Roland SC-8850

Roland SC-8850
DeveloperRoland Corporation
TypeGeneral MIDI, General MIDI Level 2, Roland GS, Yamaha XG[1]
Release date1999 (1999)
PredecessorRoland SC-88 Pro

The Roland ED SC-8850 (Sound Canvas) is a GS-compatible MIDI sound module released in 1999 by Roland under the name RolandED. The SC-8850 was the first sound module to incorporate the new General MIDI Level 2 standard. The SC-8850 uses a PCM sampling engine based on that of the SC-88 Pro, and supports 128-voice polyphony with 64-part multitimbrality. It came preloaded with the soundsets of all older Sound Canvas models, as well as the CM-32 and MT-32. Aimed at personal computer users, the SC-8850 features 1,703 instrument patches, including the GS sounds and additional GM2 sounds. The selection of effects includes reverb, chorus, and Roland's own Insertion EFX, which adds effects like vibrato, distortion, tremolo, etc.

  1. ^ Yamaha XG MIDIs played on the Roland SC-88 Pro This mode was carried over from the SC-88 Pro and added without the permission of Yamaha, and as such, doesn't properly support XG. The device will respond to XG resets and commands and attempt to inaccurately emulate the behaviour of an XG synthesizer.