Roland GAIA 2 37 Key Hybrid Synthesizer with Wavetable Oscillator and Virtual Analog Oscillators
- mfr: GAIA-2
- SKU: ROLGAIA-2
Roland GAIA 2 37 Key Hybrid Synthesizer with Wavetable Oscillator and Virtual Analog Oscillators is rated
out of
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$824.99
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Product highlights
- Powerful
Roland synthesizer with advanced sonic capabilities
- Intuitive
panel layout and hands-on workflow
- 1 wavetable
oscillator and 2 virtual analog oscillators
- Aluminum
panel filled with high-quality knobs and sliders
- Freely
assignable modulation routings for fast sound creation
- Motional
pad for adding real-time movement and expression
- Sequencer
with real-time and step-recording options
- MFX section
with 53 unique effect types
- Informative
high-contrast OLED display
- USB Type-A
port for USB flash drive
Roland GAIA 2 37 Key Hybrid Synthesizer with Wavetable Oscillator and Virtual Analog Oscillators
The Roland GAIA 2 opens the door to an infinite universe of inspired sound creation. Armed with a powerful hybrid engine that combines wavetable and virtual analog synthesis, you can quickly learn the basics before rocketing into uncharted sonic territory. The friendly panel layout logically outlines the synthesis workflow for speedy sound design, while full-size keys provide exceptional playability when you’re ready to perform. And with the sequencer and Motional Pad, it’s easy to generate complex sounds and phrases full of dynamic movement and alter them on the fly. Discover the shape of sound with GAIA 2 and bring all your musical visions to life.
Do You Speak Synth
GAIA 2’s newly developed sound engine puts a never-ending realm of tonal exploration under your fingers. Build familiar sounds inspired by past and present synth icons. Then dive into unique phase and shape modulation tools to unleash cutting-edge textures with complex overtones that can’t be expressed with traditional analog synths. Need something more extreme-Just crank the Drive knob in the multimode filter section for even more grit and power. Whatever you desire-from smooth tones reminiscent of vintage synths to edgy, biting leads to sci-fi soundscapes-GAIA 2 can do it.
Wavetable
Complementing the basic shapes we all know and love, the wavetable oscillator section in GAIA 2 offers multiple waveforms, and you can jump or morph between them for everything from dramatic shifts to slowly evolving textures. Adding the wavetable oscillator introduces contrasting textures into the mix, leading to unforeseen and exciting results.
Virtual Analog
GAIA 2 gives you the tools to recreate the most famous analog synths of all time-or craft all-new voices never heard before. Twin virtual analog oscillators provide the building blocks of synthesis, enabling you to conjure past classics with complete authenticity. Or head in the opposite direction and sculpt the tones of the future. Just think about the sound you want and start tweaking to make it come alive.
Touch the Sound
GAIA 2’s logical workflow makes sound creation fast, easy, and fun. The one-control-per-function panel layout enables instant programming without having to resort to creativity-killing menu diving. And with the streamlined knobs and white anodized aluminum panel, even the look is inspiring. Wait until you see how it glows under stage lighting!
See the Sound
Positioned front and center, the informative display shows the output audio waveform as well as the path of the Motional Pad’s recorded movement. With just a glance, you’ll instantly grasp what’s happening within the most complex of sounds.
Classical Education
GAIA 2 supports Roland Model Expansions, which faithfully recreate iconic synthesizers from Roland’s long history. Instantly swap between the built-in sound engine and classics like the SH-101, JUPITER-8, or JUNO-106 with a dedicated button. Each Model Expansion is fully compatible with the GAIA 2 workflow, letting you re-imagine vintage sounds with the panel controls and develop new music using the sequencer.
SH-101 On Board
With GAIA 2’s pre-installed SH-101 Model Expansion, the monophonic legend is reborn as a polysynth with new and exciting possibilities. Since its release in 1982, the small-but-mighty SH-101 has been a key ingredient in shaping electronic music and remains a favorite for its intuitive interface and head-turning sounds.
Shape It Till You Make It
Modern sound design requires flexible and plentiful modulation. With GAIA 2, you can quickly and intuitively build complex modulation routings. Assign up to four parameters to each of the two LFOs, which come equipped with classic and modern wave shapes, including step modulation. Such effortless parameter assignments let you turn ideas into sounds almost instantaneously.
Inspiration Sequence
With the free-flowing sequencer in GAIA 2, you can easily capture your inspiration and realize your wildest visions. Record in real time, enter steps, and edit on the fly-all without stopping playback. Or tap into the Random Pattern feature to ignite your creative engine with spontaneous musical energy. Along with note information, the sequencer records your panel movements, including tweaks to the pitch and modulation wheels, knobs, and sliders. External synchronization is also supported via MIDI or USB, enabling you to smoothly change sounds and patterns while staying in sync with a drum machine, DAW, or another device.
FX Appeal
GAIA 2 comes loaded with classic Roland effects to take your sonic creations to the next level. Color, enhance, and mangle tones with a vast selection of MFX types, from filters, phasers, and distortions to scatter, lo-fi, and more.
Specifications
| Audio Connectors | 1 x 1/8" / 3.5 mm Stereo Headphone Output |
|---|---|
| Keyboard Type | Synth Action |
| Power Source | USB |
| Sequencer | 64 steps : Each step can record 8 notes and 4 controls Recording modes: Real-time/Step/TR-REC Probability Random pattern generator |
| Material | Aluminum |
|---|
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Ratings and reviews
Roland GAIA 2 37 Key Hybrid Synthesizer with Wavetable Oscillator and Virtual Analog Oscillators SKU: ROLGAIA-2
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Tommy Tranq from
A Welcome Addition to the Roland Family
The Roland Gaia 2 is a welcome addition to the family of Roland synths. It sounds very modern and to my ears is literally always better sounding in its rich unison mode. The setup of one wavetable oscillator with two standard virtual analog oscillators is a novel design but propels creative thinking. It’s almost always useful to use the unison mode over subtle detuning of the oscillators instead creating intervals & injecting high or low harmonics over the principal tone. I like the sound of the synth so much that I consistently forgot to program the tone knob but to my ears it doesn’t make as much of a sonic impact as on all the Roland Cloud Plug Out synths I’ve programmed. This thing sounds modern & great at so many settings. Definitely using the P-mod & S-mod settings is almost always a must when using the wavetable oscillator & don’t forget to select the S-mod tables as these all impact the harmonics with a lot of variation. The synth is laid out very intuitively & although the synth is boasted as knob per function it is not. The menus for making fine adjustments or accessing other parameters are well laid out & only have one sublayer for each section. The filters are all quite pleasing & have their strengths for different applications. The drive circuit is really crucial in this synth & I especially enjoyed setting my drive by cranking the resonance & bringing in the drive to tame the resonance. The effects are pretty great but I opted to literally always program a notch filter in the multi effect slot as to be a second filter since notching sounds is so incredibly important. It is a miss that the chorus insert isn’t switchable to a phaser or flanger but it delivers more consistency & with the unison mode the chorus isn’t always necessary. The reverb options are a nice inclusion but almost always require lower wet & time levels. This causes sounds to sound big without sounding wet & reverby. The LFOs aren’t as fast as I’m used to but all this does is prevent from making more aggressive analog FM type sounds. Having four destinations for each LFO is excellent & the necessity to do each oscillator’s pitch mod independently results in more thoughtful programming. Being able to select destinations for each LFO modulation slot right from the control panel is a dream & I hope other synth manufacturers follow suit. I’ve overlooked the x-y pad programming opting to leave it at its default cutoff & resonance modulation routings. I wouldn’t use this myself & would probably always prefer to control in real time with the knobs. The keys feel very natural for synth action. Velocity responds as expected & the limitation of modifying cutoff resonance & pitch envelope amount along with the default of volume with velocity is actually a strength. Definitely rolling off your attacks & decays for envelopes sounds best on this synth. While it’s nearly always important on any synth to have a somewhat soft attack & decay on an amp envelope to prevent unpleasant clicks except when using a gate to access an envelope for additional modulation, this synth actually sounds best when using even subtle settings of filter attack even when you would assume you don’t need it. With the mod envelope you don’t need the attack when doing pitch sweeps but with modifying things such as the wavetable position it helps too. The sequencer is great with various timing subdivisions & up to 64 steps. My ONLY complaint is the lack of a tap tempo function. I think this should probably be an inclusion of every synth with a sequencer. I would call this synth’s sound in my applications unison smear. The Gaia 2 is charming & modern and while it has a sound that won’t be right for all applications it will definitely compliment a track in so many ways when choosing the perfect sound.
Date published: 2023-10-15