Speedy DTM | Roland JV, XV, and XP: The Most Popular Digital Synths Ever Made! - Sound Profile @SpeedySPCFan | Uploaded January 2019 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
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If you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, then there's perhaps no synthesizer more iconic to you than the Roland JV, XV, and XP series. Affordable, expandable, and capable, they were used in everything from kids TV shows to the most memorable video games of the time, such as Castlevania: SotN, Command & Conquer, GoldenEye N64, Halo, MechWarrior 2, Mega Man on PSX, Metal Gear Solid, Persona 1 & 2, StarCraft, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 2, Xenogears, and many, many more.

But are they worth buying now, over 20 years since the original JV-1080 was released? In this review, I take a look at everything from the different models, to the synthesis features, to the much beloved SR-JV80 and SRX expansions so you can decide for yourself if these synths are what you need!

The eight new patches mentioned in the video: drive.google.com/file/d/1-ceCPgv1kcNShiAIXLKXQyBV7VJs0Ppc/view?usp=sharing
Remember to use it with a librarian like ChangeIt! as the SysEx file is blank outside of Patches 01~08.

And a HUGE thank you to everyone who let me use their video in mine. It's seriously, seriously appreciated and makes my job way easier. Here's a list of content used in order of appearance:

00:08 - 1970s style soundtrack with Minimoog and Prophet-5
by Synthmania youtu.be/H0JlpKc5G1k
00:25 - The sounds of 1983 | Yamaha DX7 demo | Famous sounds [01]
by Woody Piano Shack youtu.be/11bWvQaQhrM
01:07 - CS - S1E6 - Roland JV-80 + Eventide Space
by Rich Douglas youtu.be/CoCHtR2bn-o
01:17 - JV-1080 video sent by Technomancer00
soundcloud.com/richard-hill-322934048
01:39 - Korg M1 demo | 24 combi sounds
by Woody Piano Shack youtu.be/6QH63zBZxCE
02:17 - Hans Zimmer - making of INTERSTELLAR Soundtrack
by Elegyscores youtu.be/L_8t2VlwK4w
02:24 - Tame Impala Interview - Pitchfork Weekly 2012
03:13 - Roland JD-800 Digital Synthesizer (1991) Calm Night - 90s soundtrack music
by RetroSound youtu.be/o1ihnbvarQY
03:36 - Almost in tears | Roland D50 demo | Factory sounds [01]
by Woody Piano Shack youtu.be/3xfdigHwIeg
05:07 - ROLAND JV90 | SYNTH | Jamming
by Synthcloud youtu.be/qSxUZBKEJyk
05:22 - A few cool Roland JV-1080 patches
by SynthMania youtu.be/uus94l_wVP8
06:17 - A few Roland JV-2080 soft pads
by SynthMania youtu.be/Ls2mkx9w0_Q
06:32 - Roland XV-5050 Promo (2002)
06:38 - Roland XV5080 - Test presets
by Tiago Mallen youtu.be/4ChWnp4JVkU
06:58 - Trapkat - triggering Roland XV-2020 SRX-01 drums expansion
by Sivan Carmi youtu.be/YpcED00M6YY
07:50 - Roland XV-88 Electronic Piano Synth
by Gearfacts youtu.be/9jkdysIZY50
08:13 - Roland MC-505 - building deep-house drums (workflow)
by Lcaise youtu.be/71ODnK5CQis
08:19 - SD-80 video provided by Robyn
soundcloud.com/robynmod
17:39 - SD-90 image provided by MovieMovies1
soundcloud.com/moviemovies1
42:38 - Roland Cloud JV-1080 VST vs vintage hardware
by Woody Piano Shack youtu.be/MVTohby64Lg
43:21 - VST vs Hardware recording provided by Mikantsumikiwi
soundcloud.com/gamerprime-music-channel
46:56 - Evolution of a classic synth module | Roland JV 1080 vs Integra 7
by Woody Piano Shack youtu.be/u8h1Ui_u7zU