Roland JV-1010

Front panel settings are self explainitory and editing with sound diver is a total doddle. It sure beats editing a poly 800 or an MS6. I think some of the other reviewers might be a tad spoilt if they find Sound Diver a strain to use... Its interesting to read the reviews here for the 2080 (essentially the same machine at a higher price) and see people perfectly happy to edit the 2080 through the front panel which is akin to painting the hall through the letter box. Human nature is a curious beast. I find the 1010 quick and easy to produce useful sounds with without getting the urge to throw it out of the window.

64 voice with various filter and routing options. Upto 4 voices per patch with individual patch parameters per voice. Extensive real-time control possibilities. Expansion possible - but cards cost almost as much as the module... Only single stereo output. Adequate effects.

Well I don't listen to many acoustic instruments but they sound OK to me. Dance presets are cheesy but you can do a lot if you throw the presets away and start from scratch with the fairly useful set of waveforms. The internal waveforms seem to be quality over quality which is a good thing. The filters are pretty good - better than some real analog ones I'd say and the architecture is flexible enough to get some interesting noises out of it.

'Can you depend on it?' says the question. A resounding 'No!' would have to be the answer - the serial MIDI port seems iffy and lock-ups and/or failing to produce sound are a fairly regular occurance. I can't imagine trying to use it live.

I've not dealt with Roland in connection with the 1010 but well meaning unhelpfulness has been my experience with them in connection other gear.

It provides me with pads mainly. I only tend to use one sound at a time out of it so the lack of extra outputs and effects doesn't bother me. I don't have to fight it to make it do what I want and it was cheap - I didn't expect the earth and I wasn't disappointed with what I got. I wouldn't buy it again if aliens abducted it - I'd buy something different, but for the novelty, not because its no good.

Great 'plug and play' functionality, hook up a keybord, find a sound and record.

Haven't used the software 'cause i dont have any free serial ports but all the internal things work great

Drums are very weak but the strings, horns/brass, and bass sounds are very realistic. The synth sounds are good but I'm not into them. Has a reasonable signal to noise ratio.

No devestating problems, will stop reciving midi sometimes but not often

Love it. I'll probably get an expansion soon.

This thing is sooo easy to use, it's a darn shame. I haven't used the Sounddiver software, and really haven't wanted to. I only want to use it for presets. The manual is okay, but it's easier to fiddle around on your own.

I haven't ran into a problem with polyphony 'cause this isn't where all of my sounds are coming from. I would definitely recommend getting an expansion board like the Bass and Drums card. I own that in a rackmount, and it rules. I might add the Hip Hop board. The one thing that I REALLY DON'T like is that you can't save your performance setups (for sequencing). Everytime I want to work on a track later, I have to recall the sounds by my notes in the MPC. I knew this buying it, but it still upsets me. Plus, it's easy to crew up your sound assignments after you edit a patch (pan, level, etc.) if you don't set it back to that part/channel.

This muh-yucka sounds incredible. Especially the electric pianos. The acoustic are very useful also. The bass sounds are good, particularly the synth basses, but I pretty much only use the acoustic basses from the expansion. The strings are very good, as are the synth sounds...OMG, the synth sounds. They are killer!!! There are no better stock synth sounds than Roland's. I do agree that the drum sounds are on the not so great side. They're okay, good starting points, but I almost don't use them. Oh, and the output is on the low side.

I have to agree with James. I've had my unit stop receiving MIDI messages on five separate occasions. One time, I had to turn it off and on TWICE. This is an annoying bug, but it didn't begin to appear at least a year after I had it.

Never had to deal with them, and don't want to.

I would definitely buy it again, and it is definitely worth what I paid. At less than 500 bucks, it's a steal. Sure the little Korgs are more fully featured, but don't sound NEAR as good as this thing, and besides, the 1010 exists soley for access to 2080 sounds, and nothing else. I love the way it sounds, though I hate not being able to save my sequencer setup. I also own an original Quadrasynth, and originally purchased this to complement it, but now I only use it, and the B&D module. My next purchase is a Triton (rack, likely), and the JV will be a compliment to that. I love the sound of the Triton, as well as Roland's. If I had the money at the time, however, I might have purchased the 2080 w/Session board. But for three times the amount, I don't know. And since both have their strengths and weaknesses in sound (as well as having a "sound"), having the JV1010 allows me more options as a programmer.

Presets sound great and far better than more expesive modules. I have tried all modules and this one is the best for the price. Editor is easy to use via computer.

The 64 poly is great in such a small module. I would reccomend getting 2 module and put an Orch 1 and an Orch 2 card in it if you composing clasical music. It allows room for one expansion board.

Full strings are GREAT!!! If your looking for the BEST sounding orchestra on a small budget. Get 2 JV1010's and put an orch 1 in one, and an orch 2 in the other. Far better the emu's virtuoso 2000 which I bought and returned after spending 2 horrific weeks trying program the darn thing to get usefull sounds. JV1010 is great for getting a first impression before a reading of a piece without spending thousands on sample cd's, samplers, or digital studio's.

I have had mine for about a year without 1 single problem. Solid as a rock!!!!!

-----uh? What? Are you kidding?

I would buy it again!!! Love the portability, sounds, and expandability. Far better than Virtuoso 2000 when adding an orch 1 and 2 card. This module helps you do what you supposed to be doing...COMPOSING!!!! not spending 3 hours of prgramming to get it to sound realistic. Great for students and professional composers who want to get some quick hassel-free feedback on there lates composition.

Easy to use if all you want to do is select and play the preset patches. However its vey hard to do anything else unless you use the included editor software.

When using the editor software you basically get the same features as a JV 2080 with a 'Session'expansion board.

I've noticed a 'sluggishness' on drum tracks when pushing the polyphony to it's limit.

The effects are ok but there aren't enough of them and the processor is only three buss (reverb/chorus/multiFX).

Most sounds are generaly good especially the pianos and string pads. However the drum sounds are poor (there's not enough variation, especially between the cymbals).

My JV 1010 frequently crashes when I turn the 'Catagory Select' knob! i.e.) stops recieving MIDI and therefore stops sounding. Only by switching the unit off then back on again or turning the 'Catagory Select' knob to 'Demo' does the unit come back to life.

This unreliability makes it useless in a live enviroment and is an inconvenience in a studio enviroment.

I returned my original unit to Roland several times and they reluctantly replaced a few components then gave it me back saying there was nothing wrong with it, only for me to find that the fault still prevailed.

Eventually I got a relacement which had exactly the same fault!!!

Has anybody else experienced this problem? Do all JV 1010's have this fault?

The Roland custommer support is very... very... poor.

They usually took an unreasonable amount of time handling my unit each time I returned it.

I always had to make numerous phone calls to check the progress of each return. They rarely took the initiative to keep me informed.

They never once appologised for the inconvenience they were causing or offered to refund my return carriage cost.

If it were lost or stolen I would be so so happy (as long as it was covered by my insurance).

I have recently took my unit to a local Roland representative who verified that it has a fault. Roland have since told me that there is nothing they can do to cure the fault so I am seeking a full refund.

This is the first piece of Roland gear that I have bought and this experience will ensure that its the last.

The Presets sound great! This was my first purchase of a sound module and just starting to get into midi. I don't know about the editing of patches. The limited documentation (on CD-Rom) did't explain exactly what the editing software is or how I could use it. The PDF file of the SoundDiver program began with the use of SoundDiver. I wish that the prefacing chapters had been included. I'm not geeked out enough on the techno jargon to understand what they are trying to teach me. "Okay, now all you have to do is click on the bi-polar deflatulator to tweak the forward bias and that will bring up your anti-digenous coflodgitator for simple editing! Great isn't it! Now happy editing!" Who could start with that? ;-) I'm still pleased with the unit, I wish I didn't have to do so much research to understand what I have and how to fully use it.

Great polyphony,effects, limited expansion, midi easy to use. I play the drum sounds on my DK10 and am very pleased.

Realistic sounds which are easily accessable, works with any type of music and can be tailored to specific genres with expansion boards. It reacts very well with my CakeWalk sequencer, midiK.I.T.I pro, KAT DK10 percussion controller and the Casio MK1800 keyboard. Velocity and aftertouch very responsive.

Very dependable so far. Have used it for practice, sequencing and on stage. Not a single failure.

Haven't dealt with the company yet, but, I have trusted Roland for over 20 years and have not the slightest inkling that they wouldn't support this product to the satisfaction of the customer.

Worth every penny and the drive it took to go make the purchase. I have had this unit for about 6 months and use it every day. I haven't had any other units to compare this with, but, as far as I'm concerned I don't need any others......unless it would be one more JV1010!

Plug it in, turn it on, start twisting the knobs, pick a catagory and start listening. Getting up and running with presets is simple. When you want to start working in the multi-timbral world it still works the way you'ld expect... once you guess which mode to be in. Roland's architecture has always been a little confusing to me. You have 5 MODES: MIDI, PATCH, PERFORM, RHYTHM, and GM. Of all of those, I can understand MIDI, PATCH and GM. The need for the others still eludes me. Since the manual is on a CD-rom, you can't just take the manual to the toilet for a nice long b.m.

After you get into the editing software, you realize that you have purchased a very good sounding synthesizer with very flexible editing capabilities. I had been using it with Digi Perf and was pleased with how I could go back and forth to the editor (even though the editor requires OMS and DP requires FreeMidi).

The effects are very nice, and fairly tweakable, although not as extensive as one might like, they've covered the basics and added some very special extras.

You've probably read in other reviews that this synth puts all of the bell & whistle buttons into a software editor. If you need to tweak your sounds, it's well worth the install. It will show you what a powerhouse synth you have. My 8 is for the features in the software. But it requires OMS, and will not work with FreeMIDI.

I bought the 70's keyboards expansion board which I think is very good, particularly the fender rhodes sounds and hammonds. In hindsight, I might have been better served with the orchestral sounds instead.

IN MY OPINION, its kind of a mixed bag. There are two reasons to buy this box, #1 The synth sounds to me are really good especially if you make techno/dance/electronic music and #2 the acoustic piano, which is very nice sounding in stereo, has two velocity levels and doesn't sound like shit in mono. They used a low-pass filter with the cut-off wired to velocity. I edited the piano so that the filter wasn't making the soft notes quite so dark.

The drum sounds are not so good--my main problems are with the hi-hats (a pretty important sound to get right.) The others drums are ok. But I find the KORG drum sounds to be more usable and realistic.

The string ensemble sounds are acceptable. But I find the other orchestral instruments to be too fake sounding.

I think it's a great first synth. You get many of the functions and sounds of a more expensive synth, a very good piano, an expansion slot for the card of your choice, good polyphony, nice effects. Although the presets are very good, it's particularly a good value if you use the editing software.

I have a JV-1010, Korg NS-5R and a K2000 w/ sampling. I like the half racks for quick sounds, ideas, low budget things where I don't want to sift through my very unorganized sample library. When I need realistic sounds, I always use the sampler.

Excellent. I don't know what some of the reviewers are complaining about. This couldn't be easier to use for what it is. Perfect for the MIDI setup, and easy enough when all you have is a keyboard controller.

For the money, how can you go wrong? It's basically perfect for $400 brand new and $340 used. Can anyone tell me of another current synth module for that price with this many features? Nope -- not in this range, and in a range of a couple hundred dollars more.

Again, for the money how can you go wrong with this for a low-cost general-purpose module or as an expansion to other gear? The complaints about this being an inferior-sounding synth when it sounds as good as a JV-1080 or 2080, in general, are unfounded. It isn't a Korg Triton, and we all know that. But for $400 how can anyone complain? It sounds as good as or better than anything close to its price. I have a friend producing miracles on an old piece of junk Kawai synth and he would have a field-day with this one. As for the usability of the outputs for professional recording, I haven't compared it thoroughly with its siblings, but who cares? The output quality is good enough for most projects, if you know how to record it. For the money, if your music sucks on this, it will suck on other similar gear in the same price range.

Probably just fine. Seems well built. Roland gear has held up for me through the years.

Have no idea. Never had to call them in 12 years. Their stuff has always worked for me. Their website sucks, however, so I'll give them a "5" -- they need to get with it and have plenty of specs, photos, and audio demos of EVERYTHING.

For the money, you simply cannot go wrong with this. $400 new and $340 USED is a bargain. It has a plethora of sounds, many of which are extremely usable, and with some tweaking on a computer, you can generate some wonderful results. It's a good tool. I highly recommend it and I'm impressed with Roland's dedication to bringing such a good soundset out at a reasonable price. When you think of it in terms of MONEY, you'll understand my point of view. Think of this: You can buy a single, good sample library for $200-$300 for your sampler. You can buy a single, good expansion card for $200-$300 for various synths out there. This is ONLY $400! Pretend you're buying a "Roland JV-2080 sound card" for one of your other synths... only this one comes with its own outputs an, an okay FX unit, and over 1000 sounds. Not too shabby.

Could be easier, but cheaper with less lights and buttons.

Great features as far as I've experienced it. I wish it had 2 effects processing units, though. But that would bring the cost up. :(

Great sounds. Sometimes awesome. If you know how to use it, you pick only the best sounds for your compositions, you edit patches, and you get the reverb and effects just right, you can create something absolutely phenomenal! Get the orchestral I board to fill this card out, it is an EXCELLENT addition (just make sure you add enough reverb to orchestral sounds to bring out full quality).

If you want to hear this module in action, check out my music site at http://www.mp3.com/beyondmusic

I compose using only a JV-1010 and a SB-Live! soundcard. My song 'Mystery of the Stars' uses the Orchestral expansion board for a few instruments, but most instruments are stock JV-1010 or modified JV-1010. Only JV-1010 is used for this song! Awesome potential for beautiful compositions, check it out!

Reliable. Knob acts a bit funny sometimes, jumps a couple numbers at once. Probably just over-use.

Haven't needed any yet! Thank goodness.

I would definiately get this module again if I lost it or it was stolen. Even after hearing the Korg Trinity I would not give it up because of the overall uniqueness of sounds and the great quality on most of the instruments. Plus it's so cheap!

I'm using a full version of Soundiver 3.0 and it seems to work fine. For using a single sound source at a time it is very easy to use as you just dial in your patch. You cannot reasonably edited the sounds from the front panel so it loses points for that.

I have the original Orchestral board installed. It's got a really shitty effects processor too. It's very small though, I like that.

I got this unit for a really good price with the Orchestral board soley to have access to string and orchestral percussion sounds immediately. The built in sounds are pretty much garbage and the first thing I did was turn off the effects. It has the weakest, most nastily coloured reverb I have ever heard. The orchestral board is useable, and the sounds are easily available, so it's easy to compose with it rather quickly. When it's time to record I usually use my Emu E5000 with the Miroslav collection to give a more full sounding orchestral sound.

I would not bring it live for fear of embarrasement.

I used to work in a retail music store so I had to deal with Roland on many an occasion. They were generaly alright guys, but all seemed to be acting so fake. My opinion is that they don't really like the gear they are supporting

If it were lost or stolen I would not buy it again, unless I could get it for $100. It serves it's purpose but it's role in my studio is very limited and sometimes I feel like selling it to buy more "real" gear. I apologize to anyone who feels I am being a snob here and can only say I am. I think roland gear(post-Analogue Roland, Jupiter-8's and Modulars are gorgeous!) is complete shit designed by a commitee. Other gear I use is a Waldorf Microwave XT 30 voice, Emu E5000 ultra, Korg Prophecy, Clavia Nord Micro Modular, Yamaha FS1R, Waldorf Pulse, Peavey PC1600x, Lexicon MPX 1, MPX 100, Vortex, Motu 2408 on a PC (I know PC's suck cause of Microsoft, but what you gonna do eh?), Reaktor,Line 6 Pod, Portable Sony Minidisc recorder, Behringer preamp, compressor, DI box, mixer and patchbays, CAD E-100 microphone, Midiman Midisport 8x8s. As you can probably tell, there's alot more for me to play with for fun than a JV-1010, but hey, sometimes a little shit is all you need to complete a great meal.