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 love my V-Synth XT. It's worth it for the Vocoder and D-50 modes alone, but the great thing about it is that the main synth just sounds unique and not like anything since. It's a great source of sounds that you just won't find everywhere else.
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. :^\
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've had my OG V-synth for over a decade , its actually the oldest synth in my studio. Equal parts flawed and amazing . This and JDXA were the last real innovative synths roland made before they entered this corporate mass production digital retro era they live in now
Slapping the same processor in different things and limiting the modelling that each retro reissue can do… It’s just a pathetically blatant scheme after giving the world the V Synth that basically did it all. Meanwhile, Behringer straight up killing it with actual analog and hybrid clones of classics.
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
Excellent show as always, wish me luck trying to find a V-Synth. please increase the length of "The Woooorlds most hated audio gear" Each episode "woorrlddd" should get just a little bit longer until it is 5 seconds long eventually. Keep increasing like the price of synths on Reverb.
Some interesting things you might not know.... The VC cards also hold the patch memories, so I can program the D-50 sounds on the V-synth (far easier than the D-50 and with better audio quality) and then plug it into my VariOS (there is an even weirder piece of Roland tech!) and it will play the patches exactly like the V-synth. The D-50 emulation is so complete you can even use a PG-1000 programmer on the V-synth or the VariOS. So there was a kind of point to Rolands madness at the time. In these days of endless emulations of old gear and the lust for 'analogue', which let's be honest all tends to sound a bit samey, regardless of the manufacturer, the V-synth stands out as a truly unique instrument. Yes it has many flaws but there is a reason no-one has made a VST to emulate it - it's utterly brilliant and really does not sound like anything else.
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.
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 RU-vid convention. Please keep up the amazing work, you are very much appreciated!
I used to work at an upper scale commercial recording studio in Boston in the late 200_'s, and there was one producer that would bring in a V-synth GT for every session he worked. It made it's way onto all of his demos and almost of of his final tracks There is a LOT of top 40s hip hop and pop from that erra with V-synth on it. Hahaha
The original V Synth was one of several synths that i bought as a brand new product. It was so new, that there were no reviews in the press, the original O/S had stepping in the filters when sweeping with the onboard knobs, and the original manual mentioned 8 part multi timbrality, which never transpired on any o/s revision or product update (eg XT and the GT keyboard). I emailed roland about the original o/s, and within a month or two, they announced an o/s update for free download. After that, i used it heavily on many production and music library projects. Eventually, I sold it to Tony Allgood, who made Oakley Modular systems. As you've already mentioned, it had some UI quirks that sometimes meant odd delays in using it on the fly, but it was a brave move ( it used the variphrase technology they already had) and a great synth.
@AudioPilz i bought it as the touch pad, and the first dozen or so presets showed that it had a unique sonic stamp for the time. There were a lot of possibilities to shape & mangle the sound in different ways & it really stood out in a showroom environment sonically , yet never swamped a mix in the studio. Proof, if need be, that sound designers are the real kings and queens in synth manufacturing . Everything also sent out sysex, too, if i remember correctly.
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.
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 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.
This one product line I wish that Roland would bring back! It's funny how the display screens on their products have got almost progressively worse since then
i like how by the time the final song rolls around on each episode, between all the arranging and mixing and processing i could never guess which particular instrument is being showcased if it weren't in the thumbnail; it just sounds like florian making techno. this is a feature not a bug
Florian the way you cover so much detail and complexity in so little time make me think you should have been an aerospace engineer 😂😳😳😳...that second and final jam are just fantastic 😎👌🏻...and thanks for my first shoutout! 🤗...and guys the sheer volume of material offered in his patreon makes it a no-brainer
Ive got a V-synth gt, I bought it new in 2008, I played with it for 2 days and didn't get on with it at all. It sat pretty much unused until the lockdown in 2020..... wow! I had some time on my hands this synth is so misunderstood. Its capable of producing just about any sound you could wish for. The sampling is amazing, not just the sound mangling, but the way in which the samples can be triggered. its a very unique instrument, one I shall be keeping hold of. This time next year there will be a boutique version!
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. 😁
🎉duuude.... Your uploads are just what my brains need!!! Please do consider making a video on how much effort it takes to make a bad gear episode! Always a pleasure!!!
On of my favorite albums of all time Skinny Puppy - The Greater Wrong of the Right has the V-Synth's fingerprints all over it. It's such a cool machine. I've never found in good shape around me that I could afford. I keep hoping Roland makes a good successor with the time trippad.
4:11 Thank you for this!! I used to know a guy who had the keyboard version of the V-Synth, but never spent anywhere near enough time with it to figure out the interface. Seems really powerful though! You got a really wide range of sounds out of that thing!
The Vsynth is for me the last real synthesizer from Roland (well ok, there is the JD-XA which has its place too). I bought a VSynth GT (Dual engine, vocal processing integrated into the synthesis, articulation of the instruments, more polyphony and memory) somewhat compulsively about ten years ago and it has become one of my favorite keyboards. This synth has flaws but it allows you to do really original things in terms of sound design and it is unique in certain aspects. ! It's just a shame that Roland gave up development and updates.
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!
A weird one. It does indeed sound very digital, but I do absolutely love how the mangled samples sound - Roland always seem to have a lovely set of FX to run through and it's the same here.
I totally understand this instrument making it to Bad Gear. Used to have an original V-Synth. I always felt like it was a waste of $2400. Never got along with it, sold it, and went back to a Roland JD-990 and Akai S-3000 sampler. I honestly never understood why I couldn't get along with it because at the time, it seemed like a great sample mangling machine but I always found myself actually putting more traditional instruments to productive use.
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.
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 😊
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.
@@AudioPilz if you not already have a folder of memes, sorted by episode, this should really be a thing. Lightning fast memeing is often times not computable for those elderly people on the net!
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!
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?)
@@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.
@@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 think this episode had the best jams ever! Really well done, thanks! Im hoping some more semi modulsr for the show! Behringer neturon as the lone original behringer would be neat
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.
