Canvas V1.60 — Edirol Hq-gm2 Hyper

Note: This article is for educational and archival purposes. The software mentioned is the property of Roland Corporation. Please support official releases where available (e.g., Roland Cloud's Sound Canvas VA).

v1.60, released circa 2004, hit the sweet spot: edirol hq-gm2 hyper canvas v1.60

Here is the sad reality: Edirol was discontinued by Roland around 2010. There is no official download. Roland has moved on to their "Cloud" subscription service (which contains a different synth called "Sound Canvas VA"). Note: This article is for educational and archival purposes

To understand the magic, you have to remember the alternatives. In 2004, the typical motherboard sound card used a 2MB soundfont at best. The Roland Sound Canvas SC-88 (hardware) cost $500. Hyper Canvas v1.60 gave you a virtual SC-88 Pro for a fraction of the price, but it didn't sound like a cheap imitation. To understand the magic, you have to remember