Has anyone tried the Roland Mobile Studio Canvas with BIAb or Realband? Is it better than the Ketron?
I have a Roland Sonic Cell and frequent the Sonic Cell forum. This question has come up a lot concerning the new Sound Canvas. The consensus seems to be it sounds a lot like the Sonic Cell without the SC features like the mic and instrument input, guitar modeling, ability to mix mp3 or midi files on it etc for half the price. That means it's a good sounding modern Roland sound module, it has a collection of Fantom and other Roland keyboard sounds and whether or not it's as "good" as the Ketron is a matter of personal taste. I think my SC sounds great and I've listened to all those Ketron demo's Mac posted last year and the Ketron sounds great too. Both are certainly comparable to my Kurzweil and Korg keyboards. When you get to this level they all sound good, it usually boils down to a few certain patches you just have to have and you wind liking one a little bit over the other. It can be very difficult to find that out before you buy one though. It usually takes some time to play with all these different synths to realize that yeah, those strings or that slap bass or a particular trumpet are a bit better on one or the other. Even then, apply some EQ or other effects and voila' one will sound just as good as the other.
Bob
I was thinking of usng it in a live setting for backing tracks. Considering that you can put all on a USB(like you can with Sonic Cell), it could be a cheaper alternative than sonic cell.
I have a Ketron SD4. I am selling my SonicCell. The SonicCell is killer for funk/fusion etc. but the Ketron natural acoustic sounds cannot be touched. THey are both great units. I would have been thrilled with the Sonic Cell had I not owned the Ketron to compare it. It really depends on what kind of sounds you want. I am a straight-ahead jazz guy, and love the natural sounds of the Ketron. If I were more a rock/funk player, I would gravitate toward the Rolands.
I play tenor sax, clarinet and ewi 4000s wind synth. The music I play are standards, country early rock(50's - 70's), polkas, waltzs, latin. With that knowledge of what I do, would the Studio canvas sound good in the scenario?
I would check to see if it supports Breath Control. That is one thing I will sorely miss about the Sonic Cell.
The ewi has a synth chip in the instrument and I also have a vl70m. Both have the Paychman turbo chips. I would only be using the Roland to play backing tracks.
Something to consider regarding the new SD 50 vs the Sonic Cell is the SC has been reduced to $629 on line and the SD-50 is $399. The extra features of the SC may now be worth it to you. Also since the SC has been out for a couple of years, they should be readily available used for probably the same or less than a new SD 50.
Bob
Thanks jazzmammal, I never looked at the SC as an alternative. Will have to look intp that before I buy.
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I have a Roland Sonic Cell and frequent the Sonic Cell forum. Bob
Could you supply a link to this forum?
Thanks
John,
How do you use the sonic cell? Would it work for just backing tracks? My ewi 4000s is nor the usb plug in instrument.
I have the studio canvas and I like it. If your budget is 400 bucks, the sd50 is a much better buy than the ketron for several reasons which are probably mentioned in the review. If you can afford a little more perhaps the sonic cell is for you depending on what you are using it for. I don't know much about the sonic cell, never used it. I got the sd50 because I needed a replacement for Roland VSC when I upgraded to Win7. I tried the soft synths and still use them sometimes but I really liked the sound of vsc when playing midi files. I'm a sax player that uses biab for background playing in restaurants and private parties. I still use midi files for pop music. I know some guys don't think midi sounds good and prefer mp3's but I like the flexibility of midi files. I've also notice that I like the sound of everything better when I use the sd50 as an audio interface. I know sound is subjective, but for me I can definitely hear an improvement in the overall sound of biab and my midi files when played through the sd50. One nice feature is you only have to use a usb cable to connect to your computer. No midi cable, no power cable. The sd50 is powered by usb, batteries, or ac adapter. I also use it as my backup for my laptop. I've made biab mp3's so I can use the sd50 on short gigs without bringing my laptop. I just load the mp3's and midi files on a usb drive and off I go. Sorry for the long reply but thought I'd try to explain my reasons for owning the unit.
Are there any links to demos for this? I'd like to hear some of the instruments.
R
You use a tablet pc, how's that working for you.
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Are there any links to demos for this? I'd like to hear some of the instruments.
R
http://www.roland.com/products/en/IT/SD-50_IT/index.html
Roland SD50 Interactive Tour
Click on the 'Sound Check' menu item, I guess this is as close to a direct link as I can get ya.
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Could you supply a link to this forum?
Thanks
Roland Clan
Here you go.
Bob
Just like to post an update about the SD50. During the Christmas season, I play at the local mall for tips and exposure. I pick up a quite a few gigs during the year because someone saw me at the mall during the holidays. I usually use my laptop but this year I'm using the SD50 and loving it! Since I'm only playing Christmas songs, it's a lot easier than carrying a laptop. I render BIAB files as mp3's on a thumb drive and off I go.