000).]

Jupiter5,

Have you thought of buying a Roland JV-1080 and the Vocal expansion card? It will be close to your budget and you can add more expansion cards later on. A used Roland JV-1080 may even be better for you so you can save some money to buy more expansion cards.

Paul Ip
from Texas

Hi paul,

I never really thought about a JV1080 - because I was assuming the JV1010 was better - being it a newer model. Is the JV1080 a good model then? - and is it better than the 1010, and is it more user friendly?. Do all the "JV" models sound as good as each other with the Expansion cards in? (For example, would a JV1080 with the vocal card sound EXACTLY the same as the "XV3080" with vocal card (other sounds apart of course!)?. or would the latest models improve the expansion card sounds?

I will buy ythe JV1080 i think, if Yes is the answer to the above. I have about $900.00 to spend (£650.00), so I could get a better module now - and expand later maybe.

What of the JV2080? - is this twice as good as the JV1080?.

Thanks Paul for the info

------------------------------

Jupiter5




[This message has been edited by Jupiter5 (edited 12-31-2000).]

Thanks Dave for the info.

Just out of interest, how much are the "JV" models where you live? for example, would £650.00 ($970.00) get me a JV 1080 with a Vocal board?. There are people selling the JV 1080 for £450.00 ($670.00) in the local ads.

The reason I want more than a 1010 - is that i would like to use the orchestral/Vocal card at the same time. Not possible with the 1010.

thanks

Jupiter5

Jupiter5,

A new Roland JV-1080 in U.S. still sells at around US$850 to US$900 without special clearance discount. That is why I recommended you to consider a used one. JV-1010 is nice little module but you do not have the option of tweaking through front panel like JV-1080 has, and it has only one expansion slot. You may be able to find a used Orchestral expansion board for very low price. Vocal expansion boards are much less popular than the Orchestral I board so you might have to buy it new. With these 2 expansion boards in the JV-1080 you still have 2 more expansion slots for future expansion. JV-2080 is also nicer with 8 expansion slots and better FX and it is around US$950 to US$1200 new, not bad if you consider paying almost $900 for a new JV-1080. Since JV-2080 is much newer than JV-1080, expect prices of used JV-2080 quite a bit higher than that of JV-1080. The XV synths are nice but they cost about twice as much. XV-3080 is around US$1450 to $1500, and the top of the line XV-5080 is around US$1620 to $2000.

The following web site is useful for providing reference retail prices of keyboards and related products in U.S.:
http://www.gearprice.com/

Paul Ip
from Texas

[This message has been edited by Paul Ip (edited 12-31-2000).]