Roland System 8 AIRA Plug Out Synthesizer Updates | Gear4music Overview

[@AMikeOnLine]

Had mine for 2 weeks and i'm literally blown away at how good this synth is. Every time i use it i create new and interesting sounds that i have never heard before. It's an awesome synth and i would go so far to say it's the best on the market at the moment. (April 2023.) I've had quite a few synths, i'm not new to the scene. It's quite easy to use and there is no limit to what you can create with it. I've created sounds that you only hear on top end Synths/workstations..! Beware that prices are strong.. (Around £1200 in the UK. Used.) Folk are starting to realise what this synth is capable of.!!

[@EverettDudgeon138]

This update really was a game changer for the System 8 for me. Especially the FM update.

[@alanburke4172]

Great to see you've done well Andy. Love my System 8 too. Hope you're well.

[@garyturner5204]

It would be really great if Roland could come out with a System-32 that has a 61 notes keyboard with aftertouch, allows 8 to 16 PLUG-OUTs to be loaded (like being able to load the Jupiter-8 2 or 3 times, each with a different collection of patches). Allowing 8 to 16 PLUG-OUTs to operate as polyphonic instruments simultaneously on separate MIDI channels would be awesome!

[@dirkkeersmaekers4343]

Yes!!!!

[@_User333]

Genius!

[@floridahiker1503]

Hope the Jupiter X will be all that.

[@st0rmchild]

@@floridahiker1503 It is…sort of…but the Jupiter-X/Xm use a new, less computationally-expensive emulation technology that isn't as accurate as the ones in the System-8. They still sound pretty good, and it does combine that with ZenCore and PCM sounds, so it's much more versatile. But if you primarily care about high quality analog emulation and don't need or want piano and guitar sounds, it's not the System-32 we were hoping for. It also doesn't host plugouts. It comes with a few analog emulation models but you can't add new ones.

[@Organmusiclover]

Great video that shows the new update possibilities v. 1.30 This really made me want to buy this System 8 and I now have one. Great sound quality and unbelievable possibilities of creating new sounds. I love this synthesizer !!

[@Charlyaraya]

Do you still have it ? I am looking for a forever synth

[@timothyjohnson3727]

Excellent presentation!

[@MikeBalk]

Nice update

[@johnrichardson3297]

Love the improvements

[@winstonbeckford785]

Great machine ( I have 80+ synths 😁), will keep until they release a replacement

[@johnalver]

I just think is so cool how you could create sounds that are all your own by getting creative with the variables!!!! You can't do that on any other instrument!!

[@danwentz]

Very cool synth. Please add another LFO and more destinations to modulate... while you’re at it slap it in a rack!

[@RobLocksley]

Yeah, really like my S-8; it is very approachable and fun to play. Still, there are 3 big BMC chips for the sound-engine (one in S1 and that is not the same chip but an earlier rev.) there was much hubbub about how powerful these new chips are but no pushing out an 16voice synth-engine? Even if it would lack some bells and whistles of the full S8 engine a plugout for a simpler 16voice synth would be nice - or are the chips not as powerful as the market-sales guys suggested ;)

[@garyturner5204]

Good question.

[@MrRafalSC]

Does System 8 have a capacity of 64 patches/program on each Plug out? System 8 + 3 x Plug Out = 64 patches x 4 ? = total 256 patches ??

[@nexuzeb79]

For nonowners, you don't know what you are talking about. Next gen synth are maybe Moog One which no one can afford, and the versatility on this system 8 is endless, it's blasting and it's easy to carry around, looks like a star wars star destroyer to inspire you any day, full hnads on control, and better yet, probably the easiest synth to plug into to your daw and control EVERY ff'in thing!! You just gotta try it for awhile and you'll love it..

[@jaspergray803]

Wait, you can control all of the System-8’s parameters using MIDI?

[@st0rmchild]

@@jaspergray803 Yes, every parameter is MIDI controllable. Even some of the ones in the menu that don't have a front-panel control.

[@VincentPresley]

Looks like I'm going to pick one of these up. Do I have to pay for a Roland Cloud membership to get other plug outs like the System 100 Modular or can I just buy whatever one I want and how much is that?

[@MarcTNL]

What is a formant filter or a harmonic filter ? Where can I find info about that ?

[@davidsimons1377]

As an owner of a Juno 106 (with Kiwi mod ) & a previous owner of Juno 6's I sometimes wish Roland would bring out gear that models in whole or in part, a Juno 6 / 60. Not sure how they would have named a JU06 based on it though.

[@shaft9000]

I guess it depends on whether the Jupiter model has the same chorus available; is not the same as the Juno's chorus or is the Juno's a model-specific fx? Since it won't deliver the VCO sound of a real JP-8 anyways, you might as well try to use the JP model to emulate the DCOs in Juno 6. The 106's filter was somewhat different than the 6/60/JP-8's IR3109 filter.

[@Organmusiclover]

I think you are using sounds here that are not standard? The A2 system 8 gives a BD Runner Brass (1:03) but with me there is SQ Star Spiral and further on (9:31) you use A1 system 8 that states FM Chorus EP as with me there is a System 8 SAW. Could you tell me what patches those are, or if they are available somewhere? Thanks in advance.

[@godzil42]

You will find them there: Roland website -> System 8 -> Download -> SYSTEM-8 Sound Bank for Version 1.20

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

I nearly bought one, until I found out that you can not use the expression pedal to control the filter sweep, or anything other than output volume. Deal killer for me, because my playing style involves using my foot, to modulate filter sweep, or other parameters, while I am soloing. So many things it should be able to control. like tap tempo, filter sweep, oscillator color, sequencer start stop, etc, etc. Could be fixed in an update, but I will not buy, unless it is.

[@st0rmchild]

If you have another MIDI controller you can always hook it up to that and have it send whatever parameter you want via MIDI. Very easy to set up in most DAWs. I use my expression pedal with the System-8 all the time.

[@Aniki82]

Yes I was going to say the same, maybe it's better to look for some guitar effect midi controller

[@Jorge.O85]

A question : which is better, system 8 or Jdxa ? What are the differences between both ? I'm planning to buy my first synthesizer 🤓 Thanks !

[@garyturner5204]

There are differences. System-8 has 8 note polyphony and has 4 different synth engines to choose from (System-8, Jupiter-8, Juno-106 and JX-3p) which replicate these vintage synths. The JD-XA is also very different in that it has much larger note polyphony and is 64 voices across up to 4 different parts or instruments.

[@luisbarrera5740]

I wish they had released desktop modules

[@Supremeteamcaptain]

Prospective buyers: the critiques with the System 8 are valid, but the pros far outweigh the cons

[@analogsynthmuseum784]

we cannot change the range of the arpegiator with just one finger , you have to play each chord or are they a function that you dont show us ? thanks

[@mlzphoto-official]

this is all fine but only 8 voices polyphony? come on guys.. :(

[@Rgdonaire_07]

MLZphoto I didn’t know there were humans with > 10 fingers. Evolution is an incredible thing. Unison with 8 voices still sounds very fat also.

[@RayyMusik]

Rafael Graterol You can play two adjacent keys with each thumb. Seriously: 16 voices do make sense for layering patches.

[@Rgdonaire_07]

octopus34 I know I have a prophet rev2 8 voices. People are going crazy for the 16, I think it’s overkill. To each their own.

[@RayyMusik]

Rafael Graterol Yes, I‘m going crazy with my 16-voice REV2, since I often play octaves with my left and 3- or 4-voice chords with my right hand. Layering does make sense, e.g. for cross-fading quite different patches. I do not consider this “overkill”. So I could live with 12 voices but not with 8, i.e. only 4 in stack mode (Prophet X).

[@Rgdonaire_07]

octopus34 it depends on your workflow and style of production. For me layering does not bring anything in particular as I record one pass at a time, I fatten up my sounds with preamps and compression if needed. The way I see it is more as a live performance functionality, which is not my case.

[@Rightly_Divided]

How do you update it?

[@Wagoo]

The firmware update includes detailed instructions, but it was something like: boot it into update mode, it'll appear as a mass storage device via USB, copy the update file to the synth, watch it upgrade

[@paul_ward_music]

I really like my System-8, but to call it a 'flagship'?! A 4-octave keyboard with no aftertouch, external PSU and a plastic case? This is Roland's 'Flagship'?! The S8's sound is fantastic, the concept is fine, and the updates are welcome, but it really needs the right hardware to do it justice.

[@vampolascott36]

$$$

[@architectofechoes4]

Can I ask, when using the sequencer on the S8 can you turn off any of the notes in a sequence so that it misses a few notes to give it a more syncopated sound, this wasn't shown in this demo?

[@alex_darsen]

And they also missed by excluding a random mode for the arpeggiator

[@st0rmchild]

@@architectofechoes4 Yes, you can turn notes on and off by pressing the step buttons. You can also hold a button down to change the note or any parameters on that step.

[@st0rmchild]

@@alex_darsen The arpeggiator does have a random mode in the Jupiter-8 plugout. But yeah…they definitely should have included that mode in the System-8 engine and the other plugouts too.

[@quantumeseboy]

Flagship synth without aftertouch...

[@tonedeath8631]

After touch is totally over rated get over it

[@MichaelRohaly]

@@tonedeath8631 It's totally overrated until you want to modulate something without touching a knob. If you never want that, okay.

[@nadeharry]

hammer teil

[@hannuthyvonen]

minun musiikkia voi kuunella Facebookissa.

[@mvoproject]

Flagship?... Ehm, what about the JD-XA then which is actually described as flagship synth on the official Roland website then? Personally I don`t like the System-8, it looks cool, but the sound of it ... Roland Inc., guys and girls, the NI Reaktor ensembles sounds more alive and interesting. Software synth studio. Seriosly! I played on this synth many times in the shop and it`s just didn`t amazed me with it`s quality. Maybe the functionality only. For the live it`s a cool instrument, for the studio... Well... I`d never change my JP-8000 with it.

[@mvoproject]

@Luke You think that higher sampling rate is a criteria of overall quality and the sound character? I really dont think so. Here is more important the topology of the ICs and architecture of the internal boards.

[@shaft9000]

Intriguing synth, perhaps very capable both live and in-studio. I might pick one up soon to put next to my V and JP-8 - or more likely, to take out for gigs/jams. But please stop trying to kid us, Roland. I hear little if any of the depth and sweetness of the JP-8 VCOs in this demo. The squirty action and over-driven harmonic of the filter is lacking, as ever...please just stop pretending to offer "tHe jUpitEr - 8" in digital form. "Jupiter-X" is the same sort of hubristic folly, upped even further. Hey, It is what it is = _Digital Everything._ Sys-8 generally sounds like a slightly-improved V-Synth, and essentially the same as a JD but for some of the benefits of newer processing speed. Which is fine in itself, but 'analog behavior' it isn't. [e.g. I suspect they don't even model a single iota of the TDK compander inside the JP-8. And if they did, it isn't doing it's job.]

[@alan933]

the sounds are like the ones synthesizers had 30-40 years ago. Nothing has changed with these things. They just have different lighted dials and knobs.

[@titovalasques]

Hmmm, well apart from the fact everyone else actually likes those classic sounds found in those older instruments, what synth sounded like a DX7, Jupiter 8, Juno 106 and the JX3P all in one with a built in vocoder and effects processor 30 years ago? Oh that’s right, in order to get that you had to buy all four plus peripheries.

[@johnalver]

Synthesizer doesn't do it justice a more proper title would be sound designer