Roland System-8 – historic turning point?
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An SD-card-slip enables the creation of simple back-ups. That is of course very practial and would seem to be a fast
(and secure) solution for archiving data, seen in the light of the great sound diversity available on the System-8.
Sound-design in detail
Refined details of the sound architecture are what make the System-8 stand out. Filter resonance, for example, is
rich in overtones — to a certain degree a real accomplishment for a device with analog character, even if it is just, in
fact, the emulation of a voltage controlled filter. “Variations” give you just that, technically or sound-wise, in
connection with oscillators, filters and the LFO.
Further mention deserve the following:
cross-modulation
ring modulator
(oscillator) synchronization
pitch envelope
Above and beyond this, the extensive performance sector is the second mainstay of the System-8. Among the
expression and playing enhancements:
various key modes (MONO / UNISON / POLY)
portamento
chord memory
velocity as well as the specifically dedicated Velocity OFF switch (in order, for instance, to come closer to the
characteristics of the Jupiter-8 / Juno-106)
octave Up / Down (which is – admittedly – absolutely necessary, when considering the reduced keyboard)
a comprehensive bender section
arpeggiator and sequencer
vocoder
