Concurrent competitors of Roland SC modules in past

[Juho Sippola]

I'd like to get some sort of new sound module just to get some extra variation vs. my three SC-55 class synths. Better SC's (88, 88pro, 8820/8850) are next to impossible to find in Finland. I'd like to look elsewhere. Can someone list some sound modules that were "direct" competitors of Sound Canvas series at the time they were manufactured and marketed?

Any links, demos and interesting documentation are appreciated.

[Alistair]

Yamaha MU series springs to mind.

- Alistair

[shad0wfax]

As Alistair points out, Yamaha's MU series are (were) the direct competitors of Roland's Sound Canvas series, in specs and market. Far beyond, there are plenty of other GM compatible synths, but none of them supposed a real competition (in terms of market, not in specs, of course). Some interesting options are Korg's NS5R and NX5R sound modules. The NS5R is not, strictly speaking, GS nor XG compatible, but has GM, GS and XG soundmaps (besides a native mode). It came out in 1995 as a response to Roland SC-88 and Yamaha MU-80, and I think it's better than any of those. The NX5R is the same as the NS5R but black (NS5R is white) and with a DB50XG (or very simmilar) board installed, making it 100% XG-compatible.