Roland XV-3080 in the house! My rack synth cravings satisfied.

[eric]

I've had this on my mind for a while and have created more than one post on the topic over the past few years. 

 

Quick background is that back when I was actively touring for a decade from late '80s into late '90s (and part time after that), I was dependent on rack modules for a large portion of my show. Early days included the Korg M1R with a Emu Proformance module, then I had the Roland JV-880 and Dynacord CLS-222, plus a few various rack mixers and MIDI gadgets like the JL Cooper MSB+. All of it took a lot of time offline to set up as my MIDI controllers at the time weren't sophisticated.

 

Fast forward to latter years and I was using a Yamaha Motif XS Rack for a number of years and downsized from a big 6-space rack to my current 4-space rack, which is just for my wireless IEM rig, my Vent, and my Radial KL-8. I've really been wanting to add another sound source to the equation without adding a keyboard and I'm not a soft synth guy for live shows.

 

This past week @Legatoboy enabled my rack cravings with a nice deal on his Roland XV-3080 with Session card on board. This week I dug out my old 2-space rack that I was using on the road with my JV-880 and CLS-222...it's a bit careworn, though it is perfect for the XV-3080. I've got it set up and have been working through the sounds, making notes on the various MSB/LSB settings needed to access banks and programs remotely, saving Favorites and figuring out how I will use this in my live rig, mostly with my new cover band. I'll have some overhead related to programming External settings into a bunch of NS3 Programs, though once I get into the flow it goes quickly and is fun!

 

It's early days of testing sounds and deciding what will bring newness to my rig, though first impressions of the classic Roland poly brass/synths, strings, big stacked sounds, great leads, some cool sound FX and hits, etc...lots of territory covered in a rompler that throws me back to my JV-880 days. It's a fun little excursion that was a great value and scratches an itch I've had for a while. 

[ProfD]

15 minutes ago, eric said:

I'll have some overhead related to programming External settings into a bunch of NS3 Programs, though once I get into the flow it goes quickly and is fun!

It will be interesting to read your perspective of how the Roland XV-3080 complements the NS3.  Plenty room for some really cool splits and layers.  Have a blast mayne.😎

 

[mate stubb]

I bought an XV-2020 for the same reason - to pad out my Stage.

[niacin]

My past was similar, always a rack, various Rolands, Kurz PC2R, Trinity rack, a little Akai half rack piano unit at one time, EMU P2K.  Then, for a while, I went to 2 keyboards and dropped the rack.  But now I have to take a rack with my Radial KL-8 for my IEMs, so why not add some modules, lol.  Currently a Dexibell SX7 and a GSI Gemini.  Broadens the sound palette nicely, though if I was looking to buy a rack module again I think I'd just go with an iPad. 

[ElmerJFudd]

Forever useful variety of sounds.  I had the 2080 with a few cards (orch I and 2, etc).   I should have kept it but I needed cash at the time and let it go thinking a laptop would cover anything going forward.  But sometimes a dedicated box is just the right tool.  These are a great side kick for a stage piano that’s short on specific timbres.  

[obxa]

Love this!

Though it was primitive &  more weight, really miss the days of just plugging a midi cable into rack module(s) and calling it a day. 

 

Been thinking the opposite of extending my NS, and actually downgrading to an Electro for the more compact size.  This could fill the loss of that second stage engine.  Got a neglected 3080 with the Orch cards that could replace my " laptop- as- module" rig.   Go figure. 

[CyberGene]

On the Roland website it says:

 

Massive internal wave memory includes incredible new sounds, plus all sounds from JV-2080 and a collection of waveforms from the JD-990 Super JD

 

Wondering if that means 128 MB 😀

[niacin]

The 3080 was regarded by many as sounding better than the 5080 and the Fantom Xr that came after it.

[AROIOS]

3 hours ago, CyberGene said:

On the Roland website it says:

 

Massive internal wave memory includes incredible new sounds, plus all sounds from JV-2080 and a collection of waveforms from the JD-990 Super JD

 

Wondering if that means 128 MB 😀

Not even that much. 😃

JV-1080/2080 had an 8MB rom and JD-990 6MB. It's quite amazing what sonic magic Roland (and other 90's manufacturers) pulled out of those tiny memory spaces.

[CyberGene]

7 minutes ago, AROIOS said:

It's quite amazing what sonic magic Roland (and other 90's manufacturers) pulled out of those tiny memory spaces.

Yeah, we’ve discussed it in another thread once. The huge memory limitations unlocked some great creativity in the sound designers. 

[Legatoboy]

Good Luck Eric... I think your going to have alot of fun man. 

 

I agree with niacin here below, I checked out the later Rolands when they came out, the 5080 and the XR and I thought had that 'Crispy Critters' overly digital clarity to them, almost like FM in nature to some degree... not warm enough for my tastes, good for some material I suppose.  I think the 3080 was one of the last synth axes they produced with the old Jupiter-8 vibe to it, especially evident on stereo patchs and effects and the sounds in general...but if you put  something into the 3080's SRX slots, which I never have, I'd be curious to hear what they sound like through the 3080 hardware and DAC's... I kept my 2nd 3080, I had 2 that I bought for that gladly defunct 80's band project w/ old friends from the city, just a bad idea to get back together on.  Both 3080's were in primo shape!     

   

1 hour ago, niacin said:

The 3080 was regarded by many as sounding better than the 5080 and the Fantom Xr that came after it.

 

 

 

 

[obxa]

Slightly off topic- I didn't know the 3080 had JD990 waveforms.  Never done any heavy editing on it. 

 

Still regularly use a 990 (with the vintage card) in the studio. It's a beast- and partly because of the early DACs,  has a more grainy (but lovely) vibe.   Have always considered it more a specialty box for non-realistic synth sounds than the 1080 stuff on up.  I consider those more bread and butter gig boxes.  Gigged forever with a 1080 in my rack, then briefly the 3080,  then downsized to a little JV1010. 

 

I'm wondering if we're all coming full circle with rack gear again?     Got the 990 and 3080 when folks were selling them at fire-sale prices. The display on my 990 is fading and getting ready to replace (see below).   That's one synth I'd love to see in virtual. 

 

If anyone is in need of fixing their display for Roland, or any other older 00-90's gear: this guy has pop-in replacements for just about everything. 

 

https://reverb.com/shop/matts-boutique-370

[Floyd Tatum]

18 hours ago, eric said:

 

What's that piece underneath the XV-3080 in the two-space rack in the above photo?   Just curious.

EDIT:  Oops, nevermind.  I just googled the 3080, and it's a two-spacer.

[ProfD]

5 minutes ago, obxa said:

Slightly off topic- I didn't know the 3080 had JD990 waveforms.  Never done any heavy editing on it. 

The downside to rack gear is that it's never been inviting from a from a programming perspective.  Users were happy enough with the presets to plug and play.

 

5 minutes ago, obxa said:

I'm wondering if we're all coming full circle with rack gear again?

I don't believe so.  It will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane until the shortcomings of it are realized again.

 

The other side of it is realizing the true number of sounds it takes to compose and/or gig. 

 

Modern KBs have a ton of sounds, polyphony and other features.  Now, they're becoming more tactile which makes programming easier. 

 

Technically, more can be accomplished with any one modern KB today (ROMpler, workstation, DP) today than a rack full of gear.

 

However, older KB gear whether it is a rack, desktop or full-sized KB provides a trip down memory lane and adds another spice to the rack.😎

[BluMunk]

1 minute ago, ProfD said:

The downside to rack gear is that it's never been inviting from a from a programming perspective.  Users were happy enough with the presets to plug and play.

Downside... but also maybe an upside?

I have to admit that while it feels good and powerful to be able to easily craft "any sound I can imagine" with cool interfaces, I find that I can access musical inspiration much more easily by stepping through presets.

Sometimes I want or need a sound to be 'just so'... but other times the sound the instrument shows up with is the sound that informs the music.

[ProfD]

7 minutes ago, BluMunk said:

Downside... but also maybe an upside?

I have to admit that while it feels good and powerful to be able to easily craft "any sound I can imagine" with cool interfaces, I find that I can access musical inspiration much more easily by stepping through presets.

Sometimes I want or need a sound to be 'just so'... but other times the sound the instrument shows up with is the sound that informs the music.

Sure.  Half empty, half full. 

 

Presets exist for that very reason.  Programmers have done the heavy lifting.  Musicians can get on with the business of composing music or playing gigs or whatever.

However, if one is inclined to go under the hood to tweak a preset or create a sound from scratch...that capability is in there too.😎

[eric]

Thanks for all the fun responses and interest in this topic. I may be going through a phase - we'll see. The main thing I'm looking to do is to expand my sound capabilities. I've been using a NS3 Compact for EVERYTHING since about 2018 and it has served me well. There are certain songs and use cases where I simply max out the capabilities of the NS3. It has been fun working within those constraints and now I'm excited to build upon them with a solid rack synth. The XV-3080 is chock full of so many sounds and there is a special "Roland" quality to the sounds that will sit in the mix a bit differently than my NS3. I think in a good way.

 

I'll keep you posted once I have a chance to get some good programming done and have this thing integrated into my rig. I also just ordered a small Redco mini snake to easily link this new rack unit into my existing rack (stereo audio and MIDI in a short cable...I'm a stickler for keeping all of that neat and clean).

[ProfD]

5 minutes ago, eric said:

I may be going through a phase - we'll see.

Brotha E, it's a helluva lot cheaper and more fun than buying a Corvette and new threads, er, clothes.🤣😎

[The Piano Man]

I’ve got an XV3080 too. So many of the sounds just work really well live. I have the SRX02 piano card. It’s pretty decent live actually and you can run it mono without too much loss of sound. The Dynamic Grand patch is clean and clear.
 

I agree with other comments: the 3080 sounds better than other XV/JV models  

[allan_evett]

Great to read this! I always liked the XV series of rack modules. I had an XV-5080 for close to twenty years, and gigged it live from 2001 - 2010. Sold it a couple a couple years back, mostly due to a lack of replacement parts for some damage that had occurred.  The guy that bought it wanted my XV mostly for the expansion cards, and planned to 'part out' the rest of it. 

 

Such a fun and versatile piece of gear, though. I'd definitely consider acquiring a gently used XV-3080, though have a few other $$ priorities right now - like medical bill remnants from last October, then a much-needed replacement Mac laptop for the teaching work space (currently using a 2012 MBP that's rather 'messy'.). Would be fun to have a vintage multi-timbral module again though. 

[AROIOS]

I've had several JVs and a XV-5080 and a 5050 but never a 3080. IIRC, XV-3080s' had 32KHz samples, just like the JVs. JD-990 and XV-5080/5050 have 44KHz samples.
 

As a result, JVs and 3080s can produce frequencies up to 16KHz, more than enough for our older ears, but missing some of the ethereal fairy dust young folks might catch.
 

Many have suspected that this is the reason the JVs and 3080s sounded warmer.
 

On the other hand, Eric Persing mentioned once that Roland did some "hyping" on the analog output of the 5080s, as well as their S-760 samplers. Korg did similar tricks on their TRITON STUDIOs (2nd gen in the family). A lot of people loved that kind of "hyped" sound. I remember preferring the slightly more "Hi-Fi" sound of my 5080 over my JVs on the same patches 20 years ago.
 

Nowadays, with the plethora of saturation/exciter plugins out there, we can easily do our own "hyping". Those tiny sonic differences among models and sample sets within the same product family had stopped triggering my GAS/GIS long time ago. Even a JV-1010 has a DAC chip with flatter frequency response and wider dynamic range than what those early 90's samples could ever ask for.

Once my attention shifted towards programming and re-programming patches, I got so much more fun out of these boxes. The core Super-JV software architecture Roland designed and coupled with their 90's state-of-the-art hardware remains largely unchanged even til today. Other than polyphony (which we can easily double given how cheap these boxes are), the only upgrade the JVs/XVs need is the ROM capacity. And even that can be solved with 3rd party "Pseudo" SR-JV expansion cards today. (Shhhh... don't let Roland hear that)

Enjoy your XV, Eric. I'm sure it'll complement your Nord well.
 

[David Emm]

You're all making me sigh for my XP-30. Next to the D-50, its my Roland MVP. I had a serious relationship with my JUNO-1, but the XP-30 featured treasure troves like the Orchestral card built-in. I swapped it with a friend who had a huge jones for it. I relented to gain a Mirage rack, a nice box of pedals and a second DW8000. I lightly hated the loss, but I was branching out to include samplers and he was a far better player who needed some power above his organ or piano. It felt righteous, so I'm not sorry in the usual sense. Fast forward, I have a D-50 in my Mac now, so what goes around sometimes comes back with a ZOOOOM!

[AROIOS]

2 hours ago, David Emm said:

You're all making me sigh for my XP-30. Next to the D-50, its my Roland MVP. I had a serious relationship with my JUNO-1, but the XP-30 featured treasure troves like the Orchestral card built-in. I swapped it with a friend who had a huge jones for it. I relented to gain a Mirage rack, a nice box of pedals and a second DW8000. I lightly hated the loss, but I was branching out to include samplers and he was a far better player who needed some power above his organ or piano. It felt righteous, so I'm not sorry in the usual sense. Fast forward, I have a D-50 in my Mac now, so what goes around sometimes comes back with a ZOOOOM!

I loved my XP-30 too. With excellent synth action, aftertouch, 3 built-in SR-JV cards and over 1000 sounds, it was a very well rounded song_writing/home_studio power tool. Roland made a great decision to package the "Session" card with it and the JV-1010.

[CyberGene]

All these XV/JV modules and similar synths can be recreated in perfect (and tiny sized) iOS apps. I’m wondering why Roland are absent from the mobile world. I know they are about their Roland Cloud subscription but it can also be done on iOS if desired. 

[ElmerJFudd]

As a sidenote Roland cloud has XV 5080 as a plug-in.  it can be sold alone with a lifetime license through a dealer for $129 or so.  A hardware 2080 with replaced led is about $142.  

[CyberGene]

8 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

it can be sold alone with a lifetime license through a dealer for $129 or so

Ha! How is that working? I never thought lifetime licenses were possible for the Roland plugins. I’d buy this one (and a D50, JD800) if it’s indeed available.

[ElmerJFudd]

1 hour ago, CyberGene said:

Ha! How is that working? I never thought lifetime licenses were possible for the Roland plugins. I’d buy this one (and a D50, JD800) if it’s indeed available.

Apparently, you can try Roland Cloud Ultimate free for 30 days, this is where you would create your account and download/install the Roland Cloud Manager (which is essentially a license and manager and software installer).  You don't have to have an active subscription to buy lifetime keys.  You can also purchase lifetime keys for the instruments you want from a dealer.  They process payment and then email you the information you need to redeem through Roland.  As a Roland account holder (not necessary to be a paid subscriber) you also get Zenology Lite and Zen Beats music creation software. 

 

Their site is pretty convoluted.  But this page is the clearest explanation I have seen them publish.  

https://www.roland.com/us/promos/about_roland_cloud/membership/

 

[The Piano Man]

A modern XP30 would sell well. Compact sleek design, internal power supply, solid keyboard action, a best of Roland soundset. 
 

The XPS30 is NOT that board!

 

Come on Roland, give us an XP40!

[TJ Cornish]

21 hours ago, AROIOS said:

the only upgrade the JVs/XVs need is the ROM capacity. And even that can be solved with 3rd party "Pseudo" SR-JV expansion cards today. (Shhhh... don't let Roland hear that)

Enjoy your XV, Eric. I'm sure it'll complement your Nord well.
 

I did a quick Google to figure out what you are hinting at - appears to be this: https://sector101.co.uk/sr-jv-romulator.html

 

Looks very fun!! The only SR-JV-capable board I still own is an XP-80 and it's just holding down some floor in the spare bedroom, so this is not probably a project for me, but it's great engineering and I'm glad to see people playing around!

[ProfD]

24 minutes ago, The Piano Man said:

A modern XP30 would sell well. Compact sleek design, internal power supply, solid keyboard action, a best of Roland soundset. 
 

The XPS30 is NOT that board!

 

Come on Roland, give us an XP40!

Considering that Roland seems content with producing Junos and Fantoms and Cloud/Zenology, a new XP may not come around until 2030 or 2040.🤣😎