Roland System 8

[Soundquest]

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

All good advice.  I really like that you mentioned layering instruments.  That process creates so many happy accidents.  I think I'm finally done with what has been several years of GAS phase.   Short of quitting my job I really don't have the time to fully use what I have, yet I have no intention to sell anything either.  Shelfing it for a while makes more sense. Though I do confront myself with that notion occasionally, whereas if I had to sell on one the keyboard polys, what would it be?  Probably a toss up between the Summit and UDO.  I don't regret either purchase.   Honestly, I just like the ole DSI design for user interface- i.e.  P12, PEK.    There's something to be said with having that familiar comfort with your instrument.  Ever see Willie Nelsons acoustic guitar with the wear hole in it    
 
 

[LPF83]

Honestly, I just like the ole DSI design for user interface- i.e.  P12, PEK.    There's something to be said with having that familiar comfort with your instrument.  Ever see Willie Nelsons acoustic guitar with the wear hole in it

The intuitiveness/usability/immediacy of all my DSI/Sequential/OB gear (whether newer or old DSI UI) is one of the reasons they always get the most use, and probably none of the gear I have now under those brands is ever likely to be sold.

[Manbird]

Yes, a solid dose of great suggestions. I admit I've been synthing so long that I don't really aim for new tricks with my old dogs. I just want/need things to charm me on command and help me conjure appealing and/or disturbing sounds! I play more with my stray monosynths than with polys. My MS10 still runs through tape echoes or spring reverbs or all manner of guitar pedals etc.

And yeah, my Prophet 6 sits in front of me every day, acting as main go-to synth and MIDI boss. Prophet 5 is king, but the 6 is the brain of my setup.

I've been spending more time again with the System 8, no longer thinking of letting it go. I do think it needs to be away from the rest of my synth gang for me to be better able to appreciate it. It's a little bit fussier than the P5 or P6, right? We're building a basement studio, mostly for tracking drums and guitars etc, but I'll have my Wurli and hopefully a proper piano down there at some point. I think that'd be a great place to land the System 8... the only synth down there, probably. Being able to concentrate on learning it inside/out etc with out distraction will be fun...

[LPF83]

Yes, a solid dose of great suggestions. I admit I've been synthing so long that I don't really aim for new tricks with my old dogs. I just want/need things to charm me on command and help me conjure appealing and/or disturbing sounds! I play more with my stray monosynths than with polys. My MS10 still runs through tape echoes or spring reverbs or all manner of guitar pedals etc.

And yeah, my Prophet 6 sits in front of me every day, acting as main go-to synth and MIDI boss. Prophet 5 is king, but the 6 is the brain of my setup.

I've been spending more time again with the System 8, no longer thinking of letting it go. I do think it needs to be away from the rest of my synth gang for me to be better able to appreciate it. It's a little bit fussier than the P5 or P6, right? We're building a basement studio, mostly for tracking drums and guitars etc, but I'll have my Wurli and hopefully a proper piano down there at some point. I think that'd be a great place to land the System 8... the only synth down there, probably. Being able to concentrate on learning it inside/out etc with out distraction will be fun...

I'm familiar with what you're describing, re: separating it from other instruments.  Using it does feel different than my other instruments, and thus far I have been attributing that to the Roland way of doing things, because I feel the same way whenever I switch between a Sequential/Oberheim synth and my JP-8080.  Switching between the System 8 and JP-8080 regularly for hours at a time starts to feel more natural.  I'm sure it all feels natural to folks with lots of Roland gear, as I'm sure there's a lot of common ground between them.  Maybe this is why some folks physically partition their studio according gear vendor... such as having all their Moog instruments in one section of the room, their Rolands in another, etc.

I do find myself digging into my memory to remember how to use the System 8 to its fullest, since I don't use it every day.  And whenever I remind myself of the cumbersome process of sending new synths and patch banks down to it from the computer, I just remind myself that's just the trade off that comes with flexibility -- and it's that flexibility where I think the System 8 shines.

Have you tried the updated plugouts that came out a few months back?  Some of them now have circuit mod (i.e. vintage mode), and it's very nicely implemented.

[Manbird]

"Have you tried the updated plugouts that came out a few months back?  Some of them now have circuit mod (i.e. vintage mode), and it's very nicely implemented."

Ha... I haven't made any effort since I since I installed the JP-4 and then cancelled my Cloud subscription! Kinda like my German residency... supposedly permanent, but every time I go back to Berlin, I'm certain they'll haul me off to The Room!
I've got the Jupiter 8, Juno 6 and Jupiter 4 onboard and am happy to stick with those as-is. They do sound good!

[Manbird]

It's not world-worthy news, but I've bonded with my System 8 all over again, in part thanks to the new software update for the TR-6S. The 6S and 8S models now include sounds and patterns from the CR-79. What a lovely sounding box that was. I've got my S8 sync'd up to the 6S, droning away all day on a hypnotic 16-beat pattern and I'm so pleased to have both instruments for such. I'm tempted to sell my TR-6S and move up the bigger 8S, but the thing I've got really does so much as is. Nice.

[LPF83]

It's not world-worthy news, but I've bonded with my System 8 all over again, in part thanks to the new software update for the TR-6S. The 6S and 8S models now include sounds and patterns from the CR-79. What a lovely sounding box that was. I've got my S8 sync'd up to the 6S, droning away all day on a hypnotic 16-beat pattern and I'm so pleased to have both instruments for such. I'm tempted to sell my TR-6S and move up the bigger 8S, but the thing I've got really does so much as is. Nice.

One of the nice things about not getting rid of gear that hasn't been used recently, is the fun of rediscovering it months or even years later.  It's easy to get into a boredom rut with existing gear, crave something new to scratch that itch, etc.  But it's economical to have some stuff lying in the shadows to dust off and remember the reasons it was acquired in the first place.  Roland gear has some specific strength here, because they're great about adding interesting updates to existing products.  The System 8 has had been out for a long time now (7 years?) and their plugouts from the cloud have kept it interesting.

[Manbird]

It's not world-worthy news, but I've bonded with my System 8 all over again, in part thanks to the new software update for the TR-6S. The 6S and 8S models now include sounds and patterns from the CR-79. What a lovely sounding box that was. I've got my S8 sync'd up to the 6S, droning away all day on a hypnotic 16-beat pattern and I'm so pleased to have both instruments for such. I'm tempted to sell my TR-6S and move up the bigger 8S, but the thing I've got really does so much as is. Nice.

One of the nice things about not getting rid of gear that hasn't been used recently, is the fun of rediscovering it months or even years later.  It's easy to get into a boredom rut with existing gear, crave something new to scratch that itch, etc.  But it's economical to have some stuff lying in the shadows to dust off and remember the reasons it was acquired in the first place.  Roland gear has some specific strength here, because they're great about adding interesting updates to existing products.  The System 8 has had been out for a long time now (7 years?) and their plugouts from the cloud have kept it interesting.

I really love that with the System 8, I've got the classic, can't-go-wrong 1980s perfect synth sound, but with the flick of a switch or two, it's murky industrial cat-frightening noise.

Meanwhile, somehow, the Lite Brite vibe of the TR-6S makes the System 8's thang work a little better in my eyeball. Small mercies, eh wot...!

[LPF83]

I'm not really interested in a Fantom, but I think things could get interesting if they start putting ACB models onto the Jupiter X / Juno X.  Interesting enough that I'd part with my System 8?  Maybe not, but definitely of interest to those who already own the synths...  and they say the build quality of the two X models is great.