Difference between Roland AT90s and AT90sl?

[abang]

My apologies if this has been covered already but what are the differences between the s and sl versions of the Roland Atelier AT90?

Also what year were they released?

Thanks so much.

[andyg]

We have covered it several times, but no matter.

The SL was a mid-term update for the S. It added a whole heap of new sounds via a hardware plug in module, new styles from disk, and a new operating system to drive it all.

In some countries, like the UK, the extras were available as an upgrade option for 90S owners. In others, it wasn't, you could only get those features in the new model. The upgrade was easy, a plug in board and about a dozen floppies to feed into the drive. The only tricky thing was lining up the decal for the User styles! The stick-on "90 S Luxury' badge actually came with a tool to line it up correctly.

Can't remember the dates off hand, I think there is a Roland timeline somewhere on the forum. 2007 was the year of the AT900, I think, so go back two years for the 90SL and two more for the 90S and you'll be about right.

[RayDF]

According to the copyright notice on the user manuals, the 90S came out in 2001 and the 90SL in 2004.

The timeline --as far as I could determine it-- is as follows: RolandAtelierHistory.txt

Can't remember the dates off hand, I think there is a Roland timeline somewhere on the forum. 2007 was the year of the AT900, I think, so go back two years for the 90SL and two more for the 90S and you'll be about right.

[msgrillo]

hi andyg

my question is similar to the difference between a 90s and 90sl.....

what is the difference between a roland at 800 and at 900..i am currently checking out the latter.

your reply from you and others will be greatly appreciated..


respectfully,
marsh grillo

[Kurzweil]

That's an easier one. The 800 is a 20-plastic pedal model whereas the 900 has twenty-five full length wood pedals. The 900 has a commensurately larger bench with a compartment or two. It also has a lighted, sliding music rack and a pair of three inch speakers on each side with an additional twenty watts or so to drive them. They used to have "footage" buttons with adjustment as to whether they spoke diapason, tibia, or Lowrey (Hammond) but that may have gone away now that all current Ateliers have actual Hammond-style drawbars. They both function as top-of-the-line models although only the 900 truly was. Others will elucidate.

[Chris]

"It also has a lighted, sliding music rack and a pair of three inch speakers on each side with an additional twenty watts or so to drive them"

Sorry, this is not completely exact ... When looking the global US brochure, you understand that the 800 and 900 have exactly the same rated power output 240 W (10W + 10W + 60W + 60W + 100W), but the 900 has 2 x 2 additional side 2 inches tweeters, which improves a little bit the global rendering for external listeners ... but not for the player who is in front of the keyboards and can't listen to those directional speakers.

In fact, we know now that, except for the pedal board and those tweeters, 800 and 900 are EXACTLY the same organ. When upgraded with ATUPEX, they deliver EXACTLY the same features, and EXACTLY like a true Platinum.

For the question of side speakers, it is much more better to connect external SATELLITE speakers (only with ATUPEX) through an external amplifier, which will improve enormously the global rendering, also, this time, for the player. I have this installed on my 800 and can tell you this is outstanding, with a very enlarged stereo effect.

[andyg]

That more or less sums it up, both instruments have the drawbars, so play identically. Size and pedalboard are the main things, as Kurzweil has said.

[Kurzweil]

Perhaps one more little thing if you need to move one: The 900 (90 models all) is a ONE PIECE cabinet whereas all other Ateliers split into two sections of about equal weight except at the bottom of the line where the lower section is lighter. I went to pick up my first AT-90r with a circular saw with a combination blade, just in case it wouldn't fit in my Odyssey van. It fit just fine so the cabinet survived but I'm told that it sits dead in the water in Ghana, Africa today. Another reason to be wary of "r" and older models - no parts.

[abang]

I found an AT-90s for sale a few hours drive away. Does Roland offer the kit to upgrade to the SL in the USA? How much would the kit cost? Seller is asking $2500. I don't know if that's a reasonable price, I live in a part of the US where the organ market died a long time ago. Thanks.

[tucsondave]

I recently purchased an AT-90SL but the SL part wasn't working.
I ordered both expansion boards since I couldn't tell which one was bad. It was a special order so it took several weeks to get them from Japan.
I was able to swap boards individually after I got the new ones and found Expansion board B was good, board A was the defective one.
A nearby dealer said there were no "kits."
The files to update the system for the expansion boards are freely available.

The retail cost of the two boards is about $200.00 for the two.
The part numbers are 72560901 and 72560912.

td

[abang]

Thanks TD. Where would I order the parts from?

[tucsondave]

Start with rolandus.com to see if there's any dealer or tech near you or if there's a phone # you can order from.
Roland just moved and was having phone issues but give it try.

td

[Kurzweil]

That's a good price for an AT-90s. I would not worry too much about the distinction between it and the sl model. It's a lot like comparing a top end car with the one just under it. You'll sound like a wonder on the 90s and few other than you will realize you upgraded to an sl, should you do so, and the cost could significantly increase your investment beyond any true added value. I mean, do you really NEED a sunroof and parking monitors?

[tucsondave]

Both owners manuals are available as pdf downloads if you want to compare. The SL also gives the American Classic option.
Just google AT-90S (or SL) owner's manual and it should be at the top of the list linked to media.rolandus.com.

td

[Neumie]

Reviving a very old thread, I know ... but this thread funnels right into my question, so no point in starting a new one.

My new organ teacher has an AT-90SL and it smokes anything I have in my house so badly that now I want one .. and it seems an AT-90SL is a fine buy right about now. Still new-ish as used organs go and most likely deeply discounted as enough years have passed, assuming I can find one within 2-3 hours driving distance. But I'm on the hunt now. There's one for sale on eBay in New York for $1800 (with a make offer option), but I'm in California and don't feel like a ten day road trip with a rented van.

She 'fessed up right away that, even though her console clearly says "Roland Atelier AT-90S Luxury" on it, that it was an ungraded organ. From everything I've gathered through online research, I understand that to mean that it was a 2001 AT-90S, and she paid a few bucks later on to purchase the upgrade hardware, complete with the sticker that affixes to the front of the organ.

From my limited understanding so far, it seems that there are really three AT-90S's. 1) There is the AT-90S from 2001. 2) There is the same AT-90S from 2001 that later had a board upgrade, making it essentially an AT-90SL. and 3) There are factory-made AT-90SL's that were made in 2004.

Having owned a lot of cheap old organs now, some of which are having problems through no other fault than age (ie, not over or under-use), I want to be a stickler about this and insist on only the 2004 factory made AT-90SL to get the benefit of the three-years younger age of the thing.

As I'm searching, how do I tell the difference? If my teacher happened to be an unscrupulous seller that I was shopping, I could easily get duped into believing she owned a 2004 AT-90SL - but she tells me it's not ... it's the older 2001.

How do I tell the difference? (And hopefully, how do I tell the seller to check for me over the telephone before I even drive out, say, three hours away? If this is a "grandma died and we're selling her organ" scenario, the kids are inevitably going to be unaware of the exact year the organ was purchased or manufactured.

[andyg]

Other than a few years in age, it makes no difference. All the SL upgrade did was to put two daughter boards in place on the existing motherboard, and update the operating system. A 'User' sticker went on the right-most rhythm button and the 90S Luxury badge was stuck on - there was even a gizmo in the kit to make sure that went on straight. Factory built 90SLs just had the same thing done before they were boxed up. I've played both and there is no difference at all. You won't be able to tell the difference unless you somehow knew which serial numbers came from which years. 3 years is not much on a quality instrument like an Atelier. We all know the issues that older organs can face but I'd be surprised if an upgraded 90S gave any more problems than a 90SL.

If you can find a 90SL, factory or dealer fitted upgrade, at a good price, then go for it! The only thing you might want to do at some point is change the floppy for a USB stick emulator. Plug and play job.