Legowelt On Why He Loves The Roland JV2080

This video, via Future Music Magazine, features Legowelt sharing his thoughts on the Roland JV-2080 64-Voice Synthesizer Module.

The JV-2080, released in 1997, uses a sample + synthesis synth architecture.

Key Features:

  • Accommodates up to 8 user-installable sound expansion boards, allowing access to approximately 2,900 patches when fully expanded
  • 768 internal patches; 16MB of wave data expandable to 144MB (16-bit linear format)
  • 320 x 80 dot graphic backlit LCD
  • Patch Finder function groups similar patches from internal banks, expansion boards and memory data cards together
  • Phrase Preview function allows users to hear patches within the context of a musical phrase by pressing volume knob; no keyboard needed
  • 3 onboard EFX sets with 40 effects each

If you’ve used the Roland JV-2080, let us know what you think of it!

21 thoughts on “Legowelt On Why He Loves The Roland JV2080

    1. Yep. I’ve recently switched over to an almost entirely digital set-up with a couple of DX7s, a Cazio CZ-1, and a Nord Lead 3.

      The future is digital.

      1. The future of electronic music is composing. Tones are great and will always be interesting. But the future is not about tone. It’s about arrangement.

  1. But it’s not analog!!!!! How can it be any good if it’s not analog???? This guy must be from outerspace! How can you make good tracks drenched in digital reverb and granular delays if you’re not using analog synths? Also, it’s totally not boutique or rare or modular or made in Sweden so it must be total crap.

      1. It’s all about your song-writing, whether you make a great song on Alanog or digital doesn’t matter, if people buy it then it is good. Roland always put a lot of effort into ensuring the sounds of their instruments were top notch. They haven’t always been able to go wth the trends but they have always caught up. The 2080 is a solid module with great sounds and a musician can rely on those sounds to make any kind of music.

  2. The mad professor with the golden Rolex…. still cool. At least he made that rompler sound interesting!

  3. “…it’s totally not boutique or rare or modular or made in Sweden…”

    Haha. How does the saying go? “All flashing LEDs lead to Sweden.”

  4. Rolands rompler engines have been so much ahead of its competitors, and while its “just” a rompler, it is one of the most intriguing synths out there for me, and that, along with the V-Synth of course, is why I don’t want Roland to go analog.(and never even understood why people were bashing Roland so hard and demanded an analog synth from them). Even when I am mostly an analog+iOS dude, I want some one to be pushing the digital hardware synths too.

    I never had one of these, but I am really looking forward to buying an Integra particularly for getting this rompler engine. The SuperNatural is a bonus for me.

  5. I had a fully expanded JV2080 – and although it’s digital, it has a very full and analog sound (as do all Roland synths). The modern version is the Integra-7 that contains all the SRX expansion sound cards for the JV series of synths (though you have to switch them in & out through a system menu which is a bit odd).

  6. Live to see musicians working cheap old gear. It’s easy to get hung up debating analog/digital, new/vintage or liking for the next latest gadget, when real musicians work what they’ve got.

    1. Never mind, FA-06 and Integra (both has dat engine and more) are so affordable, that they are not letting the prices of old to go too high.

  7. Have a JV-1080 with 2 cards. Haven’t played it in years. Also have a Yamaha FS-1r that hasn’t been played either. And a Casio CZ-1.

    Loved all of those machines. Especially when I used them with 2 Alesis MMT-8’s.

    Lately it has been a Frac Rack setup of Blacet & Wiard modules used with a FutureRetro Mobius and a Arturia MiniBrute. Also a Korg ER-1.

    I may get around to syncing it all up some day…

    1. Its morally wrong to own a Yamaha FS1R and not play it! 😀 Its a major secret weapon, like an E-mu Morpheus and similarly playable out of the box because sounds that are already moving nicely tend to move even more when you start pedaling and modulating. Some people look on JV-style synths as outdated, but having used a bit of everything at some point, I encourage you not to dismiss them. These powerhouse modules cover many important bases easily, thereby freeing you up in other ways. Its saved my natural @$$ many times to have good pianos/pads/event sounds immediately at hand. I could then focus on the finer points of my goals, often with more specialized synths. Even if you are of a more experimental or dance slant, don’t dismiss the idea that at some point, you will almost certainly need a good bassoon for something. 😉 The best thing about this video: his use of an external sequencer. Tuck that side-technique away for future reference. Little keepers like that can often win the day.

  8. not convinced- the patches he was playing with could have been made by any rompler of the day. I admit that if the synth engines are good enough SOME interesting sounds can be made with romplers but I can’t be the only one here who finds Roland’s compression sonics of those days fatiguing to the ear,, infact with Roland that’s still largely the case
    AS Atom Tm says its “corporate sound” ( he was speaking generally, not about roland)

  9. Can anyone direct me to a free sysex editor for the 2080? I didnt have any luck with the panel for Ctrlr….

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