# Zenology by Roland



## Chizilla (Oct 12, 2020)

Any thoughts ?


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## GossamerSugar (Oct 12, 2020)

I demoed it for a few days, and since I own some zen core compatible hardware I figured it could be useful for creating presets for those synths without having to use a janky iphone app (looking at you AX Edge.) It's a lot easier to use than pretty much any Roland hardware synth since the menu diving can be done with a mouse and keyboard. Tons of classic sounds you know and love from Roland. It's basically an Integra 7 in software form, which is great if you like those sounds. 

That being said, by todays standards the sounds aren't all that great and Roland hasn't improved the engine over the past ten or fifteen years. The PCM samples are pretty unconvincing and I just don't get on with many of them very well, even after very exhausting and extensive programing to create more dynamic layers I just can't find the magic. A few other peeves are that I couldn't get the UI to resize, so even on 1080 it was tiny. And of course I got some weird authorization messages when I wasn't connected to the internet for a while. 

Anyway that's my honest thoughts. Is it worth the $200? No, I don't think so. But it might be if you really want those old sounds and presets or need an easier way to edit tones on you modern Roland hardware. Maybe I'm missing some killer features, but after a week of using zenology pro I just deleted the whole roland cloud thing altogether.


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## Chizilla (Oct 12, 2020)

GossamerSugar said:


> I demoed it for a few days, and since I own some zen core compatible hardware I figured it could be useful for creating presets for those synths without having to use a janky iphone app (looking at you AX Edge.) It's a lot easier to use than pretty much any Roland hardware synth since the menu diving can be done with a mouse and keyboard. Tons of classic sounds you know and love from Roland. It's basically an Integra 7 in software form, which is great if you like those sounds.
> 
> That being said, by todays standards the sounds aren't all that great and Roland hasn't improved the engine over the past ten or fifteen years. The PCM samples are pretty unconvincing and I just don't get on with many of them very well, even after very exhausting and extensive programing to create more dynamic layers I just can't find the magic. A few other peeves are that I couldn't get the UI to resize, so even on 1080 it was tiny. And of course I got some weird authorization messages when I wasn't connected to the internet for a while.
> 
> Anyway that's my honest thoughts. Is it worth the $200? No, I don't think so. But it might be if you really want those old sounds and presets or need an easier way to edit tones on you modern Roland hardware. Maybe I'm missing some killer features, but after a week of using zenology pro I just deleted the whole roland cloud thing altogether.



Thanks for reply, I had all those VST's by Cakewalk and I don't use them anymore.


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## SupremeFist (Oct 12, 2020)

It's fugly and janky and the proper models of Jupiter, Juno etc are paid add-ons, apart from that it's terrific.


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## José Herring (Oct 12, 2020)

If you don't like it you can always just cancel your subscription.


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## SupremeFist (Oct 12, 2020)

José Herring said:


> If you don't like it you can always just cancel your subscription.


It's ok I don't have a subscription in the first place, have just been checking out the free trial.


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## SupremeFist (Oct 12, 2020)

Also it phones home every single week, and if it can't it will soon stop working, so that sucks. (I was mainly interested because I also have a compatible Zen-core instrument that doesn't have its own librarian software.)


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## José Herring (Oct 12, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> Also it phones home every single week, and if it can't it will soon stop working, so that sucks. (I was mainly interested because I also have a compatible Zen-core instrument that doesn't have its own librarian software.)


Damn! Deal breaker for me. I usually keep my DAW offline.


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## SupremeFist (Oct 12, 2020)

José Herring said:


> Damn! Deal breaker for me. I usually keep my DAW offline.


Yes it's very hostile. Honestly if you want classic Roland synth sounds I think Diva sounds better anyway. (Unless you pony up $150 a time on top for the ACB models, which are afaics extremely good.)


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## José Herring (Oct 12, 2020)

Mostly interested in Zenology. I understand that you have to get the subscription first, then I can purchase it. Then I can cancel my subscription.


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## SupremeFist (Oct 12, 2020)

José Herring said:


> Mostly interested in Zenology. I understand that you have to get the subscription first, then I can purchase it. Then I can cancel my subscription.


You can just try it for free right now if you create a Roland account.


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## José Herring (Oct 12, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> You can just try it for free right now if you create a Roland account.


I don't need to try it though. I already know I want it. Just trying to figure out the best way to get it and having a subscription for more than any given amount of time would suck. But, now that I recall I wouldn't have the option to buy it until I've had the subscription for at least a year.


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## SupremeFist (Oct 12, 2020)

José Herring said:


> I don't need to try it though. I already know I want it. Just trying to figure out the best way to get it and having a subscription for more than any given amount of time would suck. But, now that I recall I wouldn't have the option to buy it until I've had the subscription for at least a year.



I don't think that's right: I have a free account and am seeing the option to purchase a lifetime key for Z Pro.


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## José Herring (Oct 12, 2020)

SupremeFist said:


> I don't think that's right: I have a free account and am seeing the option to purchase a lifetime key for Z Pro.


Great! I'll check it out.


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## zephonic (Feb 1, 2021)

Anybody else wanna chime in on this? I downloaded the free Zenology Lite and have to say it's nice to have some Roland flavor ITB. I'm not into the subscription model, but a one-time purchase option for Zenology Pro is something I'd consider.


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## David From Earth (Mar 15, 2021)

Hello, I found this discussion as I was looking for anyone who might have compared the Integra Banks vs those of Zenology. I have both and am thinking of selling the Integra to continue my goal of going to all plugins. I am, however confident that Zenology is Not an equivalent of the Integra. I do know for sure that Zenology has all the JV/XV patches (896) as well as the SRX expansions(2810), which are also in the Integra. But I do not find the Integra’s Supernatural patches (1390) and the EXPCMHQ patches (512) in Zenology. These are among the best ones in the Integra. The bank and patch names may be different, I’m not sure.

Being an R-cloud user for four years now I can tell you the following: Roland is adding new stuff all the time. The Roland Cloud Manager App is quirky and sometimes messes up, their server goes down now and then and you get error messages but overall it is stable, I have never been stuck in a production with sounds not working. They require a re-authorization every month which happens in the background. Roland’s vintage synth recreation plugs sound excellent, if not exactly matching the original hardware, but are WAY hard on CPU usage, their tech guy acknowledged that to me. I have 32GB RAM and I have to watch it with the Roland stuff in large arrangements. I do not see that Zenology is a candidate for a lifetime key, however, they sell it separately for $499, my loyalty price is $299. Also Zenology Pro loads kinda slow, no big deal. For me, the Zenology patches sound a tiny bit more dull than the Integra and other synths, but you can beef them up if needed. The more modern stuff like pads, FX, and atmospheres in Zenology and the Integra are not happening compared to other synths like Diva, Omnisphere, Falcon, MassiveX etc. Roland, while their sounds are excellent, in my opinion, are more looking backward than forward. However, it is a moving, unpredictable target and the plugout thing is cool for those keyboard owners. For around $200 you get a huge amount of stuff for one full year and can keep one plug afterward if you quit. It’s all about the budget. Have fun...


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