Which one should I get? The Roland looks great, but isn't as expandable, meaning the sampling option on the Korgs and all.

I heard that Roland is coming out with a Sample ROM card for their JV and XPs, if that did come out, I would definitely buy an XP as they are coming down in price. Please elaborate.

RS

It depends on what you want to do with it.

Drum & bass, Trance, Techno, Ambient, e.t.c get one of the Korgs

Orchestral and natural sounding instruments (piano, bass, organs, violins, and stuff) get on of the xp's. If you play pop and rock go with the xp's

I have an xp and love, there are very little things this baby is not capable of. At the end of the day Money talks as well (Refering to the XV's and the Ttiton now). Is sampling an issue for you?

Listen to the Rolands and the Korgs thoroughly before you buy, both through good headphones and amps/monitors. Also, play them both a lot; you may find that you definitely prefer one keyboard's action to another.

If you can, buy from a store that offers a generous, no-hassle return policy. It is hard to tell if you'll like a synth from what you can experience in the store. I've owned both of the synths you mentioned; I still own one and have returned the other...for purely subjective reasons.

Good luck!

Hmm....interesting choices.

It all comes down to what you like.

I had an xp-60 for a month, then returned it for a Triton.

I agree that the pipe organ, flute and trumpet presets on the xp seem better.

I returned my xp-60 because of a grunge/decay noise at the end of notes. I was going to get an xp-80, but they were 1700$ U.S. at the time. I was able to work out a deal and got the Triton for 1850$. For 150$ more, I grabbed the Triton.

To me, the Triton's PRESETS excell in techno, strings, pads, drums, and bass.

And when I want a super realistic sound, I LOAd a SAMPLE into the sampler..and whoila! I have an incredible sound.

In fact, I have already sampled all the preset patches I liked on the xp's.


The Korg does have two slots for KORG expansion boards, but they are annoying at best. You lose one program and one combination bank when you decide to use them. So the xp definately has a better waveform expansion setup.

But the Triton has an option for the MOSS card, Which is the same thing as the engine in the Korg Z1 synth. Read the reviews of the Z1 synth at harmony-central.com and sonicstate.com. When you plug one of these into your triton, it will give you 6 voices of physical analogue modelling. A completely different synth engine than in the Triton.
This is a HUGE plus. Plus, it is a very unique sounding synth. Plus, this card adds 6 voices, making Triton 68 voice polyphonic.

The Triton also has better real time controllers, with a ribbon controller, funky joystick, and 7 knobs to twist.

In the effects section, the Triton is the best synth, period. NO other synth comes close to the Triton effects. You can even run any instrument you want thru the Tritons inputs and use your TRITON as an effects unit for outside instruments!

As for keyboard feel...thats subjective. I vastly prefer the Tritons feel to the toy-like feel of the xp's.

Display--

Triton wins hands down.


Outputs- TRiton has six freely assignable outputs. xp does not.

Optional SCci connection allows you to load samples and songs at blazing speeds from a SCI cd-rom or hard drive.


Onboard synthesis-
The xp is slightly deeper. But adding the MOSS card will give you the deepest programming synth PERIOD, along with Kurzweils VAST.


Durability- I have only had my TRiton for a few months, so I dont know yet. It is pretty solid so far.


All these things come down to one thing-

What do you think ? Try em out.

I used to be a Roland only guy, never even looked at other keyboards. But Roland customer service ticked me off with that grunge/decay issue, and one day I went and tinkered with the silver beast, the Triton. It was love at first sight.


One of the great things about the TRIton is it's sampler keeps it up to date for a very long time. Think along the lines of a k2000 or k25000. Still great, viable synths.

If you really need sampling, then I guess your choice is simple...

But: The XP has a deeper PCM-synthesis than the Triton. Arvon45 mentions the MOSS-board for the Triton. This is great, I am sure, but it has only got 6 notes ov polyphony.

The sound-defect that Arvon45 is mentioning, is VERY minor IMHO, and not audible under normal circumstances.

I would clearly buy the XP-60 again. In my country (Norway) the Triton is also MUCH more expensive than the XP-60. (approx. NOK 9000/$1000 difference).

If you think you like a deep synthesis engine, like me, then the XP should deliver. The Triton, however, has more effect processing power.

StigF

Korg and Roland each have their own 'sound'.

I don't necessarily agree that the Rolands sound more 'realistic'. I think that many of the Triton's acoustic programs (the acoustic piano is shit though!) are very good particularly the enemble strings, saxes, acoustic guitars and electric guitars. The drums are also great particularly factory preset 'Standard Kit 2' with it's awesome snare sounds!

The XV's are more powerful in terms of progrmmability and synthesis power. The filters are much more flexible for a start. There are a number of different oscillator structures including ring modulation etc that is not found on the Triton unless you have the MOSS board installed.

However, the Triton's synthesis capablities are still reasonable (I don't think too much of the HI filters though!) and the modulation routings are very flexible. Yes, Arvon 45 is right- the MOSS board adds what to me is the most powerful 'affordable' physical modelled synthe to the Triton.

Whilst the XV's effects sound great and offer much variety, the Triton's multiple effects system is the clear winner (the best of any synthe as Arvon45 pointed out above). And yes, I love using my Triton as an fx unit also. It makes my other synthes really shine!!

If you need a sampler, don't bother with the XV synthes as they can't sample. I find this stupid in the case of the XV5080! Why give such detailed sample loading options without going the extra mile to add a full function sampler?????????? The Triton's sampler is not as powerful as say something like an Akai or Emu but it certainly gets the job done and is easy to use.

I have always found Korg synthes easier to use than Rolands and Yamahas. However, you get used to anything after a while! I am soon to become the proud owner of an XV3080 so I just have to say- GET BOTH AN XV AND A TRITON!!!!!!!!!! No seriously, go to a good music shop and extensively try both out side by side. You'll soon know which is the right one for you! DECISIONS, DECISIONS! Good Luck.

PS- Regarding the Trinity and JV series, just because they are superceded doesn't mean they are not worth chasing after- again you'll know quickly what is best for you.

Well, I think that anyone who is deciding to buy an XP, XV, Trinity or Triton should wait just a little while longer.

The prices on all units have dropped dramatically. I've seen the XP60 go for as little as $1199. I've seen the Trinity for as low as $999.

The Trinity has a sampling option. It has one that will allow for 8MB of Flash ROM to store your samples. I'm not a Korg lover, but with 8MB, you could keep you synth current forever.

There are rumors that Roland will release a 8MB Flash Rom card diguised as an Expansion board, and if this is true, then the XP will also have the ability to store samples.

The XV is great, but not appealing to me becuase it has a load of sampling options, but can't sample. You might as well get an XP with a Session and Bass & Drum expansion board. Expansion cards for the XPs are going for as cheap as $145 each!

Good Luck - The Infamous EPU.

Epu- Lets not confuse people by saying that the Trinity has a 'sampling' option. Yes it's true that you can load Akai, Korg, Aiff and Wav files into the Trinity with installed flash ROM option but you can't sample like on a Triton. No you can't even use the hard disk recording option for this which is a real shame. Oh well.

But to be brutally honest, here in Aussieland, paying $1,200.00 for this Trinity option is just a tad expensive!! This same money could get you a nice used Akai S2000 which would allow you to sample.

Arvon 45... the Liar..

Hey, Arvon45..
I know that you haven't bought the scsi board for Triton yet.. Otherwise, you hadn't asked about it on the Tritonica discussion board..
How could you load a sample to your Triton without the scsi board?... Using floppy disc?
Where did you save the xp samples? In your computer?
What a liar....

According to your post on Tritonica, you don't know how to use a sampler and even what it is..
Please, don't give a bad name to other Triton users.

Reggie

Easy question..
Buy what "you" like.

By the way, don't weigh too much on Triton's sampler..Not because it's bad, but because you need more cash to burn. It's not a "ready to use" sampler. You have to buy a scsi board, external cd-rom, and hard disc in order to fully utilize the sampler.
None of sample CD comes with Triton.
You probably need to upgrade to 64mb ram.

Here's what I like.
Xp-acoutic and ochestral instrument.
Triton- Synth, Bass, Drum

I like both of them, but if I have to choose only one, I'd go for Triton.

Southern Comfort - isn't it possible that Arvon45 could have sampled only a few sounds from an XP synth (he doesn't seem to like many XP sounds) and saved each sample to multiple floppies? If he sampled short-duration sounds at only one note (and let the Triton automatically transpose the sample up and down the keyboard), he'd be able to save to a floppy. I had a Triton for a month and I sampled many drum hits, bass sounds, stabs, etc. and saved to floppy disks.

You're absolutely right about the extra cost of the Triton to make it into a full-fledged sampler, but I had to add all of that stuff (except SCSI) to my Kurzweil K2000RS to make it "complete" as well. By the way, Reggie, have you looked into the K2000S workstations?

What about the Roland VA-7, it has a Zip drive and is supposed to have superior sound quality. And it has built in speakers. Im not sure about the price or if it samples. Maybe you guys are. How does it compare to the Triton and the Xp's?

Wilkes

Yes, it is possible. Arvon45 seems to use a floppy for data saving and loading. What a hassle...

Here's a direct quote from Arvon 45 at Tritonica discussion board.

"I will no doubt go for the SCCI and sample discs." (May 29) - Now, within a week, he is a master of sampling.
"(I) load usually one sample on one disk, and I awlays have to screw with it in SAMPLE before I get it properly set up in program bank E." (May 29) - compare this with his post here.. "...I LOAd a SAMPLE into the sampler..and whoila! I have an incredible sound."
"As far as I am concerned, the sampling is a major pain in the ass. I use it for a sound here and there." (May 30)
"Hi all. I have a SONY external SCSI CD-rom, and was wondering how this works with the TRITON's SCSI. HOw would I send the files from the stand alone CD-ROM to the TRITON?" (June 3)

Well... Arvon45 is a newbie in Tritonica..
But he acts like a master here..
That's what I don't like.

Southern COmfort-


Yes, I am a newbie to SAMPLING.

"Arvon 45... the Liar.."


Nice one Southern. Real cool.....

"Hey, Arvon45..
I know that you haven't bought the scsi board for Triton yet.. Otherwise, you hadn't asked about it on the Tritonica discussion board.."


Nope. Haven't bought it yet.

"How could you load a sample to your Triton without the scsi board?... Using floppy disc?
Where did you save the xp samples? In your computer?
What a liar...."

Yep. I got 5 XP samples in .wav format from the web, stored them on my hard drive, and then copied them to floppy, and then to my Triton. Each xp sample took up less than one disk. I had to use 4 discs for the 5 sounds.
I then added effects to the samples, making them sound even better.

And don't call me a LIAR, PUNK. Sampling with the floppies is no big deal. The only problem with it is it takes longer to load and dealing with all those floppies can be annoying. But the TRitons sampler is fully usebale with the floppy drive.

\\According to your post on Tritonica, you don't know how to use a sampler and even what it is..
Please, don't give a bad name to other Triton users.\\


I know what it is now. My previous synths didn't have one, so I am still learning. BUT I know enough to import samples licket-split and to sample and play basic sounds.

Oh, and Southern---Was there one thing I said in my post that was in error? I don't think so. So bug off.

Southern "Comfort"-


"Wilkes
Yes, it is possible. Arvon45 seems to use a floppy for data saving and loading. What a hassle..."


Not right now it's not, seeing as Im just starting to get the hang of sampling. When I get more familiar with it, the SCI option will be the first thing I buy, probably next week.


"Here's a direct quote from Arvon 45 at Tritonica discussion board.

"I will no doubt go for the SCCI and sample discs." (May 29) - Now, within a week, he is a master of sampling.
"(I) load usually one sample on one disk, and I awlays have to screw with it in SAMPLE before I get it properly set up in program "bank E.""

SO? What is your problem man? I had a few minor complaints about something I wasn't entirely sure of. And why do all the work to quote me from another discussion board? Wierd.


"(May 29) - compare this with his post here.. "...I LOAd a SAMPLE into the sampler..and whoila! I have an incredible sound." "

Thats true. That is not in error. THe problem I had was getting the sound to match up with specified bank in program mode.


"As far as I am concerned, the sampling is a major pain in the ass. I use it for a sound here and there." (May 30)"

That was MAy 30th, when I was starting to learn about the sampling. My views have changed. While it is still not as simple as I would like it to be, it is good enough for me.


""Hi all. I have a SONY external SCSI CD-rom, and was wondering how this works with the TRITON's SCSI. HOw would I send the files from the stand alone CD-ROM to the TRITON?" (June 3)"


Whats wrong with this? I know how to hookup SCI, but I didn't know how the TRITON would handle the viewing of information coming from the CDROM.

"Well... Arvon45 is a newbie in Tritonica..
But he acts like a master here..
That's what I don't like."


I am a newbie to sampling, yes. NO doubt about it. But was there anything in error in my original post in this thread? No.

Why do you attack me when what I said was true?

Seems you are just out to pick a fight Southern Comfort.

Arvon 45

Let's make this board more informative and useful..
Would you tell me the address of the web site you downloaded XP samples? Good information should be shared..

Thanks

Oh...Ok...er...um....

HERE YOU GO:

http://www.multi.fi/~crow/jvxp.htm
http://www.xpjv.dircon.co.uk/

There are others as well........


Thats whats nice about having a sampler. Add to that the Tritons amazing effects, and the sound shaping possibilities are endless.

Arvon45

No kidding...
Those sites are filled with poorly sampled mp3 demo files. Did you use those mp3 files for your triton sampler?

I put the mp3's into my Winamp player, which converts mp3 files to WAV files. I then loaded these files into my Triton and added 7 band EQ to make them sound good.


Now schoo....your becoming annoying.

Do you have to enable something in particular in Winamp to actually convert .mp3 files automatically to .wav files? My Winamp program plays .mp3s as .mp3s.

Arvon45 and SC, stay! I'm enjoying your little repartee. I guess I'm happily reflecting on the days when I used to frequent the Tritonica BBS (when I had a Triton) and see all of the little fights between the Korg lackeys (Arvon, Jimi Jones, etc.) and the Triton-bashers (Shakil, Seed...hell, even me!). I think I'll go visit that site to see what's happening.

Hi

I absolutely recommend Roland.
I own a Roland jv 1080+some cards and one Korg Triton with Moss and the Dance extreme board.
I must say Triton is not capable of doing Dance music so if youré in that style
dont choose Triton.
Actually you can´t even find a great Piano in Triton but the pads are great but pay about 2.500$ for some pads.

Some songs ivé created with 1080:
http://www.mp3.com/djvirtualizer




[This message has been edited by Matte.L (edited 06-09-2000).]

"I must say Triton is not capable of doing Dance music so if youré in that style
dont choose Triton."

I've got friend that's done some rather nice dance music on the Triton, actually.

I've done some dance tracks with an old Ensoniq ESQ-1.

Not the gear, it's how you use it...

But, of course, it's all a matter of personal taste.

Wilkes

I really enjoyed your post at Tritonica BBS.
By the way, Shakil just posted another flame bait..

Wilkes- Right click on your winamp player.

Select "options"

Select "pereferences"

Choose your output as Nullsoft DISK WRITER.

Now, whenever you put an MP3 in Winamp, and play it, it will convert your MP3 to .WAV.

Don't forget to configure where you want the WAV files sent to.

Thanks, Arvon45!

i don't really have much to say on the REAL TOPIC, yet this whole discussion somehow miraculously morphed into a fight between Southern COmfort and Arvon45.

i would like to commment on that... First of, Arvon, my sympathy vote goes to you. i have been sampling for a few years now, and I remember the time i have started. Back when everything was complicated! I remember how me and a friend were 'pioneers' in this damn little town with no electronic equipment: we were trying to hook up an AKAI SAMPLER to an old YAMAHA keyboard, and get it working. As much of a pain that it was it was so much fun actually figuring out what didn't work (there were WAY too many problems that are quite embarrasing to tell here, but for once, our floppys for the sampler were formatted incorrectly, and it was the LEAST fo our problems). On the other hand, a few other friends of mine started doing stuff lately, and the amount of questions that they had was quite extraordinary. Well, unlike SOUTHERN COMFORT here, I actually tried HELPING THEM, instead of trying to embarras them in front of everyone for their lack of knowledge. Learning new things is not easy, and it's a process where you would want all help you cen get. And HELL YEAH you start being proud of EVERY ACCOMPLISHMENT. SC: if you don't give a damn in the first place about Arvon's problems, why such long and careful campaign toward embarrasing the guy? NO TWO TECHNO ARTISTS HAVE DONE THE SAME THING AND HAVE BEEN EQUALLY SUCCESSFUL. If you can find two, tell me, I would like to see. I worship the music that has such wide sonic spectrum and gives you so much versatility. Therefore, all your attacks against Arvon are useless, low, and just dumb. I don't mean to be offensive, but it's obvious that you are NOT such a HOTSHOT yourself, and you need to lower someone in order to look better. you don't need sampling to write good music. you don't need SCSI to write good music. Geez! you don't even need a keyboard to write good music. All you need is talent, creativity and imagination. And due to the fact that this forum is NOT about music, but about possible tools for making that music, let's leave each other alone...

Hey Dred..

Thank you for your input..
I have only one thing to say...
Check all the post Arvon45 posted here and Tritonica..
Then, write your comment again..
You haven't got the point yet....it's not about sampling...

Dred-


You are right man. IT's not about the SCI, or the floppy disks. It's about having the ability and imagination to write good songs. Thats all it comes down to.

Southern Comfort-


Time and time again you have tried to pick fights with me. I don't know why.

And why all the research?

Perhaps it is best if you just relax a little.

Arvon45

Anybody who has spent some time in this board knows that you are a stupid roland basher.
Again, I don't understand why you are still around this board.. You are not interested in jv/xp, are you?
You're only interested in poorly sampled mp3 sample files..

Good luck with those samples...

Southern Comfort -

I agree with DRED: I don't know what your problem is, but congratulations on turning an otherwise high quality message board into a childish bickering match. I can't see anything wrong in any of Arvon's posts and even if there had said something you don't agree with, what's the point in bitching about it? surely everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

At the end of the day you just seem to be out to pick a fight, well congratulations you seem to have done just that. Now can we please get back to discussing something a bit more productive?

Dred -

I took a look at that BUZZ software you've mentioned and was very impressed. I still stick by my earlier comment that it's of little use with a seperate synth such as the XP30, but it does manage to produce some very nice sounds none the less. Now if they could just implement better midi support... :-)

Pete

[This message has been edited by pstares (edited 06-13-2000).]

Southern-


I enjoying reading discussions about synths. I also liked the 1080 and xp-50, and may still get one someday. I have no interest in the new Xv's.

Pstares...

Thanks for your preach...but no more lip service..

Arvon45...

Thinking about getting jv1080 or xp50 someday?
I thought you would use those jv/xp mp3 files.

Is XV5080 still a good choice if I wanna make some techno, dance music? or should I get some analouge synth (which is unbelieveable expensive ie.Supernova Nordlead ) ?
ps. I need rackmount only... so,sorry for Trition...

Besides, since 5080 is "sample playback" only, won't that make more sense to buy 3080 plus a used sampler???

THANKX


[This message has been edited by YMH (edited 06-14-2000).]

Any of the synths you mention should do dance music reasonably well, though from what I've heard the Korgs tend to be better at the modern synth-type sounds used in dance music than the Rolands, which generally have the edge on acoustic instrument sounds. Have you considered the Trinity Rack, or if the Supernova's too expensive, how about the Nova?

Bearing in mind, here in the UK at least, for the cost of an XV5080 you could just about buy a Roland JV1080, Novation Nova AND a Korg TR-Rack which would give you much more flexibility than the XV5080 if you don't need the sampler.


[This message has been edited by pstares (edited 06-15-2000).]

YMH:

What synthesizers are readily available to you where you live? Just wondering if your choices are limited.

I don't know if I would necessarily agree that Korgs are better than Rolands for making electronic music. The Korg presets may be more "synthy" than the Rolands, but that's only thing more ~electronic or "techno" about the Korgs. Especially with the Vintage Synth expansion board, the JV/XP/XV synths, with their fairly sophisticated programming capabilities, are well-suited to make the fat basses and warm pads, emulate the TB and TR sounds, sync the LFOs, and do the filter sweeps you often hear in electronic music.

Are you able to hear each synth you're considering before you buy it? Make sure the synth you buy suits your "sonic taste". Just in this thread, I know that Matte and myself like the recent Roland synths and don't care for the newest Korg workstation, while Arvon45 loves his new Korg and has some issues [eh, Arvon? ] with Roland. It's all highly subjective.

As for AIDS (Analog Imitating Digital Synthesizer[s]), your choices under $1300 (here in USA) are vast. I can think of about 15 different models of these synths that would make you happy...

Thanks pstares, Wilkes

To be honest, I "ONLY" own Korg X2 for 6 years and now I'm looking for my 2nd synth which can supply more "electric" feelings.

About TR Rack, I tried that one before (but not throughout though),I felt kind of "cold" about its PCM waveforms(maybe "cold" is just the definition of electric music???).But for sure I'll try TR Rack again since I've heard so many pros...

It seems that JV/xp/XV series have more expansion capability than Korg's products (i think),and that's why I'm considering Roland as my 2nd synth....

Refering to "AIDS" (it's an interesting name!!!),I like their warm sounds,however most of them don't have enough polyphony as my 2nd synth .It may be enough for a lead or synth bass, but I think I need some "body" first and then some lead voices,am I right?




[This message has been edited by YMH (edited 06-15-2000).]

It's not virtual analog (an AIDS - I'll refrain from using the acronym...I was just trying to be cute, eh?), but the 30-voice Waldorf Microwave XT is under $1200 at most retailers and one occasionally pops up on eBay for $150 less. I'd say that one listen to the XT and a few turns of its knobs (virtual pots!) and you'll forget those Japanese synths!

Isn't the TR-Rack 32-note polyphonic, by the way?