U-220
RS-PCM Sound Module

 
And here's one of the classic early ROMplers, the Roland U-220.  The U-220 is the successor to the original Roland U-110, and it's the rack version of the U-20 synthesizer.  Both instruments came out right after the world-famous Korg M1 had raised the bar quite a bit for sample-based synthesizers, and, like the E-mu Proteus/1 (that came out at around the same time), were meant to provide the users with a solid base of "bread and butter" sounds for pop, rock and dance music.

The U-series uses a type of synthesis called RS-PCM - which stands for ReSynthesized Pulse Code Modulation, and it's Roland's 2nd generation sampling technique.  It is based on high-quality samples.

The structure of this synth reminds of the D-50 and its tones, partials and patches.  Here we have 128 basic components called "tones", that can be used to build "timbres".  Timbres can then be combined in various ways to build "patches".  This is a fairly elaborate process which seems daunting at the beginning, but fairly easy once you are used to the way the U-220's OS works.
 
Besides instrument waveforms/tones, the U-220 also features drum samples.  They are fairly punchy and typically with an 80s feel.  You can certainly use these percussion tones to form patches - indeed, some of the more creative factory patches use drum sounds as starting points.

One drawback of the U-series is that there are no filters.  The editing options are few and limited to choosing tone, setting level, pitch, vibrato, and effects parameters - so clearly the U-series is not the best option if you want a full-fledged synthesizer that you can edit to the max.

This is definitely a plug 'n' play, performance synth:  this module responds beautifully to velocity messages, and also the aftertouch is incredibly responsive and guarantees "felt" performances.  It's also 6+1 (for rhythm) polytimbric, so you can use it to compose full songs.

The U-series can also be expanded thanks to two slots for the SN-U110-series of PCM cards, which really open up all kinds of possibilities for this machine.

It's also interesting to note that - from what I can hear - many of the waveforms in the U-series ROM ended up in the hugely successful Sound Canvas series - which largely contributed to the success of the GM (General MIDI) standard in the early 90s.

 

Roland U-220 factory patch audio demos in mp3

Let's listen to the two on-board factory Roland U-220 demo songs:

HIGHLANDER  by Marvin Sanders  - probably inspired by the movie "Highlander" that came out a couple of years before, this is a very nice cinematic tune that represents well the U-series' versatility.

U MIGHT BE THE 1  by Eric Persing  - A classic late 80s/early 90s number.  I love the bass line on this song.  This is a nice insight on the U-220's more exotic sounds.

Let's now go ahead and take a listen to the 64 preset patches on the U-220:

 

Stream all the patch examples below as an .m3u playlist

Patch name
with audio demo		 My comments
01 Acoust Piano The famous U-20/220 piano.  At the time of the release of this synth, the piano sound was considered one of the best for a mid-price ROMpler.  Compared to the Korg M1, this was much more realistic and expressive.  It still holds its own!
02 Chorus Piano Classic pop piano
03 E.Piano Very nice, sparkly, polished Fender Rhodes
04 Bright EP Classic FM e. piano
05 Vibraphone Beautiful sampled vibraphone - with excellent pan pot/tremolo effect
06 Marimba Superbly sampled
07 Bell Classic sampled bell
08 Fanta Bell A nod to the D-50, this was one component (partials in one of the tones) of the classic "Fantasia" patch.
09 A.Guitar Short samples and all, still a very good tone for this steel acoustic guitar.
10 E.Guitar Nice picked electric guitar.
11 Heavy Guitar Still very much an '80s sound, with digital distortion, chorus and delay.
12 E.Organ 1 Very nice electric organ
13 E.Organ 3 Classic B-3, with excellent slow Leslie sim.
14 E.Organ 7 Woody jazz B-3.
15 E.Organ 9 Incredible electronic organ!!!  Reminds of certain Wurlitzer "cinema" organs of the past.
16 Mad Organ Nicely tube distorted.
17 Strings Beautiful, full and expressive string ensemble
18 Syn.Strings Still a bit digital sounding.
19 JP8.Strings Much better:  good analog strings sampled from Roland's own Jupiter-8.
20 Choir Very good sampled choir - I remember being very impressed with this sound when the U-20 came out!
21 Syn.Vox 1 FAIRLIGHT!!!!!!!  The classic vox patch.
22 Syn.Vox 2 Variation of the patch above, very hypnotic...
23 Syn.Choir 1 Probably sampled from the D-50, it's very similar to a few of the vox patches on the PN-D50-xx cards.
24 Syn.Choir 2 Charming analog vox - this could come from the JX/MKS series.
25 FlangingSlap More 80s.  Typical slapped bass with a hint of chorus/flanger.
26 FretlessBass Nice fretless bass.
27 Synth Bass 7 A little too thin but certainly has some of the Minimoog bite.
28 SynB-BellPad Fantastic combo!!!  Perfect for rock pop of that era (late 80s/early 90s)
29 A.Bass-PIano Very realistic jazz ensemble.
30 SingingPiano Nice edit on the main piano sound.
31 Splits Cool moving patch with some classic D-50 waveforms on show.
32 Velo Trumpet While the regular trumpet sound is good, the muted one leaves a bit to be desired...
33 Soft Trumpet Very nice and expressive trumpet sound.
34 Tromborn A little dark but this sampled trombone can work in the mix.
35 BrassSection Distant brass section.
36 Saxophone Perfectly respectable for an older ROMpler unit.
37 JP8.Brass After the classic Jupiter-8 strings, here we have a brass patch from that unit.
38 Power Brass That's what this is.
39 Flute Good flute patch, with natural vibrato.
40 Shakuhachi Classic patch that was very much in vogue in the '80s.
41 Fantasia Here we start with a long set of sounds inspired from the D-50, which was Roland's most successful synth at the time... - it compares pretty well to the original.
42 Calliope Another classic D-50 breathy sound.
43 Soundtrack I'm afraid this doesn't quite stack up to the original, classic "Soundtrack" patch.
44 Atmosphere More D-50-influenced patches.
45 Future Pad Beautiful.  Quite different from the original D-50 patch.
46 Pomona A vaguely Asian sound for this Californian town.
47 Melodigan Great!  Reminds of the street musicians' calliope sound.
48 Photogene Cool sound, reminds of the 70s Tomita.
49 Endymion A nice patch that reminds of Yellow Magic Orchestra.
50 Prelusion Nice digital pad.
51 Jupiters More Jupiter-8 brassy sounds.
52 Selene Inspired synth.
53 Sacred Tree Excellent Fairlight-style patch.
54 Macho Lead Powerful analog lead.
55 Lunar Lead Variation on the above.
56 HarmonicLead Nice.  The aftertouch introduces the harmonic to each note.
57 Native Dance Another D-50 emulation.
58 Percs Hit Classic early sampled percussion.
59 Velo Combi Charming patch - velocity changes from piano to Fairlight vox.
60 Split Combi Nice waveform showcase.
61 Rotor Craft Cool helicopter sound effect.
62 Emergency Video game fx.
63 Deepsea More digital wonders.
64 Catastrophe Powerful synth
R-1 Standard Set Classic punchy, produced 80s set.
R-2 Dry Set without effects
R-3 Electric Set Classic Simmons
R-4 F.X. Set Impressive what you can achieve just by using the basic editing means on the U-series.

 

Roland U-220 Factory Timbres

 

Stream all timbre demos below:

Timbre name with audio demo My comments
001 A.Piano 2 Classy grand piano.
002 A.Piano 4 Very cool ragtime piano.
003 A.Piano 10 Old, detuned grand.
004 E.Piano 1 Beautiful, expressive Rhodes electric piano - with just the right amount of bite when pressed hard.
005 E.Piano 5 Wurlitzer-like.
006 Bright EP Typical FM electric piano.
007 Vib 1 Nice, clean vibraphone.
008 Marimba Great base samples.
009 Bell Nice
010 Fanta Bell Bell with long release
011 A.Guitar 1 Clean steel guitar.
012 E.Guitar 1 Cool accompaniment, muted electric guitar.
013 Heavy Guitar Distorted guitar sampled in "power chords".
014 E.Organ 1 Classic electric church organ.
015 E.Organ 3 Classic electro-mechanical organ.
016 E.Organ 5 Killer jazz Hammond organ - just the right amount of percussion.
017 E.Organ 7 Very woody jazz organ.
018 E.Organ 9 Theater organ.
019 R.Organ 2 Fantastic rock organ - with overdrive and fast Leslie - very Deep Purple.
020 Strings 1 Solid string ensemble.
021 Strings 3 Same as above, with added low octave.
022 String Pad 2 Nice synth string pad.
023 JP.Strings The classic Jupiter-8 strings.
024 Choir 1 Realistic choir.
025 Choir 3 Same as above, with added low octave.
026 Syn.Vox 1 The classic Fairlight vox sample, heard  all over in the 80s.
027 Syn.Vox 2 A gentler syn vox.
028 Syn.Choir Classic D-50 sound.
029 Syn.Choir 2 Muted variation of the above.
030 Slap 1 Excellent slapped electric bass.
031 Slap 7 Compressed version of the above.
032 Fingered 1 Excellent fingered bass.
033 Picked 1 Metallic sounding bass.
034 Fretless 2 Warm fretless.
035 Ac.Bass Very realistic jazz contrabass.
036 Syn.Bass 4 Killer Moog bass.
037 Syn.Bass 5 Nice rubbery synth bass.
038 Syn.Bass 6 Classic Moog with key-click.
039 Syn.Bass 7 Classic reso bass.
040 Soft TP 1 Hyper realistic trumpet!
041 TP / TRB 1 The trombone works very well in the lower register.
042 Brass 1 Honest brass ensemble.
043 Sax 1 Realistic tenor saxophone.
044 Synth Brs 1 Classic 80s polysynth - a la Oberheim
045 Synth Brs 2 Variation of the above - the "Jump" OB-Xa sound.
046 PowerBrass 1 Powerful indeed.
047 PowerBrass 2 Filtered version of the above.
048 JP.Brass 2 Nice, full Jupiter synth brass!
049 Flute 1 Very realistic concert flute.
050 Shaku 1 The classic Japanese instrument.
051 Bell Pad Classic D-50 bell pad.
052 Breath Vox Another classic D-50 sound.
053 Pizzagogo Yet another classic D-50 sound, but it badly sampled/recreated.
054 Spect Bell Spectrum Bell - another great sound inspired by the D-50.
055 Bell Drum Powerful synth sound
056 Synth Harp Classic synth harp.
057 Pulse Wave 1 Cool pulse waveform with filter open.
058 Pulse Wave 2 Same as above with filter half-closed.
059 Pulse Wave 3 Same as above with filter more closed and shorter decay.
060 Saw Wave 1 Classic saw waveform with filter open.
061 Saw Wave 2 Same as above with filter half-closed.
062 Metal Another D-50 classic sample.
063 SingingPiano Interesting sound.
064 Syn.Marimba With nice pitched attack.
065 Fantasia The classic D-50 first patch.
066 Calliope 1 Like a clarinet.
067 Calliope 2 More like a looped tambourine.
068 Soundtrack 1 Thin synth sound.
069 Soundtrack 2 Same as above, one octave higher.
070 Soundtrack 3 Same as above, in a different pitch.
071 Atmosphere 1 Nice acoustic sound.
072 Atmosphere 2 Powerful polysynth that also works as a pad.
073 Future 1 Version with long envelopes of the Fairlight vox sample.
074 Future 2 Beautiful glassy Rhodes.
075 Pomona 1 Cool pizzicato synth sound.
076 Pomona 2 Same as above, filtered.
077 Melodigan 1 Strange digital conception!
078 Melodigan 2 Like an FM organ.
079 Photogene 1 Cool, high-pitched digital eerie sound.
080 Photogene 2 Same as above, filtered.
081 Endymion 1 Waveform with pitch raising up fast at the start.
082 Endymion 2 Similar to Atmosphere 2.
083 Prelusion 1 Another variation of the Fairlight vox.
084 Prelusion 2 Variation on the bell pad.
085 JP8.Brass with fast rising pitch.
086 JP8.Strings The quintessential analog strings.
087 Selene 1 Nice synth vox.
088 Selene 2 High pitched digital synth.
089 Sacred 1 Variation on the Jupiter strings.
090 Sacred 2 Another variation of the Farlight syn vox.
091 Macho 1 Open saw wave.
092 Macho 2 Same as above, with raising pitch on attack.
093 Lunar 1 Filtered pulse waveform.
094 Lunar 2 Similar to the above.
095 Harmonic 1 Another pulse waveform.
096 Harmonic 2 Filtered version of the above.
097 Harmonic 3 Very high-pitched synth harp.
098 Native 1 Based on the spectrum wave.  Aftertouch acts on the pitch lowering one octave - very effective!
099 Native 2 Weird bird based on the acoustic guitar sample.
100 Native 3 The classic DigitalNativeDance loop of the D-50.  Aftertouch changes the pitch.
101 Native 4 Crazy sound with lots of vibrato.
102 Native 5 Similar to the above.
103 Percs Hit 1 Simple short metal samples.
104 Percs Hit 2 Simple short marimba samples.
105 Percs Hit 3 Simple short nails samples.
106 Rotor 1 The metal sample made into a helicopter.
107 Rotor 2 The acoustic guitar made into a helicopter.
108 Rotor 3 Acoustic guitar becomes a bird.
109 Emergency 1 Classic alarm sound.
110 Emergency 2 Variation on the above.
111 Emergency 3 Nice jet/spaceship taking off.
112 Emergency 4 Similar to the above.
113 Emergency 5 Similar to the above with heavy vibrato effect.
114 Deep 1 Again the DigitalNativeDance loop.
115 Deep 2 Dancing fairies.
116 Deep 3 Cool fx.
117 Catastrophe1 Nice fx with extreme rhythmic vibrato.
118 Catastrophe2 Similar to the above.
119 Catastrophe3 Cool spectrum fx.
120 Catastrophe4 Another syn vox.
121 Catastrophe5 Full strings.
122 Pizz Small pizzicato samples.
123 Breath Classic D-50 samples.
124 Nails And another classic D-50 sample set.
125 Spectrum 1 And yet another classic D-50 sample set.
126 Spectrum 2 Cool variation with high-pitched harmonic.
127 N.Dance The classic D-50 loop.
128 Drums Nice and clean amalgam of drum/percussion.

 

Roland U-220 factory Tones list

 

001 A.PIANO 1
002 A.PIANO 2
003 A.PIANO 3
004 A.PIANO 4
005 A.PIANO 5
006 A.PIANO 6
007 A.PIANO 7
008 A.PIANO 8
009 A.PIANO 9
010 A.PIANO 10
011 E.PIANO 1
012 E.PIANO 2
013 E.PIANO 3
014 E.PIANO 4
015 E.PIANO 5
016 BRIGHT EP1
017 BRIGHT EP2
018 VIB 1
019 VIB 2
020 VIB 3
021 BELL 1
022 BELL 2
023 MARIMBA
024 A.GUITAR 1
025 A.GUITAR 2
026 A.GUITAR 3
027 A.GUITAR 4
028 A.GUITAR 5
029 E.GUITAR 1
030 E.GUITAR 2
031 E.GUITAR 3
032 E.GUITAR 4
033 HEAVY.EG 1
034 HEAVY.EG 2
035 SLAP 1
036 SLAP 2
037 SLAP 3
038 SLAP 4
039 SLAP 5
040 SLAP 6
041 SLAP 7
042 SLAP 8
043 SLAP 9
044 SLAP 10
045 SLAP 11
046 SLAP 12
047 FINGERED 1
048 FINGERED 2
049 PICKED 1
050 PICKED 2
051 FRETLESS 1
052 FRETLESS 2
053 AC.BASS
054 SYN.BASS 1
055 SYN.BASS 2
056 SYN.BASS 3
057 SYN.BASS 4
058 SYN.BASS 5
059 SYN.BASS 6
060 SYN.BASS 7
061 SYN.BASS 8
062 CHOIR 1
063 CHOIR 2
064 CHOIR 3
065 CHOIR 4
066 STRINGS 1
067 STRINGS 2
068 STRINGS 3
069 STRINGS 4
070 E.ORGAN 1
071 E.ORGAN 2
072 E.ORGAN 3
073 E.ORGAN 4
074 E.ORGAN 5
075 E.ORGAN 6
076 E.ORGAN 7
077 E.ORGAN 8
078 E.ORGAN 9
079 R.ORGAN 1
080 R.ORGAN 2
081 SOFT TP 1
082 SOFT TP 2
083 TP / TRB 1
084 TP / TRB 2
085 TP / TRB 3
086 SAX 1
087 SAX 2
088 SAX 3
089 SAX 4
090 SAX 5
091 BRASS 1
092 FLUTE 1
093 SHAKU 1
094 SHAKU 2
095 FANTASIA
096 BELL PAD
097 SYN CHOIR
098 BREATH VOX
099 SYN.VOX 1
100 SYN.VOX 2
101 L.CALLIOPE
102 CALLIOPE
103 METAL HIT
104 RICH BRASS
105 JP.BRASS 1
106 JP.BRASS 2
107 BRASTRINGS
108 STRINGPAD1
109 STRINGPAD2
110 JP.STRINGS
111 PIZZAGOGO
112 FANTA BELL
113 SPECT BELL
114 BELL DRUM
115 SYNTH HARP
116 PULSEWAVE1
117 PULSEWAVE2
118 PULSEWAVE3
119 SAW WAVE 1
120 SAW WAVE 2
121 PIZZ
122 METAL
123 BREATH
124 NAILS
125 SPECTRUM 1
126 SPECTRUM 2
127 N.DANCE
128 DRUMS

 

Roland U-220 specifications

 

Features at a glance
Year of release: 1990 (or 1989?)
Polyphony: 30-voice
Presets: 64 patches, 128 tones, 128
Rhythms: 4 rhythm sets
Keyboard: n/a
Responds to velocity: yes
Sound generation method: RS-PCM
MIDI: in,out, thru
Sound expansion capabilities: pcm cards
Effects: yes
Controls: knob, buttons
Outputs: stereo outs, sep. outputs
Display: yes
Misc:  

 

Roland U-220 pictures (click on thumbnails to enlarge)

       

       

Roland U-220 manual

available at www.rolandus.com

Links

 

 

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