Performance Keyboard
Reviews : Keyboard
This impressive-looking instrument
provides modelled classic organ, piano and supporting timbres, and is
designed to appeal to keyboard players looking for an all-round stage
tool — though it could also form the centrepiece of a home setup.
Photos: Mark Ewing
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Regular readers of this magazine may find it
surprising that a review of this particular keyboard has been left in my
hands — I'm known for many things, but keyboard reviews is not normally
one of them! The one area where I do dabble, though, is Hammond organ
emulations, being a self-declared Hammond aficionado. From this
introduction, then, you will have deduced that the Roland VR760 involves
a Hammond organ sound module — indeed, this is demonstrably its
underpinning strength, with sound generation derived directly from
Roland's VK8 combo organ. But the VR760 is not just an organ: it is much
more of a multi-functional keyboard which can provide a versatile and
solid centrepiece for any home or stage keyboard setup. In fact, it's
the latter which offers the main market for this instrument.
Four In One
The VR760 is essentially four instruments in one.
Its foundation is, clearly, the Hammond organ emulation, complete with
drawbars and Leslie simulations. Next comes a range of acoustic and
electric pianos. The former are derived from Roland's FP and RD-Series
instruments, while the latter are newly sampled for the VR760 and
claimed to be the best electronic piano samples Roland have ever
produced. The mandatory harpsichord and clavinet sounds are also on
offer, and all of these voices can be processed with a comprehensive
suite of digital effects. The third element is a synthesizer section
which provides strings, brass, choirs and bass sounds, plus some
synth-lead and pad sounds, and there's provision to extend the sonic
range of the instrument further via up to two SRX sound expansion cards.
The fourth and final part of the keyboard is a pretty basic rhythm unit
containing four different drum set sounds which can be controlled
independently via MIDI — as can each of the three instrument sections,
of course. It's apparent, then, that this is an all-rounder of a
'supporting keyboard.'
First Impressions
After opening the large box and unpacking the
keyboard, the first thing I noticed was that it was much bigger than I
was expecting. Most organ keyboards have five octaves (61 notes) but the
VR760 has a 76-note keyboard, from a bottom 'E' to a top 'G'. The
advantage, of course, is that playing two different sounds on a split
keyboard becomes a lot easier, and expansive piano parts can be
accommodated comfortably too.
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The keyboard also features wooden end-cheeks, giving
it an upmarket appearance, and the manual refers to the nicks and
scratches which the end-cheeks are bound to acquire during a life on the
road as a "badge of honour", which put a smile on my face. I'll try to
think of it that way the next time some of my kit gets scratched,
instead of just cursing!
Exhibiting its organ roots (I find myself wanting to
say 'organic roots', but that sounds rather agricultural!), the
keyboard has 'waterfall'-style keys with a very light and fast action
(more of that in a moment) and classic square fronts to the keys. The
requirements of a good organ keyboard are fundamentally different to
those of a piano, and Roland have chosen the former here, but although
the keyboard doesn't have a piano keyboard action or weighting, it is
fully velocity sensitive and has a monophonic aftertouch, both of which
are put to good effect with the piano and synth sound-generators.
Although I'm jumping ahead a little here, it is
worth mentioning a facility in the configuration menus that affects the
action of the keyboard when it is used to control the organ
sound-generator. By default, the keys have a very shallow action which
Roland refer to as 'Quick Firing'. The design is such that only a slight
depression (about 3mm) causes the corresponding notes to sound. This
gives the keyboard a very fast response which is important for obtaining
proper glissandos and rapid repetition effects — both mainstays of
popular organ playing techniques.
However, the frequent side effect of such a shallow
action is 'key bounce', where notes can sometimes be sounded
accidentally after a key is released suddenly. I didn't find this a
problem during my tests, but as Roland mention it specifically in the
VR760's manual, I guess it's an issue that figured in the instrument's
development. Consequently there is a menu option that allows the action
to be changed, requiring a much deeper depression of each key (about
6mm) before the note sounds.
Getting Organised
After the size of the keyboard, my second major
impression of the instrument was the number of knobs and buttons on it.
This is clearly an instrument intended for live performance duties, with
the majority of features being instantly accessible through dedicated
controls, grouped into distinct instrumental and control sections on two
layers. The lower row of controls relates to the three main
sound-generator sections, while the upper section consists of the LCD
and menu controls, and some of the overall facilities, such as reverb.
The Organ controls and drawbar section.
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Starting on the left hand-side, the first set of
controls applies to the organ section, beginning with the nine familiar
harmonic drawbars. I was pleased to discover that the correct
'fold-down' and 'fold-up' of notes towards the top and bottom of the
keyboard, respectively, has been maintained, since this is an important
element of the Hammond sound. The organ tone-generator is also fully
polyphonic, so 'full arm' glissandos sound right too! A rotary
vibrato-chorus control (and associated on-off button) offers three
levels of each effect, arranged in exactly the same order as the
equivalent control on a proper tonewheel Hammond.
Four illuminated push-buttons provide the percussion
controls with second- and third-harmonic selectors, soft and slow
options. Menu options allow these facilities to be customised in terms
of normal and soft percussion levels, fast and slow times, recharge
time, and the relative volume of the drawbar sounds when the percussion
is set to normal — but the default settings are pretty accurate.
The ubiquitous Leslie speaker simulator has three
push-button controls, with an on-off button, plus Brake and Slow-Fast
switches. Leslie speed can also be controlled by hand using the D-beam
facility (more in a moment), or a footswitch. Again, menu options enable
a high degree of flexibility, with separate adjustments for the tweeter
and woofer elements of the system, including the 'spread' and distance
of the virtual microphones, as well as fast and slow speeds, and rise
and fall times when changing speeds. The default settings are, again,
very good, and quite believable when auditioned on a decent stereo
speaker system.
No two Hammonds ever sound the same, and it is these
variations that form an essential part of the unique character of the
instrument. Roland have gone some way towards allowing for some
individuality by providing various controls to alter the tonality of the
organ sound. The first of these is a push-button that toggles through
three tone-generator settings labelled Clean, Vintage 1 and Vintage 2.
Vintage 1 emulates the tonewheels and filter sets of the last generation
of tonewheel organs in the 1970s, while Vintage 2 has the slightly more
mellow sound of the typical 1960s instruments. Both include all the
'leakage' side tones that escape when a key is played and that are
associated with the Hammond. The Clean setting sounds like Vintage 1,
but without the leakage noise. A menu option allows the volume of the
leakage tones in the Vintage settings to be adjusted, but not removed
altogether. Another menu enables the amount of key-click to be
controlled, with separate settings for the onset and release noises.
The second tone-modifying section is based on
Roland's COSM technology and aims to simulate the tonality of various
amp and speaker combinations. An overdrive effect is also available. The
COSM amplifier section consists of a push-button that toggles through
four 'Types'. The first replicates a stock valve amp and Leslie
combination, while the second substitutes the kind of high-powered
guitar valve amp often used by rock bands in the 1970s, and gives a far
more mid-heavy sound. Type 3 offers an alternative type of rotary
speaker (I wonder whose?), and Type 4 seems similar to Type 1 but with
far more distortion and a more compressed sound. The Overdrive control
can be used with any setting, although the character and amount of
overdrive varies considerably depending on which Type is in use.
The final control in the organ section is a rotary
knob for setting the level of the organ sound within the overall
keyboard output (a menu function also enables the level of the organ's
contribution to the internal reverb processor to be adjusted). A couple
of other controls pertinent to the organ are located on the upper
section of the control panel. In the 'One Touch' section are three
buttons labelled Organ, Piano, and Synth. By pressing one of these you
automatically mute the other two sound generators and cancel any Split
modes that might be active at the time. Thus it's easy to switch from a
layered sound of piano and strings, say, to just full-range organ. The
other control is labelled 'H-Bar Manual' and instantly switches the
drawbar registration from that stored in the current patch memory to the
physical settings on the drawbars themselves.
It's worth stating that if any of the keyboard
controls are adjusted, be they in the organ, piano or synth sections,
they only 'take over' from the patch memory settings when they are moved
through the same setting. So to change the 8ft drawbar setting, for
example, you have to pull (or push) it through the memory setting before
regaining manual control — hence the reason for adding the H-Bar Manual
button.
Two final menu settings applicable to the organ
sound-generator include an octave-shift facility (+/-2 octaves), useful
when playing on a split keyboard, and a fine-tune control (+/-50 cents).
In fact, each of the three sound-generator sections — organ, piano and
synth — can be tuned independently, relative to a master tune control
spanning the range 415-466Hz. There is also a transpose facility to
shift the keyboard down six or up five semitones.
Fender Benders
The piano and synth controls are somewhat simpler
than those of the organ, but are no less versatile. The piano facilities
include a tone-selection panel, more COSM modelling features, a
collection of digital effects, and an output volume control. Whereas the
organ generator is fully polyphonic, the piano and synth sections
combine to provide up to 128 simultaneous voices derived from a 96MB
internal PCM wave memory.
The COSM modelling implementation on the VR760 even
allows the distance between the virtual microphone and the sound source
to be altered, instantly, via a convenient rotary control.
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The piano section is equipped with nine separate
voices, only one of which can be active at a time. These are grouped
into acoustic pianos, electric pianos, and 'Others' — each with three
variations. The acoustics include a concert grand, a more mellow
classical piano, and much brighter, harder 'European' piano — all very
usable and useful variations.
I have an entry-level Roland HP piano for
practising at home, and have always found the acoustic piano sounds very
good, but the electric pianos have always disappointed. However, the
electric piano contingent on the VR760 is a real breath of fresh air.
There are three variations of Rhodes — vintage, brighter, and hot-rodded
— while under the heading of 'Others' we have a lovely Wurlitzer
electric piano, the obligatory Clavinet, and a nice woody harpsichord.
The Rhodes and Wurly pianos are fantastic — indeed, in the context of a
multi-purpose keyboard, as 'naked' sources, these are all pretty good
voices. However, they can be enhanced further with the application of
some COSM modelling. The COSM controls here include a push-button to
select one of two Types of modelling and a rotary knob to change the
virtual mic distance or amp EQ. In the case of the acoustic pianos, the
modelling affects the type of microphones used to capture the piano — a
small-diaphragm condenser or dynamic mic — while it simulates a vintage
electric piano amplifier or guitar amp for the electric piano sounds.
The multi-effects section can be switched between
Chorus, Tremolo, Wah and Phaser effects, with rotary controls for depth
and rate (the last complete with an LED that flashes to show the current
speed). These effects can be applied to any piano sound, although they
really come to into their own with the electric piano sounds.
Once again, the menu structure provides a lot of
scope to customise the piano section, with the same two-octave shift and
section-tuning facilities as the organ, an overall stereo width
control, four levels of stretch tuning, decay and release times, three
levels of touch sensitivity, and an echo send-level parameter. The
effects section can also be customised, with settings for the chorus
return level, mono or stereo tremolo modes, modulated or touch-sensitive
wah effects, and the amount of filter resonance in the wah and phaser
effects.
Synth Section
The third main voice section is for the synthesizer,
which is equipped similarly to the piano. A group of six buttons
provides access to the different voices, each of which has three
variations. The categories are Strings (Orchestral, European and Jupiter
8); Choir (Real Choir, Female Vox and Jazz Scat); Brass (Brass Section,
Concert Brass and OB Fat Brass); Synth Lead (Vintage, Dual and Retro);
Synth Pad (OB Pad, 2.3 Pad and Glassy Pad); Bass (Acoustic, Fretless and
Hefty); and SRX Expansion (see below).
On their own, none of these sounds is likely to win
any awards for authenticity, but when used in a layer with other sounds
they fit in remarkably well, and the variations have been well chosen in
the main — particularly the strings and brass, where they each have
usefully different tonal characteristics. The only voice I found
difficult to use was the Jazz Scat voice, which seems to require a
particularly skilful and consistent touch for the most effective use,
since different key velocities trigger radically different samples.
As I've already mentioned, the VR760 has provision
to accept two SRX Wave Expansion boards, which can be fitted after
removing a plate on the underside of the keyboard. The current
collection includes Drum Kits, Concert Piano, Studio SRX, Symphonique
Strings, Supreme Dance, Complete Orchestra, Ultimate Keys, Platinum
Trax, and World Collection (the last four being derived from JV80 sample
sets). When installed, the SRX voices are all available in one long
list and are accessed via the SRX button and its associated plus and
minus buttons to scroll through the options.
The Synth voices can also be modified using four
rotary controls to adjust attack and release times, filter cutoff
frequency and filter resonance, thereby allowing both tone shaping and
some real-time manual effects. Like the piano section, the synth also
has its own dedicated multi-effects processor, but in this case there's
just a single control knob to adjust the amount of effect. To modify the
effect or substitute another, you have to delve into the menu system,
which tends to preclude real-time manipulations but does provide access
to a full range of effects and parameters, just as you would find on a
stand-alone processor.
The effects list includes equalisers,
overdrive/distortion, phasers/flangers, rotary effects, dynamics,
delays, pitch shifts, reverb, and various combination effects. They are
all usable, versatile, controllable, and well suited to the task at
hand. The final control elements are an output volume control and an
'Active Expression' facility. The latter applies when an EV7 expression
pedal is connected, and allows the player to control either the volume
or the timbre of the synth section independently from any other sounds
that might be layered with it — enabling string parts to be faded up
under a piano, or expression to be added to a lead solo, for example.
Like the other sections, the synth registration
menus provide a range of customisation parameters. For example, the
voices can be switched between monophonic, polyphonic or mono-legato
modes, and different rates and kinds of portamento (glide) can be
applied. There are also the now familiar octave-shift, reverb send level
and section tuning parameters.
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Rhythm & Control: The Drum Styles & D-Beam
To the left of the LCD screen is the D-Beam
controller section and the controls for the internal rhythm section. The
latter is provided with an on-off button and volume control, the
current rhythm program and tempo being selected via the LCD screen.
There are 23 pre-programmed rhythms, almost all in 4/4 (with one each in
6/8, 5/4 and 7/4), and spanning the common styles including Jazz Funk,
8- and 16-Beat Pop, Blues, R&B, Jazz and Latin.
The pre-programmed rhythms are pretty basic and mundane, and lack any
variation options or programmability. Essentially, they are provided to
act as a metronome for practising, or perhaps to give a little
inspiration when composing. However, the audio samples themselves are
pretty good and they can be accessed and played via MIDI, if required.
There are four different kits to choose from — Pop, Rock, R&B and
Jazz — each with 27 sounds (although about a dozen are common to all
four sets).
The D-beam controller has become a standard feature
on many of Roland's more recent keyboards. On the VR760 it can be used
to change different parameters for each of the three primary voice
generators. For example, it switches the rotary speaker speed between
fast and slow if allocated to the organ voice generator. If assigned to
the piano it can be used to add notes an octave higher than those
played, as well as adding the sub-octave if the hand is brought closer
to the panel. For the synth section the D-beam controls the glide effect
between notes. An LED changes colour to indicate the current status.
While I'm sure some users will find this a useful facility, I think I
would generally prefer to use a footswitch or controller — but the
option is there for either mode of operation.
In addition to the D-Beam facility, there is also a
conventional two-axis Bender/Modulation control (pitch-bend left/right,
modulation forwards). The maximum amount of pitch-bend can be
programmed into different registration patches, and the modulation
action can be used to switch the rotary speaker speed, if required.
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Generic Functions
The upper layer of controls on the VR760 applies
largely to all three voice generators. Over at the left-hand side is a
master volume control, while at the opposite end of the panel is a
master reverb return level knob and program selector (room, hall or
church reverb) plus a three-band equaliser (with a sweep mid control).
In the centre is a backlit LCD which shows the
current mode, voice settings and menu parameters, as appropriate.
There's also a two-digit LED display to indicate the current
registration (or patch; the first digit represents the bank and the
second the memory, both from 1-8). If a patch has been altered from its
memory settings a dot in the bottom right-hand corner illuminates.
Adjacent to these displays are the usual quartet of cursor buttons and
increment, decrement, Enter and Exit buttons for selecting and
cancelling menu options. If the last two are pressed together, the VR760
enters 'demo mode' with a choice of five songs.
The registration memories are accessed via the group
of buttons to the right-hand side. One of the eight memory banks is
selected first by pressing the small Bank button, followed by one of the
larger number keys. Then any of the eight memory locations in the
selected bank can be recalled. A Write button enables new patches to be
stored in any of the 64 memory locations (eight banks with eight
registrations each).
The registration buttons also double up to provide
access to the configuration menus, if the Edit button immediately above
them is pressed. Although it is simple to navigate to any menu page from
any other, it's quicker to use the memory buttons to gain direct access
to the required section — such as the organ parameters, or the utility
section, for example.
The Piano section and Synth section controls.
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The remaining buttons above the registration
controls engage the keyboard Split facility, activate the manual
drawbars, and provide 'One-Touch' instant activation of one of the three
main voice sections. Holding down the Split button enables the split
point to be selected in the usual way, and the current upper and lower
voice selections are shown on the LCD. The current sound-generator
allocations can be changed fairly quickly with the cursor and Inc/Dec
buttons — two or three key strokes at most. However, altering the octave
shift (which is almost always necessary when in split mode) requires a
lot of key strokes to enter the registration menu for the appropriate
voice section, scroll to the octave-shift parameter and then adjust up
or down as required.
If you always work with pre-programmed patches,
these parameters can all be stored, but trying to change things on the
fly is not as easy as it could be. It would have been nice if the
octave-shift parameter had been more readily accessible for each voice
section through a short-cut combination; shortcuts are already provided
for directly accessing such things as the tonewheel leakage level menu
screen (Edit + Perc buttons) or the piano stereo width (Edit + Ac Piano
buttons). Many of the keyboard shortcuts seem poorly chosen, as they
access parameters which would rarely, if ever, need to be changed once
configured, whereas some parameters, such as octave shifting, which do
need to be adjusted during a performance, are difficult and tedious to
access.
Conclusions
The VR760 is an interesting keyboard which will
appeal to a lot of stage musicians because of its versatility and sound
quality. The Hammond organ and rotary speaker emulations are extremely
good, although I felt the 'leakage level' was a tad excessive (however,
this can be adjusted through the menu). Roland's COSM modelling has been
put to good effect in providing different amp/speaker combinations,
which really helps to introduce some character, and the keyboard has a
nice responsive action.
The modelling has also been used well with the quite
excellent electric piano sounds, and I fell in love with the Wurly
EP200 emulation! Roland's acoustic pianos have always been pretty good,
and the VR760 is no exception, although I did find it rather odd playing
acoustic and electric piano sounds on an unweighted organ keyboard.
The synth sounds provide a useful range of
supportive ambient and lead sounds, although the SRX option obviously
allows this aspect to be extended and customised further. The rhythm
section is obviously rather limited and inflexible — disappointingly so —
when the VR760 is used as a stand-alone instrument, although it does
serve a useful function as a practice metronome. However, the embedded
sound sets are good and they can be accessed via MIDI, helping the VR760
to serve as a complete production platform when connected to a
sequencer at home.
If you're a synth/organ player and looking for a
fine-sounding, performance-oriented all-rounder of a keyboard, the VR760
must be placed at the top of your shortlist. Piano players may find the
lack of a weighted keyboard a drawback, but as you can't play fast
synth leads or organ parts on a weighted keyboard, there has to be a
compromise. On balance, Roland have got it pretty much spot-on with this
machine.
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