In this case $199 for 2 is 33% (two $149 instruments, even less if you pick the $129 or $99 instruments) with the year subscription as a bonus. I usually use 50% off normal retail as the benchmark for a good deal. Guess it depends if you need 10 of these instruments right now? But I'm not so sure if having to buy 5 years now is a better deal. This will end my quest for the perfect Roland vintage analogs.Īll of the instruments you can get via this Play4Life can just be bought out directly though, but a year sub including 2 instruments is a better deal (than buying 2 outright). The differences can be negligible in the mix but if I'll spend money in a hardware synth I want the more authentic emulation. In short, Zen-Core achieves high performance in terms of polyphony and effects because they take some shortcuts, like using PCM samples. This is more expensive and less commercially viable than Zen-Core and, IMO, that's why it's been sort of relegated to a secondary role at Roland right now. It's a thorough simulation of the original circuits and, even with current technology and dedicated FPGA chips, it's so CPU heavy that they cannot go over 8 note polyphony on the flagship synths. You can compare with the ACB (Analog Circuit Behavior) technology here:Īnd although Zen-Core is perfect for emulating their sample based synths (or ROMplers), like the JD-800, JV-1080 and even the D-50, when we're talking about the emulation of analog synthesizer (Jupiters, Junos, System-100, SH2, Promars, the analog drum machines, etc) the ACB is still the way to go. Roland does not disclose much about this Zen-Core technology but it sure have PCM samples at its heart. Sergio, a jupiter xm for me would be a better choice if you want hw and software integration, you will have zenology and expansion a.ready, exellent editor and a superb keyboard and controller. And this is reinforced by the fact that current owners can 'upgrade' to this new type (although this is not fair to someone who already paid $199 in advance IMO, as they'll have to pay more for the same product).īut I agree the FAQ is not clear. And this is a different type of subscription than you had before, even if the price was the same. And the Roland ACB emulations are top notch! I want to have them all, but not in a time-limited way.Ībout the subscription I understand that you're buying a Play4Life subscription, and this subscription can be renewed 4 times. On these devices I can load the ACB "plugouts" and have them as standalone synths, controllable by the front panel. I have a System-1m hardware synth and I'm planning to buy a System-8 keyboard next year. Thanks for you opinion Matthew but I have a different perspective about this being a good deal or not. If/when Roland gives up on the software as a service business and kills their servers all these lifetime instruments will quit working. You may not get this special offer next year when your renewal is up. My take on it is you have to buy all five years now, during this special.
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