The Roland JV-880 is a nice 1U tone module, the forerunner to the famous JV-1080 and JV-1020 units. The polyphony is 28 voices, it can simultaneously play 8 parts, and it has effects. It can hold 64 presets in bank A, another 64 presets in bank B, 64 user patches in the Internal bank, and 64 user patches on the RAM data card. You can insert 1 expansion waveform board and 1 expansion ROM card.

Here are some of the voice patches:

Here are the demo songs:

I had the JV-880 with a data card to hold custom…

The Roland D2 is a great way to get MC-505 type sounds and patterns, for a price much lower than what the MC-505 generally goes for. It has 157 preset patterns, 232 RPS phrases, 600 sounds, and 30 rhythm sets.

You can create patterns, then string those patterns together in song mode to complete an entire song.

I find the V-Synth style touch-surface to be a bit difficult to work with, but then again I connect my keyboard controller via midi, so I never even use the touch-surface. Here is a song using just…

Korg microX Patches

Sounds from the Korg microX.
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part 1 of 6: Keyboards

part 2 of 6: Organs, Bells, Mallets

part 3 of 6: Strings, Vocals, Airy

part 4 of 6: Brass, Woodwinds, Reeds

part 5 of 6: Guitars, Plucked

part 6 of 6: Basses

Update: I am not using the MicroX as much lately. Not sure why, the MicroX has great Triton sounds and motion/pattern voices. I think it may simply be that I…

Alesis SR-18 Drum Machine

32 MB sound set with 32 voice polyphony.
Over 500 drum/percussion sounds, and 50 bass sounds.
Basic effects like reverb and EQ.
Pattern Play Mode to trigger patterns from the pads.
Hook up via midi to use as a tone module.
Finger drum input using velocity-sensative pads.
Mute the drums, bass, or percussion.
Bright backlit blue LCD.
100 preset patterns and 100 user patterns.
12 velocity sensitive pads.
Tap tempo button.
Dual output, send drums and bass to different tracks on your multi-track…

Korg MS-2000

Intro: The Korg MS-2000 is an excellent sounding analog modeling, aka virtual analog (VA) synth. I use it when I need a full, warm analog sound. Unlike most VA synths, which can sound harsh, brittle, too digital, the MS sounds rich and retro, the good kind of retro. There was the original metallic-teal keyboard version and rack version - I have the MS-2000R rack. A few years later the black models came out with new sounds and an XLR jack for a gooseneck mic.

Good: The sound is warm and full…

Ensoniq MR-Rack Module

Intro: I never purchased the MR keyboard workstation, because it is reputed to have a buggy OS, bad midi implementation, and poor sequencer. But I did get an MR-Rack because I love the voices.

Disclaimer: I always put a disclaimer into my blogs. I am not a professional reviewer or musician, just a guy with a home studio. There is no editor or fact-checker, so it is quite possible that there are inaccuracies. This is all just opinion, for entertainment purposes only, so don’t make…

Ensoniq EXP-3 Urban Dance Expansion Card

Intro: There are several expansion cards available for the Ensoniq ASR-X, MR, and ZR units. The ASR-X can only hold 1 card, the MR can hold 3, and I am not sure about the ZR. Note that my MR has a sequencer demo card in one of the slots, so my assumption is that if you put all 3 ROM expansion cards into an MR-Rack, then it would no longer be able to play the demo sequences.

Disclaimer: I always put a disclaimer into my blogs. I am not a professional reviewer or…

Ensoniq ASR-10 Rack

Intro: The ASR is one of the best samplers ever made. Back in the early 90s when I was looking to purchase my first keyboard workstation, I considered both the ASR-10 and the TS-10. I went with the TS-10 because of its superior sequencer, but I vowed that someday I would have an ASR as well. It turns out that day was 2-decades later when I was able to buy an ASR-10 Rack module on eBay.

Disclaimer: I always put a disclaimer into my blogs. I am not a professional reviewer or musician…

Ensoniq TS-10/12 Workstations

Intro: I purchased my Ensoniq TS-10 at a local music store in Michigan back in the early 90s. I was just getting my home studio started, and needed a complete workstation with the sounds and sequencer. At the time, I first purchased a Korg M1 (whatever version/model of the M1 was out at that time). After using it for a few weeks, I determined the voices on the M1 just did not cut it for me - the bells and EPs were nice (like with all FM synths), but most other voices were…

Replacing 2 bad capacitors on plasma TV

http://intrepiderie.com/intrepiderie_blog/replacing_capacitors

Warning: This is just a blog entry. I am not a professional. There is no editor or fact-checker, so it is quite possible that there are inaccuracies. If you make a mistake, damage or injury could occur. If you don't have experience with this kind of stuff, don't do it. This blog is for entertainment purposes only. These are not official instructions.

Symptom: The plasma TV overheats and turns off by…