Roland JV-1010

First of all, I'm not a keboardist or pianist. I'm a bassit/guitaist. I bought me a Yamaha psr 270 about 10 years ago (stil works fine!) to learn to play piano. I bought the roland JV 1010 about 2 years later because the yamaha pianos sounded toyish.

I don't know what software version it's running. I haven't had the need to find any updates for it. The preset sounds are great for me. I believe that most of the sounds are usable for live and studio applications.

Editing the patches using the knobs is impossible for a guy like me that is not really into sound editing. You NEED a computer to accomplish edting on this unit. The Sound Diver software that was included does a great job. I've used it to rearrange the user bank patches and to bring in some new pathces that i've found in the internet.

This was my first real synth and new to midi. The manual is ok. I had to read it carefully more than a few times though. It does not cover everything thourghly. Any questions I had were answered by others on forums.

It is 64 polyphony. It's enough for most sequences i've made. It's a module so there is no keyboard action. The unit does come with decent effect I think. The patches do come with a little too much reverb. I fix them with the soundvier software and save them in the user bank.

More sound can be added by using one expasion card. I have the Bass and Drums which has killer basses!! (they need compression).

It has 16 channels of midi. On this unit, Midi is best used with a computer. I have an Alesis QS6.2 and I hook up the JV1010 to it. I enjoy combing both of them for new sounds. I have a problem that I don't know how to remedy (I'm still learing midi). When I change a program on the QS, the JV1010 swithces to another patch. I know my user bank very well so I'm able to call up any patch I want from the Jv1010. The JV1010 ONLY display a three digit number so you must learn your pathces.

It does not have an on board sequencer. But is very easy to use with a computer. I use it with Cakewalk Home studio. With Cakewalk i'm able to change just about anything on all channels simultanously(i.e. patches, bank, volume, pan, velocity to name a few) on the JV1010.

The sounds are great.I bought this unit for the pianos. Everyone has a different taste. And for my taste, the pianos, strings and orchestal pathches are excellent. The EP's are great. Most guitars are great. Rock guitar sounds are weak with a couple of exceptions. The Session Guitar sounds very real. Most drum sound on the presets are great; they sound like they came from a respectable drum machine. Now, if you add an expansion board like the Bass & Drums, man, you have excellent drums sounds and killer basses.

This unit works well for almost all kinds of music. It sounds great for church. It's awesome for pop and rock (except rock guitar. but you can run it through you guitar effects and it will give you a monster guitar). Pianos and orchesta sounds are great for classical music.

The onboard effects are ok. They are not bad but not great either. When using a sequencer, the drawback is that you can only use one effect for all the 16 channels. If you have flanger on a guitar on channel 1 and then you add reverb to drums on channel 10, the guitar loses it flanger effects and it is replaced by the reverb. but i'm sure that if you use it in a studio, you would strip the patch of its effect and add a studio quality dedicated effect.

It reacts relly good to my playing or i should say that it responds well to all midi commands on all 16 channels. I think that it responds well to velocity and aftertouch.

I've had it for over 8 years now and i havent had a problem with it. It is very reliable. I would use it in a gig without a backup. But who plays in a gig without a backup anyway.

I 've nerver dealt with Roland. Never had to.

I would defentily buy another one if it were stolen. It is very well worth what i paid for (i bought it new for $400 and something).

I been playing for about 18 years. the keyboard for about 10. I own an alesis QS6.2 which i would not buy another one if it were stolen.

I best thing i love about the JV1010 is the sounds. it is unbelievable that i can create a very complex sequence with only the sounds of this unit.
What I hate about it its that you get a small display which displays only numbers. Without a computer, you have to look at the knobs to see in which bank you are at. I also hate that the knobs stick out so much.

I just which it had a bigger display and individual effects for each midi channel.

But for the price and the excellent sounds, I can't complain. My best friend is a studio engineer with years of experience and owns many expensive gear (keyboards, basses, guitars, effects) that people on a budget like me can only dream about. He recommended me to buy a JV 1010 and that that's all i'm gonna need for a home studio. I'm just grateful i took his advice.

If you're thinking of starting a home studio this is the way to go. Even though this unit is old, it stil works with todays music. And nowadays you can snatch one for less than $200 bucks on ebay.

Dont know the software version. i know theres updates for it outthere cause ive seen them. but i chose not to update it. the os seems stable enough fro what im gonna do with it and if i find myself wanting to use it live and find it that unstable i would most likely just upgrade to a 2080. well in this area being that you have to own a pc to really even make this thing be much more then a preset box im giving it a low ease of use grade. ive been programming synths and sequencers hard and software based for about 10 plus years now.

OK PLEASE READ MY REVIEW!!!

im going to try to offer an honest helpful setup here because im fairly knowledged on synths and i know someone on a budget like me who still likes to write every once in a while might end up buying this box. or someone who finds they needs some other sounds that there va synths arnt cutting and consider this box or antoher one 1080 2080 etc a good investment. well first off id say get the 1080 but honestly i dont know what the difference is in the software. if there isnt really any get the 1080 cause it certainly has more features. ok

i would not recomend getting this if your not faily knowledged on pc's and synthesis. check into a yamaha cs1x. its sound engine is weak compared to this unit but its way more user friendly. but if your willing to learn pickup a book or read the manual thuroughly. also buying this unit without an pc is not smart. theres plenty of ways to get sounddiver.... yeah so get it and put it on your pc. hint."coughs..soulseek..". dont worry if it didnt come with it you can still get it. i dont recommend getting another one cause i dont know much about any other editor. and sd does everything you need it to.
second. your going to need to purchace a pc interface. now flat out get an edirol interface. there are others that will work im sure but edirol is a roland company. and the edirol um-1ex goes for 30 bucks. it works just follow the simple setup sheet and if that fails read the cords they tell you where to put what. and thats the cheapest decent interface you might get. remember that edirol um-1ex your going to need that to get much done. now once you get those two things done heres a site with what i believe to be the only patches still left out there due to the age of this unit.

http://www.pdmusic.org/jvxp.html

theres a part that says system patch files. download those and fool around with them till you find some stuff you like. mix and match its a good place to start from.

you can edit them into your own thing. but it is nice to hear where someone took the sound engine. helps you know what you can do.

NOW AS I SAID NO PC, DONT BOTHER GETTING THIS. YOU WILL HAVE A REDICULIOS TIME EDITING THIS WITHOUT IT IF YOU EVEN CAN. BUT IF YOU HAVE NO PC THEN HOW ARE YOU READING THIS!?

ok the sound engine is way incredible for the age of this unit and its price. one of the best piano's ive heard you there. the filters are decent. i can get some decent bass action with the res up. try to not play with the overview settings on sounddiver to much as far as the res and cut are concerned cause ive sound it will make your filters sound bad. try to stick to the waves filter.

the fx are lousy. the phaser is ok. the delay is good. the flanger is annoying. the reverb is way over used. reverb is best left to reverb units.

be weary of expansion cards, ive heard most of them and after having fully dived into this unit alot of there sounds are already possible on the unit. however the 60's 70's card looks like a winner. mainly for the rhodes and wurlitzer sounds. you can get pretty nice b3 sounds with the system alone. dont get the techno card.....just get to know the box before you decide to spend any more money one extra sounds. all and all this box can do quite a bit. get to know it it has alot of potential and should be put to waste.

ok ill list what ive gotten out of it.
great piano's
great stacked analog strings (juno,jupiter,ob, etc)
great bass(moog, ob, juno,101, etc)
great leads
incredible pads.
electric pianos are ok for the whole dx-7 sound no good acuostic ones.
and this is without any sound cards
from my knowledgs alot of the sound cards stuff is just rehash on what the system already has, id say that goes especially for the techno card.

very solid for its size and capabilities and price.

roland is great if you create a login with there us site. ive got tones of updates from them and am greateful for it. like my pudate for my br 8 that i can now bring all my recordings straight into live and remix everything.

id give it a ten if you didnt need a pc. but if you didnt it wouldnt be such a cheap item i think its a fair trade. also the cards are way over priced. i think its a scam for the most part. but im getting the 60's 70's card eventually for the rhodes and wurlitzer stuff. go here if you wanna hear what cards do what.

http://synthmania.com/

ive done psytrance,ebm,triphop,shoegaze,hiphop,ambient,braindance, etc and i play guitar not as well but you know. well i hope you found this review helpful.
id say im fairly eclectic and i was satisfied. and its been a while since i bought a unit and didnt feel jipped. so thanks goes to the jv 1010.

Plug in and of you go.Every sound is the click of a knob away.Dont have editor or manual,but dont need them, I got this to boost my sound arsenal and it does the job easily.

Polyphony is 64, what more do you average Jo's want?Effects are great.I use this just for playing 1-2 sounds at a time and it works superb.Not about to use it as the centrepiece of my midistudio,but you would get the JV 1080 for that wouldn't you?

The overall sound selection is just great.For the used price(I paid $260)you really can have zero complaints.Very profesional all round.At last a useable JV piano sound!(on the Session bank).And yes I have a JV 1080,and the preset pianos there are sub-standard.

No hassles so far,like I say, I'm not about to go ramming 16 tracks of midi messages down its throat.It does me just fine for a welcome boost to my sounds.

Never been there.

I'd buy again, its a bargain price to boost your set up.Real easy to use presets.Of course my JV 1080 is king, but with the JV 2080 bank E sounds and the Session Expansion sounds the JV 1010 really holds its own in the preset arena.The Session piano sound has been inspiring, and has restored my faith in the JV series.

I found it very easy to use: controlled mostly from PowerTracks Pro Audio on a windowsd based PC.

keyboard to 1010 action was fine.

I was attracted to the palette of sounds.
I am still impressed by what this now cheap unit can do.
I'm a big pad sound fan, and I really like what it offers
in that category.

I also experienced the hang up when turning the patch knob beyond the casual clicks...
unit would then have to be booted.

never had to call: didn;t bother to call about the hanging, I figured it was user induced, as this was my first outboard MIDI unit.

I would certainly consider Roland units for sound modules.
I mainly do home recording.

Let me begin this by saying: I am a bass player with a home studio build going on and I needed a keyboard. So, after researching, I picked up an M-Audio 88 key controller, and bagged this JV1010 on ebay for $179.

I was able to plug and play in 1 minute. Able to review as many sounds as I wanted without reading a thing, and have since printed the patch list for reference. Thats it. Now I'd say that sounds like it's pretty easy to use. Given, I am not looking to start editing patches, or hook this to a computer. If thats your intention then my score may not apply to you.

As ar as features are concerned, I am not, and have no desire to delve into the enormous amounts of editing capabilities of this unit. Its got the abitlity to add an expansion card, and from what I've researched, there are dozens available for this unit. I am researching which expansion card would be best for a general studio environment. As far as the sounds......well lets talk.

I have been a bass player for 25 years and have played with lots of keyboardists, usually with a few feet of the keyboard monitor, so, my opinion of the sounds is strictly from a listeners point of view. I bought this because I wanted a general piano/organ sound module at a reasonable price. Well, I got my money's worth and more. The sounds I hear are as good , if not better, than any of the players I've worked with. Mind you, the Piano's sound great, but they do not remind me of an acoustic piano. The sound similar, but none seem to incorporate a realistic "room sound" that you get from an Acoustic instrument. Also, I got this in trade for a 67' Rhodes 73 Stage Piano I got at a garage sale for $50 bucks. (That Rhodes sounded EXACTLY like the Wurly on "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles.) The Rhodes' sample in this module sound nice, but it don't sound like the 67' I just traded. So realize , these sounds are GREAT, (especially stereo), but they're samples, not true replicas of the gear their mimicking. All in all, if you are looking to build a truly professional and current sound library for keyboard, what you get here for the money is truly exceptional. Strings-2 or 3 in the library are very nice. Piano's- 3 or 4 are exceptional. Organs- I found 3 or 4 that were absolutely great. The balance of the sounds are excellent as well. The nylon string guitars are really rich sounding, and believe it or not, the Bell patches are really beautiful as well. Tons of usable sounds. Not a bunch of crap.

It crashes if you turn the bank selector too fast. Watch out. Turn it slow, your OK. Otherwise, not a problem.

never needed. the thing works.

This thing is an incredible value. $179 and I have dozens of usable sounds for a home studio. Enough additional sounds to inspire my 14 year old to start songwriting. Hooked to the M-Audio 88 key controller, I pretty much have a $1000+ keyboard for less than $400 bucks. Yes, the Rhodes was nice, but i feel I got a very comprehensive and usable board, that will be comfortable for any visiting player for the cost of trading away a $50 garage sale find. I may consider buying another one on ebay if I can bag it for less than $150. These things are a great value. Just Great. Buy it if you find it.

If you have even a slight knowledge of MIDI, then wou should have no problem setting this up, but as far as the use of editing is concerned, thats a different story. Editing the patches internally, only useing the 1010 is a waste of time. If you can find an external editor, and have a midi interface to your computer then i would probably raise this rateing a few points, but dont hold your breath, so far i havent come accross any. If your just looking to use the (plentifull) presets, then i would give this a 10.

There is more polyphony than you will need. There is reverb and other effects, but they down rite suck. I wouldnt bother useing the internal FX. There are cards you can buy to expand it, but i dont see why you would want to, it has just about every sound your probably looking for, and if your looking for such a specific sound that you feel you need to upgrade, then i would suggest MAKEING the sound yourself. I wouldnt say this synth is flexable, but the presets are versatile.

Ive read some of the above reviews, and i dont know why some of you guys think these sounds (piano and string) are thin and unrealistic. I record ambient music, so piano and string sounds are some of the most common and important sounds i use. If you havent played the jv 1010 yet, and are thinking of buying it, dont rely on these reviews, play it yourself (theres probably 1 laying around your local guitar center)

Its encased in metal, what more needs i say?

I havent had any technical problems with it, ever, and i even bought mine used ( from guitar center )

Ive never had to.

Well, seeing as how i dont have any money, i wouldnt buy it again. But if you want to know if it was WORTH the 100$, definetly. I can see why some people payed the full price. I wish it had an envelope editor on it, or i wish that someone would make one for it. It IS kinda degradeing to use companys presets and not your own....

One aspect of my review below needs further explanation. Turning off the system's reverb without librarian software should be possible via the following System Exclusive Message sequence:<br>

Switch Reverb Off: F0 41 10 6A 12 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 00 76 F7
<br>
Switch Reverb On: F0 41 10 6A 12 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 01 75 F7

<br>
Using such a procedure, I was able to disable the reverb (despite initially using the incorrect checksum of 0A instead of 76). However, for some reason I have had no such luck in attempting to turn it back on, though for my use, I would prefer to leave it off. Editing the JV-1010 without librarian software is a frustrating and time-consuming task unless you are a complete Midi guru. Detailed explanation regarding editing System Exclusive settings on the JV-1010 can be found at the following website:<br>

http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/tutr/rolsysx.htm

Patches generally sound much better with reverb disabled. This is also a consideration if you want to use external effects such as an amp modeller.

Basic selecting sounds is easy. The category banks help in locating sounds. Selecting between sounds with the knobs can still take five to ten seconds, which may be too slow for live band situations. Also, as others have mentioned, turning the bank knob too fast will cause the unit to crash. This is annoying as it requires turning the unit off and then on again, and I've found has also required turning the keyboard controller off and on again in a certain order as well. In a live performance situation, this could be disastrous. You can avert this by copying all your favorite patches to the user bank so you don't have to switch banks, but again you need a computer with librarian software to do this.<br>

It would be preferable for live use if there was some sort of "favorites" list editible from the front panel. An alternative is to assign favorite sounds to the user bank, but this must be done with a computer and librarian software such as sounddiver or soundquest.
<br>

Unfortunately there is no way to edit the sounds or effects without a computer and software. I bought my unit used and it did not come with the software. Sadly, the software that originally came with the unit is not freely available.
<br>

If you don't have the librarian software, but you do have a sequencer with the ability to manually input sysex events as text in an event editor, it should be possible to edit some of the basic parameters, such as turning off the annoying reverb.<br>

Reverb can apparently be toggled via midi with the following messages:
System Common Size Description Data (value)
00 0A 0000 000a Reverb Switch 0 - 1 (off, on)
<br>

Midi implementation can be found at http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/jv-midiman.htm.

The piano patch is the reason I bought this module. The bass registers just growl. Upon bringing the unit home, I found that the mid, and especially the treble regions were not as good as I had initially perceived. For the most-part though, the piano patch holds it's own even compared with some newer synths. I actually prefer tthe jv-1010's piano patch to the stock XV-5050 piano patch. (I've heard the piano on the SRX03 "Studio" Expansion board is better than the stock XV-5050's. Alternately, you can install the same piano sound that's on the jv-1010 on an XV-5050 via the SRX07 "Ultimate Keys" expansion board from what I have read.)<br>

As far as string/pad sounds, there are only two that I would consider using regularly in a live band situation. One of the two is stringier and brighter. The other is paddier, and darker and more mysterious sounding. The darker sound would probably blend better in most situations. However, somewhere in the midrange there is a ugly recurrent chirping artifact on at least on of the samples making up this patch.<br>

There are a few nice electric piano (EP / clav / rhodes / whirly) patches too. Organs did not impress me. Some fairly decent guitars, but I'm a keyboardist. You have to sift through a lot of cheeze to find the gems.

Turning the bank knob too fast will cause it to crash. Then you have to turn it on and off again, waiting for it to reboot.

I've ordered a replacement IPROM chip and pitch/modulation wheel unit from Roland. If you can identify the part you need, they are very helpful. For example, when I first called about a replacement IPROM chip containing the text for the display of an older A-80 keyboard controller, the customer support person was of no help to me. (Common, can't they look this up in the service manuals?) I knew it was the chip that controlled the text, but they were not able (or willing) to figre out precisely what part I needed given that information. Once I was able to trouble-shoot the board myself and locate and identify the IPROM, I called again, this time with the result I wanted. They were of great help and burned me a new EPROM for me at a reasonable cost. Overall, my experience with Roland customer support was surprisingly pleasant, and I give them high marks for still supporting older gear.

If lost or stolen, I would not buy it again. Instead I would buy the SRX07 "Ultimate Keys" board and install it on my XV-5050. Actually, I like the SX-5050 so much that I would like to have two of them and toggle between them for quick and seamless switching between sounds during live use.<br>

The best aspects of the unit are compact size, affordibility, and large number of sounds. For many desktop musicians, and guitarists looking for sequenced or recorded backing tracks it may suit their purposes just fine. However, for serious keyboardists and for live use, it makes sense to spend the extra money on something like the XV-5050 for the improved sounds and front-panel programability.

XP - pretty easy - yest it does - it's OK.

I haven't had any issues with note stealing, although my next door neighbor likes to steal my newspaper from time to time.

MIDI is awesome, even at high altitudes.

Good, realistic sounds for real instruments. Although this unit is technically a 'real' instrument, I only use it when gigging for funeral homes and wakes (for dead people).

Yes

No

Roland sent me a DVD once. The demo guy stole my idea for a song. I may sue him if I can find his name on Yahoo chat.

I strongly agree with the reviewer below. Robots are extremely dangerous and in today's PC world we should try to thwart all attackes whenever possible. Also, I don't like monkeys at all and would kill them if they ever tried to take over a tour bus, especially one bound for LA to go gamble with old folks.

I use XP. No problems. Roland is notorious for hard-to-decipher manuals and instructions...not so this time around!

Polyphony is adequate, even for layering. The effects are sweet. Expansion is almost not necessary, so many good factory patches.

I am most impressed with the Electric pianos and Guitar sounds, for realism. This is a great substitute for lugging a Hammond around as well...the B-3-like sounds are well put together. It seems to have zero latency which makes for speedy data reception.

No glitches in over three years. I would be comfortable having only a solid piano as a backup, as nothing electronic is totally predictable.

I have not had to contact customer support...a plus, so I cannot comment on this section.

I would like to see insurance policies made available for individuals against robot attack. Everyone knows how dangerous robots can be. Once they get hold of you with those metal hands, you can't break free. I also think allowing monkeys to drive tour buses is just good business!

Very Easy. Two knobs, LED panel. Plug it in, twist the knobs, and you're off. I gave it an 8, however, because of sound diver.

64 note ploy. Limited effects.

Some great out of the box sounds. I think there's over a thousand. I still haven't used all of them. Great acoustic guitar, passable electric guitiar, nice string and some great lead and pad synth. I don't like the piano.

BIG problem with the volume, as everyone else has touched on. If you are on a patch, go to the next one and then back, you can have a big jump in volume.

Yeah, I'd probably buy another one. It's small size is great.

Some ppl say they couldnt work it on XP. I DID!!!!
All I did was download the OEM from emagic.com, then I downloaded the updates and it looks nicer and works fine. sometimes the system will freeze for a second (when you save a preset or request a patch),but its just a metter of waiting, then everything is back to normal.
At first I was like, what the hell is this!! I dont understand!. But after reading the inlcuded PDF file patiently I got to understand it.
I also recommend this unit for those using Cubase SX. The patch list is already included in Cubase SX, just load the device and voila! I have the entire patch names and I can sort and find what I like, with a click of a mouse, its a blast!

The polyphony is ok. honestly speaking its just fine :)
The FX taht are built in are kinda tricky to use. They arent that great, I add FX from other sources usually.
I'm thinking of expanding this unit for the SFX card, I'm a video game composer, thats why :P. There are 4 other expansions I would like to buy too. I wish the expansion where like in cartidge form at least so you can pop in one and change, etc. I'm thinking of purchasing the XV-5080 in the near future, I think the expansion feature is great, plus the expansions I like are VERY GOOD.
Thanks to the JV-1010 I got introduced to this line.
The MIDI capabilities are good. nothing crazy, the computer does all the patch changes for me. I like the preview button!

This little box has SO MANY SOUNDS!!!! obviously not all of them are good, but I would say I like a lot of them!! the synths are great! and the pianos are good. If you run this thing into an FX and the Aphex 204 like I have, you'll get a nice punch out of most of the patches :) very realistic, and great for the buck.
The machine reacts great, and it react good to velocity and other controllers. I've had it connected to a V-Drum and a V-guitar, its not bad.

Yes,
the JV-1010 is very reliable. If all you have is a JV-1010 then I would think you are not yet ready to go wild. I have the JV-1010 going through several processors and I have achieved what many of my friends with expensive synths have. Again, this unit has convinced me to go for the XV-5080.
I've also taking this thing to my friends studio and on the road. Its very small and easy, plugs into my laptop very easy too (I got a USB serial) so I can use the serial connection. :)

As far as Roland products, I live in Canada and I have good contacts with Roland. The Roland Canada site if you register, has lots of FAQ and customer support. I've had lots of support from Roland Canada. thumbs up. If anything breaks, Roland here in Canada is very attentive and helpful.

If it were stolen I would cry and attempt to get a new one, or just wait and get the XV-5080. I cant just spend money buying and replacing, I just started freelancing. I guess like everything, I would have to wait and think about it!!!!
I've owned this JV-1010 for a year now.
I like that its small and it has so much in it! I hate the FX, but I got my ways around that.
I thought about the XV-2020 too, but I didnt have the money. I'm very happy with the JV-1010, if you can afford it, I would get it right away and start making tracks. I wish the LCD described more, but its not annoyting, I barelt look at it anyway. Its all in the computer.

OK. I dont do computer music I just have this thing in my dorm room in college. As I am a music major studying keyboard, i have it connected to my not-so-great Yamaha dx-7, so i can get realistic sounds. I also use the same setup for gigging with my space-funk band
anyway... As far as selecting the patches (theres tons), its is extremely easy. Other than that i dont know.

As i said, i just use it for the preset patches, and they are great. Much better than any keyboard i have ever used

SO MANY SOUNDS. i practice the piano/organ in my room for my lessons, and then i switch to the "eurotech clav" and "pieces-of-cheez" for gigging with my band. This thing has the coolest/cheeziest sounds that i cant get enough of. Piano, Organ, Clav, Rhodes, Wurly, strings, brass, and a million variations on those and a ton of synths.

I HATE when i gig with it and the midi cuts out.
as everyone else has mentioned, when you switch the sound category, the thing can ignore your playing unexpectedly. theres no way to fix this and its a problem. not the biggest problem in the world of sound but is unfortunate for gigging

poop.
wait, sorry. I mean i never have needed it.

I think its great and it will remain in my ever-expanding bag of toys. I reccomend it for people like me who want a cheap, easily portable (its like 6 pounds and fits in a backpack) and somewhat reliable box of sounds

Yes, I ahave to admit, it is very difficult to use.
If you do not have a computer, editing is very limited, you just use the preset. The display is not so clear, above all in performance mode.

64 notes for polyphony, not so many, since patches are made up by four tones. The 3 effects are very good, unfortunaly they are only 3. The JV reacts very well to aftertouch and other controllers.

Wonderful sounds. The St.Piano is unreachable, I've rarely heard anything at the same level. Very good points also for basses, both electric and synth basses are very outstanding. The drums are average, but anyway much better than anything in this price range. I feel the Kick drum very punchy, it is really a good sound.
What else... The strings and pads are full, even if I think Korg has some more bells in this arena.
Acoustic guitar are very good, electric guitar quite good.
At the end, I find this horse is very hard to beat, the overall quality is very high, and there is no annoying mixture of sounds when you play a performance (16 channels), all the tracks stand on the mix.
I've owned a lot of synth, and the sounds of this box are really among the first ones.

Ok for me.

Ok.

My overall rating is high. I am much satisfied by this box, which I bought last year. I do not agree on the reviews I've read about the poor DAC converters, and about the low volume. Yes, the output volume could be better, but I think JV-1010 is a wonderful ROM player, has an accetable signal to noise ratio, wonderful sounds, and that's all.

Accept that you need a PC and Sound Diver to edit sounds, and you're on to a winner. On the whole, whatever sound you need there will be several good-sounding presets. As has been said before, you'll need to do some tweaking to make the most of them. And in order to do that, if you're familiar with the building-blocks of synths, using Sound Diver is a breeze with envelopes and kb splits all displayed graphically. I haven't tried using the multi-timbral setup yet, but then I bought this little chap for playing live.
The manuals are basic, but then the box is nothing different from most synths.

Good polyphony, but it's eaten up by layered voices.
Very flexible FX setup, but not a great variety of FX algorithms.
I probably won't add any expansion cards- don't really need to as it's got so many presets out of the box.
MIDI controllers can be used to vary all sorts of aspects of a preset- most useful.
The only bad point is that the performances aren't accessable live without much MIDI trickery- if that's important for you, go for the XV-2020.

I bought this module because it had a harp sound. Silly, but very necessary for a certain song I play. But it does make a point- this module has every sound you're going to need, be it pop, rock, dance or classical. It's worth pointing out that this box is more about flexibility than "wow" sounds- while good, the sounds aren't the best in the world. Choruses and reverbs are a little weak, but they do the job and you can set the FX chain up in any way you need.
My other gripe is that some of the multisamples have poor cross-overs as you go up the kb.

Seems like a solid little box. It perches on some rubber feet on top of my M1. Only done a couple of gigs so far, but it's holding up fine.
However, it can crash if you spin through the banks too quickly- I find that if you wait for the first sound to be playable before selecting the next bank, everything's ok.

I had quite an e-conversation with Roland before I bought my 1010- I wanted to make sure it would do what I need. They were very helpful.
I haven't needed any post-sales support to date.

If lost or stolen, I'd replace my 1010 with another- I've invested too much time in creating and editing presets! It's superb VFM, and compact (don't want to lug racks about).
And if I couldn't get a JV-1010, I'd go for a XV-2020.

Ive got to tell you guys and girls, the sound diver software that came with my little 1010 is really east to use. You need to play around a bit but you'll get it. What we really want to do is change tone levels, release, attack ,effects levels(ALMOST ALWAYS REVERB) cutoff frequency, tone changes and decay settings. Double click on the patch that u want to tweek and commence with the editing. Ive got one of the best performance pianos Ive ever herd. My little 1010 is a work horse.

64 note poliphony (but dont be fooled). I dont need hammer thump. I just took it out of my piano piano patches and to be honest with u, I cant tell the difference. I like Rolands voice allocation scheme.9 times out of 10 your going to have to go into the effects section and turn the darn reverb down. When this is done, your going to hear some really beautiful Roland Tones. The session exp. has some interesting sounds. beautiful strings, brite pianos(if u tweek them right. My only gripe is the organs...POO POO. My Triton takes care of that department. Once you set up your users bank and your controller(I use my old Alesis Quadrasynth plus) Rename your patches and start kicking ass with this thing. Im a synth key guy anyway so Im not going to complain about responce. My 1010 lives on the top right hand side of of my qs+. Four small pieces of velcro and the 1010 isn't going anywhere.

Lets put it this way. I pride myself on tweeking piano sounds so they cut through on the gig. I play for a living so my bread and butter sounds have got to impress. My 1010 comes through. The top synth on my keyboard stand is a Triton Pro. Ive got the piano exp. PCM08 installed and it also sounds good but to me MY 1010 kicks my Tritons Booty. If anything, the 1010 is an excellent piano module. Dont get me wrong. I LUUUUUUV my Pro SOOOOOOO much, but I always have musicians and sound techs asking me where my piano sound is coming from. Except for the organs, I really dont have any complaints. My Triton has a killer B-3 and Leslie simulator and great electric pianos. My 1010 takes care of the Acoustic Pianos, some strings,acoustic guitars( Did I tell U that I also luv the acoustic guitars???????) and some synths.Because of the organs, I give the 1010.....9

Ive been using and traveling with my little 1010 for about a year now and it keeps on ticking. I would like to make a strong suggestion......If you travel around with a band like I do, buy an extra wall wart for it. Mine has never crashed and burned yet but u never know.

I havent had to call ROLAND yet....KNOCK ON WOOD....

Bottom Line People.....Ive played pro for over 20 years. Ive owned alot of keys. My 1010 has one of the most impressive pianos myself and alot of my fellow colleagues have ever herd in an onstage mix. You just have to know how to tweek them. If it were lost or stolen, I would buy another one in a heart beat.... Roland could have stuffed the 1010 into a full rack space case, charged a couple of hundred bucks more and laughed all the way to the bank of TOKYO. All I know is that Iv'e got a great sound module for a great low price. Whos Laughing Now????????????????????????????

Windows XP and soundiver included with the jv1010. Some presets are very good, some are not. Editing patches is easy if you can get soundiver to work on your computer. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. All roland manuals are generic and hard to understand. I made better progress without the manual.

I have expanded the unit with the vintage synth card. I had a MVS-1 and loved the sounds so the choice was obvious! No sequencer on the jv-1010 but soundiver has sequencer. VERY COOL!

There are plenty of great sounds and there are plenty of bad sounds. Most can be tweaked within soundiver to get them sounding good. I don't use the on board effects so I cannot comment on them. Responds well to velosity and aftertouch. Some presets are way louder than others but this can be adjusted within soundiver. Low volume output but again this can be corrected.

I have only had the unit a short time but I already love it and it seems very dependable. Would I use it at a gig without a backup? I guess I'd have to since it's the only sound module I own.

We all know how Roland's customer support is (or lack of).

I play bass in a three piece band. I bought this unit to use with my Roland PK-5. I also have the floorboard so switching between presets would be easier than spinning the value knob. I have taken all the sounds that I like and moved them to my user bank. This is a very nice piece of equipment for the price, though kind of useless if you cannot get soundiver to work. I agree with others rating this product that it does have it's share of faults. I basically just use this for fills (solos) and it does the job well. If I was to take up playing keyboards full time I would look for something else. For what I'm using it for it's great! It does help inspire some of our better originals!

The JV1010 needs Sound Diver in order te be edited. Editing without connecting it to a computer is impossible. But I guess editing with a computer is easier anyway. Nonetheless, for a not-so-experienced tweaker like me, editing is not always simple. I don't think I have used al it's possibilities already.

Further on: changing sounds can only be done by turning a knob on th efront panel, which isn't very convenient for stage purposes (the thing has so many sounds!). But using the user bank properly solves this problem: just put the sounds in the right order for your set list, and switching to the desired sound becomes fairly simple.

Polyphony: 64. The built-in effects suffice for my goals. I bought it to have an all-round sound library for my band, and I had a limited budget. Expanding is possible (one expansion slot), more expansion possibilities would have been nice. I put in the 60/70s keyboards expansion card. The session expansion board is already built in. No sequencer. Midi I/O/T (a second MIDI IN would also have been nice), connection w/computer by DIN(?)-cable. Uses an adapter for power supply.

This is why I bought the thing: loads of sounds. I do not use all of them, but if I wanted to, I could play like an all-round keyboard player.

Of course, it has it's weaknesses. The output volume is low, generally speaking, and there are indeed volume differences between the different sound patches. Currently, I'm trying to solve this problem (live playing demands quick operations) by editing the patch volumes. Don't know yet if this will work out sufficiently. Some sounds are great, the others not so great. I lacks the really nice Fender Rhodes sounds, for that, you need the 60s/70s board. Organs: fairly OK, the expansion board provides a richer offer for those. Piano's: fairly OK. Strings/brass: OK, but not great. Guitars are great, some synth sounds (it has over 300 synths and pads!) are really great too.

The 60s/70s board has lots of Hammond organs (appr. 100, not too many leslied organs, though), some Farfia and other cheesy organs, ca 40 Fender Rhodes pianos (some of which are quite good), ca 30 Wurlys, a couple of great clavs (also two presetted wah wah clavs, which are very funky), a bunch of nice mellotrons (for all the Tony Banks and Rick Wakeman lovers) and some other sounds. Nice card, a bit hard to find when I bought it, so I'll keep it for at least a while.

For its all-round sound scope and the quality of a part of the sounds, I'd give it a 9.

I used it on several gigs and it has let me down only once. Turning it off and on again solved the problem I encountered. The size is an advantage: very small, fits easily in any suitcase. I use it without a backup.

I had to phone Roland Belgium once, when I looked for the 60s/70s board (which were to be replaced by the SRX boards at the time). They were very helpful in sending a demo card to my dealer. All in all: good.

Like I said: I'm a player, not a tweaker (but it is fun to learn editing sounds for improvements, of course). When you're limited to a small budget, this is a fine choice. Hey, when I'd have won big bucks, I would have bought a XV88 or a RD700 with a XV5080 module, probably, or some other more expensive units, but I'm not in Oz, and I ain't in Kansas neither.

I would buy a XV2020, if this unit were stolen, just because it's more expandable (2 SRX cards, which will be available for a longer time then the JV expansion cards, I guess) and the XV sounds are said to be better.

I control the JV1010 by a simple Roland keyboard (Roland E70) and own a Yamaha P80 as well. This is a fine set-up, but I'm thinking about replacing the E-70 by a Roland RS9 or another synthesizer, thereby expanding my sound possibilities. I won't sell this JV1010, though.

I don't regret buying this thing. For me, it was the right choice, and before I'm sure about using all its powers and possibilities, I will not judge negatively, because it's a nice little thing with lots of sounds.

I would like to edit the patches on Windows using SoundDiver, but the software has been difficult to understand. There are some terms that I am not familiar with and there are no definitions or help.

The SoundDiver manual is too general. I emailed the company that produces SoundDiver and did not get any response.

Editing on the LCD display is cumbersome, but I thought that might be the case before I bought it.

I am not sure how to rate the software features, because I am not able to use them with enough confidence to know what I am doing.

I mainly use it as a sound module with Sonar. I use one performance (16 MIDI channels) only.

I like a lot of the sounds, but I would prefer to tweak them for specific songs.

No problem so far. I have been using it for about 6 months.

I called Roland for help, but was snobbed with the question 'Are you NEW with synthesizers?' Incidentally, I have been using synthesizers and creating patches for more years that I care to mention.

I emailed the company that produces SoundDiver for software support help and did not get any response.

I may replace it for some of the sounds, but I would consider one of the other JV-xxxx synths first. As I have created and tweaked sounds on other Roland synths, that may be the best solution.

Win98/Cakewalk. Easy of Use may be quite ok. Unfortunately and have to admit that I had the same described above when switching from MIDI to Patch and fo forth, the unit goes down and no data is received until reset again.

Not too much features as compared with larger JV's. I use it for live gigs. Just bought it with my partner, who owns the place and put the money to finance $7K on music gear, the finest up to JBL, bottom line, I just can't find the way to tell him we have to return the JV1010 when I recommeded it was the same JV2080. I was wrong!. Sound Quality is poor.

Poor sound quality as compared with the 2080. I was using a small old sc33. Made my partner invest 500 dollars on this unit and now I have to admit whe have to go back to the small SC. Reason. Pianos and strings would be very good. Who needs that when playing live and drums sounds so thin. Play orchestra, ok. Clasicall, ok. Jazz, goin down. Rock it, audience disappointed, no punch. Drums too thin. When use a 2000 Crown power with top of the line DBX EQ's up to JBL Factor Series, double woofer. It should rock, and it doesn't.

I guess this is a Roland stregnh. You can depende on it. Unfortunately this thing has a desgin problem, it goes off from value to value when turing down the knob from MIDI to Patch, performance. etc.

If stolen, I wish it as an excuse to upgrade to the 2080.

I'll be brief because everything has been said. This device needs software that works and has a manual. Soundiver 2.0 is a pain. I downloaded version 3 but it crashes my W98 system.

I only use the software to do what I bought the unit for - tune it in different temperaments. Wish I could do something to get rid of the FX, biut it's all so complaceted...

I bought it becasue it's the only unit I could find with harpsichords and stuff like that, on the Super Soundset 07 card. They would be OK if I could get rid of the FX.

My son messes around with other keyboard stuff & it's OK for what he does.

We're both only interested in messing around live at home.

The really serious problem no-one has mentioned is the dynamic range. I managed to set Keyboard sens. to "heavy", but all the pianos seem to be stuck in the range mP to mF. This makes it TOTALLY USELESS for anything remotely classical.

Don't know if the expressiveness thing above is a fault or a bug, because there isn't a Roland site that accepts questions from a .fr email.

See reliability, above.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd put the insurance money towards something else. I'ts taken me 2 years to get not very far; I was new to MIDI, can normally handle technical/computer stuff, but not this thing.

Using XP. Plug it in, hook up MIDI conections, and you're flying. Easy front panel interface, but I use it at home in a studio so I really haven't touched the knobs in a while. Gets a 7 because editing is so confounded. Won't respond to any computer inquiry on the part of the included "Sounddiver" software. However, I tweaked with one of the user presets, and the 1010 saved the changes...and Sounddiver had no clue as to what I was doing. While I am using MIDI connections and not a serial input, I really don't reccomend youtry to do any serious editing because the software is just unusable.

Enough polyphony to handle my Jazz and Orchestral stuff, but nowadays that isn't a problem with a lot of modules. Probably would be better with the orchestral board in it. I use it to create backup tracks, etc. for vocals all laid down in Cakewalk. All patches are easily accessable from cakewalk, so no problems there. So far have just used your general controller 91 reverb on all of the patches, and it does fine. However, running the mix through a reverb processor will flesh everything out a little better. Like others have mentoned, OUTPUT IS LOW! However, using it in a home studio is no problem. This doesn't have the meat to stand up at a live job, but, I've never needed it for one.

Very good sounds for what I do. I utilize mostly the conventional instruments for Jazz, Orchestral, instrumental stuff, so I'm not as up on the analog/synth/pad sounds like others are. Good pianos, excellent organs and rhodes. Guitars, esp. the Nylon from the session board, are excellent. I could use a more convincing upright bass, however. Strings, etc. are great, and brass holds up. All respond correctly to modulation, etc. with correct vibrato according to the situation. Turn up the mod wheel on a few of the vibe patches and you get that nifty tremolo.

Problems: Levels. Some patches are a bit louder than others, though a few volume adjustments take care of that. A couple of the woodwind samples are out of tune with the rest of the box. Hitting F4 on any of the solo flute patches in an ensemble is instant death without selective pitch tuning. Also, the drums are somewhat blase- single samples, no velocity switching. I tend to replace them with good soundfonts in cakewalk.

Only problem has been one freeze up when using the front panel. But, I don't really use the front panel anymore. I suppose once again for the giggers this could be a drawback on a big solo section.

Never needed to call.

Yes, I would replace it, esp. for the low cost nowadays and the fact that almost everything I've done is based on the presets in it. Overall, it's a great module and does everything I ask it to. Reccomended for the weekend warrior or the light user who wants to get off of their soundcard and into the module world.

For my purposes the JV 1010 is very easy to use - Just dial up a patch and that's all there is to it. An LCD would have been nice but I understand that some corners had to be cut in order to keep costs down. As far as multi-timbral/performance mode operation, I'm not sure because I don't use it for that. I was able to get the included version of SoundDiver installed on my computer without any problems (that is more than I can say for some other software).

The features are there when using SoundDiver but otherwise the feature set would be awfully light. The JV1010 is intended to be used as a preset sound source and for computer sequencing though and it works fine for that/

This is where the JV1010 really shines. The JV1010 has a very good piano, great pads, good strings, IMO it has the best classical acoustic guitar (of any I've heard) and good emulations of classic D50 and JP8/JP6 sounds.

Seems solid - Roland has a reputation for that. Every once in a while after changing patch categories it will "freeze up" and not allow you to dial through the patches in the new category but just turning it off and then on again will correct this. For gigging, I'd recommend saving all the patches that you intend to use in the user bank and then you won't have to switch banks while performing live. This should circumvent the problem.

To sum it up, I like it overall. Admittedly, I'm not a very demanding user though - I just wanted it for a compact source of good preset sounds...and it delivers that. Pair a JV1010 up with a virtual analog synth and many electronic musicians would have most of their bases covered.

I'd also like to add that I've read a lot of user reviews claiming that the JV1010's sound quality is poor compared to that of the JV1080/2080. I disagree! I've listened to the presets on the JV1080 and I don't think that there is a discernable difference. Yes, there is some variance on the volume levels on some of the JV1010's presets but nothing that makes it unusable. I've also read users say that for the same price as a JV1010 you could get a used JV1080 but I wouldn't. The JV1010 has the Session expansion sounds (plus I got the Techno card as a free bonus) that the JV1080 doesn't have plus the JV 1010 is less than 1/4 the size of the JV1080 - the JV1010 is much nicer for taking to gigs and practice.

I feel compelled to respond to the previous post that bashed the JV1010 and mentioned the tweakheadz website. The guy who runs that site is unquestionably an expert on electronic music and he runs what certainly must be the best website out there for synthesists of all levels. Any question that you post is answered within 24 hrs - honestly, I don't think there is anything else on the net that can compare. So, if "the Tweakmeister" recommends the JV1010 then it's gospel truth as far as I'm concerned. In addition to that, the JV 1010 got a very favorable review at www.sospubs.co.uk and even beyond that I am quite capable of using my own ears to know that the JV1010 is no slouch. I think that many of the critical reviews of the JV 1010 come from people that paid full price for a JV 1080/2080 several years ago and now they just can't bear to think that the JV 1010 pretty much offers all that and more for such a low price!

I (like others) think I have the latest OS loaded, but since the editor for this DOES NOT work with windows XP, I have had to go back and forth with an older computer to edit this piece fo junk.

Forgot editing this monster. Put it back in the box and wish for a million dollars.

The patch editor does not work with xp, works ok with windows 98, what a drag.

Manual, you call that included piece of slim a manual. WHAT A JOKE!

Lots ot polyphony (64), no keys. The effects are there but who can find them.

I can be expanded, but the best thing to do with this unit is to expand it to the trash can, or if you can't get your money back from the sales person, but it on e-bay, work it up big time, and hope some joker buys it.

Some sounds are ok, but the output of this tin box is almost nothing. I put it on my mixer, ran the gain up, and if you listen in between the extremely high signal to noise ratio, you may actually hear some sounds!

The pianos are so weak, I thought the outputs were destroyed or broken, it is that low, and poor.

You should hear this sucker hiss when you turn you amp up. If you have tinnitus, and need a white noise generator, this would do the trick.

Well, unfortunately as bad as the unit is, it seems to be reiable. Weird.

If someone stole it, I laugh in the guys face, and tell him what a dolt he is. In case you haven't noticed, I hate this piece of junk. What was I thinking?

Run away from this. Don't let tweakshead talk you into this piece of rubbish, he must own stock in the company! It's just that bad....

I'm using the latest OS, I suppose. The presets sound great, especially the guitars and synth pads. Editing patches is a pain, even with the included sound diver program. It's much easier to take an existing preset and modifying it than making a new sound from scratch. But I didn't buy this module for that. The manual is OK, I think. I don't really look at it much.

Polyphony? 64 voices it says, I think it depends on the patch you use. The built-in effects are adequate, but I would want to use an external effects module for recording. Effects can be accessed through sound diver software or front panel. You can drop in a JV/XP expansion board of your choice, if you desire.

Most of the instruments are pretty good. I feel the guitar patches and some of the orchestral patches could fool the average listener. IMO, it's best suited for instrumental/new age music, but one could really use it for any kind of music they desired. Onboard effects are great for casual playing, but I would disable them and use external for recording because they will color the mix. It is very responsive to playing. Most patches respond to mod wheel and aftertouch. The only problem I have with the sounds is there is a lot of variance in volume across the patches. I've had this problem with other synths, but it is still annoying for flipping through patches.

I can depend on it for my home studio uses, and I use the term studio very loosely here. I've dropped it once, and it works fine. I would probably gig with it.

Support is pretty good. I bought this second hand and got the module/manual/power supply but no CD!. I had to order one from Roland. The customer service rep said it was backordered and wouldn't ship until a week later, but I recieved it exactly one week after calling them.

If it were lost or stolen, I don't know what I would get really. Maybe something easier to use? I think I got a great deal considering I bought it used and it works perfectly. I've had this unit for almost 6 months now, and I still enjoy using it. It is pretty good all-in-one module. I would avoid using it to do entire tracks, even though it's entirely possible to do so. Compared to other ROMpler modules, it's a great deal for me. Everything else was either too expensive or didn't sound too good to me. I chose this module because it had the sounds I wanted and I could afford it.

I just wanted to add that I've never had a problem with sound quality on this unit, I think maybe people select a loud patch, hear clipping and say it sounds bad. It has a a very light hiss if you turn the volume all the way up, but that doesn't bother me in the least. I guess it would if I wanted all my music to sound sterile and boring but that is not what I'm about.

It depends what you wanna do with it.
If you're just wanna play the presets without editing or changing effect, it's easy to use. Select a category (piano, guitar, synth, etc), and scroll through the sound.

But, problem, you'll have to look in the manual to see the name of the sound you're using. The screen only indicate the number.

No editing is possible with this board only , you'll need to hook up the JV1010 to your computer.

Manual is very bad, and hard to understand.

Great features for the price. Tons of sounds.

You have all the sounds of the JV 2080/1080 + the session card.
You can also add a SRJV expansion board. But, beware: even though the sounds are the same then in the 2080, they DON'T sound the same.
The converters are not the same, they sound bad. And effects are cheap. It is not a very bright sounding module.

Only one insert effect on Midi channel 1 + Reverb and Chorus on all midi channels.

Effects are horrible (especially the reverbs), and bring down the overall quality of the sounds.

Only two outputs (lest and right).

You got all the Roland JV sounds:

A.Pianos: session piano is a must!
E.Pianos, rhodes: poor, but ok in a mix
Clav: ok
Vibes, bells: great
Organs: good
Guitars: so and so.
Bass: so and so
Synths: great, there's so many! Amazing pads.
Strings: ok, you can add the Orchestral board if you want more
Ethnic: cool
Drums: forget it

Overall: great set of sounds. A little bit dated. We heard them so many times. So 90's... but, classic, and classy!

Solid as a rock!

You've got all the great sounds from the JV2080, but at a reduced quality.
The converters are poor, dynamic is bad and outputs are low compare to other synths.
The effects sound very cheap, especially the horrible reverb.

I bought mine in January 2000. I sold it 6 months ago. It's not a professional synth module, but a good way to get started and to have a taste of the great Roland JV sounds. And it expandable.

Very good value for the price.

Do not buy this unit for live work. The problem described by the first reviewer is a hardware problem, and Roland are unable to fix this. It's also left me playing nothing in live situations. This is the mail I got from Roland support when I requested for a second time that they tell me what was wrong with my unit:

This is a hardware limitation with this unit. Because it was primarily
designed for use with a computer, the developers didn't put processor
priority on the front panel controls, but on other internal functions.
We investigated the possibility of fixing this, but have found that
there is no modification either hardware or software that is feasable to stop this from happening.

The unit itself is excellent, and contains all the features of its larger JV series brothers.

The sounds on this unit are very good.

Once again, see Ease Of Use.

It seems that I'm not the only person to have been strung along by Roland support over the "stops responding to MIDI data" bug.

It's a no brainer. I use it for live performance as part of my rig. I gave it a 5 because of a serious problem it seems to exhibit. (that other 1010 owners I've spoken to also have noticed). If you switch between patch to performance to gm, etc. and cycle through the modes, it will from time to time stop responding to MIDI data. It's a problem because there's been times when my group stops playing and I have to play a part and nothing has come out of the box! Embarrasing to say the least. I've gotten into the habit that if I am going to play something on it, before my part comes up, I'll twitch the pitch bend lever or something and see if the MIDI light turns on. If it doesn't I'll turn it off and back on to reset it and that fixes the problem. I've also downloaded the operating system update from the Roland website and installed it but that hasn't fixed the MIDI bug.

Tons o' sounds and room for an expansion card. I know some people here have complained about the DACs but in a live situation, it really sounds pretty good. When you're in a 6 piece pop band playing through a loud PA to 600 extremely drunk college kids, you can't hear any DAC problems. I gave it a 7 because some functions are impossible to use without the use of a computer. For example, changing effects, delay speed or the tempo of a synth sound that has motion (like one of the pulsing basses or something). Also, you can set performances and all with the computer but when you turn the unit off, the performances go bye-bye. Not good for a live setting where I want to set up my own performances.

Like I said, the sounds are pretty good for live use. I use a Kurtz MicroPiano for my piano, though. But the organs are decent and the clavs pop. There are tons and tons of synth sounds and they sound good. I use a lot of string sounds for stuff and the synth stuff. Sounds good. A more serious problem, this unit has extremely weak output. This is easily, the most amped unit in my rack. In my mixer, I always set this to 8 or 9 (to leave some room to boost it for a solo or something) and then set all the other synth's volumes relative to this one. Really, I'm not kidding. At times, the volume can sound almost non-existant. Also, sometimes the volume differences between patch catagories can be wide. The synth catagory is easily, like, 40% hotter then the piano catagory. The Orch catagory is louder then the piano, but softer then the synth, and so on. If you set the volume based on the piano and switch to a synth...look out! You might get hit with a beer from the soundman. I set my volume to the synth and I can always boost for the softer stuff (pianos and strings, etc....that's why I set the mixer to an 8 or 9 for this channel-to leave room to boost it). Also, the clavs really need the keys to be slapped to trigger them sometimes. My favorite clav is #09 (with the phaser going!) but you have to lay into the keys or it won't trigger. When you have to play all night, you don't want to lay into the keys. It can start to hurt after a while! Manufacturers...here's something...for live gigs, it helps if the sounds respond to lower velocities! For critical studio recording, maybe the other people here are right, but in a live situation, it sounds damn good and gets the job done.

This is tied into my ease of use thing. It never died on me, but it's tendency to ignore MIDI data randomly is not a good thing for a live gig.

Roland is Roland. They suck. I own a ton of Roland products, and when I do call for service, they leave me on hold for like an hour hoping I'll go away. When they do pick me up, they offer no answers. Interesting quick story: I have a D-50 and use Voice Crytal sound cards. The D-50 display always blinks "Battery Dead...replace"(for the sound card). I called Voice Crystal and asked about that. They said that the sound cards now are ROM (hard wired and don't use a battery compared to the old cards that used a lithium battery). The Roland units don't see a battery and think it's dead. They've contacted Roland about this and Roland isn't too friendly or supportive of 3rd party sound support (which is weird, since that's what makes a synth useful after the company chooses to stop supporting it...which in Roland's case it pretty frequent). Roland refused to give Voice Crystal the exact line in the D-50s Operating System that controls that so they can disable the warning. So, as long as I can remember, before it tells me the patch name, I always have to see "Replace Battery..." That should tell you something about a company and it's support for it's customers.

Ahhhh...hmmm...I have a Korg 03R/W and I love it. If this was to get stolen, I'd maybe look into getting another one of those. The output is extremely hot (one of the hottest I've ever heard...I rarely turn the volume up past a 5th of a turn) and it's really easy to program performances and save them. It sounds good also and you can access all the efx and all from the front panel. Sure, I can't install the oh-so cool Roland Jazz Scat soundcard, but to be honest, since I put that in my 1010 I've never used it, either!

I'm a non-keyboardist looking for a few decent strings, pianos, and
organs, mainly to complement arrangements.
As such, I liked most of the acoustic pianos, and 3 or 4 of the string
selections. The organs were a big disappointment -- the distortion
present on some of the more aggressive patches was particularly bogus.
As with most digital distortion, it seemed to ride along next to the
basic sound, rather than integrating with it. Very nasty.

Editing without a pc was not even worth looking into -- it was very
unwieldy.

What I really found myself wanting was a way to simply kill the
over-the-top ambience (some of the presets are positively awash in
reverb.) There's a simple on/off button on Roland's 770 drum machine.
The inclusion of such a control on the front panel would have been
a big plus. Its absence, and the difficulty of the editing functions
in its absence, is really what pushed me to return the unit.

Roland's manuals have always needed work, and this one was no
exception. Not as bad as some, but still not very helpful.
For ease of basic use, the unit is wonderfully straightforward --
a couple of knobs, a cable hookup, and away you go. Using it in
any more advanced way, however, is nowhere near as easy.

A lot of this stuff doesn't apply, since it's a module. As I didn't
fully explore all of the advanced options, I'll pass on rating this section.

As I say above, I liked the strings and pianos. The organs fell down.
A lot of people above seem to like the guitars, but as a guitar player
myself I don't generally think synth guitars sound much like real
ones (I suppose the string and piano players out there might similarly
disagree with my liking the depictions of their instruments...)
Even real electric pianos sound like crap, so why would I even audition those presets -- a Frampton tribute?

I similarly have no use for "analog" synth patches, or for most other
individual instrument sounds, so I don't have any real opinion of those, either. Digital banjo, anyone? Gimme a break.

The basic sounds need less heavy-handed effects. These are obviously
targeted towards selling the unit during an in-store demo ("WOW! AWESOME!") but the fact that getting rid of them so that you can
replace them with your own is rather difficult for a dabbler such
as myself really hurts the unit's apparent ease-of-use.

I'm impressed when any synth sounds even remotely like anything it's trying to emulate, and the 1010 does have more than a few decent sounds, so I'll toss it a "6" for the nice job on the pianos, and move on.

Didn't have it long. It would occasionally have a brain-dump when
switching between modes and/or patches, but no more so than any other
digital device. It worked fine when left on one setting -- no drop-
outs or odd noises.

Never had the pleasure, tho their web site is decent -- so long as you
bear in mind that you need to look under the "Boss" subheading for a some stuff. No opinion of the human side of their customer service.

I returned mine. I needed it for a very narrow, specific range of uses, but despite its simplicity, I found that it wasn't quite what I I wanted.

I liked the unit's layout a lot, but when one attempts to go beyond
the very simple and intuitive basic operation, and start to tailor
the presets, it's a different story. A simple ambience on/off switch
probably would have been enough to convince me to keep the unit.
Unfortunately, it was not there.

Created to be used with a PC Editor. Useless manual

Everything seems ok with the editor. a Plus with one SRJV80 slot. no problems with MIDI.

Only the sounds from Session board are good. Due to low cost cheap DACs and effects, the sounds are all mediocre. No character, doesn't inspire. You get what you pay for. If you don't need all the sounds, get a JV880. its the most quite compared to JV1010,1080,2080,XP60,X80 (really).

Rolands are OK.

N/A

bought this as a temporary module to save up for a better one. despite its weakness, its really worth it. You get what you pay for. the noise is unbarable. good for 1st timer I guess. I own quite many stuff, Alesis QS7, Yamaha SY77, 01/w, Wavestation etc...... The only synth I still keep is Wavestation. because the sounds inspire you to create. good quality DACs.

Had it for 3 days only...
This is probably the easiest module I 've ever used...The version of soundDiver that came with it is a joke (2.3.1) so I ran to www.emagic.de and got the 3.0 version with is amazing.
editing patches became a game, also I use cubase which recognize the module right off so I can edit also within cubase.
Manual...huh..to be honest..never used it. But It looked like it is much better written and simplified than Roland used to.
For edditing I use the standard midi sample dump and not the serial pc connections so it's kinda slow.but htne midi has always been slow anyways.
Editing right from the front panel is quite a mess for those who might choose not to use sounddiver so it gets an 8.

64 voices of polyphony...not a whole lot if you sequence many keyboard parts with loaded chords but for $399 new.. I will not complain.
40 efx..the easiest way to access them again is Sounddiver so forget about realtime fx editing but this is not a synth but a module, so I'm not going to ask it to cook dinner for me.
Midi capabilities are standard like in every other module . nothing exceptionnal here.
Expansion capabilities are limited since only one exp slot is provided and the module is not polyphony expandable.
However, according that this little module is loaded with way too many sounds anyone could ever need,that's absolutely not a handicap.

Ok, this is the reason I bought this puppy: it included all the sounds from JV2080 and the session expansion board. I never owned a Roland JV module before, but I worked with a lot of them especially the xp50 and the JV1080. So I just wanted something that had all these sounds that I got used to and the JV1010 fulfils my needs.
If you're used to the Roland you'll not be impressed here because it's all deja vu but that's exactly what I needed.
I was happy to find the usual LA session piano and all the SA rhodes.
The guitars are very realistic as long as you don't decide to go solo on us. But they are excellent for accompaniement and if run thru a plug in like WARP VST (amp modeler) you could fool a few.
Drum kits: I am not a big fan of most JV kicks and hihats(they actually suck) but I do love the percussion sounds a lot(guiro, triangle,maracas,congas,etc..).
The sounds are for all purposes however you will not be avant-gardist with them unless you give them a special treatment. For example I run the JV1010 thru the audio input of a Korg MS2000r and use filters, resonance, lfo's ..whatever it takes to make it sounds different from the original sound.

Roland's equipment is pretty reliable in general but again I had this one only for three days so...
I do hate that wall wart ac adaptor.

I heard they 're the worst. That's what you get with corporates...

If it was stolen I'll chase down the motherf***er that got it and make him by me 2 more for the trouble.
Ok seriously, I would buy one again no doubt...unless the price of the XV 5050 goes down.
Overall this is an excellent module for those who just want to have the famous roland sounds without spending big.
I use it in conjunction with a Korg MS2000r, Native instrument's FM7, Reaktor, Battery an B4,Steinberg's Halion and TC's Mercury.
As a R'n'B composer this is just the perfect addition I was missing.

Without the soundDiver and a PC you just can't do anything to edit the internal sounds, but although I have installed it I use it just for disable reverb and other effects before recording.
I think that you really have a lot to do with presets before thinking about editing your own!!

It has all you could need, a generous poliphony, good midi implementation and the nice PC host port, quite useful. Obviously the sound diver for PC and Mac is sold in bundle with the JV.

I just love this thing. The piano sound from the expansion board is really nice, I prefer using my P80 piano sound of course but considering that you have more or less 1000 patches in this little box it was impressive anyway.
The soft pad and strings are AMAZING, and I'm just talking about presets! I do not even dare to think what you can obtain working with the sounddiver to create your own patches... the hammonds and electric basses presets in the "session" onboard module are great, and really you can find almost everything you could need for every kind of music. I cannot give 10 just because I miss a really good rhodes sound, the rhodes in the module are too "belly" for me...

It's just a couple of months that I have it, so I cannot say anything. But it's a second-hand one, so it seems quite reliable.

For the reason it's second-hand, I could not get the sounddiver CD: I requested it to roland and they've sent it to me for free...

I owned a JV2080 for six months, and I really have to say that this little box sounds exactly the same, maybe the output level is a LITTLE lower, but for the money you save I think this is a great deal.
So: if you do not think you're gonna edit every second the patches, and you need a clean and good sounding expander to use in different kind of music, this is the thing to buy.

Unlike most people on this list, I decided to forgo the presets on this module and head directly into the sound editing capabilities of the JV1010. Sure the instruments are layed out in a very intuitive manner broken up into sections of 10. The big surprise for me was the use of the Emagic Sound Diver Software (there is a patch on the Emagic site for it). Although the UI for it was extremely unintuitive, once you got around to the functionality, you could do just about any editing you want to the instruments. You simply need to know a little about FM synthesis and applying thise techniques to the digitally sampled instuments of the 1010. The Manual was a godsend. Especially when dealing with the System exclusives needed to do certain "on the fly" fx and patch changes from within Cakewalk. Very useful and friendly.

Knowing what you want to do with this module is an extremely important aspect for this piece of equipment. The ability to add extra expansion cards makes it very powerful. The sounds are extremely configurable to the point where the original sound can no longer be recognized. The 2 FX processors on the machine add an extremely versatile depth to the sounds created with the use of a proper sequencer, the 1010 is an extremely powerful Synth module.

The Sounds themselves are somewhat ho-hum...preset. The expansion cards you can add to it (both A and B) make this a much more interesting piece. Of course it depends on what you're trying to create. The original Synth sounds (which are highly configurable) turn this module into a perfect Techno synthesizer. The organs and woodwind instruments on this piece can have a little more flare to them. They do excel at the electric and distorted guitars. It seems that Roland had a hard time with the plain old uneffected instruments. The module is highly responsive to keyboard and sequencer activation via MIDI, while it is responds to subtle changes from the control very tightly. Very high marks here as well.

Without a doubt this is an EXTREMELY reliable. Especially with the fact that I received a 220V 0.3 Amp power converter and I need a 110V 0.3. I had to replace this plug with an old one I found with slightly less amperage. The module has never failed on me. If I were to tour (being a studio musician that makes it kind of difficult) I would be able to trust this implicitly.

N/A Never needed to call them up.

I would definitely buy this again. With almost all the power of the JV-2020 but at a third the price, this little module has more than paid for itself 2x over. I've been using it for 3 years now, and I'm constantly amazed by its power. It's a perfect addition to my studio. It is my primary pice of equipment.

I'm not using MIDI or the standard software that came with the JV 1010, so it would be unfair for me to judge those aspects of the machine. And the manual also was exteremely vague on how to access the percussion sounds, which was a big downfall. It took me nearly a month before I was able to figure out how to access them. However, using the rest of the instrumentation was easy enough, as was connecting the module to my keyboard.

The midi and expansion capabilies are nice, but you cannot edit any sounds, which is a slight downfall. Features were 'ok.'

The instruments were exceptional excluding the strings/orchestra section. The 20 acoustic/stage piano's were definetly impressive, and the 40 electric pianos I enjoyed as well. However, it lacked some 60's & 70's soulful electric pianos, some of them could have done without the bells to. The keyboard/organ section was very nice, the bells were fantastic! The exotic instruments and steel drums were a bit limited though. The guitar section was the absolute biggest surprise and best part of the jv 1010. The acoustic guitars were decent, but the electric guitars, specifically #22-#49, were just dazzling. The ochestral section featured below average violins (there were only 4) and decent strings, although allmost all of the strings sounded extremely synthetic. The synths were exceptional, great for all types of music. The foriegn instrument section was average, decent harps, but the reverb on them became annoying.

Sometimes my power source couldn't handle the amount required to play all of the synth's, so the module would freeze up when change channels. But that was the only flaw. It never shut down on me, and has been reliable for about 7 months now.

Never had to deal with them.

I loved certain aspects, but hated others. The jv 1010 is definetly NOT a solo module, although thats how I used it anyway. If you'd like to hear what it is capable of, here are two instrumental tracks I recorded with it: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/latente_music.htm.(once you reach the link, click "hi fi" or "lo fi" play to listen) However it was a great buy for the price, and featured quailty sounds.

I thought that this was rather easy to use and I enjoyed how nice most of the presets sounded. The only flaw is that the manual is basically useless; I only keep it to refer to the patches.

Though I haven't used Soundiver yet, I have read that it's pretty hard to use. I consider myself pretty good at learning software so I might check it out if necessary.

After hearing demos of all of the expansion boards available, I really wish this thing had more than 1 slot. I'm looking at either Orchestra I or II since those are pretty much the only sounds I use.

I really enjoyed the orchestral sounds. Everything else seemed too... strange for my tastes.

This thing seems pretty durable, even with it's small size. As for live performances, I pick up my Bach bass trombone and leave the electronics in my room.

Roland's (US) website was pretty hard to navigate and the search function was basically useless. Since I've never had to contact them directly, I don't think I can rate this category.

If this was lost or stolen, I would buy it again in a minute, even on a student's budget. My experience with this has been pretty good. I only have two complaints - 1) I wish it had a second MIDI In port. 2) I wish it had a better display than just the three numbers.

When it comes to making music, I still prefer to pick up the bone and blow, but I've had a lot of fun combining this with my keyboard (a Roland JX-1) and seeing what I can make.

Easy out of the box sounds , some of which are really nice.
A bit too hard too edit with soundiver a waste of time.

okay amount of sounds for the 449 uk pounds i paid but pretty much stick with the presets

mixed bag some are okay

solid

N/A

A useful addittion as a sound source, but I wanted more sounds and editability. I subsqently sold it and brought a 2nd hand 1080 for a little mo cash. I am now rockin with tha best! One day I will learn how to use it to its full capability.

Pretty easy to use on its own but learning how to use Sounddiver editing software takes time. Once you've got that down you have a lot more programming capability. The pianos, guitars, strings aren't bad. It's the synth presets that pretty much suck. The manual sucks too. The lack of a display is probably one reason why this is so cheap but you get what you pay for.

Getting an expansion card really does make a huge difference in # sounds and options. But you can find this thing on Ebay for under $300 and expansion cards are like $200! I think the cards are way overpriced. If I'm gonna spend over $500 I'm going to get a much more powerful synth module.

Well, for the price it's hard to complain about the utility of this module. Just know that editing with out a computer is pretty much non-existent and the acoustic sounds are good while the analog/synth sounds are weak. Basses are decent though. The biggest complaint I have with the JV-1010 is the WEAK VOLUME coming out of the box. When I played this along with analog synths and other digitals it was soooo quiet. I had to crank it to 10 or run it through a heavily preamped mixer to get any strength out of it. I think this is a major shortfall.

Very dependable and sturdy. It made it on the road several times, has been dropped, banged, and moved around a lot and I have never had a problem with it.

Never used.

I've had it for 2 years and now that my budget has expanded and I've upgraded to more powerful synths, I will probably be selling it soon.
I think it would be good for a non-synth player if they just want an all-around inexpensive module around to tinker with for acoustic sounds. The weak volume, editing limitations, generally thin sound are reasons why I wouldn't buy it again. If you get this look for a used one in the $200-$250 range. Definitely not worth $400 considering you can get a Korg MS2000R or Nord Micromodular for just a few hundred more!

The presets are amazing. It's easy to edit patches with the software, but that's the only way you can edit them. You can do a lot with the editor if you know how to use it. The manual isn't all that great, though. Could use a display with the actual patch/program name on it instead of a 3 digit LED, but for this deal, who cares? It is kind of a hassle reading the patch listings off of a seperate piece of paper, though. Sounds make up for lack of convenience.

I think it has 64 voice polyphony. One expansion slot, which is enough for me. 2 built-in multi-effects engines, which are superb. It has MIDI in, out, and thru, which is a standard among sound modules of this sort. It's really meant to be used with a computer, so it does not have an on-board sequencer. Easy to use live and for recording, especially if you sample (i.e. hip-hop, R&B, Rhythm& Praise) Overall pretty impressive for the price.

This is really why I bought it. QUALITY acoustic sounds. I love the guitars, organs, and pianos, especially on the Session card. The woodwinds and strings are amazing. The techno/dance/hip-hop sounds are OFF THE HOOK!! The 303 is just the way I like it. Nice sub basses. Nice pads. Excellents clavs and organs (they even click!)Excellent effects section. Wahs and phasers and all that other stuff just adds to the quality of sound. You have to try it for yourself though. I'm moving up from a Casio CTK-611, so I'm intrigued with the module.

It's not broken yet

Never dealt with them.

Hotnees! Pure hotness!. I've been playing for ten years and writing music for five, and this along with my Korg X5D inspire me every time.

It needs to be edited using the included software. Manual is useless. Presets are ok (see below)

Sounddiver software takes time to learn but is powerful.

Like the the guitars on the session board, horns, violins etc are weak.

Really made for studio use only (has a wall wart). I bought it when they first came out, and it still works.

They are friendly, but not incredibly knowledgable.

The line-out volume is ridiculously low. You have to crank it all the way just for it to be heard. Given that the jv-2080 can be had for about $800, and the TR-Rack is about the same or less, spend the extra bucks for one of those. The TR-Rack's sounds are far superior.

As mentioned by practically everyone, the 1010 is very very easy to get running out-of-the-box with the presets. Minor patch editing is possible from the front panel, but I wouldn't like to try this.

I was not impressed with the supplied Sound Diver software - I found it unintuitive, clunky, slow, and ended up giving up on it in the end. However, as I currently compose for acoustic instruments, I didn't feel a pressing need to edit the presets.

My initial impressions as a newcomer to the Roland JV engine though was that the editing model was rather inflexible and didn't really "click" for me.

It's a bare-bones stripped-down unit. Compared to the 1080/2080 it feels quite restricted - only 2 outputs, and editing feels inaccessible. Unlike other modules, it doesn't really scream out "edit me!". But you get what you pay for.

The 64 note polyphony is fine, depending on how you use the module. I use it in a multitrack environment, so lead instruments are recorded separately, and I can layer pads onto other tracks. However if you wanted to play an entire multitrack sequenced piece through this module you may run into problems, especially using some of the nicer layered stereo patches. But that's common to all 64-note polyphony modules.

I think that, taking this into consideration, the need for more than one expansion port is slightly negated in some cases - if you're using up all your polyphony on a string section on the Orchestral 2 card, there's not much you can do with an Orchestral 1 card that's installed simultaneously. This is even more the case as there's only a single stereo-pair output. I've not found it particularly limiting anyway. If I want different sounds I swap the cards (since it's not a rackmount module). It's a bit of a pain but I saved 50% on the cost of a 1080.

It does have an external PSU though, which is not uncommon, but still a bit of an annoyance. Not so much in a studio, but for live use I can imagine it could be a liability.

It has the regular MIDI in/out/thru DIN sockets, but also a serial interface which can be connected directly to a PC's serial port with a supplied cable. I've not used this interface, but I know from experience with other synths that have serial interfaces (Yamaha MU10, anyone?) that the timing tends to suffer amongst other things. It's more of a last-resort in my book. Whether this is an issue with the JV-1010 remains to be seen, but it wouldn't surprise me if the serial linespeed is slower than the ~33kbps-ish MIDI offers, which inherently implies that the timing will be poorer than MIDI. This is just speculation though.

Ohhh, what a mixed bag this is. The 1010 (like the other members of the JV series) are very much generic workhorse devices, designed to provide something for everyone.

Without the session/second expansion board it would be quite a mediocre module for authentic sounding instruments. The best of the on-board sounds (not including the Session set) is the synth stuff - the acoustic instruments are pretty crappy (in my opinion). The synth/dance patches are quite 80s-sounding, but the core sound-set can be tweaked to give more cutting-edge results. This is very much a film-soundtracker's tool, with some wonderful ambient and sweeping sounds.

The Session set has some fantastic patches - it's the first synthesized sax which I've been able to fool professional/trained musicians with. The pianos aren't too hot - the first three (Stereo Concert Grand, and 2 9ft grands) sound a bit feeble for my liking, although quite authentic. The fourth acoustic piano ("Euro Classic") is much much better in terms of timbre, scale, and responsiveness. Unfortunately this patch has some nasty top-end artifacts which make it sound almost like a 12-bit sample. I need to investigate the structure of this patch to determine whether it's a sample issue or just a poorly constructed patch.

Sadly, there are no string instruments or ensembles on-board or on the Session board which are any good. However, the "Orchestral 2" board has some really beautiful and usable ensembles, especially when you pair it with a sampler loaded with a Siedlaczek CD or something like that. This is what I use my 1010 most for.

Sound-to-Noise ratio though....I knew I was in trouble when there is a volume control on the front which adjusts the level of the primary (only) outputs on the back. Stick a noise gate behind it, and bury the 1010 in a mix and it's usable, but don't expect to get any usable solos out of it if you want a clean recording. I haven't been able to get a decent recording of a solo Piano out of it because of the noise level. This was extremely disappointing.

The effects processor is very nice. The reverbs aren't up to Lexicon standards, but they're definitely quite usable and warm. I haven't experimented much with the on-board effects though so I'm not really qualified to comment on the rest of the effects.

Beware when sequencing large multitimbral parts with the 1010, as it seems to lose timing accuracy when you feed it too much to do. This is most significant on the rhythm parts which die a horrible death when you throw too many MIDI notes at the unit.

And on the subject of the Rhythm parts, don't expect to get turned on by any of the percussion sets that come out of the box. I suppose with some creative EQ and effects the samples are usable in some context or another, but sadly not if you're trying to create a percussion part that sounds real/live.

Using the 1010 in a studio, and leaving it switched on 24/7, I find it's never actually crashed. In fact, the only time I had to reboot it in 4 months of uptime was when I screwed up the editing and had to restore the factory defaults. No problems here.

I've never tried to get support out of Roland for the 1010. I suppose that's a good thing. Based on the quality of Roland's website, and support I've had for another piece of Roland kit (a VSR-880), I'd have to say it's mediocre at best. But I can't say I have an opinion on this - I'd take the majority of other peoples' comments on this subject though as a good hint.

I think that, for the context in which I'm using the module, if I had to replace it I would spend the extra money and get a JV-1080.

To be honest, while the JV-1010 is by no means a dud, there are many things about it which I find an annoyance, and they all add up. S/N ratio, frustrating editing, lack of expansion, lack of outputs, external PSU...

But it IS a budget module. It would make an good addition to a JV-1080, as it is portable (so it's good for gigs), cheaper, and has an identical soundset and programming model. A 1080/2080 sequence would play identically on a 1010, albeit through a single pair of outputs, and as long as it didn't use more than two expansion boards, and one of them was "Session".

In retrospect, I WOULD have gone for the 1080 or 2080 instead, but that's because my requirements are more high-end, and the 1010 is designed to appeal to the low-end of the market. You just need to look at the marketing/box graphics for it which practically tries to sell it as a games/computer sound source. And if this is what it's designed to be, it really outstrips expectations.

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.

In general it's great right out of the box. However I haven't gotten very far with custom setups but again haven't needed to.

More stuff than I have the time to figure out.

Would probably get again.

Tough to use onstage, as many have indicated, but IMHO the sounds make up for it. I wanted a "push a button and play" unit for live use and this is definitely it.

The expansion interface allows many configurations (albeit one at a time) and you can find most any sound atmosphere in the expansion cards. I haven't even loaded the editing software since I can find a very close approximation already for most any sound I'm looking for.

Indian Trail

Hope its as good as my JX-8P, still cranking with original battery for 11 years now.

Reported to be Roland's biggest fault, I haven't had to contact them yet.

Right now its the most used piece of my stage setup and indispensable for writing/recording originals. Would replace it immediately.

The synth itself is pretty straightforward, however, the product is compromised by the SoundDiver software, which is utter trash. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any way to get at all of the features from the front panel, so the buyer is compelled to spend more money on software that works.
Thus far I've tried installing this bug-ridden trash from emagic on three systems -- one NT 4.0, and two Win98 boxes (both listed as supported.) On NT it gets as far as the splash screen and freezes. On '98 it starts downloading data from the synth, and freezes half way. It boggles the mind that a company like Emagic stays in business, and a company like Roland bundles garbage like this with an otherwise excellent unit.

32-voice polyphony, a built-in session card, and room for one additional card add up to a lot of sounds in a small (1/2 rack space) package.

This is what sold me on this unit. I had an Alesis QS6 and a Yamaha MU90R and after side-by-siding them with the Roland, I sold the other two and will be buying a second JV-1010 (one for sequencing, one for my MidiAxe).
As others have observed, this product's strengths are in its orchestral type sounds, rather than techno/dance/industrial. If that's what you're looking for, you'd probably be better off with something like the Yamaha MU90R. The strings and pads are among the best I've heard. The pianos and brass are also excellent.

Haven't had it long enough to say, but judging by my prior experience with other Roland products, I'd guess that it's pretty durable.

I've had occasion to try contacting Roland in the past, and my experience is that you might as well not even bother. Roland Canada seems a lot more concerned with their customers, but rolandUS doesn't even have an email address for support.

I would rate this a solid 9, were it not marred by useless software, an inability to effectively program it without a computer, one of the poorest manuals I've ever seen, and, of course, lack of support by RolandUS. Nevertheless, the sounds are excellent, and I still plan to buy a second one. However, I would advise anyone considering patch-management software not to even consider anything from Emagic.

Depending on what you want this box for it's either moderately easy to use or a real bear. I wanted it primarily for it's Sessions board piano sounds since I had installed that board in a JV-880 and I liked it a lot.
If you edit with the box itself those edits are temporary and cannot be saved. Once you change a patch, edits to the previous patch are lost. You can edit efx levels, panning, tuning etc., things that are done 'outside' the patch itself. Extensive patch editing can be done on a computer and saved to user memory with quite a bit of effort- the manual and patch editor are pretty bad. You can't access Performances at all live unless you have a controller capable of bank select messages.

That having been said, if your needs are relatively modest, you CAN work with this unit live, set up a multiple channel Performance in under a minute and get excellent results. User patches saved via computer can be accessed. Performances can be accessed if you have the right controller.

The nicest features for me are that it's a half rack space module instead of needing 2 rack spaces, it has the 1080 and 2080 sounds, it has the Sessions board, it has a card slot.

I'm pretty critical when it comes to new instrument selection. I wanted a very good piano sound source. This box is much more.
There are more realistic pianos out there if you invest in a hardware or software sampler and the right CDROM collection- for instance East West's Steinway B, which is top notch. The piano card for the Roland XV3080/5080 is probably better too- I haven't heard it yet. These are big investments and the JV-1010 is not. Having owned or tried pretty much every piano module ever produced I like the JV-1010 the best just as a piano sound source. The other sounds are, for me, a bonus and many are outstanding, some just so-so. Some guitars, pads, electric pianos are great. Horns are not, strings don't seem as warm as on my old JV-880. Effects are very good.
For my needs the JV-1010 is absolutely the best all around non-acoustic sound source I've ever used, though it doesn't do everything well- but what does?

The verdict is out here. I returned the first unit I had for what may have been a grounding problem. Every other Roland product I've owned has been very reliable.

I've dealt with Roland tech support twice, first time using a PC-to-phone connection and the connection was poor- the helpfulness may have been less than optimal for that reason. The second instance the tech was a pleasure to deal with and was very helpful.

I'd buy the JV-1010 again in a new york minute. I don't think anything gives you what this box does for the price. It doesn't get in the way of creating, once I set it up I forget about it and sink into the source- with any luck.
I wish I could program it more easily, but I can deal with that.

Yikes. Im new to the world of making music electronically..Im finally getting Cakewalk down really well, so I am a bit of a newbie as far as the computer music making goes..but as I see many others have said, the manual does nothing other than list the patches for you. It only served to confuse me more than help me. The software for editing patches is still leaving me in the dark for the most part. Again, I cant stress the poor quality of the manual enough..Im what one might call a "midiot" and it took me forever just to get this thing routed from my keyboard into Cakewalk..what would normally be an easy task.

It has what it needs at this price. You can edit the sounds via included software..if no computer, no editing. Again the software is not the most user friendly IMO, but its there.

I found this module to have some very usable sounds. I dont do techno/dance stuff and it seems most modules and computer related music products are geared towards that...so for me, I was pleased to find that about 80-85 percent of the sounds on this sucker were suited fine for my style with the rest being electronic dance sounds and just plain garbage. Not a bad ratio I think. Some nice acoustic guitars, good pianos but maybe a bit too bright for some, good strings, not very good drum sounds, but than again this isnt a drum machine.

no problems yet..only owned it for 2 weeks though.

no dealings.

If it were lost or stolen I dont think I'd buy it again...not that its bad or anything, its just that it isnt earth shattering. I would probably save for a Triton Rack or something like that. However at this price range..for a quick fix of new and high quality sounds that you can use well into the future this is one hell of a buy.

This thing is actually really easy to use. I think am one of the 7 people on this planet who dont use a computer in the studio, so i have not checked out the software that came with it. But when i want a piano, i pull one up. If i want drums, i pull them up. Pretty easy to get around in.

It has everything i need in a "workhorse" synth. The 64 voices are more then enough as it is not the only thing i rely on in my studio. The reverb and chorus are nice and dont take away from the sound of the patch. I love the "Session" board. It was nice of them to think of adding it.

I bought the 1010 to "round out" the sound in my studio. I own alot of older digital synths (ie: DX-21, VZ-1, K1r) and got the 1010 for its drums, pianos, guitars, and strings. If you are looking for synth-type sounds, this has a few good ones here and there. I rely on other boards for those sounds. Where the 1010 really shines is in its "basics". The pianos are bright and expressive, the strings and pads are full and lush. Great electric pianos, too.

I have had mine for about 8 months (bought used) and it does what its asked to do when it is asked to do it...hope i dont eat those words.

I have never had to deal with Roland about the 1010, but they had loads of crap online for the D-10 (when i first bought it), and for that i am forever grateful.

If i lost mine (and it IS small enough to lose), i would get another one. It is the one synth i know i can rely on for just about anything. Super simple to use and for the price i paid, the best piece i own for the money.

The basic features of this little thing are easy to use, but the manual is only usefull as toilet paper. But when it comes to tone editing there are some good tutorials on the net, for instance check http://users.netconnect.com.au/~ahair/jvxp/ --> Educational.
I really wouldn't mind paying some extra bucks for a "real" manual!!
Sounddiver isn't very exciting, but it does edit indeed.
The presets sound good.

The features of the JV-1010 are very good, it's very nice they've pre-installed the session expansion board, which containes very good sounds. It's expandable with one extra board.
There's no onboard sequencer.
The onboard effects have lots of parameters which is very nice :)

The sound of the synth is really great. Because it contains so many different patches you can use it for all kinds of music.
Most of the sounds are very realistic, but the piano's are sometimes to "sweet". Of course you can add some extra boost with sounddiver.
The onboard effects are also very great, though you can only use one EFX at a time. The reverb really adds a dimension to the sound.

When this thing crashes it's often bad cables/software so I trust on it. I use it on gigs most of the times.
Of course you always should make a backup of your user memory.

The Roland site could be more informative to users, people who already own the instrument. Maybe a new PDF manual?

I own the thing for over a year now and YES I would buy it again. This is what they call "value for money". My only problem is I play the synth live through a Roland RD-100 stage piano, which has very low velocity output. Therefore, I have to re-program almost all of the sounds I use to get them right. It would be nice if you could change velocity sensitivity with a few button-pushes.

Easy to use preloaded sounds. All editing available only with computer.

Has a lot of different futures.But difficult to understand how to use them properly.

There are a lot of different sounds,but seems internal patches has small sample rate. There are extremely poor high frequnces in spectrum of sounds,so instruments sounds not bright enough (like recorded onto chip cassette recorder).Especially it concerns to all Drums/hi-hats e.t.c.

I Hope so.

I'd like to be able to get more documentation from Roland's Web Site.
Especially, examples of sound editing.

This module is packed with features, but they are difficult to use. As has already meen mentioned the manual sucks and doesn't explain anything, and you have to use a computer. For me this is not a problem, but it is really hard to use the provided software to edit a patch. If someone would explain the abbreviations and what they do it would help. I've only had this box about 3 weeks and really like the wide variety of presets it has and the depth you can achieve by editing, but I have no idea what most of the parameters do.

64 voice polyphony (4 voices for each of 16 channels). Each patch supports 4 sounds in various structures + LFO + envelope + filter + effects. Only 1 effect per patch + chorus and reverb. Can be expanded with one expansion board. Nice sounding presets. only 4 voices per channel can be limiting. A lot of patches are SOLO and only 1 voice per channel. You'll need the manual to look up how many voices per channel for each patch.

Supports most MIDI messages and controllers. Doesn't include sequencer.

Very nice sounding patches. Even with the difficulty in editing this is a good unit because you may not even need to edit to get a good patch (especially with your choice of expansion boards).

Effects are very good. Patches are very dynamic. I don't like the percussion as much as my Korg X5D. For example, the base drum hits are not hits, they are the sound you get from a drum set kick, and sound muffled. This is bad for classical and march or anything that needs a good resonant base drum hit.

This unit will boost my compositions up a notch, the depth it has is amazing.

Haven't had any problems with it yet.

I have no idea.

I will be a lot happier with this unit when I finally learn how to program it. Other than that, I am really glad that I got it. I will really help in my multimedia authoring. The only thing that I regret is that I won't have the time or skills to get the full potential out of it.

Not the easiest synth to use. The people at Rolad who wrote the manual should be publicly crucified. Its not hard to play presets, but editing is difficult, and setting up performances is rough as well.

This module has space for 1 expansion board, and has the Session board pre-installed. Cheesy three digit LED. Only 1 stereo pair of outs on this synth. Hmmm... How am I going to process and eq 16 different channels of sound over 1 output? Answer: I'm not. 1 output is very limiting on a multi-timbral synth like this. Over 1000 sounds on the JV-1010 make it well stocked, but how good are the sounds?

I like the strings, basses, and pads. Nice for little backround bleepy things, but the synth leads suck. It's good for the more mundane sounds that all songs have, but weak on the evolving textured stuff and the huge hard leads that make industrial music so dark and evil (or maybe just misunderstood). If you are into electronic music, you must understand that this little half rack is an all purpose unit. Therefore, 85% of the sounds will be wasted on you. I play Industrial/EBM/Synthpop (goth stuff), and I don't get inspired on the JV. Sure, the occasional patch is good (VNV Nation use one of the presets on Praise the Fallen), but most synthy sounds are a let down. As an all purpose unit, this module could be (at least somewhat) useful in any type of music, rock, folk, electro, triphop/hiphop, etc...
I find many of the sounds to feel flat when I play them. Not flat as in off pitch, but flat as in lifeless.

This thing crashes on me every week or two. Least dependable of all my synths. I don't gig right now, but if I did and I needed this thing's sounds, I'd get an XP-30 or a JV-1080 instead. I wouldn't gig with it at all.

They send me nice magazines...

I wouldn't replace the JV-1010 if it were lost or stolen. I think a multi-timbral synth with only 1 stereo pair is a waste. For the money, it is very useful, but I can't imagine using all 16 channels at once. I can't even get one track of drums to sound right, since the bass drums tend to be much weaker sounding than the cymbals. Of course some external eq would fix that, but there's ONLY 1 OUTPUT!!!! ARG!!! If I add bass to the drums, that pretty string patch on midi channel 3 will become a garbled ugly mess.
Having said that, the Techno board has a great Industrial drum kit. How I long for seperate outs...
I have a Korg Prophecy, Roland, XP-10, Alesis NanoBass, and a MOTU MicroExpress. The JV-1010 provides most drums for my songs, as well as pads, arpeggios, basses, strings, and assorted other sounds. I'm tempted to upgrade to a JV-1080, but I don't think I like enough of the sounds to spend the cash.
Overall, the JV-1010 helps me make music, but it doesn't inspire me to make music.

You MUST use the Sound Diver software to really do anything with this unit, but that is a good thing to in my view. I hate trying to program Roland synths using their own menu-driven control panels and tiny lcd screens anyway. The Sound Diver editing software is not the easiest, but it does the job. The sound pallet is vast and sounds great. Manual is useless (a Roland trademark).

64 voice polyphony. Effects sound AWESOME. Can accept one expansion card, and has the Session card already built-in. I have the 60's and 70's Keyboard card. Editing via Midi, but can also be hooked up directly to a PC or Mac serial port.

This little unit sounds AWESOME . Very very versatile with tons of sounds on demand.

Should be reliable. I've never had a problem with Roland stuff.

Roland support is pretty good. Never really had to call them much.

I would buy it again. This unit offers great versatility and a small footprint.

For a bread and butter synth you can't go wrong...the patches are sweet for the price....you can't go wrong...
This synth is really designed to be integrated into a digital environment--if you don't use it with a computer and/or software sequencer it's kind of a pain to really take advantage of new sounds--basically you can't create new user presets without the use of soundiver....but that isn't a bad thing is it?....

manual sucks my big ass toenail...if you want to become more confused, read the manual, and try to understand how to use it with LOGIC....

editing patches with soundiver is good...

polyphony ok...
built in effects...probably better to use external effects anyways...
expansion slot is nice....

Midi horns always suck....the rest is ok....but its still midi...

ya...its a sweet little stable thing...except the power knob seems a little sketchy....

does roland have custmore support?....

I'd buy it again for my first synth...its definitely worth the price for the sounds, the overall amount of manipulation of sounds through editing....

If you don't have a computer (unlikely if you are reading this review, heh), don't buy it. The manual is a pointless (though nicely laid out) waste of time -- unless you've never seen a MIDI cable before. The included Soundiver editor/librarian is a bit of a beast, but I suppose I'll figure it out in time.

Holy moly -- this thing has a LOT of sounds. I got a brain cramp just looking at some of the patch layouts in Soundiver. It's got the goods.

I disagree about the piano sounds -- they sound "samply" compared to my aging Kawai K-11. The strings rule, as do many of the synthy sounds. The default patches do cool things with aftertouch, and the box just flat sounds great. The builtin FX even sound good.

Looks rugged enough ... we shall see.

Hope never to use it.

This is a great bargain if you have the patience to get to know the unit and a computer to make the introduction. It simply has no competition that I know of in its price class.

You need a computer to play this thing. The sounds are 10. It is difficult to just choose a reverb or chorus or effect and turn it up or down. You have to go deep into the thing. That is kind of bad.

I wish it had more simultaneous effects.

Great sounds

I'd buy it again.

The manual, as everybody says, is extremely bad. Also, as many point out, there is no documentation of the SoundDiver software (used for editing patches and performances). The help in SoundDiver is good though.

It is extremely difficoult to find out how the effects, parts and patches work in the SoundDiver.

The polyphony os OK. It can be insufficient when working with strings and sustained pianopatches, but otherwise it's usually enough.

The effect implementation is bad. I can't understand why others like it (email me and tell me!). The effects might be good, but only one effect can be used at once. Reverb and chorus can be used for all parts.

The expansion cards avaliable are too expensive. I wouldn't buy one of these, I would rather buy a new synth.

There are both good and bad instruments. None of the piano sounds are very great, at lower velocities they just sound mixed up and too un-sharp. The regarded 64-piano session-sound, that many likes, has a kind of "bug", it has a metallic sound in the attack at higher velocities. If you want good piano sounds, buy a digital piano.

The string sounds are good, but there is not many variations of them (I bet they are all built on the same waveform, or at least very few).

Some orchestral sounds like flutes and oboes are good.

When it comes to the synths there are not very many that are good. It has hudreds of pads, it would be sufficient with 10 of them. But it has only a couple of synth sounds that work well with low-pass cutoff-filter.

The distortion guitars are good, but still, not very much variation. I guesse all of them are built of few waveforms.

It is OK. There is a bug in the OS that makes it hang sometimes, but this can be fixed with software updates via SysEx.

I've only been in contact with the Swedish customer-support. The e-mail support is rather good, answering time is average two days, but they seem to be done too quickly and are not very qualitative. There are phone-support too, but it is almost impossible to reach them (line occupied).

I don't like it very much, it is not enough for me. But maybe it is a good module for that price. Forget it if you are making electronic music. Then better buy that new Korg for example, you just need to add $350.

Might be good as a first all-round module. I would definitely buy another module if it was stolen.

Welcome to email me if you have any questions (tw@linkoping.mail.telia.com)

Easiest piece of gear to use I've ever seen.

(See the other "expert" reviews)

Sounds as good as my JV-1080 (Maybe better..)

Never had a problem with Roland gear.

Never needed it...

My review is considering this unit as a portable PC sequencer driven device, which is what Roland DESIGNED it to be? I'm frankly shocked at the lack of understanding displayed in the reviews I've read expecting it to be some great sounding easy to use (without PC control) live performance unit. Why in hell would anyone want THIS unit for live keyboard playing? IF I was a keyboard player, I would have a synth (like my no longer used JV-1080) with all the performances programmed, not a mess of cables and wall-warts interconnecting a Midi controller and synth module(s). You guys remind me of the Dinosaur guitar guys who have to take 3 40lb guitars, 2 amps and 10 effect pedals to a Gig to get the same sounds I get with my Line-6 and Fly guitar (TRUST me, the audience won't notice if every sound isn't exactly perfect, but they WILL notice if you spend 5 minutes between songs fumbling with your gear..) I think this module is an incredible bargain if you use it as intended. If you're expecting the same features as a rack-mount unit that costs $1,000 more you'll be disappointed (DUH????) Even I know this and I'm a just a dumb GUITAR player.

Very easy to use as an instrument but I havn't really explored the software editing yet. I imagine this will be fairly straight forward. Ive just downloaded a copy of jvedit to experiemt with. Getting it to work with Cubase 3.7 might be a different matter.
The manual looks professionally produced but is less than useless !

All the features you'd expect for the price. I know its asking alot but I'd really like a digital output so that I can connect it to my sound card for clean hard drive recordings.

These range from good to excellent. I was not entirely convinced about the Grand piano that everybody raves about but I really do like the tenor sax. The synths are great.

Looks well made. I only use a PC for sequencing music but would use it live for one specific sound only.

Had no contact yet.

If it was stolen I might but it again. I would consider comparing it with a SW1000XG sound card which is only slightly cheaper.
My doubt about buying it again is really base entirely on the fact that I like to have my music creation & mastering entirely within the digital domain.

The manual sucks. But wait! Don't throw it away! You'll need it to refer to every time you need to choose a patch. Onboard editing is impossible, and the software is difficult.
Presets are OK.

Polyphony is good but gets used up quickly by complex 3- and 4-voice patches.
I still haven't gotten effects to work, but the ones used in presets are all right.
I'm glad it has that expansion slot, but the cards are a bit expensive.

Great sounds! Read other reviews about the volume problem. I agree.

feels good

I'm returning it and getting a SoundCanvas.

I have to mention that the JV-1010 is my very first synth, so my opinions are based on a very limited experience with other synths. However, in my opinion the 1010 is eee-asy to use! For patch navigation the dials on the front give quick and easy access, and the category banks make patch navigation much easier...the display is pretty crappy, it would be nice to be able to see the name of the patch, but it's on a minor detail...
The sounddiver program is excellent, I strongly recommend people to check it out. I've never edited patches before in my life, but sounddiver gives a great visual representation on the signal flow of the patches, and when I got over the interface I was tweaking patches qith ease. Being able to experiment and tweak on 2 computer monitors has got to be better than pressing tiny buttons on a pissy lcd screen.
The manual really does suck, but as it's been said, can't really make too many complaints for the price.

I just use it for the great presets and the ability to tweak patches...I have a home studio set up and I don't use it live so I don't need massive polyphony or anything like that...the onboard effects are great.
Since I'm on such a tight budget I don't need 20 expansion slots.
So basically, for what I'm doing (desktop music production) it's got everything I need.

One word...Great!
As I mentioned, this is my first synth and I can see now why this module (1080 and 2080) is revered so much. The session patch is awesome, and I can't really see any major weaknesses in any particular sound category (all synth horns aren't that good I guess).
I definitely agree with the volume problem, the lineouts are very weak. In fact I've got the outputs routed to the mic inputs of my ax44 for my DSP Factory.
Aside from that quibble, the sounds are fantastic

Very sturdy, as I said I don't use it live. Looks like it's gonna live longer than me

Have no idea, I try not to get involved with any form of tech support, it' just too frustrating for anyone involved.
Besides, I don't see myself having any problems with this module

I really want to bring up the ratings for this module, I think more and more people are buying it for home studios and the ratings it has been given don't do it justice for this situation (in my opinion). It's got everything you'd need for a home studio and it's small and robust. The sounds are top-quality, and gives small time aspiring producers (like me) a real opportunity to kick it with the big guns for a budget price. To me, the only flaws are the small screen and the volume problem, but these are only minor. In the end, the value for money and the excellent sounds make it an unbeatable bargain.

Well, not easy to use at first. The manual, as others said, total joke! At least it didn't tell me how to program the patches I wanted in Cakewalk or other sequencing program. It took me 5 hours to figure out how to set things. The whole controller 0 thing just drove me crazy. Glad that I found some user patches for cakewalk that made my life much much easier!

If you ever tried to read the manual, you're wasting your time! I believe Roland should have done a better job with their user manuals for all their products.

The Soundiver software that came with the unit, I have NO idea what is it for!!! The manual says nothing about it!

Well, 64 polyphony sometimes still not enough for my string ensemble arrangment. Eventhou 4 parts with 4 notes playing at once, but each part and note has 4 voices (for higher quality sound), it turns out to be 16 voices used for only 4 notes playing simultaneously. That's already 1/4 of the max. polyphony. I'm not complaining about 64 voices not enough, for this price, I can't expect too much. However, for the higher model 2080 is still 64 voices?! Definitely not enough!

I'm quite happy that they include the session board in this little box, 1000+ patches to use, that's more than enough for most people already! I also bought the Orchestral board, extremely powerful! So, I should say the expansion slot is really useful, but if Roland can make it 2 rather than 1 expansion would be much much better. But again, at this price, just can't expect too much.

I bought this unit mainly for the session board's St. Concert Piano sound. It's totally unbeatable! Amazing sound it has, and it sounds just like a Yamaha to me. Great for any types of music especially pop and newage. Just the 2nd register above middle C sounds too bright to me. Also not enough velocity layers, can't totally express the whole dynamic range of a piano...but it's way better than other piano sounds I've heard already (include Triton, Pro Piano, Yamaha, Ensoniq, and Kurzweil). Other patches are really cool too...like those synth sounds and strings. Percussion sets are great too especially the house drum set! If you just wanna spend some money for a great piano module, this is the best choice eventhough it's not solely a piano module!

I had it for 2 months so far...no problem at all...however, I might only use this unit on a gig for just the piano sound...polyphony is still a problem.

Don't know who to call and so on if I need help.

I first bought this only for the piano sound, but then I realized how good other sounds are. If this unit were stolen or so, I'll replace it with a JV1080 or JV2080, so I can have more expansion capability. At this price, I can't ask for anything more than what it has now. One thing I really need to say about the orchestral board is that everything on it sounds incredible espeically the Oboe and strings. It really worths the money!

Just one more thing about the jv1010, the line-out is not loud enough, even everything on my Cakewalk shows at top volume and velocity, when I record it from the JV, on my Soundforge, it only shows maximum to about -5dB even my line-in on my soundcard already crank up to 100%. Too low of volume output plus not so good DA converter, really has some hiss in the sound. Hope this is not the case with 1080 or 2080. But I'm very very happy with this unit. The more I use it, the more I love it. If Roland could change some of the stuff I mention above, that would be very awesome!

Like everyone else, I agree that this is a very frustrating unit to get around on (lining up the lines on the dials, especially difficult on stage!), much less editing &/or moving favorite patches into the user bank. Hate having to use a computer to do all that....I use it live w/WX5 wind controller, and have to keep a cheat-sheet next to me w/patches & banks; also agree w/others bout the volume variances. I find that there are even fluctuations within the same patches, one octive is way louder, or softer than the next! I have to use a volume pedal constantly to control that.........

again, not happy that most features require using your computer...

Like many of the sounds.....Really happy with guitars (as a sax player, it's nice to be Carlos Santana or Jimi Hendrix for a change), neat lead/dreamy synths, vibes,steel drums,.... Not very wild about organs, too thin sounding, not enuf lezlie; also not happy w/blues harp. Again, the volume inconsistancies a drag.

seems to be........

n/a

not sure I'd buy it again, like the fact it's got alot of good sounds in a small, inexpensive pkge. I did have Korg's X5DR,N1R, and would have bought a Trinity Rack, but for half the price and space got the 1010. Have a Triton, O1W, & JD990 at home; would use the 990 on gigs, but is much bigger (4x), and has less (but great) sounds. REALLY wish you could at least move patches w/o a computer, and editing them would be nice, too. I guess I will have to figure out how to edit and assign patches, so that I'm happy with all the sounds I want, and can put them all in the user bank, cuz trying to see where the lines match up while on stage is too challenging, and not having patch names, only numbers lit makes it too easy to have the wrong patch cued up; not good when going for a screaming guitar solo and some weird techno synth patch starts playing instead!

I have owned the 1010 for a little over a week. Here are my initial reactions.

I have no idea what software version my 1010 has. I have no idea how to find out.

The presets are many, varied and mosty, quite usable. very little filler. some truly classic sounds on board here, especially the vocal patches and techno/dance patches.

I use the included sound diver to tweak the onboard sounds. Pretty straight forward.

The manual is a total joke. Trial and error is the only way around this box.

Choosing patches is as simple as twisting one or two knobs as needed. The three decimal numeric display is not the most helpful, but for $440 American, for what the box does and what it is capable of doing, I won't complain.

Polyphony 64. As long as I get 16 note polyphony with a good patch that is all I will need out of the box at one time. Effects are decent. Lush Roland Chorus can do wonders. It can accept one more expansion card. My rating takes into account, the JV's price.

Realistic? not necessarily. does the JV produce sounds that are satisfying? Yes!!! As I said before lots of useable variety. Very musical. Inspiring. And "hey I have heard that cool sound before on a song/movie/ad! The Session expansion board is wonderful. I notice that I mostly use that bank.

I am using an Alesis QS6 to drive it and notice that the JV, IMO, reacts too noticeably to aftertouch. I have to change my playing in relation to this. Anybody else notice this?

Sonic strengths: basses, vocals, pads, synth sounds, acoustic piano (relative to its price), bells and bell pads. Ulike some earlier posters, I like the JV's woodwinds. they aren't the most realistic, but I dont have wind controller. If I did and wanted excellent woodwinds and horns I would go for the Yamaha virtual acoustic module.

Sonic weaknesses: electric piano sounds, organs

I also play guitar so I have little use for guitar sounds. The guitar sounds in the JV are better than most I have heard.

I have had it a week. It hasn't crashed or died yet.

No contact.

The 1010 is definetly worth what I paid for it. It has a complementary sonic palate to my Alesis and Korg gear.

It's easy to use initially. The sounds are quite easy to call up, and the demo (pushing the volume button in) is wonderful. It'll play a sample so you can hear the patch. The biggest problem I have is the lack of documentation for the Soundiver application. I would not recommend this unit to anyone who doesn't have a computer. And if you do have a computer you need to get the original Soundiver manual, which is currently (4/18/00) $29 from Emagic.

All I can say here is that it kicks booty. The effects sound very good, there is a very wide variety of patches, and the Soundiver app makes it very easy to sort ALL the patches by category and sound 'em out. There are also knobs to do this on the unit.

sounds good. 'enuff said. It covers just about everything. The brass and woodwind instruments are definintely synthy. There's lots of classic synth sounds and B3's and organs. Bass sounds are varied, but again, I think if you want realism here either get a bass player or a sampler. But if you are making backing tracks for your live guitar riffs this is the unit for you.

Very reliable.

Haven't needed support yet. I'm very dissapointed with the lack of documentation for the Soundiver OEM app they packaged with the unit. The Roland manual, however, is quite good in my opinion. It just doesn't cover the "good stuff" which is what Soundiver is supposed to do.

I would buy it again. I've been using it for about 2 months now. I own a drum set, a Johnson JM150 amp, Layla Unit and a Presonus preamp that feeds the Layla, cause I do all my stuff on computer. I love the organ sounds and the fat synth sounds. I hate the lousy brass sounds, but they sound just as good as anyone elses I suppose. I didn't compare it with other products, except maybe pricewise with the Proteus. No comparison. I wish it had the Soundiver manual, and not just chapter 3 that was included with the unit. It would help me make music if I could figure out some of the software that came with it.
I highly recommend this unit. Just plan on shelling out $29 for the manual in addition to the unit. Me, I'm going to sign on to the Logic user groups and try to get someone to send me the file. A salesman from Logic explained that their Soundiver app is a heavily pirated piece of software, so they don't make the manual publically available. I believe I paid for the software, so I believe I should have the manual and not have to pay a ridiculous price for it. :-) If you are looking for a synth module to complement a home project studio, this is an excellent one to get.

Very easy to use. Knobs on the front, what more is there to say? Manual is par for Roland (read "Crappy"). Patch editing is best done with the included software and a computer.

Expandable with one JV-series sound card. I currently have the Keyboards of the 60s and 70s card in it. Kick ass organs on that card.

Here's where I have a beef with Roland. I don't know if it's just my unit or what, but some of the sounds differ in volume tremendously. There are times I have to turn up the volume on the JV-1010 to the max, and then the channel the unit is plugged into on my mixer just to match the volume of my other synths. Note, this doesn't happen with all patches, just some. Especially those that are on the expansion card I have installed. Any other users experiencing this problem?

Otherwise, the sounds are top-notch.

Because of the problems with the volumes, I have decided against using this item for gigs. I plan on using it for my home studio for the time being. If it wasn't for the volume problem, I would definitely use it at a gig without backup.

Never had to deal with Roland Support.

If it were stolen, the only thing I'd miss is the installed sound card. As for the unit itself, i'd probably replace it with a JV-1080 or 2080 if I could afford it. I picked up the unit because of the size and price. A great unit, but the volume problem brings the overall rating down to a six, in my eyes.

The key word with this unit is "compromise". For the price you get loads of high quality sounds and plenty of polyphony to do complex arrangements. Before I got married I owned a Roland D-70, and all of the classic sounds from that era are here plus some more modern dance-oriented stuff that doesn't really do anything for me.

Regarding patch editing and the manuals: WARNING!! Do not buy this unit if you are new to the whole synth/PC/MIDI world!! This unit is NOT for newbies! With a few exceptions, ALL editing functions are done through the supplied Emagic Sound Diver software. Both the Emagic and the Roland manual (no surprise) give just the basics. As said in other reviews, it's really up to you to figure out how to get the most from the unit. My primary instrument is guitar, and although I am not new to synthesis (I have owned an OB-8, Emax, TX-81Z and the D70) I am still scratching my head as to how to get the thing to do what I want. For example, I am assuming that while utilizing the 1010 with my sequencer (Cakewalk PA 8.04) I am using the Performance Mode patch's FX, but I can't yet get it to change the Performance patch via MIDI. That means that every song I have played through it for the past two weeks have used the FX from PERF Mode 1 unless I change it manually. Granted, I have only had it for three weeks, but the trial and error learning method is very frustrating. The sad thing is that many people looking to get into synthesis will be attracted to this unit by the price/performance but will have a very frustrating experience.

The 1010 integrates seamlessly into a PC MIDI setup, but it's lack of functions accessible from the front panel patch numbers instead of names make it useless for a live application. Again, think
"compromise". I am using the serial interface, and am using a Fatar Studio 49 via the MIDI port from an SB Live to play the 1010 and enter data. The FX are good, not stunning, but good and I am sure they will prove flexible once I figure out how to program them.

I am using the 1010 as my primary sound generator for my home studio, and the sounds work very well for what I do (jazz, rock, blues, etc.).
The synth sounds stand out for me, as I am a fan of big analog sounds. The acoustic sounds are good, and the drums (especially the Session kits) offer a well-rounded variety of options. You can also add an additional expansion card, but I'll have my hands full with what came with it for some time to come. Most of the other JV/XP series patches are compatible with this synth as well and can be easily downloaded from sites via the Internet.

I did notice the Closed Hi Hat sounded less like the tight "tick tick tick" I was used to and was more of a pedal sound. I'm sure there is a way to remedy that with editing, but it will take me a while to find it. ;-}

As mentioned above, I have owned other Roland gear and found it to be very reliable. I don't expect any problems with this.

They're not the most helpful people in the world, but I did get through to a live human being the two times I called. You will find that the phrase "I don't know" appears all too often in their vocabulary.

The steep learning curve and skimpy manuals will likely tarnish the reputation of this otherwise outstanding value, especially with beginners or those (like me) on a budget. It is unfortunate that beginners or the budget-conscious are the ones who could benefit most from the 1010. I listened to the Alesis Nanosynth and Korg X5R (re: sounded like a GM sound card) and longed for my old D70, so I got the 1010. The D70 was no walk in the park to program, but at least you had buttons to push and a display to read.

I have found some excellent resources for the JV/XP series of synths on the Internet (www.lilchips.com) and there are several sites that offer downloads of some of the other JV/XP series synth's factory patches that are compatible with the 1010 so there is no shortage of support or free sounds. But unless you have a working knowledge of PCs, MIDI, sequencing, and editor/librarians expect a STEEP learning curve before you can just sit down and make music.

This is a hard model to comment on, as the JV1010 has good and bad extremes, it has a 3 digit display for your viewing pleasure, to sellect your patches by number only and a few very basic changes like factory reset and very awkward at that and no patch editing at all, you need a computer for that, but once you've done your editing and saved them in the 127 user spots and sit down and play it, it couldn't be easier, just turn the patch knob to the patch you want and thats it, although remembering what number they are on may take a while.

I get the impression that Roland knocked this one out in a hurry, finished or not, the software editor that comes with it is a chopped down version of emagic's Sound Diver and they give you 22 pages torn out of their 350 page manual, its a joke. I gave up on that and found a freeware editor called WinJV thats so easy to use. As to what can be edited, well just about everything, there is no limit to the sound you can make with it, but you will have to learn how to do it yourself (no help from Roland there). As far a the general Midi side of it goes, I've found it to be not very accurate. If you were to play a good GM file that you had not heard before, you would might think it was ok, but if you play it through a Yamaha MU50, which I have, you will notice what is missing and Yamaha's XG format is even better. For some reason didn't include GS and that is their own format. The unit deals with SysEx perfectly.

Thank God I have come to this part, as I can say something really positive. EXCELLENT ! The only reason to buy this unit, there are about 1100 sounds that should cover almost anything you want, and the samples are a delight, combine that with the editing capabilites and you could play with it till the cows come home. I had an SC88 and it wasn't in the same league at all. The JV1010 is essentialy a JV1080 with all the ound and editing plus the JV2080 sounds plus the Session expansion board sounds and at about 1/3 of the price of a 2080 less the 2080's extra effects etc. So to me, this is what makes this unit.

I have confidence in it. Not old enough to rate.

What support ?? Leave your name and number and they will call you, but only if they feel like it. Then they will probably tell you, its all in you head.

I bought this unit for the sounds and the price. I am satisfied in that respect, but , I feel Roland couldn't care less about supplying you with a decent manual. You get a better manual with a cheap TV. If it were lost or stolen, I might buy a used one, if I could find one for $200 or $300. I have a Yamaha MU50 module, which is much more user friendly and has a decent manual. I find it grows on you , whereas , the JV1010 is the opposite.

Easy access to sound by families. Good

Very good in theory (same as JV-1080/2080).

Good compared with other expanders at the same price. But big problem with the D/A converters.
The sound on my old JV-880 is more precise, warmer, has more presence and details.
Sound in JV-1010 lacks of bandwith. Only medium are well played. There is a lack in bass frequencies.
For example try the waveform ST Strings R in the low octaves : on the JV-1010 it lacks of dtails, it's less warm...
I think JV-1010 has only low-cost 16bits converters : the rom sounds
are probably the same but they are not reproduced well.
The sound is lower, doesn't reproduce all details and the dynamic is
very low compared with the JV-880 (has true 18bits quality converters).

Too recent, but probably good

no

Good for that price, but do not think to replace a JV-880 by a JV-1010 to gain money.
It's not a good idea. The sound in JV-880 has much more details, dynamic,
and is warmer. Keep your JV-880 or change it for a JV-1080/2080.
(I don't know if the other JVs have the good or bad converters)

It's a shame that Roland did say that the JV-1010 has the same sounds as other JVs:
The rom samples data are the same, but the result if far more less good,
due to bad converters.
There is also bugs in SoundDiver editor : many parameters are not changed in real time on
the JV-1010 while editing on the computer. For example we must choose "transmit" after
changing the amplitude enveloppe. So editing becomes very difficult.

I will begin by clarifying that I do not own a computer and even though this unit is designed for use with a computer, I bought it with a specific use in mind. Playing in "fusion" (don't think Jeff Lorber, think Medeski Martin and Wood) jazz bands, I use alot of rhodes, wurlitzer, and clavinet sounds. I've looked around quite a bit at sampled versions of these sounds and the best I've found are on the Roland "60's and 70's" expansion card. I got the JV-1010 specifically so I could have these sounds at my fingertips in a live setting. It was important to have them in a module, because I use various controller keyboards in different situations. The decision not to use a JV-1080 or 2080, which have many obvious advantages, was based on portability. The 1010 weighs virtually nothing and takes up virtually no space. It sits comfortably on top of a keyboard right in front of me during a gig. Its relatively easy to memorize which numbers go with which sounds in the expansion board, and so the primary manipulation is to switch among them during a gig and occasionally adjust the volume. Couldn't be much easier. If I were trying to make any more extensive use out of this unit without a computer, it would be a problem. Even switching among sound banks is difficult, as it entails lining up teeny tiny lines on a rotating nob, an endeavor difficult at best in most stage lighting conditions. So, for the very limited range of use that I currently ask of it, yes, it couldnt be much easier.

The many preceding reviews on this unit adequately describe its features. While the 1010 has all the effects of the 2080, you need a computer to get into all that. Otherwise, you take the sounds as they are given to you in the presets. In my opinion, the reason this unit can work at all in a live setting is because you have SO MANY presets to choose from, its fairly likely that you can find an appropriate variation to suite the situation somewhere among them (though, again, switching among banks can be tricky). As noted above, I essentialy use the 1010 as a source for certain e.piano sounds. I then run those sounds through various effect pedals. This is pretty much necessary for live performance where I will spontaneously choose different combinations of effects depending on various things. Since preprogramming effects to sounds doesn't really work for me, I don't miss the absence of this feature.

I read the comment below in which the commenter says he loves the sounds on the 60's and 70's board, but doesn't like the phantom noise he gets with this card through the 1010. I agree with the former but not the latter. The rhodes, wurlitzer, and clav sounds on this expansion board are warm and authentic -- pretty darn close to the real thing. Since I covet these sounds, I have looked far and wide for the best. Some of the sounds available on the fancier Korg keyboards (trinity, triton, trident, whatever) are about as good, but personally I don't need that whole package. I also like the EP sounds on the Kawaii MP9000, which number exactly 3. But with the Roland expansion card, you get a very impressive array of variations. It seems like there is something for every situation and, with the 1010, you just have to remember which corresponds with which number (not too difficult after you work with them awhile), and spin the knob. In my opinion, while the epiano sounds you find on other Roland products (e.g., the RD-600, the Session board, are good, they are not as good as those on the 60's and 70's board. A few of the rhodes patches come with a high level of background noise, sounding as if they are running through a fairly noisy analog stompbox. Its a bit annoying, but wouldn't necessarily stop me from using them. The commenter below who complained about severe phantom noise must have some kind of defect on his hands. The organ sounds on the 60's boards are quite good, putting aside the leslie simulation, which, no surprise, is not terribly authentic. But I need to have drawbars at the ready, so I generally don't use these. Elsewhere on the 1010, the synth patches are surprisingly good, though here as well, I'm not much interested in using synth sounds absent real time controls. I love the synth bass sounds on the 1010. Again, not easily manipulable, but there's a good variety and they're all excellent for being digital fascimiles. A big problem with using the 1010 the way I do, and other commenters have noted this, is the sometimes dramatic differences in volume level. However, among the epiano sounds, the levels are fairly consistent. Differences exist, but within a range that can be dealt with in live situations. I can't stand digitally reproduced acoustic piano and never use it. With a bias such as this, I shouldn't even comment.

I've owned lots of Roland gear through the years and have found it to be about the most reliable stuff you can find in the world of electronics. The 1010 is a sturdy, compact little unit. Quality control is a major reason by itself to keep coming back to Roland.

Have never dealt with the company. Never been a fan of their manuals, but probably no need for piling on Roland in that respect. You'd think that, if they were paying attention, it would have made a difference by now.

I'd buy it again because it works beautifully for my simple needs. I'm not tech-oriented and I don't have much patience for programming anything more complicated than a toaster. Basically I look for quality vintage sounds and the ability to manipulate them in real time. The 1010, with the 60's and 70's expansion board, is fitting the bill as a source of excellent vintage epiano sounds which are then run through a series of effect pedals for the "real time" aspect. I'm also using a Voce V-5 and an Access Virus, which work wonderfully to bring in authentic Hammond and vintage analog synth sounds, respectively. Until about 6 years ago, I did not consider digital fascimiles of analog keyboards to be convincing enough to displace the real thing, and I was still hauling and hassling with the real thing. The bottom line for me is, do the sounds inspire you to play your best or near it? For a long time, digital reproductions failed miserably in this regard (and piano still does). In my opinion, we've crossed the threshold where digital sounds are good enough to merit leaving your dinosaurs in the home studio when you hit the road, shedding several hundred pounds and a world of maintenance concerns in the process. But, you know, all that old school analog logistical stuff, it does build character . . .

If you are using a PC or MAC, then the supplied soundiver software in a must to do any decent editing. I am of the philosophy that ALL units should be able to be programmed from the front panel even if it involves manufacturers building full rackspace units with LCD displays which cost a bit more. I own a Korg TR Rack and whilst it can't do any serious patch editing from the front panel (refer to my review under it's section) at least it is a full rack space unit with an LCD display which allows you to at least get into effects routing and setting up combinations and multis without needing a computer. Whilst I use a computer, I'm a muso 1st!!!!! This means that I resent being forced to rely upon hooking my gear to a computer to make it work properly!!!!!!!!!! Anyway enough of my carryon- If you use Soundiver than getting around this module is OK. If not, Forget it!!! It's only good for selecting patches and even this is a pain in the rectum because of the small LED (NOT LCD) display. The manual is typically Roland- SHITHOUSE! Everything that you need to find is there but it is not logically laid out. The preset patches and drumkits (over 1,000 of them!) are on the whole fantastic- JV1080/2080 quality sounds afterall. My rating is for using it without Soundiver.

64 note polyphony (4 oscillators down to 16 notes). Same synthe engine as JV1080/2080- Very flexible with 10 different oscillator structures, great sounding multiband filters and excellent effects. 3 effects units- 1 reverb, 1 chorus, 1 multi-fx with 40 different programs. I like the midi syncable phasers and flangers the most but the Roland choruses are as always excellent. You can expand it with one of the Roland expansion boards and all the sounds from the session expansion board are supplied which is great- these are great sounds particularly the Acoustic piano, strings, solo sax and nylon guitars- check them out. It is 16 part multi-timbral and responds to all midi controllers and it has a general midi bank. No onboard sequencer- OBVIOUSLY!!!!!

THE SOUNDS ARE AWESOME- I already own 2 Jv-1080's filled with, the orchestral, bass&drums, vintage, keyboards of the 60s&70s, hiphop and techno expansion boards. I bought this more as a sound expander to these modules than anything else. The stock JV sounds are mostly great. Check out the bank E sounds- some of the sythe effects and pads are to die for! The session sounds as previously mentioned are great. I find the drum sounds much less useable than those in my Korg synthes (TR Rack, Triton). This of course is just a matter of taste obviously! The session drumkits are quite good however and so are some of the kits on the expansion boards (check out my reviews on their pages). I can't stand the stock acoustic pianos however and please Roland, stop redoing all the old D50 sounds! Most of us are sick of them. I must say however, that overall the sounds of this unit are great for most styles of music and they sit very well together in a multi timbral peeformance.

NOTE- I NO LONGER BUY PIECES OF GEAR WITH EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLIES- NO MATTER HOW GOOD THEY SOUND!!!!!!! Some of you might think that I am a complet and utter dickhead uttering such a remark but I really mean it. If my half rack space MOTU Micro Express MIDI interface can use an internal power supply, why can't the Roland JV1010? Now that I got that off my chest, I never had a problem with this unit.

Roland Australia have been very good to me when I have dealt with them.

I wouldn't buy it again- I actually sold mine, not because I hated it's sounds (I love them) but because I resented having to have it constantly hooked up to a computer to use it properly. I know that this is to make the unit cheaper but Roland could have made it a full rack space with an inbuilt power supply, LCD display with at least 4 outputs (only 2 outputs on such a multi-timbral device stinks). Also whilst they were at it, they could have given us at least a couple of more expansion slots (obviouly with more space on a full rack space unit). If you are using it with your PC and MAC then I feel that this is a very viable alternative to the much more expensive Jv1080 or 2080. However, I wouldn't bother looking at it if you only want to use it on it's own- you are better off hunting down a 2nd hand JV1080 or XP50. As for myself, I co-own a midi based studio with a number of Korg and Roland pieces. I think that Korg and Roland sounds compliment each other very nicely- they are quite different to each other. I contacted Roland as I wanted the JV1010 to power up with the last selected patch or performance (like the JV1080 can do). Sadly it doesn't allow you to do this and this was probably the last straw before I sold it. Please don't let my ranting put anyone off this unit however because if used as I described above (with PC or MAC) and Soundiver, it is a killer sounding module (even if it has got an external power supply! Have I already mentioned how much I hate them??????) My rating is using it without a computer.

I was quite impressed with the sounds in the store,and still am with many of them.I love the drums,especially the kicks and the piccolo snare.I wouldn't rate the basses as high as other modules I've heard.the strings merit an honorable mention.Overall sound quality is high and sequences well.I went into this purchase with full understanding that the interface was amputated to attain a certain price point,and that's fine with me 'cause I really wanted the unit to enhance my timbral pallette already in place (Alesis QS4,Korg N1R),and in spite of the lack of easy programmability I still feel I got a high bang-for-buck factor.The preview feature is cool. The manual got me up to the level of functionality I require,so I would also rate it favorably.

64 note polyphony.FX are very good for the price.I wish it were easier to assign them,but this is where the price/performance ratio comes into play.Can be expanded,although personally I've got enough to keep me going for a while as is.

Any box that has only 2 or 3 velocity X-fades for acoustic instrument samples will leave SOMETHING to be desired,but for Pop music sequencing or song demos this unit is more than sufficient.I found the slap Bass to be lacking in,well,BASS,and here the lack of individual outs to EQ separate sounds is felt,but the mantra remains,bang for buck... I write pop songs and in this genre I find the overall level of sounds to be high and pleasing to the ear.

I have owned the unit since 6/99 and no problems have as yet surfaced.I don't gig with it, I only use it for sequencing.

Every time I've spoken to a Roland person has been a very positive experience.I have always had my questions answered fully,clearly,and promptly.I own a few other pieces of Roland "kit" as the Brits say and they have on occasion sent me stuff free (data in floppies) I probably should have had to pay for.

If lost or stolen I would replace it.I've been playing music for 34 yrs. I have a VS-880EX, a Mackie 1402VLZ,4 guitars, 2 basses, guitar and bass amp Digitech 2101 and valve fx, Studio Vocalist Behringer compressor,Midiverb 4 etc. I LOVE: the sound,the size,the price. I HATE: people who complain that it isn't as easy to use as something costing 2-3 times as much! You get what you pay for! Yes,it helps me make music.As an expansion to a home studio setup I recommend you check it out.

Editing on the machine itself is very limited. It sucks. Sounddiver is ok, could be a bit more logical,
but I can't seem to get it to work together with cubase vst. Anyone have ideas on this?

64 voice, very nice DSP effect section, nice filters. Works very nice with the serial interface connected to a laptop, so that you
can use it on the road.

The sounds are so good that I was a bit dissapointed: it is so easy to make a new age tune
or dance with this machine. The filters are cool, you can set them to extreme values so that
they start to whistle. A killer for your speakers. Incredible large collection of sound, great drums,
great synth sounds, nice strings.

Sometimes the serial interface would freeze if you reboot the computer. Apart from that, I would use it on a gig.

Haven't called them.

I am very happy with the machine. It has got a lot to offer in a single machine. I use it with a casio vz-1,
cubase vst, yamaha sw60xg and a boss dr660. Very inspiring, and unbeateble vallue for money.

What makes this box so difficult to use is the lack of editing features on board.
The front panel controls are very easy to use, but many have complained about using it in the performance mode.
I have not had any problems with that aspect, simply because I use it in home studio enviroment only. I user Digital Performer
and what I've done is taken the 2080 in the patchlist manager in Freemidi and renamed it JV 1010. Then I rearranged the patch names
to in the user bank to correspond with the 1010. They are the same patches in the user bank, just in different order.
The rest of the presets are exactly the same. Sorry if the above info doesn't relate to everyone, but Performer users might find it helpful.
Incidentally, I have the Freemidi patchlist to the Orchestral II card if anyone is interested.
The unit does sound great though, despite its low output. The 1080 and 2080, even the 880 has a more powerful amplifier. This is my biggest gripe so far.
The Soundiver software is complete but has a strong learning curve.

Having 64 note polyphony and over 1000 patches plus a card expansion, makes this box worth the price alone.
Having only two analog outputs makes it more difficult to mix professinaly but there are always workarounds, especially with digital audio nowdays.

The sounds are great, almost all of them, especially the Session board with its nice pianos, strings and various guitars. I added an orchestral 2 board and I'm happy.
I would also recommend buying the Patchman patches which you can get on line for $40.00. They have wonderful breath controll patches and new patches for all the JV units.

I had one problem when I had and audio surge that seem to knock the wind out the JV 1010 and caused to freak and not play.
After a few minutes it reset itself and has been fine ever since.
No other problems.

The Roland support people should be rated individually. They should rate from very helpful to total assholes on the loose.
I shant call them unless I need to.

I would probably buy a 2080 next time because of the 8 card slots it provides

Oh my gawd! I read Alex Fraser's October 5th review of this unit in these very pages and thought "this guy's just saved me from submitting a long and castigating review because he's written almost exactly what I would have a few days ago". Since then a long (and expensive) chat with a very helpful Roland techie has modified my view a smidgin. Basically this unit is a synch to operate if you want to access only the patches, and a complete dog if you want to see action from the performances. Roland advised me that this unit is not meant for those people without a computer, so an ease-of-use mark would be 9 for patch use, and a round zero for performances.
One other glitch in the ease-of-operating department, is the fact that the volume levels differ so widely between the patches.

See Alex Fraser's review.
Also, with the somewhat turgid 'SoundDiver' software editing potential is enormous. (So with 4000 hours of free time to spend you should be in good shape)

Some truly fabulous sounds here, like guitar, piano (surprise), (both from the session board), and many others. I imagine the dance crowd would be well pleased too. It is very expressive on the whole, with varying timbral responses to different velocities, albeit with fairly useless aftertouch for the presets (some of those 4000 hours wqould be well spent reassigning and tuning the aftertouch).

I think Roland gear is pretty sturdy, generally.

The first support person I spoke with must have been having a baaaaad day because he was unfriendly to the point of recalcitrance, and generally behaved like a first-rate wanker. The second was pleasant but didn't seem to understand my questions too well (of course, it may have been that I didn't understand my questions too well either); the third was helpful and had a firm grasp of this unit's operation (by now, I expect that Roland staff have logged 4000 hours or more dealing with questions about this machine, and the answers probably trip off the tongue quite readily)

I would think hard before buying this unit again. I have only just got off the phone with the helpful techie, and if everything he says is true, my feelings will be mollified. It seemed to me that one could not get a 'performance' out of this machine without a computer unless your controller sent the right msb, lsb bundles [Which mine doesn't], but I have been assured that the unit will land on performance 1 when turned on [which I had not, hitherto, found to be the case]. If this is true, then one can edit everything you need into a user performance, using SoundDiver, and hey presto, you have action. Still, this unit is likely to induce severe rectal distress in anyone wanting to use it in a live setup. For sequencing on a computer I imagine it would be fine (once you've spent some time getting aquainted with the editor).
I did compare it with other products, and sonically it was way ahead of anything else in its price-range - and higher. The 1080 would be a better bet, but costs twice as much with the Session board (which is excellent).
I wish this unit had $100 worth of user more-friendly interface.
I use a Fatar controller with Kurzweil micropiano, Korg 05R/W, and, of course this little gem, the JV-1010, all put through a Mackie 1202VLZ.
I've been playing piano and keybords my whole life and have been making my living from music since graduating from college.
Right now this unit gets in the way of my making music, but I do expect that to change, and if it does, it will be a big asset.

I've owned the JV 1010 for a couple of months now.
I'm no newcomer to the world of music technology - I've used enough
gear in my time, and the JV1010 has been the hardest to learn.
Out of the box, like so many have said, the 1010 appears to be a doddle
to use...if you are only selecting patches to play around with.
Throw the 1010 into a studio application, and the design flaws are
painfully obvious. The display is uninformative, being simply a three
figure LED. Selecting sounds in performance mode is a challenge at best.
This is mainly due to the knob rotation method of selecting sounds.
Many times have I selected a sound for one part, selected another previously
used part, only to have the sounds changed because of the knob's
current position. Sounds hard to comprehend in words, but play
with the 1010 for five minutes and you too will find out the hard way...(!)
Making other performance settings also defeys simple logic. To enter
performance edit mode, for example, the user is required to push
the volume knob in, (causing the module to burst into song- the volume knob
is also the sound preview button...) and the mode select knob.
The user is then required to use the sound selection dial to access
the parameters using a diagram printed on the top of the module, again
highly usefull if your JV happens to be in a rack...
Add to this that the LED displays "r-=" in the process, or some
other informative diagram to show where your sounds are being
routed to. Help. You get the picture - I could go on.
OK, the Roland comes with a special version of SoundDiver - a patch
and performance editing piece of software, but this has a steep
learning curve if you want to do more than just edit presets.
However, its reliable, and does the job.
The JV1010 manual is the worst I have ever seen.
Beginners to the world of music technology - you're knackered.
Some aspects of the unit's operation are not even covered in the
manual. There is a CD-ROM with the product, but finding the information you need
in this online version is a task in itself. SoundDiver has a reasonable
manual, assuming you have Adobe reader....Roland assumes a lot when you buy the JV 1010.
Those without a PC are in for a tough time..

The JV1010 features 64 note polyphony. Good enough for most uses.
It also features a descent FX chip, with a good selection of Chorus,
Flange and the like, as well as more unique effects for a synth, such
as the compressor (I did read the manual right..?)
The option to install an expansion board is nice, and there is an very
usefull computer connecter on the rear of the module, which attaches itself
to the serial port of your computer. The cable cost me a fiver, so this is a cheap
enough feature to take advantage of, considering the amount
of information that will be flowing between your PC and JV1010.
I was sorry to see that the 1010 only had a single pair audio output -
my cheaper Roland GS-64 has four in total.
Still, if you want more outputs, I guess Roland want you to buy the
JV1080.

The sounds on the JV1010 are the reason I brought the module.
They are very, very good, and I can see the synth becoming
a well used workhorse soundwise in the near future.
It doesn't appear to be geared towards any type of music in particular,
though the sounds of Rolands sought after early dance synths seem to be well
represented. If you like that sort of thing.
Of note, the pianos are the best in my collection of gear, and some of the
string sounds are fantastic. Also, the synth pad sounds are imaginative
and could be used in real-world situations - a departure from the
usual wooshy sweeps with thirteen layers of sound FX that you often
find on these things - no use in most people music.

I've had no cause for complaint, though I did lose the midi output
once for no apparent reason. Maybe I pressed the wrong button..

I havn't had the need to contact Roland support.

The sounds are great. The features you get for the price are staggering.
Remember, this module has all the sounds of the JV1080, and JV2080, plus
it is expandable. But it's pain to use. Peroid.
There is so much to get out of the little box, but you need a degree and
a willing PC to get the most out of it.
It seems that Roland set out to produce a cut-down version of the
JV1080 and 2080, and I can't help feeling that the costs have been cut
far too much. I wouldn't mind paying more for a descent display for
starters - how much does a two line LCD display cost nowadays?
The O/S is rubbish. Sorry Roland, I like your products. I just feel it could have been
done a lot better.
But to sum the module up: Every time you turn the module power off, you lose the
memory. Everything - user patches, performance settings..it would appear the works.
Correct me if I'm wrong though (and don't worry, I'll be your friend!)
Again, you need that PC..
I have a five year-old Korg 05r/w, and there are sounds in there which I made
when I first brought the module. A memory backup battery would have
been a great idea for the Roland...
Get the 1080. I wish I had.

If your just going to play the presets live from a master keyboard the JV-1010 is easy to use. Just turn a knob to pick a bank and then use the another knob to select the patch. It's a whole other ball game if you try and get the thing to respond on separate MIDI channels using an sequencer. The included Soundiver program is fairly robust but has a bit of a learning curve. The interface to Soundiver IMHO is convoluted and not very straight forward. The manual for the JV-1010 is typical for any technical product. Awful!

64 Voices of polyphony. Over 1000 sounds including all sounds from the Jv 2080, 1080 and the Session Expansion Card. One expansion slot. Soundiver editing software. MIDI in, out and thru. Computer port for direct connection to a Mac or PC.

The reason I bought the JV-1010 was for the extra polyphony and the Session sounds. (I already own an XP-80 and a Korg NS5R.) I love the Roland sound. Very warm and rich. Great strings and piano. The on board effects are OK. The Session sounds are incredible. I traded in a Proteus 2000 for the JV-1010 because I was dissapointed with the Proteus's strings. Now I kind of regret this decision because the Proteus had cooler drum sounds and was a way easier to work with. The output on the JV-1010 is incredibly weak (volume wise) compared to the rest of my gear.

Hasn't failed in the first couple of months. Roland stuff is usually pretty stable.

Although the support guys are very nice they seem to get annoyed if you don't understand what they're explaining. This would be acceptable if everything they said actually worked. I've been on the phone with them numerous times trying to get my XP-80 and JV-1010 to work together as I need them to and have had little success. I'm sure most of it's user error but why does all this stuff have to be so freakin' hard. Especially the fact that the XP-80 and JV-1010 are both made by the same company. The manual isn't much help either. I've been getting better advice from users on the WEB. (Thanks Guys!)

If it were lost or stolen I wouldn't buy the JV-1010 again. I'd would defintely buy the Session card for my XP-80 though. The JV-1010, again IMHO, is way to difficult to deal with setting up the MIDI channels. The Soundiver program is not very intuitive and lacks a decent manual. I'm sure that some of my frustrations are due to the XP-80 and how it works. Maybe I should have spent more dough and bought the JV-1080 or JV-2080. At least I wouldn't have to involve another piece of electronics (computer) in the whole mess. (Sorry, ex drummer!)

It is very easy to use right out of the box and make some terrific sounds, BUT: Once you start to use it in real applications, the design flaws become glaringly obvious. I own a JV1080 and an XP30, so I have the sounds covered, I mainly was interested in the portability so that I could just take it and my Roland AX-1 midi-controller for a quick easy-to-pack setup. I was already using the Sound Diver software so it was easy to configure the user presets. However, even though I knew the display only showed a number and had handprinted a patch list to use live, it was still a crap shoot if I was on the right bank/patch combination. There is no way to tell what the patch is without a cheatsheet. I would've paid an extra $100 for a great display (like on the Korg module for example). When you change user banks, the lines are very close together and don't always line up right with the knob so BE CAREFULL! ALSO, there is no way to copy a patch to the user bank live (without the software). I am constantly re-arranging my sounds right before (or in the middle of) a show. Lastly, even when you find the right string patch and piano patch etc., once you change banks, the patch changes to Number 1 of the new bank. Way too many wildcards to use live (which is why I got it - very tiny unit). And like I said - I've got the patches covered at home, so I'm returning to store today. I love Roland products (I also have an MK80 and a VK-7 which I LOVE) and I will purchase again if they make a version this size with a useable display and a tad bit more functionality.

An extra expansion slot would be nice, but I've already gone on and on about its problems.

I'm used to the patches from my other Roland gear, but for some reason, some of the patches sound different through the 1010. For one thing, the output signal is WAY TOO Weak. It is not up to the level of the 1080. Also, some of the keyboard sounds seem as if they have a tap-delay process going on that I don't get with the same patch on the 1080 or XP30. Plus - there is a great disparity in the level of sounds. You have to be very careful when switching between instruments and drop the volume between changes. However, if you get past all these other things, the basic sounds are quite complete and well done. Especially the pads and guitars.

Like I said - I don't trust it on a Live Gig. Patch changes are too risky. ALTHOUGH, I've NEVER had any problem with any Roland gear and have some that's 10 years old.

Never needed it.

I'm returning it, but will keep my eyes and ears open for its replacement with 1) more informative display (even just the patch name would be enough improvement to re-purchase), 2) User bank write/copy function without hooking up to computer, and 3) fix output signal/level disparity. If these items don't apply to you (you just need a small, inexpensive module to play with at home) then this is probably the one to get. But I'll wait.

Couldn't be much simpler to use. Has four knobs, volume, channel, value, and category. To select a patch just choose the category (piano, guitar/bass, synth, etc...) and the patch number. There's only a LED display so you'll have to remember or write down the numbers of you faves. The manual has patch lists though. Some global settings such as fx levels, tuning, and panning, are all editable from the unit. All other editing must be done using the supplied editing software Emagic's SoundDiver. I've only used it a couple of times so far but it's relatively user friendly, if you've ever used an editor program before. I was editing patches without having to even glance at the instructions or help files. I use a simple joystick port MIDI cable and had no problems at all with data transfer.

Polyphony is 64 voices which equates to 16, 32,48, or 64 note polyphony depending on number of voices used in each patch. There are over 1000 presets available, and oddly almost all of the patches from the category settings are duplicated in the Preset A-E banks. Preset D is the GM bank, although GM operation can be selected. Three effects can be used per patch, reverb, chorus, and one of 40 different effects such as rotary speaker, ring mod, tremolo, and auto wah. The Session board is built in and it can accept 1 JV series expansion board. 16 part multitimbral, one MIDI out/in/thru and computer serial port jack with Mac/pc switch. Stereo 1/4 output jacks, and headphone jack.

Most of the sounds are excellent, such as the Session piano, orchestral sounds, acoustic guitars, and many of the synths, while many stink like electric guitars, electric pianos, and many of the synths. My biggest complaint about this unit is the complete lack of a true harpsichord sample. I play classic pop music like Jellyfish, High Llamas, Left Banke, Monkees, Beach Boys kinda stuff and use harpsichord quite a bit and was really disappointed to find this out. I was going to sell my P-55 but I'll have to keep it now until I can get the Super Sound set exp board that has awesome harpsichord samples. The effects and filters are pretty good, especially the leslie sim and reverb.

I've never had a problem with Roland stuff in the past and don't expect to with this either.

I'm not sure if Roland has customer support, they didn't have any warranty info with the module.

All of the sounds of the JV-1080/2080 plus Session board in an easy to use expandable half rack module for just over $400. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me. Especially for one on a low budget. If I could have afforded the 1080 or 2080 sure I would've gotten one of those, but for the price I'm glad to own this module. I love the high quality sounds but don't like having to edit with a computer and am pissed at not getting a harpsichord sample, but all in all it was well worth the money. I can't wait to get the 60's and 70's keys and Super Sound Set expansion boards.

Easy to use if you only want to change between sounds: two knobs. Editing patches is only possible with the software, provided on a cd-rom. I have looked at this software briefly, and I must say it didn't look very inviting. I couldn't use it because the programme kept messaging me there was a faulty midi-in-signal. It's my old Kawai K1, that every now and then has a midi hick-up. For the last ten years, no other equipment or softare had any problem with it, but here is progress for you. To my relieve some system settings, like tuning, can be edited using the front panel.

64 voices, 3 effects simultaneously (chorus, reverb and any one of 40 FX). Room for one expansion card while another card (the Session) is built in. Just one midi in/out/through set and a computer interface. You can use the editing software thorugh the midi bus, so you do not need to buy the special cable this extra interface needs.

Never had a Roland wavetable synth before, so the sounds are new to me. Not too bad at all, although some of them can be found better elsewhere. Flute, french horn, Stratocaster and acoustic guitar, to mention just a few that I compared more thoroughly, are more convincing on my Yamaha TG500. I bought the 1010 along with a Keyboards of the 60's and 70's card (all right, I am a dinosaur!). There are (among others) so many slightly different versions of Fender Rhodes piano's and Hammond B3's that there is definitely a number of them that come very close to what you are looking for in this family of sounds. No need to tweak them. On the other hand, having found these few, the rest of the card is less usefull because many sounds are so similar. Together with the very realistic rotary speaker effect this unit gives more than I expected. But this expansion card has a BIG problem, I will tell you about it further on. I like most of the other sounds I often use, that are in the standard JV1010 (acoustic piano, strings, a bit of trumpet here, some tubular bells and timpany there) that I probably need no other sound module but this tiny one to carry around.

Seems rugged enough. I just hope that the knobs, especially the one that dials the patch number in a bank, will hold.

In my opinion, the sounds in the not-expanded JV1010 are not the very best in their field. I think there are units with better piano's, other units with nicer wind instruments, and so on. But those units are not as all round as this one. That's it's strength. Add the very small casing, it's expandability and ease of use (for simple tasks) and you have a very interesting instrument. A few words on the negative side. There are differences in volume of various patches. Just tuned your amplifier to the acoustic piano? You'll blow the audience out of their chairs when you change to an organ without modifying the volume. Playing very fast on a piano and holding the sustain pedal down for a long time (what kind of music that is? Well, I just mean to comment on the technical aspects) seems to puzzle the software: some later pressed keys are not sounding, some are popping up very loud. It should simply put off the 'oldest' notes to free it's resources for the 'new' keystrokes, like other units do.
And then there is, like I said, a BIG problem with the Keyboards of the 60's and 70's card. I don't know if it's only this card, or every expansion card (although the built-in Session card is ok). And it might be that the problem dos not appear in a 1080 or 2080. But I have read similar remarks in a review of the XP30. The problem is: very, very nasty and loud 'phantom noises'. Playing the Rhodes-alikes I began looking around: did it start raining outside? Did the harddisk in my pc run suddenly twice as fast? I stopped playing, and shortly after the notes faded out, the high pitched singing/hissing sounds disappeared too. It is simply in the samples! Might be aliasing or something like that. In the B3 samples the same effect makes you think there is always an extra drawbar pulled, higher than the highest you'll find on a Hammond. It is masked in patches with bright registers, but in the darker and rounder ones, there is always this skreeky sound. In the organ samples it is less disturbing, because it resembles a very slight clipping (it does not matter how the extra harmonics are added, by clipping or by aliasing) which usually becomes these sounds, but on the electric piano's it's really very disturbing. After many years I finally found a synth that gives me the Rhodes sounds I was looking for, but then this. Like I said, it may be the card, the 1010 or simply the combination of them. For use in the studio and/or soloing I have to rely on the Rhodes-patches that are in the standard JV1010: these are clean, but less authentic.

For such a minimal interface, the 1010 is actually very easy to get around on. The PatchFinder functionality is great - I've used a 1080 for a year, and wish I had this capability.
I haven't yet got SoundDiver up and running, but this is an industry standard, and I'm certain that it will make editing a breeze.

64-voice Poly, lots of ROM, Flexible effects, and fully compatible with the 1080/2080 synths! Everything a 2080 can do, this can. Many features are accessible with just the front panel, but you really need SoundDiver to make the most of it. This machine really IS a 2080 with just one expansion in a half-rack - the sound, to my ears, is identical.
Simply amazing.

I love the "Roland Sound" - some find it too brittle, but it really works for me. So I give it a 10, but that's my taste. I played it very loud, and did not hear any of the "artifacts" that one reviewer was so vocal about in this XP-30 review. It sounds as good as my JV1080. The Effects are fairly flexible.
I use this for Dance/Techno, as well as Jazz/Classical arrangements. I rely on Roland for much of my commercial work, and this box fits right in.

I've never had a problem with a single piece of Roland gear. The only thing keeping this from a 10 is that the bank select knob was not glued on, and can be easily pulled off....
Roland keeps parts around for gear over 15 years old! I bought tapes and felt pads for a 1979 Tape Delay from them direct last year...

Never had to deal with a "problem" with them. But when I've ordered manuals or parts for older gear, they're always very helpful.

This really is a JV2080 in a half rack. You give up the UI and some expandability, but you get great sounds, great waveforms, killer polyphony, sounddiver... I could go on. I'm blown away by this value. Suffice it to say, I had been considering a Proteus 2000 or a Trinity Rack, and wound up buying TWO JV1010s instead.

Sure it doesn't have much in the way of controls. What did you expect for a sub-$500 JV-2080 sound-alike? The PC software is from emagic and is not really intuitive to use (sort of Macintosh-ish looking).
To actually use the module and select patches, etc. works OK, but be prepared to memorize numbers and groups for your favorite patches. This pain is worth the low price.

All the bells and whistles of the JV-2080 are here in this little module. With the PC software, you can get to everything. Effects are top notch and varied. With over 1000 patches available you might be inclined to get lost, but you won't. The 'group by sound' knob allows you to scroll through all the pianos or all the pads, etc. There is even some nifty displays to show you where a section in a group begins (like the electric piano section under pianos) or which patch you are listening to by Bank (A,B...) and number. I find the preview feature a big plus. I'm a guitarist who is looking for mostly pads. I can quickly make a list of favorites without playing the guitar-to-midi ditty for 1000+ patches.
A new feature for Roland products that comes with this module is a GOOD manual! The manual has all you need to know well articulated (no more translations from Japanese). On the CD-ROM there are HTML versions of the detailed manuals for patch editing etc.

Great warm Roland sounds. I have an Alesis QS8 keyboard for comparison. The Roland sound is warmer but more synthetic. I LOVE Roland's pads. Since I am using this module with a Godin LGX-SA guitar and Axon midi converter, I really need good pads. Harpsichord or trumpet played by guitar would sound funky so I don't really care about the 'realism' of orchestral sounds and such.
I do find the Rloand sounds VERY expressive overall. The effects unit adds great nuances to the patches.

I just bought it so I don't know. It looks sturdy. It even has a strain relief clip to keep the 'Wall Wart' connected to the module even while tripping over the cord.

Time will tell. Roland's web site looks pretty complete so I'm comfortable.

For $469 this is a great buy. It beats the pants off the Proteus in my opinion for sound/dollar. If you really edit patches and don't have a PC you might consider a JV-2080 for over twice the price. I did lots of listening to all the modules from all the manufacturers. The Roland pads sound the best to go behind my guitar. I hooked the module in place of my QS8 and preferred the Roland sound overall for pianos and electric pianos. I still prefer the Alesis organs and classical instruments.
I have been playing guitar for 25 years. I dabble in keyboards. I just bought a Godin LGX-SA guitar and will use the JV-1010 with the Axon AX-100 guitar-midi converter to add synth layers behind the acoustic and electric pickups this guitar has.

After playing the JV-2080, and JV-1010 in a music store I was thinking about picking one up. I bought the JV-1010 without hearing it first. There is not much of a audible difference. The sounds do seem a little bit more lush out of the JV-2080. I haven't set up the patch editor yet- the CD Rom that ships with the unit. There is a bank of 128 user patches. The manual has plenty of diagrams and seems strait forward- to be honest I haven't even read it cover to cover. I have been going over the 1000+ presets. One bonus is that I am using a Kawai K5000s as the midi controler and have all the knob and button controls over the JV-1010 such as Arpeggiator, Portamento, Resonance, etc.

Polyphony is the same as the JV-1080. The effects are dedicated to the patches but you can re-route them. I have not really explored the effects editing. The unit has 1 expansion card-I wish it was 2 because I am in a bind on what to expand it with. If there was 1 thing that I would have to pick as being the worst aspect of this unit it would be that there is only 1 expansion slot. There is a Midi in, out, and thru-too bad there isn't a second midi in. The module responds well to midi messages.

The presets have that distincitive Roland Sound and will work well for most styles of music. In the past I owned a Sound Canvas and this unit blows that away with reguards to the presets. In order to make the most of this unit you must connect it to a computer-wich I havn't done yet. I will update my review in the future.

Since I bought this unit for my home studio I can only speculate that this unit problably would not be a giger's main instrument but certainly is on that you could take along. Its small size-1/2 rack can fit in a briefcase. I have owned Roland Equipment in the past and never had a problem-(SC-55, and XP-10). I am expecting the same kind of performance from the JV-1010, but who knows?

I have dealt with Roland in the past, and they seem to go out of there way to make it difficult for the end user to obtain person to person support with them. Although I should point out that over the years I only needed to contact them once or twice.

If this unit were lost or stolen I would buy it again. I would buy 2 of these units only to have an additional expansion slot available. I've been playing for 15 years and also have an Alesis QS-6 with vintage Keyboard, and Vintage Synthesiser Q-Cards, a Kawai K5000s which I use as the controller for the JV-1010, and a Korg 05 R/W. To wrap up: I like the overall sounds, and ease of use of this unit, I dislike the only one expansion card slot- I wish for more. This unit will give me a lot of tonal flexability in my original compositions. I will update my review when I connect the computer software.