btw, what ever you do, never get the Roland S10 sampler keyboard. boy what a mistake.. It uses these Quick Disks that are obsolete.. I busted my butt working and saving in 93 to buy this 400.00 dollar sampler, Roland S10 .. WHen I ordered the Quick Disks(another 45 dollars), it didn't work.. I was sooo mad. Such a rookie at that time.

I'm a fan of the W30(nice outputs) and S50.. Those are good.

my s-750 distorts with the audio input not even near the threshold. actually it doesn't distort, it goes directly to leaving clicking sounds in the sample without any other artifacts except maybe a bit of distortion i can't remember. i just reduced the input and found the safe level, which is as near to the clicks level as possible

Update: i think my S-550 has a problem. Just sampled some bass sound and noticed some hiss in the background that's not present in any of the factory sample disks.

Plus that irritating overdrive. I think i'll smash it to pieces.

NOOOO!!!!

Will replace input op amp first though. If it doesn't help i'll sell it for parts (floppy and display which i think also fits JX8P).

Dont do that … you almost did that to your e4 .. and fix was easy !!!
( now DON … listen to my voice in your head … )
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS ...
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS ...
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …







am I right or Im totally right !!

NOW I HAVE TO LISTEN TO VOICE IN MY HEAD TOOOOO

YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS ...
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS ...
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …
YOU NEED TO STOP BUYING fukin SAMPLERS …. YOU HAVE TOO MANY SAMPLERS …

Roland S-550 fixed!!

Ok i got this fixed. After some more inspection and running oscilloscope through complete S-550 signal path, it turned out that what was "distorting" were my outputs. Plus volume was low as shit. This instantly rang some bells, but i wanted to be sure. So after inspecting the A/D section and confirming the problem was not there i've moved do DAC area. It looked ok, so i've moved to output amps and filters. Clean too. Then i've reached the last stage, which are output transistors. I assume these automatically cut the signal once the voltage is out, to prevent that horrid audio click during power off stage. Up until that point audio was perfectly clean, but right after, i would get distortion once the volume was put above 50%. So i replaced all nine of them and the unit now works perfectly. I get 2Vpp as described in service manual and no distortion whatsoever. Neither the volume is low. I can't believe i've fixed this thing.


No more distortion. Perfect sine wave!

One thing i should point out, these output transistors are common thing in samplers (and other machines) and are first to be damaged if the equipment is inappropriately connected! The reason is simple - these are first active components in the path between the incoming voltage and the ground. Most common cause is connecting it to non grounded equipment or mixer, because S-550 is not grounded neither. Since some of these machines feature voltage protection through the exterior case, that means the case will be at some voltage, ie 110V AC, and these voltages can easily damage transistors that are specified for 50 or so volts.


Output transistors now replaced!

I had very similar situation with Mackie CR1604 and RS-7000 of which none were grounded. I've killed one output transistor in the RS and one input op amp in Mackie just by connecting them together! Both were using step down converters, none were grounded, one was "floating" on 110/120V. So, i've learned my lesson there. And since then i've used an additional cable that provides grounding to both devices. Always ground your equipment, particularly if you use step up/down voltage converters! At this point i'm now totally removing step converters from my place! I will simply have transformers re-winded (thanks to Roginator for the tip!) which i just did for my MKS-80. Mackie next!!

Nice job Don!....I wish the S-50 had transistors that could be replaced!
I have an S-50 which has a similar audio output distortion. I narrowed it down to the power on relay which is a 5V coil 6PDT that connects the main mix out jack and the 4 individual outputs (ABCD) when the unit is switched on. I can push on the relay and get better undistorted signal, but unfortunately that relay is impossible to clean or repair and no longer available. I'm afraid the only fix is to jumper across those contacts. Doing that of course would create a nasty "pop" on power up or shut down if the amp and speakers were turned up. So I might just have to remember to shut down the amp prior to turning off the S-50 keyboard.
I've been creating a library of all my disks and can now play a lot of the S series sound files using Kontakt, but it's still more fun loading diskettes and playing the actual keyboard...
Rock on!

Not impossible to clean the relay...will be attempting this repair soon

Roland S-50 Static Output Solution | Jim Atwood in Japan

Thanks Mister F!....I had seen Jim's post before but not that specific blog on the relay. I think he mentioned to me that you could disassemble the coil away from the contact but wasn't exactly sure how to go about that. I now understand the little tabs he's talking about so I will give that a try as well as looking at that H-M-L switch. I have flooded both with deoxit and that switch definitely has an effect on the output signal so I may just replace that with a new one as those are easy to find and replaceable with a new one.
I've even considered finding some different small signal relays with 5VDC coils and hodge podge them in there. It's low level audio and might have to use more than one. Finding DPDT are easier to find than 6PDT but you only need 5 contact positions.

Just tried Director S software for S-550. This thing is simply awesome!!! Special thanks to Tyler Brown.



Plus it can be used for sequencing external gear as well. Super cool and smooth pattern based sequencer. In a way reminds of Fruity Loops though this is all vintage.

And here is a quick S550/330 tip that i just found out. If you go to tone edit you can completely disable the filter by setting TVF to off. The result is more crispy sample playback. For those who like the raw 12bit sound this is great for the drums. Makes them a bit sharper, cut better through the mix.

How's the workflow for Director S? I had heard about it before, but thought it may awkward to use. Is the timing tight for internal sequencing?

No complaints about timing so far.

Workflow can't be simpler. Just play press play and the pattern loops. You simply switch from play to rec without any interruption and it's so easy to add new parts. Recording can be quantized real time, just like on MPC.

There's also the microscope edit for individual notes, velocities, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FPc3RNS_cY

I'd like an S-550 with director S. Must look out for one.
I love samplers with built in sequencers !
I actually wish the S-750 and the Akai S6000 had sequencers. Both of those would be even cooler with a sequencer.

Cool, thanks for that. Hadn't seen that video before.

It is said to be a copy of a Fairlight sequencer.

You should be familiar with it.

I do think Page R is the best thing since sliced bread. So immediate. Just not really portable!

I have two S-550s with two Director-s and two dongles, but I'll sell one set on eBay soon if anyone's interested - it's really cool, but I'm getting rid of a lot of redundant stuff, although I think it's more powerful than the Fairlight ! heh

Here's the Director-S demo song for a quick dive back into the '80s...

Yes! Finally!!!
Roland LCD-1 sample CD available on S-550!

And it's not a joke. I've found a way! For those who don't know LCD-1 is a sample CD ROM that was built for Roland S-550 sampler. In order to use it, the sampler had to be expanded with SCSI interface card and connected to Roland CD-5 external CD ROM device. This is the only CD drive that will actually work with S-550. And there are, like 10 of those working in the world if not less. Which is probably the reason there is none information about this topic on the internet: 1)SCSI interface for S-550 is rare 2)CD-5 drive is ultra rare (Mr. Varaldo managed to found only two units in 10 years time span on eBay. Of course none of which work, which is expected after all this time).

After three days of trying various methods, some "hacking" and what a not i finally found the way to have the content of the legendary Roland CD ROM in S-550. Obviously S-550 SCSI interface is required, however no need for the impossible-to-find Roland CD-5 drive!!!! This is crucial part!

I should point out that there are some minor limitations, but it's not that bad. Essentially you can only have 64 volumes at a time (per CF card) since that's max Roland can make per hard drive. Now, because there are 165 volumes on the LCD-1 sample CD ROM, that means you will need three CF cards to store its content. But then, better something than nothing! In fact, you can search the whole WEB i doubt you will find anyone managed to find a better solution (or any solution at all for this sample CD ROM). Originally i got this CD from Roginator and i've decided to keep it since i knew i will need it one day when i get the SCSI interface for S-550 which i just did few days ago.



Let the hacking begin! First thing you need is the SCSI-CF blackbox which is detailed here. Or any sort of SCSI-CF drive that you can get hold of and that you know that works with samplers. And obviously your S-550 need to have the SCSI interface. I've purchased mine couple of weeks ago on eBay. These are rare, but keep in mind that some S-550 units with pre installed SCSI card can pop up from time to time. One important thing to say - you need the latest OS for the S-550 which is called "CD-5 System Ver. 1.02.". This method will not work with system floppy that comes with SCSI interface because it is lacking some required features for this task! And you will need Chickensys Translator software.

This is one of those, don't ask why, just DO IT as i say: Start the S-550 up, with the system floppy, let OS load, then power up your SCSI-CF interface, wait 20 sec to boot, go to Disk / Setup / COM / SCSI Check. Your drive should now get scanned and shown with ID. You might get notification "Parked". Important: Always ignore "Parked" label and simply left click "Hard Disk ID=" then right click it and the drive will show up. If you go HD Restart, the machine or drive might hang out! Now go and format it. Job done. Power the unit down. Insert the CF card into your computer (assuming you have a CF card reader). Insert the LCD-1 CD ROM into your CD drive. Start the Translator. Select 64 volumes on the CD ROM and drag them onto the CF card (which should appear under SCSI / proprietary format drives in Translator). And that's it!

Go back to S-550. Similar starting procedure, although once the CF card is formatted, you can turn on SCSI-CF reader 20 sec before you turn on S-550. So no need for SCSI Check in menus, simply go with the left/right click on the "Hard Disk ID=". This is what "wakes up" the CF card, not "HD restart", since this isn't a HD at the first place. And there you have it. 64 volumes from the LCD-1 CD ROM. Repeat the same for cards 2 and 3 and you have the complete LCD-1 library at a press of a few buttons.



I was always curious about the content of the Roland LCD-1 CD ROM. So i did some digging through it and at address 200 (hex) i found what appears to be the top level directory. After some cleaning and reformatting of the above data, here is the complete content of LCD-1. Each of these represents one "volume" which is equivalent of one floppy. It will be very interesting to compare this list to the factory floppy disks which are available from sgroup archives (for both the S-550 and S-50).

Acoustic Piano #1 USB501#4
Acoustic Piano #2 RSB5501#3
Grand Piano #3 Lower RSB5501#9
Grand Piano #3 Upper RSB5501#10
Pop Piano #1 USB505#7
Pop Piano #2 RSB5501#8
S-50 System #1 Piano S-50 sys #1
S-330 System #1 Piano S-330sys #1
Electric Piano #1 L501#1
Electric Piano #2 & Clavi L501#2
Electric Piano #2 USB502#4
E.Piano & Vibraphone JPL552#8
E.Piano & Vibraphone USRSB5503#7
Pluck Pianos RSB5502#4
Midi E.Piano & Synth Bass USB504#3
Club E.Piano / Bass & Wave Synth RSB5501#1
Electric Organ #1 L501#4
Pipe Organ & Choir JPL552#7
Pipe Organ & Choir USRSB5503#6
Pipe Organ & Harpsichord L501#3
Synthesizer #1 JPL501#5
Synthesizer #1 USUSB502#6
Synthesizer #2 USB504#8
Synthesizer #3 USB505#2
Midi Stack #1 USB502#7
FM Stuff USB505#9
FM Filtered RSB5502#8
Harpsichord JPL552#6
Harpsichord USRSB5504#9
Celesta JPL552#9
Celesta USRSB5503#10
Strings #1 L504#20
Full Strings Section JPL551#1
Full Strings Section USRSB5503#9
20th Century Orchestra USB502#3
High Strings USB502#9
Suspense Orchestra USB504#7
S-50 System #2 Strings & Choir S-50 sys #2
Cello (Solo) L551#2
Cello (Solo) & Duo RSB5501#6
Electric Bass #1 JPL504#18
Electric Bass #1 USRSB5501#4
Electric Bass #2 USB501#6
G&L Precision Bass RSB5504#2
WoodBass #1 & Harp #1,2 L504#19
Mini Moog Bass 1 RSB5502#5
Electric Guitar #1 JPL504#17
Electric Guitar #1 USUSB503#10
Guitar & Stick USB504#4
Funk Guitar USB504#10
Acoustic Guitar #1 JPL504#16
Acoustic Guitar #1 USUSB502#2
Acoustic Guitar #2 RSB5501#5
Guitar, Mandolin, Harp USB502#1
Koto #1 JPL505#21
Koto #1 USUSB506#4
Gagaku #2 L506#30
Shamisen #1 (Hosozao, Tsugaru) L505#22
Shamisen #2 (Futozao, Chuuzao) L505#23
Shamisen #1 USUSB505#4
Biwa #1 L506#28
Indian Strings #1 L507#31
Indian Strings #2 L507#32
Western Strings #1 L508#36
Saxophone #1 L502#7
Saxophone #2 L502#8
Tenor & Soprano Saxophone #1 RSB5501#2
Alto Saxophone JPL551#4
Alto Saxophone USRSB5503#8
Trumpet, Trombone & Horn L502#6
Trumpet & Trombone JPL551#5
Trumpet & Trombone USRSB5503#5
Multi Sampled Solo Trumpet &Horn USB501#7
Mute Trumpet USB506#2
Bright Solo Trumpets & Section RSB5503#2
Brass Section #1 USB501#2
Woodwinds #1 JPL502#9
Woodwinds #1 USRSB5501#7
Flute & Piccolo JPL551#3
Flute & Piccolo USRSB5503#1
Woodwind #2 L502#10
Shakuhachi #1 L505#24
Yokobue #1 L505#25
Gagaku #1 L506#29
Japanese Flutes #1 USB506#8
Western Wind #1 L508#37
Indian Wind & Thai Gong L508#39
Andean Wind #1 L509#42
Pan Pipes / Shakuhachi USB504#9
Assorted Kicks #1 USB503#7
Assorted Snares #1 USB503#8
Assorted Cymbals #1 USB503#3
Assorted Ride Cymbals #1 USB503#2
Lg.Crash / Splash in Stereo RSB5502#3
Long Ride & Bell in Stereo RSB5504#1
Oriental Cymbals & Gongs RSB5504#10
GT Drums USB501#3
New Drums & 808 USB501#9
Gate City #1 USB502#5
Analog Percussions USB505#6
Reverb Drums USB506#9
EQ Drum Kits 1A RSB5502#6
Stereo Drum Kit #1 RSB5502#9
Stereo Drum Kit #2 RSB5502#10
S-50 System #4 Effect Drum Parts S-50 sys #4
Latin Percussion #1 L503#11
Latin Percussion #2 L509#44
Latin Percussion #3 L509#45
Timbales & Toms USB503#6
Conga Monga in Stereo RSB5502#1
Exotic Hand Percussion #1 RSB5504#3
Mark Trees & Wind Chimes RSB5504#8
Indian Percussion #1 L507#33
Indian Percussion #2 L507#34
Indian Percussion #3 L507#35
Middle Eastern Percussion L508#38
Gamelan #1 L508#40
Eastern Flavour #1 L509#41
African Percussion #1 L509#43
Ethnic-Anklungs & Wind USB501#10
Ethnic & Gongs #1 USB503#9
Taiko #1 L506#26
Taiko #2 L506#27
Japanese Percussion #1 USB505#3
Classic Percussions L552#10
Orchestral Percussion #1 USB504#2
Orchestral Percussion #2 RSB5503#4
Orchestral Percussion #3 RSB5504#7
Oooze & Oz USB501#1
Air Disk #1 USB503#5
Air Disk #2 USB505#1
Mallet Vol. 1 L503#12
Techno Set USB504#6
Surf's Up!(use a tone of reverb) USB505#8
Funk Rock Set 1(Composer Series) USB506#7
Rock Composers Tool RSB5503#3
Designer Trap Set #1 RSB5504#4
S-50 System #3 Brass,Bass,Marmba S-50 sys #3
S-50 ver.2.0 Multi Patch S-50 ver.2.0
S-550 System #1 Multi Patch #1 S-550sys #1
S-550 System #2 Multi Patch #2 S-550sys #2
S-330 System #1 Multi Patch S-330sys #2
New Strings, E.Piano, Choir USB501#5
Classical (Composer Series) USB505#10
Big Time USB506#1
Ethnic Soundtruck USB502#8
Ethnic Grab Bag USB504#5
Orchestra #1 L503#13
Effects #1 L503#14
Stereo Effects #1 L503#15
Train, Ride, Air Base USB501#8
Anarchy Time! USB502#10
Metal & Glass FX USB503#1
Jungle Life USB503#4
Wild Kingdom USB504#1
Space FX #1 USB505#5
Drivin' USB506#3
Comedy Props USB506#5
Hollywood FX USB506#6
Rainy Day USB506#10
Jet Strings in Stereo RSB5502#2
Stereo THX RSB5502#7
Industrial Strength Techno Perc. RSB5504#5
Sports Disk RSB5504#6
S-50 System #5 Sound Effect S-50 sys #5

Update to the story...

Roland LCD-1 contains 165 volumes. Roland Floppy library contains 139 volumes. The interesting thing is that 38 floppies that exist in Roland Floppy library aren't present on LCD-1. These are as following:

Synthesizer RSB501#2
Harpsichord and Pipe Organ RSB501#5
Woodwinds RSB501#8
Baritone/Alto Saxophone RSB501#9
Harp No. 1 RSB502#2
String Variation No. 1 RSB502#5
Balaphones RSB503#3
Piano (New) RSB503#4
Bass #2 RSB503#6
Tone Wheel Action RSB503#7
Woud & SAZ RSB504#4
Tamboura & Sitar 1 RSB504#5
Orchestra & Tympani # 1 RSB504#7
Hi Strings 2 RSB504#9
Tabla Collection 1 RSB505#9
Saxaphones Vol. 1 RSB5501#2
Bass Vol. 1 RSB5501#4
Sollo Cello & Duo RSB5501#6
16 Bit Piano 1A RSB5505#1
16 Bit Piano 1B RSB5505#2
1959 Strat Oddities RSB5505#3
Grand Piano 3W RSB5505#4
Martin Steel String RSB5505#5
Rock Guitar Sampled RSB5505#6
ET Perc 1 RSB5505#7
Real Bass Slapper RSB5505#8
Sun. Nite Sax, Solo Alto RSB5505#9
Kingdom Pad RSB5505#10
Pluck Guitar RSB5506#1
Underwater FX RSB5506#2
Cho Trumpet RSB5506#3
Moog Brass 1 RSB5506#4
CD Basses RSB5506#5
Violins x 8 RSB5506#6
Hits & Hornz RSB5506#7
Brass Vol. 3 RSB5506#8
Super Kit 16 RSB5506#9
Banjo Man RSB5506#10

So if you add these to the volumes list above, you now have the COMPLETE Roland S-550 library listing!

Part three...



Bam! And here they are. I loaded all 38 floppies (mentioned in post above) one by one using a PC floppy drive and Omni Flop then into the S-550. Then saved them on the S-550's "hard disk" which is actually a CF card in my SCSI interface.

I've then put CF card back into the computer and ripped it as an image. Now it's easy to compile it using Translator (since it reads .img files). I plan to put complete library (all 203 volumes) on four 128MB CF cards, since Roland's hard disk has 80MB size limit and 64 volumes. And... that's about it! Complete Roland S-550 library, finally available on my S-550. Can't believe it's done!!!

Thank you, Don, I'll have to read through your detailed explanation and replicate it, I think I gave up with the CD-5s

Nice project Don!

I only have the S-50 but I've been looking at trying to import my S-50 disks into Kontakt 4. I've had some success getting my S-50 disk library in there, but there are some disks of mine that are corrupt or have errors and don't load.
There are also some bad sample files in the S-550 library that are on the SGroup.ca website. I'm also trying to do an import of that which seems to work.
Were you able to get ALL the S-550 samples successfully installed and working and sounding good?

I'm in the process of downloading the S-770 library (RSB/L701 - RSB/L711) from the SGroup but for some reason the S-770 ".out" files won't import into Kontakt (they don't even show up). Still trying to figure that out?? Any expertise you can share?
Ever tried doing any Kontakt or softsampler importing, mapping and if so....do you have any info on what sort of parameters could be setup in Kontakt to emulate the actual Roland sound.
I'm guessing the .out files only have wave data and no mapping or filter info etc. embedded in those files.
Is there any way that you know of to do that?
Because I don't have a S-550 or S-770 I thought this would be fun to at least have those sound samples available in a soft sampler.
It would be interesting if Kontakt could play those the same way the actual Roland units do...

.out is a floppy disk image of a Roland floppy disk. Similar like .iso is a CD rom image.

Yes there are some corrupted / missing disks on sgroup website. Luckily i didn't have to mess with those since i have LCD-1 CD ROM.

Kontakt is great thing to sample acoustic or analog instruments in 500 variations, add some cool script and play them back from there. But if you want the authentic sound of a Roland sampler, it won't work. Neither it can load Roland floppy disk images. Kontakt can import LCD-1 though. But again, it wont sound the same as on genuine machine.

Don, I don't know if you have access to a K2600 with a SCSI CD-ROM but it reads Roland S-series sampler files (purportedly anyway). I don't have a Roland sampler CD-ROM or SCSI CD-Rom here to test that but it is at least documented to work. If you read it into a 2600 you can then export that onto a DOS compatible disk or SD card if you want. At least it should work I think.

I believe that Roland which Kurz will import stands for Roland S-700 format.

S-550 is a 12 bit machine with different disk format.

And turtleneck sweaters

Yeah...that's certainly what I'm finding with the S-50 samples imported into Kontakt!
They seem to be pretty messed up once you drag them into an instrument.
There's no info on where the sample(s) are rooted or any other tone parameters on how the Roland instrument/sound patch would have actually been setup with.
They're really nothing there other than just the raw wave data. Plus there are clicks at the beginning of the sample(s) and pitch/noise issues at the tails as well as odd looping.
Not much to go on.
Like you said there's no substitute for the real thing...
I guess I will continue repairing the analog output section of my S-50.
Maybe use the SYS-505 software and build some disks for it from the S-550/330 library.

Throw away S50 and buy yourself S330. Because if you plan to use it just for sample loading and playback, there is no need for a monitor or a mouse. You can do it all off the menus. And they aren't that hard neither.

If you have a PC with a floppy drive, you can write Roland images on a DD floppy disk using Omni Flop. Insert it into S330 and job done. There are over 100 disks on sgroup.

Here you go, $36.00 for Roland S-330 sampler:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROLAND-S-330...item3a8df3842c

And here you go, $5.58 USB video capture card (so no need for S-330 monitor):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-Sale-Eas...item2a3b34e6f9

And you're done. Was that really expensive?

Hey Don

Would the S550 be able to read Zip disks?
Do you think we could use Zip drives instead of CF cards to do the library transfer you describe?