The Roland VariOS is a production environment with audio editing and sample playback, released by
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has f ...
in 2003. It is based on the technology from the VP-9000 VariPhrase processor, and features the ability to mount two expansion cards.
Overview
The Roland VariOS is a rack-mounted open-ended variable system module. It is possible to independently manipulate the pitch, time and formant of a sample, add effects and build complete audio-based arrangements—all in a real-time environment and without CPU drain. In addition, the VariOS can emulate analogue synthesisers such as the
Roland Jupiter 8 and
Roland TB-303.
The VariOS can operate as a stand-alone tool or alongside digital audio sequencers using
MIDI clock and MTC sync. V-Producer arrangements can be saved as a Standard
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 ...
File, and processed audio files can be exported in
WAV or
AIFF format for use in other editors and software.
Expansion cards
Two expansion cards were released for the VariOS. The VC-1 emulates a
Roland D-50
The Roland D-50 is a synthesizer produced by Roland and released in April 1987. Its features include subtractive synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analogue synthesis-styled layout design. The external Roland ...
,
while the VC-2 can allow vocal processing with an external microphone, with effects such as a
vocoder and choir. Roland has not announced plans to release any future expansion cards. Furthermore, it appears the VC-2 is now out of production, with various sources claiming that Roland made a set number of cards in an "estimation" of demand.
References
External links
* Official Site
VariOS(ROLAND)
VariOS
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