Roland XP-80 General MIDI set

[Synthoridity]

I do not have an XP-80, but I know that besides the regular presets, it also has the 128 standard GM instruments. I would like to know what this GM set sounds like: Does it reuse Roland samples from other synths/modules, like SC-88 or something? Or are the GM set's samples unique, and exclusive to the XP-80? I have searched for information on this, but I cannot find any demos of the GM sounds from this synth. It would be helpful to me if I could know what its GM set is like, or if there are any demos of regular GM MIDIs playing with it. Thank you.

[tim gueguen]

I can't imagine it having a separate set of samples just for the GM bank. GM is about having all the presets consistent between instruments, not making them sound identical.

[meatballfulton]

The GM banks in many pro keyboards sound watered down compared to the other factory presets...I never understood why this is.

[CS_TBL]

Probably to match up with the original dwarfy soundset of many a Sound Canvas clone.

[max badwan]

I haven't got an XP 80 at hand, but I just checked on my JV 2080 and the GM sound set uses the base ROM (Int 1 & 2), no EFX.
The sounds are OK, a bit dated and lacklustre, but that's GM for you. The sample set would be shared by other Roland products - they date back the the S-series library. Hope that helps.
PS Your ZR has a GM sound set, it'll be nearly identical.

[meatballfulton]

Probably to match up with the original dwarfy soundset of many a Sound Canvas clone.

Sure, but why bother? The requirements for GM (v1...early 90s machines) are:

Voices: A minimum of either 24 fully dynamically allocated voices are available simultaneously for both melodic and percussive sounds, or 16 dynamically allocated voices are available for melody plus 8 for percussion. All voices respond to velocity.

Channels: All 16 MIDI Channels are supported. Each Channel can play a variable number of voices (polyphony). Each Channel can play a different instrument (sound/patch/timbre). Key-based percussion is always on MIDI Channel 10.

Instruments: A minimum of 16 simultaneous and different timbres playing various instruments. A minimum of 128 preset instruments (MIDI program numbers) conforming to the GM1 Instrument Patch Map and 47 percussion sounds which conform to the GM1 Percussion Key Map .

Now I'm sure in some older instruments the polyphony requirement meant being able to get by with "one voice" patches...in most ROMplers that would mean a mono sample, no velocity switching or layers, etc.

But in modern machines with gobs of polyphony (say a Kronos) why not use the much better sounds available in GM mode rather than bland patches? So you fire up your Kronos and try that awesome mega-sampled piano...kick into GM mode and try patch #1, ouch another lame lifeless piano patch.

Never made any sense to me.

[CS_TBL]

Probably because:

• MIDI-files are (or have been) made with old junk. The creator of the midi file is likely to have applied tricks, reverb, layers, whathaveyou to soup up things a bit. Such tricks would be too much for contemporary sounds that are fat enough on their own.
• Technically, you should playback something on a similar system, not a smaller system and not a bigger system. Only then are you assured of the intended sound.
• MIDI files, and the GM format, are so 90's.., why bother?

In the 90's I remember Roland making a kind of portable GM-player, the kind of thing you'd bring to the beach.. *not*. Gawd it's just so cheesy, and it should go! ^_^

MIDI files may be handy to retrieve notes (and thus all someone's hard work) from a piece of music, as a basis to make a new version of it. But other than that, I think they're awaiting their asteroid.

[max badwan]

GM goes back to the MT 32, the "ghetto blaster" thing was the MT 90s (I think), but yeah, GM is useful for karaoke, but not much else.

[meatballfulton]

GM goes back to the MT 32

SC55 actually, MT32 is not GM compliant.

[max badwan]

GM goes back to the MT 32

SC55 actually, MT32 is not GM compliant.

I never said the MT 32 was a GM compliant unit, and yes, the SC 55 was the first GM unit, but if you look at a patch list of MT 32 presets, you'll find that it's the precursor to GM.