Roland has introduced the JD-800 Software Synthesizer, a software recreation of the classic hardware JD-800.
The original Roland JD-800 is considered by many to be one of the classic digital synths, combining the power of digital synthesis with the hands-on control of classic 70’s analog synths. It featured patches created by Roland’s then Chief Sound Designer Eric Persing, who created many of the most iconic sounds of classic Roland synths, before going on to found Spectrasonics.
The JD-800 Software Synthesizer brings back the classic sound of the original, including the original 64 presets, but also expands on it with expanded polyphony and other modern updates.
Features:
- 64 original presets, plus 64 new presets
- Recreation of JD-800’s two-stage, multi-effects section with drag and drop reorder
- 7 effects: chorus, phaser, enhancer, distortion, spectrum, delay, and reverb
- Detailed, realistic interface is resizable and includes alternate views
- Expanded polyphony versus the original hardware
- VST3, AAX, and AU with support for Apple silicon
Audio Demos:
The JD-800 Software Synthesizer is the newest member of Roland Cloud’s Legendary series, which includes plug-in versions of the JUNO-60, JUPITER-8, TR-808, TR-909, D-50 and more. See the Roland Cloud site for details.
Umm. Didn’t Roland already release a version of the JD-800 earlier this year for Zenology and Zenology Pro? How many duplicate soft synths do we need from the same manufacturer on their cloud plaftom?
(Just checked – Synthtopia wrote about it on March 5th, I’m not losing my mind)
Frodo: This version is independent of ZenCore and now has a recreation of the front panel. Personally I prefer the ZenCore interface over this (and I say that as the owner of a JD800). Luckily, I have a Lifetime Key and this and the ZenCore offering are available ie: its not a replacement (yet).
Personally Larry I prefer this intertace…I couldn’t get on with the Zencore one at all when I downloaded the demo.
I hope Roland are going to offer a Lifetime on this as well ( doesn’t seem to be up at the moment).
Well done Roland. Now all you need to do is a boutique version and we are all sorted!
Roland…..Please bring back the hardware version of the JD-800. I had one once but it broke….sold it. Yes, many regrets. Again Roland, Please bring back the JD-800.
Behringer are you listening? Would anyone else like a hardware JD-800?
I am so glad that I found a local guy who fixed my JD. Took it apart completely. Desoldered every pot/fader/switch off the boards. Cleaned everything. Fixed issues. Put it all back together again. The JD is now literally shiny and brand new like it was being unboxed for the first time.
The JD800 and the D50 are still my two favorite synths which I know them well, through and through. I can program sounds on them from my head to the units. Their limitations are what makes it easier to know them well inside out.
Its a great synth if you need to fill its Big Poly niche. I’m enjoying the Cloud D-50 a lot, so taking up a second 4-partial Roland seems like duplicated effort. That’s not a diss, just one angle on it. If I call up the PG-1000, its essentially the same sliders from the JD.
Its still fair to recommend at least one or the other. They both have plenty of useful kapow, even for 2021.
The graphics is tiny on a 4 k screen. This is not worth the price in 2021.
The interface is scalable.