When will a System 8 replacement launch?

[skinmechanic]

I was speaking to a rep a month ago and certainly in the UK sales of the system 8 haven’t been as expected and the trend is declining with sales so maybe they may repackage it somehow. A module version maybe.?

[DaveInSanFran]

It looks like the new Jupiter-X addresses many of the wishes folks have posted here: aftertouch, more keys, metal frame, and several of the classic emulations built in. It looks like another nicely designed all-in-one kit.

[Stormchild]

It looks like the new Jupiter-X addresses many of the wishes folks have posted here: aftertouch, more keys, metal frame, and several of the classic emulations built in. It looks like another nicely designed all-in-one kit.

While it does look like a great synth, the Jupiter-X doesn’t support ACB, and instead uses a new, less DSP-heavy approach to emulating classic synths (which means it’s not emulating every component of the original hardware like ACB does). This has the advantage of allowing multiple simultaneous parts with much higher polyphony, but the emulations are not of the same quality as ACB. For many people they are probably close enough, so this will be a great tradeoff if you want a multitimbral synth with a much wider palette of sounds (instead of just analog synths).

But for those of us who value the accuracy of the emulations above all else, the System-8 and boutiques (at least the monosynths and drum machines) are still the better option.

[Synthtron]

It looks like the new Jupiter-X addresses many of the wishes folks have posted here: aftertouch, more keys, metal frame, and several of the classic emulations built in. It looks like another nicely designed all-in-one kit.

While it does look like a great synth, the Jupiter-X doesn’t support ACB, and instead uses a new, less DSP-heavy approach to emulating classic synths (which means it’s not emulating every component of the original hardware like ACB does). This has the advantage of allowing multiple simultaneous parts with much higher polyphony, but the emulations are not of the same quality as ACB. For many people they are probably close enough, so this will be a great tradeoff if you want a multitimbral synth with a much wider palette of sounds (instead of just analog synths).

But for those of us who value the accuracy of the emulations above all else, the System-8 and boutiques (at least the monosynths and drum machines) are still the better option.

I also heard this is not ACB either. I think that is a shame. They should have had the best Jupiter-8 emulation for this Jupiter-X. I had a Jupiter-80 and a 50 and they sounded great overall and were great performance synths for playing. However, though they were terrible for real time, on the fly access to parameters by having only a hand full of knobs (The touch screen on the Jupiter-80 was not that great either). Also a big part of me unloading my Jupiter-80 and 50 in favor of the System-8 that I now enjoy was the Jupiter-80 and 50 supernatural synth engine was weak at creating nice analog sounds. For one, all of the waveforms on those were sample based even the VA ones. Since these were sampled waveforms they were not free running or cycling and they were prone to the pitch /audio effects a sample playback machine suffers from. Second and the most annoying was that there was horrible aliasing when using PWM. It was so disgusting that I came to resent that part of these synths.

The filters added with version 2 of the Jupier-80 and the release of the Jupiter-50 were a nice addition but they were not at all on the same level as the newer ACB technology and sounded very plastic or sterile not organic like a proper analog emulation should sound. I was NOT able to recreate many patches from my old JX-3p r Juno-106/60 synths on the Jupiter-80 and 50. On the Jupiter-80 and 50 I really liked most of the Supernatural acoustic sounds but the Supernatural synth section did NOT cut it.

I have enjoyed the System-8 and have recreated many of my classic synth patches and they sound so close and really awesome that I am HAPPY with it!

I hope the Jupiter-X improves over the Jupiter-80's/50's synth engine to eliminate the horrible aliasing issues and the filters. Those JP-80/50 filters sound good for digital synths sounds but extremely weak for really nice analog emulations.

Maybe the Jupiter-X will have ACB filters and the rest samples and less processing intensive DSP for LFO, envelopes, etc.

I do not really know what Zen COre is about and the synthesis techniques.

Back to the System-8 I think that is a complete machine. and I love the size, no more big bulky 76 key keyboards for me! I do wish it had some wavetables but oh well. That is why I am interested in adding the Jupiter-X.

I do not see Roland making an updated version of the System-8. I could be wrong but I really do not.

[Happy]

It’s expensive to provide good aftertouch support. Anyone can throw in half assed aftertouch as a checkbox feature, but it tends to have very shallow travel and it’s hard to get the resistance right, and that makes it so hard to use expressively

Maybe HydraSynth defies this perception . 49 key Poly AT. $1299.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ynthesizer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhBi6rzFkCA

I do not see Roland making an updated version of the System-8. I could be wrong but I really do not.

That would be very atypical for Roland (and most companies) to throw away investments in hardware and not recycling it.

[Synthtron]

That would be very atypical for Roland (and most companies) to throw away investments in hardware and not recycling it.

Of course Roland recycles hardware and even the technology behind it, we have seen that time and time again for decades.
I would be surprised to see a bigger badder follow up to the System-8 coming out though.
We started with the System-1, then the System-1m module, then the System-8. That is a good run.
Sure there could be another modeling synth that uses ACB but I doubt it will be a System-16. More than likely the ACB tech will be used with other tech to make a new line of synths.

[Stormchild]

Maybe HydraSynth defies this perception . 49 key Poly AT. $1299.

Maybe, maybe not. Is it actually implemented well? Lots of synths “have aftertouch”. It’s usually terrible.

[EnochLight]

That would be very atypical for Roland (and most companies) to throw away investments in hardware and not recycling it.

Of course Roland recycles hardware and even the technology behind it, we have seen that time and time again for decades.
I would be surprised to see a bigger badder follow up to the System-8 coming out though.
We started with the System-1, then the System-1m module, then the System-8. That is a good run.
Sure there could be another modeling synth that uses ACB but I doubt it will be a System-16. More than likely the ACB tech will be used with other tech to make a new line of synths.

Roland Cloud isn't going anywhere, and it's clearly Roland's push for a premier subscription service. The Plugouts that work with System 8 (and System 1) work great, and the only thing I can see them doing is updating the System 8 hardware to a platform that can handle even more Plugouts.

[Stormchild]

Roland Cloud isn't going anywhere, and it's clearly Roland's push for a premier subscription service. The Plugouts that work with System 8 (and System 1) work great, and the only thing I can see them doing is updating the System 8 hardware to a platform that can handle even more Plugouts.

I remember this guy! How's it going? Long time no chat.

[EnochLight]

I remember this guy! How's it going? Long time no chat.

Not too shabby, man! Been keeping busy at the TP Forum. ;) Recently added a bunch of Aria gear to my setup, so figured I'd join this group. How active is it?

[Stormchild]

I remember this guy! How's it going? Long time no chat.

Not too shabby, man! Been keeping busy at the TP Forum. ;) Recently added a bunch of Aria gear to my setup, so figured I'd join this group. How active is it?

Sometimes weeks go by with no posts, but it’s gotten lively again since Roland announced a bunch of new stuff the other day. There’s a lot more going on in specific Roland threads on GearSlutz (I really hate that name). For example, the System 8 thread over there is up to 275 pages.

I let my Test Pilot license expire when they did the purge a few years back…hadn’t really been properly testing and reporting bugs in quite awhile (I do miss the forum though). But I got access to the public beta as of yesterday and really like it.

What Aira gear did you get?

[Happy]

The system 1m has been on long wait times it changed from 3-4 week to 9-12 weeks again. This often happend with stuff that is going to phase out
Do not see much new ACB. All the new stuff is PCM/VA based, not ACB. Wonder if 2021 will bring for ACB. Hopefully all those SH2, 101, promars etc.. plugout software can be reused, it would be a shame to throw that away. Wanted to get an 1m but now the support may be waning and a future OS update make it useless.

[LoboLives138]

Personally, I'd like to see a synth with a focus on LA Synthesis and further expansion of the D50 as opposed to another virtual analog emulation. At this point, especially after the JDXa, just to a pure analog synth and be done with it. Feels like a waste of digital synthesis capabilities if the focus is simply to emulate various sawtooth waves. I dunno, been watching a lot of late 80s horror flicks lately and the D50 is all over their soundtracks. Would love to see Eric Persing collaborate with Roland on a new hardware synth....imagine....Omnisphere in a hardware synth?