Got my new V-Synth - impressions so far

[pirx]

Hello everybody,

after researching the market I decided to buy the V-Synth Keyboard and got it a few days ago. It wasn't easy to find since the Keyboard version seems to be discontinued, there are just a few samples around.

The unit came with the manual for the previous version. I called Roland and they promised to send the newest manual within the next few days.

First impression of the V-Synth: great sound, very good tweakability, all knobs at hand as opposed to the also very nice XT, which I also considered, the keys are very playable and sturdy (much better than the Korg Triton I used before), very usable GUI, well organized menues, the touch screen is a breeze, D-Beam and TT-pad are also a joy to play with, effect quality is on a very high level (I even can use it for guitar when bringing the signal into the unit)...and again: great sound, all the EP's and Pads for instance, warm, full and clear sound. Also the step modulator is fine, it gives rhythm to monotone sounds immidiately if needed.

The cons so far: the memory structure seems to be a bit strange. For instance I'd like to store a single patch on a CF-card (there is no internal user memory, unless I erase an existing patch) - not a whole project with hundreds of patches, waveforms etc. instead. It's impossible as far as I've understand it. Have I missed something or is it really that impractical??

A better possibility to set up the sensitivity of the TT-Pad would be very usefull. I used the calibration, but couldn't notice any considerable change of sensitivity. For my taste I have to give a bit too much pressure, so sometimes my finger 'sticks' unintentionally when sliding across the pad.

Edit: I tried the calibration again today and figured out, that during calibration procedure more pressure on the indicated points of the TT-Pad seems to result in more sensitivity. Not shure about this, does anybody know how it exactly works?

Another strange but fortunately temporary thing: when I first switched on the V-Synth, there was a thin blue line horizontally from one edge to the other on my touch screen, obscuring some of the tweak elements. This line disappeared after an hour or so and wasn't seen again since. But a bit of an uncertainty about the screen reliability is left. By the way, the boot time is approximately 30 sec with OS 2.0 and the default project (no prob for me).

A minor complaint: dust and fingerprints are well seen on the black surface, but that's a thing I can live with. Perhaps I get some kind of cover against the dust.

Cannot say too much about sampling and USB so far, have to check it out.

My main con is definitely the memory, I'm not shure how to handle it, but the future will tell how to store my own stuff best.
I would appreciate any tips and hints relating this.

In the meanwhile I'm going to enjoy the numerous pros of the V-Synth, especially the rich and full sound, the well made GUI and the all in all sturdy quality of the unit. I have the Spectrasonics Atmosphere and Trilogy (also RMX) softsynth on my laptop. The V-Synth is definitely a worthy hardware counterpart for Atmosphere at least.

pirx

[robbie50]

Look at;
Dustcovers!


A few Euroos.....
Great covers.....
I had a Vsynt to, great synt!


greetings

Rob

[pirx]

Thanks for the link, Rob, I will take a look.

pirx

[Dan Tyrant]

Get a compactflash card and CF -> PC card adapter... won't cost much and it really lifts some of the restrictions that are imposed by the internal memory. I've got multiple projects and lots of samples stored on the card, and I rarely even access the internal memory anymore. Do note that you won't be able to use the V-cards(the D50 and vocal designer expansions) while you're using the card slot for storage though.

[Artemiy]

To start a clean project on card, do this:
- Power up with the EXIT button pressed
- You will boot into an empty project
- Go to MODE -> DISK -> Save Project
- Touch "New Project:
- Give it a name and save it

Now you can use MODE -> DISK -> Import Files to load some of the ROM waveforms you need and you will have 512 empty patch slots to work with.

[pirx]

Thank you for advice. I've buyed CF and PC-Card already and everything works just fine. I'm less and less concerned about memory issues 'cause I'm getting some more experience with the V-Synth and it's procedures now. I think this memory structure has some advantages too, the file organization on CF brings a useful separation of sounds and files.

pirx

[easyjoey]

Where can I get the CF card adapter?

Thanks

Joe

[pirx]

It's standard gear for PC, you get it everywhere you can buy equipment for your PC or Laptop (it's also called PCMCIA-Adapter-Card). There are several types, for CF and SD and MC-Cards either, also combinations. I've got a simple adapter for CF and it works fine with a Sandisk CF-Card.

pirx