The Roland Plot Thickens!

[carlheinz]

It's still interesting to note how badly the TB-303 was a big FAIL after it's release only to be re-discovered and re-used in dance music and then Roland chases after a new market by releasing the 303 "Groovebox".Using that mindset of chasing a market I can only guess they will be offering something that will be a repackaged product....again.You never know what might they have up their sleeve.Would love to see roland release a true 100% analog product...even if it was really basic.

[Syn303]

It will be another new V-Piano and a V-Accordion probably!!

[bitleyTM]

I'd love them to think about how creative they were with the D-50 and the TB-303, giving us instruments we never knew we needed or wouldn't have easily made up by trying to imagine new instruments. Took a while for the TB but the D-50 was such an instant hit and I remember how it felt being in the music stores back then. Everyone and I really mean everyone drooled over the D-50, including people not even playing instruments & including drummers and sax players and what not. It really introduced a completely new sound to the masses. Would that even be possible to do today? Haven't we heard everything?

[danielb]

Originally Posted by xanderbeanz

I think the world is ready for a new D series synth.

If Roland were to bring out a software D50 (like the Korg M1 LE) I would be the first one standing in line to buy it.


D.

[asynchro_nous]

Some iOS thing, probably

[squatski]

it will be a DB-303
a device that looks like a 303, but it will have a D-Beam.

it will also have a very good trumpet preset, sax preset, flute, all those things you really want.....

[bitleyTM]

It's hardware and it's about the size of a rack or a small 25-key keyboard or something. It weighs 7 kilos. Roland Scandinavia here in Sweden has shared a picture of the carton box on their Facebook page. They've put gaffer tape over the logos except the Roland logo and the info saying Made In Japan & the weight of the box. So that's why people are starting to speculate about something rack-ish.

[Eric J]

Remember how everyone got all excited because Nord announced there was going to be a new synth at NAMM this year, and how they put up that teaser picture of the guy standing with the synth where you could only see the top of the synth and how everyone speculated that is might be a new Nord Lead or a new Wave or something better?

Then remember when NAMM rolled around and Nord announced it was the "Electro 4" and how disappointed we all were that it was just another boring electro-mechanical synth from Nord?

Remember that feeling?

Yeah, so replace "Nord" with "Roland" and "electro-mechanical" with "workstation ROMpler" then you'll pretty much have you answer.

[squatski]

Originally Posted by bitleyTM

Roland Scandinavia here in Sweden has shared a picture of the carton box on their Facebook page.

is his name James Jeffreys?

[xanderbeanz]

Originally Posted by bitleyTM

It's hardware and it's about the size of a rack or a small 25-key keyboard or something. It weighs 7 kilos. Roland Scandinavia here in Sweden has shared a picture of the carton box on their Facebook page. They've put gaffer tape over the logos except the Roland logo and the info saying Made In Japan & the weight of the box. So that's why people are starting to speculate about something rack-ish.

It's a new MT32 - D Beam Edition! Sierra fanboys will be happy...

[vstace]

I like my Handsonic HDP-10, only that and some of their other drum offerings have interested me since the 80's

[bitleyTM]

Roland Sverige

Originally Posted by xanderbeanz

It's a new MT32 - D Beam Edition! Sierra fanboys will be happy...

Leisure Suit Larry 15 for OS X

[squatski]

NEWS just in....

[zahush76]

Originally Posted by bitleyTM

Roland Sverige

Oh. It's a new box! A smart move from roland. It's been quite some time since anyone made really good boxes. It looks like descrete carboard.

Btw, i might be mistaken - but this whole discussion feels like a huge dejavu of the days before the jupiter 80 was released.
Just sayin'.

[bitleyTM]

"Get a grip!" "Can't handle it!" "Piece of cake!" "Juno what I like!"

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by squatski

is his name James Jeffreys?

triple word score!

[cresshead]

roland sh-101 came out in 1982

Roland SH-101 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

30year special edition reissue of roland sh 101?..with CV and midi?

if it was in stock immediately and well priced...could throw a spanner with all the people (me included) still waiting for the minibrute form FEb 2012 on pre order.

[asynchro_nous]

And Behavior Modeling

[blinky909]

Originally Posted by squatski

NEWS just in....

wait, no trigger pads. piece of crap.

[modularjack]

Well they are due for a new groovebox.. maybe that, or a drum machine? Remember roland likes jumping on trends and hardware drum machines seem to be the latest trend. Who knows though... I'd love an updated groovebox they kind of went off the rails a bit with their MV stuff... Bring back the MC line, bitches!

[ksandvik]

As an old Roland customer that gave up on Roland 10+ years ago I really want to purchase something interesting from Roland again. Please. And better not be a SH-101 re-issue. I didn't like them long time ago and not today, either.

[vstace]

I think Roland is fine with selling 5,000 workstations per year to churches rather than selling 100,000 real analogs to the kids. From a business standpoint I cant blame them. Just stop using the titles from you old good synths, it's annoying.

[bitleyTM]

I increased the size of the image from Roland Sverige (=Sweden) to try to guess what it says, have been toying with words and puzzling a bit, it looks like a T saying something so I just made up some stuff that fit, but it's sometimes common to get cardboard boxes in italian or so.

Detective work is fun

[Eric J]

Originally Posted by vstace

I think Roland is fine with selling 5,000 workstations per year to churches rather than selling 100,000 real analogs to the kids. From a business standpoint I cant blame them. Just stop using the titles from you old good synths, it's annoying.

Exactly.

The thing is that Roland, Korg, Yamaha, those companies are not selling to US. They are not interested in selling to US. They are not interested in making products for US. They used to be that way, one time, a LONG time ago, but that era is long gone and its likely not coming back (Korg's mono series notwithstanding).

Plenty of people need to stop focusing on those companies in 2012. They are not companies that have products for US. There are plenty of companies who ARE interested in selling to US, focusing on products for US, interested in what WE might want, but they have names like Moog, Studio Electronics, DSI, Oberheim, Macbeth, Doepfer, and many more.

We should be focusing our energies on what these companies are doing instead of caring about companies that long ago abandoned any idea of marketing to anyone other than the lowest common denominator consumer.

[laikenf]

Originally Posted by Eric J

Exactly.

The thing is that Roland, Korg, Yamaha, those companies are not selling to US. They are not interested in selling to US. They are not interested in making products for US. They used to be that way, one time, a LONG time ago, but that era is long gone and its likely not coming back (Korg's mono series notwithstanding).

Plenty of people need to stop focusing on those companies in 2012. They are not companies that have products for US. There are plenty of companies who ARE interested in selling to US, focusing on products for US, interested in what WE might want, but they have names like Moog, Studio Electronics, DSI, Oberheim, Macbeth, Doepfer, and many more.

We should be focusing our energies on what these companies are doing instead of caring about companies that long ago abandoned any idea of marketing to anyone other than the lowest common denominator consumer.

I wouldn't say lowest common denominator consumer, just musicians who aren't synthesists, or aren't electronic musicians; I mean, Yamaha still makes acoustic instruments (pianos, guitars, basses, drums, etc.) for example...

[modularjack]

How is selling high end, fully featured, all in one workstations the lowest common denominator? They are selling keyboards to people who can afford them-- ie: actual professionals. No offence but kids with reason and a midi controller trying to copy skrillex and deadmau5 are not going to make them much money so why would they aim everything at that market? They do have some products for the kids, look at the Gaia and SH and Juno rehashes. Budget gear for poor/learning producers. Not knocking that stuff at all, as I started out with a JX-305 and MC-303 back in the day... but of course they can't run a million dollar company exclusively targetting the budget market. Seriously, think that through for a few minutes. There's a pretty obvious reason your inbox isn't filling up with job offers to run multi-national companies.

[natefrogg]

thunderbolt enabled system100, lol seen that in the comments, yes why not =)

one comment said mc303 software, i could totally see them making an ipad app version similar to the ielectribe or whatever it's called

rackmount jupiter 80, that wouldn't surprise me, might be a safe move for them

an sh101 30 year reissue, i would like to think that would be a cool idea but i fear roland would make it's innards nothing at all like an sh101, about as much as a juno-d is a juno 60, but it would look similar and have some killer saxophone and timbales and clarinet and steel drum sounds!

[bitleyTM]

We have seen the cardboard box for it, evident in a previous post here linking to Roland Sverige. I presented my detective work here (it's the same pictures I've presented here but with some text to explain it). Thunderbolt you say! Hm. The T could be the T of Thunderbolt indeed!

[ripe]

Usually a Roland box will have "Tone Module" in different languages on it, so that is probably what you see in the picture:

"Tonerzeugung-Modul"
"Modulo de Sonido"

cheers
ripe

[Eric J]

Originally Posted by modularjack

How is selling high end, fully featured, all in one workstations the lowest common denominator?

Maybe lowest common denominator is the wrong term. Maybe synth enthusiasts is a better term. Or most of the regular participants on this forum.

Originally Posted by modularjack

They are selling keyboards to people who can afford them-- ie: actual professionals.

Not sure I would totally agree with that, just because a Jupiter-80 costs more than some vintage analogs, but I sort of see what you mean. I think.

Originally Posted by modularjack

No offence but kids with reason and a midi controller trying to copy skrillex and deadmau5 are not going to make them much money so why would they aim everything at that market?

I don't believe the vast majority of regulars on here fall into that category.

Originally Posted by modularjack

They do have some products for the kids, look at the Gaia and SH and Juno rehashes. Budget gear for poor/learning producers. Not knocking that stuff at all, as I started out with a JX-305 and MC-303 back in the day... but of course they can't run a million dollar company exclusively targetting the budget market. Seriously, think that through for a few minutes.

Listen, you need to relax man, Seriously, Take a moment, LOL.

This was the entire point of my reply. These companies are not interested in selling or making products for US, a niche market of synth enthusiasts, yet so many people on here get all excited when one of these companies announces a new product, as if they are going to suddenly abandon the wider market they have been focusing on for the last 20 or 25 years and suddenly release a product that most people on here would find even remotely interesting.

Please read the entire post before freaking out. Way too much of that going on around here lately.

Originally Posted by modularjack

There's a pretty obvious reason your inbox isn't filling up with job offers to run multi-national companies.

Not really sure what that means or if it was a shot at me or whatever, but it sure seems like you misunderstood the content of my previous reply.