The W-30's "Workstation" title stems from its incorporation of synthesis, sampling and MIDI sequencing capabilities.

Although primitive by modern standards, the W-30's onboard sequencer was a practical way to arrange music as opposed to a DAW.

Nonetheless, the slightly "gritty" nature of the samples could be considered one of the instrument's charms.

The W-30 is compatible with the sound library of the Roland S-50, S330 & S550 dedicated samplers, which are now in the public domain.

The workstation's back panel features a blanking-plate labelled SCSI.