I came across a Roland W-30 in excellent condition and was thinking about getting it - don't know too much about this sampler/workstation. i found a few sites with details and disk images. the price isn't going to break the bank and it could be fun to play with for that classic early rave feeling... or it could infuse a creative spark that unleashes a firestorm of awesome music...

W-30 owners, talk to me.

I bought the W30 when it came out back in 1989. At the time it was superb. For practical use you should look to get the SCSI chip and build a library on something larger than the slow floppy discs.

The sequencer I used to know like the back of my hand. I programmed up an entire musical on it. For every day use though I'd avoid it. If you've got a computer with a sequencer.

Some people love the grungy low sample rate sound. Having the limitation imposed by the technology might spark your imagination.

i found some more details on it... i think i'll pass... not being able to control the filter in realtime is a non-starter for me. i'll just keep using my ESI-32 and MPC2000XL.

I'm biased because the W-30 was my first sampler and main axe in the late '80s / early '90s but I love that machine so much, it has a powerful, punchy sound and the free library online is still quite good. I think the S- / W- series is a great sounding line and even though it's not the same thing, you can change the filter by moving the data wheel in real time. In case you change your mind later... check my videos from when I had three of them...

my first synth was a Roland D-20 (which i still have). i wanted a W-30 really bad when it came out. over the past few years i've been going back & taking a second look at things i used to have lust for that are fairly cheap these days. i can't really justify owning one as i have more powerful samplers around. i do have my old Ensoniq Mirage sample library & no Mirage so I am tempted to pick one of those up for nostalgic reasons.

wait, i can sweep the filter in realtime from the front panel? video Mr. V ???

There are some limitations (you can sweep in tone/sample mode only, not in patch mode), but yes, you can You can also use the aftertouch to sweep the filter (and many other parameters), and obviously, the filter envelope which is quite sophisticated and multi-stage

That is a great sounding machine. I remember wanting one really bad until I got my old casio FZ-1.
There are 2 of these for sale in my area for reasonable prices too. Too bad I don't have space for them....

Ah, used to own one of those bad boys back in the 90s, until it was stolen from my car...

I'd pass, personally. Unless you're getting it for free.

good thing you don't have space... i'm waiting to hear back on one of them.

Thank you for the video... sounds very nice. if the TVF and TVA are like the JD-800, it's a winner.

Cool good luck with it! The one in Cherry Hill might possibly be the same person I got my S900 and Ibanez SDR-1000 from last month. If so he's a really nice dude and interesting to talk shop with since he's been supporting himself with his studio since the late 80s if I remember correctly.

I want one because Prodigy.

better get 8 of them then

ha

I like the W30 a lot. Mine isn't working at the moment because of non booting floppy drive, & the tech said he could not fix it or find a replacement.

I did a lot of good work with mine in the 1990s & even earlier this century.
It sounds really good. Apart from needing to boot the O.S. via floppy & general floppy disc usage it is a really nice easy to use sampler, bearing in mind the obvious limitations of one of Roland's early sampling workstations.

The sequencer is solid & was based on the MC500 sequencer, which although very ancient & antique was one of the industry standards hardware sequencer before computer sequencing took over.

Some of the stock drums & basses that are included on the O.S. boot disc , I think are really nice , punchy etc.

It doesn't sound lo-fi at all. It has 8 separate outs which could be useful.

If you do buy it , make sure it comes with the O.S. boot disc, otherwise it doesn't work.

Not much of a tech... If the floppy drive is the hold up.. But the cost of a replacement is probably more than the units worth.

In the 90's I fancied getting one to walk in the shoes of Liam from prodigy. Saw one in a hock shop for $300, which was bit much at the time. IMO its a bit passe, a korg microsampler would take you further. And software further again.

I know, Thats what I thought too.

I might try & get one of those floppy disc emulator drives or similar or try another tech.
He is great at some stuff though, he did repair my Prophet VS when two other techs could not.

Thought I might mention that one of these has come up near me, on eBay... for $au200 and it has an HxC drive already installed. Buying the HxC separately would cost you nearly that much anyway. I already have too many hardware samplers, so I'm going to pass on it - but if you're an aussie, worth a look, especially if you didn't realise it has the HxC installed. I have one in my Mirage rack and my s900 and it makes them 5 times more awesome.

@ blinky909
One popped on our local CL today!

Hi I'm looking to get rid of my W30 because it just sits have it in my studio and all the floppys still works great.
I was thinking @$400

In this day and age i would pass but maybe for it's crunchy sampler you might get some use?I think it is 12bit?

Amazingly though the prodigys 'music for the jilted generation' was entirely sequenced using it and that album has some great orchestral parts and some great building tracks,Howletts talent was may beyond the other producers of that time and they were using full fledged computer midi sequencers !

Even so,there isn't much on offer,not even Liam Howlett sounds as he didn't use the onboard sounds

Alpha Juno and a bunch of records to sample and you're the Prodigy! Oh yeah, and talent, need talent.

Hello World, is editing the W30 easy? lastly is the W30 and S50 the same editing features? I want one

If you're 19, and Liam Howlett, then yes.

If you're fifty, half blind and permanently knackered then not so much.