Roland JV-1080 Qs... Heeelllp! Help me!

[AdamGBB]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for some advice with my Roland JV-1080

Well I'm a relatively new synth user, still trying to learn about synths/midi etc. I started playing synths when I was invited to take up the position of keyboards in a band late last year- which I'm still a part of. Back then I just had a Yamaha DJX which made some decent sounds, but I wanted to expand an get something that sounded better, and that I could live away from home with. Sometime in the middle of this year, whilst browsing ebay, I found a pristine JV-1080. The price was cheap, so I did some research- I found some youtube vids of some of its stock presets being tested, and they sounded fab. I looked it up on the VSE, it had a 5 star rating. So I thought, "why not?"

So anyway... I'm at a stage now where I feel I have to really start using my synth a little more properly. I have an upcoming gig, and I feel I really need to know how to save presets that I want, and how to quickly switch from preset to preset in the heat of a song. The manual both confuses me and intimidates me however.

I do not have a user memory card, I just have the user memory. In particular I want to be able to recall a lead tone, the fantasia patch, the cathedral patch and etc. In the middle of a gig, I just want to be able to press 1 button on my midi keyboard so I can switch from say.. the cathedral patch to a choral pad patch, without having to walk up to the JV and having to stoop down and manually switch to a different preset.

I think I kinda know how to do it... but I'm a bit scared I'll f*ck something up so for anyone who at least has a vague idea how to use these things, could you please explain to me how I can save a batch of patches onto the user memory which I can recall individually in an instant from a midi keyboard for live purposes? I would be most grateful. Or at least some tips? Any sort of help with this.

Ok that's my first inquiry- my second, whilst I have no doubt that the JV is an extraordinary synth, I'm getting the feeling that it's perhaps too complicated for mere rookies for me to use... and also that it has INCREDIBLE potential, which I feel I'll only ever be using 5% of. In other words, I think this synth is too darn good for me. Is it perhaps possible that, considering atm I mainly want to use it with my keyboard as a sound-making keyboard instrument, that I have chosen the wrong synth? I bought it because it was relatively portable, because it sounded great (I love some of presets), and because it was darn cheap. About.... a bit less than half the store price of A korg MicroX where I live to put it into perspective. Should I hang on to it? Any thoughts?

Any other questions/ comments/ thoughts/ tips etc that you think might be helpful, please say

Sorry this was such a long post, thanks for reading.

Thanks in advance for any help! I would be most grateful.

[ShadowsWithin]

I have recently switched from a JV-1080 to a XP-80 but if i remember correctly you take the patch you want, go to utility on your keyboard and it should say something like "Write" you choose a spot in the User memory (my first set was in the 70's and what ever one you want to be number one on your bank you choose 71 in the User area and press enter then press utility again (or utility then enter i don't remember) and then you go to 71 and your should will be there then you save them all up to 80 and you can easily switch through 10 sounds easily. Now if you wanted to expand that it would be a little more difficult since you are using a midi controller im not sure exactly how it works, but if it's anything like my X5 you can switch to different sets of 10 by pressing the dec or inc buttons. oh and some keyboards require you to press something along the lines of "Digit hold" (Roland's) or ./hold (Korg's) to be able to switch by using numbers, if you don't usually it will make you type "071" into the screen to actually go to your 71 patch...

Onto the second question, when i bought my JV-1080 i had only a basic understanding of synths having used only my Korg X5 before that, no obviously since it is a Rack mound thing are going to be a little more difficult grasp having to to with your controller. But i remember when i had my X5 i was asking the same questions, but i figured things out one at a time until i could make my way around it, until i eventually learned how to load up different banks (a big accomplishment when i was younger ) and from there i learned sequencing and MIDI pretty thoroughly (and just recently sampling). and even though i still only probably know 5% of what these guys know on here i can make my way around pretty well now.

some other tips would be if you happen to have some kind of midi interface so you can hook it up to your computer, i recommend the program Changeit! theres tons of sites with different user sounds (and preset sounds from other boards with the same engine) i especially like some of the sounds you can get from the @)*) user bank like Helium Queen and 2 0 8 0.

and if you dont know anything about how to hook it up i recommend you get something small like the Midisport 1x1 and get two midi chords to plug midi out and in from your keyboard into the in and out ports of you Midisport so you can send and recieve information from your computer.

also on some computers the MIDI ports like to be closed and i had to get a program called MIDIOX to open the ports.

stick with it because it really is an awesome synth. especially if you get some expansions in her :p.


P.S. what kind of music do you play?

[AdamGBB]

Thanks heaps for that it sounds easy enough.

I still have to start getting a grasp one day on sequencing and sampling- I would like to try branching into trying some electro one day in the far off future

As for what music my band plays- well, there aren't many sorts of bands with keyboardists who have use for a synth lead tone, choral pad, the fantasia patch and the cathedral "organ" patch

Haha if that wasn't a big enough clue, we're a power metal band. Think Symphony X, Man-o-war, Hammerfall...

[ShadowsWithin]

Thanks heaps for that it sounds easy enough.

I still have to start getting a grasp one day on sequencing and sampling- I would like to try branching into trying some electro one day in the far off future

As for what music my band plays- well, there aren't many sorts of bands with keyboardists who have use for a synth lead tone, choral pad, the fantasia patch and the cathedral "organ" patch

Haha if that wasn't a big enough clue, we're a power metal band. Think Symphony X, Man-o-war, Hammerfall...

Yeah i figured as much :p

I use the XP-80 for the church organ strings and pianos and harpsichord (same one as Jens uses in Stratovarius) and the occasional lead (Jen's lead sound and Janne from COB) although i like my Michael Pinella lead on my X50.