Roland System-8

The System-8 is the flagship 'System' synth released by Roland in 2017 & part of their Aira range. It's an 8 note polyphonic modelling synth which can host up to three additional modelled synth engines running on it's internal DSP processing & can be loaded with a variety of models of classic Roland synths from their Plug-OUT range

The Roland System series offers the System-8 flagship workstation synth, the smaller System-1 keyboard synth & the System-1m rack - All three derive their sound from Roland's proprietary analog modelling technology of the time which Roland calls Analogue Circuit Behaviour (ACB) which is the basis of all the analog modelling products in the Aira range & was introduced by Roland around 2014 using DSP calculations to model the original circuit behaviour of their various classic analog synths & drum machines.

All three 'System' synths are physical hardware Analog Modelling synths with a unique synth engine in their own right, with this larger System-8 flagship unit delivering 8 note poly and very good the synth engine is too, but the special trick of these Aira 'System' synths is they can work with Roland's 'Plug-Out' software.

The Plug-Out series models classic old Roland synths and these hardware units can act as hardware controllers for those models when they are hosted in any DAW, however the actual model software can be transferred to the hardware unit after which it's internal DSP runs the model without any requirement for a host computer. This means the physical synth can then be taken on the road to gigs or to sessions hosting the required software model of whichever classic Roland Plug-OUT synth has been loaded. Clever!

The System-8 features three expansion slots for hosting and controlling PLUG-OUT synths, which are complete, 100-percent authentic models of Roland classics that you can swap in and out whenever you like. JUPITER-8, JUNO-106, and JX-3P PLUG-OUTs are included with the Ssystem-8 & the growing PLUG-OUT instrument collection on Roland Cloud includes the JUNO-60, SH-2, SH-101, PROMARS, SYSTEM-100, and many others, and they also work as DAW plug-ins that you can control from the SYSTEM-8’s panel.

The System-8 features a polyphonic sequencer & like the other System units its audio I/O also functions as a 24/96 USB audio interface when connected to your DAW with the synth itself streaming its audio via USB to your DAW when connected.

The rear of the System-8 also has Midi I/o & CV Gate connections and you can even sequencer external MIDI equipment and CV Gate connected gear from the sequencer as well as internal sounds.

The System 8 was £1299 on release in 2017 and can be found on ebay in 2023 with for around £700 - £800 with starting bids of around £500.‍‍