Roland SRV-3030d

I bought this unit second hand from guitar center. It didn't come with a manual. The manuals for this unit is vurtually impossible to find. So, expect to spend some time programming because the learning curve on this piece of gear is above the ordinary.

This unit is dedicated to reverb. In the past I've used Alesis Quadraverb and Digitech Studio Quad (blue model). The Digitech is a better unit than the Alesis. But the Roland SRV3030 is miles away ahead of both units. Since I have a budget studio I don't have a lexicon PCM or compatible piece of gear to compare the SRV to. But I think the SRV can hold its own if not better than these other high-priced units. The reverbs coming from the SRV3030 adds presence, no-noise, thick spacious reverb, and by thick I mean 'creamy'. The unit has a compressor which I edit the release as a cut-off frequency for my kick. The sound of the reverbrated kick is full, thick and controlled. There's also an 'eq' to talor your sound, and you can dampend unwanted frequencies to create natural sounding reverb.

Other effects such as chorus and flanger I don't use. Although the factory settings does a great job demonstrating the capabilities of the unit. I only use the SRV for reverb, and it does it very well. I would have gave the unit a 10 rating, but I feel that there's always room for improvement.

This is where I have a problem with the SRV3030. It is a Roland after all build like a tank. But, although I leave one rack space above & under the unit it still generate alot of heat. The unit shut-down a couple of times while I was programming then came back-on by itself. At first I associate the problem with the fact that I bought the unit used. But, since my other SRV does the same thing I realize it was an overheating issue.

A funny thing with this unit is that when it shuts down your edited patches are not deleted. You can turn-off the unit let it cool-off then continue with where you left off. ROLAND IF YOUR LISTENING THAT CAN BE IMPROVED!

Never dealt with them.

I am a keyboard player and I have a one man band with a live guitar player, and a bass player. The SRV has added depth and space to my mix creating the illusion of a full-live band playing. If it was stolen I would definitely replace it. I currently have two SRV3030 and thinking of getting one more for vocals.

I give the unit an 8 rating because of the overheating problem. But overall the unit does what it says it does..., and it does it well.

As far as getting good reverbs from this unit, its not terribly hard, but like the guy below stated, it can be time consuming. Preset reverbs are ok, nothing to get too excited about, but they can be edited. Editing can be done through the easy or deep edit modes. I could normally program some great reverbs patches for drums just using the easy edit mode alone, but never got to involved with the deeper editing options available. Unlike most Roland manuals, the the one provided with thiis unit is, believe it or not, pretty straight forward and easy to understand.

I have a fair amount of rack equipment which I run through this reverb unit and Im running effects sends and returns to my mixer. As far as I can tell, the srv-3030d is pretty damn quiet. The effects sound nice, a few delays with a handful of other interesting effects thrown in for good measure. Some are better than others, but it should really be said, as the unit name implies, it is a dedicated reverb unit. If youre looking for multi-effects, my suggestion would be that this may not be what youre looking for.

Overall the unit is pretty solid. Its hard to say anything bad about it but there are a few things which I dont really care for. When it comes to effects, I tend to lean toward more simple and intuitive hardware. Ive owned a Lexicon LXP-5 which is a beautiful little unit and although it is older and slightly noisier than the srv-3030d, the warmth and fullness of that unit sounds better than the srv-3030d in my opinion. The Roland srv-3030d tends to sound a bit too metallic at times for my tastes and as much time as I spend programming music, the last thing I want is to spend an hour or more programming a simple effect.

Its a Roland unit and Ive never had any problem with any Roland gear Ive ever owned including this one, if thats worth anything. As stated in the other previews, it does run a little hot and you could feasibly keep your coffee warm if you left it sitting on it.

Never had to deal with them.

The srv-3030d is an overall great sounding dedicated reverb unit. Its served its purpose as long as Ive owned it and Ive never had any major complaints about it. Because it is digital, it does tend to lack that bit of extra fullness Ive grown accustomed to with non-digital effects processors, and anyone who knows the difference would agree. That doesnt necessarily take away from the srv-3030d, as it can really hold its own as a digital reverb unit, but the sound youll get is very different. As it stands, it is one of the best effects units in its price range and youd be hardpressed to find anything better.

The effects supplied as is are very good. Save yourself some confusion and time and just read the manual if you plan on constructing your own. If you are picky about your sound, it will take quite a while to master the options presented. The menuing system is good, but limited to too few buttons/knobs and a small display in my opinion. The depth of programmability is absolutely excellent. Some of the items listed in the menus are cryptic (small display). You must use the manual a few times to get used to it. My first walk through on creating a lush multi-purpose reverb for live use that had the 3 assignable front panel controls doing what I wanted them to do took three hours. I should be able to do this much faster next time around, and I should be able to tweak the supplied effects very quickly now although I haven't had to. I'm only using the reverb I programmed so far. The EZ edit does not have the depth I usually need and will probably rarely use it. It does do a quick job of several globalized parameters that affect a multitude of parameters under the hood so to speak.

No noise. Very very clean. All effects algorithms I tried are very good and cover a broad range of usability. I use this in a PA system (with an Allen & Heath GL3300 40 channel board) and in a small home type studio.

This thing does get warm. Somewhat alarmingly so after being on for several hours. I have some other units that get warm, but not quite like this one. I don't know how it will hold up under long heavy use. I did not experience the instability that one user had posted here. I would think that unit needs to go back to Roland for servicing. Let us all know how that goes?

I have never had to get service on a Roland product so I cannot comment here.

I've been doing sound off & on since 1975. I like what I can do with this reverb unit.

As an aside, Sony and Roland (I have two DPS-V55 effects units from Sony) have dropped their reverb/effects units except for their very high end models, probably due to an overloaded market with difficult price points. I doubt it has to do with some defect in the design of the unit.

IF you want to use the EZ Edit it should be easy, but if you want go into deep editing things are laid out nicely, you should learn to get around fairly easy, but the limited number of buttons will cause you extra time to get things done.

I mainly wanted to give this review to let you be forewarned that I have a serious suspition that the price is reduced dramatically because of a defect in the deep edit software in the unit. If you are in the EZ edit mode things are fine, but once you get into the deep edit mode, it's very unreliable and the unit tend to reinitialize at its own will. It is so frustrating to get a great sound that I spent 5-10 minutes editing when the unit kept on reinitializing. The sound quality is excellent if you want to settle for the ez edit mode, but if you're into deep editing many parameters like me, you will be so pissed off and would return the unit just like I did.
If you can live with the factory presets this unit will supply you with beautfull reverbs that will sound professional enough to mix any style of music. For me I like to do a lot of editing so I had to let it go.

It gets really hot, and it keep reinitializing in the deep edit mode so it's unuseable in this respect. I hate to be unfair but I have heard the same complain from other users so I don't think it's a coencident that the Price is 1/4 of original suggested retail.

I think this unit can really supply you with excellent reverb application but for the limiting editing ablitites I encountered, I find it to be unuseable for me. I am certain that people who don't llke to delve in the deep editing mode would love this unit

The preset sounds are very good, but most of them are not useful. The manual is a little confusing. With some tweaking, you can get good sounds out of it. I could not figure out how to get my SoundDiver software to communicate with the unit and to edit the patches. I lie to use the SRV-3030D with Emagic Logic Audio software for recording, and I typed up the presets of the unit to import into banks. Here is a link to the typed up preset names, in case anyone would like to use them: http://www.geocities.com/homerecording34/

The sound quality is excellent, especially since I only use the SPDIF digital input and output. I route the SRV-3030D directly into Logic Audio recording software, through a MOTU 828 firewire unit. This configuration works great! I am running the unit at 44.1 Khz very successfully with the digital inputs and output. One big pitfall to watch out for: Each patch on the SRV-3030D defaults to 50% reverb and 50% dry. You need to adjust the REVERB LEVEL knob on each preset to 100% in order to get the proper sound...

I had one problem with the unit changing patches glacially slowly when controlled through MIDI. I reinitialized the unit and let it rest for a dry or so, and it worked just fine after that. The SRV-3030D runs hot, so give it room to breathe in your rack! It feels very dependable, and I just leave it in my home studio in a rack.

I haven't dealt with the company at all. I hope I never have any problems with it!

I record world music, ethnic and pop. SRV-3030D works great for all these styles - it has a real smooth and silky reverb tail. The value for $299 (or less) for a brand new unit is incredible.

This is the first rack-mount effects processor I have purchased. I got it from zzounds for $299 (no s/h or sales tax hooray!), and had no complaints with them. I got it for vocals mainly, but have used it with classical, acoustic, and electric guitars and liked the results. As soon as I plugged it was like night and day. Very inspirational piece. I previously just used the (spring?) reverb on my powered mixer, which sucks. I had no trouble jumping into this machine and editing presets to fit what I wanted. I really like the way this thing is laid out; the EZ edit parameters, the menu system, the knobs etc. Very convenient and intuitive. I've yet to finish my own patches, but intend to, and have many ideas as to new creative possibilities with this machine. I'll take a point off for the manual: I wish they had explained the presets! I finally figured out which used the dynamic noise separator (anyone with dyn in it, and others like NoteGrowsHall or GroupGetsSmall or GateTheSnares etc.). The manual gives you the basics but offers little in the way of creative advice and uses for the machine.

Thus far I have no complaints here. I like the presence and ambient verbs, as well as the big halls and cathedrals. Many altogether different effects can be had out of this box. I like the trippy ones like RoomToBloom and Nightmare3D, and intend to modify and use them in my music. Not noisy at all IMO. Easy to set levels appropriately for your purpose. It tracks in/out levels. It also can do short delays, flange/phaser (I've got some good sounds from this), and resonator effects, though it's prime purpose it reverb. I'd like to A/B it with lexicon and TC units. I have had great sessions with it and my classical guitar. I'll never sing without it. A 9 because of my inexperience with other gear in it's price range.

So far no problems of any kind. Seems very well made. I'd use it on gigs (and have with good results) though I would rack it first. It has a very solid and well-made feel and look.

No experience with em.

I'm a singer/songwriter that plays guitar, bass, mandolin, and sings. Singing and guitar are my strongest instruments, and because I often play acoustics, reverb was the first thing on my list as far as effects acquisitions. I own a Sigma acoustic electric, an epiphone DOT 335-clone, an aria classical, a handmade 12-string acoustic, an antique mandolin and banjolin, ibanez bass, line6 ax212, yamaha 24-channel mixer, Spirit 6-channel mixer, PA and bass rig. I call myself a semi-pro musician. I play a mix of orginal blues/new-age folk/psychadelic/rock/metal/ambient, depending on which musicians I am with and what mood I'm in. This machine is inspiring and definitely helps me make music. If stolen I'd cry (probably because all my other stuff would be stolen too), then buy another when possible. The price they are going for now ($260?) is really good! My next FX purchase would be a TC D-Two delay or Sony VPS 55 or lexicon mpx-500...

Easy to use, big backlit display with input out level. You have three different levels of editing the sound to various degree of complexity, it should work for all kinds of musicians. The manual - typical Roland manual, stating the obvious in a sort of list wise way. Manufacturers must be able to write better manuals with examples that you can try on your own, explaining the various parameters.

A big plus is that you can preview each effect. Roland has included 5 different kinds of sounds, so you can try out the various effects when you're setting up without someone standing in front of the mic going "one, two, testicle...". Speeds things up significantly.

You can browse the effects by category.

Good, quality sounds. Endless possibilities of varying different reverb types, e.g. five different plate reverbs, etc.

The rack has one extremely useful feature: You can use the dynamic control as an advanced A/B box. The input signal is analysed on frequency, density or volume level. The SVR-3030 takes the input signal and routes the signal path through two different signal paths. E.g. for a guitar you can apply chorus on the strumming and delays for the picking. Apply lots of compression on the bass drum and gate the snare simultaneously, etc. Quite useful in a live situation, or when you have pre-recorded loops that you want to tweak.

The unit re-boots when you quickly browse through the different editing possibilities. I tried to re-create the bug but it happens only when you least expect it. As mentioned in other reviews it becomes very hot, but I guess it's normal.

N/A

I first thought that I would return it and buy something makes it easier to set the tempo of the delay (like a tap tempo button), but after some consideration I decided to keep it and use it more as a dynamically controlled A/B box early in the effect chain. The overall quality is good, but a bit boring/predictable as with most digital effects. I tend to use ?Bob Moog?s moogerfooger analog delay? to get the warm, organic feel to my music instead of this clinical sound.

Very easy to use. I have not tried to make a custom patch yet. I understand that there are three edit modes each increasing in difficulty but increasing in editability(is that a word?). The manual is the typical roland manual--says a lot but in a difficult(hard to understand/vague) way. But luckly the presets are so good you will probabily be happy with them alone (unless you are some sort of reverb freak). If you are a reverb freak, read no further--this box is for you.

To me, the unit sounds unbelievable, to others it might sound excellent. You can use the presets to get anything from extreemly dry room or very wet caves (think Enigma).

I am using the SRV-3030d in a send/return confiuration (attached to my mixer). I have sent everything (see my equipment below) through this box and never got bad results (adjusting the presets ofcourse--there seems to be a patch for evertyhing). My favorite music styles are techno trance and house.

The SRV 3030d is ultra quiet, I can't hear any noise. If there is any going in to the unit, it gets killed or softened and broken up by the reverb (the unit has *balanced* ins and outs, and the digital i/o (SRV-3030**>D<**) is not really applicable anyhow).

The effects themselves are excellent--they put my all my direct-x plugins (very good quality) to shame. And you could quite possibly mix several albums with the presets alone. The reverb can be quite natural and realistic (if you want it to be), it can also be completely ambient or metalic. You can pretty much get any sound out of this unit you want (if you are patient enough).

This, however, is no multi-effects box. While it is easy (or complex) to use, it should be purchased by reverb freaks, as a dedicated reverb.

Roland stuff is usually pretty reliable. One thing that sort of concerns me however is the amount of heat this thing generates (its hotter than my akai s900). But, I am a pretty paranoid person so..

Never delt with Roland and never needed to.

Like I said, I am into electronic music; I have never heard a better reverb unit that fit so well with electronic music. I have been making tracks for 3 years now. I have a bunch of stuff: Jomox Xbase09, nordlead, access virus, akai s900 (for other harsh drums), Juno-106. I would buy it again if it were lost or stolen. Some other products I was looking at were the lexicons and tc electronics. IF you are seriously looking for a mid-level reverb, this unit is worth its price--no doubt. When you listen to it you can here the same reverbs (probabily just the presets) that are on many popular underground records (labels like Yoshitoshi and R&S).

The down side is that digital i/o is not an option, but infact a seperate unit--the SRV-3030 is not upgradable to digital i/o. Add about $200 USD for digital i/o (I did), with technology moving as it is, the unit will hold its value much better..