What is the Roland VR-09

There is always a definite set of sound that is almost mandatory for every keyboardist to have them under his fingers during the live situations like acoustic and electric pianos, clavs, organs, brass, strings, and bass along with some few others. A single utility keyboard, which can provide the right assortments of that set of sound, is almost desired by every keyboard player. This would also be the ideal instrument using which is easy and it does not cost much. If you think that this is too much, you are wrong as Roland has come up with the Roland VR-09 V-Combo  Organ (click for best price on bundle) which is just near to the mark.

• The weight of the instrument is a bit higher than 12 pounds.
• Synth-action of 61 key: Most of the synth action keys are less stiff but the feeling is much better than expected. The keys being stiff are actually good while playing the electric or acoustic programs of the piano.
• A single mode has 128 polyphony voices.
• The three sections of the instrument- Piano, Organ, Synth along with the Drum section. 223 programs are organized within them. The individual and section wise level control is done in an extremely dedicated manner and this is extremely useful while splitting as well as layering.
• Every section has categories under which lies a varied set of programs. Now, every category remembers the very last program that was selected under it.

Features

Data can be saved and quickly recalled with the help of the 25 banks of 4 registrations present in the Roland VR-09 V-Combo Organ. Whole programs, split and dual programs can be saved as registrations. This is by far the only best way of saving and recalling a customized sound. A USB Pen drive can also be used for storing and recalling more registration sets. A recent update in the software no permits the storing of individual registrations.

The organ type like Jazz, Transistor, and Rock can be selected through dedicated controls. For toggling percussion and for switching on/off the Chorus/Vibrato, the drawbar control is to be switched from the upper manual to the lower one.

In the organ mode, one can use the function of quick firing which helps to retrigger as well as rebound the notes and the faithful glissandos.

The menu diving can actually help one with the extensive program editing of the organ. The Chorus/Vibrato, Leakage Noise, Percussion, LF Cut/Boost, Key Click along with the Rotary effect can all be effectively tweaked.

There are 4 categories in the Piano mode- acoustic samples with 11 programs, E, 10 programs for Clav, 9 programs with 6 basic EPs and 3 80’s type for Piano. There are 20 other programs which although includes but are not limited to Accordion, Harmonicas, Harp, Musette and Harpsichords along with a set of other sampled organs and has the good old patch of the D-50 Fantasy.

There are eight banks in the Synth mode of the Roland VR-09 V-Combo Organ. Brass contains 20 programs which are mostly synth while some of them are sampled, 42 programs in the Synth Lead, Bass having 22 programs which are again mostly of Synth while the others are sampled, 19 programs in Pad, 13 programs in Choir, 16 programs in SFX and there are 15 other programs which is a wild combination of Marimba, Guitars, Vibes, Glock and some few woodwinds.

Pressing a random pair of category buttons will help one to achieve layering. The Split buttons from the Organ or the Synth section can help in having splits. The Synth Split mode can help in triggering the drum sounds.

The tape-style controls help in recording the real-time drum performances in the Roland VR-09 V-Combo Organ. The Looper function can help to overdub multiple parts. The keyboard parts can be recorded with Looper while the pre-programmed rhythm loops are being played.

Although it is GS/GM2 compatible only some of the channels of the 16 MIDI can be accessed.

A total of seven effects can be used at a time. In the Split mode, only the upper sounds experience the effects while in the dual mode, both the sounds experience the same effects.

The knob controls of Roland VR-09 V-Combo Organ provide dedicated effects. Overdrive- amount, Tone- boosts, Delay-time, Reverb- Depth and Compressor- threshold.

The 6 types of Delay, 8 types of Wall and 6 types of Reverb can be changed with the menus that appear on the display while the knobs of Delay and Reverb are adjusted.

An additional effect is applied by the MFX knob. With this, one can get the Flangers, Phasers, Pitch Shifter, Chorus, T- wahs and Tremolos. Here, one can also find the contemporary effects of sound mangling like Distortion, Slicer and Bit Crash.

The pitch can be controlled with the D-Beam in the Roland VR-09 V-Combo Organ. Along with the braking of the rotary and the tone wheel, it can not only create modulation effects but can also trigger any SFX sound.

The TRS or the Damper pedal jack along with an Expression pedal can both be used for handling different functions.

Pros

• Connecting it to an iPad with the Wireless Connection is possible with the help of the iPad editor software.
• It can run for 5 hours on batteries.
• The product is extremely low in weight and also costs less.

Cons

• It uses the Roland paddle for modulation control but it must be held up physically for putting it on.
• With the selection of new sounds, the old ones are cut off.
• The custom programs do not have quick access.

Click image for best price on ROland VR-09 Combo With stand:

The Roland VR-09 V-Combo Organ consists of a set of stereo outputs along with a headphone jack of ¼”.

Along with the MIDI in and out, a separate jack is provided for connecting the bass pedals of Roland’s PK-5.

A stereo mini jack of 1/8” helps to connect any external playback device.

USB for hosting connectivity.

Conclusion

Do not get fooled by the low price and the light weight of the Roland VR-09 V-Combo Organ as this is fully a professional instrument. Although the set of controls look remarkably simple, a lot of power has been actually packed inside this boy. No doubt, the capabilities of controls and editing have been geared enough along with some of the great well-crafted sounds and features. The true magic brought about by the organs is a real fun to play with as they bring about a level of great tuning that allows the player to dive in the sound that they want to.