alicegrimaude's Reviews

Dream synth for old-school MIDI enthusiasts

So let me give you the pros and the cons in a neat little list:

Pros:

-Universal switching power supply, which means you can use this module anywhere in the world without worrying about connecting to the wrong voltage.

-Fun retro sounds that'll bring you back to the early PlayStation/PlayStation 2 era

-A great machine for composing songs with appealing and bright sounds

-If you like Golden Sun or Pokémon Generation 3's soundtracks, most of those sounds are here and accounted for.

-Easy to switch between instrument maps for even more sound patches

-It can sound great with retro PC games such as Rise of the Triad and HeXen, as well as adventure games in ScummVM.

-USB-MIDI port can save you a lot of space in terms of midi ports

-4 parts available, with sixteen MIDI channels each.

-Roland still has the operating manuals and drivers for this module on their site if you're missing one from your purchase.

Cons:

-The Roland SC-55, SC-88 and SC-88 Pro maps all have inconsistencies. From different filters to wrong samples, accuracy is not something you should expect.

-While it's not a big problem, the MIDI outputs only give you access to up to 32 MIDI channels. This won't be a big bother to most users.

-The USB-MIDI port is extremely susceptible to heavy ground loop noise, but with a USB isolator like the one from Nobsound (link further down) this can be eliminated. It still doesn't happen when you use the regular MIDI ports.

-The Roland SC-8850 USB driver can be a pain in the rear to install on modern systems, but thankfully just right-clicking and selecting "Install" on one of the driver folder's files can mostly fix that.

-The General MIDI 2 map is nothing to be excited about, so initialise to GS mode instead. Be aware that some old games don't mesh well with GS, so in that case I'd suggest trying a GM reset instead.

I love this module despite some of its warts, and it's been my workhorse synth for composition since early 2018. Highly recommended for anyone into retro midi sounds.

Link for the Nobsound USB to USB isolator: https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Audio-Eliminator-Industrial-Protection/dp/B07GB4CQQ3/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=clyfaker-20&linkId=42b1653e3f3a725644b4dadfd1afc560&language=en_US

Mixed bag, but most of it good.

First of all, here are my main issues with this interface: while it's supposed to be class-compliant and you can use this interface without necessarily installing drivers, if you don't install the drivers for this it'll quickly start messing up aspects like pitch bends and other control changes in your midi sequences. This essentially makes using it without drivers worse than just installing them anyway.

Trying to connect more than one of these (or the 2x2 variant) simultaneously will result in system crashes and bootup problems due to the drivers absolutely refusing to accept that more than one of these interfaces could be connected at any time. Enumeration issues of some sort, I guess, but it seems a bit archaic in these more modern times.

Aside from these issues, this is still a pretty solid interface for people who've got up to four midi devices, ranging from sound modules to keyboards. I haven't noticed any synchronisation issues between concurrent playback of multiple devices, and it's a decent future-proof for new musicians who're just starting out their collection of hardware synths.

Midi cables not included.

Flawed midi implementation, but great piano roll and recording setup.

I'm not a big fan of how flawed the midi support is (lack of SysEx commands and a lot of interactions necessary to take full advantage of old sound modules), but the ease of use of the piano roll and the general workflow are very easy. I've been sequencing music in FL Studio since 2013 after years of using Anvil Studio, and though I've had my share of problems ultimately it does shine pretty brightly.

Realistic? No. Retro fun? Absolutely.

These are the drum sounds used in Mega Man X5, Tales of Destiny, Valkyrie Profile, Golden Sun 2, Tales of Symphonia, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and many of Motoi Sakuraba's soundtracks in the time period between 1997-2004. Getting that out of the way for anyone obsessively searching and looking for confirmation.

This isn't a very realistic drum kit nowadays, but it's still massive fun for making retro music or just sampling drums from in that retro style.

The ultimate 90's music machine

Loaded with custom user patches and expansion boards, this cheaper iteration of the XV-5080 still packs quite a punch for anyone looking for that 90's sound. The few sacrifices made, such as 64-voice polyphony and the lack of SCSI sampler support, a few missing FX, are deftly compensated for by the lack of compromise in other areas.

This one I use with the SRX-06 Complete Orchestra and SRX-09 World Collection cards.

Rock solid interface.

Good stuff for what I need. Only thing I have to complain about is the occasional glitch, but nothing that can't be helped by changing the sample rate or unplugging and reconnecting it.

Interesting little module for its price point

This little module contains a mixed bag of recycled samples from Korg's M1 and Wavestation romplers, but manages to punch far above its weight in some areas. Not an all-around perfect machine, but it's got a beautiful kind of sound either way under the right circumstances.