Rolands

At CES 2023, Roland introduced a streaming mixer called Bridge Cast, which can give creators a way to pipe different audio feeds to different destinations and make it easy for them to create mixes, add vocal effects and remove unwanted audio. Now, the company has unveiled a follow-up to the device called Bridge Cast X that adds video support on top of all its predecessor's audio-focused features. The Bridge Cast X has two HDMI input ports and an HDMI Thru connector that can feed video up to 4K in resolution to an external…

Roland just unveiled its latest software plugin instrument. Galaxias, not to be confused with the Galaga-esque arcade game Galaxia, offers access to 20,000 sounds, leading Roland to call it “one big super instrument.” It runs as a standalone application on both macOS and Windows, in addition to operating as a VST3 or AU plugin.This looks a lot like as Galaxias provides access to sounds across Roland’s entire history. There are presets sourced from nearly every Roland instrument you can think of, from the iconic Jupiter 8…

2022 marked the 50th anniversary of storied instrument maker Roland. But, even though we've switched over to our 2023 calendars, the company took the opportunity at CES to take one more victory lap by showing off its 50th Anniversary Concept Piano. It's an audacious electronic piano built in collaboration with Japanese furniture maker Karimoku. The outside is one piece molded from Japanese Nara oak that hides a 360-degree, 14 speaker system.  If the elegant curves stuffed to the brim with speakers aren't exciting enough…

Image: Roland CorporationCES isn’t just a chance for companies to debut all the gadgets and devices they’ll be insisting consumers buy throughout the coming year, it’s also a chance to debut concept designs providing a sneak peek at technologies arriving in the decades to come. For Roland, that’s apparently a digital piano that surrounds the performer in a swarm of flying surround-sound speaker drones.Roland’s been making electronic pianos since the debut of the EP-10 back in 1973, but the Japanese company’s actually been…

Roland may be a mainstay in the electronic music world, but it also dabbles in the occasional creator product, too. This year at CES the company has unveiled an audio interface aimed squarely at streamers and it’s called the Bridge Cast ($299). Like rival products such as the GoXLR or Rode’s Rodcaster Pro II, the Bridge Cast offers a way to pipe different audio feeds (chat, music, game audio, browser sounds and so on) to different destinations - usually your local mix and the one your audience hears. As you’d expect,…

When I went hands-on with Roland's SP-404 MKII back in October I said it was "becoming" my favorite sampler. Fast forward a few months and it is firmly entrenched in that spot. Of course, no piece of gear is perfect, and there's always room for improvement. So Roland is pushing out a 2.0 firmware update that only further cement's the 404's place at the top of my list. Perhaps the biggest addition is a new TR-style (as in TR-808) step sequencer. While the SP series has always appealed more to those that want the loose feel…