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I've heard of the Roland VSC...was this just a software version of a hardware synth module?




Yes, Roland had a module called the Sound Canvas. Basically a midi box with a synth inside it, or if you like, the electronics from a keyboard without the keyboard itself. But the name Sound Canvas was used across a whole product range that included PC cards and all sorts of things.

Here's a summary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Sound_Canvas