Togu Audio Line has released the TAL-J8X, an emulation of the Roland JX-8P analog Synthesizer for macOS, Linux, and Windows.
There are emulations for many vintage synthesizers. The PG-8X project offers a free emulation of the Roland JX-8P, but it hasn’t been updated in a long time. However, for those who can’t do without this legendary device, there’s good news.
Togu Audio Line, or TAL, has released TAL-J8X, a new Synthesizer plugin modeled on the Roland JX-8P from 1985.
TAL-J8X
Following the popular Juno, Alpha Juno II, SH-101, and Jupiter emulations, the next Roland synthesizer has now landed at Togu Audio Line.
TAL-J8X is an authentic emulation of the Roland JX-8P from 1985 for macOS, Linux, and Windows. According to TAL, it’s modeled on the revision 2 OS 3.1 of the original 80s hardware Synthesizer.
Like the original, it features two multi-wave DCOs with tuning options, as well as the famous cross-modulation (X-mod). Next to this, you can modulate the DCOs with an LFO or the envelope 1 or 2 with an inversion option and dynamics, aka velocity.
Interestingly, you can also turn the synth into a VCO synth thanks to the individual tuning option for every voice.
In the mixer section, you can set the perfect mix of both DCOs, which is also modulatable with either envelope 1 or envelope 2.
Then it goes into a filter section featuring recreation of the original resonant lowpass filter (Roland IR3R05) with cutoff and resonance controls, and of the non-resonant highpass filter. New in the J8X is a modern filter mode that allows self-oscillation.
The filter also features built-in modulation via the LFO, envelope 1 or 2, key follower, and dynamics.
On the modulation side, it has two modeled ADSR envelopes with key-follow, and a single multi-wave, sync-able LFO with rate and delay controls.
In the lower third, you can find the VCA section with velocity control, pitch bend, and mod-wheel control assignments, and a master section.
More Modern Features & Editor
Looking further down, you’ll find more interesting features. First, you can configure the voice setting between various poly, unison, and solo modes. Next to this, you can dial in the right unison amount.
Polyphonic aftertouch support with MPE support is also onboard, assignable to the vibrato, filter, and volume. Also onboard is a classic sycable multimode arpeggiator and a classic three-mode Roland-style chorus.
Via a secondary FX panel, you can also access a high-quality EQ, a delay, and a reverb effect. Neat, the plugin also supports microtuning with tun file import and the MTS client.
TAL-J8X ships with the original factory banks, along with more than 600 new presets from Electric Himalaya, Saif Sameer, Sound Author, Empty Vessel, and others.
As a welcome bonus, Togu Audio Line also built into it the ability to read Sysex files and Sysex MIDI from hardware devices (tone data from JX-8P, JX-10, MKS-70). On top, you can also control the hardware with it, as it sends Sysex through the plugin’s MIDI output.
First Impression
Togu Audio Line has released some great Roland emulations in the past. The Alpha Juno II and SH-101 emulations are among my favorites. I’m happy to see that a JP-8X emulation is back on the market after the freeware project was discontinued.
From the first demos, the TAL-J8X sounds very good. The additional features make perfect sense. It’s very welcome that they’ve also considered hardware owners with patch import and editor functions.
TAL-J8X is available now at an introductory price of 55,20€ instead of 69€ + VAT, valid until April 30, 2026. It runs as a VST, VST3, AU, AAX, and CLAP plugin on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
More information here: Togu Audio Line
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