customer reviews
23 People rated this product :
8 out of 10
2 People wrote reviews
10 out of 10
"The epitome of keyboards!"
Feature:
This is THE sound-sculpting tool, any single patch is a constellation of a massive array of capabilities, from AP to FX. Interface is brilliant, the addition of various kinds of search and quick go-to capabilities put this substantially above the original V-Synth in ease of use. Audio/storage USB capability is simple, and wave-sampling whether via analogue, digital or resampling is spectacularly easy. Spend time learning to encode for Variphrase use, and what the event points do, this is crucial to making a sample a powerful tool in the instrument. The only wish I have would be to make it possible to edit/investigate the default factory sample-set, it appears to be locked, even if you save the internal.prj to USB storage and reload from there. I can understand the need though to protect intellectual property this way, but studying the way the GT uses the built-in samples would be very useful for newcomers especially in getting to grips with the instrument. Too few V-Synth users really understand and use the instrument to its full capacity.
I'm delighted Roland have brought back the keypad on their instruments, this was sorely missing for awhile in the late '90's. The encoder wheel feels far more reliable than the previous-generation tech as well, and is recessed better so less likely to get damaged by being bumped into.
Quality:
This is Roland classic Mercedes (or these days, it would be smarter to say Infiniti <g>) quality all the way around. Absolutely stellar fit and finish, high-quality materials including newly-designed knobs that have great feel, top-notch, bright and readable touch-screen, very clean and precise synth-action keyboard. Aftertouch as always with Roland synths needs a heavy push, but you can change this easily in the system screen, and at least this keeps you from producing massive amounts of extraneous MIDI data when recording, probably the reason Roland has set things up this way for a long time. Roland should release nicely-finished wood end-panels to replace the plastic end-pieces as an option/accessory for this high-end synth, but the end-pieces make it easy to grip the synth when moving.
Value:
Roland delivers the best value for the money, period. The quality, features, musicality and capability far exceeds the price point for this advanced synth, and you know you'll be able to keep using your instrument for a decade or more after purchase.
Desirability:
It's the be-all and end-all electronic musical instrument, in my opinion. It's beautiful, solid, a sheer joy to perform and sample and record with, it feels solid without being too bulky, and it's just a beautiful interface to work with, both in hardware and software.
Sound:
Spectacularly musical sound. Absolutely extensive range and flexibility in terms of style. A particularly powerful solo instrument, very responsive. There's nothing else out there like this, period. Deep, rich, clear, warm. Integrates extremely well with a PC and softsynths, software DAW as well. You can use this as a natural solo instrument, an electronic solo instrument, an amazing drum-set factory, or in split-key mode, a solo-with-accompaniment instrument, it's beautiful-sounding in all these cases.
Ease of Use:
Unlike the original V-Synth, there's much more range by default built into the GT, you don't have to work as hard or spend as much time mastering the instrument to make it useful in performance or recording, quickly. The interface is one of the best Roland have designed in years, both extensive and efficient -- the touch-screen layout and readability/usability is nearly perfect. The default control setup for the default patches gives you real musical control over the strengths of each patch. The default factory patch-list is one of the best Roland has delivered since the Golden days of working with Eric Persing, years ago. Integration of the V-Synth either with PC software (softsynths or DAW) is simple and reliable via the USB interface, and the full complement of microphone (with phantom power), analogue and digital I/O makes it very easy to put the instrument to a wide variety of uses.
It's a very, very deep synth, the ultimate in digital synthesis, really, so time is needed to understand how much you can do with the GT. The simple fact of giving you two V-Synth engines to work with means even simple things, like changing the PCMs for a PCM Oscillator setting, can give you dramatic variety in sound quickly, when you start learning, without losing the musicality and richness of a default patch. The extensive ability to assign controls to various functions means you can set up how you want to use the controls for any patch in a way you're comfortable with.
The GT comes with a vast range of patch and tone and wave resources from the get-go, so don't do the usual thing of erasing everything and "starting from scratch" -- you lose all those resources if you do so. You can get extremely original sounds from the default resources if you simply learn how to use variphrase and the wide range of controllers. The S1 and S2 buttons, while a minor thing, add even more real-time control and used wisely with AP, give you a lot of performance variety you can handle quickly and easily, without any glitches during performance.
The manuals are clear and focused, but leave out some simple things like the effects list and details, and the full patch-list and MIDI implementation included in the original V-Synth manual. Since this is a top-of-the-line model, this is surprising. Online resources are new but growing, slowly, for the GT at www.v-synth.com.
Support:
Have only dealt with Roland US over the years, support is good if you have a clear idea of what you're after and remain patient, but it has proven difficult at times to convey details about specific software bugs successfully to US support, and to get Roland Japan to deal with them promptly, which is going to prove increasingly important in the future.
Overall:
I think this about fills out what I'll ever need in a keyboard; the only reason I'd ever replace it is were it to wear out. I can't see V-Synth technology improving any further without getting too complex; the technical capabilities and control interface pretty much max out what I'd ever imagine would be useful in a keyboard musical instrument. Any fatigue with the soundset will be my own fault, and laziness, as Roland make it so easy to "refill" the GT with whatever I want.
I compared this closely with what I anticipated Roland would be coming out with in the Fantom G series; Korg's M3 and OASYS keyboard tech; Access's Virus series and really, in capability this instrument surpasses all of them. I might couple the GT with a G-series in the future, but only for the realtime orchestral polyphony, which with current and future software DAW capabilities on PC, proves increasingly unnecessary in my experience as my tracking capabilities have advanced.
Submitted: 1/19/2008
Style of Music: Future Ambient Funk
10 out of 10
"cool"
Feature:
so many features... I've been using mine for almost a month and I've probably only scraped the surface of what this machine can do. Effects are a little slim, but considering all the ways you can shape your sound I don't care much.
Quality:
It is built to the point where chuck norris would have a hard time breaking it.
Value:
totally worth the price. you get so many features, such great sound, and so much entertainment that it is worth every penny.
Desirability:
duh, I own it.
Sound:
sounds are varied and all incredible. you can create just about any sound on this thing, and everything works great. the d-beam and time trip pad give this thing incredible expression and even though it is really complicated, you can get whatever sound you're aiming for.
Ease of Use:
the touch screen and all the knobs work great, I just gave it an 8 because the manual takes some "thoughtful interperetation." still, once you read the manual and figure everything out, it is really easy to find a sweet spot.
Support:
I haven't dealt with roland, I just based this rating off of the manual that came with it.
Overall:
Overall: great sound, and it is just incredibly fun! Its pro quality (and cost) but it is really entertaining and will blow anything out of the water.
Submitted: 1/16/2008
Style of Music: anything
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