Roland Cloud is a relatively new platform, but music instructors around the world have already taken notice. It offers powerful opportunities for students looking to master music production, beat making, sound design, synthesis, and audio. Today, the cost-effective subscription model offers access to incredibly realistic ACB replicas. It’s also packed with a continually expanding sound library.
Back in the day, learning how to operate any synthesizer or drum machine required commitment. Musicians often had no choice but to invest in their favorite tools. For many, owning a JUNO-60 or TR-808 was the dream. Though the price tags were fair, they were too steep for many aspiring players to afford.
Soon enough, recording studios and music institutions began collecting industry-standard instruments. Producers signed up and waited their turn to play them. Next, soft synths became more widespread. Music technology companies offered emulations of hardware synths. Still, most of them couldn’t even come close to the sound of the real thing.
Until Roland Cloud came into play, that is.
Graduating from Stock Instruments to Roland Cloud
In London, Point Blank Music School’s Roland Cloud integration is in motion. Moving forward, over 1,000 students will have access to all Roland software instruments each year. Content Developer Risa Tsuchikawa is already experimenting with software versions of her favorite Roland instruments.
A hardware fan at heart, Tsuchikawa finds the ACB replicas in Roland Cloud amazingly authentic. “Often, students have to rely on DAW-native software instruments in Logic or Ableton,” she says. Now, they can utilize Roland Cloud instruments which allow for seamless integration with DAWs.
Synth History 101: Roland-Style
Point Blank’s Head of Education & Development Ski Oakenfull, values Roland synthesizer history. “We have a module called ‘Production Analysis.’ It looks at the evolution and integration of technology, as well as its social influence. It’s modules like that where we believe Roland Cloud will have a really big impact,” he says. Generally, studying music history is a passive learning experience. But with Roland Cloud, Point Blank students can recreate the studio setups of the techno legends they learn about.
“One of the assignments we have is to take a piece of equipment, like the TB-303. We look at how it was originally designed, got adopted by acid house, and became massive,” says Oakenfull. Learning about the history of such a famous synthesizer is one thing. Getting to play with it simultaneously is quite another.
Still, one could argue that others designed similar emulations before. So, what gives Roland Cloud an edge? “I think the edge comes from the quality because the quality of the synths is so good. The students are going to be making sounds that are fatter and bigger with Roland Cloud. They’re going to be able to recreate the tracks they’ve studied more closely.” answers Oakenfull.
“One assignment is to take a piece of equipment like the TB-303. We look at how it was designed, got adopted by acid house, and became massive."
-Ski Oakenfull (Point Blank)
Endless Possibilities
Mixing engineer and music producer Angela Piva has over 30 years of experience under her belt. She was only 17 when she enrolled at Berklee College of Music and never looked back. “Post Berklee, I was a young up-and-coming assistant engineer and programmer at Unique Recording in the ’80s. I had access to all Roland’s latest synths and drum machines,” she recalls.
Piva is still very much in love with her JUNO-106 and MKS-80 Super Jupiter. At the same time, she appreciates having a choice between hardware and software today.
“Back then, we did not have immediate access to huge soft synth or cloud libraries,” Piva says. She also admits, “It was difficult to catalog, expensive, and not easy to house or maintain this amount of hardware. We’d have to back up patch libraries via MIDI using SysEx dumps, which was difficult to keep track of and implement quickly.”
An Industry Legend’s Perspective
Between all that inventory work, Piva landed high-profile projects. From Michael Jackson and Toni Braxton to blockbusters like Toy Story and Space Jam, her recording and mixing resume reads like a catalog of gold and platinum.
After years of putting herself out there, Piva decided it was time to share her skills with others. Today, she’s the New York Section Chair of the Audio Engineering Society. Piva is also an Audio Recording & Production Manager/Adjunct Professor. She wears both these hats at Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Steiner Studios.
As soon as Roland Cloud launched, Piva prioritized incorporating it into her curriculum. She wanted all her graduate students to have access to Roland gear at a fraction of the cost. With Roland Cloud, she believes, “For students, and everyone, the possibilities are endless.”
"In class, we play and analyze records. You have to understand how to integrate a sound or style. Roland Cloud really comes in handy."
-Angela Piva
Identifying Roland Drum Machines
Most of Piva’s students want to pursue composing for films, TV, and video games. Having been there herself, she knows what they’re up against. “You have to understand how to integrate a certain sound or style into a record when working with clients,” Piva says.
She goes on to explain how identifying elements on records is a good way to train yourself to craft required sounds. “In class, we play and analyze a lot of records and work on remakes,” Piva joyfully adds. “This is where Roland Cloud really comes in handy.”
Asked which instruments she requires students to master, Piva singles out the TR-808 and TR-909. “Their sound is interwoven with popular music and has prevailed for a long time. I always have students learn both of these instruments using the Roland Cloud. Then, I test them to make sure they can identify both drum machines using different samples as ear training examples.” she explains.
Roland Soft Synths in Action
After getting their hands on all that Roland Cloud has to offer, Piva’s students began to play favorites. Besides the TR-808 and TR-909 for drums, and JUNO-106 for warm pads and bass, D-50 is their go-to for ethereal sounds. The JUPITER-8, JX-8P Model Expansion, SRX KEYBOARDS, SRX ELECTRIC PIANO, and the JV-1080, are also in the lead.
A Student Example
For film composers, combining orchestral instruments and synthesized sounds elegantly is crucial. One of Piva’s talented graduate students, Noah Chevan, recently produced such a cue. His piece,“Emotional Space,” boasts many Roland Cloud instruments. “The main arp and the gliding lead are both JUNO-106 patches I created,” Chevan says.
“While automating the VCF cutoff is one of the oldest tricks in the book, it brings out a very expressive quality from the synth,” he reveals while describing his creative process. He’s also a fan of layering. The track combines strings with SRX ORCHESTRA and XV-5080 patches to create an atmospheric blend.
"The edge comes because the quality of the synths is so good. Students are going to be making sounds that are fatter and bigger."
-Ski Oakenfull (Point Blank)
Academic Synthesis
With teachers like Piva and high-profile institutions like Point Blank embracing the platform, the future of Roland Cloud in the academic world looks limitless. There’s even a simple system for academic environments to manage multiple labs, halls, and studios.
Ultimately, Roland’s rich history of classic synthesizers and rhythm machines holds a vital place in contemporary music. One thing is certain: music students of the past would envy those who have access to Roland Cloud today.
