The New Roland Integra 7

[en76]

sound module are supposily means cheap. they better off do put 76key to this integra and sell it as the step up from juno stage with this price tag.

[Chrisk-K]

The I-7 isn't bad. Even if you buy all the SRX boards on eBay, it'll cost you $1k. Plus, you also get the SN engine.

But with a price tag of $1,999, it won't sell. I'll pick up one when the I-7 goes on a blowout sale.

[Johan325]

I don’t really know what you mean by cheap (yes I understand the meaning of cheap)?
There have been cheap modules in Rolands history, SC-55, MT-32, Sonic Cell. But there have also been expensive ones. JD-990, JV1080, JV2080, XV3080, XV5080 and don’t forget V-Synth XT.
I don’t think MKS-50 & MKS-80 was cheap either.
Racks/Modules are cheaper than their Keyboards cousins, which are the purpose of it. Simply because the missing of keyboard a part. But the sound inside should be the same. I know that have not always been the case. Then there have been some criticism.
So the sound in INTEGRA-7 is already qualified for being the Rack cousins for Jupiter-50/80. We have not seen the Tone table yet. But probably it is the same as Jupiter-50.

The SRX is only a huge plus. I agree it would been nice to have all 12 SRX at ones. But as someone else wrote they perhaps want it to look like the old ones, But JV-2080 had 8 SR-JV slots.

In the really old days The Rack sometimes had a worse DA converter then the keyboard. Sometimes a better. But in these day with digital connections, that would not be a problem.
This is nothing unique for Roland. Both Yamaha and Korg have/had product lines with cheap and more expensive Racks/Modules.

[Johan325]

A lower prizetag would be nice. But $2K is the ordinary prize for a rack/module in this class. JV-1080, 2080 and XV-3080 even Fantom XR was around there, ones upon a time.
I know times were different then and that’s perhaps a mistake from Roland not to take that into consideration. They no longer only compete with the others synth manufactures. The map have been totally remade. With DAW’s and Softsynth. And even if we in this forum don’t think that a softsynt ever can compete with a Roland Synth. There are many new customers who think the opposite. And for them $2K is too much.

This is only my opinion and I haven't done any research and asked 10.000 people.

[en76]

I hope this I-7 have a smooth transition in turning on/off motion surround. really don't like the cut off in the demo. now thats your update if there is no such thing.

[PauloF]

I hope this I-7 have a smooth transition in turning on/off motion surround. really don't like the cut off in the demo. now thats your update if there is no such thing.

Maybe that cut that we hear is just to clearly identify the switch time... I hope you are wrong...

[Johan325]

Quinnx. have found a video that answers some questions.
The time for loading the SRX's boards is around 20 sec.
From what I hear no new technique. ROM loading into RAM.
viewtopic.php?f=54&t=45633&p=262306#p262306
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2012/ ... izer-demo/

[en76]

I hope i'm wrong too about that cut off. FR have 4 slots. I-7 have 4 slots. then pcm uses up all 4 slots. 128 polyphony really not happy about it but hey. Why not uses all 12 at once and 4 slots for the SN and pcm as loading options. increase polyphony to 384. sell it at 2500$ and we all be very happy. This will have the potential of people buy two of them for massive presentation live with motion surround. but again it happens in a dream.

watching the video demo by synthopia was interesting. All i could think of is how to double up so that i could load more than 4 srx and SN but the price is just discouraging 4$. yet it on the other hand it would be too much effects and not sure how the motion surround would pan out on double. may it just the kind of effects we need, I guess someone can try it and see how that pans out.
motion surround is actually is more interesting to me for i-7. Its what catches my somewhat attention.

[PauloF]

I hope i'm wrong too about that cut off. FR have 4 slots. I-7 have 4 slots. then pcm uses up all 4 slots. 128 polyphony really not happy about it but hey. Why not uses all 12 at once and 4 slots for the SN and pcm as loading options. increase polyphony to 384. sell it at 2500$ and we all be very happy. This will have the potential of people buy two of them for massive presentation live with motion surround. but again it happens in a dream.

watching the video demo by synthopia was interesting. All i could think of is how to double up so that i could load more than 4 srx and SN but the price is just discouraging 4$. yet it on the other hand it would be too much effects and not sure how the motion surround would pan out on double. may it just the kind of effects we need, I guess someone can try it and see how that pans out.
motion surround is actually is more interesting to me for i-7. Its what catches my somewhat attention.

EDITED: Just for helping a few to understand which tones are stock and instantly available and which ones need to be loaded into the 4 virtual slots, and then instantly available too.


- The machine comes with SN sounds (similar to the JP-80, but more of them) and PCM sounds (from XV/JV), and all of those are stock sounds that do not need to be loaded in slots.

SuperNATURAL Acoustic
SuperNATURAL Synth
SuperNATURAL Drum Kit
PCM Synth
PCM Drum Kit

* GM2 compatible sounds are included.

The sounds that need to be loaded in the 4 available slots are:

* The following titles are loaded from the internal memory into the virtual slots.
* The SRX Series and the Expansion SuperNATURAL Sounds use one virtual slot per title.

SRX Series (12 titles)
SRX-01 Dynamic Drum Kits
SRX-02 Concert Piano
SRX-03 Studio SRX
SRX-04 Symphonique Strings
SRX-05 Supreme Dance
SRX-06 Complete Orchestra
SRX-07 Ultimate Keys
SRX-08 Platinum Trax
SRX-09 World Collection
SRX-10 Big Brass Ensemble
SRX-11 Complete Piano
SRX-12 Classic EPs

Expansion SuperNATURAL Sounds (6 titles)
ExSN1 Ethnic
ExSN2 Wood Winds
ExSN3 Session
ExSN4 A.Guitar
ExSN5 Brass
ExSN6 SFX


* The Expansion Hi-Quality PCM Sounds use all four virtual slots.
Expansion Hi-Quality PCM Sounds (1 title)
ExPCM HQ GM2 + HQ PCM Sound Collection

[epu]

Garbage @ $1999. 1990s/2000s tech for a price/feature set (+ limitations) that's a HUGE slap in the face.

Must Haves:

∙ 256 - 512 Note Polyphony
∙ VST Integration (Maybe even AAX)
∙ Android, Windows AND iPad Tablet Control Surfaces
∙ All Sounds accessible At One Time (ALL, no limitations)
∙ 4 Slots For Expansion Wavs/User Wavs - Either Roland Expansions, 3rd Party, or User Expansions
∙ USB Slot for iPad or should be in the BACK of the unit (less of a mess)
∙ Separate USB for MEMORY ONLY slot on the front.

Get real. This is 2012. The 4 Slot limitation for whatever reason is a huge deterrent and joke. Anyone who knows Roland Gear and the way sounds with many TONES eats up Polyphony understands why 256-512 is an absolute must. Even my XV5080 had 8 slots, Sample Memory, SCSI Storage, Card Storage and 32 MIDI Parts.

Even if the added features brought the price up to $2500 or $3000, it would be worth EVERY PENNY. Why? This would be hardware that would be super useful even 20 years from now. But Roland is up against Software Synths and even Hardware that can eat the Technical Specs of the Integra 7 for breakfast.

I am not a Hater. I was a long time Roland obsessed geek and power user and had everything from the S760 to the XV5080 fully expanded (and all of the JVs and XPs in between). I jumped ship in the Mid 2000s when Software Synths offered better options for work flow (i.e. no more turning knobs, limited to looking for old hardware for storage, dealing with $250+ expansions).

I want to see Roland become the powerhouse they once were. But Kontakt for examples comes with thousands of sounds out of the box! Put your patches/samples on SSDs and you won't be crying, "my sounds aren't instantly accessible!!!". 2GB pianos load in 2 seconds on my SATA3 SSD.

So, HARDWARE has the edge in being RELIABLE and INSTANTLY ACCESSIBLE, and IMPOSSIBLE TO PIRATE.

Roland needs to capitalize on those edges that Hardware has over software.

If the Integra has what I mentioned above, there would be LITTLE REASON TO PURCHASE SOFTWARE SYNTHS SINCE ALL OF THOSE FEATURES WOULD RENDER THE INTEGRA 7 "FUTURE PROOF" TO THE Nth DEGREE IN A WAY THAT SOFTWARE SYNTHS COULD NOT COMPETE. And also it would probably send users back to having ONE reliable EVERYTHING IN A BOX place for ALL of their sounds.

[PauloF]

Garbage @ $1999. 1990s/2000s tech for a price/feature set (+ limitations) that's a HUGE slap in the face.

Must Haves:

∙ 256 - 512 Note Polyphony
∙ VST Integration (Maybe even AAX)
∙ Android, Windows AND iPad Tablet Control Surfaces
∙ All Sounds accessible At One Time (ALL, no limitations)
∙ 4 Slots For Expansion Wavs/User Wavs - Either Roland Expansions, 3rd Party, or User Expansions
∙ USB Slot for iPad or should be in the BACK of the unit (less of a mess)
∙ Separate USB for MEMORY ONLY slot on the front.

Get real. This is 2012. The 4 Slot limitation for whatever reason is a huge deterrent and joke. Anyone who knows Roland Gear and the way sounds with many TONES eats up Polyphony understands why 256-512 is an absolute must. Even my XV5080 had 8 slots, Sample Memory, SCSI Storage, Card Storage and 32 MIDI Parts.

Even if the added features brought the price up to $2500 or $3000, it would be worth EVERY PENNY. Why? This would be hardware that would be super useful even 20 years from now. But Roland is up against Software Synths and even Hardware that can eat the Technical Specs of the Integra 7 for breakfast.

I am not a Hater. I was a long time Roland obsessed geek and power user and had everything from the S760 to the XV5080 fully expanded (and all of the JVs and XPs in between). I jumped ship in the Mid 2000s when Software Synths offered better options for work flow (i.e. no more turning knobs, limited to looking for old hardware for storage, dealing with $250+ expansions).

I want to see Roland become the powerhouse they once were. But Kontakt for examples comes with thousands of sounds out of the box! Put your patches/samples on SSDs and you won't be crying, "my sounds aren't instantly accessible!!!". 2GB pianos load in 2 seconds on my SATA3 SSD.

So, HARDWARE has the edge in being RELIABLE and INSTANTLY ACCESSIBLE, and IMPOSSIBLE TO PIRATE.

Roland needs to capitalize on those edges that Hardware has over software.

If the Integra has what I mentioned above, there would be LITTLE REASON TO PURCHASE SOFTWARE SYNTHS SINCE ALL OF THOSE FEATURES WOULD RENDER THE INTEGRA 7 "FUTURE PROOF" TO THE Nth DEGREE IN A WAY THAT SOFTWARE SYNTHS COULD NOT COMPETE. And also it would probably send users back to having ONE reliable EVERYTHING IN A BOX place for ALL of their sounds.

That's Integra-9 ! ;-)

[Chrisk-K]

Garbage @ $1999. 1990s/2000s tech for a price/feature set (+ limitations) that's a HUGE slap in the face.

You don't understand what the I-7 is about. It's a Super Natural sound module plus motion sound capabilities. The 1990s/2000s tech you mentioned is an added bonus.

[epu]

Garbage @ $1999. 1990s/2000s tech for a price/feature set (+ limitations) that's a HUGE slap in the face.

You don't understand what the I-7 is about. It's a Super Natural sound module plus motion sound capabilities. The 1990s/2000s tech you mentioned is an added bonus.

Blah blah blah. Fanboy musing. It's still trash in TODAY's music production environment.

I'd get more mileage purchasing two XV5080s ($800) and filling them up witih SRX Expansions ($100 each - 800), SRJVS ($25-$50 - 200) - There's my Integra 7. Even better, I'd have 64 MIDI Channels, add the Sampling and I could have more sounds PLUS samples

Or Two Fantom XRs - $1200 add 12 Expansions - brings it up to about $2000, PLUS I could store a zillion patches on cards + memory and have a DEDICATED PC Interface.

SUPERNATURAL = Useless when I have a huge bank of presets + samples I could play with which could SUPERSEDE what SuperNatural offers (on the XR) and have double the control AND have MORE sounds ALL ACCESSIBLE at the same time.

Motion Surrond = Gimmick/Useless, esp when recording w/a DAW

iPad only = limiting

I stand by what I said.

I HOPE the "Integra 9" I mentioned comes out NEXT.

Just like the USELESS XV3080 appeared BEFORE the XV5080.

The Integra 7 would be the modern day XV3080

[knolan]

Epu,

I agree with much of what you say about the restrictions on polyphony and number of slots. But - when you consider that all 12 of the expansion boards are on board, and the Supernatural Acoustic tones and extra packs beyond the JP80, and the genuinely excellent Supernatural Synth (wchih by the way also has a separate bank of 300+ PCM samples including many of the important ones from the JD800 / JD990) - coupled to the excellent iPad management and the motion surround; this does not add up to be the bad package you indicate and indeed offers a significant bang for the bucks.


I wholly agree with you on the polyphony front, partially agree on the number of slots front; but I think you are being too tough on Roland in this instance. Despite your misgivings, this module has huge merit.


And I have to say (as a JP80 owner) - you REALLY do have to try it. The solo violin, as just one example, is orders of magnitude beyond any other sample libraries - the playability is uncanny - it feels so real at times, under the touch of the finger, that you feel you're conning the listener. The same can be said for a significant amount of the Acoustic and Drum tones - they truly are remarkable.


So I do agree with you on the lack of hardware 'might' and feel myself it's a bit underspecified in that regard, but when you think of most usabilty scenarios, it offers extrordinary choice, depth and breadth and quality.

Kevin.

[anotherscott]

certainly the concept that to use one single GM sound you lose everything else is absurd.

Most GM sounds are available without loading the PCM GM2 sound set. I mean, you don't have to load that 4-slot sound set to get a piano, or an EP, or a guitar, a violin, a flute, etc. So it's not like you need to use 4 slots to access one GM sound. But if you have a GM sequence to run, that's what you'd load to get the best quality for it.

Also, the unit supposedly includes the entire stock 5080 sound set, without using any slots, and that sound set ALSO included a full GM set. So it sounds like you also have those "older" versions of the GM sounds you can run, giving you access to an entire GM sound set without using up any slots at all. But if you have a GM sequence and want better-than-5080 sounds for it, that's one more tool Roland has included.