PROMARS

Name: PROMARS
Price: 99 USD
Author: Roland

by Roland · Synth · PROMARS analog monosynth emulation

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PROMARS is Roland's software version of the rare 1979 PROMARS monosynth, with two VCOs and dual sub-oscillators for thick, detuned sounds.

It adds an arpeggiator, reverb, delay and bit-crusher, and PLUG-OUT support for SYSTEM-1 and SYSTEM-8; it comes with Roland Cloud membership.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Bass, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Pop.

Keywords: monophonic, arpeggiator, thick, simple, 70s, analog, fat, basses, hardware emulation, leads, sound design, subtractive, tempo-synced.

What it does

PROMARS recreates Roland's rare 1979 "Compuphonic" monosynth, a sibling of the JUPITER-4 known for a thick, rich voice. Roland built it from the original design specs and a part-by-part analysis of each analog circuit.

Dual VCOs: two oscillators with saw, square, saw+sub, square+sub and sub waveforms over an extended 64' to 2' range; detuning them gives a unison chorus that Roland says sounds like a four-VCO synth.
Pulse width: PWM from manual, LFO, filter envelope or amp envelope, with full control of pulse width and noise.
Filters: a high-pass filter and a resonant low-pass with key follow, LFO and envelope modulation, and its own ADSR.
Amp: a VCA with its own ADSR, a tone control and bit-crusher depth.
LFO: sine, saw, inverted saw, square and random (sample and hold) shapes, with rate, delay and key trigger.
Effects and arp: reverb, tempo-synced delay and bit-crusher, and an arpeggiator with six patterns (one or two octaves up, down or up-and-down) in straight or triplet steps.
Play controls: portamento, legato, key assign, bend range and tuning from 430 to 450 Hz; 64 patches per bank.
PLUG-OUT: runs inside SYSTEM-1, SYSTEM-1m and SYSTEM-8 hardware for hands-on control and patch transfer.

It runs at 44.1 to 192 kHz. Roland offers it through Roland Cloud membership with a 30-day free trial.

Source: Roland product page

When to use it

PROMARS is a single monophonic voice built for weight: two detuned VCOs plus sub-oscillators give fat basses and leads with very few controls. Compared with Diva it is far simpler and has no polyphony, but it gets a big vintage Roland mono sound in seconds. Compared with Serum 2 and Vital it has no wavetables or modulation matrix; it suits players who want classic analog tone rather than sound design. Against Roland's own SYSTEM-100 it has no patching, but it is quicker to dial in. One user comparison with a Jupiter-4 found it close in tone but missing the hardware's VCA saturation.

Best for: thick mono basses, PWM leads and simple arpeggiated lines.
Genres: synth-pop, electronic, techno, synthwave and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you need polyphony (JUPITER-8 or JUNO-60) or deep modulation (Serum 2, Phase Plant).
Tip: tune the two oscillators a fifth apart for maximum thickness, and send pulse width to an envelope for movement.

What producers say

Users praise its fat, simple sound; the main criticisms are small differences from the hardware and fiddly mouse editing.

Absolute Music gave the PLUG-OUT 5 stars, praising its "VERY FAT" low end, simple layout with "No Sub menus" and useful reverb and delay.
MATRIXSYNTH comparison set it against a hardware Jupiter-4 and found it close, but called the missing VCA level slider a "Big failure" because it removes the hardware's saturation.
Criticisms: the same comparison found mouse editing touchy, as "the smallest movement" changes the sound too much.

Where to buy

Plugin Boutique: $99
Roland: see store

Tutorials and reviews

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