The Usual Suspects JE-8086 is an upcoming free Roland JP-8080 Synthesizer emulation for macOS, Linux, and Windows, using its DSP chip emulation method.
In recent years, the free Synthesizer plugins from The Usual Suspects have generated considerable interest. Unlike traditional synth emulation, they emulate the DSP chip of the hardware synth rather than its engine—in this case, the Motorola 56300.
The engine functions by loading the original ROM, which is legally in the grey area because the data belongs to the respective company. Using this method, they created emulations of various discontinued Access (OsTirus…), Nord (Red 2X), and Waldorf synths (Xenia,Vavra). For their latest project, JE-8086, The Usual Suspects team is “traveling” to Japan.
The Usual Suspects JE-8086
The cat is out of the bag. The latest open-source project from The Usual Suspects team, JE-8086, is an emulation of the Roland JP-8000 and 8080 digital synthesizers from the 90s.
They’re not the first to emulate this synth. The BeepStreet Sunrizer has been around for a long time, and two more recently released: the Arturia JUP-800V and the Impact Soundworks Chro-Nyx for Reaktor 6 Player.
Unlike the ones mentioned, The Usual Suspects again uses the chip emulation method. This time, however, there is no Motorola inside, as the Roland JP-8080 uses a Toshiba chip called TC170C140 “ESP2.”
In the linked video, you can see how the developers have encrypted the Toshiba/Roland chip. From this work, they created a chip emulator that supports both the JP 8000 and JP 8080.
I guess they teamed up with Giuloz, who has recreated Roland vintage hardware units, using a chip emulator as well. The JE-8086 is already running in an alpha or beta version, and there’s a sound demo. You can see a UI very close to the original, with all the original features.
It has two oscillators, including the legendary super saw waveform, a multimode filter, three envelopes (pitch, filter, amp), effects, and more. The emulator requires the original Roland ROM, which the developers will not share, according to the statement on Dischord.
“One thing I need to make extremely clear – our rules about firmware and patch data or any links to them will be aggressively enforced. Just please don’t discuss at all here.
This particular manufacturer is very aggressive legally speaking and we will take absolutely no risks and have no tolerance for crossing our lines here, thanks for understanding
This demo uses 32 instances. Every sound you hear is from the JE8086 emulator, including the intro and the outtakes. All presets are made from scratch from an init patch and are available on our Discord upon release
According to the video teaser, this seems to have been just the beginning, since in the last few months they have managed to emulate various DSP chips. So not just the DSP56300 for which they are famous.
First Impression
I will definitely continue to follow the project. The first patches sound very authentic. I am curious whether Roland will take legal action against the project.
They are known for their tendency to take action against emulations, for example, when people try to emulate the D50 with the original sample content or when the naming is too close to the original ones.
The Usual Suspects JE-8086 will be available soon. Release date TBA Join their Discord server to stay up to date. It will run as a VST, VST3, AU, CLAP, and LV2 plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel), Linux, and Windows.
More information here: The Usual Suspects (DSP56300)
how to get the Rom?
Pirate bay?
Roland website
hi, do you already have some alpha/beta version?
nope, please follow them on discord
OK! thanks!
Seems a very decent emulation. But without the code of the ROM it won’t do zilch, and no-one is at liberty to discuss the whereabouts of the ROM code on any public forum, right?
A grey area indeed.
you need the original firmware for it
For the other synths they’ve released, you download the original firmware from the company website (Waldorf, Nord, Access) and run it in the emulator.
I see. I was expecting with ‘ROM’ the developers pointed to some OS that was needed to run firmware, but it’s the actual firmware itself. Easy, if not the fact Roland didn’t release any firmware update for the JP-8080 afaik.
the firmware data is on the Roland website. The Usual Suspects created a DSP chip emulator for it.
Seek and ye shall find.
8000 is just sitting on Roland’s website.
The hard one to get, which I can’t locate so far, is the 8080 rom.
according to the devs, it will run both the 8000 and 8080
Look on the vintagesynth.com forum for a topic named
Roland JP-8080 (JP8080) OS Firmware Update
Thanks, can’t wait for the JP8080 emulator. The Virus emulators are fucking awesome.
You can’t use the files on the Roland website, you need to find a .bin file, i.e. an actual ROM, just like with the other emulations from The Usual Suspects. Those ones on the Roland site are only meant for UPDATING your existing firmware (ROM) inside the actual hardware. I.e. they’re MIDI files which just contain the data for an update. The emulator won’t work with these, as the files are not the firmware, just a patch.
How is the performance with these DSP simulations?
Is this usable for real projects or is it such an incredible achievement that eats too much CPU to be used by musicians?
The demo has 32 instances running.
That demo video is ace.