New RS-Series Synthesizers from Roland
January 19, 2001
Roland is proud to announce the RS-Series 64-Voice Synthesizers. Consisting of the 61-note RS-5 and 88-note synth-weighted RS-9, these new synths bring many of Roland’s best sounds and features—such as waveforms derived from the XV-Series, Favorite Performance Bank and advanced XV-88 arpeggiator—to a more affordable keyboard line. Crafted in an eye-catching contemporary design, the RS-9/5 are the only synths in their price range to offer a brushed aluminum finish.
While extremely affordable, the RS-Series offer waveforms derived from Roland’s flagship XV-Series. These waveforms include stereo grand piano, stereo strings, rock organ and more. A collection of waves from the SR-JV80-Series Wave Expansion Boards is also included: rich analog synths, jazz scat vocals with velocity switching, plus all-new waveforms like expressive drums. In total, the RS-Series’ waveform memory is equal to 32MB* and features 512 Preset Tones (including 256 GM2 Tones) ready for performance. These sounds are complemented by an enhanced multi-effects section—with cutting-edge algorithms like Slicer—and 24-bit D/A converters for outstanding sound quality.
To make navigating this expansive sound library easy, both the RS-9 and RS-5 feature a Category Search function. This makes it possible to find Tones using instrument categories such as Synths, Pads or Guitars. User can even bookmark frequently used Performances with the new Favorite Performance Bank buttons, conveniently located near the center of the keyboard.
Built with performers in mind, the RS-Series offers six realtime control knobs for adjusting anything from filters to arpeggiator parameters like accent, shuffle, tempo and octave; four of these knobs can be freely assigned per Performance. The RS-Series’ arpeggiator is equal to that of the flagship XV-88 and provides 45 variations including guitar strumming, plus MIDI tempo sync. And for those who need their synth to double as a piano, the RS-9’s 88-note weighted keyboard can be instantly switched for piano performance with a convenient dedicated Piano button.
Connections to the RS-Series include stereo 1/4-inch outputs [L(Mono), R]; a stereo Headphone output; MIDI In, Out and Thru; plus Hold and Control Pedal inputs. For more information, visit their web site at www.rolandus.com. | 
