Joined the ranks of the V-Synthians!
23 Jun 2004, 11:50I just couldn't stand letting all of you have all the fun, so I broke down yesterday and bought a brand new V-Synth! 
I bought it at a local Guitar Center. After I'd paid a reasonable $1,800 for the unit, they told me that they had just gotten a notification of price drop, and could REFUND me the difference. The new price was $1,495! I couldn't believe it.
And to those who are still fence-sitting, you can thank me. Due to Murphy's Law, it is now guaranteed that Roland will come out with a V-Synth II in exactly 31 days -- ensuring that I will not be able to take advantage of the 30 day return policy.
Physically, the V-Synth is simply gorgeous. I've been secretly praying for the return of the black synth and my prayers were definitely answered with this one. The user interface is stunning -- dead simple, obvious, and direct. I was able to figure out everything covered in the QuickStart guide after only fifteen minutes of playing with it.
As I was hoping, the V-Synth is an ideal match for my Fantom-X8. The Fantom for marvelous 88-key action, healthy stable of bread-and-butter sounds (plus SRX expandability), the rhythm pads, and 544MB of sampling power. The V for unreal sound creation, 61-key synth action (much better for organ and synth parts), and just enough sampling (50MB) to create sounds without being tethered to the X8 all the time. As an added bonus, they can share my 1GB compact flash card for backups, sample storage, and moving data between the two synths. The two of them have given me tremendous sonic flexibility.
On to realtime control... As I have never really had a need to D-beam a grand piano patch, Roland's twin light controller has been somewhat lost on me. And then I got my V-Synth! Holy crap! I finally 'get' it. It is a masterful real-time controller for synth sounds, leads, and pads. I couldn't take my hands off the thing. And then there's that signature Time Trip Pad... Oh My God. Even without the sample playback mode where you can move through the sample forward and backward with circular finger motion, it is an unbelievable dual blended 'ribbon' controller. Other synths have had joysticks for blending two effects, but I find that I have unprecedented control with the touchpad. But they didn't stop there... thirty realtime knobs and sliders. Glowing buttons. The touchscreen itself. The mod/pitch joystick. For the first time, I feel that the top half of the synth is as much a performance instrument as the keybed.
Most have commented that the patches are somewhat repetitive and uninspiring. I agree to a point, but also note that many of them seem to have been designed to show off the controllers more than the sound engine. I was not very impressed just cycling through the patches and playing the keyboard. But when I started playing WITH the patches using the D-beam, TTP, and knobs, I was lost in a sonic tapestry for hours.
At $2,000, the V-Synth seemed an excellent partner for my X8. At the new price of $1,500, I can't imagine not owning it.
Richard
--
"Be like the 22nd elephant with heated value in space. Bark!" - D. Adams
I bought it at a local Guitar Center. After I'd paid a reasonable $1,800 for the unit, they told me that they had just gotten a notification of price drop, and could REFUND me the difference. The new price was $1,495! I couldn't believe it.
And to those who are still fence-sitting, you can thank me. Due to Murphy's Law, it is now guaranteed that Roland will come out with a V-Synth II in exactly 31 days -- ensuring that I will not be able to take advantage of the 30 day return policy.
Physically, the V-Synth is simply gorgeous. I've been secretly praying for the return of the black synth and my prayers were definitely answered with this one. The user interface is stunning -- dead simple, obvious, and direct. I was able to figure out everything covered in the QuickStart guide after only fifteen minutes of playing with it.
As I was hoping, the V-Synth is an ideal match for my Fantom-X8. The Fantom for marvelous 88-key action, healthy stable of bread-and-butter sounds (plus SRX expandability), the rhythm pads, and 544MB of sampling power. The V for unreal sound creation, 61-key synth action (much better for organ and synth parts), and just enough sampling (50MB) to create sounds without being tethered to the X8 all the time. As an added bonus, they can share my 1GB compact flash card for backups, sample storage, and moving data between the two synths. The two of them have given me tremendous sonic flexibility.
On to realtime control... As I have never really had a need to D-beam a grand piano patch, Roland's twin light controller has been somewhat lost on me. And then I got my V-Synth! Holy crap! I finally 'get' it. It is a masterful real-time controller for synth sounds, leads, and pads. I couldn't take my hands off the thing. And then there's that signature Time Trip Pad... Oh My God. Even without the sample playback mode where you can move through the sample forward and backward with circular finger motion, it is an unbelievable dual blended 'ribbon' controller. Other synths have had joysticks for blending two effects, but I find that I have unprecedented control with the touchpad. But they didn't stop there... thirty realtime knobs and sliders. Glowing buttons. The touchscreen itself. The mod/pitch joystick. For the first time, I feel that the top half of the synth is as much a performance instrument as the keybed.
Most have commented that the patches are somewhat repetitive and uninspiring. I agree to a point, but also note that many of them seem to have been designed to show off the controllers more than the sound engine. I was not very impressed just cycling through the patches and playing the keyboard. But when I started playing WITH the patches using the D-beam, TTP, and knobs, I was lost in a sonic tapestry for hours.
At $2,000, the V-Synth seemed an excellent partner for my X8. At the new price of $1,500, I can't imagine not owning it.
Richard
--
"Be like the 22nd elephant with heated value in space. Bark!" - D. Adams
--
"Be like the 22nd elephant with heated value in space. Bark!" - D. Adams
"Be like the 22nd elephant with heated value in space. Bark!" - D. Adams