I have heard the expansion boards are good but how good. Anyone got any? Which ones? What do you think of them? are they worth it?

thanks,
boy_wonder

I think the expansion boards (at least the ones I own) sound very good, much better than the factory-installed patches on my XP-80. I own the Vintage Synth, Session, Vocal, and Orchestral boards, and have no particular favorite board because they each fill a different musical need (style, genre, whatever...). I don't know how well they compare with the sounds of the proud, expensive Kurzweil synths or other such synths. If you own an XP or a JV synth, they are a convenient and fairly inexpensive way to pick up some good sounds.

I have the Super Sound Set, which I got mainly for the harpischord and organ pipe sounds. To me, no synth is complete without a harpsichord--those were always the best on the old analog synths. The Super Sound Set also rounds out the drums, and has some nice strings, and more guitars. The quality of the sounds is comparable to what's already built in--that is to say, high-quality Roland sounds. Roland included a CD with recordings of all the expansion cards with my XP-80. I bet they would send you that CD just for the asking.

I got my card in Japan on a business trip for about half of what you could get it for in the US. Cheap airfare from the US is $450 right now, so if you bought three cards, you would come out about even, and get a trip to Japan out of the deal!

I use a Jv2080 + Xp60+ Jv90

I have 3 sr-jv80-02 Orchestral, using one inside each synths, and I can say that the sounds are incredible, featuring violins, brass, choirs, harpsichords, gongs, bells. very realistic samples. excellent expansion board !!!!

I have 2 sr-jv80-13 Vocals, using them in my Jv2080 and Xp60, excellent choice too, very realistic Jazz vocals, Gregorian chants, and many choirs, boys, light females, vith very realistic Allelluia and Amen samples sound. I like to make combinations of different choir, with my Jv2080+ Xp60, to obtain very powerfull vocals for powerfull music, (I play Heavy Metal music, and i need power )

This expansion board kills !!!!!

I use 1 World expansion board, I was very surprised to hear a so realistic Bag Pipes sound, I feel like kissing Mel Gibson in Brave Heart, each time I hear that sound ))

It contains lot of tribal sound, like dijeridoo and african stuff, sounds from Asia are really good, the patch Dinosaur Park will make you laught, when you'll hear it, rooooooaaaarrrrr hihi....

Very good expansion too, but I use it less than the Orchestral and Vocals.

I use 1 Asia expansion Board, realistic samples of asian instruments, I just buyed it, so I know it less than the others, but, I am disapointed, because lot of patches are too much quiet the same, I wil tell you more about it, when I'll know it better.

I use 1 Techno expansion Board, really good sounds too, but too much ready made loops, as I play in a band, they are useless for me, but they are really good too, if you love the techno trend I use it just to make some strange sounds with other classical sounds as piano, violin, choir etc... but not frequently alone....

Next month I will buy the Pop and Piano expansion board, I will write you about them, when I'll get them.

I'm very surprised that the expansion boards are so expansive in the US, 450$ is very expansive I think, I live in Switzerland, and I pay them 420 Fr (swiss money) each, 420 Fr = 280$

I don't know why ??????????

Big Kisses

Kat

Check out my page on exp brds at
http://athena.louisville.edu/~gtcraw01/expbrds.htm . The best price in the US is at FullCompass for $185. They can be ordered from Sound on Sound in Japan for around $190
to $220 depending on where you are.

Kurzweil uses actual samples. Rolands sounds come from ROM.

I have just bought an XP80 and I'm new to all this so please forgive my ignorance (I can't believe the instruction manual is bigger than my telephone directory! Pass the aspirin...). Can you not download expansion boards and patches from various internet sites? Does this not eliminate the need to shell out big bucks for extra sounds?

M.