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  • [thoroughly appropriate jazz]

  • Greetings and welcome to an LGR MIDI music thing!

  • This time weve got a lovely piece of retro kit I just got in from Osaka, Japan:

  • the Roland Sound Canvas SC-55ST, that sold for

  • around 400 US dollars upon its initial introduction in 1993. Also sold under Roland’s

  • Edirol brand, the SC-55ST was a cost-reduced alternative to its luxurious older sibling,

  • the SC-55. Considering that beautiful beast sold for twice the price at the time, this

  • ST edition was an alluring prospect. Particularly so to PC gamers seeking a somewhat lower cost

  • MIDI music solution, since the 55ST offers the exact same sounds as the full-fat Sound

  • Canvas, without those front panel controls most gamers didn’t need anyway. So yeah,

  • $400, $800, whatever! Either way, now your music could sound like this in 1993.

  • [“Trip Through The Grand Canyonby George Stone]

  • Ahh, that classic Sound Canvas soundscape, all in a package half the price of the functionally

  • identical SC-55 Mark II. The major concession being that, other than the missing front panel,

  • the SC-55ST outputs 16-bit audio instead of the 55’s 18-bit. Something the everyday

  • user probably wouldn’t notice considering the abilities of the average desktop computer

  • speakers at the time. Reference-quality studio monitors, these ain’t. The other notable

  • differences come around back, with only a single MIDI input and RCA line-level output,

  • no MIDI out, thru, or auxiliary input like the 55. Again though, being geared more towards

  • MIDI playback than music production, the typical SC-55ST user wasn’t going to be missing

  • those anyway. Besides, you still got the same serial I/O section for connecting it directly

  • to a computer. This way, you could connect it to your machine without pesky MIDI cables

  • or a processing unit like the MPU-401. All you needed was the Roland serial interface

  • cable, compatible software for Windows, DOS, or Mac OS, and you were good to go. Certain

  • games may need a bit more but yeah y’know that was the idea anyway. And in this particular

  • bundle from Japan, an assortment of software was provided for the NEC PC-98 series of computers,

  • along with a pair of headphones and glorious amounts of documentation. Unfortunately, mine

  • was just the sound module and cables in a box. Cool by me

  • since I got a good deal on it, just over 4,000 yen for everything.

  • Though, you may wonder why I wanted this to begin

  • with since I already own an SC-55 Mark II and an SC-88, both of which I’ve covered

  • on LGR, and both of which are far more capable. Well, beyond the fact that my impulse control

  • is dangerously close to zero when it comes to retro Roland hardware from Japan? The biggest

  • reason is because I think it looks fantastic in its clean off-white plastic shell. Yeah

  • it also came in dark gray like many other Sound Canvasses, but when I saw the bright

  • white variant I couldn’t say no. It’s similar to Roland’s Computer Music series,

  • like the CM-32 and the CM-300, which also came in a similar beige housing and no front

  • panel controls, being cut-down versions of the MT-32 and SC-55. Unlike those however,

  • the 55ST is a proper single unit half rack device, meaning that its height is the same

  • as a 1U rack mount module but its width is about half that, at nearly 22 centimeters

  • orinches. Which is awesome, I love collecting half rack MIDI modules since theyre all

  • so different but the same basic size. Thing is though, I almost never need to touch the

  • additional controls and connections they provide. At least on a DOS PC, where my main motivation

  • is playing MIDI soundtracks to classic computer games like Duke 3D.

  • [Duke Nukem 3D theme plays]

  • So yeah, other than volume, I rarely ever end up adjusting the settings on the SC-55

  • or 88 when it comes to games. As a result, I’ve actually ended up moving these beefier

  • Sound Canvas units into my synth setup, and that’s a whoooolenother can of musical

  • worms, completely unrelated to my PC MIDI playback stuff. So this left an opening on

  • my desk for something more suited to beige-covered 90s computer gaming, and the SC-55ST fit the

  • bill perfectly! Pretty much just plug and play and look good doing it, not much more

  • to it than that. Power on the left, volume knob on the right,

  • and a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack beside that. Excellent.

  • [Duke 3D theme triumphantly plays again]

  • Mm, that’s sounding good! Just like the SC-55 Mark II,

  • the 55ST here is a digital ROM-based sampler, or Rompler,

  • providing 28 note polyphony, 16 voice multitimbral playback,

  • with 354 built-in sounds, 9 preset drumkits, 1 sound effects kit, and it’s General MIDI

  • and Roland GS compatible. And despite its lack of controls, it also supports the same

  • MT-32 compatibility as its larger, more expensive relatives. But since there are no front panel

  • controls, the 55ST relies on software to switch things around. The program GSPlay is one option,

  • MIDI Commander is another, but either way you can send over MIDI and SysEx commands

  • and get a rough approximation of the MT-32’s LA synthesis.

  • [imitation MT-32 music plays, badly]

  • As with the SC-55 Mark II,

  • this is not something I often take advantage of due to its inconsistency.

  • I’m fine hooking up a real MT-32 as needed.

  • It really is all about those crispy Sound Canvas instruments.

  • So grab a drink, sit back for a minute and enjoy!

  • [multiple MIDI tunes play for a while]

  • Isn’t this thing great? Sure, it lacks a mesmerizing glowing orange screen, but there’s

  • something so cool about such an awesome sound coming from such a plain-looking little box.

  • And the way it blends in seamlessly with the other retro PC hardware on this desk is just *kiss!*

  • Fits in perfectly with those Roland MA-12C speakers, as you’d expect seeing

  • as they were sold at the same time as the 55ST, ah it just makes me happy when things

  • match. Still, it goes without saying that if you can acquire the more fully-featured

  • Sound Canvas units, and enjoy the prospect of buttons, knobs, and LCD screens? Then I’d

  • say go for it! Theyre a lot of fun to use and the additional controls and I/O provided

  • make for a more complete MIDI experience, especially if you wanna make music instead

  • of only listen to it. And of course, there are more modern routes to take like Roland’s

  • VST plugin, the Sound Canvas-VA, or big olbrutes like the SC-8850 that features built-in

  • USB and doubles as a deadly weapon. However, if youre like me and have come to appreciate

  • the simplicity and clean lines offered by a half rack device like the 55ST, then it’s

  • a satisfying thing to have on-hand. It can also be notably cheaper than the higher-end

  • Sound Canvas units, so if youre looking to get in on that sweet Roland MIDI goodness

  • for a bit less cash, it’s worth putting the 55ST on your radar. Either way though,

  • I’m just happy with it as a dandy desktop doohickey, so enough of this ramble,

  • I'm off to play some DOS games.

  • [Doom II gameplay commences]

  • And if you enjoyed this LGR thing then great! I’ve got plenty more where this came from,

  • including a number of existing Roland reviews, with more stuff going up each week here on

  • this channel. And as always thank you watching!

[thoroughly appropriate jazz]

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B2 中高級

羅蘭SC-55ST:1993年的400元MIDI音樂大本營。 (Roland SC-55ST: $400 MIDI Music Powerhouse from 1993)

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    林宜悉 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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