Aluminum sides for System 8

Forum for Roland's System-8 synthesizer
mimoid
Posts: 151
Joined: 19:20, 3 January 2016

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by mimoid »

len73 wrote: Forget about the 8W, not worth it in my opinion !!
Thank you for letting me know. I was thinking of getting the wood ends, but for now I think I will hold it off.
Manic
Posts: 183
Joined: 10:09, 18 January 2017

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by Manic »

You can sand the wood and oil it again to make it lighter. Ive seen pictures where they did this and it looked very nice!
len73
Posts: 56
Joined: 10:27, 7 October 2015
Location: Switzerland

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by len73 »

Of course you could sand it or cut it in another essence but what bothers me is the fact that there is so much difference between the official Roland product pictures and what you get in the end...

Do not find normal also that you need to drill other holes on a product that is supposed to fit out of the box.
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rsaintjohn
Posts: 265
Joined: 02:56, 23 May 2015
Location: Cleveland, OH USA

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by rsaintjohn »

Manic wrote:You can sand the wood and oil it again to make it lighter. Ive seen pictures where they did this and it looked very nice!
Sure, but that still doesn't solve the screw problem. For $60, no one should have to go find the right tools to adjust the countersink (or hunt down a longer set of compatible screws), sand it and stain it. At that point it becomes a DIY project for what is, essentially, a few dollars worth of wood cut into a particular shape.
Manic
Posts: 183
Joined: 10:09, 18 January 2017

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by Manic »

I agree. But if you really prefer wood over alu, you have the option to do some minor changes and make it work for you.
Synthfreak1
Posts: 30
Joined: 09:34, 11 September 2009
Location: EAST COAST USA

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by Synthfreak1 »

I just received my aluminum sides but before I put them on I will be making templates to make a set out of really nice flame maple.
mitcho
Posts: 2
Joined: 12:35, 20 March 2017

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by mitcho »

Synthfreak1 wrote:I just received my aluminum sides but before I put them on I will be making templates to make a set out of really nice flame maple.
Yeah, please share the template for all of us.
analoguesque
Posts: 15
Joined: 21:33, 16 May 2016

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by analoguesque »

cello wrote:Here's the wooden ones...
https://www.roland.com/us/products/rsp-8w/
I've seen the actual wood sides and they look nothing like the advertised pics. They are extremely dark (dark walnut/coffee) to the point of being black. Very disappointing, especially considering how amazing the pics look. Did anyone else find this to be the case?

Ian
http://analoguesque.x10host.com/Roland-System-8/
analoguesque
Posts: 15
Joined: 21:33, 16 May 2016

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by analoguesque »

len73 wrote:
rsaintjohn wrote:Just a quick update (some of you probably saw my posts about this on FB), but just be aware that the stain of the wood on the RSP-8W is nothing like what you see in Roland's pictures. I was expecting "cherry", but in reality they're almost ebony. In addition, in my case, they are too thick for the screws, making it nearly impossible to truly secure them to the sides of the S8.
Have to confirm that as well. I received a pair yesterday and was very disappointed. Not only is the color absolutely ebony, but my pair was damaged on a side (wood was damaged before packing as package was undamaged...

Furthermore the holes where not deep enough on one side to screw anything... Had to use my workbench and dig a bigger hole to be able to screw it.

Nevertheless I will return the 8W, looks nicer without woodsides...
Will maybe change them for the alu version.
Still waiting for the feedback of my reseller to return them...
Forget about the 8W, not worth it in my opinion !!
Ugh, I should have read the entire posting before I responded earlier about how terribly disappointing the "black" official wood panels are. I ended up making my own sets from Red Oak, Pine, Poplar, and Cedar, all of which were better than the stock wood panels. No need for a new set of screws because I countersunk properly and the originals worked as-is. I ended up going with Oak because it was more consistent, although a few folks preferred the Pine and Cedar. They were a real pain to work with compared to Oak though, and Oak is also much tougher.

Ian
http://analoguesque.x10host.com/Roland-System-8/
TapedTogether
Posts: 11
Joined: 18:59, 27 May 2017

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by TapedTogether »

I just wanted to shout out to user analoguesque for creating some beautiful side panels for my System-8. The synth looks classy now! Thanks.

Pics: http://imgur.com/x8nDzlB
analoguesque
Posts: 15
Joined: 21:33, 16 May 2016

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by analoguesque »

TapedTogether wrote:I just wanted to shout out to user analoguesque for creating some beautiful side panels for my System-8. The synth looks classy now! Thanks.

Pics: http://imgur.com/x8nDzlB
Hey thanks for the shoutout. They look pretty good with your setup! :)

Ian
http://analoguesque.x10host.com/Roland-System-8/
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rcmusic35
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Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by rcmusic35 »

beautiful!
Synthtron
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Location: USA-East Coast
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Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by Synthtron »

I took the plunge to get a Sysytem-8! I got the Aluminum side panels for the System-8 today. Actually the panels came in before I have even gotten the synthesizer which may be another couple days in shipment.
I must say when Roland says that these side panels are brushed aluminum they are not kidding. They feel a little rough in texture. Too bad they did not make them polished like the Jupiter-80 but I think they will look great on the System-8.
Acidizer
Posts: 67
Joined: 16:42, 20 September 2016

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by Acidizer »

Synthtron wrote:I took the plunge to get a Sysytem-8! I got the Aluminum side panels for the System-8 today. Actually the panels came in before I have even gotten the synthesizer which may be another couple days in shipment.
I must say when Roland says that these side panels are brushed aluminum they are not kidding. They feel a little rough in texture. Too bad they did not make them polished like the Jupiter-80 but I think they will look great on the System-8.
they do. the aluminium sides elevates the look of the synth considerably. even better, turn off the green lights and it looks even better! (though some functionality will be lost when working on the plug-outs)

but with the green lights off, the synth looks much more balanced between the red variation numbers and blinking LEDs, the small amount of green buttons, and if in performance mode with yellow on the sequencer - it actually looks GREAT.

with the full green lights on, it's just too garish for me. i was considering soldering in different colour lights, or getting a specialist to do it for me. but now, i am very happy with its looks. may still get different knobs for it, possibly metal or metal-tipped. pimp it up a little.

i think an artist could do a nice little subtle paint job on it. colourise the white lettering or something - break it more visually into different sections. more than half of the reason the jupiter is so revered and goes for insane money is its imposing looks (imo)
Happy
Posts: 175
Joined: 14:55, 7 April 2014

Re: Aluminum sides for System 8

Post by Happy »

mitcho wrote: 17:17, 23 May 2017 Dear System 8 Owners. I want to make my own sides for the System 8, got some piece of old cherry wood - can someone please measure the sides that Roland offers, length of the sides, angles, position of the holes to drill
Maybe someone can just put on side on a scanner?

Cheers
Mitch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIDy9In40WA


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