ROLAND V-SYNTH
Sep 1, 2003 12:00 PM, BY ROBERT HANSON
Musicians have gotten awfully jaded as of late. With so many companies throwing so many new and bizarre products at the public, it's easy for many to suffer from “new gear shell shock.” Well, leave it to the company whose products have always been an integral part of electronic music to deliver something truly fresh: Enter Roland's latest keyboard juggernaut, the V-Synth.
The V-Synth is built upon several core technologies. Underneath the hood sits a powerful dual-oscillator synthesis and sample-playback engine, as well as Roland's VariPhrase sample-encoding and COSM-based effects. What all of that adds up to is a totally new take on keyboard-based instruments. When paired with the onboard D Beam controllers and brand-new Time Trip Pad (which gives you tactile control of a sound's time characteristics), the V-Synth allows you to manipulate a piece of audio via time, pitch and formant, as well as reverse, freeze and effect it on the fly. If you're having trouble getting your head around all of this, imagine playing a drum-loop sample on a keyboard with one hand and rhythmically reversing and freezing individual slices of the same sample with the other hand — while hearing the results in real time. Okay, now you're awake!
TACTILE TWEAKS
Thankfully, with the V-Synth, menu scrolling as most know it is kept to a minimum. Most of the major synthesis parameters and controls are located on the top panel of the unit or easily accessed through the large touch-screen LCD. On the left side of the unit sits the mod/pitch control and the Time Trip pad. Toward the center are controls for volume, input level, arpeggiator and the D Beams, as well as two assignable knobs and the Patch Palette.
The real meat of the synthesis controls is arranged on the right side of the V-Synth. There, you're able to select from three different signal paths (or Structures, as Roland calls them), tweak each of the two oscillators (controls include pitch, time, formant and various LFO functions), make some limited adjustments to the COSM processors, adjust the ADSR section and add global COSM effects. Also, next to the LCD are a jog wheel; cursor keys; and buttons marked Mode, Shift and Exit. Although you can adjust most onscreen controls simply by dragging your finger over the parameter, the Mode and Exit controls allow you to navigate through the major sections of the unit quite quickly.
As far as I/O options, the V-Synth is fully loaded. Rounding out the back panel are a standard three-prong AC power adapter, a PC card expansion slot, a USB port, optical and coaxial digital I/Os, an LCD contrast control, MIDI In/Out/Thru, three expression-pedal jacks, two ¼-inch inputs (switchable to balanced), two sets of stereo ¼-inch outputs and a ¼-inch headphone connection.
PATCH CONSTRUCTION
V-Synth patches are created by assigning an oscillator type (Analog, PCM or External) to one or both of the oscillator sections. The Analog oscillator can use one of the eight included analog-modeled waveforms (sawtooth, square, triangle, sine, ramp, modulated sawtooth, high-quality sawtooth, high-quality wave or noise) as its modulation source. The PCM oscillator relies on a factory or user sample as the basis for its sound. The External oscillator does exactly what the name implies, deriving its sound source from the external-audio input jacks. There are a number of oscillator-specific adjustments that can be made: For the analog section, some of the main parameters are Pitch (includes various tuning functions), Pulse Width, Fat (low-end response) and Impact (similar to attack). For the PCM side of things, the VariPhrase-based pitch, time (forward, reverse, 2x speed and so forth) and formant (similar to timbre) controls can be brought into play. Other adjustable parameters include the Time Trip on/off switch, Time Trip Beat Keep (which chases the location of the waveform while the Time Trip is in use) and waveform gain, as well as numerous sample-triggering controls (legato, retrigger and others).
And like any synth worth its salt, the V-Synth includes complete envelope (ADSR) and LFO sections. Each oscillator has four envelopes, and with the COSM section and the global TVA, it's possible to have more than a dozen envelopes per patch. You have eight different LFO waveforms to choose from, including sine, triangle, sawtooth, square, random, trapezoidal, sample and hold, and chaos. Furthermore, a variety of the oscillator-specific parameters detailed previously can be adjusted to interact with the LFO.
One of most important aspects of the V-Synth's sound is where and how the two oscillator signals are combined, and, of course, there are several options. On the top panel of the unit is a section called Structure, which includes three arrangements of buttons. There, the various methods for combining the sounds come into to view. With Structure 1, the output of the two oscillators is combined by the modulator, processed by the COSM 1 and 2 sections and sent to the TVA envelope. Structure 2 uses a different approach, in which the output of the first oscillator is routed to COSM 1, combined with the second oscillator and then routed through COSM 2 and the TVA section. Finally, the third configuration pairs each oscillator with one of the two COSM sections, combines the signals and routes the output to the TVA.
The available modulation settings for combining the two signal paths include Mix (simply combines the two signals), Ring (oscillator 2 applies ring modulation to oscillator 1), FM (oscillator 2 applies frequency modulation to oscillator 1), Env Ring (the envelope of oscillator 2 controls the volume of oscillator 1) and Osc Sync (the output waveform of oscillator 1 syncs to the output waveform of oscillator 2). Users are free to switch the structure routing at any time, but upon doing so, the modulation type may need to be adjusted accordingly.
MODEL THIS
The V-Synth adds some impressive effect options at two different stages of the signal path. As noted previously, there are two polyphonic COSM processors that can be immediately applied to the outputs of the oscillators or reordered through the various structures, taking the place of traditional filters. This first stage includes 15 different effects, many of which respond to LFO. The effects include: Overdrive/Distortion, Wave Shape, Amp Simulator, Speaker Simulator, Resonator, 1st Order SideBandFilter, 2nd Order SideBandFilter, Comb Filter, Dual Filter, TVF (filter), Dynamic TVF, Polyphonic Compressor, Polyphonic Limiter, Frequency Shifter and Lo-Fi Processor.
The second stage of effects is applied after the global envelope (TVA) stage. This final stage comprises a multi-effects unit (called MFX), chorus and reverb. More than 40 effects, ranging from delays and EQs to downsampling and vocal effects, are available within the multi-effects section. The chorus and reverb stages each include a handful of high-quality options to further liven up the back end of the signal path.
REAL AUDIO
Although the available analog-modeled waveforms are indeed a great starting point for more traditional-sounding synth patches, the real power of the V-Synth is what it can do with audio. The V-Synth shares some core technology with the Roland VP-9000 VariPhrase Processor and essentially picks up where that unit left off. The V-Synth comes preloaded with more than 100 different samples that are encoded and ready to use. Users are also given the option of loading their own samples via USB or recording and editing straight into the box.
To move samples from your computer to the V-Synth, simply plug a USB cable into the back of the unit, press the Mode key, select USB and choose either internal or PC card memory. At this point, the V-Synth should appear on your Mac or PC as a removable drive. From there, users can create a backup file for not only the samples on the V-Synth but also the patches. But more important, it is possible to simply drag your own samples into the V-Synth and even create your own folder of user-created samples. Recording in the V-Synth is also a simple task: After pressing the Mode key, selecting Sample and clicking on the microphone icon, you're ready to go. The rear panel will accept either stereo line-level inputs (enabling you to record right off a CD) or a balanced input.
In either scenario, all new samples must be properly encoded to fully take advantage of the VariPhrase technology. There are four encoding options: Lite (for basic playback), Solo (designed for vocal or monophonic samples), Backing (more suited to drums or samples with sharp transients) and Ensemble (suited toward guitar or keyboard chords and choir sounds).
Overall, sampling with the V-Synth is a breeze. I ran a balanced out from an ART Digital MPA mic pre into the unit and recorded a few passes of my own voice. The overall recording process is almost exactly the same as that of the Roland VP-9000. The onscreen editing was totally intuitive, and most people won't even need to consult the manual to perform basic cut and truncate functions. The unit is also capable of recording with and without effects, as well as resampling. Users can also go back and re-edit samples. One note: After resampling or re-editing, the sample must be encoded again as if it were a new file.
NEW CONTROL
The first things that most people will want to investigate are the D Beam controllers and the Time Trip Pad. Both controllers provide a new type of tactile control of the time characteristics of a patch, or they can be assigned to myriad internal parameters (envelope attack, COSM effect levels, LFO and so on). The Time Trip function will work with both sets of controllers, but it is more suited to the Time Trip Pad. When playing back a sample, pressing your finger on the Time Trip Pad with the Time Trip function engaged will freeze the sample at that position. If you press the Hold button or simply keep your finger in place, you can play that slice of the sample up and down the keyboard. Furthermore, with the Hold button off, you can run your finger clockwise or counterclockwise, while still holding a key, and move forward and backward through the sample.
The Time Trip Pad is labeled with both a pair of circles and an abbreviated x-y grid. The time functions work along the circular marking on the pad, hence the clockwise and counterclockwise movements. When assigning the Time Trip Pad to another parameter, the pad works in terms of x-y positioning.
The D Beam controllers, however, have another trick up their sleeves: These controllers can also alter the pitch of a sound. The pitch can be tweaked by as many as three octaves in either direction. Also of note are the two assignable control knobs located under the D Beam, the eight Patch Palette buttons and the arpeggiator. The control knobs can be assigned to the same parameters as the D Beams and the Time Trip Pad, excluding the time-based and pitch effects. The Patch Palette is a useful way of storing 64 of your most often used patches. Simply assign your favorite patch to one of the buttons, and you're set — this should be a no-brainer for live use. Finally, the arpeggiator allows users to program a 32-step pattern for each patch. Notes may be entered manually or played live, and the controls on the top panel make using the arpeggiator a breeze. There is a BPM knob, which sets the global bpm onscreen, an on/off switch and a Hold button.
In use, these controllers, especially the Time Trip function, will really challenge you as a musician. I can easily imagine that unit will launch thousands of new prog-rock projects. It's quite difficult to describe through words the effect of playing back a sample and temporally reversing or freezing a section of it while the machine chases the playback of the original file in the background. The rhythmic combinations that can be derived from the V-Synth are nothing short of bizarre and somewhat unpredictable. The time-based controls are really an instrument unto themselves; thus, practice makes perfect.
THE VERDICT
With the V-Synth, Roland has raised the bar for design. The internal architecture and layout of the V-Synth are incredibly intuitive, which is no small feat for an instrument this complex. Building patches and moving files is a snap. The touch-screen design is also a blessing. The V-Synth also performs some excellent functions that space won't allow me to explore in detail. But some of those features include the V-Synth's ability to independently change the time and pitch of a piece of audio, repitch a vocal melody in real time, create complex harmonies from a single sample and change female-sounding vocals to male and vice versa.
As far as the sound quality of the unit goes, I can't say enough good things. The COSM-based effects are excellent, especially the reverbs and the filters. The two sideband filters (which add pitch to any unpitched audio file) were extremely useful on monophonic drum samples, giving them a rich, processed, tonal quality. The included presets are also downright inspirational because you can do so much with them. With most out-of-the-box synths, I find myself writing over at least a portion of the factory sounds (the choir and the trumpet patches are usually the first to go), but with the V-Synth, any sound is a great starting point. I literally lost my first night with the unit creating sounds from the very first preset, and none of them sound alike.
With so many excellent software options out there, it's getting increasingly difficult for many musicians to justify the cost of hardware synths. Every once and a while, however, you're reminded that hardware is still king. The V-Synth will change the way you produce music. For sound design and film scores, the V-Synth is quite possibly the Holy Grail of synths. For electronic music, it's a natural fit. If you need some truly fresh production fodder and you have the disposable income, go for it.
Product Summary
ROLAND
V-SYNTH > $2,695
Pro: Excellent sounds. Intuitive. Touch-screen LCD. Wild new time-based controllers.
Cons: Pricey.
Contact: tel. (323) 890-3700; Web www.rolandus.com
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