XILS 505

Name: XILS 505
Price: 49 USD
Author: XILS-lab

by XILS-lab · Synth · Roland RS-505 string machine emulation

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XILS 505 emulates the Roland RS-505 paraphonic string machine, with string, synth, bass and human voice sections.

It includes a quadruple BBD ensemble, phaser and reverb, for €49 on sale (about $55.64).

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

Keywords: strings, basses, hardware emulation, ensemble, vintage, paraphonic, 70s, analog, choir, BBD, modulation matrix, monophonic, pads, polyphonic, brass, cinematic, sound design, subtractive, textures.

What it does

XILS 505 is XILS-lab's model of the late-1970s Roland RS-505 Paraphonic, a string machine that Roland marketed as "The Analog Orchestra". It keeps the top-octave-divider sound of the original, but opens up hidden hardware parameters and adds new ones, including paraphonic attacks the hardware could not do.

Oscillator: an aliasing-free top-octave-divider (TOD) oscillator with up to 49 voices of polyphony.
Strings: its own filter, waveform shaping and an attack-release envelope.
Synthesizer: an ADSR envelope and a 24 dB analog-style filter modulated by envelope or LFO, fed by the oscillator or the human voice source, with a Second Touch retrigger feature.
Human voice and bass: a vintage choir source with formant and balance controls, and a bass section that stacks three waveforms (Tuba, Contra Bass and Cello), each with its own filter.
Modulation: a main vibrato LFO, a second assignable LFO, velocity control of attack and release on every envelope, and a matrix with six nodes, 14 sources and 24 destinations.
Effects: a quadruple BBD chorus/ensemble, an analog phaser, a vintage reverb and a true stereo space effect.
Playing: monophonic or paraphonic attack modes and a glide section; the filters are monophonic, after the voices are summed, as on the original.

This is version 1.1.1, with NKS support. A 15-day time-limited demo licence is available.

Source: XILS-lab product page

When to use it

XILS 505 is the focused choice for late-1970s Roland string, choir and bass-pedal sounds, with an ensemble chorus built in. Compared with Omnisphere 3, which has sampled string machines in a huge library, it is a playable model with every stage of the circuit open to tweaking, at a fraction of the price. Next to CS-80 V it is narrower: it does string-machine pads well but is not a full polysynth for leads and brass. It also goes beyond a straight copy of the hardware, adding a modulation matrix, paraphonic attacks and extra effects. Pick it when you want that specific divide-down string sound rather than a general-purpose synth.

Best for: vintage string machine pads, choirs, ensemble textures and layered bass parts.
Genres: synthpop, new wave, electronic, ambient and cinematic music.
Look elsewhere if: you want a general-purpose synth (Diva or Vital are much broader) or realistic sampled orchestral strings (Omnisphere 3).

Where to buy

PluginFox: $49 (regular $149)
AudioDeluxe: $49 (regular $149)
XILS-lab: $55.64 (regular $203.25) (Listed at €49 (regular €179); converted at €1 = $1.1355 (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026))
Best Service: $149
Plugin Boutique: $159

Tutorials and reviews

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