Roland Octa-Capture

Roland Octa-Capture | Reviews
107
R
oland make synths. We all
know that and it’s tempting
to think of this company
exclusively in that capacity.
And, indeed, Roland were keen to keep
‘anything that plugs into a computer’
under their Edirol brand in order to
maintain this impression. However in
more recent times Roland have
stopped hiding their many talents
under various brand bushells and so
we now have the Octa-Capture: The
fi rst Roland branded audio interface.
It’s a USB 2.0 interface with Mac
and PC compatibility, up to 192kHz
recording capabilities, plenty of
analogue and digital I/O and high-
quality preamps. Sounds good to us.
Octa-vate
Getting started with Octa-Capture
involves installing the bundled drivers
from CD and, if you like extra goodies,
you’ll also fi nd a ‘Cakewalk Production
Plus Pack’ disc which includes Sonar
LE and assorted instrument and library
software. The interface itself is solidly
built with I/O options at front and rear.
Four XLR/quarter inch ports adorn the
front panel, the fi rst two fl exible
enough to accept either mic or Hi-Z
inputs, while the headphone monitor
port lies on the far-right hand side.
Round the back, you’ll fi nd an
additional four XLR/quarter inch
inputs, eight line level outputs, coaxial
ins and outs, MIDI in and out ports
and the all important USB connection
port. That’s an very comprehensive set
for such a compact box.
The unit requires its own DC power
supply which you’ll fi nd in the box
along with rack ears if you have a spare
U of rack space. The rest of the front
panel is dedicated to interface setup
with the four buttons and rotary
controller to the left of the LCD screen
assigned as the preamp section.
Software brain
The left and right buttons allow you to
shuttle along from one channel to the
next while the rotary dial is used to
control level sensitivity for each
channel in turn, with the graphic
display keeping you in touch with
levels – a level bar graph helping you
to set levels in real time along the
bottom. At fi rst glance, the phantom
power button would appear to be global
for the whole unit but this too is
confi gured channel-by-channel for
each input which is a neat trick. Also
at the preamp stage you’ll fi nd a
per-channel compressor with fully
customisable threshold and gain.
Being able to set dynamic control for
each and every channel individually
brings functionality to Octa-Capture
missing from many of its rivals and
there are also software controls for
phase inversion and low-cut fi lters for
each channel. You can even trust
Octa-Capture to set levels for you by
running the Auto Sens(itivity) option.
This auditions audio for any given
channel over a period of time and sets
levels for you based on these results.
The Direct Mixer dial can be used to
balance input signals against those
coming back from your DAW to set up
monitor mixes and Octa-Capture even
features a basic reverb unit whose
most popular function will be to
provide monitor reverb when recording.
All in all, Octa-Capture is an
impressive, well-designed and
impressively appointed interface which
combines high-quality signal I/O with
some very neat ‘above and beyond’
software features. Its sophistication
comes at a price but the features and
quality here go way beyond more
budget interfaces. Well worth a look.
WHAT IS IT?
A multi-input and output
USB audio interface from
Roland for Mac and PC
CONTACT
Who: Roland
Tel: [phone]
Web: roland.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 High quality I/O
2 Impressive software setup
on a ‘per channel’ basis
3 Auto-level setup, in-built
reverb and more!
SPECS
Number of channels
44.1/48/96kHz: Record:
12 channels, Playback:
10 channels
192kHz: Record:
4 channels, Playback:
4 channels
Signal Processing
AD/DA Conversion: 24-bit
Sampling Frequency
Digital (In/Out):
44.1/48/96kHz
Connectors
Input Jacks 1-8 (XLR /
1/4-inch TRS)
Coaxial Input
Coaxial Output
Headphones Jack (Stereo
1/4-inch)
Output Jack 1-8 (1/4-inch
TRS (balanced)
MIDI I/O
USB Connector
Dimensions
284 x 158 x 50mm
Weight
1.3kg
Roland Octa-
Capture | £479
The fi rst Roland-branded interface comes to market.
Jono Buchanan’s tests the new Octa-Capture
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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A sleek and impressive interface
with software routing and effects
tricks aplenty.
FMU235.rev_roland 107 12/6/10 5:13:36 PM