CHAPTERS

What do keyboard players really want?

Before we start though, a little background is necessary. In 1972 Roland released Japan’s first synth – the SH-1000. Four years later, the coveted System-100 introduced modular synthesis to a wider audience, and in 1978 the first Jupiter (the Jupiter-4) made its debut. Kick starting the 80s with the Jupiter-8, Roland’s synths and keyboards were regularly used in the hit records of the era, and the various Roland ‘sounds’ became part of the fabric of the contemporary music scene.

During this time – over countless recording sessions, rehearsals and live gigs – close relationships have been formed with musicians, most of whom are not shy when it comes to telling us what they want. This constant feedback and communication has resulted in technologies being developed to make life easier, and better, for the musician – and the current generation of Roland synths and keyboards are designed to excel in four areas; sound, keyboard, user interface, and reliability.

#1 THE SOUND ENGINE

Choosing the right sound engine for the job
A synth or keyboard has to sound amazing, otherwise what’s the point? While size, portability, or the number of controllers are all important, it’s all for nothing if the instrument doesn’t make you want to play music. Roland’s synth and keys line up offers a variety of core engines and technologies for all ability levels, with the tonal range and power to work across all music genres. It’s best to look at this via the type of instrument you play.

IF YOU PLAY THE SYNTHESIZER

(SuperNATURAL SYNTH, Crossover analog/digital, pure analog)
Maybe you need the most expressive PCM-based violin or saxophone sounds, or versatile pads and classic drum machines, or even the raw analog waves of a genuine modular system. Or how about combining them all? Whatever you’re into, you’re no longer limited to just analog or just digital; you can mix and match to suit your needs. For example, the JD-XA combines a four voice analog engine and filter bank with a four-part digital engine, along with the ability to route sounds between the various components for brand new sound design possibilities. Roland is one of the few companies with the expertise required to offer multiple best-in-class sound generation methods; just pick which one that gets you excited and start playing.

IF YOU PLAY THE PIANO

(V-Piano Physical modeling, SuperNATURAL Piano)
Making a really convincing digital piano is not easy. In fact, Roland took decades to develop the technology - called SuperNATURAL Piano modeling - and it works by emulating the physical interactions that give a piano it’s unique signature tone. You’ll notice a far greater dynamic range, comprising brighter highs and darker lows, infused with color, character and long natural decays that fade to nothingness. You’ll hear more detailed harmonics when playing fortissimo passages, and fast key repetition no longer forces you to compromise your style while the piano tries to keep up. And as you play, you’ll forget that you’re playing a digital or stage piano. Which is exactly how it should be.

IF YOU PLAY THE ORGAN

(TONEWHEEL Organ)
The organ is a great example of the need to specialize. Although most digital keyboards and some synths include a collection of organ sounds, they’re often a pale imitation of the real thing. This is partly because, in the same way as a piano, a convincing organ is difficult to achieve on an electronic instrument. Roland has developed dedicated Tonewheel technology to produce the very best organ sounds, and when combined with rotary effects and authentic drawbar controls (more of which later) you’ll be surprised just how good they sound.

#2 THE FEEL OF THE KEYBOARD

Finding a keyboard that brings out your creativity
With great instruments, the sound is just one half of the equation: the other is feel. When a synth or keyboard is built to a low price, the quality of the keyboard action is the first thing to go; crazy when you think about it, as it’s the only part of the instrument that you ever touch. A powerful sound engine needs an equally responsive keyboard to get the best from it. Conventional ‘off the shelf’ keyboards weren’t accurate enough, so a variety of Roland keyboard technologies have been developed to translate your musical ideas into sound.

HAMMER ACTION for authentic feel and performance

Many of Roland’s 88-note keyboards have a weighted hammer action, which means that the lower notes are heavier to the touch, needing slightly more pressure to play, and the higher notes are lighter. This replicates the feel of the keys on a fine grand piano and it means that playing a stage piano doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice a great feel.

WATERFALL for rapid organ playing technique

If you want to include organ sounds, you need an instrument that can handle the essential organ playing techniques including trill, sputter and ultra-sharp glissandos. Anything less, and you’ll lose connection with instrument.

SYNTHESIZER ACTION beloved by pro musicians

And if you’re a synth player, you may not need weighted keys, but you’ll definitely need fast, accurate triggering that remains reliable for many years.

#3: THE USER INTERFACE

Developed with decades of experience and feedback from pro-musicians
Too much technology can become a distraction, and it's easy to spend more time tweaking or trouble shooting than actually making music. Whether you’re still starting out or you’re becoming established with some regular income from your music, no one can afford to waste time in the studio. Ever spent all day trying to get your setup working properly with no time spent actually writing anything? Roland’s philosophy produces instruments that kick start the creative process, via intuitive user interfaces that encourage experimentation and creativity. Let’s look at some of the obvious benefits:

SYNTHESIZER with many controllers for every aspect of the sound

The JD-XA, for example, pays homage to the knob-and-slider-laden behemoths of the early 80s, with many controllers to help shape every aspect of the sound. This results in a very natural approach to sound design, meaning it’s possible to create the sound in your head quickly and easily. And if it’s easy to experiment and try new things, you can guarantee you’ll come up with some killer sounds that will make your music stand out.

DRAWBARS for authentic organ playing

If you’re an organ player, the chunky drawbars found on the VR-09 V-Combo give you that authentic organ feel, but they also double up as a convenient way to edit the variety of other sounds on board, including pads, basses, synth and piano.

MODULAR synthesizer with many CV/Gate connections

If you’re the type of person who loves to explore the outer limits of sound design, the almost-infinite choice of modular synthesizers paired with CV/Gate connections will keep you busy for the foreseeable future. Based on Roland’s iconic System series from the ‘70s, the current System-500 range of modular analog synths harks back to the days when people would use the very building blocks of sound to get creative.

These elements (sound engine, keyboard quality and user interface) define Roland’s wide range of keyboards and synths. Each instrument is designed with performance in mind, while offering the musician an impressive array of creative possibilities. And although each individual instrument focuses on doing its job exceptionally well (for example, stage piano, or a punchy analog synth, or a smoky organ), when you start using two together, you can build a powerful and versatile keyboard rig that offers you enormous musical potential – yet is still intuitive and simple to use.

Next we’ll look at several combinations of keyboards and synths, and what you can expect once you have them at your fingertips.

BASIC KEYBOARD RIGS

Compact, powerful and focused, for stage or studio work
Many musicians keep things simple and focused, as too much technology can hinder the music making process. When looking for a new synth or keyboard, a balance has to be found between getting started quickly and easily – so you can learn how it works – and also offering enough depth to keep you motivated as your knowledge grows and you delve into its capabilities. Whether you play frequent live gigs, or are happier locked away in your home studio, there are some great ways to start building an inexpensive keyboard rig that fits perfectly around the way you compose and perform.

BASIC RIG #1

VR-09 V-COMBO with JUNO-DS88
Ideal for playing live gigs, needing rock and pop sounds

This is a compact but powerful keyboard rig offering great playability and control, perfect if you’re playing more than one gig on the same night. You have the comprehensive options of the JUNO-DS88 (huge sound palette, sample import, phrase pads for triggering, mic input and weighted action 88-note keyboard), and the focused control of the VR-09, with authentic organ tonewheel sound and harmonic drawbars.

BASIC RIG #2

JD-Xi synth with JUNO-DS61
Ideal for studio work, especially dance related genres

By combining the JUNO-DS61 and JD-Xi synths, up and coming producers get maximum versatility at an affordable price – including the ability to work with powerful digital sounds and rich, warm analog sounds. In addition to over 1,200 ‘industry-standard’ sounds, the JUNO-DS61 contains an array of powerful music production tools including sample import, pattern-based sequencing and phrase trigger pads, and brings them all together inside a fast and intuitive music production environment. The JD-Xi brings a new perspective to your production setup, thanks to its unique analog/digital crossover engine that offers a monophonic analog part to complement the four-part digital engine. The JD-Xi is also a great musical sketch book, perfect for getting ideas started, thanks to its onboard sequencer, drum part, integrated effects and even a vocoder/gooseneck mic as standard. It’s also a great board for sound tweaking, featuring the most important basic controllers. And although it’s small, the JD-Xi has already been used on some big gigs, played by Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran and Kola Bello, on Ellie Goulding’s Delirium world tour. Designed to fit into modern production setups, both the JD-XA and JD-Xi have seamless DAW integration, including low-latency USB-based audio/MIDI interfaces.

THE JUNO PHILOSOPHY

When Roland brought back the Juno name in 2003, many people were expecting a synth that reflected the original Juno models that were so popular in the 1980s. But the Juno philosophy was always about offering a versatile collection of sounds in an affordable package, although the original technology wasn’t really capable of recreating the ‘real’ sounds typically demanded by musicians of the day. Instead, the warm, approximated Juno sounds were adopted by the pioneering electronic bands like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode who loved the fact that these synths didn’t sound like anything else. Fast-forward a few decades, and with the technology now in place, the new Junos were packed with hundreds of gig-tested sounds including pianos, organs, strings and bass, alongside the signature sounds from Roland’s analog era. A range of affordable, portable synths with a huge choice of professional sounds, the Juno family has gone one to become one of Roland’s most popular synth line-ups.

ADVANCED KEYBOARD RIGS

When you the need the very best tool for each job
These days, if you’re a professional keyboard player you have to be versatile and adaptable. Tours and gigs are becoming increasingly complicated, with each show placing large demands on the musicians on stage – from technical, musical and performance perspectives. Recreating the sound of the record is essential and if you’re working with an artist who likes to experiment during the show, you also have to be prepared for any eventuality – and able to quickly master a wide variety of musical scenarios. Then there’s the small matter of reliability and being able to make things happen quickly and easily – critically important when you’re playing in front of thousands of people who have paid to be entertained. Finally, of course, there’s the sound quality – you need to be able to fill some pretty big spaces with rich, powerful sound.
Go to any large gig and if there’s a keyboard player on stage, they’ll usually have more than one keyboard in their rig. There are a few reasons for this, most obviously they may need to play more than one instrument at the same time. And sometimes the ‘jack of all trades’ design of some workstations mean that some essential features may be buried in menus and sub menus – not ideal when you quickly need to change the sounds in the middle of a set list. Or sometimes you just need the absolute best piano sound you can find, but you also need the best organ or synth sound available as well; and that could mean two different keyboards as one keyboard rarely does it all.

ADVANCED RIG #5

FA-08 workstation with JD-XA analog/digital crossover synth
88-note pro-grade sounds with analog/digital crossover power

The perfect choice for a professional synth player with a piano background. Through its 88-note weighted-action keyboard, the FA-08 delivers top-quality “bread and butter” sounds alongside sample import options while the JD-XA is perfect for detailed sound sculpting and unique sound design possibilities. You can send the analog parts directly though the analog output section, or route it back into the digital effects bank and stack up with the digital parts to truly blow the roof off. Since many pro-players often have a laptop full of music software on tour, both instruments include low-latency audio/MIDI interfaces with numerous mappable controllers on the front panels.

ADVANCED RIG #6

JD-XA analog/digital crossover synth with RD-800 stage piano
The ultimate stage piano with the ultimate sound design tool

The perfect keyboard rig for the ultimate playing experience on live stages. The RD-800 Offers the most authentic grand piano feel and sound on the market, whereas JD-XA provides limitless sound-sculpting possibilities due to advanced analog and digital crossover technology.

ARTIST PROFILE: Peter Gordeno (Depeche Mode)
Even now, after two decades in the music industry, Peter Gordeno is still a man in motion. As producer and songwriter, his credits include artists like JLS, Il Divo and Seal, while his work as a top session keyboard player, arranger and musical director has brought him into the orbit of U2, The Who and George Michael. In perhaps his longest-running role, Peter has toured with electronic legends Depeche Mode since 1998, ensuring that synth-pop classics like Personal Jesus retain their dark majesty in the modern age. As an analogue aficionado who lived through the digital revolution – not to mention a self-confessed “piano snob” – it takes a special kind of keyboard to catch Peter’s ear. Look out for the new Roland JD-XA and RD-800 in his setup when Depeche Mode hit the road in 2016.