The Roland RS-202 was a polyphonic string synthesizer, introduced by Roland in 1976. It was the successor to the Roland RS-101, released in 1975.[1][2]

The synthesizer operated using sawtooth wave oscillators, which used a frequency divider in a similar manner to an electronic organ to provide full polyphony across a five-octave keyboard.[3][4] The signal was then fed through a single envelope shaper, making the instrument paraphonic. The front panel had two separate controls for the top and bottom of the keyboard, which could have independent sounds.[3] Each note could be assigned a separate envelope articulation, which was necessary to avoid re-triggering the attack if an extra note was added to an existing chord being played. To achieve a more realistic sound of an ensemble of string players, the output was fed through a chorus effect using a number of delay lines triggered by low frequency oscillators.[5]

An American company called Multivox manufactured a clone of the RS-202, called the MX-202. It used similar internal components, though the sound was weaker.[6]

Notable users of the RS-202 include Genesis' Tony Banks, Camel's Peter Bardens, Los Bukis and Tomita.[6][7]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Jenkins 2009, p. 89.
  2. ^ "A Tale of Two String Synths". Sound on Sound. July 2002. Archived from the original on 8 March 2005.
  3. ^ a b "ROLAND RS202". Hollow Sun. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Roland RS-202". 36–37. The Music Journal. 1978: 108. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "How do I re-create the sound of those old string synths?". Sound on Sound. March 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Roland RS-202 Strings". Vintage Synth Explorer. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  7. ^ Jenkins 2009, p. 135.

Sources

  • Jenkins, Mark (2009). Analog Synthesizers: Understanding, Performing, Buying—From the Legacy of Moog to Software Synthesis. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-136-12278-1.
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