Roland's new studio reverb opens up new rooms for a fraction of the price.

The attraction of natural reverberation has to do with the complexity of the sound. Every different environment results in different combinations of reflection, decay, frequency alteration and phase effects. The number of variables is beyond the reach of all but the most sophisticated of contemporary electronics. Such as those used in the Roland SRV-2000. But whereas some professional reverbs cost about twice as much as all the rest of your signal processors put together, Roland have produced a unit suitable for the largest studios at a price suitable for the smallest.

The SRV-2000 will give a natural reverb sound equivalent to room sizes from 1 metre x 1 metre x 1 metre to 37 metres x 37 metres x 37 metres. To handle the complex relationships between the various factors that influence reverb sound, a built-in computer calculates changes in time, frequency and amplitude as the room size alters. In this way the SRV-2000 can capture not only the difference in decay time between small and large rooms, but also the difference in reverb quality: hard for the small, diffused for the large. A plus-or-minus 12dB 3-way parametric on the reverb gives precise control over the effect: this is automatically adjusted by the room size computer, or as on all parameters there is manual override. High Frequency Damping control duplicates the frequency loss in large spaces. 0-100ms pre-delay separates the original sound from the reverb sound as would happen in a natural setting. Using this with long Gate settings gives a 'reversed' sound. The unit has 24 programmable memories which can be MIDI selected remotely through a synth or sequencer signal.

The SRV-2000, offering features associated with equipment more than twice the price, costs £1,450 and is in Roland Dealers from June.