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#371358 - 08/30/13 09:27 AM Hands-on review of Roland V Combo VR 09
hakurup Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 02/27/13
Posts: 17
Today got to see the new Roland VR09, in India its at equivalent of 1000 US dollars, and at that price this is a very good piece of board I must say.

The Pros -

a) Knobs - Roland guys finally wake up to the fact that synths mean knobs, knobs and more knobs.... and the DBeam grin

b) Quite Decent organ sounds, and a new "transistor" base is adds grip to the tyre.

c) A MFX knob dedicated, and the drawbar keys double up as tweak knobs for the synth patches.

d) Just around 6 Kilos so no more lugging around taxing our backs

e) And the looper - 20 Seconds of loop recording can give a nice backing track on the fly.

f) Overall 230 tones, 100 drum patterns.

Now, before i write on the Cons, let me have a word of caution - this board is not an out-and-out synth. This is a performing person's "base" keyboard with decent piano, organ and synth tones. Also, please dont get disheartened by the low number of tones - each tone is easily tweakable to get a whole together new sound, with least efforts.

Now the cons -

a) What? No arpeggio?? I even looked beneath the board to find the knob, but to no avail. eek

b) There is an echo of the previous sound when changing the tone, this can be a disgrace in a live performance....

c) Plastic make makes me wonder whether i can throw it at the boot.

d) Keybed is shallow and irksome for those who want to "slide" on the keys.

However, all said, this synth(?) ( iwould rather call it a board) at 1K dollars is the most cheapest one out here that can do a WAV recording and also integrates some of Roland's genuine sounds.

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#394739 - 10/14/14 12:25 AM Re: Hands-on review of Roland V Combo VR 09 [Re: hakurup]
Karmathanever Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/28/12
Posts: 19
Loc: Australia
I have a Korg Kronos and PA3X-76 - and I still have an ongoing need for a really good B3/Leslie setup. Couldn't afford a Nord so bought the Roland VR09.

Wow!! What an awesome keyboard - all the YouTube demos are completely accurate - this thing sounds fantastic. And all for less than $800!!! Still can't believe it.
I personally like the keybed feel - it has a nice level of resistance similar to my PA3X-76 semi-weighted. The Roland sounds are so so good. I love the Performance-Friendly control surface too. I use it directly and also as a sound source. This thing can be set up to accommodate a second manual as well as foot pedals.
The only little thing I don't like much is the "registration" only having 4 buttons although you can save many more than 4.
Quote:
There is an echo of the previous sound when changing the tone, this can be a disgrace in a live performance...

Odd - I don't experience this issue in fact in most case I get smooth sound transition (but not all I admit)
I prefer the tonewheel configuration and options in preference to my Kronos with its CX3 engine.

Hey, I know this is all personal preferences etc but hell, this thing is worth twice its price!!!

Pete rocker

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#394743 - 10/14/14 01:57 AM Re: Hands-on review of Roland V Combo VR 09 [Re: Karmathanever]
Nigel Offline
Admin

Registered: 06/01/98
Posts: 6482
Loc: Ventura CA USA
So I guess the Kronos CX3 engine was still lacking something.

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#394785 - 10/14/14 08:50 PM Re: Hands-on review of Roland V Combo VR 09 [Re: Nigel]
Karmathanever Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/28/12
Posts: 19
Loc: Australia
Hi Nigel

I just love the classic B3 sound and have yearned for it (or similar) for a long time. I have DVD live concerts of the Korg CX3 (the real one) and thought it was awesome. I was so excited when I bought my Kronos and dived straight into the CX3 engine. I just cannot get it right - it is close but not really "B3" to my ears. Korg have supplied lots of CX3 configs (program settings) by known artists -very nice (thanks Korg) but still doesn't cut it for me. It seems to be a basic "tone" of the tonewheel issue plus the Rotary effect is not quite there>

I bought a set of configs for the Kronos from Ksounds called "Organimation" and this was a great improvement for me. However my Roland VR09 still leaves the KK-CX3 behind (again, for my ears).
I know this is all personal stuff but I have heard other KK owners also say the same (including my good friend and dealer).

I may now get slaughtered for bagging the lovely Kronos (which it is!!) but it ain't a B3 (or even an original CX3!)!!!

Cheers

Pete smile

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#394841 - 10/16/14 02:03 AM Re: Hands-on review of Roland V Combo VR 09 [Re: Karmathanever]
Nigel Offline
Admin

Registered: 06/01/98
Posts: 6482
Loc: Ventura CA USA
Thanks so much Pete for your insight. I am on the edge whether or not to buy a Kronos for using with my band onstage for classic rock. But the B3 emulation is an important thing for me.

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#394882 - 10/16/14 07:16 PM Re: Hands-on review of Roland V Combo VR 09 [Re: Nigel]
Karmathanever Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/28/12
Posts: 19
Loc: Australia
Hi Nigel

I must say that of course these are my tastes but to be honest, I love the Kronos but for what it's worth to you, here are my issues:-
It seems to be a lot about "tweaking" - and boy can you tweak - so so many parameters.
There doesn't seem to be any consistency regarding the control surface (sliders/buttons etc) in that you can really get used to a nice PROGRAM/COMBI and then switch to another to find that the control surface operates completely differently - this annoyed me even with the CX3 presets. So I repeat that the Ksounds CX3 configurations are not only great but their control surface settings are rock solid consistent.
It really isn't friendly - from a performance perspective then Nord Stage would leave it for dead, but it has AWESOME sounds - KARMA is so very inspirational - fabulous composer/song writer machine.

Seriously Nigel, I do love Korg gear (been many years now - mostly arrangers plus the KARMA, M3 and now Kornos) and am an administrator (like yourself) on the Korg forums.

I hope you can get your hands on one for some solid research.
As all this is under the Roland VR09 topic I can seriously say that the VR09's tonewheel & rotary is pretty damned great (and the low cost!!!) I am using it currently mainly as a "B3" sound module with my Korg PA3X-76.

I am far from a Kronos expert but I would be more than happy to answer any other questions you may have. It is an outstanding workstation.

Cheers

Pete smile

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#395824 - 11/13/14 06:39 AM Re: Hands-on review of Roland V Combo VR 09 [Re: hakurup]
Karmathanever Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 01/28/12
Posts: 19
Loc: Australia
Back to the topic…
Roland VR09
My good mate loaned me his Nord Stage 2 (73) for a few days so I got the VR09 and the Stage 2 together and connected to my recording desk.

Yes the Nord is sturdy beast with lots of nice control surface knobs etc…
BUT, although I know this is always personal and in the ears of the beholder, I could not tell them apart in terms of the B3 emulation. The Nord (by default) has a slightly fuller EQ so I slightly adjusted the VR09 and seriously could not hear the difference.
HOWEVER, I found the "Leslie" simulation much nicer (for me) on the Roland.

The pianos and e-pianos on the Nord are superb - Roland is nice but this is where some of the tweaking ends like changing the speed of the tremolo on an e-piano.

I already have Kronos and found the "Other" sounds (synths etc) on the Nord very mediocre - in fact the VR09 is far more exciting in terms of "synth" and "other" sounds.

I know there is no arguing about this as it purely relates to one's personal needs and experiences but for what it is worth, if you are wanting "B3/Leslie" emulation, please check the Roland VR09 out - you may save yourself a lot of money!!!!

All the best

Pete smile

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