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 → | |
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.
| 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.