The Roland SC-55 ( Sound Canvas) is a GS

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, an ...

sound module A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which th ...

released in 1991 by

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

. The SC-55 was the first sound module to incorporate the new

General MIDI General MIDI (also known as GM or GM 1) is a standardized specification for electronic musical instruments that respond to MIDI messages. GM was developed by the American MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) and the Japan MIDI Standards Commi ...

standard. It was the first in the Roland Sound Canvas series. The SC-55 used both PCM and a cut-down version of the LA synthesis engine, to support 24-voice polyphony with 16-part multitimbrality. It came preloaded with the

Roland MT-32 The Roland MT-32 Multi-Timbre Sound Module is a MIDI synthesizer module first released in 1987 by Roland Corporation. It was originally marketed to amateur musicians as a budget external synthesizer with an original list price of $695. However, i ...

's variation bank, but lacked the MT-32's re-programmability. Aimed at PC music enthusiasts, the SC-55 featured 317 instrument patches, including the GS drum kits and additional controllers. The selection of effects includes

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

and

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

. Alongside the SC-55, Roland released the SB-55 (Sound Brush), an inexpensive MIDI sequencer module the same size as the Sound Canvas. Both the Sound Canvas and Sound Brush could be rackmounted alongside each other. Other models with comparable tone generators include Roland CM-300, Roland CM-500 and Roland SC-155 sound modules. CM-300 and CM-500 models lack the LCD screen and extended controls of SC-55. Both models have external appearance nearly identical to Roland's earlier CM-32/64-series modules. SC-155 adds additional slider controls for master and channel level and panning. Additionally, CM-500 includes fully SysEx compatible LA tone generator similar to CM-32Ls.

The SC-55mkII

A minor upgrade to the original SC-55, the Roland SC-55mkII has increased polyphony (28 voices), more patches, raising the total number to 354 instruments and extended, and improved audio-circuitry in the form of 18-bit audio (versus 16-bit in the original SC 55.) The SC-55mkII added a serial port as an alternative interface to the MPU-401.

Roland SCC-1

Roland also released the Roland SCC-1, an 8-bit ISA half-size card incarnation of the SC-55 sound module. The sound source is controlled by an on-board MIDI Processing Unit, a variant of the

MPU-401 The MPU-401, where ''MPU'' stands for MIDI Processing Unit, is an important but now obsolete interface for connecting MIDI-equipped electronic music hardware to personal computers. It was designed by Roland Corporation, which also co-authored the ...

unit. An updated version featuring the SC-55mkII sound set was also released, known as SCC-1A. When bundled with the Band-in-a-Box and BalladeGS software, it's called SCC-1B. Roland later replaced the SCC-1 with a combination of their MPU-401AT MIDI interface card and SCB-55 Wave Blaster-compatible daughterboard. Roland referred to this combination as the SCM-15AT. The SCC-1 was also sold as the GPPC-N for the NEC PC-98.

CM-32P and MT-32 Emulation

Since the SC-55 has no programmable memory, CM-32P and MT-32 emulation is done by providing the same sound arrangement as the preset sounds of actual devices. These variation banks are enabled by playing back special SysEx containing MIDI files, for example GS32.MID (included in the SCC-1 Utility Software), prior to loading a software title. These specially arranged tone tables contain the relevant GS sound mapped at either CM-32P or MT-32 program number. Pitch bend range is changed to 12

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

from GS default 2 semitones. Master tuning and modulation depth are not altered by the emulation. Pan directions are reversed from actual CM-32P or MT-32 devices. CM-32P or MT-32 specific

SysEx messages are also ignored by the SC-55.

MT-32 Emulation Samples

The Roland SC-55's CM-32P and MT-32 emulation is based on using preset sounds of the actual devices without utilizing programmable memory or actual device synthesis techniques. This results in poor emulation for software titles relying on custom programmable MT-32 sounds as demonstrated by the introduction of the

Sierra On-Line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre ...

game Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon. Software titles supporting the Roland MT-32 but not utilizing its memory are emulated with better results as demonstrated by the introduction song from

Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games ...

' Ultima VI: The False Prophet.

Use in media

The sounds of the SC-55 (or any other similar Roland products) can be recognized in various television jingles and production music during the 1990s. It is also notable for its use in various episodes of British television series '' Mr. Bean''.

Notable Users

* Liz Kitchen (

Tweenies ''Tweenies'' is a British live action Puppet children's television series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan. The programme is focused on four pre-school aged characters, known as the "Tweenies", playing, singing, dancing, and learning ...

Playdays ''Playdays'' (known as ''Playbus'' until December 1989) is a British pre-school television programme which ran from 1988 to 1997 on CBBC. The show was the successor to ''Play School'' and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational p ...

, Tikkabilla, The Shiny Show) * Francis Haines (

The Story Makers ''The Story Makers'' is an educational children's television programme that was broadcast on the BBC's pre-school digital television network, CBeebies as well as being one of the launch programmes for the channel. ''The Story Makers'' is se ...

, Mr Men, Timbuctoo, The Shiny Show, Tikkabilla, Busy Buses) * Robert Hartley ('' Brum'',

Teletubbies ''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on t ...

Rosie and Jim ''Rosie and Jim'' (sometimes written as ''Rosie & Jim'') is a British children's television programme which was produced by Ragdoll Productions and aired on ITV from 3 September 1990 to 16 May 2000. The programme was then repeated periodical ...

) * Kim Goody & Alan Coates ( Fifi and the Flowertots,

Tiny Planets ''Tiny Planets'' is a computer-animated children's television series co-produced by Sesame Workshop and Pepper's Ghost Productions. The concept was created by the late Nina Elias-Bamberger at Sesame Workshop with character designs by Ed Taylor. ...

, Mike & Angelo,

Roary the Racing Car ''Roary the Racing Car'' (stylised as ''ROARY: The Racing Car'') is a British-stop-motion children's television series created by David Jenkins and produced by Chapman Entertainment and Cosgrove Hall Films. It follows the adventures of Roar ...

) * Dave Cooke (''

ChuckleVision ''ChuckleVision'' is a British children's comedy television series created by Martin Hughes and the Chuckle Brothers for the BBC. It starred Barry and Paul Elliott as the Chuckle Brothers and occasionally their older brothers, Jimmy, and Brian ...

'') * KICK Productions ( Sitting Ducks, Fimbles,

Rubbadubbers ''Rubbadubbers'' is a 2003 British stop-motion children's television series produced by HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series aired from 15 January 2003 to 3 November 2005 on BBC2 in the UK. Created by Peter Curtis, it features seven ...

, The Beano All-Stars) *Bob Singleton (

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...

) * Julian Ronnie (''

Sooty Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in 1955, with the ...

'', Bug Alert!,

Jellikins Jellabies (also known as Jellikins or The Jellies) is an Australian-British children's animated television series that aired on the Australian television network ABC Kids from 18 May 1998 until 2003. It was also shown in Germany, ( Super RTL), ...

)

External links

* http://www.xs4all.nl/~hanwen/personal/synth/roland_supp_notes.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Roland SC-55 SC-55 Sound modules