Roland System-8 physical impressions

[Shabdahbriah]

Just a heads-up: in stock!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/System8

[xalama qo]

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Ordered! I'll post back with some impressions by end of week.

[xalama qo]

Fabtastic! You lucky luck you!

[Muziksculp]

Ordered! I'll post back with some impressions by end of week.

Congratulations !

Let us know how you like it when possible.

I'm considering getting a System 8 as well, but still not 100% sure if I should. Just want that really nice Roland classic analog sound in a modern HW Synth, which the system 8 seems to offer, but I'm being a bit cautious.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

[gentleclockdivider]

I can see the System-8 being used a lot by live "playing" keyboardists who need presets, polyphony and great VA sound that can cover both modern and vintage tones equally well. Upper end guys in backing bands for top pop artists, numerous TV talk show house bands, etc etc. It could potentially replace anything that has "traditionally" been done by a JP-8000 or Nord Lead up to now due to its one knob per function hands on-ness.
The System-1 tho seems to be aimed fairly firmly at studio producers and live dj acts needing a knobby controller (and 4 bonus synth voices). That alpha dial replacing the pitch/mod stick is a bizarre design choice IMO, and I haven't been convinced by the "scatter" arp function...from what I've heard of it. In producer/dj scenarios it seems to make sense as a sort of note-burst trigger/generator, but it still seems gimmicky in an "instant wow" dazzle-the-crowd-for-a-second kinda way. Might be different in person tho.

@SLiC, what's the build quality/physical impression like on the System-1m? Good solid knobs n stuff? I guess where I'm going with the physical aspect is that if the System-8 is built like a tank and will withstand hours of gigging and enthusiastic knob-twisting abuse, then the price could be justified. I'm thinking V-Synth-like SOLID build. But if it's plastic casing and JP-8000-ish, then it's probably over-priced and Roland should rethink things.

Impressions of the System-1 are welcome too. The front panel seems to be made of aluminium rather than plastic?

I have the exact same feeling ,,some say it is solid build ...but I want clavia solidness ..
The metal overlay on the system looks like plastic ...and the plastic casing looks flimsy ...I will try one out verry soon and see for myself

[xalama qo]

Great! Looking forward to hearing your impressions

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I'd like to hear some impressions of the System-8 from those of you who have actually got to grips with one. I hear the build quality is good, is the casing metal or plastic? Is the keybed lightweight synth action or semi-weighted? Does it produce thonky clicks when you release the keys like so many other Roland keybeds? (I'm looking at you V-Synth). Do the knobs feel firm and solid, or are they a tad flimsy? Is the LCD display properly backlit or perhaps a bit dim? Does the synth feel good and leave you with a positive impression, or not?
All observations welcome. Thanks.

Ok, I'll post a more comprehensive review once I've had more time with the unit but some quick first impressions:

1. Weight/Build: It's plastic and light

2. Keyboard: Synth action

3. Does it produce thonky clicks when you release the keys like so many other Roland keybeds? You bet it does! Seriously, this keybed isn't the worst I've used, but for $1,500 I'd expect better.

4. Knobs/Faders: The knobs feel very good, the faders have some left/right wiggle but are otherwise smooth

5. LCDs: The LCD display for the menus is a bit dim, the backlit LCD knobs/faders are extremely bright. Note: there's very little need for menu diving here since all the synth parameters have a hardware knob.

6. Keyboard velocity response when being used as a MIDI controller: meh..much better than my old Akai MPK61 but still far from excellent. I might just be getting used to playing piano weighted keys, but I found myself triggering the odd harder velocity here and there. This is a great synth controller, but unless you're a much better keyboardist than me, this might not be the best controller for acoustic sounds.

7. How well does this work at controlling soft-synths? OMG so good. So many knobs! So many buttons. So many faders! Bless you Roland. Note: a lot of knobs like Osc/LFO waveform selection are stepped, so this can make mapping these knobs to a softsynth less than ideal. However, many knobs have a nice indentation to let you know when you've hit the zero setting, which is a really nice touch.

8. How does it sound. I'm definitely not Mr. Lord of the Synth, but the filters seem pretty weak to me compared to something like Diva or The Drop. They're the kind that bleed output volume as the resonance increases and they don't go into self-oscillating territory. So they're definitely more on the polite side IMO. It may be a Roland thing, not sure. There's no stepping in the filters or anything like that, so that's good. The bass doesn't seem particularly strong in the unit, which could be good if you're ok with adding some low-end via EQ and prefer your synths not to sound muddy, or you may think it's lacking a bit in the bottom. The envelopes on the System-8 engine are very snappy, and feel a bit slower on the Jupiter 8, but I prefer the Jupiter 8 oscillators. I'm hoping mixing and matching will be possible.

9. How is the Mod/Pitch-Bend? I'd have MUCH preferred wheels for both, but the pitchbend trigger can be kind of cool. Much better than my old Roland A-30 controller. The vertical modulation control is also better than my A-30, but still kind of crap compared to a proper modwheel. The JDXA has wheels, not sure why Roland didn't just add some here.

Hope that answers some questions. Let me know if you have more...

[xalama qo]

Aah, thanks for that great overview Funky! You covered all the most important aspects. So, it's plastic and light, but the knobs and faders are solid enough. I'm surprised the filters don't self-resonate, I would've thought the original Juno-106 and Jupiter 8 had self-resonating filters. Maybe not. I borrowed a 106 briefly years ago, but don't remember too much about it unfortunately.
Good to know the envelopes are fast and snappy. An interesting comment about the bass being a bit weak. I don't really associate Roland with big booming bass though. I think of Rolands as having quite a well-defined and focused bass character, so maybe the Sys-8 is quite accurate here. You'd kinda expect it to be!
As for the pitch/mod lever, I'm quite glad Roland have gone this route. It's their thing, and a nod to the vintage synths they're emulating too. Wouldn't seem right to have wheels instead

Thanks again for the review! Enjoy your new baby!

[xalama qo]

Here's a q...can the Jup8 and 106 plugouts be "unloaded" from their slots and replaced with other plugout synths? I realise one free slot is provided, but let's say I wanted to load 3 other plugouts into the System-8 at the same time, is that possible?

Any details on the vocoder? How many bands? Can the carrier come from an external audio signal or only from the internal synths?

[zerocrossing]

I'd like to hear some impressions of the System-8 from those of you who have actually got to grips with one. I hear the build quality is good, is the casing metal or plastic? Is the keybed lightweight synth action or semi-weighted? Does it produce thonky clicks when you release the keys like so many other Roland keybeds? (I'm looking at you V-Synth). Do the knobs feel firm and solid, or are they a tad flimsy? Is the LCD display properly backlit or perhaps a bit dim? Does the synth feel good and leave you with a positive impression, or not?
All observations welcome. Thanks.

Ok, I'll post a more comprehensive review once I've had more time with the unit but some quick first impressions:

1. Weight/Build: It's plastic and light

2. Keyboard: Synth action

3. Does it produce thonky clicks when you release the keys like so many other Roland keybeds? You bet it does! Seriously, this keybed isn't the worst I've used, but for $1,500 I'd expect better.

4. Knobs/Faders: The knobs feel very good, the faders have some left/right wiggle but are otherwise smooth

5. LCDs: The LCD display for the menus is a bit dim, the backlit LCD knobs/faders are extremely bright. Note: there's very little need for menu diving here since all the synth parameters have a hardware knob.

6. Keyboard velocity response when being used as a MIDI controller: meh..much better than my old Akai MPK61 but still far from excellent. I might just be getting used to playing piano weighted keys, but I found myself triggering the odd harder velocity here and there. This is a great synth controller, but unless you're a much better keyboardist than me, this might not be the best controller for acoustic sounds.

7. How well does this work at controlling soft-synths? OMG so good. So many knobs! So many buttons. So many faders! Bless you Roland. Note: a lot of knobs like Osc/LFO waveform selection are stepped, so this can make mapping these knobs to a softsynth less than ideal. However, many knobs have a nice indentation to let you know when you've hit the zero setting, which is a really nice touch.

8. How does it sound. I'm definitely not Mr. Lord of the Synth, but the filters seem pretty weak to me compared to something like Diva or The Drop. They're the kind that bleed output volume as the resonance increases and they don't go into self-oscillating territory. So they're definitely more on the polite side IMO. It may be a Roland thing, not sure. There's no stepping in the filters or anything like that, so that's good. The bass doesn't seem particularly strong in the unit, which could be good if you're ok with adding some low-end via EQ and prefer your synths not to sound muddy, or you may think it's lacking a bit in the bottom. The envelopes on the System-8 engine are very snappy, and feel a bit slower on the Jupiter 8, but I prefer the Jupiter 8 oscillators. I'm hoping mixing and matching will be possible.

9. How is the Mod/Pitch-Bend? I'd have MUCH preferred wheels for both, but the pitchbend trigger can be kind of cool. Much better than my old Roland A-30 controller. The vertical modulation control is also better than my A-30, but still kind of crap compared to a proper modwheel. The JDXA has wheels, not sure why Roland didn't just add some here.

Hope that answers some questions. Let me know if you have more...

I was just wondering if it responds to MIDI aftertouch from an external source like the 1/1m does.

[rod_zero]

Here's a q...can the Jup8 and 106 plugouts be "unloaded" from their slots and replaced with other plugout synths? I realise one free slot is provided, but let's say I wanted to load 3 other plugouts into the System-8 at the same time, is that possible?

Any details on the vocoder? How many bands? Can the carrier come from an external audio signal or only from the internal synths?

Yes, they can be replaced.

[xalama qo]

That's cool, nice of Roland to not limit that!