Roland System 8

[Soundquest]

Sounds like a very practical instrument especially for the old Juno sounds.   Enjoy.

[Manbird]

Sounds like a very practical instrument especially for the old Juno sounds.   Enjoy.

Thanks, Soundquest. Funny, cos my wife and I have been discussing how much practicality has come to matter in my musical life. The fantasy of throwing a swimming pool thru a TV screen has long faded and these days it's all about "getting the work done." The System 8 is indeed practical in many ways, though thankfully, it can do all sorts of "useless" and amusing - and inspiring - things, too. It turns out to be quite a fine industrial synth when asked politely. But yeah, it does the Juno thing quite beautifully.

[LPF83]

Sounds like a very practical instrument especially for the old Juno sounds.   Enjoy.

Thanks, Soundquest. Funny, cos my wife and I have been discussing how much practicality has come to matter in my musical life. The fantasy of throwing a swimming pool thru a TV screen has long faded and these days it's all about "getting the work done." The System 8 is indeed practical in many ways, though thankfully, it can do all sorts of "useless" and amusing - and inspiring - things, too. It turns out to be quite a fine industrial synth when asked politely. But yeah, it does the Juno thing quite beautifully.

Would anyone with a System-8 be willing to A/B the Jupiter 4 VST on their computer against their hardware version of same and report back if they are getting the same results I am?  For me, the Jupiter-4 plugin on the System-8 sounds substantially better than the VST (and I mean like the difference my ears typically detect between hardware synths and softsynths).

This is different from some tests I did with the Juno 106 and Jupiter 8 plugouts when I first got the synth, where they sounded mostly indistinguishable, except for a slight bit of phasing when I ran on the computer versus sending to synth. 

This is why it's hard for me to believe simply the preamps and DACs of my signal path are making the difference here.  I verified they are perfectly level matched..   I verified no other pedals/FX in the path.  I tested with the factory Jupiter 4 preset "1978 Strings".

The difference is stunning.  Just curious if others are hearing same?

[Manbird]

Since I got my System 8, I sorta lost interest in the Cloud stuff, as the S8 has plenty going on. Still, I've been tempted to sign up for a month just so's to load the Jupiter 4. If I do, I'll do my best A/B for thee...

[LPF83]

Since I got my System 8, I sorta lost interest in the Cloud stuff, as the S8 has plenty going on. Still, I've been tempted to sign up for a month just so's to load the Jupiter 4. If I do, I'll do my best A/B for thee...

Anything you can do would be appreciated.  As far as I can tell the difference has to do with the oscillator phases -- coming from the System 8 it sounds quite convincingly like a VCO, whereas from the VST version has less movement in the oscillator tone.  I even wondered if there was something in a global system setting that I might have unknowingly tweaked that could have that effect.

By the way, right now Roland is doing their "play 4 life" special again where if you pay in advance for one year, you get to choose permanent licenses for two synths (just a permanent license for Jupiter 4 alone would be $200).  One thing they did right, when you have permanent licenses, you can swap them out for another synth at a later time.  It's quite a good deal if you have a System-8 I think.  Not only to be able to easily load the other plugouts onto the hardware without paying monthly.  There are a number of sound banks for each plugout that I think are only available through the cloud VST as well.

[Manbird]

Since I got my System 8, I sorta lost interest in the Cloud stuff, as the S8 has plenty going on. Still, I've been tempted to sign up for a month just so's to load the Jupiter 4. If I do, I'll do my best A/B for thee...

Anything you can do would be appreciated.  As far as I can tell the difference has to do with the oscillator phases -- coming from the System 8 it sounds quite convincingly like a VCO, whereas from the VST version has less movement in the oscillator tone.  I even wondered if there was something in a global system setting that I might have unknowingly tweaked that could have that effect.

By the way, right now Roland is doing their "play 4 life" special again where if you pay in advance for one year, you get to choose permanent licenses for two synths (just a permanent license for Jupiter 4 alone would be $200).  One thing they did right, when you have permanent licenses, you can swap them out for another synth at a later time.  It's quite a good deal if you have a System-8 I think.  Not only to be able to easily load the other plugouts onto the hardware without paying monthly.  There are a number of sound banks for each plugout that I think are only available through the cloud VST as well.

I'm tempted by the "play 4 life" biz... funds are tight right now - I'm making a studio album first time in years, so sessions are eating my wallet. I bought the System 8 with the intention of selling my Juno 6, but I suppose I'd pictured that happening in a finger snap, which hasn't been the case! Meanwhile, getting my System 8 upgraded to latest OS took a lot of fuss, with today's task being installing the driver onto my Mac etc. Once that dull biz is done, I'll *hopefully* be able to start checking out the plug-outs. I def liked the Jupiter 4 when I had the free Cloud trial. Is it perverse to want to download the Juno 60 plug-out when I have the 106 already onboard? Honestly, I don't know how different the two are. Otherwise, It'll be the D-50, innit!

Will check back on the J4 front once today's mission is accomplished...

[Manbird]

Since I got my System 8, I sorta lost interest in the Cloud stuff, as the S8 has plenty going on. Still, I've been tempted to sign up for a month just so's to load the Jupiter 4. If I do, I'll do my best A/B for thee...

Anything you can do would be appreciated.  As far as I can tell the difference has to do with the oscillator phases -- coming from the System 8 it sounds quite convincingly like a VCO, whereas from the VST version has less movement in the oscillator tone.  I even wondered if there was something in a global system setting that I might have unknowingly tweaked that could have that effect.

By the way, right now Roland is doing their "play 4 life" special again where if you pay in advance for one year, you get to choose permanent licenses for two synths (just a permanent license for Jupiter 4 alone would be $200).  One thing they did right, when you have permanent licenses, you can swap them out for another synth at a later time.  It's quite a good deal if you have a System-8 I think.  Not only to be able to easily load the other plugouts onto the hardware without paying monthly.  There are a number of sound banks for each plugout that I think are only available through the cloud VST as well.

After a fair bit of hair pulling and teeth grinding, I was able to install the Jup4 plugout onto my System 8. Hurrah!
And yeah, I do hear what I think you're talking about. I'll PM you a demo file. The plugout version is much "nicer," more "real," whereas the plugin is a bit thin during full chords, almost like there's a hint of phase cancelling or wot.

[LPF83]

Since I got my System 8, I sorta lost interest in the Cloud stuff, as the S8 has plenty going on. Still, I've been tempted to sign up for a month just so's to load the Jupiter 4. If I do, I'll do my best A/B for thee...

Anything you can do would be appreciated.  As far as I can tell the difference has to do with the oscillator phases -- coming from the System 8 it sounds quite convincingly like a VCO, whereas from the VST version has less movement in the oscillator tone.  I even wondered if there was something in a global system setting that I might have unknowingly tweaked that could have that effect.

By the way, right now Roland is doing their "play 4 life" special again where if you pay in advance for one year, you get to choose permanent licenses for two synths (just a permanent license for Jupiter 4 alone would be $200).  One thing they did right, when you have permanent licenses, you can swap them out for another synth at a later time.  It's quite a good deal if you have a System-8 I think.  Not only to be able to easily load the other plugouts onto the hardware without paying monthly.  There are a number of sound banks for each plugout that I think are only available through the cloud VST as well.

After a fair bit of hair pulling and teeth grinding, I was able to install the Jup4 plugout onto my System 8. Hurrah!
And yeah, I do hear what I think you're talking about. I'll PM you a demo file. The plugout version is much "nicer," more "real," whereas the plugin is a bit thin during full chords, almost like there's a hint of phase cancelling or wot.

I replied to your PM and thanks again for taking the time to confirm I'm not losing my mind   Would love to know what's different..  What ever the difference is, it definitely sounds like some fundamental element that affects the oscillator phase.  Maybe they did this in the Jupiter4 plugout in order to give their hardware products the edge, or to quell some concerns about CPU usage on the VST version?  I know that when they first came out with the cloud offerings, some System 8 owners felt betrayed that the same sounds were available as VSTs... maybe it's partially an answer to that... slightly more elaborate circuit modeling when running on hardware?  Sounds great though...

[Manbird]

I did go for the Play 4 Life thingy. I created a symphonic patch on the Jupiter 4 that I've decided I can't live without. The longer I'm in music and the more gear I won/have owned, the more into simpleness I get. The Jupiter 4 plug-out is lovely, same with the Juno 60 plug-out. Basic and beautiful.

[LPF83]

I did go for the Play 4 Life thingy. I created a symphonic patch on the Jupiter 4 that I've decided I can't live without. The longer I'm in music and the more gear I won/have owned, the more into simpleness I get. The Jupiter 4 plug-out is lovely, same with the Juno 60 plug-out. Basic and beautiful.

Agree, the simplicity of an instrument is becoming more important to me.  It's like there is an inverse relationship between feature complexity and musical creativity -- adding more of one subtracts from the other.  I'm a bit caught in the middle because I love both music and technology, but no doubt I make better music when I focus on what I'm doing with the sounds more than the gear I'm making them with.

There was a recent post today from Pym in the ProphetX forum addressing why Sequential designs are relatively spartan by design and geared toward the performer and not the technologist.  I think it's that aspect of them that keeps them on top of everyone's wish list, I hope they keep doing what they're doing.

[Manbird]

I did go for the Play 4 Life thingy. I created a symphonic patch on the Jupiter 4 that I've decided I can't live without. The longer I'm in music and the more gear I won/have owned, the more into simpleness I get. The Jupiter 4 plug-out is lovely, same with the Juno 60 plug-out. Basic and beautiful.

Agree, the simplicity of an instrument is becoming more important to me.  It's like there is an inverse relationship between feature complexity and musical creativity -- adding more of one subtracts from the other.  I'm a bit caught in the middle because I love both music and technology, but no doubt I make better music when I focus on what I'm doing with the sounds more than the gear I'm making them with.

There was a recent post today from Pym in the ProphetX forum addressing why Sequential designs are relatively spartan by design and geared toward the performer and not the technologist.  I think it's that aspect of them that keeps them on top of everyone's wish list, I hope they keep doing what they're doing.

The Prophet 5 is the peak of perfect simplicity. Of course it's a complex creature and can cover a broad, satisfying range, sonically, but as an instrument, a hands-on thing to play and program, it's all pleasure and reward.

I mean, same for the Juno synths. But the trick for me with the Juno is that no matter how enjoyable it is to create sounds on and to play, it's always going to sit in its moment. It takes more work than worth to trick a Juno into sounding like it's something other. A Prophet 5 can lurk in the bushes, sounding unfamiliar if it wants.

I'm revamping my whole studio setup for the sake of simplicity. Obsessed as I am with synths, I'm finding that putting a few of them away in closets, flight cases and cupboards has been good for my cluttered brain. I love the Evolver, say, but in the last year I've only used it to process incoming drum machine sounds, and even then I've only used it like that a few times. My Dark Energy synth, love it as I do, has pretty much been on my desk to act as a MIDI-to-CV converter for the Pro One. Hell, I haven't even changed settings on the Pro One in a year - it's just "bass synth." The System 8 is now the CV controller for the Pro One while the DE and Evolver (and MS-20 and Drumtraks) all live on shelves in the basement. Absence = heart grow fonder etc! I'm pretty sentimental about my gear - I have to have a personal connection to my instruments in the first place - but I'm finding myself almost enjoying the regret I feel when I let certain things go. Now my Juno 6 - for sale, by the way (hint hint) - is a synth I adore, but I don't have a personal connection to its sound, as beautiful a sound as it is. It's the "peoples' synth," right? It's the sound of a moment, so me selling mine feels more like I've had my time with it but now it gets released back into the world for someone else to dig. The System 8 gives me that beautiful sound - without the Juno's tactile/aesthetic vibe - and that seems to be more what I need.

This has hardly been a "simple" reply - coffee must be kicking in!

[LPF83]

I did go for the Play 4 Life thingy. I created a symphonic patch on the Jupiter 4 that I've decided I can't live without. The longer I'm in music and the more gear I won/have owned, the more into simpleness I get. The Jupiter 4 plug-out is lovely, same with the Juno 60 plug-out. Basic and beautiful.

Agree, the simplicity of an instrument is becoming more important to me.  It's like there is an inverse relationship between feature complexity and musical creativity -- adding more of one subtracts from the other.  I'm a bit caught in the middle because I love both music and technology, but no doubt I make better music when I focus on what I'm doing with the sounds more than the gear I'm making them with.

There was a recent post today from Pym in the ProphetX forum addressing why Sequential designs are relatively spartan by design and geared toward the performer and not the technologist.  I think it's that aspect of them that keeps them on top of everyone's wish list, I hope they keep doing what they're doing.

The Prophet 5 is the peak of perfect simplicity. Of course it's a complex creature and can cover a broad, satisfying range, sonically, but as an instrument, a hands-on thing to play and program, it's all pleasure and reward.

I mean, same for the Juno synths. But the trick for me with the Juno is that no matter how enjoyable it is to create sounds on and to play, it's always going to sit in its moment. It takes more work than worth to trick a Juno into sounding like it's something other. A Prophet 5 can lurk in the bushes, sounding unfamiliar if it wants.

I'm revamping my whole studio setup for the sake of simplicity. Obsessed as I am with synths, I'm finding that putting a few of them away in closets, flight cases and cupboards has been good for my cluttered brain. I love the Evolver, say, but in the last year I've only used it to process incoming drum machine sounds, and even then I've only used it like that a few times. My Dark Energy synth, love it as I do, has pretty much been on my desk to act as a MIDI-to-CV converter for the Pro One. Hell, I haven't even changed settings on the Pro One in a year - it's just "bass synth." The System 8 is now the CV controller for the Pro One while the DE and Evolver (and MS-20 and Drumtraks) all live on shelves in the basement. Absence = heart grow fonder etc! I'm pretty sentimental about my gear - I have to have a personal connection to my instruments in the first place - but I'm finding myself almost enjoying the regret I feel when I let certain things go. Now my Juno 6 - for sale, by the way (hint hint) - is a synth I adore, but I don't have a personal connection to its sound, as beautiful a sound as it is. It's the "peoples' synth," right? It's the sound of a moment, so me selling mine feels more like I've had my time with it but now it gets released back into the world for someone else to dig. The System 8 gives me that beautiful sound - without the Juno's tactile/aesthetic vibe - and that seems to be more what I need.

This has hardly been a "simple" reply - coffee must be kicking in!

Yes, it's simplicity of the Prophet 5/10 interface that holds its magic.  Seemingly few buttons and knobs, yet so much possibility in the ranges of those controls.

Junos were never the most versatile synths -- but their ubiquity placed a soundprint on an era of music making that is increasingly valued, so "that Juno sound" holds a special place in many hearts.  I would love to once again own a real Juno, simply because the 106 was the first analog synth I ever owned.. it succumbed to the notorious faulty voice card issue in 1993 and I sold it for I believe $350, thinking someone with the means to repair could give it a proper home... Also not knowing how much I would value that sound later on in life.  But, at the moment any new gear is going to need to come in the form of a module and the System 8 scratches the Juno/Jupiter itch well enough.  I think the wonky/noisy chorus of the Junos contributed to their signature sound more than any other aspect of the synth, but it's funny too how far that chorus was able to take a single oscillator.

Anyway back to System-8, Roland cloud etc.  Since you have a year to try out all the cloud stuff, you might also want to try the drum machines.  The TR-707 is one of my favorites...  there is something about that UI that I do find inspiring.  All of my percussion sound generation happens inside the box these days, simply because if I did it any other way, I would need to dedicate audio inputs to each sound of a drum machine output if I wanted full control (via mixer plugins) of each sound.  Much easier to deal with if I leave the drums to plugins I think.

[Manbird]

I did go for the Play 4 Life thingy. I created a symphonic patch on the Jupiter 4 that I've decided I can't live without. The longer I'm in music and the more gear I won/have owned, the more into simpleness I get. The Jupiter 4 plug-out is lovely, same with the Juno 60 plug-out. Basic and beautiful.

Agree, the simplicity of an instrument is becoming more important to me.  It's like there is an inverse relationship between feature complexity and musical creativity -- adding more of one subtracts from the other.  I'm a bit caught in the middle because I love both music and technology, but no doubt I make better music when I focus on what I'm doing with the sounds more than the gear I'm making them with.

There was a recent post today from Pym in the ProphetX forum addressing why Sequential designs are relatively spartan by design and geared toward the performer and not the technologist.  I think it's that aspect of them that keeps them on top of everyone's wish list, I hope they keep doing what they're doing.

The Prophet 5 is the peak of perfect simplicity. Of course it's a complex creature and can cover a broad, satisfying range, sonically, but as an instrument, a hands-on thing to play and program, it's all pleasure and reward.

I mean, same for the Juno synths. But the trick for me with the Juno is that no matter how enjoyable it is to create sounds on and to play, it's always going to sit in its moment. It takes more work than worth to trick a Juno into sounding like it's something other. A Prophet 5 can lurk in the bushes, sounding unfamiliar if it wants.

I'm revamping my whole studio setup for the sake of simplicity. Obsessed as I am with synths, I'm finding that putting a few of them away in closets, flight cases and cupboards has been good for my cluttered brain. I love the Evolver, say, but in the last year I've only used it to process incoming drum machine sounds, and even then I've only used it like that a few times. My Dark Energy synth, love it as I do, has pretty much been on my desk to act as a MIDI-to-CV converter for the Pro One. Hell, I haven't even changed settings on the Pro One in a year - it's just "bass synth." The System 8 is now the CV controller for the Pro One while the DE and Evolver (and MS-20 and Drumtraks) all live on shelves in the basement. Absence = heart grow fonder etc! I'm pretty sentimental about my gear - I have to have a personal connection to my instruments in the first place - but I'm finding myself almost enjoying the regret I feel when I let certain things go. Now my Juno 6 - for sale, by the way (hint hint) - is a synth I adore, but I don't have a personal connection to its sound, as beautiful a sound as it is. It's the "peoples' synth," right? It's the sound of a moment, so me selling mine feels more like I've had my time with it but now it gets released back into the world for someone else to dig. The System 8 gives me that beautiful sound - without the Juno's tactile/aesthetic vibe - and that seems to be more what I need.

This has hardly been a "simple" reply - coffee must be kicking in!

Yes, it's simplicity of the Prophet 5/10 interface that holds its magic.  Seemingly few buttons and knobs, yet so much possibility in the ranges of those controls.

Junos were never the most versatile synths -- but their ubiquity placed a soundprint on an era of music making that is increasingly valued, so "that Juno sound" holds a special place in many hearts.  I would love to once again own a real Juno, simply because the 106 was the first analog synth I ever owned.. it succumbed to the notorious faulty voice card issue in 1993 and I sold it for I believe $350, thinking someone with the means to repair could give it a proper home... Also not knowing how much I would value that sound later on in life.  But, at the moment any new gear is going to need to come in the form of a module and the System 8 scratches the Juno/Jupiter itch well enough.  I think the wonky/noisy chorus of the Junos contributed to their signature sound more than any other aspect of the synth, but it's funny too how far that chorus was able to take a single oscillator.

Anyway back to System-8, Roland cloud etc.  Since you have a year to try out all the cloud stuff, you might also want to try the drum machines.  The TR-707 is one of my favorites...  there is something about that UI that I do find inspiring.  All of my percussion sound generation happens inside the box these days, simply because if I did it any other way, I would need to dedicate audio inputs to each sound of a drum machine output if I wanted full control (via mixer plugins) of each sound.  Much easier to deal with if I leave the drums to plugins I think.

I have messed about a bit with the TR-707 plug. I sold my "actual real" 707 not long back - it was the second I owned. Love those machines, but again, I'm tending towards a very un-sexy pragmatism these days. I couldn't get the real machine to do much with MIDI, and all I was doing with it musically was either recording quick patterns to be looped later in Logic or loading its sounds into my Digitakt. I sold the 707 and bought the TR-6S, which I really like. But the plug version does have the vibe of the real thing. I'm fascinated by this! Like, I've been so tempted to buy the U-He plugs cos they "feel" like the Pro One/P5. And I already own each of those synths.

I recently did a session with a friend's band. I was playing Vox Continental and we were recording to 2" tape. Talk about a different world. No screen, and we'd go for complete takes. The time it took to rewind the reel felt like heaven. Part of me more and more craves "the real," and that part of me is sad to have let the TR-707 go, cos I love the TR-707 as a real, plastic thing. Before I sold it, I handed it to my wife and said, "Feel that... isn't the weight just perfect?" Sad to let it go, but thrilled to have the sounds and to be able to use those sounds in a way that suits my way of working these days. Thus, it's funny that, yeah, I dig the 707 plugin/out, even as I have my own 707 sounds sampled into my Digitakt AND have the great-sounding 707 vibe in the 6S. Whatever part of me it is that "craves the real" has a pretty blurry dictionary!

[LPF83]

If you're into Vince Clark-era Depeche Mode, there's a nice collection just released for the Jupiter 4 engine by Francis Preve (great sound designer who has done many of the presets for Sequential, including the OBX8, as well as other big synth names).

I think he captured the essence of those sounds here quite well, all while craftily avoiding any copyright infringement to the Speak and Spell LP

https://rolandcloud.com/news/new-patch-collection-for-the-jupiter-4-software-sy

[Manbird]

If you're into Vince Clark-era Depeche Mode, there's a nice collection just released for the Jupiter 4 engine by Francis Preve (great sound designer who has done many of the presets for Sequential, including the OBX8, as well as other big synth names).

I think he captured the essence of those sounds here quite well, all while craftily avoiding any copyright infringement to the Speak and Spell LP

https://rolandcloud.com/news/new-patch-collection-for-the-jupiter-4-software-sy

That's the only DM album I ever owned. They went too dark and too digital too quickly for my dainty teenage head. I'm not generally a sound-bank guy, but I'm curious how it works with the Roland Cloud... are the sound banks part of the membership deal?

A scary side note about the System 8 is that I don't even mind the hideous green anymore. Glad to know it can be turned off, but I find the lights useful when moving between plug-out synths.

Now, joining up the idea of "too dark and too digital" with DM again, I'm spending loads of time with the System 8's own synth engine, conjuring up all manner of "dark, digital" tones, enjoying sounds I don't even like, if that makes sense.

[LPF83]

If you're into Vince Clark-era Depeche Mode, there's a nice collection just released for the Jupiter 4 engine by Francis Preve (great sound designer who has done many of the presets for Sequential, including the OBX8, as well as other big synth names).

I think he captured the essence of those sounds here quite well, all while craftily avoiding any copyright infringement to the Speak and Spell LP

https://rolandcloud.com/news/new-patch-collection-for-the-jupiter-4-software-sy

That's the only DM album I ever owned. They went too dark and too digital too quickly for my dainty teenage head. I'm not generally a sound-bank guy, but I'm curious how it works with the Roland Cloud... are the sound banks part of the membership deal?

A scary side note about the System 8 is that I don't even mind the hideous green anymore. Glad to know it can be turned off, but I find the lights useful when moving between plug-out synths.

Now, joining up the idea of "too dark and too digital" with DM again, I'm spending loads of time with the System 8's own synth engine, conjuring up all manner of "dark, digital" tones, enjoying sounds I don't even like, if that makes sense.

Yes, if you have a Pro or Ultimate membership (I'm assuming you do if since you got the play 4 life deal), you have access to all the sound banks for all the legendary instruments.  So you just install the sound packs using the Roland cloud app and they show up in the plugin banks.  Then you send specific banks from the plugin to the pretty much the same way you sent the Jupiter 4 engine to the synth.

If you ever let your membership expire, you can still purchase the banks (I think they cost about $20 each).  The good thing about holding a membership for a while is it gives you a chance to try it all, then you have the option of just buying the bits you really want if ongoing subscription doesn't appeal to you.

Although, and I haven't really thought through the logistics of this and I'm more or less thinking aloud here, but I guess once the patches are on the synth there is nothing to stop someone from saving them to SD card for later use independent of cloud membership?  I'm fairly sure they've thought that possibility through and don't prohibit it.  One of the benfits of owning their hardware.

[jg666]

I was watching a review of this synth yesterday and it was stated that it only has 64 user patch slots per engine, is this true? If so, is it a problem in real life?

[LPF83]

I was watching a review of this synth yesterday and it was stated that it only has 64 user patch slots per engine, is this true? If so, is it a problem in real life?

It's true, but not a problem.  First because you have four plugouts each with a bank of 64, so that's 256 patches loaded in the synth at once, second because it's easy to swap engines and banks as long as you're connected to the computer.

[LPF83]

New Jupiter 4 soundbank just dropped, includes a few drum patches.

https://rolandcloud.com/news/space-drive-patch-collection-now-available

[Manbird]

If you're into Vince Clark-era Depeche Mode, there's a nice collection just released for the Jupiter 4 engine by Francis Preve (great sound designer who has done many of the presets for Sequential, including the OBX8, as well as other big synth names).

I think he captured the essence of those sounds here quite well, all while craftily avoiding any copyright infringement to the Speak and Spell LP

https://rolandcloud.com/news/new-patch-collection-for-the-jupiter-4-software-sy

That's the only DM album I ever owned. They went too dark and too digital too quickly for my dainty teenage head. I'm not generally a sound-bank guy, but I'm curious how it works with the Roland Cloud... are the sound banks part of the membership deal?

A scary side note about the System 8 is that I don't even mind the hideous green anymore. Glad to know it can be turned off, but I find the lights useful when moving between plug-out synths.

Now, joining up the idea of "too dark and too digital" with DM again, I'm spending loads of time with the System 8's own synth engine, conjuring up all manner of "dark, digital" tones, enjoying sounds I don't even like, if that makes sense.

Yes, if you have a Pro or Ultimate membership (I'm assuming you do if since you got the play 4 life deal), you have access to all the sound banks for all the legendary instruments.  So you just install the sound packs using the Roland cloud app and they show up in the plugin banks.  Then you send specific banks from the plugin to the pretty much the same way you sent the Jupiter 4 engine to the synth.

If you ever let your membership expire, you can still purchase the banks (I think they cost about $20 each).  The good thing about holding a membership for a while is it gives you a chance to try it all, then you have the option of just buying the bits you really want if ongoing subscription doesn't appeal to you.

Although, and I haven't really thought through the logistics of this and I'm more or less thinking aloud here, but I guess once the patches are on the synth there is nothing to stop someone from saving them to SD card for later use independent of cloud membership?  I'm fairly sure they've thought that possibility through and don't prohibit it.  One of the benfits of owning their hardware.

I did go for a one-year Cloud membership, specifically so I could buy - for life - the Juno 60 plug-out for the System 8. So, that's mine now, but I also have the Jupiter 4 plug-out installed. Roland's latest discount period ends soon, and I'm thinking of another year of Cloud so's to buy the JP4 outright. But... if it already lives inside my System 8 and I don't re-install the factory synth (JX-3P) in that slot, the JP4 won't suddenly turn to pumpkin dust if I let my Cloud membership lapse, right?