Tech update: Roland V-Combo VR-09 Live Performance Keyboard

Roland CONNECT 2013

Travel-ready, affordable, and outfitted with top-level Roland sounds, the V-Combo VR-09 is the ideal all-in-one solution for performing keyboard players. Dedicated piano, organ, and synth sound engines—organized in three intuitive blocks on the front panel—provide all the essential tones you need, right under your fingertips. The powerful real-time controls give you maximum expression on stage, with nine sliders for tone shaping and a large array of knobs and buttons for tweaking the seven simultaneous effects and various parameters. Other great features include an onboard looper, a drum section stocked with a library of rhythms for practice and jamming, and more. With its versatile sound selection, inspiring operation, and smart user interface, the V-Combo VR-09 is a dream come true for gigging musicians.

Professional keyboard with instant-access operation for performing musicians

Light and mobile; battery or AC power

Pro-quality acoustic and electric pianos, including grand piano with 88-note stereo multi-sampling

SuperNATURAL-powered Virtual Tone Wheel organ with nine harmonic bars, plus newly developed transistor-type ‘60s organ tone

Wide range of synth tones, from vintage classics to modern essentials

Seven simultaneous effects with dedicated real-time controls

Looper and built-in rhythm patterns; WAV/MP3/SMF song playback via optional USB memory

Free VR-09 Editor app available for iPad

Intuitive Operation for Expressive Stage Performance

The V-Combo VR-09 was designed from the ground up with the needs of live players in mind. An intuitive front-panel layout and clear LCD screen offers quick access to Roland’s top piano, organ, and synth sound engines, along with plenty of real-time controls for expressive tone manipulation. Seven simultaneous effects include rotary, delay, reverb, tone, overdrive, compressor, and customizable MFX, with dedicated knobs that tweak multiple parameters with a single twist for powerful sound shaping with minimal effort. The smart interface makes it simple to set up splits and layers on the fly, and to save all your keyboard settings in user memory locations for instant recall on stage.

Pro Acoustic and Electric Pianos

Piano is a cornerstone sound for live playing, and the V-Combo VR-09 is filled with a wide selection for covering all musical styles. The gorgeous acoustic grand piano features 88-note stereo multi-sampling, delivering pro-level tone that rivals Roland’s dedicated stage pianos. Many popular vintage E. Piano sounds are onboard as well, along with complimentary effects such as vintage phaser and tremolo. The compressor—accessible via a dedicated, easy-to-reach knob—transparently boosts the level of the piano sounds, ensuring that your playing always cuts through when performing in loud bands.

World-Class Organs

Roland’s renowned SuperNATURAL technology powers the V-Combo VR-09’s classic tonewheel organs, while nine harmonic bars provide authentic real-time performance control. A newly developed transistor-type organ is also included, offering the unique sound of combo instruments from the 1960s. The 61-note keyboard has an extremely fast response, perfect for essential organ techniques such as trill, sputter, glissando, and percussive hits. Rotary speaker and amp simulators reproduce the characteristics of vintage organ speaker cabinets and overdriven tube circuits with astounding realism, while a new “Twin Rotary” option delivers a deep, aggressive effect never before heard.

Vintage and Modern Synth Tones

The V-Combo VR-09 is packed with a ton of ready-to-play synthesizer sounds, from vintage analog classics like JUNO strings and ‘80s synth brass to textured, modern-era digital tones and beyond. Front-panel controllers allow you to tweak the synth tones intuitively in real time, including convenient ADR and cutoff/resonance adjustment with the harmonic bars in the ORGAN block. Onboard effects like “Bit Crash” provide the ability to create modern synth voices for current dance music, including dubstep.

VR-09 Editor for iPad

The free VR-09 Editor app for iPad gives you powerful, intuitive control of the organ and synth sound engines via your tablet’s full-color touchscreen interface. Quickly edit organ sounds and customize vintage tonewheel characteristics such as leakage, click noise, and rotary speed, and easily access synth sounds to build custom tones and layers. After tweaking sounds at home, you can take your iPad to the gig and use the app for extra real-time control on stage. Convenient, cable-free communication between the V-Combo VR-09 and iPad is simple to set up with Roland Wireless Connect. Alternately, you can link up with a USB cable via Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit.