The Usual Suspects Return With a JP8080 Emulation!

The Usual Suspects are back, and it looks like this time they’ve figured out how to emulate the elusive and legendary Roland JP8080!

From what we can hear in the demo, it sounds like a fully exact emulation, excluding perhaps the DAC’s specific sound. But as far as we can hear on our end here in the studio, all the JP8080 oscillator and effect and filter behaviors and tones are precisely captured, so it sounds like this will be the definitive software clone of the JP8080! So classic trance sounds will live on even after the last JP8080’s chips give out and there’s no replacements left!

Take a listen below and see what you think

No word yet on whether or not our performance banks will load into it, but given that our Virus TI2 and Nord Lead 2X sound banks load into the OsTIrus and Nodal 2X Red emulations, it seems more than likely that our JP8080 performance banks will also load fully into the plugin. It sounds truly fantastic, and we’re super excited to see another of our favorite classic VA synths immortalized in a software emulation that can outlive the original.

…Now we’re just waiting on a Novation Supernova II clone

Keep an eye on The Usual Suspects’ site and this space for further updates!

Roland JP-8080 Review 2025

Digital. Plastic. Overused. Just A Trance Machine. Common comments made about the Roland JP-8080 (and its predecessor the JP-8000). Since its release in 1998, the JP-8080 has become a foundational staple in the Trance genre, and every music genre that has ever borrowed its big detuned SuperSaw sound since. Along the way it has earned a great deal of love… and hate. Ground-breaking for its time, and originally designed as a Virtual Analog successor to the legendary Jupiter-8, it saw use in nearly every big dance tune of the late 90s and early 2000s. But how does it hold up today? Is it still relevant and useful in 2025? Let’s dive in and have a look.

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OSCILLATORS

Let’s be honest. This is almost certainly what brought you here. The original SuperSaw synth, its 7 asymmetrically-detuned Sawtooth waves run off a single oscillator with logarithmic-scale detuning enabled producers to create massive, lush leads and pads with 2 knob turns, and consequently create epic sounds that would propel Trance into the mainstream.

The SuperSaw, besides the aforementioned wave-stacking and detuning, also hid a hipass filter inside the oscillator, to eliminate low frequency mud from the saw waves. So out the gate, it sounds a touch thinner than the raw Sawtooth oscillator. It’s rough, it’s a little harsh, but with the right filter and Amp envelope settings, and a generous bit of reverb, it still sounds as big and epic as ever. Modern SuperSaws from Sylenth or Spire or Viper or Serum 2 may be able to reach even bigger levels of wave-stacking and polyphony, but the original still sounds spectacular, and with the right filter and EQ adjustments, will sound excellent in a modern tune.

All the other waveforms are fairly standard, and tend to be on the bright and sharp side. The Sawtooth in particular feels a little reminiscent of the JD-800 Saw, but as this is a VA synth with free-running oscillators, the sound is a bit rougher and more natural-sounding.

The Pulse wave has full sweep, and one of the knobs activates PWM, so classic analog strings can be had easily enough. Only real gripe is that you can’t switch the PWM source to anything except LFO 1, so no creating interesting modulated pulse plucks using the Filter Envelope as a source, like you can on Moogs or the Prophet Rev2, or the Blofeld.

The Feedback osc is quite interesting, as it is intended to mimic the sound of guitar feedback, for electric guitar noises. Combined with distortion and layered with other waveforms, this actually sounds very exciting, and is a fun addition.

Noise is also quite helpful, and you can sweep the frequency range and resonance, to dial in very precise flavors of Noise to add a little sizzle to your sounds (although honestly the oscillators on this synth are so bright it hardly seems necessary).

The Triangle wave can also be swept and modulated, and that yields a few interesting timbres. The Sync and Ring Mod functions baked into the Osc section are also cool, and are quite helpful for achieving bell tones and interesting gritty sounds.

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FILTER

This is the other feature that really lends the JP a lot of its character. For a digital filter it can be steppy or smooth, but it has a distinctive feel that is hard to replicate elsewhere. The 12 dB slope tends to be my favorite, as the 24 dB is almost too steep, and even tiny Res amounts make sounds too rubbery and squeaky. Key Follow really works a treat on this filter though, and you can improve the clarity of arpeggios very nicely using it tactically in designing sounds for Trance or Techno.

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ENVELOPES

Here’s where we get to the character of the synth that invites the second most controversy behind the SuperSaw. the infamous Clicky Envelopes of the JP. For those of you who don’t own one, the JP has a feature built in that if the Attack and Release sliders for both envelopes are set to 0, and you pull down the filter cutoff while playing notes, you will hear a distinct, loud, Click sound.

It leaps out and is super annoying in most contexts, and has been a source of annoyance for producers for decades.

The only way to eliminate it is to set the Attacks on the Filter & Amp envelopes to +3 or 4, and the Releases much higher than that.

For a long time, folks though it was some kind of bug. But it seems Roland intentionally designed the oscillators and envelopes to do that, in order to replicate the breathy clicky attack of a Hammond organ. To make synthesized sounds feel more like a vintage organ. Which is a pretty strange thing to do, when none of the JV or JD synths that came out right before it did that.

It’s an annoyance when you want to do really tight snappy plucks or punchy basses with zeroed out attacks and low cutoffs, because you can’t get rid of it, but for basically any other kind of sound where tight attacks and low cutoffs aren’t required, it’s a trivial matter to adjust the settings to avoid the issue.

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LFO

The JP sports pretty typical LFOs for an analog-modeling synth from the 90s, so the usual suspects of the Triangle, Saw, Pulse, and S&H are there to choose from. Which for fairly simple vibratos and tremolos and PWM sounds (and some glitchy textures) are fine. What’s lacking in here are things like Reverse Saw, or Sine, or Filter Envelope as LFO sources, which is a shame. Doing modulated pulse plucks (as we are fond of) with a Filter as the source for the PWM is borderline impossible, except by using the Saw wave as a source, and it doesn’t allow for the same granularity of control as if a more static source could be used.

It would also have been nice if it were possible to modulate the Mix Depth or Detune of the SuperSaws, for added character. But as this synth shares more technical capabilities with our Sub37 than our Blofeld, we can’t really say too much.

Don’t expect super wild capabilities out of the LFOs for this synth, is what we’re saying.

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MODULATION

Building on the remarks about the LFO, the Modulation capabilities of the JP are also pretty restricted. LFO 2 is technically permanently linked to the Modwheel, so unless you turn it up using a software interface, you won’t have much access to it for front-panel sound design.

Various parameters scattered around the synth are linked to the LFO, so you can modulate various oscillators, the filter, the panning, and the pitch and X-Mod setting, so there’s some fun to be had there.

The X-Mod is also interesting - it’s sort of like a rudimentary implementation of FM, and at the right octaves, and with a little distortion, and yield some cool screaming and growling tones to roughen up otherwise bland sounds.

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EFFECTS

This is a section where there are big hits, and big misses. The big hits come in the form of the EQs, which can really make the sounds shine (sometimes too much), the Chorus, the Flanger, and the Distortion. The Distortion pushes into gnarly territory really quickly, so if you’re after gentle saturation, be very very light on it. The Chorus FX are nice and full of character, and you can hear it all over classic trance records.

Mind that your leads/pads don’t get lost in a modern mix when you use it, though. The Chorus does not play nice when summed to Mono.

The Delay is also quite nice on the JP. There’s no cutoff controls and only some deep menu diving to access the timed delay clock time settings, but it bounces around nicely and adds welcome movement and width to leads and plucks.

And the Flanger, Especially the Deep Flanger, is cool.

The misses however, are pretty big. The Phasers, the Jet Phase, the Freeze Phase, all borderline unusable. I don’t recall ever really hearing them on any tracks over the years either. The Feedback on them always seemed to be totally maxed out, so the Phasers except at the most minimal of settings, always had a painful ringing howling quality to them that made them unusable. If you’re desperate for a Phaser to use on your JP, route it into a Virus TI, and use the Phaser on 3 or 6 pole mode. The Virus Phaser is much easier to control and sounds much much nicer.

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CONCLUSION

So having said all that, is the JP still a relevant synth today?

Before we answer that, let me add one final thought to this about a technical aspect that is incredibly valuable to remember:

With the JP, you don’t have one single synth to work with. If you run the synth in Performance mode (which is advised), and set it to Dual and get the MIDI channels for each set up correctly, you have 2 synths running at once, and if you adjust each layer for different octaves, or FX, or different kinds of sounds for each layer, or even duplicate a sound for each layer and then pan each one in opposite directions, you can achieve massive monumental sounds that will melt your brain and blow your mind.

We always work in Performance mode on our JP because being able to make really huge sounds that require minimal processing is always nicer than making a big heap of smaller-sounding patches that will require more layering/ processing to fill out a mix.

So having said that, is the JP worthit in 2025?

If you’re mostly focused on totally modern sounds that require a lot of complex modulations, this bit of vintage kit is probably not for you. While it can achieve modern sounds, vis a vis the new breeds of melodic techno and classic-inspired uplifting trance, it will always have a character more classic and oldschool in flavor. Which can be great for adding into a modern production for a little throwback flair. But that may not be for everyone.

Does it still sound great though? Absolutely. There are few sounds more satisfying than a real JP SuperSaw in a classic-styled epic trance tune, or a melodic techno tune channeling some oldschool vibes. We’ll be using ours until it burns out and gives up, someday in the distant future.

If you can find one for a good price, get one, and have fun. But if you’re after something more versatile and flexible, you may want to investigate the Blofeld or Mininova instead.

I declare this the Summer of George!

Just kidding

But in all seriousness, this will be the Autumn of Ambient. We’re mostly finished with an Ambient/ Downtempo soundbank for the Nord Lead 3, and we’ll be working on Ambient and Downtempo banks for our other synths like the JP8080, Prophet Rev2, and others this autumn, so you all have access to more chill sounds this winter.

Stay tuned!

Stereo Width Tricks For The Roland JP8000 + JP8080

Just got a JP80x0, and finding that your sounds are either too narrow and sound thin, or are super wide, but disappear the moment you sum your song to mono?

Fret no more! In here we cover a few simple methods you can use to achieve full mono-stereo compatibility with this classic synth, no fancy effects or plugins required!

Top 10 Desktop Hardware Synths For Trance Producers

If you've been feeling like VSTs aren't quite cutting it for achieving the sounds you want for your Trance productions, or just want a slightly different sound than everyone else, here's a list of the 10 best desktop synths for the genre. This list contains mixed Virtual Analog, Digital, and Analog synths. The ranking is in no particular order, but you can listen to the soundset samples of each by various studios, to decide which sound suits your tracks the best.

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Roland JP8080

The original Trance synth (along with its sibling, the JP8000). Made famous for its signature SuperSaw sound, it first came to prominence following the release of Rank 1’s iconic classic “Airwave”. Subsequently used by nearly every major Trance artist for pads, leads, and occasionally, basses. Nearly all the controls are laid out on the front panel, making this a very easy to use, friendly synth for the novice hardware user.

Polyphony - 10 voices

Oscillators - 2 Roland Analog Modeling DSP oscillators: Saw, Square (PWM), Triangle (PWM), Super Saw (7 de-tuned Saws), Triangle Mod, Feedback OSC

Filter - Resonant 12/24dB/oct low/band/hi pass, 12-band formant filter bank

Effects - 3 onboard effects: Delay; Multi-FX including Chorus, Flanger, Distortion and Tone control

Memory - 384 preset and 128 user patches; 192 preset and 64 user performance

Arpeg/Seq - Onboard Arpeggiator and real-time Phrase Sequencing (RPS) capability

Keyboard - None

Control - MIDI (2 parts)

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Access Virus TI2

Another legendary Trance synth, as much an icon of the genre as the JP80x0. The TI series expanded on the older Virus models with improved DSPs, higher polyphony, added effects, more complex routing options, and more effects. Useful for virtually any genre, and can be used to produce almost 100% of a track, it’s a true studio workhorse. And with an abundance of knobs and front panel controls, it’s easy to use and fun to sculpt sounds with. The TI2 boasts an additional 25% processing power over the first TI, making it extremely useful for long, complex pads, and sounds no other hardware synth can achieve.

Polyphony - Over 90 voices

Multitimbral - 16 parts

Oscillators - 3 osc + subosc + noise, FM, Sync

Waveforms - Sine / pulse / saw / hypersaw / wavetable / granular / formant

Filter - dual LP/HP/BP/BR with envelopes and addtional multi-pole analog emulations (includes Minimoog 4-pole emulation)

LFO - 3 LFOs, multiple options plus mod matrix 18 slots

Envelope - Amp / Filter / 'LFO as envelope' option

Sequencer - none onboard

Arpeggiator - Up / Down / Random / Chord / Multiple additions, editable in software to any variation

Effects - Reverbs, Delays, EQs with Q and freq control, Tape Delays, Distortions (multiple), Phasers, Flangers, Chorus, Analog EQs, Vocoder.

Memory - 128 patches in each of 30 banks plus USB storage / Librarian with additional free patchbanks provided regularly by Access

Control - MIDI, USB, 16-part multitimbral in Multi or sequencer modes

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Waldorf Q

Another amazing VA full of character. It’s a classic you hear in abundance in DuMonde and Ace Da Brain records, and its unique Waldorf Sound makes it distinct from the Virus and JP synths most commonly used, and its polyphony and tone make it great for bright pads, sharp leads, and punchy basses.

Polyphony - 16 to 32 voices

Oscillators - 3 per voice (sawtooth, triangle, sine, PWM, new oscillator algorithms, waves and a noise generator)

Memory - 300 single programs, 100 multi programs

Filter - 2 12dB/24dB Filters (Low pass, band pass, hi pass, notch, comb, ring mod and more; FM and distortion)

VCA - 4 envelopes (ADSR with loop and one shot function, bipolar)

Arpeg/Seq - Arpeggiator: Many user patterns (accents, timing, swing, glide, chords and more); Sequencer: 100 user patterns; 32 steps per pattern, polyphonic

Control - MIDI (16 parts), CV

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Access Virus C

The 3rd iteration of the Virus series. Where the TI series has HyperSaws, and higher polyphony, this has (according to users) a slightly fatter and heavier low end, making it ideal for basses, and thick pads demanding more low frequency content. It was commonly used in Psytrance between 2002-2005, and you can hear it in the basslines and acid squelches of the genre during that period.

Polyphony - 32 voices

Oscillators - 3 Osc per voice plus 1 Sub-Osc: Sawtooth, variable pulse, sine, triangle, oscillator sync. 5 FM Modes: 64 digital FM spectral waveforms.

LFO - 3 LFOs with 68 waveforms

Filter - 2 independent resonant filters; lowpass, hipass, bandpass, band reject, parallel, split & 2 serial modes with up to 36dB/voice (6-poles), overdrive/saturation.

VCA - 2 ADSTR envelopes

ModMatrix - 6 Sources, 9 Destinations

Effects - 98 simultaneous effects: 16 Phasers, 16 Choruses, 16 Distortions, 16 Ring Modulators, 16 Parametric EQs, Delay, 32-Band Vocoder, Surround Sound.

Memory - 1024 programs (256 User / 768 ROM / 128 Multi)

Control - MIDI (16 multitimbral parts)

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Moog Slim Phatty

When it comes to Trance, Analog Monosynths rarely take center stage. The lack of polyphony, and the tone drift can make using them difficult, and when they have Mono out instead of Stereo out, that makes using them for wide leads nearly impossible.
That said, the Slim Phatty, being compact AND the last synthesizer the founder Bob Moog designed, has that classic, magic Moog sound, and its true analog oscillators and filters make it fantastic for super fat, intense basses with just enough unpredictability to make it endlessly useful for unique, distinctive basses that cut through in a mix and add more character than any sterile vst or sample. Almost no one in the Trance world is using them, either, which gives you an extra reason to pick one up.

Polyphony - Monophonic

Multitimbral - No

Oscillators - 2 VCOs, both 16', 8', 4', 2'

Waveforms - Continuously variable: triangle through saw and square to narrow pulse.

LFO - LFO with triangle, square, sawtooth, ramp

Modulation - Mod Source: LFO, Filt. EGR or Sample and Hold, and Osc. 2 or Noise. Mod Destination: Pitch, Osc. 2, Filter, Wave.

Filter - 1 Low Pass VCF: 24dB/Oct Moog Ladder with overload and ADSR.

Envelope - 1 Volume amp with ASDR

Effects - None

Sequencer - None

Arpeggiator - Up, down, ordered. MIDI-syncable

Keyboard - None

Memory - 100 presets, all can be overwritten by user

Control - MIDI In/Out/Thru; USB; and CV: Pitch CV In (1 V/Oct) Filter CV In Volume CV In Keyboard Gate In

Weight - 5.75 Lbs (2.6 kg)

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Waldorf XT

Another underutilized legend. The XT was Waldorf’s wavetable synth, in a Halloween color scheme (for some reason), and when it came to evolving sounds, cutting leads, and exciting soundscapes, it was king. While not as well-known or used as its cousin the Q, it was an excellent synth, and makes a worthy addition to any studio.

Polyphony - 10 voice (expandable to 30)

Oscillators - 2 oscillators per voice of DSP wavetable synthesis; 1 Ring Mod; 1 Noise Source

Memory - 256 internal patches, 64 external card

Filter - 6/12/24 LP/HP, FM Filter, Sin (x)-LP, Dbl LP/HP, 24/12 BP, Band Stop, Waveshaper

VCA - 1 VCA, VCA ADSR, 1 Free Envelope

LFO - 2 LFO's, sine, tri, square, random, S&H

Effects - Chorus, Flanger 1 & 2, Autowah BP, Autowah LP, Overdrive, Delay, Amp Mod

Keyboard - none

Arpeg/Seq - 16 steps, 128 patterns

Control - MIDI (8-parts)

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Clavia Nord Lead 2X

An icon of Trance, the Nord Lead 2X (and the 2) really stands alone. The unique Nord Sound made it a feature in countless tunes throughout the 90s and early 2000s, featuring in tracks by San Van Doorn and Protonica, and other Nord synths appeared in E-Type’s, Armin van Buuren’s, The Thrillseekers, and numerous other big artist’s songs.

Polyphony - 20 Voices

Oscillators - 2 VSM oscillators: sine, triangle, sawtooth, pulse and noise

LFO - 2 LFO's (triangle, sawtooth, random) control OSC 1 or 2, filter, pulse-width, ADSR envelope

Filter - 12 dB/oct 2-pole lowpass, 24dB/oct 4-pole lowpass / bandpass / highpass (both with cutoff, resonance, env amount, env velocity, key tracking, ADSR envelope)

VCA - ADSR envelope and Amplifier Gain control

Keyboard - 49 keys (velocity sensitive)

Memory - 99 patches (59 preset, 40 user), 99 performances, 10 drum kits

Control - MIDI (4 parts), and all knobs and controls are MIDI

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Waldorf Blofeld

Perhaps one of the rare synths deserving of the title Most Obscure Modern Classic. Well-beloved in sound designer circles, it’s a descendent of the Waldorf Q, Micro Q, XT, and Microwave series (and includes a number of their wavetables and filters), it is easily one of the most versatile synths on the market. What it lacks in user-friendliness and front panel accessibility, it makes up for in creating clean, fat plucks, basses, evolving pads and soundscapes, and gnarly basses. Users can upload their own wavetables into the synth, and with 25 voices of polyphony (not fixed, though), it works well in Trance. And hardly anyone in the Trance world is using it, so it’s perfect for creating sounds no one else is making.

Polyphony - 25 voices maximum (Poly, Mono, Dual or Unison modes)

Multitimbral - 16 parts

Sampler - 44.1kHz mono with 60 Mb RAM

Oscillators - 3 oscillators per voice (128' to 1/2') plus noise, frequency modulation, ring modulation

Waveforms - All Q Oscillator models: sine, saw, triangle, square with PWM; 68 digital 16-bit wavetables from Microwave II/XT/XTK

LFO - 3 LFOs per voice with square, sine, saw, triangle, S&H, random with delay and fade in/out

Modulation - Modulation Matrix with 16 Slots, freely programmable

Filter - 2 independent Multi Mode Filters per voice: Low pass, High pass, Band pass, Notch, Comb; 12 or 24 dB/oct modes

Envelope - 4 Envelopes per voice, ADSR, AD1S1D2S2R, One Shot, Loopable

Effects - 2 Effect units with Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Overdrive, Decimator, Delay, Reverb

Vocoder - None

Sequencer - None

Arpeggiator - Programmable, 16 steps, Up, Down, Alt Up, Alt Down, Random

Memory - 1,024 sounds, 128 multi sets

Control - MIDI IN (plus OUT on Keyboard), USB

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Novation Supernova

Another piece of Trance history, the Supernova is one of those synths you hear everywhere, but might not immediately recognize. It’s versatile, flexible, and lacks a singular character just enough that when you use it, people in the know won’t groan and go “Guuh, they used a _”. You CAN hear it in tracks by ATB, and Ace Da Brain.

Polyphony - SuperNova: 20 voices, expandable to 32

SuperNova II: 24-, 36-, 48-voice models plus additional 12- or 24-voice expansion boards

Oscillators - 3 (sqaure, saw, variable width pulse) and noise

LFO - 2 with control of VCA, VCF & pitch; saw, square, tri, sample/hold

Filter - Hi/Low/Band pass, 12/18/24 dB/oct ranges, resonant self-oscillating filter with overdrive

Effects - Distortion, reverb, chorus, flange, phaser, delay, pan, tremolo, 2-band EQ, comb filtering

Memory - 512 expandable to 1,024 patches; 256 performances

Control - MIDI (8 parts)

Clavia Nord Lead 3

Another classic, that you can’t pass up. It sounds different from other Nords, which you may or may not like, but it has higher polyphony and an expanded oscillator section relative to the others, which makes it even more useful for fat leads and wide pads.

Polyphony - 24 voices

Oscillators - 2 oscillator groups each with Six waveforms: sine, saw, triangle, square (pulse with width modulation), noise, synced noise, dual sine; 2- and 4-op FM and differential FM; osc-sync; ring-modulation; variable unison.

LFO - 2 per voice, syncable to MIDI. Triangle, saw, square, smooth and stepped random, and triple-peak sine waveforms. Seperate vibrato effect.

Filter - 2 multi-mode filters (series or parallel). Lowpass, Bandpass, Highpass, LP-HP, LP-LP and Classic mode. 1-, 2-, or 4-pole.

VCA - ADSR envelopes for amplitude and filter; Amplifier Gain control

Memory - 1,024 patches, 256 performances

Control - MIDI IN/OUT/THRU (4-parts)

Date Produced - 2001

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Dawnchaser is a Pacific Northwest-based electronic music producer, mountaineer, documenter of all things adventure, mountain, and travel-related, and manager of Kulshan Recordings. If he’s not in the studio writing music about adventures, he’s out on one.