EMU Proteus 2000 over XV3080 or..?

[Hidden]

Hi all, I am about to replace my Roland JV1080 module, in January or February. was thinking about the Proteus 2000. I have not beeng doing this (music) for a long time, but am very versatile when it comes to musical taste and styles. I like artists and groups like Suzanne Vega, Type O Negative (well a few..), Smashing Pumkins, Alanis M., Kraftwerk, U2, Genesis, Pink Floyd e.t.c.

I play guitar and used to play some keyboard a long time ago, time to refresh my skills from the past *G*

Well, anyway - I bought the JV1080 second hand, it had a few scratches but is in perfect shap, never had a serios problem using it execpt sometimes when playing a song on my PC, the system menus on the JV can all of a sudden get stuck and I have to turn it off and then back on. Doesn´t happen much, though.

Although I like the JV1080, I mean it sounds great for such an old module, editing the sounds to get what I want will be too much waste of time IMO. I love orchestral sounds, and will expand the P2k with 2 orchestral cards if I decide to buy it. I also love ambient, techno, rock e.t.c... and so far the P2k seems to be an excellent choice for the money.

Only problem is that I have seen 2 webshops selling the P2k in my country, there are probably many more, but AFAIK the P2k is already getting old, and yet I have to pay (local currency) about $1.000 for it, even though they have the nerve to call it a great offer! I then check Sonic state and it says $650

And only 2 effects simultaneously seems little compared to the new XV from Roland, so I am having doubts here! What should I choose, Proteus 2000 or Roland XV 3080?

I would love to try the Triton rack module, but it is too far beyond my limits right now, or maybe I find it second hand nice price :-) If so, should I go for Triton perhaps, instead of the above.

Thanks in advance

[Hidden]

*bump*. Getting cash next week..

[Hidden]

BTW, if it´s not too much to ask for....


What is the difference betweeen Proteus 2000 and Proteus 2500. The latter is HUGE, and I love the demo files I´ve heard. Very nice piano and other sounds.

A-nybody? http://www.audioforums.com/forums/smile.gif

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[EasyJoey]

I bought both... after using both I returned the P2K because the Roland had a lot more sounds for what I was looking for. I do miss the 4 knobs on the front of the EMU that allows you to quickly edit the Attack, Decay etc.

The roland is great and the effects are strong.

[Hidden]

Thanks, but now I am even more confused, because of the XV5050!

I have found 2-3 webshops in my own country selling those, but none of them sell both for some reason. The XV5050 is cheaper than the XV3080 - what is the most important difference between those two? From what I´ve read so far, it seems like the main difference is 64 voices (XV5050, 3080 has 128 voices)and USB connection (XV5050) which I will probably not be using anyway.

Wish I could afford the EMU Proteus 2500 anyway, sounds great http://www.audioforums.com/forums/smile.gif But one of the XV modules will make me happy too as I had great fun with the JV1080.

Hidden

[EasyJoey]

Hey, you are saying you can get the 5080 for LESS than the 3080? If so, buy it! It has phrase sampling in it. The 5080 listed for $500 more than the 3080 when I bought mine. Do yourself a favor and buy the 5080.

Joe

[Hidden]

God no, I would probably have sold my own mother if I could get the 5080 for less than the 3080!! LMAO.

I was talking about the XV 5050, a scaled down version of the 5080, here´s a picture and specs:
http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/2001/XV-5050.html

They say it is based on the technology of the 5080 (but without the phrase sampling of course). What do you think it is better or worse than the 3080? It certainly is not as big.. (sometimes big is good!)


Hidden

[This message has been edited by Hidden (edited 01-20-2002).]

[EasyJoey]

Hello... I just read about the XV-5050. It looks very interseting but it is not available yet. I tried to find a price on it and couldn't. Therefore, I am not sure I can make a comparison. I like the idea of USB also. The front panel doesn't appear to be as used friendly as the 3080. I find the Roland stuff a little more tricky to edit the sounds than other machines and the lack of buttons makes me think you would have to go through even more menus to get things done. I would go and check out both the 3080 and the P2k. Spend a lot of time with each and decide that way. I love my 3080.

Joe

[Hidden]

Well I loved my JV1080, and I noticed the small display and few buttons on the 5050. But if it souns much better than the 3080, I want it, no doubt. On the other hand, the 3080 is probably more versatile. Oh I don´t know. The XV 5050 has a pricetag at 2-3 of the webshops I checked recently, about $1100. Norway is a very expensive country, the 3080 is about $1300, on sale.

[EasyJoey]

Well, here you can get the 3080 for 999.00 several places. This was about 2 months ago... now I bet they are even cheaper! I know the 3080 is a safe bet. I think I paid around 1400.00 over a year ago.

Maybe if you know someone here, they can get it for you and ship it to you.

Joe

[Hidden]

I appreciate your input, but first of all: I am not willing to take such a risc (buying not only from strangers, but in another country as well, and I have not faith in Ebay whatsoever), second: Buying something like that from foreign countries would cost me a fortune because of the Norwegian post and toll which would add at least $2-300. It would cost as much as buying it brand new here in Norway :-( So if I decided to trust someone over there to send me a 3080 for a better price, it would still cost me as much as a new unit in my own country, unfortunately.

The only thing I buy from foreign countries is DVD movies, audio CDs and books (I love play247.com and Amazon.co.uk).

Back to the 5050 for a moment: Something that made me wonder: All those presets, yet not one word on user presets or programming, strange. It has 128 Fantom sounds.. (sigh).

I will most likely choose the 3080 anyway, as it accepts both the old JV/XV and SXR cards. The JV1080 still rocks, after all, and the 3080 is only about a year old as far as I know? Or, to put it more precisely: It is just and updated JV1080/2080, which is fine by me as long as it sounds better and hopefully easier to acheive the sound you want. I found this anything but easy with the JV1080 after all. I know about Sound Diver, but it cost $200+ AFAIK. Am probably going to get it later, though, if it really is that good as people keep saying.

And finally something that bothers me just a little bit, about the 3080: (from Sonicstate)

Whilst I like the idea of backward compatibility with the older units, I think Roland could have done better than simply fill up 4 of the preset patch banks with sounds that have already been with us for over half a decade and we can't overwrite them!! This is just my opinion obviously.

Why Roland, why?? I want something NEW. Is this Roland forcing people to spend a fortune on expansion cards, on purpose?


Hidden

[EasyJoey]

Hidden,

Yea, I was wondering about what Norway would cost you to import it. That is too bad.

About Soundriver... it is a dream. Edit everything with your pc which makes life nice and easy. Plus you can store all your sounds there so you basically have unlimited storage. You can get soundiver for $99.00 from Emagic.... provided you have an OEM version somewhere. Surely a piece of your gear came with one.... like the POD you just bought! (wink wink)

Anyway, about the sounds in the 3080. I think they are fresh and new. They sound great and work really well for bread and butter sounds. I do a lot of crazy stuff so I use my Access Virus B and Akai S5000 for all that.

The 3080 will make you happy. With Soundriver, you will be extremely happy.

Joe

[Hidden]

Thank God (literally), finally I´ve got enough cash in my bank account to buy the XV 3080 and then some.

Until now I have bought second hand equipment mostly, this feels like a very important next step in my life, actually, and I will put a lot more time into making music.

Thanks a lot for your input, I am 100% sure about the XV 3080 now, because I loved the JV1080, there is nothing like those modules.

BTW: I am looking for something to replace my Roland PC 200 MIDI keyboard. It is not bad, but.. I -have been playing keyboards- (and pianos) when I was younger, after all, and this keyboards gives me a yucky feeling, I need something better with a nice feeling to it when playing. Nothing expensive, and I just need a MIDI controller, not a synth (as I´ll get the XV 3080), suggestions?

What about FATAR, is it good? I have read about people having problems with the MIDI or something, am not sure.

BTW: Am just curious, is the Yamaha CS6R a Dance synth only? Or what about Yamaha S30

Uh oh.. what to choose *G*


Best regards


Hidden

[This message has been edited by Hidden (edited 01-23-2002).]

[Hidden]

Forget what I just said, it is no longer possible to get a new XV 3080. Some of you probably browse the Harmony Central forums and have seen what I said on this issue.

Anyway.. they (the webshop) are trying to sell me one of the brand new XV 5050 modules. I am a weak person.. and it is cheaper, so...

I know it is probably hard to understand, but I was in love with my JV1080, and the XV 3080 looks cute too. All those buttons, a rather big display and a big box. The new 5050 looks just.. cheap.. (ok so it turns me on somehow.. heh..). It #¤#¤% looks like a W¤#% Hyundai for crying out loud!


Hidden

[laptopgeek]

Hi hidden,

>>What about FATAR, is it good? I have read about people having problems with the MIDI or something, am not sure.<<

I use two Fatar midi controllers with my setup at home and don't have any problems with them. A 6100 PLUS, a Studiologic 1100 and a Roland PK-5 running through a EMU 2500 with a Soundblaster live. I run it all through a Univox 250W amp and a 6' tall "EARTH" cabinet...

(makes the trees shake....).

Regards,
Mark