When a company releases over 30 new products at once, it's hard to give due attention to each one.
We've already spent some dedicated time with the new Roland TR-09 drum machine, TB-03 bass synth, and SYSTEM-8 synthesizer. But that's just a tenth of the products unveiled. Here's a look at some of the other highlights.
Boss Katana Amps
Boss recently released a 150W head under the Waza Craft banner. The response to it was positive enough for the company to decide to launch an entire line of amps pulling from the same Tube Logic modeling technology.
The Katana Series of amps will initially offer a 50W 1x12" combo, a 100W 1x12" combo, a 2x12" 100W combo, and a 100W head. The guts and features of each are mostly the same.
The amps all feature five selectable characters: Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown (from the in-production Waza head), and Acoustic. On top of this, players can store up to 15 effects on the amp from the 55 available via the Boss Tone Studio editor, using three simultaneously as a virtual built-in pedalboard.
The Power Control feature acts like an attenuator, allowing you to get aggressive tones at neighbor-friendly volumes. A built-in tilt stand lets you angle the amp face for monitoring and projection.
Are these convincing in a live, full-band setting? Time will tell. If priced competitively, they'll certainly be popular practice amps.
Roland DJ-808 Controller
Probably the most significant release outside the SYSTEM-8 synth and 909/303 reissues, the DJ-808 is a behemoth mashup of DJ decks, sampling tools and drum machine with interoperable sequencing and controls. Roland teamed up with digital DJ stalwart Serato to build not just a controller, but what they're calling an instrument for DJ producers.
The massive unit boasts a 4-channel digital mixer and audio interface that can operate standalone or as a conduit to Serato. Built-in DJ effects are on-board in addition to controls for Serato’s extensive effects. It even includes the functionality of the AIRA line’s VT-3 vocal transformer, so you can plug in a mic and address the dancefloor with an array of pitch and formant effects.
The most unique feature is the built-in TR-style drum machine, giving you the power of the AIRA TR-8, with 707, 808, 909-style drums and more. This is a full-featured drum machine that includes the classic Roland step sequencer that can sync with your Serato set.
On the DJ side, the unit utilizes brightly lit jog wheels and velocity-sensitive, RGB-lit pads for controlling Serato and remixing samples. The TR-S section’s step sequencer can even be repurposed from controlling the drum machine to controlling your Serato samples or effects. If you’re itching for true vinyl control, this all-in-one unit is even equipped to hook up to turntables for Serato DVS rigs.
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none? Or a new industry standard?
Roland Aerophone AE-10
The electronic wind instrument (EWI) as a concept has been around for some time but has never progressed past being more than a fringe oddity embraced by a few New Age musicians.
Roland aims to change that with its "trailblazing digital wind instrument," the Aerophone AE-10. The instrument - which looks something like a weapon from the video game Halo - uses traditional sax fingering and input from your breath to create digital models of tones (via Roland's SuperNATURAL technology) ranging from clarinet, trumpet, sax (soprano through baritone) and strings to varied synth sounds.
Some EWIs in the past used novel fingering systems, which created a barrier to playing them. The Aerophone hopes to win over more wind players who already know how to play saxophone with its familiar fingering.
It has a built-in speaker and can run on six AA batteries for mobile performance, but we're more compelled by the idea of plugging it into a DAW via USB and tracking wind parts at least somewhat more realistically than a MIDI-controller can.
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Other Products
If we wrote paragraphs on every product released, this article would soon become a treatise. And honestly, not all these products merit more than a mention. Here, then, are their due mentions:
- Boss GT-1: The most compact of their guitar multi-effects processors. 108 effects, 32-second phrase loop, 99 presets and 99 user-defined patches.
- Roland RP501R: A family-friendly digital piano.
- Roland DP-603: A slick stand-up digital piano.
- Roland EC-10M: A foot-controlled effects processor linked to a condenser mic specifically for cajons.
- Roland FP-90: A portable digital piano.
- Roland FR-4x V-Accordion: As the name suggests, a virtual accordion.
- Roland GP-607: A digital mini grand piano.
- Roland TT-99: A 3-speed direct-drive turntable with a built-in phono equalizer.
- Roland DJ-99: A 2-channel DJ mixer with a mini innoFADER crossfader, dedicated DVS output, and 3-band EQ for each input.
- Roland TD-50: The module for the new V-Drums system. They also released other updated components of the V-Drums set, including triggers and an acoustic kick drum converter.
- Roland V-1SDI: A video switcher for techs running multiple cameras.
- Roland VP-03: A mini version of the classic VP-330 Vocoder Plus.