Owned the new Roland GAIA for 24 hours

[myrmidon]

Hi,

I was very excited to get the Roland GAIA (Overview here on Youtube) on friday. I had been waiting for months for it to be released ever since I saw it announced (was it late last year or early this year at MusikMesse?). Anyhow, I got one on friday, and starting testing it out.

At first I was very enthusiastic about all the dedicated knobs and sliders, but after a while I got this feeling in the back of my mind that was bothering me. I was so hoping that it would be an awesome synth that I admit in the past few months I had overlooked my R3. So after about 4 hours of acquainting myself with the GAIA, I started doing a direct 'GAIA vs R3' showdown. There is ABSOLUTELY no comparison. I am embarrassed to admit that I had forgotten how insanely powerful the R3/Radias MMT engine is. With the multiple patching capability, FX per oscillator, stacking capabilities, the list just goes on.

Anyway by friday evening (about 7 hours into my GAIA ownership) it was really starting to gnaw at me that I had made a huge mistake. I justified it to myself that I was just a GAIA newbie, and that with time I will learn how to get more out of it. I spent more time browsing the presets, and even though many of them are very good, I just somehow didn't make an 'emotional connection' with any of them - you know what I mean, that feeling of goose bumps you get when you truly hear an awesome patch.

By the next morning I decided it was time for a very focused approach to establishing whether the GAIA will continue to occupy precious space amongst my other gear. I had been wanting to try to recreate the infamous Jarre 'Laser Harp' sound for a long time, and had seen this truly excellent example on a MicroKorg, so I thought I would take a stab at it on the R3 and GAIA. Admittedly this is a bit unfair because the architecture of the MicroKorg is so similar to the R3 that the parameters all match fairly closely, but I made sure to focus on what was being set (and how) and what that sounded like, rather than the explicit values.

This exercise REALLY highlighted the shortcomings in the GAIA, the most glaring (for the purposes of the Laser Harp sound) were not being able to patch the filter envelope to Osc2 pitch so that you get that 'biting' Oscillator sync. I ended up with a fantastic Laser Harp patch on the R3 (PM me if you want it) and a so-so Laser Harp on the GAIA.

My mind was made up, I carefully reset the GAIA back to factory settings, set the sliders back to all the original positions, carefully packed it back into the original packaging and returned it (almost exactly 24 hours after purchasing it).

The Outcome:
- I am a little disappointed that the GAIA was not what I was hoping for - it looked so slick in all the demos, but when I got my hands on the real deal it just didn't cut it. It is not a bad synth, it just seems what whatever I tried I could only get 75-80% there, even Roland's fabled 'Super Saw' is not THAT super.
- This is entirely overshadowed by how I am 're-impressed' at the R3. This synth really has been hiding in the shadow of all the MicroKorg/MicroKorg XL 'noise' out there and has to a large degree been overlooked, even though it is a SUPERB VA synth.

[TrrP]

Too bad. But better finding out early than too late. The R3/Radias engine is lovely ehh.

[Synthoid]

I am a little disappointed that the GAIA was not what I was hoping for - it looked so slick in all the demos, but when I got my hands on the real deal it just didn't cut it.

You're the second person that's given this keyboard a "vanilla" review. It's my impression the GAIA is definitely more of a beginner's synth.

[Dimitrije001]

I'm a R3 user. I use it a lot and I love it because it's got everything-it's easy to edit, has great effects, intuitive interface for live use and it's portable. I was excited when I first heard about the GAIA, it looked to me as if Roland had finally come to sense and made a counterpart to the R3 (the SH201 was actually supposed to be that, but it turned out to be merely a toy). GAIA disappointed me already when I saw the demos on youtube. You can hear right away that it just doesn't have the sonic versatility which the R3 has.
Also - no display?In the 21st century?It's ok to make the design retro, but I don't know how I (or anyone) could do a serious gig with the R3 if I didn't have the display to tell me the name of the patch I'm currently on.
And, in my opinion, GAIA's edit design is a bit dumb-you have three layers of sound that all use the same sliders for their parameters. So you set the sliders for the envelope of the first layer, and then you switch to layer 2 and set the sliders again, and when you return to patch one you don't actually SEE how you set the sliders before...if you know what i mean. I wouldn't change my LED knob circles for anything

[myrmidon]

I wouldn't change my LED knob circles for anything

Absolutely!!! I don't know why more synth manufacturers don't do this. I have only seen it on the R3 and some of the Nords. It seems so incredibly obvious, but it is a brilliant implementation.

The only thing better, and this falls completely into my perfect 'fantasy synth', would be to have 'motorised pots' that when you select a patch actually physically set the pot to the saved location (similar to the way a motorized fader works on a desk), but this is definitely cost prohibitive (and probably not accurate enough to truly 'recreate' a sound.

[tpantano]

The only thing better, and this falls completely into my perfect 'fantasy synth', would be to have 'motorised pots' that when you select a patch actually physically set the pot to the saved location (similar to the way a motorized fader works on a desk), but this is definitely cost prohibitive (and probably not accurate enough to truly 'recreate' a sound.

Well, the machine could turn the knobs first, then check what they are set at. If what they are set at doesn't match the patch, they'll turn some more and check again. It'll repeat this until it matches.

Of course, if something goes wrong with a motor or pot, it'd be stuck in an infinite adjustment loop...

[laikenf]

Haven't fiddled with the GAIA yet (not a big fan of late Roland synths) but the street price always gave me the impression that a lot of corners would be cut as well as features compromised. It still looks like a decent synth though.

[Dimitrije001]

The only thing better, and this falls completely into my perfect 'fantasy synth', would be to have 'motorised pots' that when you select a patch actually physically set the pot to the saved location (similar to the way a motorized fader works on a desk), but this is definitely cost prohibitive (and probably not accurate enough to truly 'recreate' a sound.

Me and my friend, who seems to like GAIA for some reason, had a discussion the other day and he said the same thing, that it would be a cool thing on GAIA. But, apart from the price, the problem would be that the motorised sliders and pots would go crazy when you change patches fast

[Maine]

Thanks for the review, Myrmidon. I use an R3 for lead sounds in a Pink Floyd tribute band, plus some of the odder noises (such as the falling bleeps at the start of "Shine On" and the morse code at the start of "Astronomy Domine").

As has been mentioned, I can't work in a live situation without seeing the patch name, so that puts the GAIA out of the running for me. Also, I tried its predecessor for an hour, but it sounded much more digital that I hoped.

Sorry it didn't work out for you - I've never needed to be "re-impressed" by the R3. I love it.

[bizkato]

Hi,

I was very excited to get the Roland GAIA (Overview here on Youtube) on friday. I had been waiting for months for it to be released ever since I saw it announced (was it late last year or early this year at MusikMesse?). Anyhow, I got one on friday, and starting testing it out.

At first I was very enthusiastic about all the dedicated knobs and sliders, but after a while I got this feeling in the back of my mind that was bothering me. I was so hoping that it would be an awesome synth that I admit in the past few months I had overlooked my R3. So after about 4 hours of acquainting myself with the GAIA, I started doing a direct 'GAIA vs R3' showdown. There is ABSOLUTELY no comparison. I am embarrassed to admit that I had forgotten how insanely powerful the R3/Radias MMT engine is. With the multiple patching capability, FX per oscillator, stacking capabilities, the list just goes on.

Anyway by friday evening (about 7 hours into my GAIA ownership) it was really starting to gnaw at me that I had made a huge mistake. I justified it to myself that I was just a GAIA newbie, and that with time I will learn how to get more out of it. I spent more time browsing the presets, and even though many of them are very good, I just somehow didn't make an 'emotional connection' with any of them - you know what I mean, that feeling of goose bumps you get when you truly hear an awesome patch.

By the next morning I decided it was time for a very focused approach to establishing whether the GAIA will continue to occupy precious space amongst my other gear. I had been wanting to try to recreate the infamous Jarre 'Laser Harp' sound for a long time, and had seen this truly excellent example on a MicroKorg, so I thought I would take a stab at it on the R3 and GAIA. Admittedly this is a bit unfair because the architecture of the MicroKorg is so similar to the R3 that the parameters all match fairly closely, but I made sure to focus on what was being set (and how) and what that sounded like, rather than the explicit values.

This exercise REALLY highlighted the shortcomings in the GAIA, the most glaring (for the purposes of the Laser Harp sound) were not being able to patch the filter envelope to Osc2 pitch so that you get that 'biting' Oscillator sync. I ended up with a fantastic Laser Harp patch on the R3 (PM me if you want it) and a so-so Laser Harp on the GAIA.

My mind was made up, I carefully reset the GAIA back to factory settings, set the sliders back to all the original positions, carefully packed it back into the original packaging and returned it (almost exactly 24 hours after purchasing it).

The Outcome:
- I am a little disappointed that the GAIA was not what I was hoping for - it looked so slick in all the demos, but when I got my hands on the real deal it just didn't cut it. It is not a bad synth, it just seems what whatever I tried I could only get 75-80% there, even Roland's fabled 'Super Saw' is not THAT super.
- This is entirely overshadowed by how I am 're-impressed' at the R3. This synth really has been hiding in the shadow of all the MicroKorg/MicroKorg XL 'noise' out there and has to a large degree been overlooked, even though it is a SUPERB VA synth.

may i have a listen to it?

[cminor]

how much did it cost R3 and how much GAIA?

[blinkofanI]

I'm pretty sure the R3 will become a classic synth of the digital era, depending on what Korg does in that category in years to come. But seeing the road they're taking in recent trade shows, i don't have much hope for the replacement of the R3. They really nailed the performance synth with the R3. It's a powerful "synth toolbox" in small format that will go pretty much anywhere the user takes it, soundwise. I had the idea to sell it recently(since i'm using soft synths a lot these days), but something told me it would be a big mistake!!

Blink

[tpantano]

I'm pretty sure the R3 will become a classic synth of the digital era, depending on what Korg does in that category in years to come.

doubt it.

the microkorg, definitely... but the R3... nah. Radias, maybe.

I only know two bands that use an R3.

[bobborries]

Something happened to Roland after 2003, the gear just doesn't sound good anymore. The Gaia which should easily approach the SH-101 sound, can't even come close. Yes it's a beginner's synth but that doesn't mean it should sound bad. Beware of synth demos buried in reverb and effects! The day I got my Radias, the first thing I did was turn off the FX and I grinned ear to ear in amazement.

[axxim]

IMHO the only Roland I would consider today would be the VP770 but only for less than a half of its actual price!

Since their older models I had, it seems to me, that there is a lack of impressivenes on their latest synths. This may be because the consumer profile tends more to a mainstream where lots of sound banks and controller options seem to be more important than their sound programming capabilities.