Roland SC-8820 Owner's Manual page 7

You will need a few other things
The SC-8820 has only the minimum buttons and controls required for operation. This
means that in order to perform operations such as selecting sounds, you will need to
connect a computer or keyboard that has a MIDI interface.
Also, you will need a set of headphones or a stereo system to listen to the sound.
GM (General MIDI)
fig.0-1
General MIDI is a set of recommendations which seeks to provide a way to go be-
yond the limitations of proprietary designs, and standardize the MIDI capabilities of
sound generating devices. Sound generating devices and music files that meet the
General MIDI standard bear the General MIDI logo (
Music files bearing the General MIDI logo can be played back using any General
MIDI sound generating unit to produce essentially the same musical performance.
GM 2 (General MIDI 2)
fig.0-2a
The upwardly compatible General MIDI 2 (
the original General MIDI left off, offering enhanced expressive capabilities, and
even greater compatibility.
Issues that were not covered by the original General MIDI recommendations, such
as how sounds are to be edited, and how effects should be handled, have now been
precisely defined. Moreover, the available sounds have been expanded.
General MIDI 2 compliant sound generators are capable of reliably playing back mu-
sic files that carry either the General MIDI or General MIDI 2 logo.
In some cases, the conventional form of General MIDI, which does not include the
new enhancements, is referred to as "General MIDI 1" as a way of distinguishing it
from General MIDI 2.
GS format
fig.0-2
The GS Format (
mance of sound generating devices. In addition to including support for everything
defined by the General MIDI, the highly compatible GS Format additionally offers
an expanded number of sounds,
provides for the editing of sounds, and spells out many details for a wide range of
extra features, including effects such as reverb and chorus.
Designed with the future in mind, the GS Format can readily include new
sounds and support new hardware features when they arrive.
203
* GS ( ) is a registered trademark of Roland Corporation.
205
* Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
207
* Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
208
* Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
212
* PC-9800 Series is a trademark of NEC Corporation.
220
* All product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respec-
tive owners.
) is Roland's set of specifications for standardizing the perfor-
).
) recommendations pick up where
Main Features
7