it's not there Roland MKS-50

Roland MKS-50





The Roland MKS50 is the rackmount version of the Roland Alpha Juno which included the ability to add portamento, detune, and other parameters to patches. It was equipped with chord memory, and could also use the PG-300 programmer.

The MKS-50 offers the same features as the Alpha Juno & Like the Alpha Juno synths you really need the PG-300 programmer to make them come to life. In that respect you'd probably be better off going for the rack version than the keyboard Alpha Juno because frankly the keys version doesn't offer anything extra & just takes up space.

 

The PG-300 programmer

 

 

The Roland MKS50 is the rackmount version of the Roland alpha Juno. It is cased in a one unit rack box made of sturdy metal. On the rear you have one each of midi in, thru and out and one pair of audio out. It has internal powersupply so you don't get one of those ugly "wall warts". On the front there is one volumeknob, an LCD display and a bunch of push buttons.

 

Soundwise it is a 6 voice DCO synth. DCO means that it has digitally shaped oscillators, you could say it is an early form of VA. The DCO outputs square, triangle and sine. Then you have one sub oscillator that adds a suboctave copy of the DCO and a noise generator. The pulswidth of the square can be modualted by the LFO or ENV of which you get one each. On the downside is that although you can control amplitude,pitch, pulswidth and the filter for the sound you only have just that one ENV so they must all follow that same shape. The same goes for the LFO, but you can of course modulate with different amount of the ENV and LFO. On part of polyphony you get six voices of the same sound. So it can only play one sound at a time, no multitimbrality here, but you can atleast play chords using the six voices. Included in the machine is also a chorus that comes in handy for pads and strings.

 

The sound that comes out of this engine can be descibed as synthetic and semi fat. With that I mean that it is warm and analog, but not as full smooth and big as a minimoog or even an Roland SH09. It rather has a character of its own that places it beetween the moogs and the TB303's squelchy and screeming tones. This makes it good for things like sweeping pads, synthetic strings, electric basses and some snapping pops and thuds.

 

The inteface using only push-buttons and stepping menues is not an ideal for sound editing, but there are editors out for it to most sequencer software. Its sys-ex implementation is also very simple so you can edit if from a midifader box if you put your mind to it or buy a Roland PG-300 programmer if you can find one. If you are looking for one of these units I advice you to get one with the programmer right away cause the PG-300 is dedicated for the job.

 

Conclusion: A well build sturdy piece of 1u rack synth that adds one nice sound to your arsenal if you are looking for synthetic pads, sweeps or electric sounds. It works well with midi so it doesn't require a midiretrofit or midi-cv converter to work with your other midi gear. All in a all a plain and simple unit that will work faithfully if you like its sound.

 

Easy of use: 5/10
Build Quality: 9/10
Support: 7/10

 

You will find more info and patches for the MKS50 on this site.







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Added: 16 March 2000
New price: discontinued
S/H price: £600
Company:  ROLAND UK

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This product is part of
Roland's
Juno series

Alpha Juno 1

Alpha Juno 2

Juno-106

JUNO-6

JUNO-60

JX-10

JX-3P

JX-8P

MKS-30

MKS-50

MKS-70


Roland's Juno series were the last analog synths made by the company before they switched to sample digital synthesis. All Juno synths used Digitally Controlled Oscillators (DCO's), starting with the 1982 6-voice Juno-6 with built-in chorus effect. Roland followed on with the updated Juno-60 released less than a year later also in 1982, which was essentially the Juno-6 but with the ability for the user to store 56 patches to memory, something the Juno-6 had lacked, however the Juno-60 still didn't have MIDi which came in just a year later in 1983.

 

After releasing one final VCO analog synth - the Jupiter-6 which had basic MIDI specs - Roland released the Juno-106 which still sported front-panel Jupiter-style slider controls for key parameters but was a DCO synthesiser.

 

So to be 100% accurate they were the only three Juno synths - The Juno-6, Juno-60 & Juno-106 - All three were DCO synths and all three offer traditional front-panel Jupiter-style slider controls for the main synth parameters. 

 

Expanding the Juno series

For the sake of creating clarity & order for beginners trying to make sense of Roland's early synthesiser output, we are going to list the 'Juno' Series as all of the final 100% analog Roland synths made by Roland up until they stopped making analog synths and switched to sample digital synths with the D-50.

 

All these Roland synthesisers are titled Juno or have a J prefix. None of them used non-digitally controlled VCO's like the Jupiter Series. Apart from the Juno-106 they all used membrane switches on the front-panel, discarding the traditional knobs & sliders to edit & control sounds. They all used DCO oscillators.

 

If we organise Roland Juno & J-prefix series synthesisers like that, then the Juno Series after the Juno-6 & Juno-60 will also include the JX-3P, the Alpha Juno 1 & 2 - both fully analog synths with DCO's - and the final analog DCO flagship JX-8P  and its follow-up JX-10 or 'Super JX'.

 

The MKS rack versions

You could also include the rack version of the keyboard versions in the Juno Series too. The MKS-30, MKS-50 & final MKS-70 rack version of the JX-10 Super JX.

 

The SynthPlus home-keyboard versions

One can also include in the Juno Series the related & rare home-keyboard versions of the Juno-106 and the Alpha Juno 1 & Alpha Juno 2, which are the SynthPlus 60 (HS-60), the SynthPlus 10 (HS-10) & the SynthPlus 80 (HS-80) respectively - Roland do not list these three SynthPlus synths on their own Roland History blog page, but they have identical synthesiser engines & full MIDI specs the same as the Juno units they are based on.

 

 

 

We have therefore organised the 'Juno' synths this way on Dancetech so that visitors can see in one collection, all the final 100% analog DCO synths Roland made, all listed together in an easy to understand way.

 

The Juno Series sounded the final hurrah for Roland analog synths. Roland moved on to release their proprietery sample synthesis engine they called Linear Arithmatic Synthesis (or LA Synthesis), beginning with their groundbreaking flagship D-50 synth in 1987, and then on to physical modelling & analog modelling in various forms, never to return to making a real analog synth again apart from one Boutique series synth jointly made by Roland and the American company Studio Electronics.

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roland mks-50

Comments

nnh

02-Apr-00

There are a few errors in the review... there is no sine for the dco's or sub osc(which is only square, but there are a few different square waves), you can only modulate pulsewidth by a lfo, but the lfo for PWM is seperate from the filter and osc lfo.

And for the sound... I think this would be a great synth to use for house or trance basses and also has superb pads and strings. But not quite the synth for leads most of the time, definately not an acid synth.


pawL stevenZ

02-Apr-00

Weblink: link

I completely disagree with the main author of this review, maybe I'm biased because I've owned an Alpha Juno-1 for about 5 years now. (The MKS 50 is an Alpha Juno-1 in a rack with some extra features like chord memory and performaces)

This synth DOES approach the sounds of the Minimoog and 303, this is one of the fattest synths in exsistance, when compared to the newer virtual analogs there is no contest, the MKS-50 will eat the VA for lunch, and then rip your ears off.

The Hoover pad on this synth was made famous by Lords of Acid, L.A. Style, etc... You know that hollow rave sound of the late 80's early 90's. This is that synth. The only synths that even hold a candle to this synth are other Juno's in my opinion, although I've never heard another Juno make quite the same hoover sound.

The MKS-50 is in fact a Juno in a rack need I say more?


lunarwynd

11-Jun-00

A highly decent unit. The sound is very dated, but very useful. This and the alpha juno's were big with 80's rave bands. All those full but scratchy leads with lots of portamento you find all over Lords of Acid, TKK, and a ton of rave groups. Nothing else really makes that sound right. That's not to say original sounds can't come out of it. This is just its natural habitat. Loads of fun, easy to use little box though. Quite retro.


Puncher

30-Jun-00

it's for sure the nummer one choice for gabber/hardcore. It makes that typical lead you hear in almost every gabber/hc tune..but i wouldn't use it for other sounds than this


Justin Chodzko

07-Oct-01

The MKS50, & the Alpha Junos, are excellent for deep, tech-y house. They have the same mellow warmth of the earlier Junos but can also give harsher, almost clinical growls. The more complex envelope is another bonus over the earlier models, plus the ability to have a pitch envelope as well as the usual amp & filter envelopes is great for weird effects, such as the notorious hoover sound. Also, the chorus which is an essential part of the Juno sound has a variable control (although I am not sure yet if it is speed, depth or a combination of both) unlike to two presets of the Junos. I do not think the sub oscillator is quite as deep as on my Juno 60, which in turn is meant to be a little bassier than the Juno 106. However, the fact that it has a few different sub-osc waves means that it can do much sharper basses than the Junos. Ok, programming is easy but not as fast as the original Junos unless you have the PG300, or can write the Sysex data into a hardware midi controller. (I guess there are software options, but I do not use a computer for music.) The alpha dials on the Alpha Junos are probably quicker than the scrolling on the MKS50.
If, like me, you find most of the sounds on the new virtual analogue supersynths are just trying too hard, & are unusable unless most of what is going on is switched off, get one of these. If you feel you must have a Juno 106 or 60, try one of these too as they can be picked up pretty cheaply.


Grant

01-Dec-01

Great Fun, quirky
The Saws can be a bit 'reedy', the Sub is only Pulse Wave, which can sound a little cold unless filtered.
Overall it can sound very 'pure' due to its DCO's. It can have a slightly FM tonality (if you program it that way).
I think the mod options are what give this synth character. The PWM can sound frantic yet musical, and the chorus is VERY nice. There is a modulated saw which again can add some shimmering fizz if required. (These all being elements of the legendary 'Hoover' sound used by the Prodigy etc).
It can produce some very aggressive basses and great retro Stabby chorused chords.
Basicaly, it can go from clinical to warm depending on your programming, and is one of the more characterful of the DCO synths around.


STicKX

08-May-03

Weblink: link

The statement above about the DCO's being digitally shaped isn't true. DCO means digitally controlled oscillators. And that means that the pitch of the DCO is controlled by a digital signal as opposed to the older synth wich have voltage controlled oscillators. Pro's of DCO's: well only one realy, the pitch is stable. Con's: well the sound is overall thinner as opposed to voltage controlled oscillators (wich tend to "drift").

Just wanted to clear thing up here ;)


Michael Dow

28-May-08

yOU FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THIS IS THE ORIGIN OF THE FAMOUS HOOVER SOUND USED IN MILLIONS OF TUNES SINCE THE EARLY 90'S! (PRODIGY "CHARLY" DOMINATOR, MOST OF HARDHOUSE ETC ETC





Last added comment


jemes

29-May-08

Weblink: link

yes, although most people associate the hoover with the keyboard version alpha juno.


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