Roland JD 800/990 – “Explorations Vol.3” Soundset 64 Presets

Description

Welcome to “Explorations Vol. 3 Soundset for Roland JD-800 by Saga Musix – https://sagamusix.de/

Also compatible with JD-990, JD-800 VST, Zenology and the JD-08!

Thank you for purchasing this sound set! With these sounds, I aim to explore all the many different faces of the JD-800, so you will find a diverse set of sounds, some more old-school, some with a more modern touch, some pads, some leads, some sound effects – it’s all there and I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Before you get started, here are some hints on how to use these patches:

1. Some patches use waveforms from the “String Ensemble” ROM card. An alternative version of the bank is provided which replaces these waveforms with built-in waves, but it is really recommended to get the ROM card for the most authentic reproduction of those patches.

2. Some patches contain optional layers for fatter or alternative sounds. This is indicated by muted tones being selected as active tones after loading a patch. So if layers A, C and D are used in a patch, but you see an arrow next to tone B in the display (or if you switch to active tone mode and you see tone B’s LED blinking), try unmuting that tone and see (hear) what it adds!

3. Plenty of patches make use of aftertouch. They are tuned to make use of the full aftertouch range, but many aging JD-800 aftertouch sensors rarely exceed values greater than 20 to 30 (out of 127), unless you press the keys really, really hard. You can make use of the full range by connecting an expression pedal to your JD-800. Edit aftertouch settings to your taste.

4. The JD-800 VST plugin and the JD-08 are not accurate emulations of the original hardware. They just approximate it using Roland’s latest Zen Core technology. As a result, many patches do not sound 100% as intended and small adjustments had to be made. For example, the way LFOs interact with the amp or filter is quite different, so especially patches with rhythmic elements are going to sound (quite) a bit different. Some patches originally also made use of the JD-800’s ability to pitch down a sample by 3 octaves through the pitch envelope for a lo-fi effect. This is not possible with Zen Core, so those patches sound a bit different.

64 amazing presets are waiting for you and ready to fill your compositions with new colors and inspire creativity.

From Ambient & Electronica to SynthWave & SynthPop with benefits of JD synthesis.

All instructions are included for easy loading.

Enjoy and may the music come with you!

Explorations Vol. 3
JD-800 patch bank (c) 2025 by Saga Musix – https://sagamusix.de/
Also compatible with JD-990, JD-800 VST, Zenology and the JD-08!

Notes
—–

Thank you for purchasing this sound set! With these sounds, I aim to explore all the many different faces of the JD-800,
so you will find a diverse set of sounds, some more old-school, some with a more modern touch, some pads, some leads,
some sound effects – it’s all there and I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Before you get started, here are some hints on how to use these patches:

1. Some patches use waveforms from the “String Ensemble” ROM card.
An alternative version of the bank is provided which replaces these waveforms with built-in waves, but it is really
recommened to get the ROM card for the most authentic reproduction of those patches.

2. Some patches contain optional layers for fatter or alternative sounds.
This is indicated by muted tones being selected as active tones after loading a patch.
So if layers A, C and D are used in a patch, but you see an arrow next to tone B in the display (or if you switch to
active tone mode and you see tone B’s LED blinking), try unmuting that tone and see (hear) what it adds!

3. Plenty of patches make use of aftertouch. They are tuned to make use of the full aftertouch range, but many aging
JD-800 aftertouch sensors rarely exceed values greater than 20 to 30 (out of 127), unless you press the keys really, really hard.
You can make use of the full range by connecting an expression pedal to your JD-800.
Edit aftertouch settings to your taste.

4. The JD-800 VST plugin and the JD-08 are not accurate emulations of the original hardware. They just approximate it
using Roland’s latest Zen Core technology.
As a result, many patches do not sound 100% as intended and small adjustments had to be made.
For example, the way LFOs interact with the amp or filter is quite different, so especially patches with rhythmic
elements are going to sound (quite) a bit different. Some patches originally also made use of the JD-800’s ability to
pitch down a sample by 3 octaves through the pitch envelope for a lo-fi effect. This is not possible with Zen Core, so
those patches sound a bit different.

Patch list
———-

Patch | Name | Category | Notes
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
1-1 | Echo Me… | Bell/Pad |
1-2 | Pulse Delight | Lead |
1-3 | Wavetable Pad | Pad |
1-4 | Hammer Voice | Pluck |
1-5 | Eighties | Lead |
1-6 | Spark&Tambou | FX | Three percussion instrument spread across the keyboard
1-7 | Digi Voices | Pad |
1-8 | Bass Gliss | Bass |
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
2-1 | They Saw It! | Pad |
2-2 | Movie Samples | Keys | Tone C uses a waveform from the “String Ensemble” ROM card.
2-3 | Tape Stop | FX |
2-4 | Breathy Flute | Lead |
2-5 | Pierce | FX |
2-6 | Belly | Bell |
2-7 | Aliens | FX |
2-8 | DX Harmonica | Lead |
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
3-1 | Action Scene! | FX | LFO2 of Tone B controls the tempo of the action arpeggio.
3-2 | Layer Bell | Bell/Pad | Wavestation-like bell pad
3-3 | Synthesis | Pad/FX |
3-4 | Bender Chords | Pad | Inspired by a patch from the JD-08 “Fauna” bank
3-5 | Eternity | Pad | Inspired by HERCs Abakos “Eternal Glow” preset
3-6 | 2nd Eternity | Pad |
3-7 | Clarity | Pad | Inspired by D-50 “Aurora Digitalis” patch by Andreas J
3-8 | Low End | Bass |
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
4-1 | RhythmHammers | FX |
4-2 | Stomper | Bass |
4-3 | Classic Arps | Pad |
4-4 | Megashira | Lead | Inspired by the track of the same name
4-5 | Thin Supersaw | Pad |
4-6 | Dee Ex Brass | Lead |
4-7 | Happy Pulse | Lead |
4-8 | AnalgLandscpe | Pad |
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
5-1 | Depth | Pad |
5-2 | Syntar | Guitar |
5-3 | Filter Shower | Pad |
5-4 | Longing | Pad |
5-5 | New Age Piano | Keys/Pad |
5-6 | Water Slide | Pad |
5-7 | Dulled | Keys |
5-8 | Electricity | Pad |
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
6-1 | Winding Down | Pad |
6-2 | Bellisimo | Bell/Pad | Tones A and B use a waveform from the “String Ensemble” ROM card.
6-3 | Crystal Ocean | Pad | Inspired by D-50 “Crystal Ocean” patch by Andreas J
6-4 | D!RT | Bass |
6-5 | Fantasy | Bell/Pad | Tone D can be disabled if more polyphony is needed.
6-6 | BrasStrings | Brass/Pad |
6-7 | Chop 800 | Pad | Inspired by “D-50 CHOP” patch by Carl Johnson
6-8 | WasIstPhaser? | Bass |
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
7-1 | Analog Lab | FX |
7-2 | Space Travel | Pad |
7-3 | Cuckoo Clock | FX |
7-4 | Comfort Vox | Pad |
7-5 | Tek Chords | Pluck | Inspired by Genesis VSTi
7-6 | Double Fifths | Pad |
7-7 | Piano Sweep | Keys | Inspired by a Motif XF patch
7-8 | 90sPianoLayers | Keys | Inspired by Korg Triton combi “Layered M1 Piano”
——+—————-+———–+————————————————————————————
8-1 | Sweetness | Bell |
8-2 | Smooth Bass | Bass |
8-3 | Expectations | Pad |
8-4 | Calm Waves | Pad |
8-5 | Dark Choir | Pad | Inspired by “Drifting” (JD-800 VST preset patch)
8-6 | Cushions | Pad |
8-7 | Tranquility | Pad |
8-8 | Dark Piano | Keys/Pad | Inspired by Proteus 1 “Heaven” patch

How to use this sound set
————————-

JD-800 / JD-990: Open the .SYX files with your favourite SysEx tool (e.g. SendSX or MIDI-OX) and send it to the
synthesizer. This will overwrite all internal patches, so back them up via SysEx or copy them to a RAM card first.

JD-800 Plugin: Click the PATCH button, then click LOAD and load the .BIN file

Zenology: In the Tone/Drum Kit Browser, click the IMPORT button and load the .SVZ file.

JD-08: Note that this process will overwrite any custom patches, sequences, etc. so you will have to back them up first:
https://static.roland.com/manuals/jd-08_reference/eng/17812183.html
After you have backed up your JD-08, follow the instructions detailed in the manual to load the JD08Backup.svd file
included in your purchase: https://static.roland.com/manuals/jd-08_reference/eng/17812038.html
Banks A and B contain the usual presets, and patches from this sound set can be found in bank D.
If you have any custom patches and want to you use them at the same time as this sound set, you can combine them into
a new JD08Backup.svd file by using JDTools (https://github.com/sagamusix/JDTools). In this case, it is recommended to
take your own JD08Backup.svd and add the patches from the JD-800 plugin version. For example, if your own patches are
stored in bank D, you could add the patches from this sound set to bank C like so:
JDTools.exe convert svd “Saga Musix – Explorations Vol. 1.bin” JD08Backup.svd C
Please read the JDTools manual for more information.

License
——-

We all hate those endless license agreements, so let’s make it short and painless:

– You are allowed to use these sounds in music productions (which include soundtracks of films, video productions,
radio / TV programs or commercials, computer games and multimedia presentations, library music), public performances,
and other reasonable musical purposes within musical compositions.
– You may use the sounds on any number of compatible devices or plugins that you own.
– You may modify the sounds and may use the sounds for commercial purposes as part of a musical composition with other
sounds.
– You may NOT use the sounds in isolation within any competitive product that is sold, redistributed or relicensed to
third parties. That includes e.g. other patch banks or sample libraries.
– This license is not transferable to third parties. Exception: If you sell your JD-800 or other compatible device, you
may give this patch bank to the new owner, provided that you no longer have any means of using it (i.e. you cannot do
this if you decide to sell your JD-990 but keep using the patches on a JD-08 at the same time).
You must delete any remaining copies of this patch bank on your own devices in that case.

Creating these patches was a lot of work over the course of several months, so please adhere to these few simple rules and don’t pirate this patch bank.

The newest products