ZEN-Core Synthesis System

Change your relationship with sound

Roland’s ZEN-Core Synthesis System works across hardware and software, delivering decades of genre-defining sounds with the power to shape them in new and exciting ways. It works in your DAW as well as ZEN-Core compatible Roland hardware, so you can use your favorite sounds in the instrument that inspires you most. And whether you want to explore new styles or just hit the ground running, ZEN-Core’s steady stream of sound packs and engine expansions help keep your music fresh.

Sonic freedom

Whether you create in software, hardware, in the studio, on the road, casually, or obsessively, ZEN-Core lets you use your favorite Roland sounds whenever and wherever you want. ZEN-Core sounds can be shared between different Roland hardware—and even between hardware and software—so you can move freely between your studio, live gigs, jam sessions, or just creating on the go.

The sounds you want in the instruments you love

ZEN-Core unlocks sound from the confines of a single instrument or plug-in, and makes it yours to customize, share, and play in the instrument that inspires you most—whether it’s ZENOLOGY in your DAW, JUPITER-X in your studio, or FANTOM on stage. Quality is guaranteed so there’s no need to compromise on the instrument you play to get the sound you want. With ZEN-Core, your unique collection of tones is always ready, and can go with you to your next studio session or performance.

Explore a shared universe of sound

ZEN-Core’s sound compatibility lets you share your favorite synth bass with a friend or an effect-laden electric piano with bandmates or collaborators, so they can play the exact same sound on their ZEN-Core instrument or in their DAW. Not a programmer or just keen to start creating? Take advantage of the skills of professional sound designers and let ZEN-Core’s thousands of expertly crafted tones get you going.

Explore a shared universe of sound

Use hardware, software, or both

An instrument made for live performance may not excel at sound design in the studio. And a software synthesizer may not be as inspiring to play as a purpose-built hardware instrument. With ZEN-Core you can use the best tool for the job, with sounds that match your creative vision. Design a sound on hardware then put it in your DAW for instant recall and portability. Or take a sound from a song you’ve produced in your DAW and put it in hardware so you can play it live.

Our most advanced sound engine

The ZEN-Core Synthesis System is built on nearly fifty years of synthesizer research and development—and you can hear it right away. It recreates the sounds of our classic analog synths and our vintage and modern digital synths, while also offering new sounds never heard before. But what makes it sound so good?

1: Modern architecture

ZEN-Core’s unique architecture is based on discrete synth voices called partials—each containing a versatile oscillator, multimode filter, amplifier, dual step-LFOs, and lush effects. You can have four partials per tone for rich complex sounds that move and inspire you. And it’s all designed with polyphony in mind, for big punchy stacks and intricate layers of evolving sound.

ZEN-Core | Virtual Analog, Advanced Modeling, Modern PCM and More

2: Virtual Analog, advanced modeling, modern PCM and more

ZEN-Core leverages our long history of designing synthesizers, making it extremely flexible. Sound is top priority, spanning a wealth of vintage and modern tones. Precisely modeled oscillators and filters can be mixed and matched for unique combinations and the new PCM engine is capable of advanced cross modulation and even PCM oscillator sync. And ZEN-Core’s synthesis types can be mixed, layered—and even expanded—for new and evocative sounds.

3: Deeply moving

Low-frequency oscillators add movement to static sounds. And more LFOs mean more modulation possibilities and more ways to explore new ground. ZEN-Core has two LFOs per partial for a total of eight available LFOs per tone. And ZEN-Core’s Step-LFOs have 16 steps of tempo-synced automation with 37 curve choices per step for long evolving passages, modular-style animated textures, and sounds with deeply intricate movement.

4: Special effects

Roland effects are as revered as their vintage instrument counterparts, and ZEN-Core has a treasure trove of these built in. You get 90 effects to choose from including the CE-1 and JUNO-106 choruses, SBF-325 Stereo Flanger, Dimension D and Space Echo inspired effects, and many more. Effects can be applied to individual partials or to the entire tone for big spacious sounds that inspire you and grab the listener’s attention.

ZEN-Core sounds in hardware

ZEN-Core tones created on one instrument can be shared with other users or transferred into completely different (but compatible) Roland hardware. Take a sound made on a FANTOM and play it in the spotlight on a JUPITER-X. Or take a luscious JUPITER-X synth patch and play it on the RD-88 Stage Piano, simplifying your setup and expanding your options.

Explore ZEN-Core hardware

ZEN-Core sounds in software

ZEN-Core works in software too via ZENOLOGY. This soft synth shares the same engine found in our professional synthesizers like FANTOM and JUPITER-X, used on stages and in studios around the world. So you can take a sound from the stage, and drop it straight into your studio setup. Or vice versa.

Explore ZENOLOGY