Roland-ED SC-8850
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| W × H × D (mm) | 218 × 88 × 278[1] |
|---|---|
| Rack units | 2U, half-width |
| Type | GM/GM2/GS sound module |
| Manufacturer | Roland-ED |
| Release date | 1999 |
| Standards | General MIDI General MIDI 2 Roland GS |
| Parts | 64[infobox 1][2] |
| Max polyphony | 128[1] |
| Normal presets | 1640 + 256 user presets[1] |
| Drum presets | 63 + 2 user presets[1] |
| Effects | 1× Reverb, 1× Chorus, 1× Delay, 1× Two-band EQ, 1× EFX unit. |
| ← Roland SC-88 Pro | |
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The Roland-ED SC-8850 is a Sound Canvas unit released in 1999, notable for being the first synthesizer to support the General MIDI 2 standard, as well as being the first synthesizer to use MIDI via USB.[3] It is the successor to the Roland SC-88 Pro. It is also the first Sound Canvas device to feature up to 4 voices per note, 64 individual parts (grouped in 4 pairs of 16), as well as 128 voice polyphony. It can channel 32khz 24bit sound to two separate sets of RCA outputs (selectable per MIDI channel via the onboard panel and SysEX), and has a pair of RCA inputs as well for passing through computer audio.
When connected via USB, the MIDI IN and MIDI OUT ports act as a MIDI Interface for other instruments.
Two later versions based on this model were made, the Roland-ED SC-8820 and the Roland-ED SC-D70 - they feature the same sample map as the 8850, but with a smaller sample ROM, up to 32 parts, up to 2 voices per note, and only 64 voice polyphony - all similar to the Roland SC-88 and Roland SC-88 Pro that came before.
A VST instrument called Sound Canvas VA was released in 2015, it was based on the SC-8820. This version was first released standalone, then included with the Roland Cloud subscription service. This iteration is further limited to only 16 parts. This was discontinued on the 1st of September 2024, where it was officially no longer available for purchase.
Power requirements
The SC-8850 is unique in that it has a built-in transformer that supports voltages from 100 V to 240 V, 50~60 hz. This makes the device universal, meaning it can be powered in any territory straight from mains. The connector on the unit is a figure-8 type found on many other electronics (TVs, printers, gaming consoles, etc.).
Oddities
Driver issues
If using the SC-8850 via USB, then one will need to install a special set of drivers on Windows. The last official drivers provided by Roland are designed for Windows Vista and will not work out of the box. Using compatibility settings should get the driver installer working just fine. MacOS users will need to instead rely on a MIDI interface, and reportedly Linux users get to enjoy native implementation of the protocols used for Roland's MIDI via USB drivers.
Filter and map compatiblity issues
The SC-8850 is a completely new iteration on the Sound Canvas, much like how the SC-88 was to the SC-55 - this means that while MIDIs designed for prior iterations should work fine, the new engine will mean that aspects, notably the cutoff and resonance controls can be very off. The samples used for the SC-55 map can also be completely wrong at times, not matching the samples used on the actual unit, despite the real samples being present and used in other patches and kits. Note choking (used for effects like choked cymbals in DOOM's "At Doom's Gate", for example) will also not work.
USB Ground noise
The USB port on the unit is unshielded, which is likely a design failure from being the first USB synthesizer. This means the unit's sound output is susceptible to ground loops. A way around this is to use a high quality power lead, as well as a high quality USB cable with ferrite chokers on each end. Another way is to forego the use of USB altogether and use it via MIDI or Serial instead.
Saving and loading
Prior Sound Canvas devices would save your settings when power was disconnected via the use of a CR2032 battery inside the unit. The SC-8850 no longer features this battery, instead opting to use flash memory. This means that you need to explicitly save your part settings before turning the device off, and explicitly loading them when resuming song making. Another way to do this is to transmit a bulk dump via SysEX. This can be set to load from the user memory instead, making it behave more like original units.[4]