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i have learned of a 90's ROMpler so cursed that it will require monumental power to force myself to go outside and eat food rather than just be consumed with confusion, anger, incredulity at its existence for the next hour
the ROMpler is the “Roland JV-50” and its sister, the “JV-35”
now you might wonder why this could upset me. aren't i an admitted fan of the JV series?
yes. but this… Thing… is no JV, no matter what lettering Roland marketing decided to emblazon upon it
it's… it's a Roland GS synth. in other words, the same sound engine as a Sound Canvas. probably the SC-55mkII specifically in this case.
but it's in a keyboard. and bearing the JV name.
and as much as i like the SC's, that's… you can't… they're completely different things…
the JV series is a line of “professional” ROMpler synths with lush, high-quality, sounds made by patches with many layered samples, patches that you can fully edit every last parameter of, and they're expandable with extra ROM cards so you can start a dangerous collecting habit
the SC series is a line of consumer/prosumer General MIDI synths, with sounds that are thinner and lower quality by comparison, much more limited editing, and no expansion capabilities. however, they're multitimbral: it uses the polyphony to be all the musicians in a band at once
they do technically have very similar underlying technology! the JV-880 and SC-55 are basically the same hardware inside (there's an unofficial emulator that can do both!), but they differ radically in the sound set and the capabilities they offer to musicians. different purposes
so i hope you start to see how insulting it would be to buy something with the JV name and discover it's nothing like a JV at all.
EXCEPT
AND HERE'S THE WORST PART
it is in fact, expandable.
but not with a ROM card.
with a synthesizer card.
THAT TURNS IT INTO A REAL JV
hello sir. the product you just bought was absolutely nothing like what its name suggested. BUT FOR AN ADDITIONAL FEE, you can get what you thought you were buying to begin with!
seriously what the fuck were they smoking
obviously though if you somehow got a great deal on one used with the expansion card… great buy. you get two kinds of synth in one.
it's just… Very confusing branding. i did not believe my eyes the first time i saw it described, i assumed the author was ignorant