No kidding! The way Paulo flicks that Ac.Bass sounds so real I can almost smell the smoke in Ronnie Scott's jazz club. He's such a joy to watch and listen to.
Great rewiew Paulo ;) I have an U-220 and the sounds always fit in somewere in a song,..Thanks dear Paulo for your Presence! and congrats to you turning 50, it is a great age, i am 51 and still feel like 33 :D much love
@Gael Larry This website does not inform people of any payment for the trial test. After submitting your Paypal details it deducts 15 USD from your account. Then consequently, it deducts a monthly fee of 1700USD. All for nothing, as it doesn’t really hack into any Instagram account. The code is just a collection of random digits.
A very nice and underrated module. I use it for some sprinkle and extra stuff on my songs. Usually Detuned Bell, strummed accoustic guitar (together with similar patches on the CM-32P/CM-64 modules which are the same PCM engines and can read the same cards). Some cool drum samples too. Perfect for that cheesy GM emulation also (especially brass). :)
I loved my U-110. But the outputs are terribly noisy! Nowadays I'm happy with my MV-30, which accepts the SN-U-110 ROM cards but sounds much cleaner. Added bonus to the U-220/U-20, it has nice filters :)
You all forget though that the cards were really poor value in that you only get a handful of patches on them compared to the JV/JD cards plus there's no other expansion either unfortunately which is a shame as the potential was there.
The Roland Finger Bass has always been the best. It really cuts through in the mix and requires little or no processing. I still rate the U110 and U220 for stock instruments. Great demo and a nice trip down Memory Lane :)
That "CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'"riff you played, using that MELLOTRON like flute from 12:32-12:59, that did it for me. I'll have to get find one of these, or the u-220.
Happy Belated (much, much belated) Birthday! And thanks for the review on this. A friend recently gave me a U-220, which I'd used on some demos back in '89. I've been having fun messing around with it and helping others who have the U-20/-220/-110 on Facebook. It's been quite a learning experience, and it's been interesting hearing your demos and re-imagining how I could use the U-220 in some of my projects--especially those strings!
I bought the U220 new and added it to my Juno keyboard via MIDI. After analog synth piano's, I was absolutely thrilled with the PCM piano of the 220. Today I am disappointed the Dpiano hasn't gotten much better, still waiting for that hardware Dpiano that sounds like an acoustic. (note: I am a pianist who has played the greatest pianos in the world, today's Dpianos remain sterile lacking the proper sympathetic resonance and long natural decay rates).
Much luv to Paolo / Synth Mania, Your only 50 ? There is lots of music still inside of you. Keep in shape,exercise & eat right, that's the most important thing for all of us that are fifty & over (even younger). Keep up the great work as always, techno never gets old😀
Happy 50th! I also turned 50 at the end of April. 69 FTW! ;-) I remember people bragging about their piano samples back then. Like Ensoniq had their 1MB grand piano multi-sample on the SQ-series (I have an SQ-2 Plus) that was like 1/3 of the entire sample library ROM.
Have one since it came out and used it a lot , especially layered with an esq1. It sounded quite the business . The piano really cut through the mix. I now have bought a few more of these units (2xu110 and 2xu220) during the last few years and have all of the rom cards now.. I still enjoy them very much
A poor workman blames his tools - you manage to coax cool sounds of this because you play it well... I hope I can get there by the time I turn 50, and look as good as you do for your age!
Hi Paolo! another great review (actually more for your playing skills than for the sounds) I like the way you pronounce 'vibrato'. After all it's an italian word!
@@markuskoivisto Yep. The 50 and 60 have the exact same banks as the JV-1080 (except for MAYBE the User bank?), and the XP-30 is a JV-2080 without the extra FX units. I covered all that in a video I did on them
The Roland D70 had a lot of parts from that. Not to say that it had to be a bad thing, but they rushed the machine together to try and compete with the Korg T1/M1's which meant it never really got credited as a top classic.
I remember that i found the U110 a bit boring against the U220/U20, but the Choir Sound nails it! Im going to buy a U110 just to use the Choir Sound once in my music
I also have a D-110. I would love to hear a good review on it. Most people scoff at it. It has some sounds that would work for Italo Disco, I think. Please Paulo, give us a review!!
@@SynthManiaDotCom I used to have two of those. The second one replaced the first. Both died after being fed under-volt power at outdoor gigs. The second one got replaced when it died by a JV-1080.
Hi, Paul, I have a U110, with several cards, but I cannot manage to set up the different sounds. I do have access to an online user's guide. However, I find the explanation so complicated, that L can't use the module the way it was meant. Could you write me say an instruction for dummy's? Many thanks! Btw, I am way over 50, 56 that is.
Hi, Michael, I don't have the U-110 at the moment but Sweetwater has instructions here: www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/roland-u-110-select-pcm-card-tones/
@@SynthManiaDotCom Hi, Paul I have been trying to use the instruction on wsweetwater, but it seems the problem comes before that. My user's guide tells me to first insert the card and then choose the card number. Well, that seems to be the real problem; I do not know how I can do this. Btw, I am sure I inserted the cards the right way. Could you help me again? I have tried to find relevant articles on the internet, including on the sweetwater site, but haven't found anything usefull.
Once you have inserted the card, you'll have to change the source from "I" (Internal) to the card you inserted... for example, if you look on the user's guide at page 20, there's a picture that shows "I-02:A.PIANO 2". Again, I don't have the U-110 at the moment but if I remember correctly, you'll need to change the "I" to "C" to access the card(s). The Sweetwater procedure is taken from the U-110 manual, so you should be able to get to it by following it - or just reading through pages 20-to-24 of the manual
there are 64 internal patches ... and a temporary one. when you switch to an external card and pick a voice or set of voices for the patch, you are editing the temporary patch. if you want to save it, I believe you have to overwrite (write) one of the 64 internal patches. The expansion cards are voices on rom memory but you have to create patches as none are included with the expansion cards ... and limited to 64 on u110.
The SY35 has samples, FM, and Vector Synthesis. The SY55 is only sample-based. So it depends on what you're looking for - if you're looking for sound design capabilities, go SY35; if you're looking for bread and butter sounds and built-in sequencer, go SY55
Great demo thank you. Why don't they do these modules anymore ? Because using computers or ipads the sounds are not as good and there are latency issues. I just don't understand why there are no such quality modules made now. Can you tell ?
Is U-220 better in every way? Or does U-110 contain any waves or a more lo-fi character? That is, does the U-220 completely replace the U-110? or do they complement each other? What is better to buy?
The U-110 has more (4) card slots, but it is a noisy unit and lacked the U-220's output and editing features. IMO the successor U-220 is better and compared inbetween choose the latter one.
The U-220 has only 2 PCM slots because its motherboard has not only U-110 sound samples, but also Roland SN-U110-08 and Roland SN-U110-09 sound samples.
@@SynthManiaDotCom I don’t want to waste time and energy, since they are not needed a wide range of people and not so easy to sell them. I just initially want to understand whether 110 can do something that 220 cannot (either by character, or by samples, or by patches, etc.)
I was kinda interested in this module, but it has a lot of the sounds from the s50 libraries. I think the sounds back when would been impressive and nowadays you can find the roland u series in very cheap price. Example, the u 220 seem to cost around 100 or 200 price range. Which is not bad. I would love to see a review for one of the Proteus synths through, i own one of them. I think it call the Proteus FX and i still sometimes use it for it interesting sounds.
Hi, Paolo, can you explain, why some of these patches sounded like one sample mapped across the whole keyboard, and some of them didn't? Don't get me wrong, these patches are good) And I also recognized the "Shakuhachi" patch, I heard this exact sound in DJ Dado's track called "Solar Wind".
Hi, Nick, it all depends on how the engineers decided to sample each sound, and how much memory to allocate for each in the ROM - so probably some are multi-sampled, and some aren't
basically the u-20 which is a u220 sounds with keyboard but outputs between the 110 and the 220. the 110 has six outputs and 4 card slots. the output and slots on u20 and u220 are less ... but internal voices are more
It is possible to EQ the hiss out of the sounds. But with the U-220 isn't as hissy as the U-110. The saxophones seem to sound marginally better on the U-110 though.
One good thing about them being cheap is that they are affordable. I was actually going to get a U-110 but I decided to get the U-220 because it has more sounds.
@@LittleRichard1988 good decition, what I love at this synth is the digital hiss, it represtents the very cool high end chiptune Sound of the beginning of the 80ties when I grew up. Add an old dx7 and get the vibe of the 80ties!
This just reminds me how stupid I was to rush into getting the Proteus/1 instead of hunting harder for a U110/U220. I have kept the Proteus for 30 years as a reminder of what happens when I blow my budget on second rate (er I mean second best) instead of holding out for what I really want. There is no comparison between the cheesy crap sounds in the Proteus compared to the super cool Rolands. Only the Yamaha had worse string sounds.
I have just bought a U-220 as well as a Proteus 2 which is the orchestral version. I certainly prefer Roland when it comes to sounds like bass, pianos and the saxophones which sound absolutely brilliant on the U-110 but I chose the U-220 because that also has the D-50 Fantasia patch. I considered buying a Proteus 1 just for the marimba sound but I managed to recreate that sound pretty close on my Proteus 2 ( yes all the patches are editable on the Proteus modules! ). The Proteus 1 is certainly not worth buying just for one sound.
@@SynthManiaDotCom Good point! I did think maybe the Queen album was completed prior to the release of the U-110. D-50 made that sound famous though very true.
9:56 these are the strings that became trademark sound of Prodigy on their first two albums. On Roland U-20 the patch is called Strings-3, with it you can play intro of "Out Of Space" on the spot.
The Roland U110, one of the world's most hated audio tools! But not hated here! I must say the piano is a bit yawn, but the electric piano is really nice! Love Roland's vibraphone samples (or was it Eric Persing?!) they always seem to do those well.
Hi, yes, I have it in the plans to do a vid on hooking up the '80s drum machines to the mixer using the separate outs and treat with processors of the era - as several people have also asked about... will put it on the to-do list
I remember the release of the U-110 very well. It was followed very quickly (it seems) by the U-220 (and U-20 keyboard) in 1989. I was selling Roland gear (and pretty much every other brand of electronic musical instruments) at the time in a high-volume music store in the SF Bay Area. Though the short-lived U-110, and the much more popular U-220 were VERY popular, and upon an initial listen, the acoustic piano sound was regarded as being "so much more realistic" than what you got from a Korg M1 or Emu Proteus… that "ring/buzz" in the piano sound would get to you in no time… and you couldn't somehow edit it out. It made that piano nearly unusable to me… it was so close to being great (for the time), but ultimately it was like nails on a chalkboard. The D-70 followed (loved it at the time and bought one), but it wouldn't be until the introduction of the JV-80 & JV-880 that the stock acoustic piano sound out of the box was pretty good for a rompler.
I had the D70 for years and it was a great looking instrument. The piano sound was probably okay for the time, but I found it shrill at the top and lazy at the bottom. The electric (Rhodes) type pianos were really good and so were the lead sounds. When using it to play live music though, in the end, the D70 just became a mother keyboard for my MIDI racks.
" in the end, the D70 just became a mother keyboard for my MIDI racks"… lol… similar experience for me. I still have my D-70 (in great shape), but within 2-3 years after purchasing it and as i was adding additional rack-mounted synths, the D-70 became more my master keyboard controller than me caring about the internal synth engine. Just over 50 synths today and my D-70's been leaning up against a wall for "quite a while" now.
It would be nice to see a more advanced vidio of D-70 and JX-1 ... synthesis with a change in resonances, sweeps, and so on .. interested in the possibilities of synthesis and their vintage character (not rompler, There are many examples of rompler on the network
So many games on various systems used samples from this machine and the Roland sample library. I played plenty of games on Amiga in particular in the early 90:ies. Such a lovely collection of sounds ;).
This was the official jingle producer sound module. Lots of tv and radio advertising ads were using these sounds. The U 110 just had sounds that were great for this type of work at the time. You mixes were guaranteed to be almost effortless.
Thanks for the the trip down ROM memory lane. I think the module could still be a useful addition to your synth army. I know they're a bit long in the tooth now, as we all will be in time! but have a certain charm.
Hello people. I need your help. I"m a kid with no any gear yet and I found a U110 and U220 for sale. I"m wondering what are differences between them and which one should I buy? I got inspired by Liam Howlett thats why I"m looking for one of these. From what I"ve read U220 is a better option but it costs 210 dollars and U110 costs 80. And every dollar makes a huge difference for me, but If I"m buying something, I want it to be finest and most useful I can buy. I"ll just add the seller of U110 sells two cards separately for something like 35 dollars. I"d appreciate any help.
The main difference is that the U-220 has built in reverb and delay effects and includes all the sounds from the Synthesizer and Guitar and Keyboards PCM card ( which was why I bought a U-220 earlier this year ). But I personally think some of the sounds like the saxophone are a bit better on the U-110 and another good thing about the U-110 is that it takes 4 rom cards.
hey dude, I just got a Roland U220 and could do with some help programming it, would u know how to program each part etc? maybe do a tutorial vid on it? plz?
Is it true the drums on Sandra's Stop for a minute are from the Roland U20/110/220? If yes which drumset is it? In Sandra's track they somehow sound pitched down.
I have one of these... I think it's a great machine.... Midi on it is phenomenal I use it in conjunction with a Yamaha QY10 and a rare Korg Sq8... Yes it's bread and butter sounds... But it is a work horse and does it well ....There is that old saying a bad workman always blames his tools .. If you have the imagination you can make this a dream synth
@@StephanS There definitely is at least one JD sound in SSF2 (Fusion Solo). As far as what U series unit they used, this video from 1996 does show a U-110 at Capcom at around 4:16: th-cam.com/video/dLdxCvgSZ-M/w-d-xo.html The person's head is hiding the card slots, but the button layout matches the U-110 as opposed to the U-220.
I've had a burning desire to get a U-110 for some reason. Something about it that evokes memories of my early pro-studio days in 1991. The studio owner had a real ear for the best gear, which were not necessarily the most expensive. He (Carl Stipetic) was also a top pro musician and had toured Europe with some big acts in the 1960s and 70s.
came from bad gear to enjoy the masterclass in keyboard playing
No kidding! The way Paulo flicks that Ac.Bass sounds so real I can almost smell the smoke in Ronnie Scott's jazz club. He's such a joy to watch and listen to.
Same here :)
Great rewiew Paulo ;) I have an U-220 and the sounds always fit in somewere in a song,..Thanks dear Paulo for your Presence! and congrats to you turning 50, it is a great age, i am 51 and still feel like 33 :D much love
All of these presets make me think “Local Weather Station BGM”
@Gael Larry
This website does not inform people of any payment for the trial test. After submitting your Paypal details it deducts 15 USD from your account. Then consequently, it deducts a monthly fee of 1700USD. All for nothing, as it doesn’t really hack into any Instagram account. The code is just a collection of random digits.
These units, U-110 & U-220, are great! I own both. The piano to me is one of the best ever heard among the ones of that age and even beyond.
Have 110&220 and still use them quite often...
Nice peice on and old classic
A very nice and underrated module. I use it for some sprinkle and extra stuff on my songs. Usually Detuned Bell, strummed accoustic guitar (together with similar patches on the CM-32P/CM-64 modules which are the same PCM engines and can read the same cards). Some cool drum samples too.
Perfect for that cheesy GM emulation also (especially brass). :)
Hi, Anders!! How have you been - all good here - yes, I agree, those S-series sounds have a special character, very "present"
I loved my U-110. But the outputs are terribly noisy! Nowadays I'm happy with my MV-30, which accepts the SN-U-110 ROM cards but sounds much cleaner. Added bonus to the U-220/U-20, it has nice filters :)
You all forget though that the cards were really poor value in that you only get a handful of patches on them compared to the JV/JD cards plus there's no other expansion either unfortunately which is a shame as the potential was there.
The Roland Finger Bass has always been the best. It really cuts through in the mix and requires little or no processing. I still rate the U110 and U220 for stock instruments. Great demo and a nice trip down Memory Lane :)
That "CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'"riff you played, using that MELLOTRON like flute from 12:32-12:59, that did it for me. I'll have to get find one of these, or the u-220.
Wonderful sound trip down to memory lane! I still have the expansion M-GS64 since 1995. It sounds amazing even now.
Just bought one of these a couple of weeks ago. And now ought a yamaha qx5 to sequence it.
Excellent review of some of the sounds. 👍
Beautiful piano textures
Gotta love the 8 sec loop from the old MKS-100/S10 samples. :D Great vid!
Thank you!
Happy Belated (much, much belated) Birthday! And thanks for the review on this. A friend recently gave me a U-220, which I'd used on some demos back in '89. I've been having fun messing around with it and helping others who have the U-20/-220/-110 on Facebook. It's been quite a learning experience, and it's been interesting hearing your demos and re-imagining how I could use the U-220 in some of my projects--especially those strings!
Thanks!
I bought the U220 new and added it to my Juno keyboard via MIDI. After analog synth piano's, I was absolutely thrilled with the PCM piano of the 220. Today I am disappointed the Dpiano hasn't gotten much better, still waiting for that hardware Dpiano that sounds like an acoustic. (note: I am a pianist who has played the greatest pianos in the world, today's Dpianos remain sterile lacking the proper sympathetic resonance and long natural decay rates).
Much luv to Paolo / Synth Mania,
Your only 50 ? There is lots of music still inside of you.
Keep in shape,exercise & eat right, that's the most important thing for all of us that are fifty & over (even younger).
Keep up the great work as always, techno never gets old😀
Thank you! And yes, long live Techno ;)
Happy 50th! I also turned 50 at the end of April. 69 FTW! ;-) I remember people bragging about their piano samples back then. Like Ensoniq had their 1MB grand piano multi-sample on the SQ-series (I have an SQ-2 Plus) that was like 1/3 of the entire sample library ROM.
Have one since it came out and used it a lot , especially layered with an esq1. It sounded quite the business . The piano really cut through the mix. I now have bought a few more of these units (2xu110 and 2xu220) during the last few years and have all of the rom cards now.. I still enjoy them very much
If only I was that good at playing piano
The DAC's on this thing are legendary. That's why Roland soon after released the U-220.
A poor workman blames his tools - you manage to coax cool sounds of this because you play it well... I hope I can get there by the time I turn 50, and look as good as you do for your age!
Love mine, I do enjoy to see how someone with talent uses it :)
You have blown my mind qith this video.IT motivates me to pick up from where I left off after I quit piano lessons, lol.
Thanks!
I had the U-220 ❤
My first sound module. 1990. I think. Cheers
I have a Roland U-20 i bought back in 1996? which is essentially the U-110 with a keyboard. I still use the sounds.
Hi Paolo! another great review (actually more for your playing skills than for the sounds)
I like the way you pronounce 'vibrato'. After all it's an italian word!
I love the antialising and the hiss!
Happy Birthday Paolo. We are the same age. 😎
Thank you and Happy Birthday to you as well (when it's your day....)
please review the roland xp series. a very underrated synth.
More or less the same samples as the JV/XV series, which I think have popped up quite a few times?
@@markuskoivisto Yep. The 50 and 60 have the exact same banks as the JV-1080 (except for MAYBE the User bank?), and the XP-30 is a JV-2080 without the extra FX units. I covered all that in a video I did on them
Ah, yes, I have featured the JV (same as XP) several times on the channel, but plan to do more in the future
I had an XP-30 back in the day. Never really understood how to edit it. If I had, I would have appreciated a lot more.
The Roland D70 had a lot of parts from that. Not to say that it had to be a bad thing, but they rushed the machine together to try and compete with the Korg T1/M1's which meant it never really got credited as a top classic.
I remember that i found the U110 a bit boring against the U220/U20, but the Choir Sound nails it! Im going to buy a U110 just to use the Choir Sound once in my music
SynthMania thoughts on Yorick Tech - Low Frequency Expander (LFE)?
I want to buy it, don’t have the money yet.
Hi Paolo, is there a chance you do this with D-110 too?
I also have a D-110. I would love to hear a good review on it. Most people scoff at it. It has some sounds that would work for Italo Disco, I think. Please Paulo, give us a review!!
Sure - I used to have the D-110 in the '90s also but sold it a long time ago - I'll try to grab another one at some point
@@SynthManiaDotCom Thanks Paolo! Can't wait for your video on it!!!
@@SynthManiaDotCom I used to have two of those. The second one replaced the first. Both died after being fed under-volt power at outdoor gigs. The second one got replaced when it died by a JV-1080.
I always like seeing a good rainbow too!.... and I noticed the second bow is very clear @~24s
awesome module, did a lot with it
Hi, Paul, I have a U110, with several cards, but I cannot manage to set up the different sounds. I do have access to an online user's guide. However, I find the explanation so complicated, that L can't use the module the way it was meant. Could you write me say an instruction for dummy's? Many thanks! Btw, I am way over 50, 56 that is.
Hi, Michael, I don't have the U-110 at the moment but Sweetwater has instructions here: www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/roland-u-110-select-pcm-card-tones/
@@SynthManiaDotCom Hi, Paul I have been trying to use the instruction on wsweetwater, but it seems the problem comes before that. My user's guide tells me to first insert the card and then choose the card number. Well, that seems to be the real problem; I do not know how I can do this. Btw, I am sure I inserted the cards the right way. Could you help me again? I have tried to find relevant articles on the internet, including on the sweetwater site, but haven't found anything usefull.
Once you have inserted the card, you'll have to change the source from "I" (Internal) to the card you inserted... for example, if you look on the user's guide at page 20, there's a picture that shows "I-02:A.PIANO 2". Again, I don't have the U-110 at the moment but if I remember correctly, you'll need to change the "I" to "C" to access the card(s). The Sweetwater procedure is taken from the U-110 manual, so you should be able to get to it by following it - or just reading through pages 20-to-24 of the manual
there are 64 internal patches ... and a temporary one. when you switch to an external card and pick a voice or set of voices for the patch, you are editing the temporary patch. if you want to save it, I believe you have to overwrite (write) one of the 64 internal patches. The expansion cards are voices on rom memory but you have to create patches as none are included with the expansion cards ... and limited to 64 on u110.
Really lookng forward to hearing all the cards when you get them.
2:46 The piano part reminds me of The Sims soundtrack. A bit melancholy/jazz vibe.
Roland created beautiful sounds with vanishingly small sample sizes.
Yes, amazing what they could do with limited sample ROMs of the day
found one today at the flea market for 20€ :D
Thank you
You're welcome
Which one is better The Yamaha SY35 or the SY55? Thanks
The SY35 has samples, FM, and Vector Synthesis. The SY55 is only sample-based. So it depends on what you're looking for - if you're looking for sound design capabilities, go SY35; if you're looking for bread and butter sounds and built-in sequencer, go SY55
@@SynthManiaDotCom Bread and Butter patches thanks so much for your help and advice one of my favorite channels
@@morrisman64 Any time!
0:23 Runs the red light like a boss.
Hahaha it's true. Man on man I'm in Europe next time i di that they'll pull my license bro. It's real in these streets!
Awesome Paolo thank you for sharing ! I was wondering if you could tell us about the soundcard you use for the videos ; thanks you :D
Thank you! The sound interface I use for several years now is the SSL Alpha-Link MADI AX (with MadiXtreme 64 PCI card)
I wonder if anybody knows where the U 110 piano was sampled from ?
nice - just pulled mu U-110 out to give to a friend ! the B man 5 5 5
Thanks, rainbow.
Great demo thank you. Why don't they do these modules anymore ? Because using computers or ipads the sounds are not as good and there are latency issues. I just don't understand why there are no such quality modules made now. Can you tell ?
There is the Roland Integra 7 - super high quality
@@SynthManiaDotCom I checked it , very impressive module ! Thanks. Infortunately it is too expensive for me.
Is U-220 better in every way? Or does U-110 contain any waves or a more lo-fi character? That is, does the U-220 completely replace the U-110? or do they complement each other? What is better to buy?
The U-110 has more (4) card slots, but it is a noisy unit and lacked the U-220's output and editing features. IMO the successor U-220 is better and compared inbetween choose the latter one.
The U-220 has only 2 PCM slots because its motherboard has not only U-110 sound samples, but also Roland SN-U110-08 and Roland SN-U110-09 sound samples.
Honestly these two units are so cheap that you can easily buy both, keep the one you like, and sell the other.
@@SynthManiaDotCom I don’t want to waste time and energy, since they are not needed a wide range of people and not so easy to sell them. I just initially want to understand whether 110 can do something that 220 cannot (either by character, or by samples, or by patches, etc.)
@@EuroDJ Go to my HTML page and compare them. I have all the samples from both of them. www.synthmania.com
I just found 8 cards for one of these in my garage. Forgot I ever owned one.
How do you change the battery?
th-cam.com/video/FLuz7qNFi38/w-d-xo.htmlsi=jmwgiiFQ4o38tqk5&t=97
Does anybody know what song or melody he is playing at 9:44 ?
improv
Thank you for the quick answer!
The first few seconds remind me of a song that I can't remember. maybe it's just imagination.
Now I know what's in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It's a Roland U-110.. ❤❤❤
:-D
Happy Belated Birthday my friend
Thank you, Morrisman!
Ah california dreaming 12:32 , took me a minute to remember what it was.
I was kinda interested in this module, but it has a lot of the sounds from the s50 libraries.
I think the sounds back when would been impressive and nowadays you can find the roland u series in very cheap price.
Example, the u 220 seem to cost around 100 or 200 price range. Which is not bad.
I would love to see a review for one of the Proteus synths through, i own one of them.
I think it call the Proteus FX and i still sometimes use it for it interesting sounds.
Yes, I did the Proteus/1 , 2 and 3 prior on the channel
Hi, Paolo, can you explain, why some of these patches sounded like one sample mapped across the whole keyboard, and some of them didn't?
Don't get me wrong, these patches are good)
And I also recognized the "Shakuhachi" patch, I heard this exact sound in DJ Dado's track called "Solar Wind".
Hi, Nick, it all depends on how the engineers decided to sample each sound, and how much memory to allocate for each in the ROM - so probably some are multi-sampled, and some aren't
@@SynthManiaDotCom ok, got it. Thanks for the answer!)
Very welcome
Good morning Pablo ☺🌈🐝
Wrong name 😬
Happy 50th!
So the U-110 never had an equivalent keyboard?
basically the u-20 which is a u220 sounds with keyboard but outputs between the 110 and the 220. the 110 has six outputs and 4 card slots. the output and slots on u20 and u220 are less ... but internal voices are more
💚
I heard a little Blade Runner at 4:30, NICE!
Do you have a Novation Supernova?
Not at the moment
Your first song sounds like „Velours“ from Anomalie. Nice
Thank you!
I am looking for harmonica on keyboard.......
www.hohner.de/en/instruments/melodica
Do you own the Ensoniq SQ 80??
I've had the ESQ-1 but not the SQ-80, I'll get one at some point hopefully
Ceephax Acid Crew haves one, you should definitely go check his channel.
@@SynthManiaDotCom the SQ 80 sounds like a Emulator
I had one of these, the presets were really hissy, and I didn't use it much.
It is possible to EQ the hiss out of the sounds. But with the U-220 isn't as hissy as the U-110.
The saxophones seem to sound marginally better on the U-110 though.
Surprisingly good sounding, I guess you used some post processing on it (EQ, compressor), right?
Actually no - this is straight from the box
@@SynthManiaDotCom Then hat down, more moder modules sounds thineer.
it baffles me how you can create little tracks out of thin air based on sounds
I've been playing for a looong time
This Module is very cheapo, it seems to be nothing interesting, but this thing has very nice sounds. And its up to you to make nice music with it.
It may be cheap now, but it was pretty expensive back in the day. Still have the invoice
One good thing about them being cheap is that they are affordable. I was actually going to get a U-110 but
I decided to get the U-220 because it has more sounds.
@@LittleRichard1988 good decition, what I love at this synth is the digital hiss, it represtents the very cool high end chiptune Sound of the beginning of the 80ties when I grew up. Add an old dx7 and get the vibe of the 80ties!
This just reminds me how stupid I was to rush into getting the Proteus/1 instead of hunting harder for a U110/U220. I have kept the Proteus for 30 years as a reminder of what happens when I blow my budget on second rate (er I mean second best) instead of holding out for what I really want. There is no comparison between the cheesy crap sounds in the Proteus compared to the super cool Rolands. Only the Yamaha had worse string sounds.
I have just bought a U-220 as well as a Proteus 2 which is the orchestral version. I certainly
prefer Roland when it comes to sounds like bass, pianos and the saxophones which sound
absolutely brilliant on the U-110 but I chose the U-220 because that also has the D-50 Fantasia
patch. I considered buying a Proteus 1 just for the marimba sound but I managed to recreate
that sound pretty close on my Proteus 2 ( yes all the patches are editable on the Proteus
modules! ). The Proteus 1 is certainly not worth buying just for one sound.
Ohhhh, it's a double man, whoooo it's a double 😭🌈🌈
:^)
14:41 - Maybe this was used on the classic song by Queen - Was It All Worth It - th-cam.com/video/sEhYFnwTciQ/w-d-xo.html
I'm thinking D-50 on that one
@@SynthManiaDotCom Good point! I did think maybe the Queen album was completed prior to the release of the U-110. D-50 made that sound famous though very true.
Heh, I've had mine since new and recently made a test tune with it just to see if it still holds up.
th-cam.com/video/rje9NOkpakk/w-d-xo.html
9:56 these are the strings that became trademark sound of Prodigy on their first two albums. On Roland U-20 the patch is called Strings-3, with it you can play intro of "Out Of Space" on the spot.
Yep your right prodigy use u220 or the u20
The Roland U110, one of the world's most hated audio tools! But not hated here!
I must say the piano is a bit yawn, but the electric piano is really nice! Love Roland's vibraphone samples (or was it Eric Persing?!) they always seem to do those well.
Hi Paolo! Could you show us how to edit the sounds of the Oberheim DMX to sound like they are on the "Sophisticated Boom Boom" album by Dead or Alive?
Hi, yes, I have it in the plans to do a vid on hooking up the '80s drum machines to the mixer using the separate outs and treat with processors of the era - as several people have also asked about... will put it on the to-do list
Thanks! 😊😊😊
I remember the release of the U-110 very well. It was followed very quickly (it seems) by the U-220 (and U-20 keyboard) in 1989. I was selling Roland gear (and pretty much every other brand of electronic musical instruments) at the time in a high-volume music store in the SF Bay Area. Though the short-lived U-110, and the much more popular U-220 were VERY popular, and upon an initial listen, the acoustic piano sound was regarded as being "so much more realistic" than what you got from a Korg M1 or Emu Proteus… that "ring/buzz" in the piano sound would get to you in no time… and you couldn't somehow edit it out. It made that piano nearly unusable to me… it was so close to being great (for the time), but ultimately it was like nails on a chalkboard.
The D-70 followed (loved it at the time and bought one), but it wouldn't be until the introduction of the JV-80 & JV-880 that the stock acoustic piano sound out of the box was pretty good for a rompler.
I had the D70 for years and it was a great looking instrument. The piano sound was probably okay for the time, but I found it shrill at the top and lazy at the bottom. The electric (Rhodes) type pianos were really good and so were the lead sounds. When using it to play live music though, in the end, the D70 just became a mother keyboard for my MIDI racks.
" in the end, the D70 just became a mother keyboard for my MIDI racks"… lol… similar experience for me. I still have my D-70 (in great shape), but within 2-3 years after purchasing it and as i was adding additional rack-mounted synths, the D-70 became more my master keyboard controller than me caring about the internal synth engine. Just over 50 synths today and my D-70's been leaning up against a wall for "quite a while" now.
the u-110 is sexy, loved its sound
saw the video and grabbed myself a u110 + guitar card
@@SuperKillerkarnickel thats the only card i have :p
It would be nice to see a more advanced vidio of D-70 and JX-1 ... synthesis with a change in resonances, sweeps, and so on .. interested in the possibilities of synthesis and their vintage character (not rompler, There are many examples of rompler on the network
Is that the Choir sound they use on Age Of Love?
Now you've sad that I think it could be!
I have a U110 with 4 cards but I wonder: which card is the best one?
In 1989, my setup consisted of a Roland MT-32, S-10, TR-505 and MC-500. Great times.
I had that same setup minus the mc-500 in the early 90's. Those machines got soul ;)
In 1989 My setup was Korg M1 & DDD-1, Roland D-10 & W30. 😊
So many games on various systems used samples from this machine and the Roland sample library. I played plenty of games on Amiga in particular in the early 90:ies. Such a lovely collection of sounds ;).
This was the official jingle producer sound module. Lots of tv and radio advertising ads were using these sounds. The U 110 just had sounds that were great for this type of work at the time. You mixes were guaranteed to be almost effortless.
Ah yeah Ministry beats
Thanks for the the trip down ROM memory lane. I think the module could still be a useful addition to your synth army. I know they're a bit long in the tooth now, as we all will be in time! but have a certain charm.
Hello people. I need your help. I"m a kid with no any gear yet and I found a U110 and U220 for sale. I"m wondering what are differences between them and which one should I buy? I got inspired by Liam Howlett thats why I"m looking for one of these. From what I"ve read U220 is a better option but it costs 210 dollars and U110 costs 80. And every dollar makes a huge difference for me, but If I"m buying something, I want it to be finest and most useful I can buy. I"ll just add the seller of U110 sells two cards separately for something like 35 dollars. I"d appreciate any help.
The main difference is that the U-220 has built in reverb and delay effects and includes all the sounds from the Synthesizer and Guitar
and Keyboards PCM card ( which was why I bought a U-220 earlier this year ). But I personally think some of the sounds
like the saxophone are a bit better on the U-110 and another good thing about the U-110 is that it takes 4 rom cards.
Are you using data cards or are these samples built into the unit?
Samples built into the unit
It truly was exciting when MIDI sound modules starting coming out!
Nice module indeed! Love the drums too.
Here's something I did on a U-220 back in the day (early 90's). soundcloud.com/michael-samerski/ksink
hey dude, I just got a Roland U220 and could do with some help programming it, would u know how to program each part etc? maybe do a tutorial vid on it? plz?
Is it true the drums on Sandra's Stop for a minute are from the Roland U20/110/220? If yes which drumset is it? In Sandra's track they somehow sound pitched down.
I have one of these... I think it's a great machine.... Midi on it is phenomenal I use it in conjunction with a Yamaha QY10 and a rare Korg Sq8... Yes it's bread and butter sounds... But it is a work horse and does it well ....There is that old saying a bad workman always blames his tools .. If you have the imagination you can make this a dream synth
Super Street Fighter II uses a lot of sounds from this module and its expansion cards.
No, i think it was (as usual back then) the JD800 and U20
@@StephanS Roland did reuse partials forever though, these are a great cheap way to get into the sampling era of chip
@@StephanS There definitely is at least one JD sound in SSF2 (Fusion Solo). As far as what U series unit they used, this video from 1996 does show a U-110 at Capcom at around 4:16: th-cam.com/video/dLdxCvgSZ-M/w-d-xo.html The person's head is hiding the card slots, but the button layout matches the U-110 as opposed to the U-220.
Happy Birthday Paolo, fifty years young! Currently using my U110 to access some of Roland's sound cards, thanks for this inspiring video.
I've had a burning desire to get a U-110 for some reason. Something about it that evokes memories of my early pro-studio days in 1991. The studio owner had a real ear for the best gear, which were not necessarily the most expensive. He (Carl Stipetic) was also a top pro musician and had toured Europe with some big acts in the 1960s and 70s.
It's got good core sounds - actually, I'm thinking about doing a video of the U-110 with modern quality FX such as the Strymon
You could make a stylophone sound like a grand piano, your so good.
shakuhachi for president!