Roland Blog

keyboards

VR-09 Press Coverage at NAMM 2013

The V-COMBO VR-09 live performance keyboard debuted last week at Winter NAMM 2013 with great enthusiasm across social networks. Many questions were brought to the attention of Ed Diaz (our resident synth ninja), which he will address in the following weeks. In the meantime please check out this coverage of the VR-09 by Keyboard Magazine. Please [...]

New Product: V-Combo VR-09 All-in-One Stage Keyboard

The V-Combo VR-09 is an easy-to-transport rig for performing keyboard players, with dedicated piano, organ, and synth engines. It’s built around a single idea: playing live. Because you don’t need any distractions onstage, the V-Combo VR-09 is all about getting the exact sounds you need as quickly and simply as possible, with a well-organized panel layout and a [...]

New Products: CUBE Lite Amps with iOS Interfacing and CUBE JAM App

Roland’s all-new CUBE Lite series introduces a fresh concept in amplification. The CUBE Lite Guitar Amplifier (for guitarists) and CUBE Lite MONITOR (for keyboard/synth players and vocalists) are compact, home-based amps with stylish looks and built-in iOS audio interfaces, making it easy to integrate with music apps on your favorite Apple mobile devices. Featuring awesome 2.1 Channel sound, the [...]

Classic Roland Synths

  Roland’s new JUPITER-50 was unveiled at the Frankfurt Musikmesse last year, and though it sits at the cutting-edge of new technology, it’s a synth that sits firmly in line with Roland’s synth philosophy and history. The JUPITER-50 is a streamlined version of the flagship JUPITER-80, and both instruments fit neatly into Roland’s 40-year story [...]

Synth Basics with Ed: Making a Synth Bass

In this edition of Synth Basics with Ed, Ed describes how to program a bass tone on the GAIA SH-01. This knowledge could be applied to any synthesizer regardless of make or model by using the basic synth components of oscillators, filters, and low-frequency oscillators. Aside from making a simple bass tone, Ed goes further by [...]

Synth Basics with Ed – Creating Strings

Published by Ed Diaz In this Synth Basics with Ed video, Ed explains how to create synth strings on a GAIA SH-01. Although this video is demonstrated on a GAIA, the fundamentals could be applied to any keyboard synthesizer regardless of make and model. According to Ed, these video tutorials are designed to strengthen your [...]

Back to Basics with Ed Diaz

Published by Ed Diaz This is the first in a series of videos on the basics of keyboard synthesis. Our very own Ed Diaz shares these fundamentals on a GAIA SH-01. This basic knowledge could be applied to any keyboard synthesizer from any make and model and will overall better your understanding of sound design [...]

JUPITER-50 Winner – Congrats to Mitch

Thank you all for participating in the JUPITER Synth Legends contest. Congrats to Mitch Bacigalupi on winning a fully loaded JUPITER-50 synth, Merry Christmas! Please stand by for future contests and giveaways, we have plenty more in the works for 2013. Related links and articles: Synth Legends: TB-303 Synth Legends Synth Legends – Howard Jones | JUPITER-80

Throwback Thursday – Ed Diaz & His XP-50

In our first edition of throw back Thursday, Roland’s Ed Diaz remembers his college years and the keyboard that put him through school, the XP-50. This synth workstation was capable of emulating any instrument, here’s Vintage Synth Exporer‘s take on the XP-50: “The XP-50 is not just another synthesizer workstation, it’s basically a JV-1080 with a built-in keyboard and a [...]

Bass Gliding With John Whitt Jr.

Touring keyboard player, John Whitt Jr. demonstrates some funky bass licks and his bass glide technique on the JUPITER-80. Watch as the selected sound (Reso Bump) changes as the different solo parts are adjusted to create a new feel.