While the XV3080 shares an identical synth engine and architecture to the 5080, some compromises and feature reductions were implemented in order to meet a lower price point. The XV5080 remains the flagship of the XV range, sporting the maximum amount of everything. The series continues with the arrival of the newest XV to hit the streets - the XV5050 module. This has produced the XV5080, XV3080, and XV88 keyboard so far, as well as the recent keyboard spin-offs RS5, RS9, and Fantom. The time was right to reveal their next-generation multitimbral S+S synth, and so the XV-series was born. The JV10 modules soon became industry standards, and at that point it must have been clear to Roland that they were on to a winner (or several). Roland's JV/XP-series took many forms the JV80, 90, 880, 1000, 1080, 2080, 1010, XP10, 30, 60, and 80 all spring to mind, not to mention the M-series of dedicated 'Expansion Board' models.
It would be reasonable to speculate that the number of ways a manufacturer decides to repackage a particular synthesizer design is a fair measure of its success. Roland's latest module provides the most affordable way yet to access the company's fine XV soundset, albeit with reduced polyphony and a less intuitive user interface compared to the more expensive XV5080.
