Jump to content

Roland slashes the starting price of its cloud synth subscriptions


musical

Recommended Posts

1 minute ago, Fwrend said:

Aha, thought that might be the case as I haven't signed up.

I only have the free Roland Cloud at the moment but I guess it still lets you buy stuff outright if you want to.

Edited by ZincT
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, ZincT said:

I only have the free Roland Cloud at the moment but I guess it still lets you buy stuff outright if you want to.

Thanks.  my first card was the SCC-1 which was the bees knees at the time to have GM synth in-the-box.  I later had an SC-88 and at one point the XV-3080.  Might sign up for the heck of it.  Do you have to be online and logged in to run the free stuff?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ZincT said:

To answer my own query, the difference between the free and $3/month version is that you get free Sound Packs and Wave Expansions with the paid one.
They can only be used in the Zenology plugin though. 

The way I read it is you have to buy a "lifetime key" for each soundpack and expansion.   

If I'm right, what that means is that, after paying for them,  you will own the right to keep using them as long as you send Roland at least $3 every month. 

In addition, I think that the "model expansions" ( which I guess mean the zenology pro versions of classic synths) require you to also purchase a "lifetime key" for each one.  And in those cases you will only be able to use them if you keep paying the $10 a month.  They don't work with the $3 a month plan. 

Am I right about this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Fwrend said:

Thanks.  my first card was the SCC-1 which was the bees knees at the time to have GM synth in-the-box.  I later had an SC-88 and at one point the XV-3080.  Might sign up for the heck of it.  Do you have to be online and logged in to run the free stuff?

I had a CM-64 back in the day followed by a D-10 but always lusted after a Sound Canvas. Listening to some of these sounds they still stand up these days but the main reason for me to get it is for ultimate compatibility with millions of GM/GS MIDI files out there. I am actually pretty impressed with TTS-1 for that purpose but you probably can't beat the Sound Canvas as a lot of the files were written using one.

BTW the FAQ says ...

Quote

Q.  Do I have to be online to use the instruments?
A. You have to be online to initially authenticate the instruments, but after that you have seven days before you need to be online again.

 

Edited by ZincT
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ZincT said:

I had a CM-64 back in the day followed by a D-10 but always lusted after a Sound Canvas. Listening to some of these sounds they still stand up these days but the main reason for me to get it is for ultimate compatibility with millions of GM/GS MIDI files out there. I am actually pretty impressed with TTS-1 for that purpose but you probably can't beat the Sound Canvas.

BTW the FAQ says ...

 

I was exactly the same... except when my dad got a sound canvas, I much preferred the sounds of my CM-64 and was glad I didn't get one in the end!  I still have the CM-64 and use the sounds regularly (albeit samples of it mainly nowadays).

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems to be some issues with SONAR at the bottom on this page:

https://www.rolandcloud.com/catalog/legendary/sound-canvas-va

Quote

Due to host application specifications, system exclusive messages cannot be sent from tracks to SOUND Canvas VA in the following hosts:

Windows®
Windows® 7 SP1, Windows® 8.1, Windows® 10

Cakewalk SONAR PLATINUM, SONAR PROFESSIONAL, SONAR ARTIST (32-bit and 64-bit Editions)

and

Quote

Due to host application specifications, you cannot use control changes to make correct bank selections and program changes in the following host applications:

Windows®
Windows® 7 SP1, Windows® 8.1, Windows® 10

Cakewalk SONAR PLATINUM, SONAR PROFESSIONAL, SONAR ARTIST (32-bit and 64-bit Editions)

Are these big issues?  I'll admit Sound Canvas has been on my list for a while but the price was always a bit too much for an instant buy.  But $69 isn't unreasonable.  Not sure about the $200/year subscription though.  If they were still offering one free lifetime product per year, maybe.  But $200/year and nothing left to show for it after a year is a bit high.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, ZincT said:

Q.  Do I have to be online to use the instruments?
A. You have to be online to initially authenticate the instruments, but after that you have seven days before you need to be online again.

Is that regarding the free version as well, Zinc?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Matthew Sorrels said:

  I'll admit Sound Canvas has been on my list for a while but the price was always a bit too much for an instant buy.  But $69 isn't unreasonable.  Not sure about the $200/year subscription though.  If they were still offering one free lifetime product per year, maybe.  But $200/year and nothing left to show for it after a year is a bit high.

I agree, $69 would be great but I will not buy if it's tied to a perpetual subscription just to use it or even the phone home weekly requirement (if it is).

Edited by Fwrend
Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

I was exactly the same... except when my dad got a sound canvas, I much preferred the sounds of my CM-64 and was glad I didn't get one in the end!  I still have the CM-64 and use the sounds regularly (albeit samples of it mainly nowadays).

That's interesting and I'm amazed that you still have one. Does it still power on or is that why you use samples of it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, ZincT said:

That's interesting and I'm amazed that you still have one. Does it still power on or is that why you use samples of it?

I've actually got 3 - all in separate racks. They all power up fine.

I use samples for convenience, especially for use on my laptop, but also because the sounds are actually cleaner. They don't suffer from the 15 to 16 bit aliasing that occurs on the real CM64 when the volume is increased.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, Matthew Sorrels said:

Seems to be some issues with SONAR at the bottom on this page:

https://www.rolandcloud.com/catalog/legendary/sound-canvas-va

and

Are these big issues?  I'll admit Sound Canvas has been on my list for a while but the price was always a bit too much for an instant buy.  But $69 isn't unreasonable.  Not sure about the $200/year subscription though.  If they were still offering one free lifetime product per year, maybe.  But $200/year and nothing left to show for it after a year is a bit high.

I just tried it with a MIDI file that I have been working with recently which uses some Sysex and it worked well in CbB with SC VA. I also tried it in Cubase and Studio One with SC VA and they all sounded pretty much identical.

The manual also mentions the "Import SMF EXC" function; if you’re using a DAW that cannot handle system exclusive messages, this loads MIDI data and applies the system parameters to SOUND Canvas VA. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I must say the free version of Zenology is is pretty decent on first impressions. It appears to be a synth that acts like a ROMplier with lots of presets and limited editing facilities. The preset browser is pretty good so finding sounds is a lot better than most.  The sounds them self are good without jumping in your face, which probably means they will sit well in a mix.

I would say grabbing the basic player with its factory patches is a no-brainer. I suspect $3 / Month for the expansions will be worthwhile if you like lots of presets.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Matthew Sorrels said:

Seems to be some issues with SONAR at the bottom on this page:

https://www.rolandcloud.com/catalog/legendary/sound-canvas-va

Due to host application specifications, system exclusive messages cannot be sent from tracks to SOUND Canvas VA in the following hosts:

Windows®
Windows® 7 SP1, Windows® 8.1, Windows® 10

Cakewalk SONAR PLATINUM, SONAR PROFESSIONAL, SONAR ARTIST (32-bit and 64-bit Editions)

and

Due to host application specifications, you cannot use control changes to make correct bank selections and program changes in the following host applications:

Windows®
Windows® 7 SP1, Windows® 8.1, Windows® 10

Cakewalk SONAR PLATINUM, SONAR PROFESSIONAL, SONAR ARTIST (32-bit and 64-bit Editions)

Are these big issues?  I'll admit Sound Canvas has been on my list for a while but the price was always a bit too much for an instant buy.  But $69 isn't unreasonable.  Not sure about the $200/year subscription though.  If they were still offering one free lifetime product per year, maybe.  But $200/year and nothing left to show for it after a year is a bit high.

Since 2019.09,  control changes & bank select should work without issue.

SysEx won't work at the moment tho.

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I signed up for the trial.  I have to admit I'm kind of underwhelmed.  Perhaps if I owned some of the hardware of the Roland synths I'd feel differently.  But of the collection only Zenology seems to be a "modern" software synth.  Almost all the classic synths have really tiny UI (not scalable) and awful preset management.  I could see picking up the Sound Canvas just because of the General MIDI support but I think the Arturia collection is a much better package.  This shouldn't be a subscription, and the lifetime prices are way too high considering.  Even the Korg collection I think is a better deal and doesn't require $200/year.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The big attraction to me is having access to these hardware synths in the box, with all the advantages of a cleaner signal chain, easier editing etc... and of course if I'm stuck in a hotel room with a laptop, it's fantastic.

However, most of the synths I'd want are only included in the $19.99 per month subscription, which is way too much IMO.

I'm gonna stick with sampling my hardware versions. On average it takes around 20 minutes per patch, but I normally spend an hour or two doing the prep and leave the automatic sampling/looping running overnight.  The only downside is editing presets / re-sampling is a major pain... but not something I do often.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...