January 23, 2013

V-Combo VR-09 All-in-One Stage Keyboard

OV Valle [Roland US] Product News keyboards, namm, namm 2013, Organ, Piano, Synth, V-Combo, VR-09 5 Comments

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 ton of intuitive real-time controls. It also features USB song playback, onboard rhythms, battery-powered operation for mobile playing, and much more. More

January 22, 2013

CUBE Lite Amps with iOS Interfacing and CUBE JAM App

OV Valle [Roland US] Product News CUBE Lite, CUBE Lite MONITOR, guitar, keyboards, namm, namm 2013, Synth 1 Comment

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 CUBE Lite series works equally well for playing instruments and enjoying your digital music library in the comfort of your living space. More

January 17, 2013

Classic Roland Synths

OV Valle [Roland US] Product News D-50, GAIA, JD-800, JP-8000, JUNO-106, JUNO-6, JUPISTER-50, JUPITER-4, JUPITER-8, JUPITER-80, JX-3P, keyboards, MIDI, SH-01, SH-101, SH-201, SYSTEM-100, V-SYNTH, XP-80 6 Comments

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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 of pioneering synthesizer development. As the JUPITER name suggests, these new synths are related to one of the most iconic synth lines ever created—the genre-defining JUPITER-8.

Using the most innovative analog technologies of the time, the JUPITER-8 was released in 1981 and provided musicians with a rich palette of synth textures. Its reliability and ease of use on stage made it a go-to instrument for the electro crowd of the time. Its built-in arpeggiator and deep sonic potential satisfied the synth elite and awed countless Duran Duran fans. More

January 15, 2013

Synth Basics with Ed: Making a Synth Bass

OV Valle [Roland US] Tips & Tricks Ed Diaz, keyboards, SH-01, Synth Basics 1 Comment

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 showing us how to fatten up the tone by layering another bass tone over it. Finally, making bass wobbles for Dubstep and Electro music couldn’t be easier. According to Ed, you don’t have to be a synth ninja to follow along.

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January 8, 2013

Synth Basics with Ed – Creating Strings

OV Valle [Roland US] Tips & Tricks Ed Diaz, GAIA, keyboards, SH-01, Synth 2 Comments

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 understanding of sound design via oscillators, wave forms, filters, and arpeggios.

Do you have a synth related topic that you would like Ed to demonstrate? Leave us a comment!

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January 8, 2013

Back to Basics with Ed Diaz

OV Valle [Roland US] Tips & Tricks Ed Diaz, GAIA, Keyboard, keyboards, SH-01, Synth 2 Comments

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 via oscillators, wave forms, filters, and arpeggios. More

December 20, 2012

Throwback Thursday – Ed Diaz & His XP-50

OV Valle [Roland US] Product News Ed Diaz, keyboards, Sequencer, Synth, Throwback Thursday, Workstation, xp-50 1 Comment

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 16-track sequencer! It is a digital synthesizer using sampled ROM waveforms. Superb sound quality capable of emulating most any instrument imaginable plus totally fat analog synth type sounds and loads of percussion! It has 64 voices of polyphony and is 16-part multitimbral. The XP-50 makes a great beginner’s pro-quality workstation.” More

December 10, 2012

Bass Gliding With John Whitt Jr.

OV Valle [Roland US] Tips & Tricks Cody Simpson, Ed Diaz, John Whitt Jr., JUPITER-80, keyboards 0 Comments

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. More

December 3, 2012

Synth Legends: TB-303

OV Valle [Roland US] Product News Acid, Fatboy Slim, House, Josh Wink, jupiter, keyboards, Legends, Synth, TB-303, Techno 1 Comment

TB-303 Documentary – Bassline Baseline (2005)

Published by: alexfox101

Designed by Tadao Kikumoto in 1982, the TB-303 is a bass synthesizer with a built-in sequencer originally designed for bands or guitarists practicing without a bass player. It features a single analog oscillator with two waveforms (saw or square) and has a simple VCF filter with resonance, cut-off, and envelope controls. There are also knobs to adjust tuning, envelope decay, tempo and accent amount. The TB-303 was also made to accompany the TR-606 drum machine pictured below. More

November 29, 2012

Synth Legends – Howard Jones | JUPITER-80

OV Valle [Roland US] Artists Howard Jones, JUPITER-50, JUPITER-8, JUPITER-80, keyboards, Synth Legends 0 Comments

Now available for your JUPITER-50 and JUPITER-80 is the legendary JUPITER-8. Get your free JUPITER Synth Legends Volume 1 sound collection download here. In the meantime, here are some JUPITER-8 facts.

Unlike anything else, the JUPITER-8 had a split keyboard, oscillator sync, cross modulation and polyphonic portamento. Its broad sonic range meant the electro pop community quickly adopted it as their synth of choice, and it appeared on the roster of stadium-filling artists such Duran Duran, Heaven 17, Howard Jones, and Erasure. Its big, room-filling sound defined the pop-music of a generation. More