Roland System-8 – historic turning point?
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I’ve been having difficulty getting this report off the ground. A Roland System-8 has been standing around here in
my studio for months at less than arm’s length, intimidating me with its very presence.
There was no way I was going to feel motivated to really and actually examine the thing. A couple of pics here, a
couple of sound samples there. Then, dispair. Enough of those fleeting impressions, enough lighting orgies. What
followed was the firm intention to just chuck it … not chuck it … chuck it … not chuck it.
This went on for a long time. From today’s point of view, this is about more than just the System-8. The paralysis
stems from deeper down. It has to do with the unequivocal turning point the Roland Company has taken. A turning
point that the tried-and-true synthesizer enthusiast (and Roland fan of many years) has difficulty just coping with.
But the world keeps turning, and so we accept things as they now are.
New Products — Re-orientation — A new set of Values
Occasional Roland products have given cause for thoughtful frowns for some time now. And it is doubtful that
company founder
Ikutaro Kakehashi
would have approved of present company philosophy. Overworked SH- and
Jupiter-clones clothed in digitalia, bright TB-303 imitations, chic little plastic synths, lightweight turntables with a
909-logo. Where to put it all? In a professional studio?
