A buddy gave me a Roland JV880 which I don't really need but wanted to experiment and listen to some patches. I've been through the manual and no help there.
The issue: I can hear/record both the A/B synth 'patches' fine but I can't hear the drums at all and I've been through countless configurations. Any midi gurus know if I'm missing some setting on the JV880 itself?
Using Sonar X3 - insert a midi track: 1) JV880 drums .INS file selected in "instruments" 2) JV880 drums routed to channel (8) per manual. 3) JV880 audio out to mixer input. 3) There are (2) banks of drums being 'performance' and "internal" but no "kits" are noted in either. (?) (see attachment) 4) When I hit the controller's keys the meters reflect the drums input fine and I can record just fine.....but I can't hear them? 5) The funny part....if copy/paste a JV880 drums test for a few measures and copy them to another midi track but using my MBD-1 Bass/Drum module for playback I hear them fine.
I tried to make this inquiry clear but not a lot is 'clear' to me in diagnosing midi issues. If anyone read this and have any suggestions I'm grateful and owe you a pitcher of good beer.
I am not familiar with the Roland JV880 but providing it can work as gm module. You should not need to worry about the fancy drum banks . If you are using a standard midi file any notes entered on Channel 10 will play the correct drum sound from the midi kit . The different kits are called by the patch no (program change) 1 = standard kit. Program # Drum Kit 1 Standard Drum Kit 9 Room Drum Kit 17 Power Drum Kit 25 Electric Drum Kit 26 Rap TR808 Drums 33 Jazz Drum Kit 41 Brush Kit
In cakewalk I normally set track 10 to channel 10 to avoid confusion.
However in Biab you will find the drums on Track 2 Channel 10 as there are only 8Tracks available in the mixer. But the important thing is, it is still sent to channel 10 which is read as drum kit sounds in GM. Sorry if you Knew all this. Mike
It's an antiquated unit (1992) but I occasionally get gripped in solving an issue and this was one of them.
OK....if you have a JV880 and experienced the same issue? As I'd responded to beatmaster I did try channel 10 (Cakewalk default for drums) also during my ignorant gyrations with X3 and setting within the unit itself with no luck. I tried everything and everyone here knows you try so many combinations that getting lost is quite effortless.
THE REMEDY....to hear the synth patches obviously one would deduce you have to push the 'Patch' button in which it will be LIT. Then choose your instrument in your software or by using the scroll knob. What I stumbled upon was in order to hear the drums you should NOT have the 'patch' button pushed....disengage it, UNLIT. Also, drums only work on CH. 10 in X3.
It was a total fluke that I discovered this solution and I saw nothing in manual that specified that....maybe I'm just getting daft in my old age.
Thanks to those that tried to offer some help/suggestions. Did I mention I need a drink.
FYI: Drums on channel 10 is part of the MIDI standard.
Most keyboards didn't allocate a standard channel for drums so they didn't care, Creative Labs used channel 16 but Yamaha wanted channel 10. Yamaha won that battle. Drums on channel 10 is standard for MIDI, XG (Yamaha) and GS (Roland).
I'm really glad you got it working. You mentioned the Juno doesn't have multiple drum kits. So I guess Roland figured you don't need the patch button enabled for drums. It is strange though that they would mute drum instruments all together when the button is enabled.
Yes the reason for your described behaviour is that although ch 10 normally defaults to gm drum sets . Your synth will allow you to use normal chromatic instrument voices on ch 10 should you want to use it, hence you activate patch. You may not always need a drum kit, say if arranging a big Choral work with orchestra you may well need that extra channel for one of your parts. Mike
I'm really glad you got it working. You mentioned the JV880 doesn't have multiple drum kits. So I guess Roland figured you don't need the patch button enabled for drums. It is strange though that they would mute drum instruments all together when the button is enabled.
Mornin' Jim & Mike....
I guess not. Correct....no 'kits'....just (2) different choices (banks) of either "Presets" or "Performance" (I'm still not clear on the difference but I have the manual to peruse)
While plunking on the keys I just randomly disengaged the 'patch' button and drums about knocked me out of my chair.
Mike: true, may not always need a drum kit during composition.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
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Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
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Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
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Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
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Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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