Roland SC-55: Difference between revisions

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The '''Roland SC-55''' is a [[Roland GS]] and [[General MIDI]] sound module introduced by Roland in 1991. It was the first module in the [[Roland Sound Canvas]] series, the first [[General MIDI]] module, and the first [[Roland GS]] module.
The '''Roland SC-55''' is a [[Roland GS]] and [[General MIDI]] sound module introduced by Roland in 1991. It was the first module in the [[Roland Sound Canvas]] series, the first [[General MIDI]] module, and the first [[Roland GS]] module.


An improved version, the '''Roland SC-55mkII''', was introduced in 1993, featuring an increased voice count from 24 to 28 (courtesy of a processor clock speed increase), more variation instruments, and a few other small changes.  
An improved version, the '''Roland SC-55mkII''', was introduced in 1993, featuring an increased voice count from 24 to 28 (courtesy of a processor clock speed increase), more variation instruments, and a few other small changes.
 
Alongside their banks of GM and GS instrument presets, the SC-55 and SC-55mkII also feature banks of presets intended to provide partial compatibility with the [[Roland CM-64]], including presets sounding like the [[Roland MT-32]]/[[CM-32L]]. These do not provide full compatibility with these modules, because the SC-55 is based on different synthesis technology and can't support custom MT-32 patches (MT-32/CM-32L SysEx are ignored). These banks are also included in most later Sound Canvas products, but not all GS products include them; presumably, they are not considered part of the GS format.
 
== Variants ==
 
=== Roland SC-50 ===
<!-- This is in its own section so other pages can link to it via the redirect page. -->
The '''Roland SC-50''' is a variant of the SC-55mkII without the MT-32/[[CM-64]] compatibility patch banks; as such it has 28 polyphony, 226 normal patches and 9 drumkits. It also omits the front MIDI input port. Various GS-branded devices seem to have the same basic feature set as the SC-50, which makes it a useful reference point.
 
=== Others ===
 
There are various other variants, such as:
There are various other variants, such as:


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* The [[Roland SC-7]] is a smaller derivative with only General MIDI support.
* The [[Roland SC-7]] is a smaller derivative with only General MIDI support.
* The Roland SC-50 is a variant of the SC-55mkII without the MT-32/CM-64 patches, and omitting the front MIDI input port.


There are also some non-module variants, such as:
There are also some non-module variants, such as:
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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
|+ style=white-space:nowrap | Roland SC-55 normal instrument list (WARNING: Long)
! style="width: 1em;" | Prog #
! style="width: 1em;" | Prog #
! style="width: 1em;" | Bank Select MSB
! style="width: 1em;" | Bank Select MSB

Latest revision as of 13:17, 28 September 2024

Roland SC-55
W × H × D (mm) 218 × 44 × 297 (original)[1]
218 × 44 × 233 (mkII)[2]
Rack units 1U, half-width[1][2]
Type GM/GS sound module
Manufacturer Roland
Release date 1991 (original)
1993 (mkII)
Standards Roland GS[infobox 1]
General MIDI[infobox 2]
Parts 16[1][2]
Max polyphony 24 (original)[1]
28 (mkII)[2]
Normal presets 323 (original)[infobox 3]
354 (mkII)
Drum presets 10
Effects Reverb/Delay, Chorus
Roland SC-88 →
  1. ↑ GS standard not frozen until mkII
  2. ↑ Except early models
  3. ↑ Two added in later revisions, see table

The Roland SC-55 is a Roland GS and General MIDI sound module introduced by Roland in 1991. It was the first module in the Roland Sound Canvas series, the first General MIDI module, and the first Roland GS module.

An improved version, the Roland SC-55mkII, was introduced in 1993, featuring an increased voice count from 24 to 28 (courtesy of a processor clock speed increase), more variation instruments, and a few other small changes.

Alongside their banks of GM and GS instrument presets, the SC-55 and SC-55mkII also feature banks of presets intended to provide partial compatibility with the Roland CM-64, including presets sounding like the Roland MT-32/CM-32L. These do not provide full compatibility with these modules, because the SC-55 is based on different synthesis technology and can't support custom MT-32 patches (MT-32/CM-32L SysEx are ignored). These banks are also included in most later Sound Canvas products, but not all GS products include them; presumably, they are not considered part of the GS format.

Variants

Roland SC-50

The Roland SC-50 is a variant of the SC-55mkII without the MT-32/CM-64 compatibility patch banks; as such it has 28 polyphony, 226 normal patches and 9 drumkits. It also omits the front MIDI input port. Various GS-branded devices seem to have the same basic feature set as the SC-50, which makes it a useful reference point.

Others

There are various other variants, such as:

  • The Roland SC-55ST is a variant of the SC-55mkII which lacks panel controls or a display.
  • The Roland SC-55K is a Japan-exclusive unit similar to the 55ST and intended for karaoke. It adds two microphone inputs that feature an echo effect, separate from the SC-55 sound generator part.
  • The Roland SC-155 is a variant of the original SC-55 which adds mixer-style physical controls for adjusting eight parts at once.
  • Two Roland CM series variants (Roland CM-300 and Roland CM-500).

Variants which make larger changes to the synth:

  • The Roland SC-7 is a smaller derivative with only General MIDI support.

There are also some non-module variants, such as:

  • The Roland SK-50 is a keyboard version of the SC-50, featuring 61 keys.
  • The Roland SCC-1 is an ISA card for IBM PC compatibles.
  • The Roland SCP-55 is a PCMCIA card designed for notebooks and laptops of the era.

The SC-55 was succeeded by the Roland SC-88 in 1994.

Instrument maps

Normal instrument set

These are the normal GS instruments for non-drum parts. Note that instruments with Bank Select MSB = 0, also known as Capital Tones, correspond to the General MIDI instruments. However, the names sometimes differ, and one instrument (highlighted in red) was incorrectly mapped on early SC-55 models.

The following table is generated from shingo45endo's tone-browser data extracted from ROM dumps, but with some spelling fixes.

Roland SC-55 normal instrument list (WARNING: Long)
Prog # Bank Select MSB SC-55 v1.00 SC-55 v1.20 SC-55 v2.00 SC-55mkII
0 0 Piano 1
8 — Piano 1w
16 — Piano 1d
1 0 Piano 2
8 — Piano 2w
2 0 Piano 3
8 — Piano 3w
3 0 Honky-tonk
8 — Honky-tonk w
4 0 E.Piano 1
8 Detuned EP 1
16 — E.Piano 1v
24 — 60's E.Piano
5 0 E.Piano 2
8 Detuned EP 2
16 — E.Piano 2v
6 0 Harpsichord
8 Coupled Hps.
16 — Harpsi.w
24 — Harpsi.o
7 0 Clav.
8 0 Celesta
9 0 Glockenspiel
10 0 Music Box
11 0 Vibraphone
8 — Vib.w
12 0 Marimba
8 — Marimba w
13 0 Xylophone
14 0 Tubular-bell
8 Church Bell
9 — Carillon
15 0 Santur
16 0 Organ 1
8 Detuned Or.1
16 — 60's Organ1
32 — Organ 4
17 0 Organ 2
8 Detuned Or.2
32 — Organ 5
18 0 Organ 3
19 0 Church Org.1
8 Church Org.2
16 — Church Org.3
20 0 Reed Organ
21 0 Accordion Fr
8 Accordion It
22 0 Harmonica
23 0 Bandoneon
24 0 Nylon-str.Gt
8 Ukulele
16 — Nylon Gt.o
32 — Nylon Gt.2
25 0 Steel-str.Gt
8 12-str.Gt
16 Mandolin
26 0 Jazz Gt.
8 Hawaiian Gt.
27 0 Clean Gt.
8 Chorus Gt.
28 0 Muted Gt.
8 Funk Gt.
16 — Funk Gt.2
29 0 Overdrive Gt
30 0 DistortionGt
8 Feedback Gt.
31 0 Gt.Harmonics
8 Gt. Feedback
32 0 Acoustic Bs.
33 0 Fingered Bs.
34 0 Picked Bs.
35 0 Fretless Bs.
36 0 Slap Bass 1
37 0 Slap Bass 2
38 0 Synth Bass 1
1 — SynthBass101
8 Synth Bass 3
39 0 Synth Bass 2
8 Synth Bass 4
16 — Rubber Bass
40 0 Violin
8 — Slow Violin
41 0 Viola
42 0 Cello
43 0 Contrabass
44 0 Tremolo Str
45 0 PizzicatoStr
46 0 Harp
47 0 Timpani
48 0 Strings
8 Orchestra
49 0 Slow Strings
50 0 Syn.Strings1
8 Syn.Strings3
51 0 Syn.Strings2
52 0 Choir Aahs
32 — Choir Aahs 2
53 0 Voice Oohs
54 0 SynVox
55 0 OrchestraHit
56 0 Trumpet
57 0 Trombone
1 — Trombone 2
58 0 Tuba
59 0 MutedTrumpet
60 0 French Horn
1 — Fr.Horn 2
61 0 Brass 1
8 Brass 2
62 0 Synth Brass1
8 Synth Brass3
16 — AnalogBrass1
63 0 Synth Brass2
8 Synth Brass4
16 — AnalogBrass2
64 0 Soprano Sax
65 0 Alto Sax
66 0 Tenor Sax
67 0 Baritone Sax
68 0 Oboe
69 0 English Horn
70 0 Bassoon
71 0 Clarinet
72 0 Piccolo
73 0 Flute
74 0 Recorder
75 0 Pan Flute
76 0 Bottle Blow
77 0 Shakuhachi
78 0 Whistle
79 0 Ocarina
80 0 Square Wave
1 — Square
8 — Sine Wave
81 0 Saw Wave
1 — Saw
8 — Doctor Solo
82 0 Syn.Calliope
83 0 Chiffer Lead
84 0 Charang
85 0 Solo Vox
86 0 5th Saw Wave
87 0 Bass & Lead
88 0 Fantasia
89 0 Warm Pad
90 0 Polysynth
91 0 Space Voice
92 0 Bowed Glass
93 0 Metal Pad
94 0 Halo Pad
95 0 Sweep Pad
96 0 Ice Rain
97 0 Soundtrack
98 0 Crystal
1 — Syn Mallet
99 0 Atmosphere
100 0 Brightness
101 0 Goblin
102 0 Echo Drops
1 — Echo Bell
2 — Echo Pan
103 0 Star Theme
104 0 Sitar
1 — Sitar 2
105 0 Banjo
106 0 Shamisen
107 0 Koto
8 Taisho Koto
108 0 Kalimba
109 0 Bag Pipe
110 0 Fiddle
111 0 Shanai
112 0 Tinkle Bell
113 0 Agogo
114 0 Steel Drums
115 0 Woodblock
8 Castanets
116 0 Taiko
8 Concert BD
117 0 Melo. Tom 1
8 Melo. Tom 2
118 0 Synth Drum
8 808 Tom
9 — Elec Perc 1
119 0 Reverse Cym.
120 0 Gt.FretNoise
1 Gt.Cut Noise
2 String Slap
121 0 Fl.Key Click Breath Noise
1 — Fl.Key Click
122 0 Seashore
1 Rain
2 Thunder
3 Wind
4 Stream
5 Bubble
123 0 Bird
1 Dog
2 Horse-Gallop
3 — Bird 2
124 0 Telephone 1
1 Telephone 2
2 DoorCreaking
3 Door
4 Scratch
5 Windchime
125 0 Helicopter
1 Car-Engine
2 Car-Stop
3 Car-Pass
4 Car-Crash
5 Siren
6 Train
7 Jetplane
8 Starship
9 Burst Noise
126 0 Applause
1 Laughing
2 Screaming
3 Punch
4 Heart Beat
5 Footsteps
127 0 Gun Shot
1 Machine Gun
2 Lasergun
3 Explosion

More instrument maps TBD.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Roland SC-55 Owner's Manual, page 86.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Roland SC-55mkII Owner's Manual, page 114.
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