Why I love the Roland System-8 

I was the same. Totally dismissed it at first. Now I gave it a real chance and I seriously want one. It would definitely fill the analog-style poly gap in my rig.

@@jackthemurray 👍👍👍

Im really interested to compare the two once I get my hands on a Jupiter-X. I bet the System-8 will warrant keeping around!

I must have been smoking crack the day I put the System 8 up for sale. Yes, when I compare the original 1980s patches there is no serious difference, including filter sweeps ... but the S8 is much more hands on for sound design, when I look at the full size Jupiter X... it’s basically the same controls as the Xm just bigger or with sliders. Edit : and no sequencer.

@@andysw3 I really really want to love that JPX, and im going to go in with a good attitude but I am skeptical it will even come close to replacing my system-8 (or even my JP80) for what its trying to do. Still pretty excited at the concept of all those layers and voices though.

MR TUNA Music It replaced my JDXi as my coffee table synth, I thought it might replace the system 8 too. I imagine I’ll have a lot of fun sequencing it over Bluetooth with my iPad so will keep hold of it.

I have bought a Jupiter X and I purchased again the System 8

Fabbri's Midnight Librarians there’s just so much it will do, and not having to pack an audio interface around when I want to record makes such a big difference for me too!

NO WAY

that is an amazing tip! Thanks!!!

@@MRTUNA Thanks for the great videos!

TEACH ME OH WISE ONE

HEYMUN means the world to have you watching

Richard Sexton I agree!

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Im on it!

Thanks so much for takin the time to say

System 8 vs system 1?

Green Leader hahaha you are too kind my friend! Thanks for the encouragement

😈 .. do it ! ... do it now ! Well, ok, not everything... but I highly recommend it ! 😎

@@AxelsoftMusic You're not helping! But at the same time you're doing exactly what I want you to do! :P Lol gotta love G.A.S.

@@jackthemurray ... a little positive encouragement never hurt 😄. All I will say is I've been playing Roland synths for 30+ years, starting with the Juno60, and am lucky to have several including the JD-Xa and the Jupiter-Xm; but the System8 is still hands-down my fav to play of all of them (past and present)... it sounds great and is such a hands-on synth with a clear and intuitive workflow (unlike the JD-Xa) and not tooo many menus (like the JP-Xm) - and that is why I recommend it so strongly. If you can get your hands on one to try I would highly recommend it... it's not for everybody I'm sure, but... Best Regards, Axel.

loooooooooove odysseys

I literally was in the same dilemma. Did tons of research on both. I went with the prologue but am thinking I should habe gone with the system 8

@@iann8733 digital vs analog, I’d personally would’ve gone for the analog one so great choice!

@@daniellllll The only reason I'm thinking i should have gone with the system 8 is that the korg logue series midi driver for windows 10 does not actually work with windows 10 so I cant make patches or use it as a midi keyboard to control soft synths. Windows upgraded its frameworks and the midi driver no longer works and Korg is well aware of the issue but it hasn't been fixed for months now. I do like the sound of the prologue though and 61 keys is the perfect range, 49 would be very limiting.

@@iann8733 I see, that’s unfortunate :( hopefully Korg fixes it soon! I went for Prophet Rev2 instead and will try it soon, should be better than Roland’s digital too!

good point on the JP8 arp! Ive spent lots of time comparing to the Juno-106, and i agree- its pretty much indistinguishable only now with two more voices!

wait actually now Im not even sure it does do 8 voice but I was until a second ago

Brian Sipprell I sold my JDXa for my SH101 (a crime I know!) but I wish I still had it. If I had to pick one over the other I would pick the S8 every time but there’s so much that JDXA does that I am at a loss for now!

MR TUNA Music I completely understand! It’s definitely a challenging synth with a lot of menu diving. But at the same time the JDXA such cool and I think unique hybrid. And I’m with you 100% on the S8. Definitely one of my favorites.

Brent Valleywhag I think people can’t get over the green.... I get it, but I actually kinda like the look!

MR TUNA Music Haha I resisted the green at first too, but I was sick of dialing in the Roland cloud plugins on my computer and wanted something more immediate. Then once I got the sys-8 I realized it was so much more than just a home for the plugouts. It honestly felt like I stumbled upon some secret. The integration is insane! Using the sequencer with my old school analogs was a breakthrough

Yes. Those bright green LEDs are a bit too obnoxious. I initially got a System-1 and loved how it sounded, then added a System-1m because it interfaces really well with the whole world of EuroRack synths and modules. I eventually picked up the System-8 because of many options like the full sized keys and added polyphony (System-1/1m are only 4 note polyphonic). The fact that Roland added 3 of their signature synths as Plug-outs totally sweetened the deal. Getting a System-8, along with a Jupiter-8, Juno-106 and. JX-3P as well, with the ability to stack any two of these 4 instrument engines, is awesome! I still do wish that Roland added the LEDs as not just green but allowed you to select any color you want (like we can in a Roland TR-8S). I also wish we could adjust the brightness of the bright green LEDs. The System-8 is far cooler and slicker than most folks might guess, by just looking at it. I love my System-8! Thank you for this AWESOME video about what the System-8 is capable of doing! You touch on some very cool features that most people do not, and show us how to use these additional features! Excellent job!

Luke I do know about being able to dim the bright green LEDs, and yes, it is cool that one of my favorite artists Jean-Michel Jarre has been using the Roland System-8 for many years, and it does look cool on stage and in his videos. But it is not my personal favorite colors. I have grown used to the bright green since I do have the System-8, System-1, several System-1m units and the MX-1 and TR-8s. But it would be even better to be able to dial up whatever color we might prefer like blue, cyan, violet, lavender, yellow or even orange. :). I am still curious if there is a third party that can replace all the green LEDs on the System-8 or System-1/1m synths with LEDs that can be programmed to any color.

EXACTLY!

They load onto the System-8. When you start turning knobs thats when you get that crunchy solid state + acb analog viiiiiibe. All you do is go into menu, remove a plug-out, then import a plug-out. By defgault it comes with the Jupiter-8, the Juno-106 and 3XP. Im waiting for them to release newer synths. You can also find patches for free on the ARIA website, you just boot up the system-8 and click on a sound and load it. It's a massive amount of fun and easy to use. I just got mine 3 weeks ago. If you play mostly presets though, this probably isn't for you unless you're looking for the 80s patches in the 3 included. Most of the presets for system-8 are merely stepping stones.

Dave G it’s crazy how deep the effects actually are!

Look into the Korg Prologue 16 also

System-8 for the win! Or JD-XA even.

That’s funny because I was JUST writing a comment about how I was wondering if anyone thought the synth/voice balance was too far off (some of my other videos are much MUCH worse offenders) so I’m going to be especially conscious of that going forward

👍 Seems better at about 9 mins in. I know it's a process :)

MR TUNA Music The balance is almost cartoonishly crazy. Turn that voice up homie! I’m having to ride the fader the whole vid 😂

@@brentvalleywhag3477 soooo dumb do to this AGAIN. Im definitely going to remember that for next time.

MR TUNA Music beggars can’t be choosy! The system8 videos are rare on RU-vid and you make quality sounds. Keep it up 🤙🏽

James Hall get the System-8 first - it’s cheaper and sounds awesome! Getting the Jupiter Xm does add multi-timbres sounds, but I would got for the Jupiter-X because it will have the velocity and after touch you are looking for. :). Granted, the Jupiter-X is like twice the cost of a System-8. So, get them both!

Just a regular JX3P, but Ive been thinking about adding the KIWI mod to it!

MR TUNA Music based on my knowledge and having had someone do a comparison between an unmodded and kiwi JX, I would say it’s not worth it. Lots of new features but the filter character changes when modulated by the envelope. When I heard them side by side I immediately dropped my interest in it. I love it though, the JX-3p sounds really good to me. I’m surprised because I sold a Juno 106 and had a Juno 60 and still prefer the JX3P. But that’s just my personal opinion.

and thanks for what you do. I like your style. Keep it. Its good doing more gear reviews, but keep your jams!

Although, knowing my luck Roland will release the MX-2 right after I buy an MX-1 lol.

I would love the option to change the color, but I love how it looks up against the rest of the AIRA gear (even if that is a little polarizing in it self) ...you can turn off the LEDs, but I just think its like an alien spaceship with them all blinking at you like that, and its nice for the plug-out functionality too. It could look twice as bad and I would still love it for that sound. I think the Jupiter-8 aluminum end plates make a big difference look and heft-wise

@@MRTUNA Agreed, those end plates do look great. And if the green lights can be turned off, thats a game changer for me! Cheers and thanks for the reply!

Ryan Moran not only can they be tunened off, they can be dimmed.

@@alex_darsen Awesome! Cheers

For sound design is the system-8 all the way! For playability, quality of materials, and big big combination patches it’s the JPX all the way

vutall practice

Try Syntorial to get hands on lessons on subtractive synthesis!

The system-8 is still one of my 'keep-forever' synths. I like sound designing on it much much better than the jupiter-x and its much more in depth for modulation capabilities. the build quality is a litttttle light, but putting on the aluminum side panels solved that pretty much entirely for me. the keyboard is definitely a little low quality than some top-tier rolands like the JP80 or JPX but the sound is just too good to lose. I wish it had aftertouch, I would like 61 keys.... but other than that--- its perfect. what a machine. best emulation available anywhere for Juno-106

@@MRTUNA That's good to hear! For straight out playability and not so much sound design how does it compare to the Jupiter XM? I like features on both. Might be buying one soon. Can't decide which one. Or do I go with a Sequential Rev2-8 voice? So many decisions.

Richard Sexton I used to! I really love the 303 sounds it had. The filter really had a good scream to it. If another one comes by at a good price I’m gonna grab it just to do some comparisons across the Roland VA history.

MR TUNA Music I’ve got two of them so I can lend you one and I live in YVR too. Hit me up whenever you wanna borrow it! Do you have the Jupiter Xm now?

Richard Sexton I don’t have the XM but I’m planning on getting the X when it’s available. I’ll definitely keep you in mind for that SH! Thanks for the offer my friend

Yeah it definitely has never been a problem with mine, but I'm a Mac nerd so there has to be some advantages! Im really interested to see how the Jupiter X will compare to this. I'm going to be doing some in depth side-by-sides when I get mine. Thanks for watching

Had all three- the System8 is the only one I wanted to keep! Sounds amazing, excellent UI, digital features are 10/10. Didnt like the sound of the DM, didnt like the layout of the Korg

I was only ever able to load them in one at a time too! sorry I cant be a bigger help

Hello Mr Tuna, I have not yet found a definitive solution but, it is already something. Roland Clound offers a month's trial of all its VSTs, including System 8. I downloaded it, and I noticed that the entire memory banks can be loaded, both for VST and for System 8 hardware. This is not a solution, as I said, but for now it is the best I have found, even if it lasts only a month.

Tarik Kujovic all of the above!

MR TUNA Music im looking forward to buying the system 8. maybe you can recommend me a synth I could pair it with so that they work well together? I thought about korg prologue or se02

Glad to have you here/hear!

Machiwoomiapoo nobody deserves this audio imbalance! I think I might repost with lower levels.