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.