Wireless communication
Wireless communication
Roland brings convenience of wireless MIDI to modern music creators
The WM-1 Wireless MIDI Adaptor and WM-1D Wireless MIDI Dongle have been designed by Roland to bring the convenience of wireless MIDI to modern music creators. They provide wireless MIDI communication between multiple devices, including keyboards, drum machines and other MIDI hardware, Mac and Windows computers, and iOS mobile devices. In addition to MIDI note data, users can send MIDI sync for tempo, effects, LFOs and loops, without connecting a single cable.
The WM-1 connects to MIDI hardware devices with standard five-pin MIDI I/O, while the WM-1D connects to computers and iOS devices via USB. Standard mode provides low-latency MIDI communication between up to four total devices. Fast mode reduces latency to 3ms to provide fast communication between two WM units for timing-critical applications. The WM-1D is suited for Windows computers that don’t have Bluetooth MIDI support built in. Users of Mac computers and iOS devices can also use the WM-1D to gain the benefits of Fast mode.
Roland has also added to its V-Drums family with the TD-07KV, with the TD-07 sound module at its heart. The electronic drum set incorporates mesh-head snare and tom pads, large V-cymbals and Bluetooth and USB connectivity. The PDX-8 8-inch snare pad features independent head and rim zones for assigning different sounds, while three PDX-6A 6-inch tom pads offer single-zone triggering. The kit also includes CY-8 12-inch pads for crash and ride, a 10-inch hi-hat with integrated pedal and a KD-10 kick pad. There’s also a wide range of electronic percussion, plus deep editing tools for personalising sound. Players can change out and tune drums, add damping, change the ambient environment and use individual EQs and transient editors to shape sounds.
Meanwhile, Roland Cloud, the company’s platform for software synthesizers and sound libraries, has grown with the addition of Zenology Pro and Zenbeats 2.0. Zenology Pro gives users the chance to craft sounds with four partials at once, each with choices of PCM and virtual analogue waveforms, rich multimode filters and complex LFOs. Zenbeats 2.0 includes feature and workflow enhancements for free-flowing music production. The spotlight addition is ZC1, Roland’s first mobile-ready synth powered by the Zen-Core Synthesis System.