Waiting for Mac Apple Silicon native VST3 version. The plugin sounds great. Will donate as soon as the Mac version is released.
Read ReviewReviewed By cedriccampays [all]
March 8th, 2024
Version reviewed: 2.0.13 on Mac
Best synth pad VST ever. I miss it so much since I'm on Mac M1. Can we except an update to make it work again ? would be wonderfull. <3.
Read ReviewSo desperate for an update to be able to use it on MAC M1-M2.
This is one of the best .vst synth I've used! Thank you for creating it.
Read ReviewReviewed By VELLTONE MUSIC [all]
February 22nd, 2024
Version reviewed: 1 on Windows
Best retro synth ever - the ratio price / quality is unbeatable :).
I wish to see upgrade or future development as commercial synth.
Read ReviewGood sound; nice interface, free ... what are you waiting for ?
lot of presets stack, but unfortunately not factory .. you must create your own .. at least with me .
Thanks to the creator, it's largely useful. I use it in some of my tracks.
Try it !!.
Read ReviewReviewed By Swordnspade1 [all]
June 22nd, 2021
Version reviewed: 2021 on Windows
One of the best free synth plugins imho. Very lush filters and chorus. can also get very powerful / epic sounding. Definitely download this one.
Read ReviewReviewed By dreamywise [all]
January 28th, 2019
Version reviewed: 2.0.13 on Windows
I like how easily I can make a synth brass on this. Have everything I need and it's sounds powerful.
Read ReviewReviewed By pestomusic [all]
August 21st, 2016
Version reviewed: 1.0.0 on Mac
I'll keep this one short because the main points have already been mentioned by my fellow KVR reviewers below.
In short: yes, this does sound like a Roland synth - actually, it's the very first to do so in the virtual world besides Roland's very own products. No, I haven't used a JX synth in the past but a couple of other analogue Roland synths and the PG-8X shares the same rubbery, lush and fat character inherent to Roland synths. Similar to TAL's synths, this one is worth it for the chorus alone.
I acknowledge that presets are crucial for many, so the PG-8X being sysex patch compatible with the real thing opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Aside from the original factory banks that Martin supplies, you can find hundreds of patches on the internet. As I am more of a roll-your-own guy when it comes to synth sounds, I found the surface nicely laid out and inviting for tweakers. Making a vibrant pad is a matter of seconds, making massive bass patches is so, too. And the thing is: it instantly sounds like Roland. Right there in your DAW. For free. That's simply amazing - especially if it doesn't set you back 150€ if you purchase from other devs with a similar claim.
I'm a Mac-Head as well (AU only at that) so I'm using an older beta with all its quirks. But since I could not believe that you'd get such a quality plugin for free, I donated to Martin in order to support further development. I suggest you do the same if you're after a Mac AU version as well. On top of that, Martin is a very responsive developer (just read the dedicated forums) and seems to be a very nice guy - so there are even more reasons to support indie devs like him rather than the big corps. If he comes up with a virtual MKS-70 or models another Roland synth of yesteryear, I'll be the first in line to buy it without a prior demo run.
Read ReviewReviewed By lionscub68 [all]
July 5th, 2012
Version reviewed: 1.02 on Windows
Version reviewed: beta thru 1.02
This reviewer is old enough to say, I've been around. I've owned three JX-series synths, and am intimate with the character of the sounds & quirks of each.
When I discovered the PG-8X here on KVR as a passing post, I got excited. Then a little crestfallen when it was stated to be a PC-only VST, and I'm a Machead. However, with a little tenacity, you CAN make it work on a Mac, using VFX V-Machine software (up to OS X 10.7.x), which is a blessing. Using this configuration and some tricky headphone out --> audio interface in --> Ableton Live/Logic Pro audio path, it's relatively painless. As of this writing, the author (Martin) is working on a Mac VST.
On to the quality -- yes, I did give it a 10 out of 10. The interface is not too clunky; in fact it is modeled after the Roland's very own PG-800 proprietary hardware programmer, which was intended for the JX series of synths. With this interface and my patch sheets, I was able to dial up a few of my own custom patches with 100% accuracy; the sounds were an exact replica of the JX8P! And for those who care: yes, I do have patch sheets of my patches from the 80s and 90s, thanks to pre-internet studio record keeping.
Sound quality is outstanding and beautiful. Very little latency. It is so convincing as a JX emulation, I find myself hitting the keys kind of hard to trigger some of the nuances that are buried in certain JX patches. If you have ever owned a JX8P, JX-10, or MKS-70, you understanding exactly what I'm talking about here about the tactile response. Point is, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever about the PG-8X's ability to emulate the JX8P. It is an accurate emulation.
Initially I had a problem with some of my patches clipping; but after some research & memory recall in my own brain, it was not the fault of the PG-8X, but rather from a setting I had on my own personal JX8P "back in the day." The hardware JX-8P had an impedance switch of the back of the unit labeled "Level" with three settings: L-M-H (Low, Medium, High) for the stereo 1/4" outputs. Chances are I had mine set to Low or Medium. So naturally when I entered my program patch and it occasionally clipped, the simple fix was to turn down the VCA Amp level to a more comfortable non-clipping level. If you get clipping, any at all, it's due a combination of what the original programmer (like me) and their JX8P's level switch set too low when designing the sound in the first place.
To stress and prove this point: If you have any clipping at all with a patch? Turn down the VCA AMP LEVEL, known as the JX8P menu item 61. Example: download my patch titled "RUMBLEFISH" here (http://home.earthlink.net/~finnkit/), and program it into the PG-8X. You'll find it occasionally clips. Currently the setting I have in Rumblefish patch for the VCA Amp Level is 99 (out of 99). Turn it down to around 70; and miracle of miracles, no more clipping! This clipping issue is not any fault of the plugin. It is due to huge number of legacy patches that contain overdriven VCA levels. So no points against the plugin here. This is what us pre-VST folks had to deal with in the real world back in pre-DAW history, using hardware synths.
Supposedly the plugin has the ability to load legacy patch and or bank dumps from sysex MIDI files, which is a blessing! Unfortunately I cannot test it at this time to verify this (see above: I'm a Machead).
Martin was even thoughtful to include an extra noise generator to simulate the notoriously noisy chorus that is built into the Roland JX and Juno series. This was also sold separately as Boss CE-300 rack unit chorus around the same period in time. Martin plans to release a separate chorus plugin using this code. And yes, just hearing that noise (which has a level control and off setting) does trigger some nostalgia. But thank goodness you can switch it off, and keep that digital purity in your DAW.
There is the ability to switch patches from the GUI, which is a benefit especially if you are using Ableton Live. This feature is unstable using smaudiopro.com's VFX Mac app, however that is the fault of VFX, not this plugin. Of course this will probably be a non-issue once there is a Mac version of the VST. A better, more intuitive (and visually representative of the JX8P's display) patch selection seems to be coming in a future update, as hinted by teaser pictures of a modified GUI on the ML-VST Facebook page.
The quality setting in the hidden panel is fantastic - I do hear a discernible difference as I go up in quality without much hit on the CPU. I also love the voice usage counter, especially when you can tell when a voice has been released.
There are just a few things I wish the plugin did have:
Those wishes aside, Martin has managed to create a truly accurate emulation of the JX8P. The proof is in the pudding by personally comparing my custom patches & old recordings from the 80s and 90s of my old JX8P versus the same sounds programmed in the PG-8X; if that's not enough, then listen to the venerable SOUNDTRACK patch, which simultaneously shakes the windows and shimmers like water; he nailed it! Thanks, Martin!
If you haven't done so already, open up your virtual wallets and pocketbooks and donate to the development of this plugin, you one you didn't know you needed until today. And do so quickly before some larger VST company purchases the rights for this emulation from Martin (and proceed to royally screw it up... cough cough Arturia cough cough).
Martin also has a Facebook page dedicated to the updates: http://www.facebook.com/MLVST
Looking forward to reviewing the Mac version!
Read ReviewLatest 9 reviews from a total of 9
Felicitaciones!! Congratulations! PG8 has the 2 most important that every synth must have: many different sounds together, and easy to use panel. Just I suggest work more on the skin... Cheers!
Love this synth with the kujashi banks.Excellent!
how do you import these .fxb, it says to me that they are not for this plugin...
Not entirely sure if you've gotten an answer yet, but there's two versions-- the older, cream toned UI, and a newer, beta plugin with a cold gray UI. If the FBX won't work with one version, then it should load in the other.
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Wonderful synth, the sounds are very credible, the last skin is fantastic.
https://soundcloud.com/emanuele-ballasina/retro.
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Amazing work. Thanks for this.
I have down loaded patches. How do i hear them in Reaper? I have the PG8X up on a track.
Thank you, .
angster.
Could you, please, tell me which version you downloaded, and which patch files?
Currently, there is a bit confusion, as there is also the new beta version, which does not understand the old *.fxb patches.
Cheers, .
Martin.
I am afraid I have the the new beta martin. Please tell me what version I should download and I will go get it. Thank you so much.
For the new beta, all the sysex files (*.syx) will work. If I find some time this weekend, I will convert the other bank to *.syx as well.
The old version is the one on my google-sites page, if you follow the link further up on this page.
nice synth! found it through a tutorial on computer music youtube channel, :D.
For anyone who loves that synth, I really, really recommend to head over to developer's site, find his Dropbox and download JX8PBNK preset banks. They are amazing. Simple, beautiful, characteristic, effective.
Any chance you could post the link Couldn't find it :(.
That's a very generous collection. Thanks for sharing the link.
MANY THANKS to all schraubers!.
This really sounds amazing..
This thing is astounding. I have a real JX-8P, did an A/B comparison of patches, and this VST is like 95% there. Pad and string sounds are the best, they're almost indistinguishable. Brass sounds aren't quite as perfect, but still sound great in their own right. Some patches that make prominent use of the LFO, and especially high bell-type patches, were fairly obviously not alike, but still very close. The plugin on those patches sounds brighter and too precise (for lack of a better term), The real JX-8P's LFO seems lazier, as do the envelopes. This emulation even emulates the little sound the gate makes when it closes on some patches. All in all, as good as commercial stuff, easily, and probably the only way you're getting the classic Roland sound in your DAW these days (affordably, anyway).
In the late 80s/early 90s I owned a much-beloved MKS70 and the PG800 programmer. I'm pretty familiar with the sounds of the JX series, so I'll just say that I love this plugin, and that the other reviews are spot-on. Btw, I'm not running Windows here, I'm a Linux guy using the plugin with the excellent Airwave bridge. Works flawlessly in Bitwig for Linux.
This is just a beautiful synth! I'm Amazed that it's free/D.W. I love the classic Roland sounds, and this seems to nail those. It's very analog-y. So many great patches available, too. And...midi-learn-that's always a clincher for me. Along with low CPU usage, 64-bit availability and inspiring GUI, it's become a definite favorite of mine. Thank you very much Mr. Luders.
Somebody wrote about the issues with crashes in cubase sx3, but I didn't find the solution. It works nicely under vsthost, but when I touch it in cubase sx3 everything vanishes. (win xp sp2)
Somebody wrote about the issues with crashes in cubase sx3, but I didn't find the solution. It works nicely under vsthost, but when I touch it in cubase sx3 everything vanishes. (win xp sp2)
Now I tested it under win xp3 and cubase sx2 and it works flawless there. Do i have to install sp3 ?
Unfortunately, I do not have Cubase SX2 to investigate the problem.
hallo martin_l, so i spend some time with PG8X and this is what I came up with:
the latest version works with cubase sx2 under win xp sp3.
under win xp sp2 it works with vsthost but not in cubase sx3.
I tried diferent versions.
PG8X-05-11-2014.dll YES works but unison stuck note
PG8X-12-11-2014.dll YES
PG8X_2016-01-31 NO
PG8X_2015-04-26.dll NO
PG8X_2015-02-22.dll NO.
may be its some use for you.
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Thanks so much Martin! great great job.
To my dearest brother Martin: Man, this is a true thing of beauty! You obviously are a truly creative soul down here making God look good! Bless you, Brother!
One question, though: How do I actually get the learned cc numbers to be remembered? Neither the "Write Values" or "Make Default" seems to prevent everything from being forgotten once I close and re-open an instance or even the project in Ableton. Any insight?
How do you do the MIDI Learn? Do you use the plugin's system, or are you using the DAW's MIDI Learn capability?
If you use the plugin, the settings should be stored per patch. You can also make them default settings. Have a look at the manual, for the details.
If this still does not work, please let me know.
I do it directly in the plugin and exactly as described in the manual. Neither writing to patch or "make default" works. If I change a patch, re-instantiate, or close the project down and re-open, I lose my controller mappings. I use Ableton Live and Cubase 8.5. This functionality seems to not work in either. Even tried different build numbers of the plug. If it helps, I'm using Windows 7. Please help me, Brother......
I'm having the exact same problem here, 32-bit version running in Reaper on Windows 10. I would also like to know if I'm doing something wrong or if I'll have to live with this already amazing plugin as-is. Cheers to the developer.
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Greetings to you!! I'm still having problems loading the presets into the PG-8X. Can you share with me the step-by-step process for loading the presets?? Many Thanks!.
Did a video for you.
https://youtu.be/_2Q7o134CAM.
In addition to the excellent Vospi's reply:
it would be nice to give a very important precision : which DAW do you use? The process to load presets is sometimes a bit different from a DAW to another.
Well, loading a preset through the DAW's system is DAW dependent.
The procedure shown in the video should work in any DAW, as it is handled by the plugin itself.
not working for me in Logic Pro X....when i transfer VST file to VST folder in Logic its not showing up in the list of virtual instruments.
Logic Pro X only accepts AU's. It cannot load VST. I am still struggling getting the AU version ready. You might try the standalone APP and route MIDI and Audio to that. Should work.
Thank you for replay....Actually Logic Pro X has VST folder but obviously something is not working right. I will try App again, i couldn't get it to work either but will give another try....thanks again.
Logic Pro, version 7 and up, uses AudioUnits only. VSTs will absolutely not work under any circumstance in Logic Pro on the Macintosh, period, whether you see a folder there or not.
App is working fine, thanks.
I haven't been able to get any sound not get the app version for mac to respond to any MIDI information. I'm running logic pro x and reason 8. if you have any plans for an AU please let us know. I hear nothing but great things and am excited to check it out.
I am planning to resurrect the AU, but at the moment cant find any time for that.
In order to get the App working, you will probably need something like soundflower and also need to put the routing in place in the AUDIO and MIDI setup of the operating system.
anyone having luck to run pg8x as controller on midiman MIDI sport 4x4 ? i use midiquest exported dll as vstI controller but i want to run pg8x ... it runs much faster ... thanks for the help ! :) cubase 5 user i have dedicated MIDI out just for jx8p and enable sysex in cubase and in jx8p ...
Do you have to load all syx files individually?
Also, anyone know a nice string soundbank. I want to play Love Theme from Mulholland Drive which a lot of people say was played on this synth. It's a strings sound.
Dear Martin, AU Mac (for us Logic X stuffs) still, pretty please ? :)
Thank you so much for you efforts, Sp.
Now I'm not known for my abject stupidity but I'm obviously doing something wrong here. I want to map this marvelous synthesizer to my BCR2000. I've already done it with a number of other synths (OBXD was particularly successful) and the PG-8X seems to be no different, but no matter what combinations I try it loses the mapping every time I come out of it and reload it.
Right click the fader and assign the knob by turning and the fader moves, so check.
Press the Write Values button and it loses the assignment on reload.
Or press the Make Default button and it loses assignment on reload.
Save the pad. and reload. No joy.
Save the bank and reload. No joy.
What am I doing wrong here?
I'm having the exact same problem here, 32-bit version running in Reaper on Windows 10. I would also like to know if I'm doing something wrong or if I'll have to live with this already amazing plugin as-is. Cheers to the developer.
You originally replied to my post from 2017. I see I'm not the only one who is having mapping issues. Please, if anyone else is having any of these types of problems, I'd love to know. Especially if you could even remotely guess at what the cause of the problem. I'm 64-bit, by the way.
If this helps anyone in debugging: there is a pg-8x.map file that is getting updated correctly as far as I can tell (assigning CC 7 to cutoff with min of 0 and max of 5, clicking "Make default" and re-loading the VST results in file contents of 20 7 0 0.5 but incoming CC 7 messages still have no effect).
Does anyone know why the 'JX-8P Original Banks' file at the top has the init patch for the 1st bank (32 patches)? These would be the internal JX-8P factory sounds... but they're strangely absent (although the correct patch names are displayed).
On the hardware, the ROM patches are in banks P and -P, which map to programmes 65-128.
Bank 1-32 corresponds to patches on an external cartridge and 33-64 are the internal programmable patches.
I kept the numbering of the bank so that MIDI files containing programme change messages work correctly.
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Hi Martin, .
FANTASTIC work on this. I have a JX-8P and this has breathed new life into it! I made a small donation to your paypal account on your site.
That said, I'm having a few issues:
1) Certain preset patches will not be picked up by the JX-8p- cycling through some of the excellent patches I've found online, some of the patches will simply not trigger a program change on the JX-8P. Any thoughts on this?
2) Certain patches seem to trigger a faint stuck note. I can try to provide examples.
3) I'm unable to send midi from the JX-8P to the pg-8x. can you provide some guidance on how to set that up?
Hi, .
thanks for the donation. About the issues you find: Could you give me some more information?
which OS are you on?
which DAW are you using?
To be more specific about your questins?
1) What do you mean by "not picked up"? Is it whole banks which are not working, or do you have banks where only single patches are not working? If so, could you, please, send me an example. Please be aware of the "strange" layout of the programme numbers in the JX-8P: 1-32: Cartidge, 33-64: Internal, 65-96: Preset P, 97-128: Preset -P.
2) Yes, an example would be very helpful.
3) If you are talking about sending SYSEX, you need to make sure that.
a) they are on the same MIDI channel (All in PG-8X will not do)
b) your DAW is not filtering out SYSEX.
c) check in your JX-8P MIDI settings whether SYSEX and PROG-change etc is enabled.
Amazing work.
Thanks so much Martin.
My wish for the PG8x = PWM.
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Hi Martin, this VST is amazing. I'm curious if you will make an emulation of the Super JX/JX-10/MKS-70 since you've done a really good job with this. Is it possible? Thanks.
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Hi All.
I downloaded this sometime ago and I've just started messing around with it. What a great VST Synth emulation this is. Is there any easy way of getting the factory presets into it - I can play synth and program them, but I'm not too familiar with sysex - if that's whats needed to load the sounds, so I will need a spoon feed. Any paper patch diagrams, I don't mind going in the hard way!!.
Cheers.
Marakas.
Hey there, .
I guess the have original banks right on this page in the Banks section (top of the page), don't they?
I didn't test them, but maybe they would work for you? :).
Gracias por los presets.
Great 80s sounding VST but isnt the default output volume set very low? (at least compared to all my other vsts) Even with vca level set to 99 with some presets its still pretty quiet. It also seems to crash when I import the orginal jx8p banks thats uploaded here: https://www.kvraudio.com/banks.php?s=one&id=3200
Is it possible to automatically load up default presets/banks when the VST is started?
Excellent sound synth! Kujashi and Drewdale64 are good banks. You should adjust envelope 2 release, for some presets it is too long.
Hi, .
I've just found PG-8X and am very excited! Thank you very much Mr. Lüder! The sounds are great.
I feel that I must be doing something incorrectly because I'm having a bit of a problem and am hoping that someome could please explain to me what's happening:
when I load one of the sound banks - some of the patches work - which is great, but some patches, even though the correct name appears on the display e.g., Soundtrack, become INIT patches.
I've noticed that when the bank loads;
the last patches in the bank appear in the display appear first;
only the first patches in the bank become init patches;
if I close PG-8x and reload a single patch, the patches from the previously loaded bank will appear to load (will display) but will be INIT patches.
This will happen after I close my DAW too.
I'm using Reaper 6.13 and MacOS Catalina Quad Core i7.
Please let me know if I'm missing a step somewhere - so keen to try the original patches out in all their glory.
Thanks for reading every/any/one :).
Regards, .
I have the same issues as above - the first few patches all sound the same; the later patches have the correct sounds. If anyone can upload a new set of JX8P factory presets on sysex, which work fully with the latest version of PG8X, that would be great!!.
Yes! Same problem, it's a shame cause these samples are awesome! I have all the sounds from piano 4 and up, but the sounds that are before piano 4 is the default PG-8X sound, is this still relevant? As i would love to here the rest! I'm trying to recreate Elton john's Steinway sound from the mid 80's that was midi-retrofitted with the J8-XP.
How do you load the files into the VST?
I have downloaded a set of banks which contains RAM and ROM banks in sysx format.
When I try to load them via VST drop down box (top left in synth vst) it telss me they are not valid VST banks???
Hello everyone.
Have you all heard the news that Steinberg discontinues VST2 plugins beginning with Cubase 12 which is scheduled to hit the market in 2022?
They will only support VST3 plugins from now on. So I was wondering whether there will be an update tp pg-8x as a VST3 version...
Does anyone have contact to Martin Lüders?
Best regards
Mike.
From what I could gather, he was last seen in November 2021 on the KVRAudio forum. It was in his topic for PG-8X.
https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=463227&start=630
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Great sound.
I've recently been exploring and comparing every VST synth I can get my hands on.
And its SURPRISING to me, how rare it seems to be to get a CLEAN SOUND.
The new massive X sounds WORSE compared to the original. Its muddy.
This VST makes a great CLEAN sound, with plenty of patches. Thank you.
If anybody is wondering why you cant get it to load PG8Xbank or PG8Xpreset patches, YOU CANNOT RENAME THE PATCHES.
That apparently breaks them. You can rename Syx patches. But not the internal format.
Renaming the patches or banks doesn't affect them. They can still be loaded into PG-8X without problems.
How do I download this for windows it shows nothing in the download file only for windows download.
truly hoping for a VST3 and Apple Silicon compatible version, since this emulation is top.
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