roland jd 990

[Michiel]

Hi everybody

 

Does the jd 990 sound warmer than the jv series? They say you have 250 patches extra when you install the vintage board. Is it worth the buy of a jd990???

 

I'm looking for warm leads and nice analog clavinets... and play it with an ax-1

Thanks!

[Dave Bryce]

Does the jd 990 sound warmer than the jv series?

 

I am of the opinion that it does, yes. IIRC, there's something about the 990's filters that even differentiates it from the JD-900, but I don't remember exactly what it is.

 

They say you have 250 patches extra when you install the vintage board.

 

Yeah, there's an extra bank of programs that only the JD990 will see. I don't recall how many, but 250 sounds about right.

 

Is it worth the buy of a jd990???

 

I think it's a fine sounding synth module - I wouldn't mind having one...of course, it's all a matter of personal taste...

 

dB

[synthetic]

This is one of my favorite Roland pieces. I would definitely snap it up if I had the cash. Really large, fat analog textures.

[aeon]

Originally posted by michielxp30:

Does the jd 990 sound warmer than the jv series?

 

I dont know if warmer is the right term, but the JD-990 certainly sounds a lot better than anything in the JV- or XP-series.

 

In particular, the JD-990 shares the same lovely resonant multimode filter as the Roland S-750/770/760 and DJ-70-series samplers, as well as the JD-800 synthesizer.

 

The JV-series filters do not sound anywhere near as rich IMO.

 

Originally posted by michielxp30:

They say you have 250 patches extra when you install the vintage board. Is it worth the buy of a jd990???

 

If you install a Vintage board in a JD-990 you get the 255 patches that any JV/XP synth can read, but there are also 255 more patches that are exclusive to the JD-990. Compare them to the JV patches...night and day in terms of quality...not that the JV patches are bad though.

 

Would I buy a JD-990 for those patches? No...but I sure as hell would just for the incredible sound!

 

I have not heard the XV-series synths, but up to their release, I think the JD-990 was the best wave-playback synth Roland has ever released. While it can deliver some striking digital textures, it is never cold, and in fact, it can deliver some of the most warm, lush analog tones you have ever heard from a S+S machine.

 

Originally posted by michielxp30:

I'm looking for warm leads and nice analog clavinets...

 

The JD-990 can deliver for both those types of sound...it also is an absolute monster for strings and pads.

 

The JD-990 extended the synthesis of the JD-800 synthesizer with the following features:

 

1. 
    
   
2. expanded wave ROM
   
3. ability to use a 8MB expansion board
   
4. additional outs
   
5. true stereo engine
   
6. osc sync
   
7. cross-mod
   
8. osc structures that allowed for ring mod and serial dual filters
   
9. additional LFO waveforms
   
10. MIDI CC control of parameters
    
11. tempo-sync delay
    
12. performance memories
    
13. additional multi-timbral slots
    
14. 1 patch can keep full effects in multi mode
     
    

 

and probably a couple things I am missing...

 

I have a Roland JD-990 with Vintage expansion and Strings card, and I consider it an essential part of my setup. Excepting personal emergency, I will never sell it. It is a modern classic-in-the-making, and its sound perfectly complements the other synths in my rig.

[Michiel]

Thanks everybody, especially aeon@mediaone.net!!! Very interesting.

 

In holland de super jd is quite hard to find.

 

By the way, I heard from a dealer that roland is planning on releasing three expansionboards at the beginning of next year. He said that one of them was likely to be a second vintage board with mainly leads!!! They will also bring out a whole new type of synth (nothing like jv, jd, xp, xv) but he didn't know details.

 

Greetz