Okay, so I finally got my hands on a Roland W-30. I’ve been wanting one of these things for ages, you know, for that classic ’90s sound. I’ve been watching videos, reading forum posts, the whole nine yards. Finally found one on a local classifieds site – super stoked!
First thing I did was unpack it. It was packed pretty well, thankfully. These old things can be fragile. Gave it a good once-over, checking for any obvious damage. Everything seemed cool, all the buttons and sliders felt good. I plugged it in, and bam! The screen lit up. That familiar orange glow… awesome.
Next, I needed some sounds. Luckily, the seller included a bunch of floppy disks. I popped one in, not really knowing what to expect. I navigated through the menus – it’s a bit clunky compared to modern stuff, but I figured it out pretty quickly. I found some drum loops, some bass sounds, and some classic synth patches.
I spent the next few hours just messing around. I tried sampling my own voice, which was hilarious. Then I attempted to create a simple beat. It was rough, let me tell you. The sequencer is… different. It’s not like a modern DAW, where you can just drag and drop things. This thing is all about numbers and steps. But that’s part of the charm, right?
Sound
- I loaded several different sample and loop into it.
- I can play many different sound by keyboard.
- I tryed my first simply sequencer drum loop.
It took a while, but I finally managed to put together a basic track. It’s nothing amazing, but it’s mine. And it sounds good. That gritty, lo-fi sound is exactly what I was going for. This thing has character. It’s not perfect, it’s not pristine, but it’s got soul.
I’ve still got a lot to learn about the W-30. I need to dive into the manual and really figure out all the ins and outs of the sampling and sequencing. But so far, I’m loving it. It’s a blast from the past, and it’s inspiring me to make some new music. I have a feeling this is going to be a long and beautiful friendship.
