Hi again; Here I go with more off topic stuff. But I like the input I get here than anywhere else. Anyone in here a synth guru? I want to start moving more into synthesis and sequencing. My geatest concern is the quality of the sounds available on whatever I get. My biggest contender is the Korg Triton rack. The others would be the Roland JV2080 (nice price), XV3080 or XV5080. Once again, my main concern is with the sound and patch quality/realism. Are the sounds on these 3 Roland products the same?

There is a review of the XV5080 in the April 2001 issue of Keyboard magazine. I've played around with the Triton a little and am very impressed with the sounds. Each synth has its own sonic personality though, so you should just take a listen to all of them. You might also want to check out the new Korg Karma which is based on the Triton engine.

Yeah but is it good Karma or Bad Karma?

I found the Korg Triton Rack at AMS for $1350 for a "dent and scratch" model. Semms like a good deal. Anyone know the patch similarites beteen all the current roland synths? This is what I've really been trying to figure out, since I could geta a JV2080 for about $900.

In reference to the Karma, from what I've heard, it's definitely Good Karma. As for the patch similarities/differences: According to the Roland website, the XV-3080 has all the sounds from the JV-2080 plus a collection of waveforms from the JD-990 Super JD, and 128 voice capability versus 64 for the 2080. There are also a few other functional differences. The XV-5080 looks like a 3080 with the addition of Roland/Akai sample playback capability. It will playback these samples, but it can't sample on its own.

Will, since you're a Triton fanand you own a Mac and a 2408 I believe, you might want to consider the Korg Oasys. It gives you lots of Triton sounds and a whole lot more for around a grand. The only drawback, and it is significant, is that the card as of now only supports ASIO, which means it can't stream into Performer. You can sequence in Performer, and run lightpipe from the Oasys into your board or 2408, and then record into Performer. Depending on your work setup, it might work for you.

Check out Korg's website if you're interested.

Dan

Will, what type of music is it for? Although many Synths are very flexible. there is not one model thats the best for all situations. I think the Roland 3080/5080 and the EMU Proteus 2000 are extremly versatile. If you need unique synth-sounds instead of fake piano/sax/bagpipes you better go for XT, Q, Virus, FS-1R or even K-5000. It depends on the colour you want to draw with?

Reto

Yup! I definitely side with Reto - and not because I'm (half) swiss...
If (big if) you're looking for realistic sounds you should even maybe consider an entry level sampler such as the E-Mu 5000 Ultra. If you want to do film scoring sound FX, atmospheric stuff, etc you should really consider a great 'ole board such as the Korg Wavestation EX or the rack model (Wavestation AD). It ain't simple as each synth has it's own personality and colour...
My 2 swiss francs' worth...
Paul

I still have (2) Roland S-770 samplers for sale with a 20 CDROM library... if anyone's interested!



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ERIC SEABERG • San Diego, CA
eseaberg@home.com

WOW!! Dweiss,
I looked into the Oasys. You're right that it may be the ticket for me. I already have a controller, and my racks are alrady too full. It loads samples too!! And if I got it, it already has 8 channels of ligthpipe out. I would have to pay $200 exta for that with the Triton rack. I would also have to pay $475 extra for the MOSS capability. It's all there. I read that it bogs dow kinda easy, though. But I don't mind commiting to recording. Where'd you see it for around $1000? The least expensive I've found is $1285.