[HN Gopher] Roland 50 Studio
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Roland 50 Studio
Author : risktopark
Score : 236 points
Date : 2022-03-11 11:29 UTC (11 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (roland50.studio)
(TXT) w3m dump (roland50.studio)
| skrebbel wrote:
| I love this, and also its predecessor https://808303.studio which
| was this but without the SH101 and with a less celebratory tone.
| The audio quality is absolutely splendid.
|
| However, I really wonder why they don't have any URL auto-sharing
| mechanism. Given that there are no patterns, no sequences
| whatsoever, it's just one single 16 position loop per "device",
| an entire song could easily fit on the URL. Eg the TypeScript
| playground live-updates the url as you type:
| https://www.typescriptlang.org/play?#code/FAYw9gdgzmA2CmA6WY...
|
| That "record" feature is neat, but it'd be way neater if I can
| just share an URL with my composition with a friend and they can
| remix it.
| throw_m239339 wrote:
| Reminds rebirth on desktop and audio-something, an app made in
| Flash.
|
| The Flash app in the browser had better performances and
| stability though. This app panics as soon as one pressed the
| random button.
|
| The Flash app had effects and more powerful synthesizers and it
| was 15+ years ago.
| risktopark wrote:
| In celebration of 50 years, Roland have collaborated with sound
| designer Yuri Suzuki to create Roland50 Studio, a digital
| reworking of some of their most famous and influential devices.
|
| It's a 808/303/101 in your browser.
| nonrandomstring wrote:
| Wonder how it compares to "Rebirth", an earlier Steinberg
| (later Propellerhead) take on the classic analogue production
| deck? Surely the Roland version is the most accurate to date?
| risktopark wrote:
| Sometimes accurate is good, but my vst favourite 808 clone of
| recent times was this one: https://rc-808.com/ which is
| similar but more with a focus on a more flexible drum
| synthesis engine than the original.
|
| I think the joy of the roland 50 is how approachable the
| sequencing is though, with the sounds everyone is familiar
| with
| S_A_P wrote:
| Long time 808/606/303 owner and the Roland emulations are ok.
| The best 303 emulation I've used is the Audiorealism
| bassline. https://www.audiorealism.se/ Keep in mind I'm not a
| huge 303 fan personally.
|
| I've got a Roland cloud subscription and I definitely think
| it's useful and way more convenient than vintage gear
| approaching 50 years of age. I also have the arturia
| v-collection and think this last update made the Roland
| synths (Jupiter and Juno's) sound way more alive and better
| imho than the Roland versions. They are both pretty good
| though. You can get the same dsp emulation in the Roland
| boutiques/Aira as well if you want hardware knobs to twiddle.
|
| Iirc the 808 and 909 in rebirth were sample based. The 303
| was nice and squelchy but not quite a perfect emulation. Lots
| of fun to play with though. I remember spending hours in
| college playing with rebirth.
| nobleach wrote:
| I had been eyeing that Arturia V collection. The cost isn't
| too bad at all! I had a demo a few years ago and I really
| only messed with the grand piano and the DX-7. I'd love to
| do some nice warm pads on a Juno-106!
| owenfi wrote:
| I picked it up on Splice starting around Christmas. Great
| low-cost way to try it, seems fairly catch-free. (The
| only real downside I could tell, was if you stop
| subscribing, and they no longer offer it, then you could
| lose out on your "investment" vs completing the purchase.
| Perhaps licensing across computers or running their
| software, but it doesn't seem worse/more invasive than
| any typical audio DRM.)
|
| The Vocoder is so fun to play with! A lot of great sounds
| in there, I gotta spend some more time with it!
| thereddaikon wrote:
| I can't speak to the accuracy, I only have a few bits of
| hardware, but V collection sounds really good on its own.
| As for the DX-7, Dexed is really popular.
| nobleach wrote:
| I've owned a couple DX-7s. I just can't get into the
| original. The DX7 mk2 was a really cool instrument and
| I'm glad the V has some of those sounds. I messed with
| FM7 a bit too. I've seen mention of Dexed for years but
| haven't tried it out.
| Roboprog wrote:
| If you have an iOS device, KQ Dixie is a pretty good DX7
| emulation. It's an audio unit, so you can load it into a
| host ("DAW") and add an effects chain, even though it's
| on a mobile device
| tomc1985 wrote:
| VST or bust
| blub wrote:
| For those that prefer something with buttons, Roland has issued
| desktop module versions of some of their iconic machines under
| the name Roland Boutique. The equivalents of the devices they
| have in this online tool would be the SH-01a, TB-03 and TR-08.
|
| E.g: https://www.roland.com/us/products/sh-01a/
| throw_m239339 wrote:
| Or just buy the cheap Behringer clones which are fairly
| accurate and full analogue like the originals, unlike the
| boutiques which are digital.
|
| https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DG6
|
| https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DTD
|
| https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DG5
| kabes wrote:
| Yeah. I've got both the boutiques and Behringers. And if you
| can live with the behringer ethics and cheap plastic feel,
| the sound is definitely just as good if not better
| ushakov wrote:
| the sound is cracking on my iPhone
| tomc1985 wrote:
| Wonder how good the emulation is compared to some of the other
| commercial solutions out there. Usually software implementations
| of this hardware don't sound right
|
| My current fav is Image-Line's Transistor Bass
| bityard wrote:
| I just played around with it and the emulation isn't bad.
| What's really missing is any way to mute/solo instruments.
| Without that, you can't even do an ad-hoc performance. The
| instruments have been stripped down to their bare capabilities
| and are not even close to a full recreation, UI changes aside.
| And of course there is no way to save/load sequences or
| settings. And I found several bugs where certain parameters
| didn't seem to work or toggling one thing changed the
| parameters of something completely unrelated.
|
| So for anyone who dabbles in these instruments, it's a fun toy
| for about 5 minutes and that's it. I suspect you can't expect
| anything more out of a promotional piece.
| throw_m239339 wrote:
| phoscyon is really good. I've been using it for 15 years.
| Roland Cloud has its own TB303 plugin I believe.
| nobleach wrote:
| I did SO much with Rebirth-338 back in the day. Its emulation
| wasn't so bad.
|
| I've tried getting it to run on Windows 10, but even after all
| the hacks I could find online, it just doesn't run quite right.
| It was made in the era of 800x600 resolutions. And even though
| there's a pixel-doubling patch available, it looks like hot
| garbage.
|
| Even still, this was a huge part of my music experimentation
| phase of life. (My youth)
| tomc1985 wrote:
| There is a free VST version of Reason that includes the
| RB-338 core
| nobleach wrote:
| Hey that's really cool! I'll have to poke around for that.
| bityard wrote:
| I played with Rebirth on and off pretty much since it's been
| around and my opinion is that its sound is an homage to the
| real 303, at best. The spirit is certainly there but it's
| hard to make Rebirth sound exactly like a real 303 or
| hardware clones. I haven't played with any of the newer (as
| in, made in the last 15 years or so) 303 software
| implementations but I would suspect most of them are more
| faithful recreations.
| nix0n wrote:
| The original 16-bit version will run in Wine without any
| additional patching, but I'm not sure what options that would
| give you for resolution problems.
| mikelevins wrote:
| The TR-808 and TB-303 sound pretty good to me. I was in an
| electronic rock/pop/avant garde trio throughout the 80s and we
| used those two devices (and a Sequential Circuits Pro One) a
| lot. I still have pattern notes I could use to reproduce our
| old patterns with these emulations. They sound pretty close to
| me, though you have to allow for the unreliability of memory.
| tomc1985 wrote:
| I always look for how the filters sounds with Res set really
| high. Good analog filters have a sort of fuzzy quality to
| them, which I suspect (not an EE here, just guessing) is
| extra harmonics from how that circuit behaves under those
| conditions. A lot of software emulations just sound thin,
| this included.
|
| I'm not an authority on the 303, though. I just like to play
| around with analog gear sometimes.
| uxp100 wrote:
| Any web midi support? For clock sync at least? I'm going to look
| into this more after work.
| rajangdavis wrote:
| I don't think there is MIDI support given that the browser has
| to ask for permission and I didn't get that dialog; however, I
| could be wrong.
| motohagiography wrote:
| Super fun. I use a 303 clone in some of my stuff. The physical
| interface is just a big gumption trap for composing, and this web
| interface is actually 100x better. I will likely use this to
| compose and hack around, and then plug it into my physcal 303 for
| its part. The extra fun is modulating with the knobs.
|
| I use analog synths to get away from screens. Fun thing I've
| discovered that is specifically useful for the 303 is that loops
| and melodies with a prime number length against composite number
| beats are a source of free constant movement in otherwise
| repetitive loops. A 4 on the floor beat vs a 7, 11, or 13 step
| melody only cycles every 4 x n bars. I've been mulling one of the
| an 808 re-issues, or even investing in a collectors item, and
| playing this in my browser is removing my excuses for putting it
| off. Thank you!
| oceanghost wrote:
| +1 for ZAMM reference.
| heavyarms wrote:
| If you inspect the network traffic you can see what the "hidden"
| additional devices behind the countdowns are.
|
| SP404 2022-04-04T12:00:00.000Z
|
| TR606 2022-06-06T12:00:00.000Z
|
| TR707 2022-07-07T12:00:00.000Z
|
| TR909 2022-09-09T12:00:00.000Z
| ben174 wrote:
| Yea those are the expected devices. I think that pretty mimics
| their botique line which are adorable little synth replicas of
| the original. They're so cute I had to collect them and have
| them displayed on shelves in my living room.
|
| Damn, I really wish they would have given these away as VSTs
| instead. I'd love to bring an official Roland 303 software
| synth into my setup without paying their ridiculous
| subscription fees.
| NackerHughes wrote:
| Check out AudioRealism Bassline 2 (ABL2). It's the closest
| 303 soft synth I've ever used and no subscription BS.
| errozero wrote:
| ABL3 is out now too, it has a much better emulation.
| tomc1985 wrote:
| That's probably why they aren't free VSTs, this is just for
| tinkering and nostalgic normies. All the artists making music
| for public distribution knows its faster and easier to do it
| all in their DAW
|
| But! FLStudio has Transistor Bass. I don't know if it's
| available as a VST but IL has posted comparison videos online
| and I can't really hear any difference through my studio
| monitors.
| [deleted]
| lostgame wrote:
| Reminds me - of course - of ReBirth, from 'back in the
| day'...when the iPad first came out I was incredibly pleased to
| find ReBirth had a port to it. (Edit: I'm sad to see it's since
| been removed. Damn.)
|
| I wanna say I first played with ReBirth in 2002/3(?) - I was
| 12/13 - and that was my introduction to - at least - the
| 303/808/909.
|
| What's great about these pieces of software, is that just by
| playing around of them, they are great tools to learn about the
| fundamentals of synthesis.
|
| The Roland JD-XI is a more recent multi-layered synth that
| features a whole drum machine, an analog monophonic bass synth,
| and two polyphonic synths, all attached to a fantastic sequencer.
| I highly recommend checking that out if anyone is interested in a
| nice modern hardware equivalent to something like this.
| racl101 wrote:
| To this Day Rebirth-338 is still the funnest 303 clone software
| I've ever played with.
| lolski wrote:
| Out of the 4 instruments that are still locked I'd reckon three
| would definitely be Jupiter 8, Juno, and TR-909. I can't
| confidently guess the last one though.
|
| I'll try them later at home. Do you think they'll sound as good
| as the analog counterparts? Hahahaa
| tgv wrote:
| I hadn't noticed the locks. Wow.
| sklargh wrote:
| I haven't had this much fun with a random find on HN in a long
| time. So pleasant. Such a treat. Thank you Yuri & Roland!
| kzrdude wrote:
| I've learned piano using my dear Roland FP-30, but now looking
| for an upgrade. Probably a kawai or Yamaha with warmer, more
| natural sound and more high end action.
|
| Anyone have recommendations? P515? CA59? Other? Clp 745?
| Johanx64 wrote:
| You're not going to get a "natural sound" out of pretty much
| all of the digital pianos out on the market. Even the pretty
| pricey ones.
|
| What you can do however, is try hooking up Roland FP-30 to a
| computer and using the computer to generate sounds (so called
| VST).
|
| I'm visiting relatives for a few weeks, and they happen to have
| FP-30X (same action), the built in sounds are absolutely god
| horrid (they are so bad I consider them useless, outside of
| maybe the rhodes sound), but I'm hooking it to my laptop which
| has Garritan CFX Concert Grand (full version), Ivory II grand
| pianos and Pianoteq.
|
| Garritan CFX being the overall most realistic. But you can't go
| wrong with Ivory II either as it will be a massive upgrade
| compared to any built in digital piano sounds.
|
| So the full stack would be:
|
| 1. The best action you can get (the built in DP sounds don't
| matter since they are all going to be some gradient of suck
| anyway)
|
| 2. PC with audio interface with very low latency drivers
|
| 3. Garritan CFX
| mh- wrote:
| I don't disagree with you for the low-mid end of the market,
| but I don't think this question can be answered without a
| price range, haha.
|
| I have a YDP-184 [1] that includes the CFX you mentioned. I
| actually think the weak point in its sound is the acoustics
| of my room, coupled with the inboard speaker placement.
|
| Then of course there are the Hybrids [2], which I haven't
| tried myself (and are considerably more than I'm looking to
| spend as a hobbyist.)
|
| 1: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos
| /a...
|
| 2: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos
| /d...
| marban wrote:
| If you're a Roland fan, this doc is insanely well-made.
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcbpRMZIQ8g
| josh64 wrote:
| Excellent ! Thank you!
| wolpoli wrote:
| Anyone know why the Tempo control looks like a knob, but works
| like an up and down slider?
| fedreg wrote:
| Really, really well done!!! Was up and running with some cool
| music in just a few minutes. And being in the browser meant that
| I could do some unconventional things, such as playback a song in
| multiple tabs for some neat syncopation/polyphony effects. Fun.
|
| Looks like they partnered with the Counterpoint team on this
| (https://ctpt.co/)
| willis936 wrote:
| If you like playing with virtual synths and are on iOS: I
| recommend checking out the open source Synth One app if you
| haven't already.
| jasoneckert wrote:
| And just like that, I said goodbye to all job productivity today.
| It looks like Roland took a cue from Google's Blob Opera:
| https://artsandculture.google.com/experiment/blob-opera/AAHW...
| yitchelle wrote:
| Thanks mate, I took your hint and purposely avoided taking a
| look. I will wait until I get home. My work productivity says
| thanks.
| systemvoltage wrote:
| Isn't it the other way around? Google took a hint from Roland
| perhaps? Strange thing to say either way. Roland has been
| around for decades making synthesizers, arrangers as well as
| sophisticated software. Moreover, Blob Opera has very little to
| do with Roland 50 besides "they both make sounds".
| misthop wrote:
| Looks like they also have countdowns to add 4 more units to the
| interface - check out the lock tabs on top or the Countdown link
| in the hamburger menu. Looks to be they will have new interfaces
| in about 1, 3, 4, and 6 months. Guesses as to what will be added?
| dimatura wrote:
| Their picks for the boutique treatment are likely good guesses
| - TR909 for sure, maybe TR606. On the synth side, Jupiter 8,
| Juno 106 & D50 seem like good candidates.
| po wrote:
| TR-909 for sure
| 0xcoffee wrote:
| Damn this sounds so cool. Accidentally clicked the red clear
| button and deleted score though :(
|
| Would love a way to ctrl-z to save myself from myself.
| tgv wrote:
| I couldn't resist taking a look at the code, because, well, the
| sound generation should be in there, and I found this:
| function qt(n) { return n !== n }
| xcambar wrote:
| It really looks like `isNaN`, doesn't it?
| tgv wrote:
| So would it be compiled from C or so?
| IYasha wrote:
| Happy birthday, Roland! Coincidentally, the whole winter I was
| striving to get one of their synths. With no luck, sadly (thanks,
| politicians! >:( ) The one thing I noted throughout Roland's
| history - is that their products suffer from underappreciation
| for some time until they stop being produced :D And shortly after
| some jump right to being legendary. ))
| marban wrote:
| I bought 4 boutiques last months. Gotta start somewhere.
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