ROLAND JV1010 SYNTHESISER + TWO EXPANSION BOARDS - POP+ORCHESTRAL

This module is in nearly new condition - now priced to go!! (PLUS FREE SHIPPING TO ANY ADDRESS IN SOUTH AFRICA)

If you were offered a Roland JV2080, complete with Session expansion card and software editor, for around half the price of a JV1080, you'd probably wonder what the catch was. OK, so the JV1010 isn't quite that, but it comes surprisingly close, as Paul White finds out.

Roland's JV2080 is a deservedly popular sound module, especially amongst professionals, but it's a little expensive for those on tight budgets, especially when you add on the cost of the optional expander boards. The JV1010 provides a cheaper, simpler alternative to the JV2080, and as a bonus, it also includes a switchable Mac or PC direct link, so you don't even need a MIDI interface to use it.

Cutting to the chase, the JV1010 is a half-rack, 1U high, wall-wart powered module based on the JV2080 engine and including all the patches and waveforms from the Session expander card as well as the JV2080's internal waveforms. Corners have been cut to keep the cost down, so there's only room for one JV-series expansion card slot and there are only two outputs, but the powerful onboard multi-effects processor is still augmented by separate chorus and reverb effects, individually mixable for each part. The LCD of the JV2080 has been replaced by a simple 3-digit, 8-segment LED display, and any in-depth editing has to be undertaken via editing software (a special JV version of Emagic's Sound Diver is included in both Mac and PC versions), but the advantages are that the user has quick and easy access to a huge range of high-quality JV2080 sounds, with the same 64-voice polyphony as the original, for around the cost of two JV-series expansion cards. And, like the original, the JV1010 also offers a good range of percussion sounds as well as a high-quality GM sound bank.

It might not be much to look at, but the JV1010 is a sonic gold mine. Some of Roland's vocal patches are a bit on the cheesy side, but there are some pretty good ones in there too, and when it comes to warm pads, bright bells, silky strings, sexy saxes, dance stabs or 'big' synth sounds, the JV1010 is up there with the best of them. The drum sounds are pretty impressive too. I tend to be wary of synths that try to be all things to all people, but my JV2080 turned out to be a fantastic all-rounder, even before fitting the expansion cards. The JV1010 continues this tradition, and its powerful filters are definitely up to emulating vintage analogue synths as well as more contemporary dance sounds. Equally importantly, the output converters seem to perform well, as the level of background noise and distortion is very low, even by modern standards. In fact there's no obvious quality difference between the sound of the JV1010 and JV2080 at all.

ALSO COMES WITH 3 EXPANSION CARDS ORCHESTRAL/POP/KEYBOARDS OF THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES.