Just played a Roland Gaia at the store

[anoteoftruth]

What a POS.

[Moogtard]

Ha!

[Brian G]

What did you not like about it ?
Everyone will have the opinion on it. I played it when it first hit the stores and spent some time programming it. Not a bad synth for that price point, while maybe not “true analog” it has a lot of potential for very useful, warm, punchy sounds. One of the cool things is it is really like three individual 1 osc synths. Think of it as the review in Keyboard said as three SH101under one hood. Each of the three can be adjusted individually, in pairs or all three together. I think it’s worth a look for anyone thinking of a “analog” poly whether they are an experienced player or programmer or someone starting out. Does it look like a “toy” yeah kind of, but it can and does sound good. I honestly did not dive into the presets too far.

All that being said, am I rushing out to add one to my set-up ? No, not at this point. Would I consider one in the future ? Sure. The reason not now is I have other synths that I can combine to achieve many of the same results.

[EricK]

What a POS.

You obviously didn't mess with the D-Beam.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[LivePsy]

One sweep of the filter in a youtube demo told me all I need to know This is why we like Moog.

Regards,
B

[Brian G]

I love all of my Moogs, and the other "tools" in my studio. Each has something to offer .
Each works well alone and in combination with something esle.

We all know YouTube videos are the best way to hear how something works :)

Is the Gaia the be all end all ? No. Is it another tool worth looking at ? Yes. Is it for everyone ? No.....

[EricK]

I didn't think the filters sounded all that bad in the youtube demo I watched. Having a multimode filter is nice.

[anoteoftruth]

The filters sounded weak and cheap honestly. The whole thing sounded weak and cheap. Honestly I don't know why a person would buy this over a microkorg or vice versa... It's the same realm of cheapness if you ask me. As soon as you play a note u can tell what this whole thing is gonna be like... and after playing around with it more, it just proves it to you.. it sounds horrible.

Is it worth checking out? I wouldnt recommend anyone to check it out, although I acknowledge a lot of people would, and they wouldnt from their perspective always see the same problems I see with it.... hell half the people I talk to still boast about their microkorg, telling me its oh so cool.

Yes I did play with the D-beam haha. That was just embarrassing haha. Especially getting the "oh god look at this guy" look from the dude that worked there hahaha.

I'm not one of those guys who's all Moog or all Analog or nothing (though I do side with analog), and I have a long list of various tools I use in my studio... but the GAIA is just cheap crap... end of story. It's another addition to the ever growing list of cheap crap beginner synthesizers. Beyond that I'm not sure how anyone with a real ear for sound could take this thing seriously.

[Disgustine]

I played one at the local music shop and I have to agree it does sound pretty empty. Out of all the sounds I ran through I found a few that were interesting, but this synth would definitely limit my style. I think the SH201 is way cooler, and that also has a D-beam.

[m0rb1d]

What a POS.

You obviously didn't mess with the D-Beam.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

HA!
i'm definately not a fan of roland, a good majority of their new gear sounds and feels like garbage to me. i was talking to their sales rep and asked him about a new sweet analog anything and he laughed in my face and said something like "HAH ANALOG THATS LIKE SELLING A 65 CHEVY KID!"
then he showed me their brochure of new products with bleep like the V-CORDIAN with awesome interchangable fire and tribal graphix.

cool roland!

thanks for discontinuing the vsynth too!

[Franz Schiller]

I actually like the interface, but the filter sounds buzzy, and annoying. The D-Beam in theory sounds good, but many years ago, I had a Roland with a D-Beam, and I really couldn't find any use for it. It really is...uh, useless.

[_DemonDan_]

What a POS...
The whole thing sounded weak and cheap.

I played one at the local music shop and I have
to agree it does sound pretty empty.

I had a Roland with a D-Beam, and I really couldn't
find any use for it. It really is...uh, useless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIimFqrfpfw

.

[anoteoftruth]

What a POS...
The whole thing sounded weak and cheap.

I played one at the local music shop and I have
to agree it does sound pretty empty.

I had a Roland with a D-Beam, and I really couldn't
find any use for it. It really is...uh, useless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIimFqrfpfw

.

Proved my point exactly.

Just as cheap and gimmicky as the lighting effect in the video.

[EricK]

I actually thought that was a sweet demo.

I am biting my tounge on the D-Beam though.

Eric

[LivePsy]

Very impressive demo, it puts a better light on it. Well, not literally like in the video! The D-Beam as usual is stupid and makes you look stupid. I am very impressed with Gaia's sounds, but the filter is thin and brittle for filter sweeps. You can expect terrible stepping with fast envelopes and modulation. After analog, digital synth envelopes are just plain wrong and audio range modulation is shite, yes I'm looking at you Roland.

IMHO of course,
B