And there's still 256 memory locations for user voices and two for user drum kits. The resulting 20Mb of waveforms - two and a half times that found on the SC88 - provides 1117 sounds and 42 drum kits. The original SC88's sound set was vast, at 654 instruments and 24 drum kits, but this has now been almost doubled with the addition of waveforms and sounds drawn from Roland's JD‑ and JV‑series synth expansion board options. One of the most significant enhancements to be found on the Pro has to be in the sound department. Physically, you have to look closely to find differences between the SC88 Pro and its non‑Pro predecessor, though front‑panel labelling has been modified, so that apart from the word 'Pro' being added next to 'SC88', many of the buttons are re‑named to reflect new features and functions. Korg's NS5R and Yamaha's MU80 and forthcoming MU90R all offer something similar. The Pro has all this, and more - which is just as well, since such a specification is nothing out of the ordinary these days. In short, the SC88, housed in a half‑rack package slightly taller than 1U high, offered 64‑note polyphony, 32‑part multitimbrality (via two MIDI In sockets, one duplicated on the front panel), a GM/GS sound set much enhanced by many extra banks of variation sounds, front‑panel editing, three effects processors plus 2‑band EQ, stereo audio input, a PC/Macintosh interface, and an internal power supply.

For some basic background on the SC88 ethos, take a look at the SOS review which appeared back in September 1994 (the MGS64 was reviewed in October 1995). Given that the original SC88 was already a high‑quality, and relatively high‑priced, module, adding a 'Pro' tag to the new model should really promise something special. The intervening time has seen Roland cut and paste the Sound Canvas innards into a rackmounting module (the MGS64), and repackage the original as the grey‑liveried SC88VL desktop music module. What's even more surprising is that, in this age of fast turnover in the hi‑tech music market, it's taken this long for Roland to come up with a successor. It hardly seems possible, yet it's nearly two and a half years since Roland released the SC88 Super Sound Canvas, the company's then‑definitive statement of what a General MIDI sound module could be. So is the new upgraded SC88 Pro a luxurious stretch limo complete with mini‑bar and luxuriant walnut veneer? Derek Johnson dons his chauffeur's cap and takes it for a drive. Roland's SC88 could be described as a Rolls‑Royce in the world of General MIDI sound modules.

Roland sound canvas sc-88