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The bigger screens can display a lot more information than the smaller screens in the JV-1080 and XV-5050, and make it a lot easier to use as an actual synth. The XV-5050 is very similar to an XV-5080 and can do most everything, but it has a tiny screen and doesn't have sample playback (which admittedly I never use because I don't have a working SCSI drive). The XV-5080 can do almost everything that the others can, but it doesn't have the filter resonance distortion issue of the JD-990, and it has a higher audio fidelity than the JV-2080. If I lost them all and had to buy just one again, it would probably be an XV-5080. I couldn't decide what I wanted even after reading all of Don's posts and web site stuff, so I bought them all. You would expect to pay more if there were expansions installed, especially a vintage synth expansion. A JV should be no more than $200, a JD or XV no more than $400. It's even better if you get a unit with some cards in it. Not knowing your location or situation, I would get a unit which is cheap and easy to obtain. Here's a link to Don Solaris's JD/JV/XV FAQĪlso, go to to listen to audio samples of these units, and also of the expansion boards.Īs for which is best between a JD, JV, or XV. All that can be said has been said by him. If you search for comparisons of these synths, you'll find many discussions he has had on the various forums with other people. He seems to be the only guy that's really tapped into these synths. All of this information is available on Don Solaris's site.
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The JD-990 has a good frequency response and a great filter, but there are some issues with resonance, and distortion. I can tell you from experience that an XV-5080 has greatest audio fidelity of these units, and it has the JD-990 wave forms, however the filter is not exactly the same. They can be set up in the traditional subtractive synthesis manner, or they have other neat but less common signal chains available. They are basically a Roland D-50 on steroids, lots and lots of steroids. The synthesis capabilities of these units are overlooked and greatly underestimated.
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Everyone used these romplers in the 90s just as preset boxes, and when dedicated virtual analog synths and software started getting more popular, these went away. Pretty much any info you could want on the Rolands is on Don Solaris's site. Sound wise, they are fantastic, and very underrated. The small screen ones are a lot less fun to program.
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They are fairly easy to program sounds, especially if you have one with a big screen. The base units have a few hundred wave forms, and the expansion cards add an additional couple hundred wave forms each (except the experience boards, which just give you a few wave forms). I'm never taking my Vintage Synth card out of my JD-990, but some of the other expansion boards are really good, especially for pads. From low-end theory to retro game sounds to symphonic masterpieces, this instrument is limited only by your imagination.The Rolands are fantastic by themselves, and especially good with additional expansion cards to compliment the units. With over 900 presets in its library, the XV-5080 Software Synthesizer facilitates quick composition and fluid genre-hopping. It was embraced heavily by composers and producers spanning a wide range of genres, making the rackmount XV-5080 an undisputed hit. Musicians and producers increasingly turned to the XV-5080 in place of slower and less convenient samplers. One PCM Synth to Rule Them Allīuilding on the successes of the JV-1080 and JV-2080, the XV-5080’s fidelity and technological adaptability were unmatched at the time. Described for years as “Roland's ultimate sound module,” the XV-5080 boasted immense PCM-based multitimbral synthesis power, sophisticated modulation, an array of pro-quality DSP effects, and compatibility with the popular SRX Expansion Board series. The Roland XV-5080 stepped onto the scene in 2000, leaving a mighty footprint. With a huge selection of onboard effects and over 900 carefully crafted presets, producing with the XV-5080 plug-in is even more fast and fluid than the original hardware version, no matter the genre or style. The patriarch of PCM synths, the Roland XV-5080 is brimming with just about every instrument sound imaginable.