# New toys



## dpasdernick (Apr 3, 2018)

I've spent a good portion of the last few years buying old hardware. Stuff that I couldn't afford when I was a wee lad. Recently I purchased an Access Virus TI Snow and a Roland V-Synth XT. Wow! The Virus is the size of a notebook but has the sound of a moose in heat with balls the size of a politician's head (I didn't say which one )

The V-Synth is a complete gem and includes the vocal designer and D-50 expansion cards. Why Roland stopped making this is a puzzle. Their new synths are pretty nice but this thing is a synthesist's dream with a digital time trip pad and, again, massive sound. The patch "Ocean of Saws" is so big I had to leave the studio just to play a 3 note chord.

I'm only typing this because when I tell my wife about it she says "that's nice" and starts talking about new carpet and paying the bills and stupid stuff like that. I know you guys get it.

And just to stay in the software club I also subscribed to the Roland Cloud which has many of my old favorites (and a lot that I own in hardware). I actually have 3 versions of the D-50 now. A D-550 rack mount, a software D-50 and the D-50 in the V-Synth XT. 

Now back yo your regular scheduled programming of the Daniel James versus Hans Zimmer Strings no holds barred celebrity death match complete with 64 oscillators and a monster pipe organ...


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## tmhuud (Apr 4, 2018)

Oh, I really love the Roland cloud. I can’t get enough of it. The TR-909 is now live. I’m a kid in the candy store every time they announce another Legendary instrument has been added. 

Having had so much of what’s being offered as a virtual instrument as real hardware it is odd tweaking partial knobs/buttons in software vs the real thing but the sounds are Devine.

I loved my D-50 so much I bought the 550 as well as a just didn’t have the floor space any more for another keyboard. 

I’d love to get a V-synth.


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## synthpunk (Apr 4, 2018)

V-Synth was always underrated sonically, but is not the easiest thing to program on either. These days Falcon get it done in a different way for these types of things for me.


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## dpasdernick (Apr 4, 2018)

tmhuud said:


> Oh, I really love the Roland cloud. I can’t get enough of it. The TR-909 is now live. I’m a kid in the candy store every time they announce another Legendary instrument has been added.
> 
> Having had so much of what’s being offered as a virtual instrument as real hardware it is odd tweaking partial knobs/buttons in software vs the real thing but the sounds are Devine.
> 
> ...



I love the cloud too with a few caveats. I wish I could just buy the damn stuff and not "rent to own" Korg sells the almighty Wavestation for $50 on sale at times and it is right up there with the D-50. The other issue with some of the cloud instruments is the CPU they take up. The JV-1080 is a simple rompler with a small memory footprint and that thing takes over my CPU. Fortunately the D-50 is rather efficient. I'm a sucker for Roland stuff. Glad to hear they are adding new instruments!


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## whinecellar (Jul 12, 2018)

Ha - I can SO relate to the OP on this thread. Maybe it’s the midlife crisis or whatever, but I find myself in the same boat - I recently started snatching up the iconic synths I always wanted. Some I had years ago and sold like an idiot. 

Anyway, my collection is pretty much complete now - and/or I have no room for more! But man, I feel like the 15-year-old I always wanted to be when I walk into my studio... it just took 30 years to get there!

And yeah, the Roland Cloud - WOW! So good!

Cheers


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## chimuelo (Aug 30, 2018)

I ran into a guy working opposite of us last month with an Oberheims 8 Voice SEM and the ancient ARP String Ensemble.
I’ve never felt so small and I had an SE-02 and Solaris.
But that big ass greasy Oberheims sound was so fierce I was shamed.
I’ve heard 2 Voice SEMs and they were big sounding too.
But with 8 voices there’s just no way a plug in can ever punch like that.
I enjoyed the pain.


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