Roland has added the Jupiter-4 Software Synthesizer to its Legendary instrument series, available through Roland Cloud.
Released in 1978, the Jupiter-4 was Roland’s first polyphonic synthesiser, and the first to carry the Jupiter name. With the Jupiter-4 Software Synthesizer, its sound is now available as a computer-based plug-in and a Plug-Out for the System-8 synthesiser keyboard.
Roland products with the Jupiter name represent the current pinnacle of the company’s synth development that began more than four decades ago. In addition to analogue synthesis power, it brought then-revolutionary digital voltage control and the ability to store eight presets with technological wizardry dubbed Compuphonic. But the Jupiter-4’s real appeal was its warm, fat voice and inviting hands-on panel, which inspired synth pioneers to create the defining sounds of synth-pop, new wave, and other emerging styles of the late 1970s and early ’80s.
Roland’s evolving Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) technology brings the Jupiter-4 to life through careful analysis of original hardware units, circuit diagrams and other historical data. This information was used to recreate the authentic circuit behaviours of the vintage instrument – including its quirks and instabilities.
While the Jupiter-4 has a single VCO, it sounds massive, thanks to the combined characteristics of its oscillator, filter and LFO section. ACB brings all these elements together like the original hardware, capturing the behaviour and component interactions. Going further, powerful new Circuit Mod and Condition controls allow users to adjust the overall character to suit their taste.
The Jupiter-4 also includes enhanced features, including extended oscillator range, adjustable noise, velocity sensitivity, sub-oscillator volume control, and a flexible arpeggiator. In addition, phaser, flanger, overdrive, reverb and delay effects are available to complement the ensemble chorus effect from the original keyboard.
The plug-in flows into modern DAW environments with a resizable UI, support for VST3, AAX and AU formats, and native compatibility with Apple silicon. It also offers full integration with the Roland System-8 Synthesizer. Users can control the software plug-in from the keyboard’s panel, and Plug-Out functionality turns the System-8 into a standalone, eight-voice Jupiter-4 for stage and studio playing.
The Jupiter-4 Software Synthesizer is the newest member of Roland’s Legendary series on Roland Cloud, which includes plug-in versions of the JD-800, Juno-60, Jupiter-8, TR-808, TR-909 and other Roland classics.
More: www.roland.com/global
