Roland U-20 / U-220

Roland U-20 Image

The U-20 is nothing special. It is a digital synthesizer that uses ROM samples of pianos, brass, strings, bass, drums, etc. However it is built for professional use and is truly a quality instrument, even though its sounds may seem like dated-eighties synth pop cheese. It's got nice piano sounds, but they're not the real thing.

The U-20 features 6 part multitimbrality with a 7th drum part, plus 2 direct outputs and 2 stereo outputs. The 30 note polyphony helps if you take advantage of this synths multitimbrality for creating entire performances and ensembles. Digital reverb, chorus and delay effects liven up your sounds. Editing is simple, but there are no filters. With several performance features, the U-20 has a full 61 note keyboard with velocity and aftertouch. There's an on-board arpeggiator, a chord-memory feature and the U-20 accepts Roland SNU-110 sound library cards. It has been used by Prodigy and Astral Projection.

Roland U-220 Image

The Roland U-220 (pictured above) is simply a rack-mount version of the U-20. It has all the same sounds and features packaged in a compact single-space sound module.

56 Visitor comments
Isaac
June 6, 2012 @ 11:48 am
@ barry ... Were you able to fix the garbage problem... i have the exact same problem and it also happened when i replace my Roland U 20's battery.... any help anyone.......

Thanks
Synth2012
May 17, 2012 @ 12:51 am
My impression is that the U20 have the same feeling of the JD990.The JV/XP/XV series are not a good sound i think
Hannibal
May 10, 2012 @ 9:32 am
I have Roland U-220. Is possible create backup of internal instruments? (4MB PCM samples stored in RAM?) My internal battery has 10 year old, (indicates 2,9V) and i need replace it...

(sorry for my bad english.. :-)) ....)
Barry
April 1, 2012 @ 7:49 pm
I had a perfectly working U20 until I had the battery changed. Now when it powers up, the display shows garbage to the right of the 1 -11 instead of the start-up display.
Tim
January 3, 2012 @ 5:04 pm
@ Stirium... I found one of these for advertised Send me an Email, and I'll send you to the link. timgrimes100@gmail.com
 
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  • Demos & Media
  • YouTube Thumbnail
    Video 1
    - Roland U-220 Factory ROM Play Demo Songs

    Manual - Roland has made manuals for most of their products available as free PDF downloads.

  • Specifications
  • Polyphony - 30 voices
  • Oscillators - 4MB ROM samples
  • Multitimbral - 6 parts + 1 drum part
  • Filter - None
  • Effects - Reverb, Delay, Chorus; arpeggiator
  • Memory - 64 patches, expandable to 128 with external RAM card
  • Keyboard - 61 keys (w/ velocity & aftertouch)
  • Control - MIDI
  • Date Produced - 1989

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