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U-110

The U-110 was a rompler released by Roland in 1989, the same year as their similarly sample-based R-8 drum machine.

U-20

The U-20 upgraded the sound quality and voice allocation, and added a velocity-sensitive keyboard.

U-220

The U-220 removed the keyboard again, allowing the upgraded engine to finally grace a rack, presumably alongside an R-8M. It has just two SN-U110 series slots.

Quotes

I wrote a track just to try out the sounds on the U-220. It wasn't meant to be a track, it was just meant to be a demo to see how the U-220 went. That turned out to be "G-Force", and went on the B-side of the third EP. It's actually one of the strongest tracks.

— Liam Howlett, The Prodigy, 1992^[7]

I've had that years. That's one of my all-time favourites for strings — the strings on there are a Prodigy trademark! If anyone puts a bit of chorus on those strings, you get the sound from "Out of Space" straight away.

— Liam Howlett, The Prodigy, 1996^[8]

Notable users

U-220

• The Prodigy^{[7][9][8][10]}
• Tangerine Dream (×2)^[11]

References

1. "Music Village" Music Village (Vendor), Sound On Sound, May 1992, p. 129
2. "Music Village" Music Village (Vendor), Sound On Sound, Jun 1992, p. 101
3. "Music Village" Music Village (Vendor), Sound On Sound, Jul 1992, p. 101
4. "Music Village" Music Village (Vendor), Sound On Sound, Aug 1992, pp. 92—93
5. "Music Village" Music Village (Vendor), Recording Musician, Aug 1992, pp. 26—27
6. "U-220 service notes" Roland, Oct 1989
7. "The Lone Raver" Tim Goodyer, Music Technology, May 1992, pp. 68—72
8. "Liam Howlett: The Prodigy & Firestarter" Paul Nagle, Sound On Sound, Sep 1996
9. "Prodigious Talent" David Robinson, Future Music, Feb 1993, pp. 31—34
10. "Playing With Fire!" Robin Green, The Mix, Mar 1997
11. "Dream State" Simon Trask, Music Technology, Jan 1991, pp. 40—46

External links

Reviews

U-110

• "Roland U110 Sample Player" Paul Ireson, Sound On Sound, Jan 1989, pp. 70—72
• "Roland U110 PCM Sound Module" Simon Trask, Music Technology, Jan 1989, pp. 14—16
• "U got the Look" Darrin Williamson, Micro Music, Jun 1989, pp. 54—56

U-20

• "U Got The Look" Paul Ireson, Sound On Sound, Aug 1989, pp. 56—58
• "Roland U20" Simon Trask, Music Technology, Aug 1989, pp. 12—17

Downloads

Documentation

U-20

• "U-20 manual" Roland, 1989
• "U-20 service notes" Roland, Jun 1989

U-220

• "U-220 manual" Roland, 1989
• "U-220 service notes" Roland, Oct 1989

Roland: DCB | JV-1080 | Juno-6 | Juno-106 | MC-4 | MC-8 | MPU-101 | R-8 | SH-101 | SN-R8 series | SN-U110 series | SO-PCM1 series | SR-JV80 series | System-100 | System-100M | TB-303 | TR-606 | TR-808 | TR-909 | U-110 | VP-330 | W-30

Romplers: Carnaval | JV-1080 | Orbit 9090 | Planet Phatt | R-8 | U-110 | Vintage Keys

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