Roland SVC-350

The Roland SVC-350 Vocoder is very easy to use. You can easily get a good sound (with a carrier input, of course) right out-of-the-box! I've never edited patches with it so I don't know about that. The manual is very straight forward and easy to use/read. I don't know of any firmware revisions, and I'm sure it hasn't been upgraded like the VP-330 Plus has been to the VP-550 Vocal & Ensemble Keyboard.

I'm giving it a 9 since there are some, but not too many better vocoders out there such as the EMS's, Sennheiser, Synton's (Syntovox's), Bode, and Moog, all others are inferior to it. I use it with a Korg Poly-800 Synthesizer and it almost always but not always sounds great! Great for copying those "Cylon Centurion" voices (I believe they actually used the EMS Studio System 5000 Vocoder along with a ring modulator, according to Mr. Larson for that) with!! It isn't noisy on any of the settings I use (I usually keep the setting on it the same and only change the programs but not the parameters or settings on the Poly-800. It's a vocoder only and that one and only effect almost always sounds great! It has two carrier inputs, one instrument input for keyboard instruments, and the other, guitar input for guitar instruments or keyboards with a higher dynamic range. I use both at the same time with my Poly-800. It has two microphone inputs, one for 1/4 inch mics, and the other for XLR mics. It has a very good ensemble effect, hold effect, and my favorite a direct mic/vocoder knob which lets you control the percentage between the two you want to use!! I don't use any amp with it, just it, the synth, the mic, a stereo receiver (maybe the amp's built-in to it, I don't know about those things), and the speakers. Since I don't know how to play the synth well enough yet I can't get it to sound like the artists I like to emulate such as Neil Young "Trans", Kraftwerk, Midnight Star, etc. Nor have I been able to get the "Soundwave" voice. As I've already said the effects are all very good on this unit.

The Roland SVC-350 Vocoder is a very dependable unit!! If I were in a band I would most certainly use it without any backup!!

I've never dealt with the company, got an upgrade, or needed to get it repaired.

I don't play any style of music, and it's a great match if you want to sound like the "Cylons". I don't play live in a band or solo. The only other gear I have is the Korg Poly-800 I've already mentioned, although I want to get a Roland Juno-60 next, than maybe a Yamaha DX-7. If it were lost or stolen I would ABSOLUTELY get a replacement for it, but I also want to buy other classic vintage analog hardware vocoders both rackmount and keyboard!! I love everything about it and I can't think of anything I hate about it! As I've said my favorite feature is the direct mic/vocoder knob. No I didn't compare it to anything else at the time I was thinking of getting a vocoder since that seemed to be the only unit that was affordable in the stores at that time, the early '80s. The only thing that would make this unit any BETTER would be to give it more bands, it has 11. I don't make music and it doesn't get in the way. No, that's all!!!

Straight forward, good ol' vocoder. You feed a synth or guitar-sound into it and trigger the sound with a microphone (or drumloop!). There is a manual for it, short and very matter of fact'ish. There is also a specs. sheet for it(in addition to the manual).This is handy, because it has a pictures/drawings of the inner circuit and also info on how to clean and tune the unit. As for the inner circuit, it is fairly advanced, more so than most old analog synthesizers(according to an expert friend of mine). Both manual and specs. sheet should be available for download somewhere on the internett.

Pristine. If fat,lush vocoded sound is what you're searching for, look nowhere else. It needs to be feeded with FAT analogsynth-sounds with lots of harmonics, though. Also worth mentioning: getting a clear stated vocoded voice out of it...well, that's not really what it does best. If this is what you're looking for, you might be better of with an MS 2000 or JP 8080 vocoder. Is it noisy? depends what you feed into it, but used rightly, my answer would be no. The 11-band EQ comes in handy, but it is not, in my opinion, great. But it certainly can modify the sound. For guitarists its a dream, the guitar input has a function where you can add harmonics and also a compressor. The best part of the unit is the ensemble/chorus effect, - sounds like nothing else, believe me. Brian Transeau has the keyboard version(VP 330).This, I believe, doesn't have the guitar-input and the EQ-section, but it sounds very similar. Hear his tunes "Ride" and a break somewhere in "Flaming June" and you'll know what it sounds like.

It is built quite sturdy, so if not misused, it should be fine for gigging also.

Don't really now. Maybe Roland could be of some help...but it's old,
1979-80.

The only effect Roland has made that can compete to this one(maybe)would be the Space Echo. Nuff said!