SUPER-7: Revive the Legendary JP8000/8080 Supersaw Sound in Your DAW
The electronic music world knows and adores one sound that has become an integral part of countless hits – the legendary Supersaw from the Roland JP8000 and JP8080 synthesizers. This unique waveform, or, more precisely, oscillator mode, defined the sound of trance, house, drum and bass, and many other genres of the late 90s and early 2000s, and remains relevant to this day.
Even decades after its creation, the Supersaw has not lost its magic. Its wide, lively, and rich sound easily cuts through the mix, creating a sense of space and dynamics. Many modern producers strive to recreate this warm analog vibration in their tracks, but the original Roland instruments are often unavailable or require significant expense.
That’s where the SUPER-7 plugin from CFA-Sound comes in. Designed as a virtual-analog emulation, it aims to bring the same desired Supersaw sound directly into your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). The developers at CFA-Sound have made efforts to bring the sound of SUPER-7 as close to the original as possible, based on a detailed comparison and analysis of the characteristics of the real oscillator.
Supersaw Power in Your Hands
SUPER-7 doesn’t just imitate a single waveform; it emulates the Supersaw oscillator itself with its unique architecture. This allows you to get an authentic, deep, and multi-layered sound that you could hear on classic recordings. The plugin offers a polyphony of up to 32 voices, allowing you to create complex chords and rich pads without worrying about note truncation.
The central element of SUPER-7 is a single emulated Supersaw oscillator. Despite having only one oscillator, its sound-shaping capabilities are extremely broad due to the internal structure of the Supersaw, which essentially consists of several slightly detuned sawtooth waves. This creates a signature “thickness” and volume.
After the oscillator, the signal passes through a 4-pole lowpass filter. This filter is a key tool for shaping the timbre, allowing you to smooth out high frequencies, create resonant effects, and model classic synthesizer sweeps, which is important for many styles of electronic music.
For dynamic sound control, SUPER-7 is equipped with shape-able envelopes. They allow you to precisely adjust the change in volume (amplitude envelope), as well as control the filter parameters over time (filter envelope). Flexible envelope settings open up opportunities for creating a variety of sounds: from fast and sharp plucks to slow and evolving pads.
Features and Benefits
The developers made sure to make SUPER-7 accessible and easy to use. The plugin has a clear interface that isn’t overloaded with unnecessary elements, allowing you to quickly immerse yourself in the sound design process and focus on the main thing – getting the desired Supersaw sound.
In addition to the intuitive interface, SUPER-7 is distinguished by its efficiency. It has a moderate load on the central processor (CPU usage), which allows you to use it in large projects with many instances without significantly slowing down the work of your DAW. This is especially important for producers who work on less powerful systems or create dense arrangements.
For quick start and demonstration of the plugin’s capabilities, it comes with 20 pre-configured presets. These presets cover a variety of Supersaw sounds, from classic “trance” pads and leads to more experimental textures. They can serve as a great starting point for creating your own sounds or be used directly in your tracks.
Technical Details
- Plugin type: Polyphonic virtual-analog synthesizer.
- Polyphony: up to 32 voices.
- Oscillator: 1 emulated Supersaw oscillator.
- Filter: 4-pole lowpass filter.
- Envelopes: Customizable envelopes.
- Presets: 20 included presets.
- Platform: VST for Windows.
- Architecture: Win32.
Conclusion
The SUPER-7 plugin from CFA-Sound is a great tool for anyone who appreciates the classic sound of the Roland JP8000/8080 Supersaw. It offers a high-quality emulation of the legendary oscillator, flexible sound shaping capabilities through filters and envelopes, as well as convenience and efficiency in operation. If you want to add the authentic, wide, and energetic Supersaw sound to your tracks, SUPER-7 is a worthy choice that will help you achieve a professional result.
