Why seven? Is it sins? Dwarves? I don’t see sevens in the design. There wasn’t an Integra-6. Or was it like RoboCop – took a few goes?
It’s the top dog of Roland’s SuperNatural series, which included the JD-XA, Jupiter-80 and Jupiter-50… that all got buried quite quickly. SuperNatural came after the V-Synth GT’s Articulative Phrase Synthesis and before the deeply retro AIRA range. It seems to have been a bit of rough patch. I like it (as I like Fugglers) but people were pissed off at the Jupiter-80 not being an exact copy of the old Jupiter-8. It also has some novel ways of sorting out sounds, with terminology that is perhaps… ‘unhelpful’.
Roland are always coining new buzzwords. Permit me to translate these into simple and familiar terms. The Integra-7 is a rack module with 16 tracks on which you can place one of three types of instrument.
- SuperNatural Acoustic which are multi-samples of acoustic instruments with cross-fades and articulation to make them more realistic.
- SuperNatural Synthesiser – which I’ll cover in more detail below.
- Sample and Synthesis identical to the XV-5080, released 13 years before.
The XV-5080 (which I call ‘The Yacht’) was quite a landmark. Machines from the 1980’s D-50 era lead up to it, current ZEN-Core machines still reference it. The Yacht is Roland’s idol. The Integra-7 references the Yacht, including all the SRX expansion cards that could be installed in it – but only four are accessible at a time. Because … the original could only hold four cards? Sorry but what? The original could also house 4 of the older JV cards (mine has 4), but do you see them here? No you don’t. That sucks, because I have some noises from the oddball ones I really like. And another thing – you can’t add your own samples. Because la la la I’m Roland I’m blocking my ears can’t hear you.
In some ways Integra is better than the Yacht – it’s got all the SRX expansions, has three kinds of synthesis. But I still must keep the Yacht and for all the custom samples and patches I’ve created. Poo.
Supernatural Acoustic is pretty good – especially the articulations. But if you have a decent sample library on your PC you’ve probably got these sounds. Kontakt would do in a pinch. You can’t really mess with the sounds, except for using the single MFX available on the end of each track.
SuperNatural Synthesis
I’m more interested in synthesis. The Integra has 16 parts, one for each MIDI channel. Each part is effectively a virtual analogue synthesiser with three partials of oscillator, filter and amp.
In comparison the JD-XA has 3 digital parts that stack up when you play the local keys – but are voiced on different MIDI channels when played remotely (which is very confusing when you first do that). It also has a single analogue part. To get a similar result on the Integra you would need to use 3 of the 12 parts on a single MIDI channel.
Compare that to S&S on the VX-5080 – here you have four tones, in teams of two. The filters can be chained and there are ‘boosters’ – a different work flow.
SuperNatural provides eight modelled analogue waveforms which can have pulse-width and synch. There is a form of cross-modulation between the first two partials. You then have a menu of 450 PCM waves which are distinct from those in S&S synthesis. With some work the Integra can combine all three kinds of synthesis in a studio set. But the total number of internal studio sets is 64 – not shabby, but less than some users would need for their stage work.
ZEN-core
Of course this kind of multi-engine set up is now more familiar as Zen-Core. Roland would much prefer you to be using Zenology alongside one of their recent toys – the MC-707, Jupiter X or a Fantom. Are you better off? I have a patch on the XV-5080 which combines a couple of ‘OB saw’ waves, an orchestral ‘Triangle’ and ‘Asian Gong 2’ located on the physical expansion cards. Zenology doesn’t include these waveforms unless bought as Wave Expansions. The software XV-5080 also lacks the expansions. The separate World SRX virtual instrument has the gong, but not the other waves. And so on. So Zen-Core
The other important thing is that you can edit the sounds directly on the Integra using an iPad or computer. You can’t officially do that on an MC-707, which is the only vaguely rack-able ZEN-thing so the Integra is your best shot at a single rack with all the waveforms. There’s probably a big Fantom that could do it and have samples as well but I like to be able to fit in the same room as the keyboard.
UPDATE there is a third party editor for the MC-707, which I will have to review soon.
Yes yes but what about art?
OK – less tech more art. The reason I have so many S&S machines is the combination of precise waveforms and samples that have unusual timbres and overtones. Abbott and Costello, or Laurel and Hardy – the combination of straight man wave and comic sizzles/hisses/glows/hums – this gives me the slight anxiety and madness that energises the music. I have my own sample library of ‘Costellos’ – the zip drive on top has 175 of them which go with the XV-5080. The Fantom XR has a similar library. You could just use a sampler but then you miss out on the ‘Abbots’. The Integra-7 has a slightly different take on this which I will explore, carefully, over time. Because that’s the way I paint, and slightly different mediums offer subtle but useful contrasts.
The other way to get this ‘feel’ is with FM (on the opsix) or, to a certain extent with spectral distortions (on Vital). But the cheapest way if you are interested is most likely Cherry’s Dreamsynth.