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Roland SPV-355

Roland SPV-355 P/V (Pitch-to-Voltage) Synthesizer

Features and Specifications:

  • Dual-voltage controller oscillators
  • Selectable input source with filtering and level attenuation
  • Portamento with foot switch control
  • Three selectable waveforms: Pulse, Square and Sawtooth with three selectable ranges: 4’ , 8’ (unison pitch) and 16’
  • Offset tuning for VCO #2 with foot switch control to select from two pitch presets
  • Audio mixer to blend VCO #1, VCO #2 and Sub-Octave outputs
  • Envelope generator with attack, decay, and sustain
  • Voltage-controlled filter with resonance, pitch tracking, and variable envelope generator or envelope follow control.
  • Voltage-controlled amplifier with selectable envelope generator or envelope follow control
  • Hold pedal input
  • Variable foot pedal control over filter cutoff of VCO output
  • CV outputs for Pitch (control voltage), Gate and Envelope Follower
  • CV inputs for Pitch (control voltage) and Gate
  • Effects Send
  • Dimensions: 482 (W) x 92 (H) x 350 (D) mm
  • Power Consumption: 13 watts
  • Weight: 5.7 kg
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Roland Rack. Click to enlarge.

Introduction to the Roland SPV-355:

The SPV-355 is the forgotten brother to the much more familiar Roland GR-300 guitar synthesizer. Look inside the GR-300 owner’s manual on page 10, and you will see a reference to the Roland SPV-355 Synthesizer. The manual reads:

"When a solo type synthesizer sound is desired, try the Roland P/V Synthesizer SPV-355. Use the NORMAL OUTPUT on the Guitar controller, or use the GUITAR OUTPUT from the GR-300." - Roland GR-300 Manual

I was very curious to check out the SPV-355. Does it share the same fantastic tracking as the G-300? How does it compare to other Roland guitar and MIDI synthesizers? Does it have the same analog tone as the GR-300?

In short, the SPV-355 falls short on tracking when compared to the GR-300. A look through the service notes revealed a tracking system much more like the GR-700 than the acclaimed GR-300. The tradeoff here is that the SPV-355 offers three different waveforms, for a much more flexible sound. The synthesizer section is very much a classic analog synthesizer, and the SPV-355 has rear panel control voltage inputs, allowing it to also work as a stand-alone analog synthesizer expansion module. In addition, there are CV outputs as well, so that the SPV-355 can be used to drive any standard 1 volt/octave analog synthesizer.

Roland SPV-355 Block Diagram.

Links to more information:

Photos:

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Roland SPV-355 Roland SPV-355 Roland SPV-355
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Roland SPV-355 Roland SPV-355 Roland SPV-355
Click on any image for larger view.

Roland SPV-355

Videos:

Schematics - Repairs - Service Bulletins:

There are no known service bulletins from Roland addressing any SPV-355 problems.