Jun Murakami - Synth-80 (MKS-80)

[Echoes in the Attic]

I'm not very familiar with the original, but I understand it's a sort of a rackmount version of a jupiter-6 but with 8 voices. Is that more or less true or do those that are familiar feel it has it's own character?

[starflakeprj]

I guess I don't see the point in playing a synth from within a browser but to each their own.

Anyway I've tried the demo and it does sound good although limited compared to other synths in my collection. I probably won't make a purchase at this time but it seems worth the $59.

I think it's a genius way to be able to get the feel of how the synth sounds.

[Teksonik]

It's just a way to demo it!

I think it's a genius way to be able to get the feel of how the synth sounds.

But you're not demoing the plugin. How stable it is on your system and in your DAWs, CPU demand under real world conditions, how does the GUI look when resized to your personal specifications, etc, etc, etc. I need to get my grubby hands on it to make a fair evaluation.

I suppose if the synth really sucks it might save you the time of downloading the demo but a quick go at the video should tell that right away.

Like I said to each their own, just not for me.

[Weasel-Boy]

I realize we are in a scalable vector graphic world these days, particularly when it comes to Plug-in graphics. So I understand why the Synth-80's UI looks like it does.

This is a vector drawing I did in Adobe Illustrator of my own MKS-80 (that currently sits in a rack in my studio). I drew it because (A) Vector renderings are hobby of mine and (B) I have always had a great deal of admiration for Roland's sense of Industrial Design. Their hardware always looked cool.

Screenshot 2026-06-27 at 2.30.29 PM.png

I would've loved to see a bit more of the original ID design in this unit's UI (particularly because I know it can be done in vector)....but that's OK because Synth-80 sounds like the real thing to me. And it's the sound that counts.

I dropped the vector only version on the bottom for comparison.

[pekbro]

This is pretty cool, probably pick it up

[Teksonik]

I realize we are in a scalable vector graphic world these days, particularly when it comes to Plug-in graphics. So I understand why the Synth-80's UI looks like it does.

This is a vector drawing I did in Adobe Illustrator of my own MKS-80 (that currently sits in a rack in my studio). I drew it because (A) Vector renderings are hobby of mine and (B) I have always had a great deal of admiration for Roland's sense of Industrial Design. Their hardware always looked cool.
Screenshot 2026-06-27 at 2.30.29 PM.png
I would've loved to see a bit more of the original ID design in this unit's UI (particularly because I know it can be done in vector)....but that's OK because Synth-80 sounds like the real thing to me. And it's the sound that counts.

I dropped the vector only version on the bottom for comparison.

Damn, someone needs to hire you. The top image is dead sexy.......

[Deisss]

I wanted to see this for sooooo long. Will test it asap.

[whassup]

Damn, someone needs to hire you. The top image is dead sexy.......

Oh yes, fully agree! That is head and shoulders above many GUIs.

[Benedict]

I really liked that I could try the synth right there in my browser before committing to anything. I am surprised that so few offer this. Esp those who decline to offer d'loable demo versions before payment (which this does not do to us).

The sound is impressive. I was not able to easily clone in Europa, which I tend to be able to do with most things.

I do not love the Roland architecture, which puts me off - but the "advisory wires" is a nice helpful touch.

This sort of sound in a more open and adaptable format would be interesting.

[Uncle E]

It has a very clicky attack that's difficult to get away from, particularly when you increase the resonance. Is that how the hardware is?

No

[Uncle E]

Is that more or less true or do those that are familiar feel it has it's own character?

MKS-80's are duller than Jupiter-6's and less warm than Jupiter-8's. I owned them because they were cheap, not because they were good.

[EvilDragon]

Shots fired.

[Deisss]

Is that more or less true or do those that are familiar feel it has it's own character?

MKS-80's are duller than Jupiter-6's and less warm than Jupiter-8's. I owned them because they were cheap, not because they were good.

It depends which rev you got. This vst is said to be modeled after rev 4 (it's written in the doc), which is my favorite of the 2.

Very good emulation overall, still keeping my HW but it's close enough, much better to see this than a million new copy of the Prophet

[beely]

This is a vector drawing I did in Adobe Illustrator of my own MKS-80 (that currently sits in a rack in my studio). I drew it because (A) Vector renderings are hobby of mine and (B) I have always had a great deal of admiration for Roland's sense of Industrial Design.

*Really* nice job on that, and I started to do some of these for similar reasons - to stretch my graphics/design chops, learn vector drawing (and Affinity in particular) and improve (I'm not really an artist), and to explore and enjoy some of these products design language...

Here's an example:
.

a_mks70.png

My virtual rack is growing out quite nicely...

I would've loved to see a bit more of the original ID design in this unit's UI (particularly because I know it can be done in vector)....

I think this is partly a cultural thing though - I've seen other Japanese apps/plugins use a similar design style, so I think it's more popular, partly I guess as it's slightly stylised/cartoon-ey, and Japanese culture is so infused with anime and that kind of style it's probably represented in people's design styles and approaches to UIs...