Roland Zenology from $30/year

The Jupiter X’s ZEN-Core engine arrives in your DAW. Si Truss asks if this generous collection is a Roland Cloud-buster?

- Si Truss

CONTACT WHO: Roland WEB: roland.com KEY FEATURES PCM and virtual analogue synth engine. Base version comes with 3000 sounds and 90+ effects. Free version with 300 sounds also available. Can be expanded with sound packs starting at $0.99

Roland have unveiled a significant update to how their Cloud subscription service works, introducing a new three-tiered pricing structure largely modeled around a single new instrument – Zenology. Rather than just offering emulation of a single classic from the brand’s past, as most current Roland Cloud instruments do, the Zenology plugin is an expandable sound engine capable of creating everything from pianos and organs to drums and percussion.

While the plugin itself is new, the tech behind it – Roland’s ZEN-Core engine – first appeared last year, in several instruments including the MC-707 and Jupiter X. Zenology is effectively a straight port of that same sound engine, making use of a mix of PCM samples and virtual analogue synthesis in order to generate sounds.