Discourage me from getting Roland Boutiques :)

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So, for the last few days I've been browsing the Web and YT looking at the Roland Boutique series of synths and the idea of getting 4-5 of them - TR-09, TB-03, SH-01A, JU-06, SE-02 most likely - suddenly became very appealing to me. I know they're really small, they don't sound exactly like the real things and they're (mostly) one-trick-ponies easily beaten by free VSTs in terms of sound quality, flexibility and convenience.

But, for some reason, the idea of running simple MIDI sequences through them and tweaking the patches on the fly with real knobs & sliders seems very exciting to me!

Currently I'm totally in the box, "working" on a Surface Pro 4 + DT990 Pro-s (no audio interface) running one of the DAWs I own and controlling it either with Akai MPK Mini Mk2 (in Bitwig or Reason) or Push 2 (when in Live). "Producing" music is my hobby and until kids leave the house in few years I don't really have a space for any kind of studio, hence my ultra-portable setup. Boutiques seem to fit into that, because I can build a simple flat rack / stand to store them in. Also, I started listening to electronic music in early 90's so those particular synths are THE classics for me, the foundations of acid house, techno, trance and ambient.

So, other than the ones I mentioned above, what are the drawbacks of getting the Boutiques?
Last edited by antic604 on Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Music tech enthusiast
DAW, VST & hardware hoarder
My "music": https://soundcloud.com/antic604

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Sorry, can't do that - discourage you :D

But I can mention to have a look how many user presets banks you have at your disposal - if you really like making your own unique sounds.

I use maybe 50 presets to work in different directions - to get one I eventually keep. To load banks over sysex to computer inhibit creativity.

I have a D-05, just because there are plenty sound banks out there - pretty good equipped from start. Not so much for tweaking my own.

Get one Nordlead instead - if maybe one boutique to place on top of NL. There is just enough room for that.

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Of the ones you mentioned I think the TR-09 and JU-06 are the most compromised by the Boutique form factor. The JU-06 (like all ACB Boutiques) is limited to 4-voice polyphony so it's more like a Juno 104. This isn't an issue with the 03 and 01 as they were monosynths (and the 01 has 4 voices so it's expanded on the original).

The TRs only have seperate outputs over USB which is a problem for me as I know the time will come when the Boutiques will be discontinued and the driver will eventually stop working. That could be years away but I don't buy hardware with a ticking timebomb like that. At least the synths will continue to work over midi and audio cables.

Sound-wise I think they sound good and there's plenty of people having fun with them on YouTube.
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Do you actually want to support the 'mini' world of synth design?

Vote with your dollars. Enough with this miniaturized nonsense that nobody asked for, but folks like yourself keep paying for anyway. Tell the boutiques to suck it.

Every single purchase of a 'miniaturized' synth basically amounts to, "well, it's not how I really wanted it, but if this is what it is......"

Enough!

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sprnva wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:11 pm The TRs only have seperate outputs over USB which is a problem for me as I know the time will come when the Boutiques will be discontinued and the driver will eventually stop working. That could be years away but I don't buy hardware with a ticking timebomb like that. At least the synths will continue to work over midi and audio cables.

Sound-wise I think they sound good and there's plenty of people having fun with them on YouTube.
This. Got my JP 2nd hand for dirt cheap and it’s a keeper, but I’m not relying on usb, either midi or audio as I use already lots of audio & midi ins & outs.

antic604, do you plan to run more than 1 sequence to more than 1 boutique? Or to record them one at time?
Maybe someone using more boutiques at once can help you figuring out if usb driver is up to the job for that.

SE and SH have better sequencers than the other boutiques synths so they can be used for oldschool stuff and more AND synchronized to bitwig.

Now for some snark, you know you can jam with vstis and a midi controller in the same way and there are some nice instruments like tal bassline or uno-lx or drumazon, right? :D

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Doesn't the System-8 allow to control parameters in real time for the Roland Cloud softsynths? This would mean a much better solution than a JU-06 (although more expensive - but you also get a really good hardware synth).

Other than that, I gues it's a matter of options. I woul dnever go that route. I subscribed to Roland Cloud, and I'm happy with that.
Fernando (FMR)

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To me, they seem too small. Especially the ones with sliders, like the JU-06 and JP-08. At least the knobs have the same range of travel, no matter how tiny they are. Also, they only have 4 voices, which feels very limited for a virtual analogue synth considering the processing power we have in 2018 (the original Access Virus had 12 voices in 1997).

For the SH-101 and Juno, there are the TAL plug-ins which already sound virtually indistinguishable from the originals.
At leas the SE-02 is analog, so that might be interesting. I also happen to think the D-05 looks pretty cute, and unlike the others, it's 16 voices.

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Stuff around the studio always looks cool and when you walk in and see it you may be drawn to play it more ( So says the guy who is trying to rebuild his guitar collection)

Imagine you live in a studio apt. It has a sleeping bag and a laptop. You don't need a table you eat off the floor. You don't need a refrigerator or oven or even a microwave because you always eat out or have it delivered. Okay maybe you would want a bathroom rather than taking care of business at the nearest rest stop. Now invite someone over. No pictures on the walls no decorations. Yeah but I've got plenty of pics on my computer. Is that the way you really want to live? Are you going to memorize friends and or a potential mate with that type of environment?
Synapse Audio Dune 3 I'm in love

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Each one of these is the equivalent of putting your balls near an unsheilded microwave, imagine what 5 of them could do :p
Amazon: why not use an alternative

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Are you implying I have 5 balls?
Synapse Audio Dune 3 I'm in love

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Overpriced VST-in-a-box sadness. Get you some VST, or otoh, some hardsynths worth buying.

hth!

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Focus on making music instead of getting new tools to make and you will forget boutiques :-)

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Some of the boutiques you mention are already discontinued and selling for more than the rrp. All Roland boutiques are limited editions.

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Acid Mitch wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:38 am Some of the boutiques you mention are already discontinued and selling for more than the rrp. All Roland boutiques are limited editions.
Really? :-o

Can you point me to where they are being sold? You can get me some good deals doing that, cause I think I can still finding them for sale over here...
Fernando (FMR)

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Don't waste time with hardware - hardware sucks (except for my compy and all those controllers and the table they are sitting on and my bed - and my house - and my pants - and my pan...; - )

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