Roland System-8 Plug-Out Synthesiser

The Roland System-8 is a powerful synthesiser that provides you with a vast palette of sounds that have been inspired by four decades of legendary Roland synthesisers and comes equipped with a next-generation Analogue Circuit Behaviour engine. The System-8 features eight-voices alongside three oscillators, highly-versatile LFOs and a vast array of high-resolution knobs and sliders giving you perfect control over it all.

There is support for three plug-out synthesisers which means the System-8 can host spot-on re-creations of classic Roland synthesisers and is supplied with Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 plug-outs. The system-8 has the ability to split and layer sounds and comes with an integrated vocoder, arpeggiator, CV/Gate outputs, and a highly-advanced polyphonic step sequencer that helps create endless sounds.

The System-8 is equipped with Roland’s critically acclaimed Analogue Circuit Behaviour that helps you re-create analogue sounds with forward-thinking technologies. The synthesiser provides you with eight voices of polyphony as well as three oscillators, including a sub oscillator, and smooth filters that offer an ultra-detailed resolution. Thanks to the rich sound of the legendary System series you can quickly create huge basses, warm pads, and expressive leads and even allows you to go beyond the retro vibe by letting you create crisp, dynamic tones with evocative textures that are perfect for sound designers.

With an intuitive interface and countless ways to shape your sounds, the front panel is packed full of directly accessible controls for dynamic sound creation and excellent live performances. Thanks to the ACB engine you get direct access to high-resolution filter types as well as a powerful side-band filter that has been inherited from Roland’s influential V-Synth. There is also a tonne of high-quality effects that allow you to add character and ambiance to your sounds, from overdrive, distortion, and fuzz all the way to delay, reverb, and more. Using the extensive synth parameters you have grab-and-go controls over your effects that make it super-easy to perform live and enhance your sounds.

A super-intuitive 64-step sequencer lets you spark your creativity and comes with the familiar TR-REC style interface with dedicated transport controls for record, play, and manipulate loop sequences in real-time, ideal if you’re going to use the synthesiser for live performances. When building your sequences, you can record single notes as well as full chords and even your knobs and slider movements for cool modulated sounds. An arpeggiator function is equipped with quick-access knobs so you can rapidly switch patterns and styles as you’re playing while the chord memory lets you trigger full chords and polyphonic note stacks from a single key. There is also an integrated vocoder which enables you to perform expressively for unique and memorable synth performances.

The System-8 is an excellent performance instrument, but it also seamlessly pairs with your production software and external equipment. The synthesiser is also fitted with a USB audio interface and a MIDI interface for your DAW so you can input directly into the synthesiser leaving your other USB ports open for your external gear while the 49 full-sized keys give you a responsive, great-feeling keyboard so you can record MIDI tracks directly into your DAW as well as a control surface mode for using the System-8’s knobs, sliders, and buttons with your soft synthesisers and virtual instruments. The built-in CV/Gate outputs allow you to send note and pitch data from the synth engine and step sequencer to trigger your modular synths and retro gear.

Alongside the impressive internal sound engine are three expansion slots for hosting and controlling Roland’s Plug-Out software synths. The System-8 comes supplied with Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 Plug-Outs offering instant access to authentic sonic reproductions of the Roland classics. There are also optional downloadable Plug-Outs available such as the SH-2, SH-101, Promars, and others. Using the system-8’s performance mode, you can combine the internal synth engine and Plug-Outs to create complex synth patches with layered vocals, custom splits and so much more.