Proof that Roland are indeed insane.

[Bitexion]

You keep pulling out the Memorymoog card, but remember that the MM was one of the main reasons why Moog went bankrupt. It was huge, unreliable, crashed alot..until external companies started "modding" it. But Moog didn't see a penny of the mod money.

[madmarkmagee]

Talking of innovation, I would love to see the sales data of the original V-Synth and the Jupiter-80 just to compare.

Probably both sold rubbish, with the Jupiter 80 doing a bit worse 'cause it upset all the hipsters with its name.

Companies usually build flagships, then divide the technology into less featured, more affordable bundles...

I think Roland's problem is that their a big bloated company. A company like DSI employs like nine people in r and d and owns a factory or whatever, they have like no overheads. They have a targeted market and product. Roland makes a ton of c**p, half of which I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy. It also has a ton of subsidiaries and employs thousands of people. It's a bureaucratic nightmare.

I mean, you can't seriously say Roland are losing money on things like the new Juno's (which have been in production for a billion years), effects pedals, guitar amps and keyboard amps, etc etc... These things are everywhere I go.

I think one could also argue that there is some truth in the corporate BS given as to why Roland is losing money (E.g the economic downturn). Mainstream consumers that buy Roland products are less likely to buy them, as they have less money. Synth nerds on the other hand, will probably not eat to buy synths .

[madmarkmagee]

Did you know that Roland also makes commercial printers and vinyl cutters n' stuff... ?

http://rolanddg.com.au/company/about

[madtheory]

Ya we actually had one of their plotters in college back in the nineties. Very highly regarded. Ha! Do they have a "they're back" ad for the plotters too?

And it's true, those modern Junos are everywhere.

This thread is funny! About half sensible and half fantasy. I think some people might be getting a bit confused between art/music versus selling stuff.

Tiesto Facebook 14+ million likes
Deadmau5 7+ million likes

That's indicative of Deadmaus and Tiesto's fan base, not how many synths Deadmaus and Tiesto own.

[madtheory]

Some more reading...

http://www.roland.com/ir/financial.html

http://www.roland.com/ir/strategic.html

Very interesting, thanks for digging those out. A friend of mine runs a very successful music school that relies on Roland stuff. Business is booming, her biggest problem is the crapness of Roland's user manuals! Anyways, those two links show that Roland will be with us for a while yet. Quite a few companies failed or did a lot worse than Roland, post earthquake.

[madmarkmagee]

Anyways, those two links show that Roland will be with us for a while yet. Quite a few companies failed or did a lot worse than Roland, post earthquake.

Forgot there was an earthquake... Another reason to add to our speculative list...

[Hybrid88]

[Bitexion]

It's a shame you have to be a mad wizard to get any good sounds out of that.

[Synthacon]

I think a lot of the "real synth" players out there always think that we are the biggest market when it comes to electronic instruments, we are not.

Most of the companies you all cherish so highly are run by one or two guys. I know one maker, who is very highly regarded and has his gear owned by world famous people sold only 200 of one of his synths, that is nothing when compared to say the Korg M1.

There are a few forums out there with lots of guys who gig week in and week out, earning good money who are only bothered about the Motif XF or Fantom G series. These guys spend big money on a regular basis, on kit most of you guys would never touch. Business is business and at the moment Roland are making stuff for other markets.

The synth world cried for more knobs on a synth, they gave us the JD800 and it was not a big seller, the V-Synth again was not a huge success. Why should they keep listening?

Also, don't you have enough analogue synths to choose from? Maybe spend more time on your music instead of worrying what is on the synth designers drawing board.

Having gigged in front of several thousand people with music created on a PC and performed live with a Motif, an SH201 and a computer, I can tell you the paying public really don't care what you used as long as it is good musically.

[OB-XaMinimoog]

Roland is back?

What, did they go somewhere?

[bochelli]

You keep pulling out the Memorymoog card, but remember that the MM was one of the main reasons why Moog went bankrupt. It was huge, unreliable, crashed alot..until external companies started "modding" it. But Moog didn't see a penny of the mod money.

To keep in the thread, the Memorymoog , by the way i have one a basic model, was perhaps like the polymoog released too early and like the memorymoog prone to breaking down, however with todays offerings synths i like to think are more reliable may or may not be released too early, but most of them share a line there still seems to be a leaning to a former model, so in respects they are not new, if however a new type of synthesis is offered with no link to the past i may be more enthusiastic, but not at the moment, i dont think the memorymoog alone was the reason moog went bust, likewise ARP, but i admire moog for bringing out the memorymoog , even today it still looks one badass fckr as you Americans say, the endless lit menu screen synths are with us today, fine i say the hall is rented the stage is ready lights , now lets see if you can dance.

[volumetrik]

I think a lot of the "real synth" players out there always think that we are the biggest market when it comes to electronic instruments, we are not.

Most of the companies you all cherish so highly are run by one or two guys. I know one maker, who is very highly regarded and has his gear owned by world famous people sold only 200 of one of his synths, that is nothing when compared to say the Korg M1.

There are a few forums out there with lots of guys who gig week in and week out, earning good money who are only bothered about the Motif XF or Fantom G series. These guys spend big money on a regular basis, on kit most of you guys would never touch. Business is business and at the moment Roland are making stuff for other markets.

The synth world cried for more knobs on a synth, they gave us the JD800 and it was not a big seller, the V-Synth again was not a huge success. Why should they keep listening?

Also, don't you have enough analogue synths to choose from? Maybe spend more time on your music instead of worrying what is on the synth designers drawing board.

Having gigged in front of several thousand people with music created on a PC and performed live with a Motif, an SH201 and a computer, I can tell you the paying public really don't care what you used as long as it is good musically.

Once again an expert hijacks the thread to lecture us we're all wrong and don't know s**t and should look elsewhere for analogue goodies.

[balma]

Having somebody (including a synth label) to throw tomatoes seems to be addictive and fun for most of people.

Roland sells their new synths very well.
Even in my 3rd world country, the last Roland models are being used in several music genres. Their owners does not dig into deep programming or sound design. They want something friendly with PCs, lots of standard sounds to choose from, easy to access/load, automated sequencing. Etc.

I was playing around with the new Jupiter on the local dealer last week, the salesmen said they´ve sold several units, and their price here is around $2300.
The salesman was pretty confident when he said it sounds exactly the same to the old Jupiter 8.

Why somebody will get a vintage Jupiter, risking money on a old synth, paying insurances for the S & H, dealing with "old" technologies?

Other kind of synths are harder to find. Deales bring here what they can sell. New Roland sells very well.
Efficient distribution all over the world, with a good presentation.

Roland is not crazy, they are just into the musical instrument business and othe stuff
And maybe they ask to themselves: what´s wrong with synth freaks today ???

[tim gueguen]

Frankly I think the product is probably from their BK line, and the whole "Roland is back" bit is a PR slogan done by someone whose first language isn't English.

[rhino]

back from where exactly?

Back from wherever they sunk to while making the God-awful SH-201. Plasticky, flimsy, bendable, unfixable, disposable gimmick. I swear if you scraped off the Roland logo, you'd see "Mattell"....or maybe "Hello Kitty".