Roland W-30
| W-30 | |
|---|---|
 Roland W-30 | |
| Manufacturer | Roland Corporation |
| Dates | 1989–1994 |
| Price | £1599GBP[1] |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | 16 voice |
| Timbrality | 8[2] |
| LFO | Yes (sine peak-hold (with offset)) |
| Synthesis type | Samples |
| Filter | TVF |
| Attenuator | ADSR |
| Aftertouchexpression | Yes |
| Velocity expression | Yes |
| Storagememory | 15k steps, 20 songs disk: 100k steps, 64 songs |
| Effects | No |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 61 keys |
| Left-hand control | Combined Pitch bend and modulation switch |
| External control | MIDIIn, out, thru |
TheRoland W-30is a sampling workstation keyboard, released in 1989. It features an on-board 12-bit sampler, sample-based synthesizer, 16-track sequencer and 61-note keyboard.
Overview
[edit]The W-30's "Workstation" title stems from its incorporation of synthesis, sampling and MIDI sequencing capabilities. Although primitive by modern standards, the W-30's onboard sequencer was a practical way to arrange music as opposed to aDAW.
Unusually, while sounds are sampled with 12-bit resolution, they are played back through a 16-bitD-A converter[3]which, in theory at least, improves the sound quality. Nonetheless, the slightly "gritty" nature of the samples could be considered one of the instrument's charms.
The W-30 is compatible with the sound library of theRoland S-50,S330 & S550 dedicated samplers, which are now in the public domain.
Expansion
[edit]The workstation's back panel features a blanking-plate labelledSCSI.This allowed the very rare "KW30 SCSI kit" upgrade to be fitted. The KW30 gave the W-30 the ability to behave as a SCSI Master device, and drive SCSI hard drives and CD-ROM players through a standard 25-pin SCSI cable. Copying samples to a SCSI hard drive (maximum usable capacity: 80Mb) dramatically reduces load time compared to the built-in 3.5 "floppy disk drive.[4]
Notable users
[edit]- Erick Sermon
- Liam HowlettofThe Prodigyused the W-30 as his main songwriting device until 1997'sThe Fat of the Landand on-stage as a master keyboard up until 2008[5]
- Steve HillierofDubstarprogrammed the entirety of the band's first albumDisgracefulon a W-30. It was retired for the band's first European tour in 1996[6]
- Andrés Bobe ofLa Leyprogrammed the keyboards and sequences from 1990 to 1994, mostly for the albumDoble Opuesto[7]
- DJ PaulofThree 6 Mafiacreated the gritty, 90s proto-trap sound by re-sampling the groups' hooks to be used across many of their releases. DJ Paul still uses the W-30 to this day.[8]
- Hiroyuki Iwatsukiused the W-30 to write the music for theSNESgameWild Guns.
- Luis Alberto Spinetta's 1991 albumPelusón of Milkwas produced mostly on his W-30 at home, while "waiting for Vera", his daughter, to be born[9]
- Project Pitchforkused it on the albumsDhyani,Lam-'Bras,Entities,Io,Alpha Omega.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^Trask, Simon (July 1989)."Roland W30 (MT Jul 89)".Music Technology(Jul 1989): 48–52.Retrieved2018-09-05.
- ^SynthArk, Designed by 1234.info / Modified."W-30".synthark.org.Retrieved2018-09-05.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^"Roland W30".dancetech.3 September 2007.
- ^"Roland W-30 Homepage".
- ^Jussi Lahtinen."Roland W-30 Sampler Workstation - The Prodigy equipment".The Prodigy.info.
- ^"Disgraceful — Every Dubstar song".Retrieved5 June2021.
- ^"La Ley".MusicaPopular.cl(in Spanish).
- ^HotNewHipHop (23 October 2017)."DJ Paul on Lord Infamous' Triplet Flow, Sampling Techniques & More (HNHH Interview 2017)".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-20.
- ^Diez, Juan Carlos (2013).Martropía (Conversaciones con Spinetta).Buenos Aires: Aguilar. pp. 145–147.ISBN9789870432449.
External links
[edit]- W-30 / S-50 / S-550 Homepage- samples, DIYs and reference materials
| Synthesizers |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic drums | ||
| Keytars | ||
| Grooveboxes | ||
| Samplers | ||
| Workstations | ||
| Sequencers | ||
| MIDI interfaces | ||
| Modules | ||
| Software | ||
| Amplifiers | ||
| Effects units | ||
| Organs | ||
| Boss effects | ||
| Founder | ||
| Other | ||
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