Been ages! Now.... Edirol SD-90?

[BlueMax]

I have the option  of buying an Edirol SD-90 sound module for only $400 Canadian - a steal compared to its original $1600+!  

I can sure use the ASIO-compliant audio portion and MIDI interface since my old joystick interface has finally bit the dust...

But how's the General MIDI quality as far as Sierra titles go?  I miss my ol' Roland SC-88 and found it much easier to compose with a hardware module than software synths like the Garritan Personal Orchestra I also own (which is why I could sure use that ASIO audio.)

Was the SD-80 a step up or down from the 8850 if you recall?  I remember that it has only about half the instruments of the 8850 but *supposed* to be much higher quality.


That said.... it's been a long time folks!  Good the be back!

[shad0wfax]

Regardless of your concerns related to how it compares to a SC8850, paying CAN $400 for a SD-90 is a real bargain!! I'd buy it immediately (if I were looking for a new module, of course). After all, if you don't like how it sounds you can always sell it again and you hardly will get less than CAN $400 for it

[Alistair]

Heh. I've seen a SD-90 go for cheap on EBay about a month ago. Of course, I don't have money to spend on equipment right now!

I liked a GK track played on the SD-90 very much. I think it'd be good, but I still feel the 8850/20'd be better. For 350 US I'd bite if I had the dough.

And, when do we get the Garritan samples?

- Alistair

[BlueMax]

Garritan isn't General MIDI.... not even close.  A real shame too!  http://www.garritan.com/mp3.html Just have a listen!

Honestly, I have yet to really get started with it - it's more complicated than turning on a module.    I'd compose with the module then partially-convert the file over to Garritan.  

Of course, the SD-90 would give me ASIO compliance for Garritan as well as some great synth sounds that Garritan lacks.

And I have store credit so I can spread out the payments.  

[BlueMax]

Okay... Edirol SD-90 is no longer happening...  I found something WAY cooler!!

Check the new thread I just started.

[BlueMax]

Okay... it's not perfect.  May be grabbing the SD-90 after all.  [waffle]

[BlueMax]

Okay - it's up and running.... just perfecting how it sounds.  
Nice feeling, knowing I made the right decision this time.

[jbltecnicspro]

Let's hear some demos

[BlueMax]

Might as well...  I'm actually not as happy with it as I thought I would be.

It's got different modes unlike how the SC-88 had all the good stuff lumped together in one nice mode.  (Bad explaination, I know...)

In short.... it's disappointing.  The percussion seems particularly weak...  I'm starting to prefer the Bandstand program!

[Alistair]

You got the SD-90?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did the following happen:

1. You sold your SC-88, etc
2. You bought Garritan Personal Orchestra after selling your MU-100R to me
3. You bought that GM softsynth and raved about it before not liking it (on the whole)
4. You bought a SD-90 and are subsequently dissapointed

No offence, Markell, but you seriously need to Google reviews and specifications before you buy. I've rarely made a poor module purchase, although I would've made many if Google or Harmony Central didn't exist.

- Alistair

[Ari]

Reviews won't always help. In the end, it's usually a matter of personal taste. For instance, some will swear by Yamaha synths, while others simply hate them.

So reading such reviews isn't necessarily useful.

[BlueMax]

Yep.  You get reviewers who RAVE about how wonderful a program or module is.  The reviews for Bandstand were very good.... and it was, with only a couple exceptions:  A couple instruments were weak in balance (horn) and quality (trumpet) and that it takes a couple seconds to load a new instrument in the middle of a song.  Being constantly near-broke I was panicking about a poor purchase.

I stuck with the SD-90 the second time around and found it less than I was hoping for - drum kits sounded weak and the default GM2 mode, while its strongest mode, didn't seem much better than my old SC-88 ever was.


For the record, I sold my SC-88 years ago while I was in school - had to pay the bills somehow - I've always regretted it though.  With some people raving about how awesome Yamaha XG stuff was, I bought the MU100R because it was a great price and a very capable module.  I, personally, just didn't like the Yamaha sounds.  

I'll just try to grab that Roland daughterboard for my Santa Cruz and stick it out until I can afford a higher-end sampleset.  My Garritan Personal Orchestra just needed a boost of some more contemporary sounds, the original SC-55 is great for that.

[Alistair]

It's ironic, because I own your MU-100R now and think it's freakin' awesome. Over 1000 high level XG sounds. I think the thing that separates it from the SW60XG and DB50XG and lower is the tone generation and clarity and realism of sounds. Gold, IMO.

And, on reviews: I'm not suggesting you listen to any Joe who says "Loved the SC-88, organ was pro", or whatever random crap you can find online, I mean proper reviews. That's how I found out that the FireWire Audiophile was a good buy, and haven't regretted it yet!

- Alistair

[Ari]

Not even a proper review can ever be enough.
You use your Audiophile for digital audio purposes, not for it's MIDI capabilities, don't you? It's a little different, since you were interested in specific digital audio features, and not in the different sounds it produces. It's not really the same thing.

[BlueMax]

...and I found all the "pro" reviews to be nothing but sunshine unless the thing REALLY stank.  I didn't get to see the product's downside until I got to the reviews done by "average Joe".

I just realized though, that since it's more "synthy" sounds I'm looking for, either Yamaha or a softsynth that's geared for tone generation rather than sample playback would fit the bill.

The Yamaha XG50 daughterboard would be a nice stopgap for the time being.    And the MU100 would actually be very useful now.   :oops:

It's hard to explain...  maybe I am just being a little fussy...  I've been a Roland man from the very beginning and I found Yamaha so much thinner I didn't like the sound.

The SD-90 just didn't impress me with the number of sounds it's supposed to have because they're split amongst 4 different modes that I'm not sure how to access on the fly via sysex commands.

All in all, I'm ALLOWED to not like it, even if someone else does.  

[jbltecnicspro]

That is the thing that gets to me about the SD series.  Why make it so that the user has to access different modes to get the sounds that he or she wants?  What if there's a sound I like that's on one map, and another sound I want to use with it, on another map?  Then I can't access both sounds in the same pallate.  Also, I read somewhere that if you edit the patches, you can tune them to your liking, but if you don't know how to do that, then it's a redundant feature.  But yes, the SD series is an odd one - perhaps that is why they are now "legacy" devices?

[BlueMax]

Well it's less "legacy" than anything else by Edirol.    The SD-90 was the last one ever made, the 8850 was a generation before it.

And now it's back on the shelves at the shop and I'll soon have a Yamaha XG50 daughterboard to tide me over for a while.  

[Alistair]

Ari, the Audiophile is a sound card, not a tone generator.

Specifications for sound cards these days are completely jargonistic and meaningless. I mean, "signal to noise ratio". It's been proven to be useless! So, reviews and detailed comparisons, especially from forums like the RightMark Analyzer ones can be most useful.

For sound modules, I agree it's different. But I don't think it takes much to weed the good from the bad, just common sense- you don't read the short 5 line reviews where random fans/critics say ambiguous things, but rather long reviews which detailedly explain the pros and cons. Like the excellent website Sound-On-Sound, one of the reasons I got my SC-8850.

- Alistair

[Ari]

Ari, the Audiophile is a sound card, not a tone generator.

I'm well aware of that, which is why I said what I said.  :roll:

Specifications for sound cards these days are completely jargonistic and meaningless. I mean, "signal to noise ratio". It's been proven to be useless! So, reviews and detailed comparisons, especially from forums like the RightMark Analyzer ones can be most useful.

For sound modules, I agree it's different. But I don't think it takes much to weed the good from the bad, just common sense- you don't read the short 5 line reviews where random fans/critics say ambiguous things, but rather long reviews which detailedly explain the pros and cons. Like the excellent website Sound-On-Sound, one of the reasons I got my SC-8850.

- Alistair

The point is, it's not a matter of weeding the good from the bad, rather, of personal taste. The only really good way to determine what you like is by listening to the module before buying it the same way you do when you go buy an audio system for your home theatre or the likes.
You have to hear the different instruments, how they're combined, give them a listen with your own CDs, or in this case, favorite MIDIs. That's the only way you can be sure you'll like it or hate it. Not by reading a review, or even listening to MP3 demos that supposadly give you an indication of what the device actually sounds like.