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Wow. Roland Boutique units really are limited.


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I had to cancel my trip to Gearfest and decided to spend my travel money on another Roland Boutique unit. I was shocked at how limited the selection is at most stores. I wanted the 808 and/or vocoder and finally found them at Kraft. Sweetwater only has 5 units in stock and two are drum machines. Guitar Center was also down to 5 different units. Americanmusical has 4. Kraft Music had 6. Jackpot. They had the combination I was looking for. The 808 and Vocoder. No one else had the vocoder. No one has the JX-03, JP-08, JU-06, TB-03, A-01 or the color variations (red or blue) of the SH-01.

 

I was going to get the 808 and D50 but decided to grab the vocoder while I can. I wonder if Roland will re-release some of these, maybe with a more powerful processor and better polyphony. For a long time I was really upset with the limited polyphony of my JP-08. Now I am at peace, considering it a mono synth with an extra voice as bonus. I also don't consider these to be true keyboard synths. They are memories of the 80's. High end toys. "Model" keyboards. In that respect I really enjoy them and wish other companies would put out the same product line. I would love to have and Arp Omni or Odyssey, some of the old Yamaha synths, and a little bitty P5.

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For a long time I was really upset with the limited polyphony of my JP-08...

Sort of a tale of two synths for me regarding polyphony. I have a JU-06 and while the sound is spot-on (especially that wonderful chorus) the lack of polyphony killed it for me. I also have a D-05, which likewise sounds fantastic, but the 16 voice polyphony makes it something I can actually use as I would the genuine article.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

- George Bernard Shaw

 

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The D-05 is the real deal. I use mine a lot. The pads are killer. The pads sit in a live mix better than most of my Kronos pads.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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My SE-02 and D-05 are fantastic sounding.

The D-05 Staccato Brass makes my sampled horn sections Phat.

 

The SE-02 is so huge I actually have to use 2 of the 3 Oscillators for the hip hop old school high pitch synth sound.

Its so big nailing those old Mood Modular sounds Emerson got is a cinch.

From the Beginning, Trilogy, Lucky Man. Easy.

Actually shocked at the stock presets...They suck.

Recent update added another bank.

Dont know who makes the presets but its obvious they just wanted to NOT sound like anyone else.

I use 20+ presets.

Not one is stock. Worse presets ever on an analog synth....

 

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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The TB-03 is also selling for high dollars on Ebay. People are also trying to sell the red and blue SH-01 for twice the value, but you can still find them in one online store.

 

While the D-05 states 16 voice polyphony, many voices take 4 parts, knocking it back down to 4 voice. Same as the JU-06.

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I kept thinking about buying a second JP-08 to get the extra polyphony for "full" JP-08 emulation, but I ended up barely using the one I had, so I didn't bother. Now I don't know if I should have bought one when I could, or if I should just sell the one I have!

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I still have a little bit of itch for the SE02. I have the JP08 and it hasn't found a spot in my live rig.

Live: Korg Kronos 2 88, Nord Electro 5d Nord Lead A1

Toys: Roland FA08, Novation Ultranova, Moog LP, Roland SP-404SX, Roland JX10,Emu MK6

www.bksband.com

www.echoesrocks.com

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They've certainly dried up in Brazil. The D50 never showed up here (brought one in Europe). I also bought the JP - thanks for the demo link, enjoy the sound but the polyphony is really limiting.

 

Wish I had picked up the SE or the Model D in my last trip to the US. Model D's are an arm and a leg here (~830 USD by today's exchange rate)

Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II

MBP-LOGIC

American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760

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I kept thinking about buying a second JP-08 to get the extra polyphony for "full" JP-08 emulation, but I ended up barely using the one I had, so I didn't bother. Now I don't know if I should have bought one when I could, or if I should just sell the one I have!

 

I just bought a used one from GC online for $240. Figure I can sell it for that later on. On Ebay prices are all over the place for these units. Take your time and you can find a deal.

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My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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Is there really no 19" rackmount adaptor for the boutiques?

 

No, there is not.

 

A couple companies have come out with some cool tabletop stands similar to the Eurorack design.

 

Example

 

For live use, Rabid's idea of a rack shelf is probably best.

 

If there were rack ears for the Roland Boutiques, you'd have to place it in slant top rack since all the connectors come straight out the back.

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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I was going to mount mine to a rack shelf but never did. I just set it on the rightish hand side of the Kronos top. The reason I like the D-05 is I don't need physically lay hands on it to use it. Just program it and forget it.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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Firstly, I have been able to work with the four voice restriction, and use my boutiques as my primary sound source in my original band. So I think calling them "toys" is a bit unfair. They sound great, only the 1/8" output is the only pain the butt.

 

Second, I built my own rig to sit on top of my Nord C2, which holds my boutique. I'll once again show this off in the pic below.

 

Third, I actually recently picked up a D-05, to replace the JP-08.

 

37082314941_fd80b29440_c.jpgSynthRig by Patrick Suler, on Flickr

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I don't say "high end toy" to be insulting. But they are miniature recreations of the originals. Like models. With limited polyphony and aggravating connections. Still, much better than the Korg Volca's which I also have a few of. I wish Korg would charge another hundred dollars and up the size and features to match the Boutiques. I find the 3 note polyphony of the Korg FM to be frustrating in an otherwise good instrument.

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I got the JP-08 soon after it came out and had fun playing around with it, but could not find the time/energy/need to integrate with my live rig. I sold it to a forum friend who I think will give me first right of refusal if he decides to move it out of his rig (he's in this thread :wave:)

 

More recently, I got the D-05 via another forum member and have spent a little bit of time playing with it, but again am struggling a bit to integrate it into my rig. No question it sounds great and would be a nice add, but I simply have not set aside the time to program my rig to use it and I would want to do a "set it and forget it" approach where my master keyboard is calling up the program changes etc. and the unit would be sitting in my offstage rack.

 

I am also very interested in checking out the TR-08 at some point. If anyone has one of those they are not using, let me give it a spin!

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Do you guys think the D05 or SE02 sound better than the FA07? The FA contains quite a few D50 sounds on it, but was wondering about the quality compared to the FA and whether the sounds on the SE02 would overlap too much with the FA, I currently run a virus snow on the side, but was thinking of the other two boutiques.

 

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Apples and oranges. IF you have a Virus the SE02 will not be a necessity. While the D5 may sound better on it's patches, the FA will have a lot more AND more polyphony. The D5 is advertised as 16 note polyphony but many patches use 4 parts, knocking polyphony down to 4 note.

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My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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whether the sounds on the SE02 would overlap too much with the FA

Without hearing any of the "sounds" (presets) of either one, I can still say they basically don't overlap at all, because the SE-02 is a true analog synth with a Minimoogish character, which doesn't describe the FA-07 at all. It's not about the sounds, it's about the sound. ;-)

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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I got the JP-08 soon after it came out and had fun playing around with it, but could not find the time/energy/need to integrate with my live rig. I sold it to a forum friend who I think will give me first right of refusal if he decides to move it out of his rig (he's in this thread :wave:)

 

More recently, I got the D-05 via another forum member and have spent a little bit of time playing with it, but again am struggling a bit to integrate it into my rig. No question it sounds great and would be a nice add, but I simply have not set aside the time to program my rig to use it and I would want to do a "set it and forget it" approach where my master keyboard is calling up the program changes etc. and the unit would be sitting in my offstage rack.

 

I am also very interested in checking out the TR-08 at some point. If anyone has one of those they are not using, let me give it a spin!

 

Eric, you should check out https://cultofd50.org/ as a patch resource. There is a hefty stash of user group folders to be had that sport numerous D-50 sets, which are D-05 compatible. I'm a big proponent of beefing up the patch resources for my synths. With one this fiddly to program, being able to customize several Best-Of sets will make it much more useful.

 

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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Somebody needs to make little miniature multi-tier A-Frame keyboard stands for those. Then you could get a doll house and set up a really cool miniature studio and practice space in it.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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D-05 user here. One other thing that needs to be said: The build quality on this unit is really solid. Roland gets kind of slagged by some in the synth community for their product decisions, but someone over there still cares about making good instruments; vs. flashier stuff from some of the new guys in town that looks to be less consistent. fwiw.
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