Roland JV-2080

Main features

The JV-2080 is a sample plus synthesis synthesizer offering 768 internal patches, including General MIDI. It includes a multi-effects module with 40 effect types, of which three can be used simultaneously. The internal memory is divided into five sections: USER (rewriteable RAM), PR-A through C and E (read-only presets), PR-D (General MIDI), XP-A through H (expansion board patches), and CARD (compatible memory cards). Up to eight JV-2080 units can be stacked together to achieve 512-voice multitimbral performance.

Expansion

The JV-2080 accepts up to eight SR-JV80 expansion boards simultaneously. The available boards include Pop, Orchestral, Piano, Vintage Synth, World, Dance, Super Sound Set, Keyboards of the 60s & 70s, Session, Bass and Drums, Techno, Hip-Hop, Vocal, Asia, Special FX, Orchestral II, Country, Latin World, House, Experience III, Experience II, and Experience. Roland no longer distributes the Dance expansion board due to copyright problems.

Notable users and genres

The JV-1080 and JV-2080 have been used by artists and producers across many genres. Thomas Dolby said in 2001 that he found the JV less immediate to use than his older synths. The JV-2080 was in the studios of UK hard house label Tidy Trax Records. Other users include LTJ Bukem, Photek, Midge Ure, Gary Barlow, Armin van Buuren, Glen Ballard, Jimmy Douglass, London Elektricity, 1 Giant Leap, David Frank, and Máni Svavarsson.

Did You Know?

• The core sampled waveforms of the JV-2080 were developed by Roland R&D-LA in Culver City, California.
• Some factory presets and expansion board sounds were created by Eric Persing of Spectrasonics and Ace Yukawa.
• Australian Electro band Gerling used the JV-1080 on their album Children Of Telepathic Experiences.