V Synth XT 
by K M Trees from Louisville, Kentucky, April 2008
Music Background:  20 year Hobbyist, new to recording

Let me tell you, I was apprehension about dropping the cash on this thing because I am not a professional musician, only a very serious hobbyist. But Ryan at Sweetwater yold me, since I'm a child of the 80's and love synths, this is the bomb. Let me tell you, IT IS THE BOMB! It cost more, BUT it is SOOO easy to use. The touch screen is easy to navigate and the owners manual has a very small learning curve. I can't get out from in front of this thing...Like right now. I have been a Yamaha guy my entire 20 years of playing eyboards. Oh well, say hello to my new friend Roland! If you buy one, you won't regret it...Only your wif ewill! Thanks Ryan for your help.

Great Inspiration via Fun and Hands-On Tweaking 
by dysamoria from Coplay, PA Corporate States of America, December 2005

i've only had this thing since Monday evening yesterday and i think it is one of the coolest pieces of kit i've purchased to date. i'm still playing round with the presets, but they demonstrate some capabilities that are just totally cool. All the settings and functions are accessible and quick access. It's enjoyable to point and drag with the fingers or move knobs instead of fooling with a mouse and keyboard. Same goes for the live modulation via the Time Trip Pad. The potential here may not be as all encompassing as some people have suggested when they say that the closest thing to the V-Synth in computer software (or otherwise) is Native Instruments' Reaktor (which is awsome; i have that too and neither one stops me from enjoying the other)... but the potentials and flexibility in programming and unique capabilities in the V-Synth XT are vast. The most interesting feature is the ability to play vocals as if they were being sung in whatever notes you choose to play on the keyboard. Da'V Code is the first preset you will hear and it's very much one of those presets that begs you to play with it for a long time, no matter how much you believe in making your own sounds and not using presets!

All that praise and i've not yet touched on the VC-1, the built-in Roland D50 "emulator." i don't know how closely it matches the original (purists would think it is too clean, but that's easily handled with processing), but i think it sounds amazing. Not having had one ever before, i now know why they were/are so popular. Plus, i have finally found source material for samples i used as instruments in Tracker format ages ago and have finally been able to clean up some of my old modules for future release on CD in a more professional format (i hope). The D50 sounds are wonderful, expressive and unique. i see why they were over used and then why everyone tried to avoid them. They have character and playability. As an owner of an old MT-32, the LA Synthesis on the D50 kicks the MT-32 out the door and into the gutter. i now know what all those "famous" Roland sounds REALLY sound like.

i've not yet tried the other built in VCard, the VC-2 Vocal Designer. i hope to have fun with that, too, although that one looks to be a bit more "one trick poney" but i've always wanted an easy to use hardware vocoder and now i have one.

The V-Synth is also an FX processor, too! Great I/O options on board. i can't wait to really dig in!

My only "cons" are the startup times of the V-Card modes. Switching does not require reset/reboot, but the process is about a minute going from V-Card to the V-Synth normal mode (as it loads all the samples into memory).

Roland: please come out with some more VCards for this system! You have a real WINNER on your hands here! i love it!

i hope hope hope Roland continues to develop new additional VCards for the V-Synth and VariOS systems because these are very cool ways of getting modern access to classic Roland stuff.

The V-Synth XT is the most fun piece of kit i've met so far. i highly recommend it. So go buy one, register it with Roland and let them see that it's worth continued development ;-) (i'm not suggesting they think it isn't, i'm just suggesting to make the point that they made something special and i know it!)

Have fun!

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