Roland digital delays have for some time led the world for high performance applications live or in studio.

The range is large, so why offer yet another unit? Simply because the SDE-2500, while more than measuring up to the sound standards of previous Roland delays, offers two very significant improvements. First, there are sixty-four programmable memories, so it should be possible to have a delay preset to suit any sound. Second, it's a MIDI unit. The importance of this is linked with the importance of having so many programmes because this delay can be MIDI-linked with a synthesizer so that when a particular synth patch is selected, you automatically select a particular delay programme to go with it. With so many programmes to choose from you will probably have a delay parameter on every programme in the synthesizer. Naturally, this does not mean that only the synthesizer is put through the delay — it just gives a new, entirely automatic way of programming a delay framework for the whole band. The SDE-2500 has a 16-bit processor priced at £600 and available in the shops now.