Roland S-770 (1990)
The S-770 was Roland's flagship rackmount digital sampler. It was a 16-bit linear machine built around the company's "DI" conversion method, and it sampled at 48, 44.1, 24, or 22.05 kHz. It shipped with 2 MB of sample memory as standard, expandable to 16 MB with RAS-770 memory boards installed in the OMS-770 expander. Signal processing was a TVF section with lowpass, bandpass, highpass, and ring filter modes, plus a TVA. Roland quoted frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+0/-3 dB), dynamic range above 87 dB for a single voice at rated output, and total harmonic distortion (A/D-D/A) under 0.01%.
The rear panel was unusually well-equipped for its day. It had stereo and six individual outputs, XLR inputs with switchable level, and a digital audio interface conforming to CP-340 over both optical and coaxial connections. There was SCSI for external hard disks, CD-ROM, and magneto-optical drives, plus an external controller port, a CRT output (RGB and monochrome composite), and MIDI. A 3.5" floppy drive handled 2HD and 2DD disks, and a 40 MB internal hard disk drive was fitted. Sampling time ran from 20.7 seconds at 48 kHz with standard memory up to 167 seconds at 48 kHz fully expanded. The unit measured 430 × 132 × 420 mm and weighed 12 kg fully expanded. Accessories included an MU-1 mouse, a system disk, a rack mounting angle, and an overlay sheet for the RC-100 remote.
The factory supplied a dedicated "Check Disk" for servicing the S-770. It ran panel switch and LED tests, LCD checks, alpha dial and foot switch checks, floppy disk tests, D/A MSB adjustment, D/A and A/D offset calibration, wave RAM checks, and individual output verification. Roland also documented PLL circuit checks that need an oscilloscope and a DAT or CD player with digital output. The service literature says the floppy drive is a 2 MB/1 MB dual-capacity unit and warns against fitting a 1 MB-only drive. Roland's advertising ran in the trade press through 1990. Recording Engineer (August 1990, p.12) carried the S-770 under its "Roland breaks the…" banner, and EQ Magazine (September 1990, p.20) ran the same campaign. These were manufacturer advertisements, not independent reviews, so what survives is the marketing presentation more than measured third-party evaluation.
Documentation for the S-770 survives mainly as the owner's manual, the Check Disk service manual, and period advertising. No independent bench review from the audio press has surfaced in this archive. The model's later reputation rests largely on its position as Roland's top-tier sampler at the turn of the decade, not on contemporary critical assessment.
- Type: Rackmount digital sampler
- Sampling: 16-bit linear, DI method; 48/44.1/24/22.05 kHz
- Memory: 2 MB standard, 16 MB max (RAS-770 boards in OMS-770)
- Filter: TVF — LPF, BPF, HPF, RING
- Outputs: Stereo out + 6 individual outs
- Digital I/O: CP-340 optical and coaxial
- Storage: 3.5" FDD (2HD/2DD), 40 MB internal HDD, SCSI
- Display: RGB CRT out (64×240 dots) and monochrome composite (200×320 dots)
- Dimensions: 430 × 132 × 420 mm
- Weight: 12 kg fully expanded
- Released: 1990
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