Roland A90/A90 EX Expandable Controller
|
|
|
The Roland A90 is designed to be the only MIDI controller you'll ever need. Following suit with their other products, Roland has made this one expandable ... simply insert a small expansion board (the A90 EX already comes expanded), and you have a marvelous sound generator as well! In fact, the keyboard action and piano sound are so good, that many will purchase this instrument for these features alone, leaving the "controller" features as an added bonus.
First, the keyboard ... Roland put its tested PA-4 hammer action, 88-note keyboard into the A90. This is the same keyboard that can be found on the Roland RD500, FP1, and others. It's a very heavy action that I find to be quite enjoyable to play. It's quite accurate, natural, and even after long sessions, is not tiring. It is quite like playing a real piano, but is still fine for playing synth leads, etc. The keyboard features touch-sensitivity and also has channel aftertouch. Other performance features include both a set of pitch and modulation wheels and the legendary Roland pitch/mod joystick. It's a nice touch as some passages require a dedicated wheel (triggering a lezlie simulator or opening up a filter on a pad) while other lead sounds may lead you to the joystick for one finger pitch and modulation control. Roland also gives you six pedal inputs, including a dedicated "hold" input (Roland ships a nice, piano-type sustain pedal along with each A90), a "total volume" input (designed for their EV-5 expression pedal), and 4 assignable pedals. On to the controlling features ... one look at the A90 reveals a complex skin. It has no less than 65 buttons! But those buttons are a blessing, due to Roland's excellent implementation of them. No more searching through page after page to get to different functions. If you want to trigger an external sequencer, simply press the "Start/Stop" button. If you want to edit the volume parameter of an instrument, simply press the "volume" button, and so on. In my test, I successfully attached three modules to the A90, assigned MIDI channels, zones, and patch changes without one glance at the manual! You get four, discrete MIDI outputs to go to your modules, keyboards, etc. Each MIDI output can be activated or deactivated with the press of a button. Within each "patch" as Roland calls it, you have 8 zones; 4 external and 4 internal. These zones can also be activated or deactivated with the touch of a button. Each zone can contain a number of MIDI commands (including patch change, key range, transpose, volume, pan, velocity curve, and more!). And Roland does give you 64 user patches for storage of these. If that is not enough, there is space for their M512E RAM card for an additional 64 patch locations. Another nice touch is the four assignable sliders that automatically default to the parameter you have chosen for the 4 zones. So, if you have the parameter of volume selected, you can do a mix of your instruments on the fly in a live performance. Roland also gives you a Master Volume slider to adjust the volume of all 8 zones. Overall, this is a very easy to use and powerful controller. The "EX" portion .... the A90 EX gives you a VE-RD1 expansion board that is actually quite capable. It has 128 sounds, an independent reverb and chorus, 64 notes of polyphony, and 4 parts for multi-timbral use. The board consists mainly of keyboard oriented sounds like acoustic pianos, electric pianos (both authentic and contemporary), clavinets, organs, strings, and lots of synth sounds (pads, leads, etc.). The acoustic piano is simply one of the best available found on any digital piano. It is a true stereo sample, and once tweaked to your liking (EQ, reverb, velocity curve), you'll have a piano that you won't believe! It's a real joy to play! As with anything, there is always a wish list. I would like for there to be more than 4 parts on the expansion board, and it would be nice to be able to put multiple expansion board inside the A90. But, as it is, it's sure tough to beat. Plus, Roland's build quality assures that you will be able to play this unit for many years without trouble. It's a great feeling keyboard, is easy to use, and has a wonderful sound engine ... what's not to like?
Ben Kraft, Kraft Music Kraft Music is a retailer specializing in keyboards, MIDI hardware/software, and recording gear. Their dedication to service and product knowledge matched with competitive price has made the company one of the leaders in on-line mail-order sales. Visit their site at http://www.kraftmusic.com. |
|