Roland System 8

[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.

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?

If you let your cloud membership expire and a plugout is loaded on the hardware, there is nothing to the best of my knowledge that could or would ever uninstall or disable it on the hardware.  One of the things that would be forgone is the patch bank flexibility, for example being able to load the JP4 or Juno into all three slots to get 192 total patches / multiple banks, or be able to try new plugouts as they emerge (probably only a matter of time before they release a Jupiter 6 engine). 

Recently I loaded up the SH-2 engine just to auto-sample some of the bass sounds into my Akai MPC Live2.  Since I probably would have never purchased the SH-2 plugout directly, being able to quickly send that to the synth, sample and then send new banks for same plugout to the synth was a case where I was glad to have the subscription, just to have that flexibility... this combined with the forever-license to the plugout makes the annual subscription worth it to me.  I now have multiple lifetime plugout licenses, so with enough renewals (at least when play4life is offered, they don't offer it every year), the lifetime licenses that are acquired really make it pay for itself, especially for owners of the System8 hardware where some of the plugouts sound better than running in a DAW host.

[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?

If you let your cloud membership expire and a plugout is loaded on the hardware, there is nothing to the best of my knowledge that could or would ever uninstall or disable it on the hardware.  One of the things that would be forgone is the patch bank flexibility, for example being able to load the JP4 or Juno into all three slots to get 192 total patches / multiple banks, or be able to try new plugouts as they emerge (probably only a matter of time before they release a Jupiter 6 engine). 

Recently I loaded up the SH-2 engine just to auto-sample some of the bass sounds into my Akai MPC Live2.  Since I probably would have never purchased the SH-2 plugout directly, being able to quickly send that to the synth, sample and then send new banks for same plugout to the synth was a case where I was glad to have the subscription, just to have that flexibility... this combined with the forever-license to the plugout makes the annual subscription worth it to me.  I now have multiple lifetime plugout licenses, so with enough renewals (at least when play4life is offered, they don't offer it every year), the lifetime licenses that are acquired really make it pay for itself, especially for owners of the System8 hardware where some of the plugouts sound better than running in a DAW host.

Thanks for the info! I don't use the various Roland Cloud synths within my computer very often, cos they do indeed have problems. That said, while it's fun for a few minutes to play with the D-50 (I had one back when and liked it almost more for its physicalness than for its sound/s), it's the Zenology engine that I've spent most time with now. Lots of very useable sounds to pick from. Back to the System 8, I don't actually worry much about patch storage. It's much more likely I'll fill up my Prophet 5's memory banks before I tap out the System 8. Maybe that's partly because I bought it to replace my Juno 6, which of course had no patch memory. Such a simple synth, and so easy to conjure a tone as needed. I'm that way with the System 8, although the synth's own "house" engine isn't simple. That's where the patch memory is starting to fill up.

[LPF83]

Thanks for the info! I don't use the various Roland Cloud synths within my computer very often, cos they do indeed have problems. That said, while it's fun for a few minutes to play with the D-50 (I had one back when and liked it almost more for its physicalness than for its sound/s), it's the Zenology engine that I've spent most time with now. Lots of very useable sounds to pick from. Back to the System 8, I don't actually worry much about patch storage. It's much more likely I'll fill up my Prophet 5's memory banks before I tap out the System 8. Maybe that's partly because I bought it to replace my Juno 6, which of course had no patch memory. Such a simple synth, and so easy to conjure a tone as needed. I'm that way with the System 8, although the synth's own "house" engine isn't simple. That's where the patch memory is starting to fill up.

Yes, most of the plugouts are very CPU hungry, that's more than likely the issue you're encountering on the computer and why Zenology works better -- the analog modeling of the Zen stuff is meant to be more efficient, trading off some of the sonic authenticity.  The ACB stuff (like the Jupiter 4, Junos, JX3P etc) modeling is so good that compared to the sound of the originals it is mostly indistinguishable...but they are rough on the CPU.  This actually is the whole reason I got a System-8, it moves the processing off to dedicated hardware that can handle 8 voices in a mix without issue.

Some of the Zencore based synths like the Juno X and Jupiter X are nice in their overall feature set, user experience, polyphony and multi-timbrality, but it seems like general consensus is that for raw sound quality, ACB wins.

I recently also got a JU-06A for my compact travel setup.  You can switch between Juno 60 and 106 engines.  It's only 4 voices but has the impressive ACB sound, and is USB powered (so I can just plug it into one of the spare ports on my MPC and run straight off battery).  The other benefit is the design does justice to the original Junos, so programming it is nice.
 The ACB boutique synths will never replace my studio gear, but when the need for compactness is there, they are a welcome (and cost effective) solution.  4 voices is actually good enough for my travel kit and the CPU offload benefit mentioned above also applies to the Akai when playing pads/strings etc.

[LPF83]

The recent updates to the Jupiter 4, Jupiter 8, and Juno 106 plugouts inspired me to fire up the System 8 over the last couple of days.  The new Circuit Mod (basically the vintage knob functionality, which the JP4 already had and the JP8 and Juno106 now have as well) is very well implemented, there is an nice range of sound variation within the turn of the knob (color knob under osc3), and you can hear a convincing re-enactment of the tuning/envelopes taking on a mind of their own as you progressively increase the value, and depending on amount applied and the sound played, the results can range from amazing to amusing. 

But something occurred to me as I was playing the System 8.  Yes, the build quality, while not horrible, feels a bit cheap compared to most* other instruments I own....yet, the sound makes it worthwhile.  Not only are the onboard effects very nice and usable, but when I run it through other FX (giving it a fair battle against some of my other gear), the versatility really shines.  For all their faults, Roland has a way of inserting little acts of brilliance, like the tone knob on their synths.  EQ is massively important in the big scheme of things, and being able to quickly tweak that on a knob before the signal comes out of the synth sometimes makes all the difference in getting the right sound in a mix fast.

So, yeah.  This I guess is how Roland gets you in the end.  The cloud updates inspire you to rediscover the gear you already have, and I think that may be a good thing.  Like probably untold thousands, I do wish they would come out with a System 8 MkII (or whatever), with proper build quality/design/musical feel, more plugout slots (critical since these are essentially like patch banks), selectable-color lighting (for those that don't own one of these, the presence of so much light around the knobs actually becomes an important feature, as it shows active function per plugin...thus, it's not like they have the option to eliminate knob lights and go for more vintage look).

The Jupiter 4 plugout remains my favorite System8 synth engine.  I've never owned or played an actual JP4 to compare, but there is something about the factory presets -- they are so basic, yet such great raw materials for crafting new sounds.  You can hear their pedigree all over early synth music, yet it's easy to turn them into your own thing.  There's a good reason the JP4 was so popular.

Like most Roland gear, it's a "find the sweet spots and you'll be rewarded" situation.  Some synths sound great no matter what you do, and that can be a blessing and a curse, because it sort of desensitizes you to the difference between amazing and mediocre.  Roland synths (or at least I should say their modern VA synths since I haven't owned an actual Roland analog since the 90s) seem to want to put the ear out of its comfort zone a little...  sort of like the old saying that uncomfortable situations force the brain to make dopamine, so that when you do hit a sweet spot you immediately know you're where you need to be?  Different tools for different jobs, as I see it.

*except maybe the JP-8080, which simultaneously has the most durable tank-like chassis and yet the cheapest-feeling knobs and sliders ever to make it into a desktop synth, it's like a build quality dichotomy where they (seemingly intentionally) went to two extremes in one unit.  What's going on Roland?

[jg666]

If the System 8 hadn’t looked so green and bright and if it had a better keybed with aftertouch I would definitely have bought this when it first came out as I liked the sound it made and the concept. I would  also like to see a mk2 version come out

[LPF83]

If the System 8 hadn’t looked so green and bright and if it had a better keybed with aftertouch I would definitely have bought this when it first came out as I liked the sound it made and the concept. I would  also like to see a mk2 version come out

Whenever I see a spate of updates like the recent ones, it makes me wonder if it is in preparation for a new hardware release, so maybe we'll see one soon.

[LoboLives]

If the System 8 hadn’t looked so green and bright and if it had a better keybed with aftertouch I would definitely have bought this when it first came out as I liked the sound it made and the concept. I would  also like to see a mk2 version come out

Whenever I see a spate of updates like the recent ones, it makes me wonder if it is in preparation for a new hardware release, so maybe we'll see one soon.

It’s possible. I actually like the green as it would compliment the red LEDs on my Prophet 6. Personally I have no interest in the analog emulation plug outs but the actual System 8 engine and it’s unique sound and unique filters, especially with the FM oscillators and sideband and formant filters...but I would like to see a new System 8 or System 10 or whatever with FM, Wavetable and PCM oscillator variations.

[Manbird]

I've enjoyed having a System 8 for a while. I don't love it on a soul-level like I do something like the Prophet 5 or the Yamaha CP. I do like the ACB buzz... it IS the sound of the classics it emulates. And its own synth engine is great - dirty or pretty, weird or plain. The extras like the sequencer, which syncs easy with my TR-6S, and the CV ins/outs, are good to have. 

I don't have funds or space to buy something fresh without letting something else go, and the Roland is the one synth I'd be able to say goodbye to without tears. But - and this is where y'all come in - what's out there that would thrill me? I have a P5, P6, Prologue and a nice handful of mono synths, so I'm leaning digital, but only sorta. The Hydrasynth gets rave reviews and it's probably make for a straight trade for the Roland or even score me a couple hundred free dollars.

Notions, anybody?

P.S. - I always keep local live performance in mind when looking at poly synths, but realistically, I've taken the Prologue out once in 5 years. I've got a beater XP-10 if I need basic keys on stage. Otherwise, I just play guitar or pick venues with a piano ready.

[proteus-ix]

Notions, anybody?

Keep the Sys8, sell the P6, get an OpSix.

[Manbird]

Notions, anybody?

Keep the Sys8, sell the P6, get an OpSix.

I'm not interested in selling the P6. And the OpSix is an FM-thingy, yeah, which the System 8 already covers as much as I need. I mean, I've had two DX7s and FM isn't much my thing.

Still, curious about your take... can you flesh it out a bit?

[proteus-ix]

Notions, anybody?

Keep the Sys8, sell the P6, get an OpSix.

Still, curious about your take... can you flesh it out a bit?

After a response like yours?  No.

[Manbird]

Notions, anybody?

Keep the Sys8, sell the P6, get an OpSix.

Still, curious about your take... can you flesh it out a bit?

After a response like yours?  No.

I just didn't quite make sense of your response... I was asking more about alternatives to the System 8, the synth I'm considering selling. I didn't suggest I wanted to sell the P6, and your idea of doubling up on FM was puzzling. Maybe there's something more to the OpSix than I'm aware of etc...

[LPF83]

I've enjoyed having a System 8 for a while. I don't love it on a soul-level like I do something like the Prophet 5 or the Yamaha CP. I do like the ACB buzz... it IS the sound of the classics it emulates. And its own synth engine is great - dirty or pretty, weird or plain. The extras like the sequencer, which syncs easy with my TR-6S, and the CV ins/outs, are good to have. 

I don't have funds or space to buy something fresh without letting something else go, and the Roland is the one synth I'd be able to say goodbye to without tears. But - and this is where y'all come in - what's out there that would thrill me? I have a P5, P6, Prologue and a nice handful of mono synths, so I'm leaning digital, but only sorta. The Hydrasynth gets rave reviews and it's probably make for a straight trade for the Roland or even score me a couple hundred free dollars.

Notions, anybody?

P.S. - I always keep local live performance in mind when looking at poly synths, but realistically, I've taken the Prologue out once in 5 years. I've got a beater XP-10 if I need basic keys on stage. Otherwise, I just play guitar or pick venues with a piano ready.

One synth I've always been interested in is the Super 6.  Maybe an Iridium.
I plan to hold onto my System 8 though.

[Manbird]

I've enjoyed having a System 8 for a while. I don't love it on a soul-level like I do something like the Prophet 5 or the Yamaha CP. I do like the ACB buzz... it IS the sound of the classics it emulates. And its own synth engine is great - dirty or pretty, weird or plain. The extras like the sequencer, which syncs easy with my TR-6S, and the CV ins/outs, are good to have. 

I don't have funds or space to buy something fresh without letting something else go, and the Roland is the one synth I'd be able to say goodbye to without tears. But - and this is where y'all come in - what's out there that would thrill me? I have a P5, P6, Prologue and a nice handful of mono synths, so I'm leaning digital, but only sorta. The Hydrasynth gets rave reviews and it's probably make for a straight trade for the Roland or even score me a couple hundred free dollars.

Notions, anybody?

P.S. - I always keep local live performance in mind when looking at poly synths, but realistically, I've taken the Prologue out once in 5 years. I've got a beater XP-10 if I need basic keys on stage. Otherwise, I just play guitar or pick venues with a piano ready.

One synth I've always been interested in is the Super 6.  Maybe an Iridium.
I plan to hold onto my System 8 though.

There are just so many groovy units out there these days. I'd forgotten about the Super 6. I'm not sure what I even want from something like Hydrasynth or Super 6. Maybe I just want something "other" that does things my analogs don't do. But I still want a familiar-ish flight path for take offs and landings...

I'm spending extra time with the System 8, doing that "maybe I shouldn't sell it" dance. In a way, I might appreciate it more on its own. In a room full of other synths, it's a bit the odd dog.

[LPF83]

I've enjoyed having a System 8 for a while. I don't love it on a soul-level like I do something like the Prophet 5 or the Yamaha CP. I do like the ACB buzz... it IS the sound of the classics it emulates. And its own synth engine is great - dirty or pretty, weird or plain. The extras like the sequencer, which syncs easy with my TR-6S, and the CV ins/outs, are good to have. 

I don't have funds or space to buy something fresh without letting something else go, and the Roland is the one synth I'd be able to say goodbye to without tears. But - and this is where y'all come in - what's out there that would thrill me? I have a P5, P6, Prologue and a nice handful of mono synths, so I'm leaning digital, but only sorta. The Hydrasynth gets rave reviews and it's probably make for a straight trade for the Roland or even score me a couple hundred free dollars.

Notions, anybody?

P.S. - I always keep local live performance in mind when looking at poly synths, but realistically, I've taken the Prologue out once in 5 years. I've got a beater XP-10 if I need basic keys on stage. Otherwise, I just play guitar or pick venues with a piano ready.

One synth I've always been interested in is the Super 6.  Maybe an Iridium.
I plan to hold onto my System 8 though.

There are just so many groovy units out there these days. I'd forgotten about the Super 6. I'm not sure what I even want from something like Hydrasynth or Super 6. Maybe I just want something "other" that does things my analogs don't do. But I still want a familiar-ish flight path for take offs and landings...

I'm spending extra time with the System 8, doing that "maybe I shouldn't sell it" dance. In a way, I might appreciate it more on its own. In a room full of other synths, it's a bit the odd dog.

One aspect of the Super 6 that has always given me pause is the lack of any sort of display, and also because I can't necessarily find a hole in my gear lineup that the Super 6 would specifically fulfill.  It's no doubt a great synth, but everything I buy these days has a very specific intended role, and I haven't been able to identify that yet in the Super 6.
I find the System 8 kind of hard to let go simply because none of my other hardware covers the vintage Roland sound so specifically and thoroughly (i.e. not just Juno, but also JP-4, JX3P etc) in a single unit.  Also I don't think Roland is done yet with new plugouts... a Jupiter 6 plugout seems imminent IMHO.

The above summarizes what drives all my buying decisions -- there needs to be some identifiable gap in my gear lineup that I want to fill.

[Manbird]

I've enjoyed having a System 8 for a while. I don't love it on a soul-level like I do something like the Prophet 5 or the Yamaha CP. I do like the ACB buzz... it IS the sound of the classics it emulates. And its own synth engine is great - dirty or pretty, weird or plain. The extras like the sequencer, which syncs easy with my TR-6S, and the CV ins/outs, are good to have. 

I don't have funds or space to buy something fresh without letting something else go, and the Roland is the one synth I'd be able to say goodbye to without tears. But - and this is where y'all come in - what's out there that would thrill me? I have a P5, P6, Prologue and a nice handful of mono synths, so I'm leaning digital, but only sorta. The Hydrasynth gets rave reviews and it's probably make for a straight trade for the Roland or even score me a couple hundred free dollars.

Notions, anybody?

P.S. - I always keep local live performance in mind when looking at poly synths, but realistically, I've taken the Prologue out once in 5 years. I've got a beater XP-10 if I need basic keys on stage. Otherwise, I just play guitar or pick venues with a piano ready.

One synth I've always been interested in is the Super 6.  Maybe an Iridium.
I plan to hold onto my System 8 though.

There are just so many groovy units out there these days. I'd forgotten about the Super 6. I'm not sure what I even want from something like Hydrasynth or Super 6. Maybe I just want something "other" that does things my analogs don't do. But I still want a familiar-ish flight path for take offs and landings...

I'm spending extra time with the System 8, doing that "maybe I shouldn't sell it" dance. In a way, I might appreciate it more on its own. In a room full of other synths, it's a bit the odd dog.

One aspect of the Super 6 that has always given me pause is the lack of any sort of display, and also because I can't necessarily find a hole in my gear lineup that the Super 6 would specifically fulfill.  It's no doubt a great synth, but everything I buy these days has a very specific intended role, and I haven't been able to identify that yet in the Super 6.
I find the System 8 kind of hard to let go simply because none of my other hardware covers the vintage Roland sound so specifically and thoroughly (i.e. not just Juno, but also JP-4, JX3P etc) in a single unit.  Also I don't think Roland is done yet with new plugouts... a Jupiter 6 plugout seems imminent IMHO.

The above summarizes what drives all my buying decisions -- there needs to be some identifiable gap in my gear lineup that I want to fill.

In a way, maybe I'm looking for the UNidentifiable gap, that magic synth of vague mystery. My wife and I have a Lyra. That's a creature that I've little interest in "learning." I can make all sorts of music with it that I like, and I can tame it enough for "practical purposes," but it's the wildness of it that's so thrilling. I'm trying to picture a poly synth that has a wildness or a weirdness to it. To that end, the System 8 does serve, can't be denied. I think I'm just not so thrilled with its layout/design etc. I don't get lost in it, I just kinda get lost, if that makes sense...

[LPF83]

I've enjoyed having a System 8 for a while. I don't love it on a soul-level like I do something like the Prophet 5 or the Yamaha CP. I do like the ACB buzz... it IS the sound of the classics it emulates. And its own synth engine is great - dirty or pretty, weird or plain. The extras like the sequencer, which syncs easy with my TR-6S, and the CV ins/outs, are good to have. 

I don't have funds or space to buy something fresh without letting something else go, and the Roland is the one synth I'd be able to say goodbye to without tears. But - and this is where y'all come in - what's out there that would thrill me? I have a P5, P6, Prologue and a nice handful of mono synths, so I'm leaning digital, but only sorta. The Hydrasynth gets rave reviews and it's probably make for a straight trade for the Roland or even score me a couple hundred free dollars.

Notions, anybody?

P.S. - I always keep local live performance in mind when looking at poly synths, but realistically, I've taken the Prologue out once in 5 years. I've got a beater XP-10 if I need basic keys on stage. Otherwise, I just play guitar or pick venues with a piano ready.

One synth I've always been interested in is the Super 6.  Maybe an Iridium.
I plan to hold onto my System 8 though.

There are just so many groovy units out there these days. I'd forgotten about the Super 6. I'm not sure what I even want from something like Hydrasynth or Super 6. Maybe I just want something "other" that does things my analogs don't do. But I still want a familiar-ish flight path for take offs and landings...

I'm spending extra time with the System 8, doing that "maybe I shouldn't sell it" dance. In a way, I might appreciate it more on its own. In a room full of other synths, it's a bit the odd dog.

One aspect of the Super 6 that has always given me pause is the lack of any sort of display, and also because I can't necessarily find a hole in my gear lineup that the Super 6 would specifically fulfill.  It's no doubt a great synth, but everything I buy these days has a very specific intended role, and I haven't been able to identify that yet in the Super 6.
I find the System 8 kind of hard to let go simply because none of my other hardware covers the vintage Roland sound so specifically and thoroughly (i.e. not just Juno, but also JP-4, JX3P etc) in a single unit.  Also I don't think Roland is done yet with new plugouts... a Jupiter 6 plugout seems imminent IMHO.

The above summarizes what drives all my buying decisions -- there needs to be some identifiable gap in my gear lineup that I want to fill.

In a way, maybe I'm looking for the UNidentifiable gap, that magic synth of vague mystery. My wife and I have a Lyra. That's a creature that I've little interest in "learning." I can make all sorts of music with it that I like, and I can tame it enough for "practical purposes," but it's the wildness of it that's so thrilling. I'm trying to picture a poly synth that has a wildness or a weirdness to it. To that end, the System 8 does serve, can't be denied. I think I'm just not so thrilled with its layout/design etc. I don't get lost in it, I just kinda get lost, if that makes sense...

Hmm..  Esoteric synths are typically outside of the range of products I look at, so maybe others can chime in on suggestions there.  I will say the Hydrasynth is quite deep as a sound design tool, so while as a synth overall I'm not sure there's anything too wild or weird about it by default, but it can certainly go into weird territory (and any synth with a "Random" button sort of hints that it has a wild side).

[Soundquest]

I got the Super 6 for really only one reason...sound.  It just sounded glorious to me, and in person, it doesn't disappoint.  Not sure that it's niche is really more than that.  I mean,  the interface and such is a little awkward to me, but that's because I only use it sporadically.    It's not great for storing/recalling tons of patches like a Hydrasynth.    But if I want to start from a basic patch and make a great smooth pad or fm keys, it fits the bill.  For me, it's like the drummer who has several snare drums...this ones good for that type room, and that ones good for this studio set...that type thing.  It's really good at a niche- which I'd call big sound. 

[Manbird]

I got the Super 6 for really only one reason...sound.  It just sounded glorious to me, and in person, it doesn't disappoint.  Not sure that it's niche is really more than that.  I mean,  the interface and such is a little awkward to me, but that's because I only use it sporadically.    It's not great for storing/recalling tons of patches like a Hydrasynth.    But if I want to start from a basic patch and make a great smooth pad or fm keys, it fits the bill.  For me, it's like the drummer who has several snare drums...this ones good for that type room, and that ones good for this studio set...that type thing.  It's really good at a niche- which I'd call big sound.

The Super 6 is intriguing, but *fortunately* is beyond my budget! I'll be back in Berlin next month and will head over to JustMusic. I'll sniff through what else they've got...

As often is the case when I put up a "Thinking of selling..." post, I end up tricking myself into keeping what I've got. I do like, though, having one or two instruments that I'm ambivalent about. These are the instruments that keep possibility in play.

[LPF83]

The Super 6 is intriguing, but *fortunately* is beyond my budget! I'll be back in Berlin next month and will head over to JustMusic. I'll sniff through what else they've got...

As often is the case when I put up a "Thinking of selling..." post, I end up tricking myself into keeping what I've got. I do like, though, having one or two instruments that I'm ambivalent about. These are the instruments that keep possibility in play.

Ideas for revitilizing interest in gear you already have:

-  Shop around for soundbanks for synths you own created by others.  The value of another set of ears cannot be overstated... sometimes you have these moments of realization where you never knew the synth you used regularly had the ability to even sound like that.  We get into patterns in our own sound design that can bore us after a while, until there is a shake up.  Hearing someone else's work or using it as a starting point for new sounds can be inspiring.
-  Consider adding pedals/outboard FX/even plugins...ones you already have or new ones, as a way to drastically alter the sounds of a synth you're already well familiar with.  For example I have a Boss EQ 200 on my Prophet 10 right now, it sounds like a different instrument depending on the settings.
-  Layer synths in various combinations, like digital transients from FM synths or even plugins combined with analog tones
- Try randomization or generative methods of sound design... for example the Soundtower and Codeknobs editors allow various sound munging options like morph, genetic offspring etc. where you can combine one patch with another, generate lots of possibilities quickly and select the best of.

One thing about GAS is that it is fueled more by the fact that we are prone to fall into creation patterns..  This is one reason we read so many talking about regrets they have of synths they've sold and later wished they'd kept.  Learning ways to break out of those patterns can create the same new inspiration we would get from newly acquired gear.  For example, shelving existing gear instead of selling it, and sticking to only 1-3 instruments at a time.  Then 2 years later getting the old gear out and rediscovering it.

I'm especially reluctant to get rid of my System-8 because:

1) I think more interesting plugouts will surface later...  Jupiter 6 anyone?
2) There isn't a better solution right now that I'm aware of to capturing the vintage Roland sound of so many synths in a single hardware interface
3) In some cases it sounds substantially better than the cloud plugins
4) To my ears it sounds better than the Zenology synths like JupiterX and JunoX
5) The whole cloud subscription thing actually provides motivation for Roland to invest in future engines for it...  a lot of companies talk the talk about future expandability, but the software-as-a-service does seem to work better for this than the other business models that attempt same, or promise future expandability as a dangled-carrot selling point, but never deliver on the promise or at least disappoint when they do.  That hasn't been the case with System-8 updates