New year ... new budget.

I'm at crossroad and would love feedback good and bad from this forum of wise musicians.

I'm a Roland fan. I'm looking at the 5080 and purchasing the ilio samples that have the Groove Activation in them. Their demo disk has me thinking.

But, from reading around it looks like things like gigasampler from Nemesys is starting to catch on. Even some of the ilio samples are getting the Grove Activation added.

Instinctively, I know that hardwared based devices can be easier to use and maintain but can be limiting - especially when trying to use things like large samples.

A software based approach like GigaSampler from Nemesis has its advantages.

But, what's the reality? What do you say?

Thanks,
Tom Parish
Austin, TX

Hi,

Personally, I would think long and hard before moving into Giga. There are some advantages to going with a software-based system, but with a direct 5080-GigaSampler comparison, the 5080 wins out hands down.

There was a long thread on the JV Mailing List concerning the 5080 vs Giga.
Giga may give you a lot more 'space' for samples, but the PC you require is very high-end if you want lots of voices and low latency.
The 5080 has ROM sounds, sample RAM, more Voices/Parts than GigaSampler (only GigaStudio starts to come close to the 5080 for capabilities).
Plus the 5080 has tons of FX etc.
Also, it's way more portable.

David
* Roland & Cakewalk Resources and Roland Newsgroups: http://www.lilchips.com *

Hi tparish and all,

Highly recommend you buy the Nov 2000 issue of 'Sound on Sound' (a british music equipment mag), which contains reviews for both the XV-5080 and the Nemesys GigaStudio 160.

Interesting to note that film composer Hans Zimmer is now endorsing the 160: he's the guy who used (20) S-760's to create synth filmscores!!

David has it right: you'd better have top-of-the-line computer set-up to make this thing run: 160 voices on 64 MIDI channels means you'd better have fast processors, hard drives, lots of RAM, suitable soundcard, etc. Even then, you'd better be good at ironing out settings conflicts, bugs, etc.

That's not to say all is smooth-sailing with the XV-5080: the current OS (1.12) leaves much to be desired, especially in terms of ironing out sample/file management difficulties. Don't get me wrong: the XV-5080 sounds great, and is for the most part, a pleasure to use and play.

Perhaps a newer update in the XV-5080 O.S. that addresses current weaknesses will allow me to offer a stronger recommendation for the unit.

Regards,
Chris

Ok, your post was real helpful as was David Green's post above. Thank you for your advice. I'm leaning toward the 5080. I'll try to find that Sound on Sound magazine.

The Hans Zimmer testimonial did catch my eye but my sense is he has access to just about what he wants along with a small army of engineers to hook things up and keep em' running.

Would you mind commenting on the ilio.com samples with their Groove Activated samples? I'm curious about investing in some of them.

Tom
Austin, TX

David, any chance at all you might have that posting you mentioned ???

Thank you
Tom

[QUOTE]Originally posted by David Green:

There was a long thread on the JV Mailing List concerning the 5080 vs Giga.

Hi Tom,

I don't really use loops, since I'm a drummer: I brew my own grooves.

However, I've heard the Ilio demo CD and it sounds like the groove activation works well...

The folks at Ilio are helpful: I e-mailed a question, and they sent recent their demo CD's and catalog.

Try: info@ilio.com

Regards,
Chris

bwahahahaha!! Comparing the Gigasampler to a Roland 5080? The 5080 isn't even a real sampler to begin with! lol!

The 5080 is absolutely destroyed by gigasampler's ability.

What you SHOULD be comparing is the Gigasampler to the latest EMU or AKAI s6000.

Well .... ok. This is getting confusing and complicated. I wish there was a way to cross compare these. This isn't an easy thing to figure out without some real experience with the different boxes (and respective manufactures). I'm more familiar with Roland and like to stay with what I know. I can see the GigaSampler stuff is going to require significant invest in time on my part to bring up a dedicated box.

ENU and Akai - I have no prior experience with. I'll look at their web sites.

Could you offer more details on your experiences with the different manufactureres? Some specifics would help.

Tom
Motorola
Austin TX

Hi Tom and all,

Actually, Nemesys' site has a number of reviews on-line: worth a look, if any of you haven't been:
http://www.nemesystech.com

Also, worth visiting the user infopop bulletin board to see the issues users are dealing with.

Yes, the XV-5080 is not a sampler, but has sample playback capabilities with Roland s-7xx and Akai S-1000/3000 libraries.

I think most users see the value of using libraries of samples, rathr than making their own: that is why Giga has adapted Vitous collections, etc. Face it: pros are probably going to create a better collection of samples than most users ever could.

No doubt, Giga 160 looks cool, but be prepared to get over a steep learning/technical issue curve to get it to do what it promises. Their own site discusses what a technical challenge they face to reduce disc access latency to the point where it is musical. I think I'll wait a bit to see where it ends up, before diving in. It no doubt may be the 'wave of the future', but I'm not sure if the 'future' is here (without throwing boatloads of cash on PC hardware)...

By contrast, the $1,750 (delivered) XV-5080 allows you to be up and running quickly, esp. if you're already familiar with the JV/S-7XX line. Add 128MB RAM ($115), some interchangeable JV/XV cards, some sample CD-ROM's, and it sounds even better!

Regards,
Chris

You are the voice of reason. I find it a struggle at times to balance my technical drive with my creative. I can't be in both head spaces at the same time.

Though I have the background to dive into the Giga-stuff the more I think about it ...I'll just wait a little longer.

I can get what I want creatively out of the Roland 5080. Truth be known, I'm still getting up the curve on all the various creative ideas and effects I can manage with my xp80,2080 and assortment of expansion cards. The 5080 with samples will keep me busy this year.

Thank you for taking the time to reply as you have. It really helped me out a lot.

Tom Parish
Motorola
Austin TX