Roland JV-1080 hardware sound module vs Roland Cloud JV-1080 software

As we’ve just detailed the rise of the ROMpler polysynth (left), it’s apt that our first hardware/ software head-to-head comes by way of one of the most famous – and successful – hardware ROMpler/sound modules ever released, the Roland JV-1080. Released in 1994, this not only opened the door for a string of successors from Roland, notably the 2080 and 3080, but also from competing companies, so much so that the rest of the decade became an exercise in who could up the polyphony and multitimbrality stakes the most.

It was mostly Korg and Yamaha that were in competition with Roland with these kinds of sound modules back then, but the 1080 boasted some pretty good specs to start with, including 64-note polyphony and a full 16 parts of multitimbrality. You could basically produce complete songs with it, and it was packed to the brim with sounds to do just that, featuring three banks of 128 presets, 128 user locations and performances, where parts could be layered or played as multitimbral setups. The ace up its sleeve, though, was its ability to expand via four JV slots so you could add cards with themed collections of extra sounds: World, Techno, Vintage Synth and more.

We’re putting the original hardware JV-1080 up against its direct software counterpart, the Roland Cloud JV-1080. This is one of many Roland synths available in the Roland Cloud (including all of the analogue classics, many digital ones and loads of other sound content for between $2.99 and $19.99/month).

It’s probably the most direct comparison of hardware and software that we could make for this feature as both hardware and software feature the same preset names. You would think, then, that, especially with both hardware and software being digital, there would be little to choose between the two.

Well, we’ll let you decide, as we think there might well be. The JV-1080 is seen as one of the better choiced JVs because its output converters are said to sound better. Whether you can hear that, of course, is where our listening tests come in – see left. We think you might be quite surprised at the differences you’ll hear but don’t let us sway you!

Now turn the page as we do it all again with the Sequential Prophet V.