Roland JV-2080

[SamSamba]

I've been looking at buying a hardware rack synth. Specifically, a digital hardware ROMpler, and most likely one of those old Rolands cheap on eBay. Don't ask me why, lol. (By the way, I do have a Mac filled with libraries and plugins, and also a Motif, so it isn't that...)

Is the 2080 hopelessly dated and useless in 2013? People seem to still appreciate the JV/XV modules around forums and stuff, but I've never owned any.

How much would you pay for one, without any expansion boards? The JV80 expansion boards seem to still run quite a high price (around $50-100) on eBay for what they offer, so if I were to get those, the overall cost would ramp up...

At first I considered the Integra-7 which is basically an XV-5080 + all the SRX boards + the SuperNatural stuff + a VA (which is quite a lot, now that I look at it this way), but it's still 1500-2000 USD.

I know the preferences of folks around here lean towards analog gear, but bear with me.

[BluMunk]

I've got a fully expanded 2080. It's awesome, and probably ended up costing me around $800 over the course of a few years. I got some good deals on expansion cards which, like lots of 2nd-hand purchases, was about hitting the right purchase at the right time. I use it all the time for live gigging. If I were looking to replace it today, I'd go for the Integra, no question. But, if you don't need every single expansion, or you want to stretch the overall purchase over a longer period of time, the 2080 is a great unit (as is its predecessor, the 1080, and as are, I'm sure, the XV synths).

You could get a 2080 for $250-ish, maybe grab one or two of the more useful JV cards, and you're off and running for much less than the cost of the Integra (admittedly, you're also getting less of a synth, but that's always the trade off).

[CS_TBL]

It's two-folded..

The ROM-tones (and even the RAM expansions from those days) are dated by today's standards, probably the obvious Persing presets too. The synth editing and the effects are still quite valuable however. I wouldn't mind using one, it's just that it doesn't really fit in nicely with my workflow and DAW-integration.

So: purely for acoustic sounds you'd be better off with today's libraries, the 90's Roland sound is a bit cheesy, not at least because everyone was using 'm. But if you agree on synthetic sounds (some kind of hybrid between synth and acoustic really) *and* you invest some efforts to actually make your own sounds, then the JV2080 is a nice synth for a relatively low sum o' money.

[max badwan]

I picked up a 2080 last year, with four SR-JV boards (Orch 1, 60s & 70s, Bass & Drums, Hip Hip) for about AUD$250 - it was cheaper to buy the module than to buy the cards separately.
As a synth, there is a lot of depth, and relatively easy to program due to the large screen - similar to a JD 990 or an XV 5080. Sound quality is good, and the ROM library is extensive - the main downside is the 30k sampling rate.
In terms of "modernity", the 2080 is there, it can integrate well into a DAW, loops and LFOs can sync to MIDI clock, so it's still useful in that context.
There is some chatter about the 1080 sounding "better", but I haven't looked into it.
If you're interested in synth waveforms, I can recommend the following SR-JV cards: Vintage Synth (no-brainer), Dance and Techno all have great synth waves, Hip Hop has a few good ones as well. Session is pretty much a must have for bread and butter sounds, and I like the SFX card for textures.
You could also consider an XV 5050, they seem to go for about $300, with similar specs, but the XV sound engine.

[Big Gnome]

I don't have a heck of a lot to add, but I played around with a JV-1080 a fair amount in college and I used an XP-somethingorother with my old band for in-studio rehearsals and the odd gig. My overall impression was that the sampled acoustic instruments were not very convincing (but in sort of a charming way), the interfaces had that peculiarly Rolandish menu-and-pushbutton-heavy awkwardness, but they had a really nice, lush sound to them. Seems to me if you're a rompler guy, you could do a lot worse as long as you have the patience to program them.

[SamSamba]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think my best bet is finding a set that includes the module as well as some expansion boards, because it seems it's more expensive buying them separately, even today. I've also considered getting the 3080 because it will also accept SRX cards...even though it is also only 32kHz.

Can you guys suggest a site online where I would find patches for these modules? People say "you can get a gazillion sounds for them", but I haven't been able to find any except a couple at Rolandclan.

[meatballfulton]

JV/XP Page

XV Yahoo Group

I turned those up in one minute of Googling...