Vintage Synth Explorer

Roland • XV-3080

Roland XV-3080

The XV-3080 is a 128-voice professional synthesizer that picks up where the classic JV-series synthesizers left off. With a massive 128 voices, the XV-3080 is capable of extensive layering and multitimbral applications! There are true stereo waveforms per tone, expressive Matrix Control, expandability via new 64MB SRX (when converted into 16-bit linear format). The sounds include those from the JV-2080 plus many more new sounds and waveforms from the JD-990 and Super JD.

The XV-3080 has plenty of quality built-in digital effects including reverb and effects derived from Roland SRV-3030, V-Studios, and RSS technology. Programming the XV-3080 is in-depth but intuitive and well documented. There's a Patch Finder for quickly finding sounds sorted by type, as found on the JV-2080. Programming the new Matrix Control gives sounds an unprecedented level of nuance! It is apparent that Roland has packed the most professional features from their hottest synthesizers into a new and improved workhorse module - their "most expressive instrument ever"!  

Roland XV-88

The XV-88 is essentially a professional keyboard version of the XV-3080. It has 88-note precision hammer-action keyboard with velocity and aftertouch sensitivity. It has 4 real-time control/tone palette sliders, D-Beam technology, and all of the advanced sounds, effects and Matrix Control found in the 3080. The XV-88 has been used by Rick Wakeman and Yes. The XV-5080 has an enhanced front panel with a giant JV-2080 style LCD display. The XV-5080 can also load and playback S-700 and Akai sample libraries via SCSI, can hold up to 128 SIMM RAM memory, eight channels of 24-bit R-Bus digital output, S/PDIF digital output and enhanced COSM effects processing.

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tommym

Posted 124 days ago

This is a great keyboard! Expressive with fine sounds and a lot of them. I like the pianos & EP's on it, even without any expansion boards. It's just too heavy, otherwise I'd gig with it, or get a 2nd (for around $700 in NYC) to cart around. The Casio Privia-320 is a good 2nd choice for that.

planetplayer

Posted 300 days ago

Played it. Good idea Roland. The first 88 note synth also. Compared to 88 noteMKB and A controllers. The A-90 did have an optional voice card. Could not take my hand of it. Piano sounds great synth tones great.

Oneki Kai

Posted 438 days ago

I should note that the XV-3080 actually has one less bank of presets than the XV-5080. This is the last XV bank, which contains COSM effects patches. COSM effects exist only on the XV-5080.

Also, if you get a box of this class, I personally recommend staying away for the SRX boards. They just don't seem to have as much effort put into them as the older SR-JV cards. This box accepts both.

Oneki Kai

Posted 438 days ago

A great entry point into Roland's rompler synthesis. Some of the most iconic sounds of 90's dance and techno are in this box.

I really don't recommend it for realistic styles of music, unless you drop in the appropriate expansion cards. Plus, it should be considered mono-timbral, or at max three parts multi-timbral. This is because many of the patches use the EFX processor and there are only three slots available.

The sound quality is rather poorly described by the MP3 demo on this site. It's a very beefy and clean sounding machine with a lot of character, though it definitely does sound digital.

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