I listen very carefully all recent comments (pros and cons) about new Rolands. Many forum folks post negative opinions. Yes XVs are far from perfect but what perfection really means to all of us ? More polyphony, better sounds, deeper synthesis method, more and more ifx, faster DSP & CPU, expansion..... ?
I must admit that i've bought two of them (88 & 5080) and i'm happy but not in love with them. They have the best (not only in my opinion) Roland sound ever made. I use Rolands fifteen years now as well as other synths. Sure XV are not the best of them but i cannot lister users told us that its sound is worst than JV or Triton. Try connect one of these synths to an audio spectrum analyzer and you'll see what it means noice floor. Roland has one of the best dynamic range among other current digital synths & samplers. Do you really know that XV are far better than EMU, KORG, YAMAHA even some Kurz on D/A conversion and noice filtering ?
I know that for a musician those mean nothing but when you record some parts or drive XV outputs via an external processor you'll notice the difference.

Someone wrote: "...Steel guitar is a joke"
I respect his opinion although i dissagree with him but did he ever listen better stees quitars from a S&S keyboard ? I agree with a friend who wrote: "...The steel guitars IMHO are sooo realistic if you play them thinking like a guitarist not a keyboard player"
Who has "BETTER EARS" ? I think both of them...

I digitally record some tracks using dry sounds compressed with a dbx and a Fostex hard disk recorder. The first track was XV quitar and the rest was some Fender and Yamaha real quitars. I played the master for some pro-class musician who didn't understand what was the real thing. That means something for me.

Other comments told about XV piano.
I'll not even dissagree with them. XV even without SRX piano card has the best piano sound. Did you ever heard Triton's honky tonky pianos ?

The question is simple. Do i work for Roland ? The answer: NO... I never like Roland sound (with the exception of D50). Roland always had the best S&S engine and some of the coolest sounds around but also had noisy output and poor pianos. That is the main reason (IMO) i like XVs and found them revolutionary.

I really understand those who don't like my opinion. Don't sell your jv, Triton or anything else. I think that anything has its personality as well as its role on a multitrack recording or live part. But the truth is that XV have the quality that most synths missed. And i mean sound plus built quality.

What about "CONS". I'm sure that many of you wait to post your comments against mine. I'm waiting for them because those negative opinions helped Roland and others to make their excellent synths.

"The only perfect thing is the nature"
Socrates

Okay, I'll give Roland some credit. One thing I love about there company is that almost everything they made over the past ten years is back compatible. This is great for people just coming on the Roland scene, or someone who has been with the Roland scene for a while and doesn't feel like having to re-program his/her whole archive because of a new sound set.

The only reason I dismiss the new XVs is because all of the new sounds on there have not debuted in the new XV but in Roland's 1998 SC880. If you listen to the tones on the SC880, you'll see that almost 75% of all the new sounds on the XV came from the JV and SC880. My thing was I didn't need another "copy cat" module. I love Roland. Everything in my studio is by Roland. But i have an XP60 and an SC880.

The fact that many of the sounds on the stock XV came from the SC, didn't make me impressed as I have the XV right inside of my SC and paid about $1800 less than the XV is advertised ($350). Trust me on that one.

The Infamous EPU.

Inray- I'm glad to see you treat me as a friend! That is really nice. I also greatly respect and learn from all your valuable posts- you really seem to know your stuff!!

Epu- You also know your stuff that's for sure!! However the argument you have above could apply to almost any other manufacturer. Many of the Korg Triton's sounds are Trinity, O1W, T series, M1 and even DW8000 sounds!!!!!!! All the waveforms from the old JD800 and JD990 have found themselves in the new XV units.
Yamaha recycled some of the better waveforms from the EX5 and put them in the new S80 and CS6X.

It could be argued that alot of this technology is 'repackaged' but hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it just improve upon it!!!!! You got an absolute bargain with the SC880!! I also got an absolute bargain with my U220 (which I've since sold) which had no filters but still contained one of the nicest acoustic pianos, that famous muted guitar sound and the best S&S trumpet sound of any synthe I've ever heard period- even better than XV factory trumpet patch!

If the SC880 does it for you, that's great- you shouldn't have to upgrade to new gear just because something new has come out- I learn't the hard way doing this mistake!!!!

Korgasm hi...
Ofcource i treat you and everyone here as friends. I have my (maybe wrong) opinion as anyone. I just hate listening people who post their opinion without first check the subject we talk about. I could tell that i like x-synth because it is like an old y-synth i had once and its sound must be great because it reminds me my x-wife. I'm not a great musician or super-eared but i try judge the gear i test, using true FACTS. In case of XVs the truth is that they are redesigned 100% using new CPU, DSP, d/a converters, sound circuitry and they use new or resampled sounds for compatibility. The piano sounds (onboard and SRX) are multisamples of the most rare quality piano ever made in Europe and i listened people telling that the piano sound is poor. Did they ever hear a true wood grand ? When someone judges an imitation, even sampled of a sound he must first have experience of the original. Yes i tell it again. The new Rolands are far from perfection. But XVs are (IMO always) the sound exception in the plastic age.

BTW i liked a lot JVs but they are outdated compared with S80, Korgs, and other new stuff. It's time for Roland to bring new gear for our wish lists.

PS: This summer Roland will introduce new keyboard workstations, based on XVxx using new LCD screen, new and fast SEQ, SRX expansions and better editing than XV88 or older XPs. After some days i'll have more info about them.

The best to all of you folks...
and remember that when something is good for someone it is bad for another

[This message has been edited by Inray (edited 05-08-2000).]

Hey Inray! I hope I don't fall in to that category of those who don't research subjects.

I've had Roland's for many years. it's to the point that I can almost easily tell if a sound on a record was derived from a Roland synth or not. I AM a musician who has been bought up studying Classical and Jazz (Julliard (while in High School) and various other institutions). I DO know what rare European pianos sound like.

My point is not that the new XV's suck. I just don't have the need to upgrade to them in the way that a D50 user might. The reason for this is because I noticed that a lot of the "new" sounds are already present in some of Roland's other modules and synths on the market today.

As for the new CPU and DSP, that is apparent. I'm not surprised by that. I have no need for it though. People talk about latency problems, and I haven't really experienced that yet, and I write BIG arrangements on my XP.

With all that said (drum roll), if Roland comes out with XV workstations, I'll be one of the first to save up and get it. The SRX boards are very appealing. - Oh yeah, with all of that background, I still choose to compose Pop and Hip-Hop tracks.

The Infamous EPU.

EPU hi...
I really enjoy your answer post. I agree with you that new Rolands are far away from the revolutionary D50. I think that you must keep your XP if it's really usefull for you. Also i don't like people run to buy any new synth when it hits the market. But we must be as objective we can when we judge new things. It doesn't matter if we like manufacturer or ... color or name etc. When we speak on electronic musical instruments the sound & synthesis engine it that counts.

On XVs now. Last year, as you know, all big manufacturers introduced new gear. Korg Triton, Yamaha S80/CS6, Kurz 2600 and other. All of them try to bring us the best realistic sound the can. I send many posts with my opinion on some of them i tried in my studio. I bought two of them just for their piano sound and clean output. But what a dissapointment for me when (February) Roland invited me to try XV. I must say that it has the best realistic sound in par with K2600 that costs twice. I also checked XV using a Tek audio spectrum analyzer and found that its output is full of music harmonics but not noice over spectrum. The dynamic range is thirty percent better than K2600. Thats my point when i post my opinion.

I have Classical & Jazz background and i'm keyboard player the last twenty five years. But mainly i'm an electonics engineer and i judge synths testing first their sound but also their tech characteristics.

The best to you and all the friends here...

Wow - great input from all of you. I am glad I joined this forum before I take the plunge and purchase the XV-88. From what I gather, at least for me, the XV-88 will be a good choice.Even though some of you sound a bit dissapointed my guess is that it will be a big step up the ladder from my current synth.

I am rather new to all of this,and not at all savvy concerning all the synths you folks have knowledge of. I am a guitar player that is venturing into a new realm. To get my feet wet, so to speak, a year ago I purchased an Alesis QS6.1 ( apparently not a synth that deserves mention in this company - sorry for mentioning it ). I also bought a new computer and set it up as my digital audio, and midi work station.

I am teaching myself to play the keys - and wanted to upgrade to a full 88 key, fully weighted keyboard. I started looking around for just a digital piano but then I caught wind of the XV coming from Roland and thought it was worth looking at, since I would gain both the full keyboard plus additional synth capabilities.

I wish I could actually play one before I buy it, but no stores around here have one,nor do they anticipate ever having one on display.Roland isn't even shipping until May 20th according to the latest info I have. So I am relying on what I hear from you who have actually got your hands on one and your comments.

Thanks again.

KenDuesenberg hi...
I'm glad if we can help you decide your next buy. But keep in your mind that even if all forum members agree that a synth is the best around there is always the posibility your next buy been the worst choice for you...

Listen carefully all posts here and on other web forums, read as many reviews you can, buy magazines and after that ... forget them all including our opinions and listen yourself and trust your ears

BTW before you buy XV88 or another keyboard think twice if you need a true multisound master keyboard or a workstation with sequencer, sampler, vocoder, floppy drive or even television Sometimes a full featured all-in-one workstation solution is the best choice for a single keyboard setup.

"...Always think before your next thought"
Aristotles

I forgot to tell you folks that Roland developed two new SRX cards for XV series. One with vintage all times classic keyboards and organs with many first class sounds (like the original moog multisample) and another with realistic brass and woodwinds (sampled using the best digital audio gear). These new SRX are full 64MB stereo samples cards and as i know they will be available in a month or two.

Hi Inray- Where do you get all this valuable info re- Roland gear? Geez I'm excited at the prospect of the new vintage/organs card. This would be absolutely wild for me!!!!! Have you any other info about future cards????

I'd love them to do a 64MB orchestral card, ethnic card and/or bass&guitar card.

However, I think the 64MB drums card will be definetly on my list!