Roland System-8 Manual
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Roland System-8 – historic turning point?
I've been having difficulty getting this report off the ground. A Roland System-8 has been standing around here in
my studio for months at less than arm's length, intimidating me with its very presence.
There was no way I was going to feel motivated to really and actually examine the thing. A couple of pics here, a
couple of sound samples there. Then, dispair. Enough of those fleeting impressions, enough lighting orgies. What
followed was the firm intention to just chuck it ... not chuck it ... chuck it ... not chuck it.
This went on for a long time. From today's point of view, this is about more than just the System-8. The paralysis
stems from deeper down. It has to do with the unequivocal turning point the Roland Company has taken. A turning
point that the tried-and-true synthesizer enthusiast (and Roland fan of many years) has difficulty just coping with.
But the world keeps turning, and so we accept things as they now are.
New Products — Re-orientation — A new set of Values
Occasional Roland products have given cause for thoughtful frowns for some time now. And it is doubtful that
company founder
Ikutaro Kakehashi
would have approved of present company philosophy. Overworked SH- and
Jupiter-clones clothed in digitalia, bright TB-303 imitations, chic little plastic synths, lightweight turntables with a
909-logo. Where to put it all? In a professional studio?
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Table of Contents
Related Manuals for Roland System-8
Summary of Contents for Roland System-8
- Page 1 … not chuck it … chuck it … not chuck it. This went on for a long time. From today’s point of view, this is about more than just the System-8. The paralysis stems from deeper down.
- Page 2 Modular-Synthesizer Systems 100, 100M und System 700: every one a posh instrument, every one Crème de la Crème. And even the small Roland analog aynths — as for instance the SH-2 and the cute SH-09 — are of exceptional musical and constructional quality (underlined by the fact that a lot of them are still doing good service today).
- Page 3 Then again, we have to be fair: The Roland System-8 is a relatively inexpensive Instrument, and it can do a lot. Which in these digital times is admittedly not the great challenge. The System-8 is a well-rounded package deal: arpeggiator, sequencer, Plug-Outs for even more synth-sounds, a variety of details for sound designers, customer-friendly optics and robust control elements.
- Page 4 Roland System-8 – historic turning point? The Roland System-8 features a: classic (analog) signal path – OSC 1 / 2 / 3 / noise – mixer – filter (multimode) – amplifier – LFOs – – filter-envelope (ADSR) – amplifier-envelope (ADSR) –...
- Page 5 An SD-card-slip enables the creation of simple back-ups. That is of course very practial and would seem to be a fast (and secure) solution for archiving data, seen in the light of the great sound diversity available on the System-8.
- Page 6 Roland System-8 – historic turning point? The bender section is astounding. The combined pitchbend-modulation lever is typical of Roland and nothing new, of course. Praise where praise is due: the bender is extremely stable and lies well in the hand. But it’s interesting: not all performance results are close to what you’d expect.
- Page 7 Roland System-8 – historic turning point? Now, with the System-8 it’s the exact opposite: the pre-set controls of the bender-area (which you’re LOOKING at, so to speak) reflect in no way the actual bender-performance which has been saved along with the sound. So our question: what’s to be preferred? A permanent pre-set (always available, but not savable) …...
- Page 8 So much for publicity. Whether that engine is now called an ACB or something else won’t really make a big impression on musicians, but the essence of what System-8 now stands for is visible here: a quailty emulation of analog sound synthesis. Nobody, but nobody believes that the System-8 is meant to replace the Jupiter-8. Or the...
- Page 9 Jupiter-8 Plug-Out) were NEVER to be found on the original instrument. But then, that’s not the point: to be fair, many of the System-8 sounds appear to be really useful. They inspire the player, in their own way, to make music (creatively).
- Page 10 System-8 user will already be familiar with the Jupiter’s basic sound architecture. So far so very good. In addition, the System-8 has ist own very useful, musically effective basic sound. A battery of presets is at your fingertips and the Plug-Outs do their own stuff, of course, to widen your musical horizon. Which means the System-8 is a very useful and sensible choice as a sound-designer-synth.
- Page 11 Roland JD-XA) and that penetrating green-lighting. You can’t even read the panel graphics if it’s really dark. (By the way – if you prefer a System-8 with the vintage look of a Jupiter, then try the metal wide panels of richTONE music … see eBay auction of richTONE music/UK).
- Page 12 Roland System-8 – historic turning point? Other questions along the way: why does the oscillator COARSE TUNE range end at 11 (semi) tones? Sure, it IS possible to reach that last half tone by the FINE tune knob, but that means two work steps instead of one. Why not COARSE TUNE “12”...
- Page 13 Short and to the point Roland veterans probably won’t break out in a dance of joy when they meet the Roland System-8. A true classic would have better hardware (heavy and stable chassis, internal power supply, 5- to 6-octave keyboard) and would put more polyphony at your fingertips (at least 16 voices should be possible in this digital age).
- Page 14 Roland System-8 – historic turning point? In the end, System-8 finds itself in the good tradition of analog signal paths and analog user surfaces. A real advantage, which raises hopes that Roland will one day produce a real new polyphonic analog synthesizer, based on its own classic, tried-and-true structure, a synth with all the excellence that goes into a true PRO instrument.
- Page 15 Roland System-8 – historic turning point? Many of the System-8 audiofiles demonstrate its impressive sound capital and its special sound character, especially in connection with those internal effects (delay, chorus, etc.). We have abstained from using MIDI and any external (computer) control.
- Page 16 Roland System-8 – historic turning point? Roland System-8 Photo (3000 x 2500 px) Link / Vergleich: Roland JD-XA Review | 16...