From Mr808@aol.com Wed Jun 1 09:06:36 1994 Date: Wed, 01 Jun 94 08:48:55 EDT From: Mr808@aol.com To: analogue@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: The Church of Roland Why the Roland Mania? As far as the TR,TB,SH,MC-X0X series goes, you've got to consider certain historical circumstances. (All of this is off the top of my head, deviations from fact may follow.) The Roland micro devices came onto the market at the dawn of the MIDI/digital dark ages. Some of them were the right price at the right time and sold in quantity (the 101 & 303). With the advent of digital, though, they were seen as being "unrealistic" sounding, and only the later models (mostly the cheesier, digital ones) had MIDI. In the rush to go digital, lots of people sold their analogue gear for a pittance to buy a DX7 or D50 or whatever. Meanwhile, a weird dude in Detroit named Juan Atkins (w/ Cybotron) recorded a track called "Clear" in 1981 that used a TR-808 w/ a prototypically Techno beat. Him and his art school buddies Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson started doing electronic dance tracks. One of them sold a 909 to DJ Frankie Knuckles in Chicago. Knuckles is recognized by many as the (or an) originator of House. This spread to London where it was emulated by the Brits in their own twisted way. Guys started picking up analogue boards for cheap and making weird bleepy music. Acid House was born (Either London or Chicago, maybe one of you Brits can clarify). This music became the rage during Summer '88. Of course, everyone and their brother started jumping on the train, causing a feeding frenzy for X0X devices (and analogue gear in general) that continues to this day. I first heard Acid in 1990. I thought it was a fad. I was wrong. It's 1994 and it's MORE popular than ever. Luckily, it's mutated over the years, from fairly formulaic to an amazing variety of styles. Nowadays its known as Techno (w/ many sub-genres, Trance, Hardcore, etc.) WHY are the 303/808/909 so popular? I don't know, but it's probably the same reason that oldsters enjoy the cheesy analog brass sounds that no one under 30 seems to be able to stomach. So, WHY the Roland fascination? It's hard to separate what's trend following from what is basic need. As for the 808/909 thang - I can say that if everyone else used a Sequential Tom I'd STILL use my 808. I heard an old track the other day w/ a LinnDrum on it. Unbelievably cheezoid. The 808 and 909 have such a DIFFERENT quality. Analogue drum sounds have that non-repeatability which my ears crave. Try sampling a 909. Do as much multisampling/velocity crossfading as you like. Play it thru MIDI and A/B test it w/ the real thing programmed on its internal sequencer. Tell me you can't hear and feel a BIG difference. It's like comparing masturbation to intercourse. Something is missing. The 909 defies sampling, as does the 808, or any analogue gear for that matter. Roland has acquired a rep for making some of THE best vintage gear. Maybe it's because they historically had more sonic variety throughout their product line. Does a JP-8 sound like a JP-6? NO. Does a JX-10 sound like a Juno-106? NO. Does an SH-101 sound like a TB-303? Only to the VERY untrained ear. Does a Prophet 5 sound like a Prophet 10, 600, or T8? Very much. My experience has been that, if you use a bunch of synths from the same manufacturer, everything acquires a certain "sound" which isn't as full and rich as mixing a variety of makes. Hence my varied arsenal. Roland, however, is the only exception to this rule. I know my JP-6 isn't gonna step on my JP-8. When's the last time you met someone who used nothing but Prophets? Look at all the duds that came from Moog - the MicroMoog, the Prodigy, the Sonic Six, et. al., and compare their synths to the post SH series Roland synths. Roland made more classics and fewer lemons than the sainted Moog, IMO. As for the dis about only being able to get a few sounds out of Roland gear - maybe that's because you don't have the talent to. I've got a friend w/ 2 SH-101's, an MC-202, a 4-track, a digital FX box, and nothing else who is doing this AMAZING classical 70's electronica ala Jarre and Tomita. He gets sounds that make me wonder why I bought all this gear. __ __ ______ ____ ____ ____ ______________________ | \ / | | ) ( ) | /| ( ) Ordained Minister - ) | \ / | |---- -- ---- | / | ---- the Church of Roland - | \/ | | | ( ) | / | ( ) email mr808@aol.com ) | | | | ---- ---- ---- --------------------- | Roland SH-101, TB-303, TR606, TR727, TR-808, TR-909, JP-6, JP-8 | Moog MiniMoog, Source, Rogue; Oberheim Xpander; Arp 2600 | Sequential Prophet 5, Prophet 600; Yamaha DX-7IIFD; Peavey SP | Various and sundry analogue and digital effectors and doo-dads. | Recorded output: TB-404 - bleepy techno & acid trax | Ether Binge - ambience & classical electronica |-------------------------------------------Happy Happy Tweaking!