It should be possible for an electronics geek to replace it with a HDMI port to plug it to a bigger screen. It wouldn't enhance the resolution but could save your eyes.
It's weird how the V-Synth keyboard costs less than the rack. I have both but the XT is worth about three times as much, I know the voice card is rare but that can't be the only reason why?
I was lucky to be asked to make factory patches for the 1st version of the V-Synth even when I was working as a consultant doing voicing for Korg. It’s a great synth that does things that make it really unique in the landscape of all synthesizers.
Florian I already know you are a genius. But getting into this crazy OS to the depth you have, pushing it to its limits, writing and recording a banger and editing this video, all while talking to Nick and the guys over at SonicTALK in a single week leads me to believe that there are actually 1,024 clones of the original Florian, all set to sync in some future-retro de/reconstitution device every Friday at 14.00
I had the Fantom S88 and the V-Synth back in the day. Sold them both to hop on the DAW in the box MO. I love my DAW and plugins, but man, I kick myself for selling my hardware synths, the V-Synth especially. Roland doesn't make keyboards like that anymore.
I have one regret... I never got my Fantom X-8, because the guy who sent it was too trusting in how he attached the shipping label to the road case. Hope the mystery jerk at Star Track Brisbane depot (where the shipping label was swapped onto a small piece of metal crap which turned up at my place... then Star Track's "investigations" person tried to gaslight me that the crap could actually be what was sent; then her supervisor admitted it weighed into Brisbane as 45kg, and shipping was > $100) got some enjoyment from it. :^\
@@h2o1969 Well besides from it being a pretty good VA I really really like its sample mangling capabilities. It sucks at being a regular sampler but for creative editing it's ace. Also the arpeggiator/phrase sequencer is very powerful.
The thing that makes Bad Gear really work is the fact that the internet is REALLY GOOD at hating on absolutely everything, no exceptions. ...Like you have done to this excellent video? ...Like I have done to your comment?!
I'm pretty sure they do still have an R&D department. It's just been shackled with unbreakable chains to the stupidest marketing department in the music industry.
Here's a suggestion for future vids: I'd be really interested in hearing if anyone actually utilized these synths in recordings. Like, what "bad synth" made it onto some album that everyone knows and loves, type of deal.
Great video! I've owned 3 V Synths over the years... I sold my original V1 keyboard to buy the XT, but found I missed the hands on control. So I switched back and it's one of the few keyboards I would never part with. It's digital sounding for sure, but it's also powerful and unique. Even to this day there's nothing else quite like it.
From a mathematical perspective, V-synths can be constructed by taking the limit, as the change in time approaches 0, of the ratio of 1/7 of a DX-7 with respect to the change of time.
You really do spoil us... 3 cool tunes, amazing and entertaining editing, and really useful and in depth analysis of stuff you might wanna buy - all in about 10 mins.
With the D-Beams! Seriously, Roland could have included the D-Beam sensors on the XT, and that would have been perfection. After all, the XT has rubber feet and it tilts, so the Beams could very effectively be used on a table-top/gig setting and/or in a rack, tilted upwards to the artist...but whatever Roland! I love my XT.
I remember when the V-synth was launched and they had a vocal track in their demo that was mind blowing for the time. I’ve always wanted the OG V-synth and if I can ever get one, I’m going to add it to my studio. This one doesn’t seem quite exciting but still looks pretty awesome.
The v-synth is a 303 or 808 waiting to happen, the sounds are so distinct and odd. Someone will eventually find a way to make the varaphrase sound a thing. The sample manipulation is so out there that you can't always predict what your going to end up with from a particular sample after you start creating patches.
Another great show, Thank you! Your writing, performing, music creation and analysis are all top notch! I am a great fan of your work and hopefully one day I can tell you in person at a UA-cam convention. Please keep up the amazing work, you are very much appreciated!
Looks like a wild good time digging into the V-Synth universe of possibilities. However, I have two other universes I've been trying to map and they come first!
This synth is unreal I have one and the sounds coming out of it are just so rich and saturated with harmonics compared to all my other gear. The synth sound design engine is so insanely deep and has too many features and options to explore.. I always feel spoiled when I mess around with it. And I absolutely love how it feels like a time machine to the early 2000's with the vintage aesthetics One thing that really sucks is that the touch pad won't work if there's humidity in the room.
I've looked at these and if I wanted Variphrase I'd use my VP9000 and if I wanted a D50 sounds I'd use my, well, D550. Or my D-05 which is actually pretty solid. Most of the rest is in my XV5080. 😁
I've had my original V-synth for a long time, and it produces gorgeous bass sounds. I recall showing it to a friend and she let out a excited whimper when she heard the bass through the monitors. That was... something to remember. Anyways, it's a great instrument. I don't like Roland these days, but the V-Synth stays. Oh, and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran fame uses it during live shows. I saw it with my own eyes.
yet another wonderful review I was waiting for!!, I bought my v-synth-gt when the time they have release it in 2007 and I have it since then, from time to time I'm using it and every time its sound unique and special with rich capability for sound design.
Highly enjoyable vid once again! The Vari-range from Roland. I've played the V-synth years ago when I purchased the VariOs from a guy. The synth was an upgrade for him. I liked the sampling tools from that VariOs, a very decent try to close the gab between pc and outboard. Connecting the gorgeous red unit to a pc with USB and a Midi IO. Software on the computer gave access to the vast set of tools to do amazing things to a sample of max 90 stereo seconds! It had everything which otherwise requiered a monster PC to get things done, granuling, pitchcorrection auto-tune like features if you got into it. With the loading of different firmware it turned into an amazing Jupiter or TB303 emulator, like the Vsynths did, for the vocoding and D50 mentioned card was needed though, but didn't miss that much. I still have 2 VariOs ready to connect to a WXP computer. I learned that pretty much all the features from the VariOs are found inside the V-synth, although I reckon it takes more effort to apply all these sample goodies using that screen. But Roland did something almost right there 😊 Would you like to try out a VariOs, mr Pilz? I could send you one for the fun of it. There's plenty hate for this to go around making it a Bad Gear thingy 😊
Once worked at a now long gone (but at the time much loved) music tech store in the naughties, and remember this well as it never sold. Great synth when you dig a bit.
Yay! I asked for a V-Synth and you did the V-Synth. :D ...Maybe an Argon8 would be a good choice in the near future? (Or an Argon8M I suppose would be easier to hate on?)
Super! May I just compliment you on the production detail where you align the timing of ads to appear exactly at the end of the first jam. That is pro. These things don’t go unnoticed
It may be bad gear becasue of the O.G. screen looking all Smithsonian and stuff, but the wide range of sounds is killer. That vocoder is wild AF. Great channel, great jams. Great background screens.
You did it! Challenged the holy grail of modern Roland synth and got it out of its dark hide. May I call you „Synthiana Pilz“? But be aware, never look back, THEY may be behind you… If they didn’t get you: great episode, as always !
i love your channel, really enjoy your videos and am constantly amazed at the level of production you put into them. but i have to say, out of everything you have covered (so far) i have never wanted something more than you have made me want a V-Synth... that thing sounds amazing!
Don’t lie, you totally only got one because cEVIN Key has one of the keyboard versions in his live set up! I had no idea they made a rack version, it’s awesome!
I loved it when it was released. I'd just splashed out on a new PC build and soundcard (terrarec phase 88)and a used jp8000. Was getting the stinkeye off the Mrs about it, she wanted a new settee. So we compromised and got a new settee. It was the last rime roland really tried to do something new. I'm sure they'll be selling for a few K in 20 years.
@@nictrax IME Windows makes a point of trying to be as backwards-compatible as possible, eg FireWire is still handled fine with a PCIe card. Might still work.
I don't have any first hand experience with these units but I've heard many rumours that the original V-synth is the better sounding one of the pack. Great video, thanks! :)
@@AudioPilz it's the other way around - VP9000 was over a year ahead of ableton live v1 ...and did v1 of live do truly "elastic" sample transposition within the same note-on event ?
the question is whether FM synthesis understands US. all of this programming we do with FM is really just an attempt to communicate with the alien intelligences that contacted Chowning so many decades ago.
@@AudioPilz Speaking of satanic Florian, how about a review of the bizarre and oh-so-much-fun Roland GR-55 guitar synth? Now that thing is truly some BAD gear!
This seems like one of those turn of the century synths that has functions that are marooned on the hardware. Are there any things that can do that you can't do in software? For example, my Korg RADIAS-R has a waveshaper that can be applied before or after the filters, and the "Pickup", "Multisine", and "Multitriangle" settings shape the sound in a way so unique that I've never seen anything remotely like it anywhere else.
@@AudioPilz I didn't know this synth... and I like it! Only two oscillators and only 24 voices of polyphony is a little limiting (especially with multitembrtality) - but overall it is really interesting digital synth.
I bought the full on keyboard version of the Roland V-synth back in the spring of 2004--I've never used the XT, so I have the whole range of features. You actually can sample just one note of a lot of synth and acoustic samples of instruments (and beyond) and it convincingly spreads it out across the 61-note keyboard (which has its own great range of expressive features). No joke, this was probably one of the final genuine technological innovations, and the aside on the Jupiter-8 that it "was all downhill from there" is spot on, sadly. Why Roland won't listen to its customers (a bad corporate habit) is beyond me, highly illogical, Captain. Now Behringer owns a number of markets that might have been all theirs had they...never mind, never mind, I'll just hurt myself thinking about it any further. I think I paid the standard $2,400 USD at Woodwind-Brasswind; that's something I'll never regret since I view this synth as the digital equivalent of a modular with one of the most responsive keys on almost any electronic keyboard I've ever played. At 20 years running, I haven't dented the original sound-making potential since that's virtually impossible. The only barriers I see are the imaginations of V-synth users. And here I haven't even mentioned the arpeggiator that's also a great 32-note sequencer with yet more expressive features. No question that it's one of the best digital synthesizers ever produced, or that it's still relevant, and fresh sounding.
Oh yes! I've had my original V-synth (with the VC-1 and VC2 cards) for over 15 years now. I think it it is the apex of Roland creative craziness. It still sound s fantastic. It is utterly mad and I love it.
Excellent video as always. The V-Synth XT is actually pretty cool, it's just a bit too expensive for what is essentially a hardware VST host. Then again, with the price of Roland's first party VST plugins, it may actually not be that bad.
My biggest ”WTF are you doing Roland” is that they have This (STILL) state of the att sampling technology (Vari-phrase) and they just let it lie in a corner and rot. A dedicated vari-phrase sampler with the capacity of current technology would be amazing!
The V-Synth was one of my first synths. I had an accident with it where I was carrying it down some stairs (before I had a case for it) and we both took a pretty bad tumble. It fared better than I did, it's built like a tank! But the sound itself is very specific
@@AudioPilz I still have issues 7 years later but the V-Synth is still going strong! Nick Rhodes used to use a few of these for years until he switched to JD-XA on stage
I bought a V-Synth XT about 6 months ago and I've learnt more about its capabilities by watching your video than I have by reading the manual... I'm still not sure if I have a good piece of gear or not (!!??)
I’ve liked Ulrich Schnauss for a long time and there’s an Electronic Beats interview with him where he’s surrounded by crazy rackmount stuff including a V-Synth, Korg Radias and two Poly Evolver rack units. I don’t think I knew rack synths were even a thing before I saw that. 😂
The V-Synth was a mystery to me back then and remains a mystery to me. I can’t wrap my head around the idea of paying 1500€ for this today. Then again, I can’t wrap my head around the idea of paying 1500€ for a Juno…
I have the original V2. It's an odd bird that's for sure. Bought it off of someone for 850 used in 2013. This guy only sold his to get a kronos. I still have the v synth and it ends up being used in everything I make. It has its faults and the steppiest filter sweeps you've ever heard. Still My favorite synth, it has never left me, and I have yet to explore more I have not yet, with it.
Pretty much the same for me but recently mine has malfunctioned for some reason, when I turn it on it just starts changing patches infinitely on it's own.
Noooooooo😮..... I’m crushed this has made it to bad gear 😢☺️..this is my favourite digital synth and what I use the most.....😭.....( but I’m VERY pleased my name got an accidental mention😜)
Audiopilz: *slaps roof of YT channel*
Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs: www.patreon.com/audiopilz
Can you take a closer look at the Roland MV-1 Verselab or the Roland MC-909 please ? 🙏🫠
ua-cam.com/video/QIBuE0amfb4/v-deo.html
A sound designer's dream machine. One of the very best synths ever made.
👍👍👍
It should be possible for an electronics geek to replace it with a HDMI port to plug it to a bigger screen. It wouldn't enhance the resolution but could save your eyes.
@@PierreRipplingerno it would enhance the resolution
It's weird how the V-Synth keyboard costs less than the rack. I have both but the XT is worth about three times as much, I know the voice card is rare but that can't be the only reason why?
@@6581punk people don’t want more keyboards. I have seven. I don’t have room for any more so I only get rack gear now.
Seriously thank you for continuing to make such high quality videos weekly; it’s incredible and very much appreciated!
Thanks for watching!!!
I regret so much not buying a demo V-synth that they had at a music store, I’ve always liked the design and the elastic synthesis stuff
It's quite a rabbit hole!!!
These episodes never disappoint.
Thank you!!!
Unless you get easily butthurt and hung up on the term 'bad', and not the content of the video itself.
@@AudioPilz Best synth channel 💚
That might be the most feature-rich synth I've seen reviewed on Bad Gear. Great range of vocoder sounds at the end there as well!
Agreed!!! It's jam-packed with stuff!!!
I was lucky to be asked to make factory patches for the 1st version of the V-Synth even when I was working as a consultant doing voicing for Korg. It’s a great synth that does things that make it really unique in the landscape of all synthesizers.
Nice!!!
Intresting! How does the VSynth compare to the Korg Radias?
Bad Gear is this show that when it comes up, I realize I haven't done anything in the entire week and it is already Friday.
The weekend has just begun;)
Almost 100.000 subscribers!! Nice job AudioPilz😊 You deserve it, your work ethic is amazing.
Thank you so much!!! Working on it!
Thank you for making videos. I look forward to seeing what is next every Friday.
Ist schon was in Arbeit, wenn die 100000 Abos geknackt wurden?? Kann ja nicht mehr lange dauern
Florian I already know you are a genius. But getting into this crazy OS to the depth you have, pushing it to its limits, writing and recording a banger and editing this video, all while talking to Nick and the guys over at SonicTALK in a single week leads me to believe that there are actually 1,024 clones of the original Florian, all set to sync in some future-retro de/reconstitution device every Friday at 14.00
Thank you so much but I just like coffee;)
SonicTalk was a great episode with Florian!!! 💜💜🔥
The OG Roland Fantom-X8 - the V-Synth's immediate peer - was my personal "achievement unlocked" moment. Absolutely no regrets.
These are super powerful!!!
I had the Fantom S88 and the V-Synth back in the day. Sold them both to hop on the DAW in the box MO. I love my DAW and plugins, but man, I kick myself for selling my hardware synths, the V-Synth especially. Roland doesn't make keyboards like that anymore.
I have one regret... I never got my Fantom X-8, because the guy who sent it was too trusting in how he attached the shipping label to the road case. Hope the mystery jerk at Star Track Brisbane depot (where the shipping label was swapped onto a small piece of metal crap which turned up at my place... then Star Track's "investigations" person tried to gaslight me that the crap could actually be what was sent; then her supervisor admitted it weighed into Brisbane as 45kg, and shipping was > $100) got some enjoyment from it. :^\
@@JasonOzolins Ah hell =\
My absolute favourite synthesizer! I'm stable in "bad is good land" apparently. 😄
😂😂😂
I'm curious as to why. What about it makes it your favorite. It does not appeal to me, and I wonder what I missed with it.
@@h2o1969 Well besides from it being a pretty good VA I really really like its sample mangling capabilities. It sucks at being a regular sampler but for creative editing it's ace. Also the arpeggiator/phrase sequencer is very powerful.
This one is just taking the piss. Its quite possibly one of the best digital synths ever created.
The nation is divided on this;)
The thing that makes Bad Gear really work is the fact that the internet is REALLY GOOD at hating on absolutely everything, no exceptions.
...Like you have done to this excellent video?
...Like I have done to your comment?!
Back when Roland still had a competent R&D department.
They still have one?
I'm pretty sure they do still have an R&D department. It's just been shackled with unbreakable chains to the stupidest marketing department in the music industry.
Here's a suggestion for future vids: I'd be really interested in hearing if anyone actually utilized these synths in recordings. Like, what "bad synth" made it onto some album that everyone knows and loves, type of deal.
Great suggestion, thanks! I try to include that information if it's from a somewhat reliable source
All I wanted for Xmas, was AudioPilz reviewing the V series goodness! ❤😊
Great video!
I've owned 3 V Synths over the years... I sold my original V1 keyboard to buy the XT, but found I missed the hands on control. So I switched back and it's one of the few keyboards I would never part with. It's digital sounding for sure, but it's also powerful and unique. Even to this day there's nothing else quite like it.
Thank you!!! Nice!!!
Roland: Look, a synth with a fancy display!
Everybody: Ugh!
Roland: OK, 8 char LCD forever then!
The Curse of Roland
It's the sign that the weekend has arrived 😍
Have a nice one!!!
@@AudioPilz you too ✌️
From a mathematical perspective, V-synths can be constructed by taking the limit, as the change in time approaches 0, of the ratio of 1/7 of a DX-7 with respect to the change of time.
#science
whoa _dat's heavy, brah._
so #42 is no longer the universal answer, and today we are learning that "DX-7" _always was_
You really do spoil us... 3 cool tunes, amazing and entertaining editing, and really useful and in depth analysis of stuff you might wanna buy - all in about 10 mins.
Thank you so much!!!
I have the 1st gen V-Synth and love it! The formant correcting pitch shift/timestretch is fantastic!
Nice!!!
With the D-Beams! Seriously, Roland could have included the D-Beam sensors on the XT, and that would have been perfection. After all, the XT has rubber feet and it tilts, so the Beams could very effectively be used on a table-top/gig setting and/or in a rack, tilted upwards to the artist...but whatever Roland! I love my XT.
I remember when the V-synth was launched and they had a vocal track in their demo that was mind blowing for the time. I’ve always wanted the OG V-synth and if I can ever get one, I’m going to add it to my studio. This one doesn’t seem quite exciting but still looks pretty awesome.
Yeah, simpler times;)
Legatoooo modeeeee
Best music production related channel on UA-cam.
Thank you so much!!!
The v-synth is a 303 or 808 waiting to happen, the sounds are so distinct and odd. Someone will eventually find a way to make the varaphrase sound a thing. The sample manipulation is so out there that you can't always predict what your going to end up with from a particular sample after you start creating patches.
I'd say so;)
Another great show, Thank you! Your writing, performing, music creation and analysis are all top notch! I am a great fan of your work and hopefully one day I can tell you in person at a UA-cam convention. Please keep up the amazing work, you are very much appreciated!
Thank you so much!!! Looking forward to it!!!
At first I thought it was solitaire on the screen in the preview. I wasn’t surprised, it’s The V-Synth after all!
Minesweeper!!!
Looks like a wild good time digging into the V-Synth universe of possibilities. However, I have two other universes I've been trying to map and they come first!
That universe was mapping me;)
This synth is unreal
I have one and the sounds coming out of it are just so rich and saturated with harmonics compared to all my other gear. The synth sound design engine is so insanely deep and has too many features and options to explore.. I always feel spoiled when I mess around with it.
And I absolutely love how it feels like a time machine to the early 2000's with the vintage aesthetics
One thing that really sucks is that the touch pad won't work if there's humidity in the room.
Nice!!! Definitely a keeper!
Didn’t even know this synth existed 😮 could be worth looking into early 90s workstations microtuning/user scale settings in the future
Great idea!!!
What an epic episode! If Roland had used this as a sales ad, they’d have moved way more more of these!
Thank you so much!!!
I've looked at these and if I wanted Variphrase I'd use my VP9000 and if I wanted a D50 sounds I'd use my, well, D550. Or my D-05 which is actually pretty solid. Most of the rest is in my XV5080. 😁
Nice collection!!!
@@AudioPilz Ah, the thing with working from home during covid was that it was easy to have Reverb and eBay open in another window :)
Almost 100K! You can do it! Great show as always
Thanks! Working on it!!!
I've had my original V-synth for a long time, and it produces gorgeous bass sounds. I recall showing it to a friend and she let out a excited whimper when she heard the bass through the monitors. That was... something to remember. Anyways, it's a great instrument. I don't like Roland these days, but the V-Synth stays. Oh, and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran fame uses it during live shows. I saw it with my own eyes.
Wow, didn't know. Thanks for posting!!!
I love the look of the XT so much
Classic!!!
7:48 by far one of my favourite jams
Thank you!!!
yet another wonderful review I was waiting for!!, I bought my v-synth-gt when the time they have release it in 2007 and I have it since then, from time to time I'm using it and every time its sound unique and special with rich capability for sound design.
Thank you!!! Nice one!!!
I seriously would like one of these, but used prices are pretty silly.
Yeah, these prices are quite hefty
There's a lot of surprisingly good sounds in this unit particularly the vocal effects, I kinda want one!
Vocoder is top notch!!!
Time to chance the name of the channel to 'Great Gear'!
Strangely Controversial Gear;)
Highly enjoyable vid once again!
The Vari-range from Roland. I've played the V-synth years ago when I purchased the VariOs from a guy. The synth was an upgrade for him. I liked the sampling tools from that VariOs, a very decent try to close the gab between pc and outboard. Connecting the gorgeous red unit to a pc with USB and a Midi IO. Software on the computer gave access to the vast set of tools to do amazing things to a sample of max 90 stereo seconds! It had everything which otherwise requiered a monster PC to get things done, granuling, pitchcorrection auto-tune like features if you got into it. With the loading of different firmware it turned into an amazing Jupiter or TB303 emulator, like the Vsynths did, for the vocoding and D50 mentioned card was needed though, but didn't miss that much.
I still have 2 VariOs ready to connect to a WXP computer. I learned that pretty much all the features from the VariOs are found inside the V-synth, although I reckon it takes more effort to apply all these sample goodies using that screen. But Roland did something almost right there 😊
Would you like to try out a VariOs, mr Pilz? I could send you one for the fun of it. There's plenty hate for this to go around making it a Bad Gear thingy 😊
Thank you so much for the offer!!! Are you located in EU?
@@AudioPilz Netherlands 🙂
awesome, was curious about this one for a long time. Great techno jam at the end, that was cool you should release as a full song
Thank you!!! Shameless plug: full tracks can be found on Patreon...
Once worked at a now long gone (but at the time much loved) music tech store in the naughties, and remember this well as it never sold. Great synth when you dig a bit.
Yeah, these were sitting on the shelves like crazy
This is not going to be a useful comment. But have you noticed how Ron from Sparks has his keyboards labeled RONALD rather than ROLAND?
I'd do the same if that was my name;)
Yay! I asked for a V-Synth and you did the V-Synth. :D
...Maybe an Argon8 would be a good choice in the near future? (Or an Argon8M I suppose would be easier to hate on?)
😀😀😀 Great suggestion!!!
Lemme thru, I gotta see this
😀😀😀
Super! May I just compliment you on the production detail where you align the timing of ads to appear exactly at the end of the first jam. That is pro. These things don’t go unnoticed
Thank you!!!
You made it sing, brother!
(And howl, and gasp, and shatter)
😸👍
Thank you!!!
This instrument has so many flavors. Great jams , and excellent intro tune ! I would totally pick this up if I found if for a yardsale deal .
Yardsale deals are always welcome;)
I love that when you think of the word "fat", you also think of Weird Al. Same wavelength.
It's a chemical reaction ❤️❤️❤️
Considering the Variphrase processor sells for more on its own, the V-Synth is a steal at current prices.
That's a very nice way to see it;)
Not really… 400€ at wallapop time to time vs 1500€ for xt… but check the tc helicon perform ve!
It may be bad gear becasue of the O.G. screen looking all Smithsonian and stuff, but the wide range of sounds is killer. That vocoder is wild AF. Great channel, great jams. Great background screens.
Thanks!!! Love the vocoder too!!!
You did it! Challenged the holy grail of modern Roland synth and got it out of its dark hide. May I call you „Synthiana Pilz“? But be aware, never look back, THEY may be behind you…
If they didn’t get you: great episode, as always !
Thanks!!! Paolo can actually play keyboards tho;)
i love your channel, really enjoy your videos and am constantly amazed at the level of production you put into them. but i have to say, out of everything you have covered (so far) i have never wanted something more than you have made me want a V-Synth... that thing sounds amazing!
Thank you so much!!!
The V-Synth was the natural nemesis of the Wii-Synth.
Lol, so true!!!
Don’t lie, you totally only got one because cEVIN Key has one of the keyboard versions in his live set up!
I had no idea they made a rack version, it’s awesome!
The rack version is much recommended!!!
Skinny Puppy is one of my fav bands :D Did not know they had this incredible synth, but the sample mangling is really skinny puppy :)
Yes! The version 1 is the first synth keyboard I ever bought. I still love playing it!
Nice!!!
Whoa, I have a strong feeling this one should stay with you...great jams, very impressive sound !
Thank you!!!
@@AudioPilzI agree. The instrument really seems to work for you. Jam 3 was fantastic.
I loved it when it was released.
I'd just splashed out on a new PC build and soundcard (terrarec phase 88)and a used jp8000. Was getting the stinkeye off the Mrs about it, she wanted a new settee. So we compromised and got a new settee.
It was the last rime roland really tried to do something new. I'm sure they'll be selling for a few K in 20 years.
Hopefully the screens will still work then
Do you remember the VariOS?
The red rocket?;)
@@AudioPilz Yesss! 😁
I suggested it last week, hope to see it here.
@@MichaelCoombes776 Good isea. I still have one but I have no idea if the software runs on windows now lol
@@nictrax IME Windows makes a point of trying to be as backwards-compatible as possible, eg FireWire is still handled fine with a PCIe card. Might still work.
I don't have any first hand experience with these units but I've heard many rumours that the original V-synth is the better sounding one of the pack. Great video, thanks! :)
Thank you!!! I'd love to hear them side by side!!!
OK, now this channel gets personal
It usually does;)
9:08 that was unexpected........ Thanks for the laugh!
Always a pleasure ❤️❤️❤️
I heard the VariPhrase technology at the time, and thought it was going to be the future. It still impresses me, now.
It's basically what Ableton does;)
@@AudioPilz it's the other way around - VP9000 was over a year ahead of ableton live v1
...and did v1 of live do truly "elastic" sample transposition within the same note-on event ?
Legato mode! Tc helicon perform ve got this!
Love your production skills! The jams are AMAZING!!
For some odd reason the unit sounds much better than when i twist the knobbies
Thank you!!!
That's a great one to have. Mine is collecting dust but I'm about to use it again soon.
Definitely use it!!!
Speaking for all Satanic pyschopaths, I deeply resent the implication that we understand FM synthesis in any meaningful way. 😈👿👹
It's easy, we don't;)
the question is whether FM synthesis understands US. all of this programming we do with FM is really just an attempt to communicate with the alien intelligences that contacted Chowning so many decades ago.
@@AudioPilz Speaking of satanic Florian, how about a review of the bizarre and oh-so-much-fun Roland GR-55 guitar synth? Now that thing is truly some BAD gear!
Another great episode! It seems like the V Synths are ones I always forget exist, heh. I do seem to remember people praising them, though
Thank you!!!
I think it may be my favorite final jam. Big wubs for a digital box from tha time.😊
Happy to hear that!!! Thanks!!!
This seems like one of those turn of the century synths that has functions that are marooned on the hardware.
Are there any things that can do that you can't do in software? For example, my Korg RADIAS-R has a waveshaper that can be applied before or after the filters, and the "Pickup", "Multisine", and "Multitriangle" settings shape the sound in a way so unique that I've never seen anything remotely like it anywhere else.
I'd like to know too!!!
Apparently I didn't pay enough to Nick... so again this is not MC-101.
Let's see how bad (or good) is Roland V-Synth....
The answer is: YES!!!
@@AudioPilz I didn't know this synth... and I like it! Only two oscillators and only 24 voices of polyphony is a little limiting (especially with multitembrtality) - but overall it is really interesting digital synth.
Calling it now, next week's episode: Roland Jupiter 8.
Close;)
Some call them the "zero years", but I prefer to call them the _"naughties"!_
Isn't it called Noughties?;)
Awesome as always!. My best regards.
Thank you!!!
I bought the full on keyboard version of the Roland V-synth back in the spring of 2004--I've never used the XT, so I have the whole range of features. You actually can sample just one note of a lot of synth and acoustic samples of instruments (and beyond) and it convincingly spreads it out across the 61-note keyboard (which has its own great range of expressive features).
No joke, this was probably one of the final genuine technological innovations, and the aside on the Jupiter-8 that it "was all downhill from there" is spot on, sadly. Why Roland won't listen to its customers (a bad corporate habit) is beyond me, highly illogical, Captain. Now Behringer owns a number of markets that might have been all theirs had they...never mind, never mind, I'll just hurt myself thinking about it any further.
I think I paid the standard $2,400 USD at Woodwind-Brasswind; that's something I'll never regret since I view this synth as the digital equivalent of a modular with one of the most responsive keys on almost any electronic keyboard I've ever played. At 20 years running, I haven't dented the original sound-making potential since that's virtually impossible. The only barriers I see are the imaginations of V-synth users. And here I haven't even mentioned the arpeggiator that's also a great 32-note sequencer with yet more expressive features. No question that it's one of the best digital synthesizers ever produced, or that it's still relevant, and fresh sounding.
I think the Roland bean counters know their stuff;)
@@AudioPilz Indeed they do. The good side is that they and Hollywood are going to have to settle for less in the future. ;0)
Oh yes! I've had my original V-synth (with the VC-1 and VC2 cards) for over 15 years now. I think it it is the apex of Roland creative craziness. It still sound s fantastic. It is utterly mad and I love it.
Nice one!!!
As is tradition, the acid jam was tight! (other jams were good too, and memes amusing as ever.)
Thank you!!!
Excellent video as always. The V-Synth XT is actually pretty cool, it's just a bit too expensive for what is essentially a hardware VST host. Then again, with the price of Roland's first party VST plugins, it may actually not be that bad.
Thanks!!! Agreed!!!
Two of my synths in a row. HIGH FIVE 🙌🏼
😀😀😀
I'm a bit reluctant to say it ... but I find this thing fascinating and strangely likeable.
I feel the exact same way!!!
Great work as always! What an interesting synth for sure
Thank you!!!
My biggest ”WTF are you doing Roland” is that they have This (STILL) state of the att sampling technology (Vari-phrase) and they just let it lie in a corner and rot. A dedicated vari-phrase sampler with the capacity of current technology would be amazing!
The question is if they can still access it in a functional way
Erez uses this for a lot of the Infected Mushroom guitar sounds 🎸
Big fan here!!!
Cowabunga indeed. The Dungeon Master of early 00s VA.
True that!!!
The Caustic 3 saw synth @ 2:03 was an unexpected surprise! Still the best android DAW there is, wish the developer would update it!
😀😀😀True that!
The screen definitely looks like the touchscreens we use in industrial automation to this day.
I'm pretty sure it is;)
The V-Synth was one of my first synths. I had an accident with it where I was carrying it down some stairs (before I had a case for it) and we both took a pretty bad tumble. It fared better than I did, it's built like a tank! But the sound itself is very specific
Wow, hope you recovered quickly!!!
@@AudioPilz I still have issues 7 years later but the V-Synth is still going strong! Nick Rhodes used to use a few of these for years until he switched to JD-XA on stage
will be cool to see the 100k plaque on the bookshelf next to Kafka. That will tick all my boxes!
Thank you!!! Working on it!!!
One of the best shows on UA-cam!
Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for this one. How about the Integra? Isn't supposed to be all the Roland rack gear in one unit?
Great suggestion, thank you!!!
I'd like to see one on the Integra-7 too.
i haven’t watched it yet but i must say bad gear is my favorite synth show and it’s how i know what stuff to buy
Thank you so much!!!
amazing rackable standalone VST :)
Lol
I bought a V-Synth XT about 6 months ago and I've learnt more about its capabilities by watching your video than I have by reading the manual... I'm still not sure if I have a good piece of gear or not (!!??)
Thank you!!! I feel the same way about that crazy synth!!!
when is the AudioPilz finale song trilogy-album coming out?
I'd say December but I just can't tell which year;)
I’ve liked Ulrich Schnauss for a long time and there’s an Electronic Beats interview with him where he’s surrounded by crazy rackmount stuff including a V-Synth, Korg Radias and two Poly Evolver rack units. I don’t think I knew rack synths were even a thing before I saw that. 😂
Nice, I have to check it out!
The V-Synth was a mystery to me back then and remains a mystery to me. I can’t wrap my head around the idea of paying 1500€ for this today. Then again, I can’t wrap my head around the idea of paying 1500€ for a Juno…
Yeah, they are quite costly
I have the original V2. It's an odd bird that's for sure. Bought it off of someone for 850 used in 2013. This guy only sold his to get a kronos. I still have the v synth and it ends up being used in everything I make. It has its faults and the steppiest filter sweeps you've ever heard. Still My favorite synth, it has never left me, and I have yet to explore more I have not yet, with it.
Nice!!!
Pretty much the same for me but recently mine has malfunctioned for some reason, when I turn it on it just starts changing patches infinitely on it's own.
My vsynth gt is pure magic! ❤
👍👍👍
Noooooooo😮..... I’m crushed this has made it to bad gear 😢☺️..this is my favourite digital synth and what I use the most.....😭.....( but I’m VERY pleased my name got an accidental mention😜)
Always a pleasure;) Great avatar name...
Man, I wish the Roland MC707 had that Jennifer Lowpass filter
And an Envelope Cruz!!!
@@AudioPilz lol! Both Jenifer Lowpass Filter and Envelope Cruz have big roles in The Matrix for sure!