Roland S550/S330 Sampling Modules

David Mellor looks at Roland's flagship rackmount sampler, the S550, and its newly launched escort vessel, the S330. Are they squaring up to fire a broadside at the enemy's sampling fleet? Find out inside.

CD ROM Player

Expensive it maybe, but CD ROM storage is one way of making a sampler a much more powerful instrument. And if you're using a Roland S550, it may not be as expensive as you think, as Simon Trask discovers.

'Is this the one we have all been waiting for?' asks Julian Colbeck. Slotting neatly into the vacant sub-£1000 price bracket, Roland's new keyboard is a fast and easy to use sampler with plenty of attractive qualities. But how does it fare against the competition? Read on to find out...

Roland's top of the range sampler is the last of those announced at Frankfurt to reach the marketplace, but its 16-note polyphony, 512K memory, and built-in visual editing software could well give it an edge over existing £2000 samplers. Paul Wiffen takes up the case.

Sampling Keyboard

Simon Trask again, this time experiencing the simple delights of the budget Roland sampler. It's easy to use, but has the low cost brought too many compromises?

The latest addition to the company's family of 12-bit samplers offers many of the features of their top-of-the-line S50 in a less expensive, rack-mount format. Aaron Hallas reports.

Sampling Module

An inquisitive Gordon Reid poses the question "how much sampler can you get into a single rack space?". Roland's S330 sampling module replies "more than you might expect".

Digital Sampling Keyboard

The competition is tough for Roland's upmarket sampler. Paul Wiffen discovers if 16 voices, a fine keyboard, and direct monitor connection are enough to put it at the top of the tree.

Sampling module

Roland follow up their successful S50 sampler with a more highly-specified rack-mount alternative that includes sample display capabilities. Bob O'Donnell monitors its performance.

Stereo Digital Sampler

If Roland's S770 super sampler presented too high a target for many of us, the S750 may be the news we've been waiting for. Simon Trask investigates the challenger to the Akai S1000 crown.

Digital Quality — Analogue Feel

Roland's acclaimed S770 sampler has been quietly growing in popularity, and the release of version 2.0 software and the floppy drive-only S750 should ensure that Roland samplers become still more popular. Wilf Smarties explains why.

sampler

A mid-priced sampler with a spec that'll worry the high-priced competition

If Roland samplers have previously been under-recognised by the music industry, the S770 may be about to straighten things out. Simon Trask returns to Roland's super sampler to "delve deeper".

We've waited patiently for Roland's super sampler - but now it's here, and every bit as hot as expected. Simon Trask asks if Roland have set a new standard in digital samplers.

Roland's flagship sampling module boasts an impressive specification, and its page-based screens are oddly reminiscent of the famous Fairlight. Kendall Wrightson finds out how impressive it is in the flesh.

Music Workstation

The cynics will say the W30 is nothing but a repackaging exercise on Roland's part, but Simon Trask looks a little deeper. Do a combined sampler and sequencer make the ideal workstation?

In an exclusive preview of Roland's forthcoming W30 workstation, Bob O'Donnell checks out Roland's idea of the facilities a MIDI workstation should offer.

Is Roland's new W30 just another sampling workstation? Paul Ireson checks it out and finds features that allow it to excel both as a stand-alone system and as the heart of a more extensive MIDI setup.

A new Super-synth, Samples, and more

Sampler test

Three big names, but which one’s the best?

Sampler Updates

Leading the battle against planned obsolescence are the sampler manufacturers, whose machines receive updates almost monthly. We re-test three samplers to find out how they've changed.