Roland SRX-02 Concert Piano Wave Expansion Board

Ok, I use it only for performance in patch-mode. The manual is very hard to understand. I had to dig for a long time to understand how to put my preferred patches in the user bank. This is absoutely not clearly explained (page 92).

n.a.

The main problem lies in the abrupt velocity switching. I guess that the fact that many people think its sound is too dull has to make with the velocity parameter of their keyboard. To have means to set the velocity (like a slider button) is a must. On the other hand, with such a slider, the idosyncraties of the card can be very helpfull for practising purposes (for classic piano).
Anyway, I think in the range that I can afford, ever instrument I can get has its own idiosyncraties, and the very beautifull sound of the SRX-02 is there... So, I am happy with it anyway!

I had some problems with Roland gear, but all were easily solved and their helpdesk proved very usefull.

Very friendly service. Ok.

I am very happy with the SRX-02 together with the XV-2020 because of portability, and the ability to run on an external battery (some other gear need AC). I cannot think of any other alternative, but look forward to test that SRX-11 which I read about.
I could have used a laptop + something like Gigasampler, but the XV-2020 + SRX-02 are a lot easier to carry with me and to set up.
I even practise on the train with the XV-2020 linked to the 3 AA batteries inside a PC-180 master keyboard and headphones, and with a great sound! I would buy it again!

If you know how to screw/unscrew, you are done. Just plug the thing into your XV-compatible module or synth. There is also a small hand tool included, to help you secure the little board into its socket. A kid's game.

Selection of presets within this card is very simple. They will appear under XA or XB, depending on the slot you attached it to (at least for XV-2020 and XV-5050), and the categories under the PATCH FINDER button will update nicely to reflect the added presets.

There are only 50 presets in this expansion board, derived from also about 50 internal waveforms, but I guess it's more than enough for its purpose, as stated in the box, reproducing the most convincing classical/concert piano sound out there for a digital sample-playback synthesizer. Besides, less waveforms implies more relative quality in the multisamples, since the 64 megs of rom can hold more quality samples in that case. I give a 8 because of the need for some editing in some of the presets, but this will also depend on your sonic tastes. Anyway, see later on the Expresiveness/Sounds comments for more detailed comments on the eventual need for editing.

The polyphony will depend on your XV synth. I've tried it inside my XV-5050 without noticing any notes lost (and I've been playing classical, and I tend to use a lot of damper pedal).

I will comment right now on the tendency seen in reviews about this card, with a lot of people arguing and complaining about the quality of the samples and the playability of the sound. And let's see if I throw some needed light over this never-ending paranoia of users crying after their SRX-02 purchases.

Now, to start with, people here that put bad scores on this card, all because of the included patches they don't like, should have a more open mind, and above all, a more musical sense. We're humans. We'll all have different tastes in regards to piano samples and sounds, and I understand.

I also understand there are tons of kids out there who have never played a REAL piano, and that spend all their free time "composing" music with "some piano parts" in junk software such as Reason or Ableton Live. Or should I say "inappropriate" soft for the task, because it is actually great software, get me! But is JUNK when it comes to piano sounds or expresiveness in the classical sense (expresiveness in musical performance, as opposed to rotating a filter cutoff knob and thinking you're really cool). ;)

So we have ended up with this generation of poor, mass-cloned freak-techno kids who can't distinguish an A minor chord from a E mayor one. They plunked down hard-earned cash on this item, without noticing he SRX-02 wasn't designed for that crowd. They lamented their decision, they are returning their SRX-02s like crazy, and/or exchanging them for dance-friendly expansions. And so they are (unfairly in my opinion) putting down the scores on this board.

I FULLY understand that those kids, and most techno-oriented producer wannabes, are after the "cutting thru the mix" grial. CMON! NO CLASSICAL, REAL-LIKE PIANO SOUND is going to cut thru YOUR mixes! Not even is that class of selected sound cutting thru anything having to do with metronomic, 4 bar deep bass trance-techno-house pseudotracks patting your chest and guts. Not instead you change your mind, put aside your techno-dance mania for a while, and let yourself lose to the EXPERIENCE of playing piano tunes.

I'd be happy if I got the news someday, that one of those techno kids had actually stopped over an advertised REAL or digital piano (88-key) in their local music store, instead of jumping to the Behringer junk "monitor" adds that won't give them detailed piano feeling even if they'd connect a real Steinway to them! And that they'd actually spend there 20-30 minutes playing scales or the like (just that, guys, I'm not asking you to play Mozart!). Is that asking too much? Am I pursuing some musical dream about those kids?

With headphones, or with really good monitors, Genelecs or the like. That would be ENOUGH for them to understand what piano sounds and piano playing is all about. They'd learn to LOVE a piano sound regardless of its origin, as soon as they'd recognize the BEAUTY in every single note or sample if it's well done, packaged and executed. No matter its reproduction is digital, if the sample is damn good (as it happens with this SRX-02), the feeling jumps to your face (and soul).

So, I feel sorry for all those kids (and for some really grown-ups all around the globe involved in gigs, which just can't behave as the grown-ups they're supposed to be when they are given a bad PA system that makes their XV- and SRX- piano sounds "stand behind the mix", point at which they start to cry, whine, and go running to their local store to return their "defective" SRX-02 cards, just because they happen to play at a wedding or local church with bad PA or keyb amplifiers).

They feel they've done the wrong thing, buying the SRX-02. Ok, ok. I UNDERSTAND. I know there are myriads of acoustical environments, controllers, PA systems, headphones, monitors, loudspeakers, shapes of hand, brains, musical training and piano technique variations out there in every single human person. This a world of relative factors, all a

It is very very reliable, for it will spend its cycle of life inside the brains of your XV gear.

Bad experience here (see details in my own review of SRX-07 Ultimate Keys card).

Me again. Another update. I have just received this email from Roland. This may answer many peoples' questions. But of course, we won't know what it's really like until we hear it. I include the email and the text from the link. Note the clause at the end about the RD700sx...

======================================================

Further to my previous email, I am pleased to advise that we have now
released the new SRX-11 complete piano expansion board which will be
available towards the end of March. Please click on the following link
for further information on this card:

http://www.roland.co.uk/prodcatdetail.asp?ID=SRX-11

======================================================

The Ultimate Piano Collection

Roland proudly offers its most stunning multi-sampled grand piano to date. Sink your fingers into a lush, fully split 88-note acoustic grand. Each key of the newly sampled world-class grand was meticulously recorded in high-resolution stereo, with 4-stage velocity switching employed, resulting 704 samples for this single instrument! The ultra-wide dynamic range of this sampled piano makes it ideal for virtually all musical styles. One piano, no compromise. If you want the ultimate sampled grand on SRX, this is it!

* Compatible with Fantom-X6/X7/X8/XR/Xa, Fantom-S/S88 (ver. 1.06 or higher), RD-700SX/700, G-70, MC-909, XV-5080/5050/3080/2020/88, VR-760, V-Combo, and Rodgers MX-200. Roland?s RD-700SX Digital Piano contains waveforms derived from the SRX-11 piano sampling sessions.

===================================================

NEWSFLASH. I thought it best to bring this piece of news to the SRX-02 community in case it is of use to anyone. I wrote the rather critical review (dated 11/24/04) highlighting the (1) noise (2) velocity-switching and (3) pitch-error in the SRX-02. Around the same time I wrote that review, I also wrote an email to Roland customer support detailing the same problems. I got a reply today and I am pasting directly 2 paragraphs from it. Here they are:

=====================================

I appreciate that this has been very frustrating for you and I have
passed your comments on to the Research and Design Centre at Roland
Japan for their attention. I'm sure they will find your comments
constructive.

We are expecting to release a brand new card during February 2005, and I hope this card will address the problems you have experienced. I am happy to exchange your SRX-02 piano card for this card with my
compliments. I don't have any confirmed details of this card at the
present time, I will however forward this information on to you as soon as I receive it.

====================================

There you have it. Interesting eh? Personally I am looking forward to this card because if it solves (or at least improves on) those 3 problems, then it could be an excellent card. I notice a lot of reviews here calling for Roland to fix this card, and maybe the message has finally got through. I think it would be in their business interests to release an improved card and discontinue this one ASAP to preserve their otherwise excellent reputation. Let's hope...

Just Plug it in

Just one piano piano sound with diferent dinamic settings.

Rich, full, dark, round sound. Fast decay on higher velocities, abrupt velocity switching (four layers). I don't ear any hiss, as others have mentioned, and no detuning on lower notes, just a subtle change in the harmonics when the samples begin looping.
If you analize the sound very carefully, you notice this faults. But, when you just play it, really play it like a real pianist, you forget about that and start enjoying this really sweet and wonderfull instrument. I'm glad Roland had the balls to sample such an idiossyncratic instrument, it has no competition (just software gigasamples rivals it).

it is pretty safe inside the RD-700

I'm play since I was nine, playing professionaly for 15 years. I have played in all the major Grand Pianos out there. This is the sound of a very rare european instrument.

Plug it in and it works

Polyphony is great, I never run out of notes.
The reverb on the patches is perfect, just enough.
Some of the sounds towards the end of the card are pretty bad however the majority of the patches are the best that I have heard.

The SoftPdlGrand patch is amazing. If you compair it to other's such as Korg, or Yamaha it blow's them away! I use the board for playing live music for Praise and Worship through my Roland XV-88. We play through a very large system to a large crowd and the live sound from this card is unbelievable. There are other patches such as Bright Grand and the Premier Grand that are better for cutting through the mix. The Grand w/STR is also a very usuable patch.

I have most of the Roland JV card as well and SRX cards and they never break.

Have never had to deal with them directly. I have always been able to get with I need from their web site.

If something happened to the card I would replace it without a doubt!

I use it with an RD-700. Just plug it into the back.

I read these pages before buying one and saw both the positive and negative reviews. In the end I decided to buy one "blind" (i.e. without hearing it). Unfortunately, this card is unusable. The noise degradation on the pp-sample is loud and uneven. The harsh velocity switching is hugely frustrating and makes you sound like a clumsy player. The pitch problem on notes A,A#,B,C in the bottom octave (i.e. 1 octave above the bottom note) sounds like someone knocking the pitch-bend lever by mistake.


How on earth Roland can claim this is their "finest piano ever offered" I just do not know. I have a Roland HP-337e electric piano which is now 5 years old and that sounds much better. I've tried many piano synths and electric pianos, and although there is usually some hiss noticable, it is quiet and evenly spread around all the notes. And the velocity switching, whilst not un-noticable, is at least smooothed-out with EQ/crossfades and deosn't ruin normal playing.


In those respects, this card is useless. Don't buy it. The only positive side is that the tone of the piano is nice (dark, rich, warm, etc.). If you never play quietly and you are happy to modify your playing to avoid the velocity switches, and you never need to hold one of those notes in the bottom octave for more than a couple of seconds, then you might just get away with it (for that I give it 2 instead of 1).


I cannot imagine any serious musician overlooking these blatant faults. I am returning it and researching an alternative solution.


Note I'm using an RD-700 which has un-editable patches. Some other keyboards might allow you to correct some of the faults (read below) but not the RD-700, so BEWARE!!!

I would not use it with or without backup!

OK.... I have to admit when I was wrong. I took the time to edit the patches, applying limited EQ and fixed the velocity layering (all things that should have been done by Roland) and presto.... Simply the best sounding acoustic piano sound available from a digital instrument!!!! period!

The hiss is gone, the velocity switching is smooth and the sound is amazing!!! I especially like the 2nd B samples that are a little briter. I have created 6 voices in total from the 1st and 2nd sample set (A (normal), B (Btite), C (Dark)) that are absolutely fantastic.

My only complaint now is a lack of punch in the bottom end. No matter how I EQ this, I just can't make it rumble. I think this is a limitation with the xv-3080 and not the SRX-02 samples themselves.

For the absolute ultimate in acoustic piano sounds, I mix any of the voices from this card with the PremierGrand of a Yamaha Motif. The Yamaha is both briter at the top and deeper in the bottom end. Mixed with the warm, smooth sound of this card, you get a piano voice that is ideal for both mixing and solo performance work.

I now give it a 9 simply because there is still some room for improvement but this is truely an amazing piece of gear.

If it failed for any reason, I would immediately go and buy another one. I am still seriously peeved that Roland didn't get the programming correct or at least publish new voices but the samples themselves are outstanding.

With a small amount of programming effort the results can be truely outstanding.

What could be easier, Install and it just runs. You might need to upgrade the OS version in your tone generator. I was already at version 1.11 in the XV-3080 so there wasn't any problems.

Broad selection of instruments, but I purchased this stricly for the acoustic pianos.

I will comment exclusively on the acoustic piano patches which was my only reason for purchasing this board. In a word..... "CRAP"!!!

If you are looking for a well designed set of piano patches, DO NOT purchase this board. I made a decision to purchase this board because I didn't believe that the problems described by other reviewers could be that bad. After all, Roland produces quality gear and I have been very happy with everything I've acquired so far. I WAS WRONG. :-(

Not only is the velocity switching rediculous, but there is a significant amount of hiss in the samples. This hiss is not really noticable unless you are using headphones (I just happen to like to play at 5am when everyone in the house is sleeping), but any noise in this product is unacceptable.

The tones are warm so it is obvious that the samples come from a Eurpoean piano which is what I was looking for. Unfortunately the quality is so bad, that I can't understand how this board continues to be sold.

Roland..... Are you listening.... We want a VERY high quality piano board and this is NOT it. I don't understand how this board passed basic Qualit Assurance testing.

No problems.

Haven't needed any.

Because I was focusing only on the acoustic piano sounds I gave it a very poor rating in the sounds category. I'm sure some of the other patches are good to great so I have decided to bump up the overall rating a little, but I would still advise people to stay clear of this board.

Drop it in and go.

We all know the features.

So much nonsense, I had to post. I no longer own this card or the fantom I played it from. The samples are wonderful, all sound as if they belong, are much better than the standard competition.

The VELOCITY SWITCHING is a significant problem, part of why I didn't hesitate to take the board/card back. All the others do it too, (Kurzweil seemed the worst)I know, but the sound quality on this card makes one want to play solo, and the random Bright Sample sort of screws up the experience. Maybe you can fix it with some editing, I didn't wait to find out.

So, yes, the best sounding sampled piano from the big three is on this card.

But what shocks me is those posts claiming this and an RD***, for instance, are the best digital pianos out there. Clearly you don't take your research or playing too seriously because there is only one candidate for the BEST DIGITAL PIANO and that's the KAWAI MP9500. Go find one and play it. Minimal velocity switching, best action out there. Now if you just want to slap some piano riffs or chords into a recording the Roland is perfectly reasonable. But if you want to play, get the Kawai.

I spent two days at three different stores playing the current offerings: Kawai mp9500 A- (piano sound may not suit you, but it is very expressive and playable, action insanely good), Yamaha P90 B- (decent action, pretty good sounds, fairly expressive), Roland RD700, Fantom S88 C- (Would get a B- with the SRX-02 card, slow action), Kurzweil PC2x/PC1x/K2600 C-/D+.