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JV-2080
64 Voice Synthesizer Module
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The Roland JV-2080 was the successor to the very popular,
industry-standard studio expander of the '90s, the JV-1080.
The JV-2080 still featured the same generous
polyphony of 64 voices, and 16-part MIDI multi-timbrality.
A total of 768 patches are available on a stock unit (and that's
before you start adding expansion boards!), including a General
MIDI bank.
The main improvements are more effect blocks -
useful in Perform mode - you can use up to three effects
simultaneously, and still have dedicated chorus and reverb - and
a large, backlit LCD display, with a very useful category
search.
Unscrew 10 little screws from the top of the
unit, and the JV-2080 accepts up to eight SR-JV80-series
expansion boards - for a total of circa 2,000 patches when fully
expanded! |
The "sonic character" of the 2080 is extremely "warm" -
like many Roland synths of the era, even digital ones, are.
Pads are incredibly warm and full-sounding, but really, every
category of sounds is well represented. And by the time you start
adding the expansion boards, it's still an extremely valid unit, even
after 10 years from its inception.
It's also
important to notice that the JV/XP series synths are capable, highly
editable machines - There are many parameters to edit, and with the
large screen and soft button shortcuts, it's relatively easy and quick
to get good results starting from "raw" waveforms.
The JV-2080 has been my go-to studio machine for 10
years, and even if it has been superseded by the XV and Fantom series,
it can provide a solid foundation of sounds to any studio. I spent
quite some time recording many audio demos to show how
versatile this instrument can be - and remember - this is a stock
unit - before adding any SR-JV80-series
expansion board... ;-) | |