Roland CM 64

Wow super easy except the turning off / adjusting of the reverb by sys-ex midi message, the manual is just what you expect from a #1300 synth / sample playback unit, as far as ease of use goes , plug it in switch it on , plug in a master keyboiard and bish bash bosh instant stunning sound.

Loads , it can drop in polyphony if you use the sounds that are mixtures of sounds(multiple samples / synthasys overlayed as one note) , also it has verry clever fetures where it vairies the mix between two or three samples depending upon the velocity of the note you play.

the LA sounds are a bit pony for realism , but sound grate in the mix or for pad sounds etc, the LA organs both electric and church also the electric piano sounds are perticulaly nice also the LA strings are quite cool, some of the bass sounds also groovy,

Every sound in the PCM part is amazing,

also the rythem section is amazing , I'm sorry but who said it sounded bad ?? your mad :-)If you compair it to somthing like an EMU 8Meg Gm sound bank they sound rather good actualy, verry real , verry in your face.

Ow yeah , I beat someone to death with mine once and it still worked(not realy but I bet you could and I have droped it a few times).

Humm no idea I never used support

I have had this over 10 years , it's soo groovy it's unreal.

Bigest use is a relyable expressive Percussion set and the PCM sounds and the LA electric pianos.

well,
almost No knobs/sliders
use a midi keyboard or Sequencer and that's about it.
Sounds are of all color.

64 note poly...
you get both LA sythesis and PCM U-110 in one box.
I think it is 16 midi channels capable.

you can edit it with PC editors.
I downloaded mine for free from the net.
think of it as 2 synthesizers in one box
Midi channel 1-8 - for LA synth ( D-50)
Midi channel 9-16 - for PCM synth ( U-110)

Come on,
It's a Roland !

Sure.

I'm giving it a 10 as this synth is just what it is
a midi canvas thing.
Don't compare it to analog vintage or so though.
If you want basic sounds for writing on your PC - Get it.
I never thought of it as a "Synth" even though I did edit it
on my PC editor and created cool D-50 sounds.
for $300 or so it is a fantastic value
you can't go wrong with this baby for sequencing.
By the way,
You can use any U-110 sound card to add more sounds!

This is a very confusing sound module. I didn't realize you could even edit the patches until a few days ago when I did some searching on the net. The only controls, as other reviewers have mentioned, are volume and power. Fortunately, there is a shareware editor, available at http://www.xs4all.nl/~giovanni/midisoft.html which lets you play with a host of features, and includes an amazing number of premade sounds. The drawback is that there is zero documentation as far as I can tell, and not having had experience with the LA system, I have no idea what TVA and TVF are, or what the various routing symbols mean.

The CM-64 can sound very nice. It does a good impression of analog basses, ethereal pads, and so on. The only realiztic instruments really are the built-in PCM samples, but those sound pretty nice too. The polyphony and multitimbral capabilities are pretty impressive - 14-way multitimbral (minus channel 1 and 10, since the drumset is pretty lame), plus (again, as others have mentioned) it's got 63 note polyphony. It also accepts memory cards, and has a reverb effect that I'm mostly ignoring since I use an external processor for that. This is strictly a sound module. There is no sequencer or anything like that. The main problem is that any patch editing you've done is lost when you turn the power off, so you've _got_ to include SYSEX information in your MIDI files in order to set everything up properly every time.

Like a lot of 80s synthesizers, the CM-64 can sound really crappy if you're not careful. However, if you take the time to edit the patches or replace them with others, it is possible to get some great sounds out of it. This is a pretty versatile module. With proper patch selection, you can achieve a wide range of sounds, from freaky electronic basses to organs, pads, and strange noises. There are even decent piano and choir sounds in the PCM section.

I've never had any problems with it, and I loaned it out to a friend's crazy punk band for about six months. I don't play live shows myself, so I can't really comment on that aspect of it.

Without an editor like the one I mentioned, this is not a very useful module, so if you don't have access to a Win3.1/95/98 machine that can run one, don't bother. Even if you do have one, consider that you'll have to work with a 3.1 style interface even if you're using 95, and you'll have to upload the sounds to the module before you can hear them - there's no real "listen as you edit" capability. I got the CM-64 when I was about 15 (five years ago), and they were on sale for something like 75% off the original price. If you can find one for $100-$150, and you can try it out, give it a shot. If you see one for $45 like the first reviewer, and you're running Windows, I'd snap it up. My main difficulty with the CM-64 is the lack of onboard editing controls and display, since I really prefer working with the actual module to pointing and clicking on my PC. It does have good possibilities, though. YMMV.

NOTE: I'm not sure what kind of synth the other person reviewed here, but it it's certainly not a CM-64!
This is, perhaps, the funkiest module ever. It has one of the hit technologies of the 80s, "LA," wherein attack samples are attached to synth waveforms. But it also features the technology which eclipsed it (and was, as a Roland rep told me, cheaper to produce): sample-based synthesis where full samples were used, not just attacks.
Roland sensed that computer users needed high-quality sounds to accompany games or to make music. Hence, the company released a number of Computer Music (CM) modules, of which, the CM-64 is undoubtedly the big gorilla.

The CM-64 is two synths in one: an MT32 and a U-110. Two CM modules also parroted these sounds individually: the CM-32L and the CM-32P, but only the CM-64 combined the two.
The CM-64 holds its own against modern front-line synths. It has 63-note polyphony and answers on 15 channels for multitimbral sequences (9 for the MT-32 and 6 for the U110). Strangely, the one MIDI channel that it doesn't respond on is CH 1. Unless I'm mistaken, the CM-64 takes historical honors in terms of polyphony.
Audio is stereo out (proper RCAs, not miniplugs), there's a headphone jack (again, RCA), MIDI in/out/thru, and a real On/Off switch (something certain manufacturers are chinzing on today). The only knob is for volume. There's also LEDs for power and, handily, MIDI receive. The wall-wart is what I call fed-python type, with the wart in the middle and not on the end

The biggest drawback for the original MT32 and U110 was the noise floor. These were not high-tech machines (though the U110 was supposed to be). The CM-64, happily, has cleaner, purer output, probably due to a higher-bit rate.
The LA side of the machine sports many of the lush, D50ish sounds which synths still imitate. Granted, the "acoustic" pianos are about as believable as a flying penguin; consider them analog-synthish electric pianos and you'll be happy.
The U110 side has "real" instruments, of which the basses are particular standouts and the brass, woodwinds, strings, and choirs are quite good. The U110 arsenal features: 10 Pianos, 5 Guitars , 8 Slap Bass , 2 Fingered Bass, 2 Picked Bass, 1 Fretless Bass, 1 Acoustic Bass, 4 Choirs, 4 Strings, 10 Organs, 4 Sax , 5 Brass , 8 Trumpet /Trombone. The pianos are OK, best for playing with other instruments (though the honkey-tonk piano is one of the best around).
The single drum kit features the usual percussion suspects: a clean pop/rock kit with the expected Latin flavors. There's a further 30 sound effects ranging from maniacal laughter (a personal favorite) to rolling thunder.
The CM-64 reads the entire SN-U110 series of sound cards. Unlike most other synths where only a few cards are made (and quickly disappear), there are several to choose from, so you won't have an orphan card slot.
The reverb is just about OK, though if you have a better external reverb, you'll certainly prefer to use that.

Drawbacks? Any sounds you edit are lost upon turning off the unit and sounds can only be edited via computer software (if any is still around). For all of the polyphony and MIDI response, it's extremely odd that the CM-64 is hardwired NOT to respond on channel one. There are positively no read-outs other than the aforementioned LEDs so you have to keep a patch list handy on paper, or more likely, in your sequencer set-up. It's also not rack-mountable (though you can place it on a rack drawer or under older Macs or on top of reasonably roomy keyboards). The reverb isn't Lexicon quality, but it works.

The CM series continued up to a Sound Canvas type before Roland dropped the line. Prices tend to be all over, but considering the going rates for MT32s and U110s, I wouldn't pay more than a few hundred for one, and if some one's throwing in an SN-U110 card, that's a bonus.
Not an easy synth to find, but a respectable one with up-to-date specs, good sounds, improved sound, and an affordable price.

The presets sound like the D110 from Roland but they are a lot more quieter. You can add a D110 sound card in it. You can't change the presets without an external editor or controler.

I think that it's 28 note polyphonic and 16 parts multi timbral no built in effects. it accepts cards from the roland d series (sn-xxx) it's got both pcm and LA sounds. it's most interesting feature is that it can be turned into a GM module by some software that I downloaded from the net. A few of the voices don't sound like the GM set !!

sounds are really good to be used as extra voices to support your other synths and modules. The piano sounds are the worst. the drums and sound effects are good but they could use some reverb.

It's been very reliable the whole year I had it. I just had a problem with the power supply.

I haven't called Roland about this machine yet but I am trying to get a manual.

It's really worth the money I paid for it. It's the only module I have that can play standard midi files.I really wish it had a front panel for live use. As it is, I can only use it hooked up to my computer. (The CM in the name stands for Computer Music)