Giulioz is an Italian developer building a solid reputation for emulating iconic digital hardware who has now released Giuloz VirtualJV, a free Roland JV-880 emulation for macOS and Windows.
At the start of this year, we examined RdPiano by Giulioz, an emulation of classic digital pianos such as the Roland MKS-20, RD-1000, and the Rhodes MK-80.
Roland developed the MK-80 after buying the Rhodes brand name in the late 80s. Although this digital version of the classic Rhodes piano is less generally desirable than the electro-mechanical models, it’s very cool to have a rare emulation.
Giulioz set sights on another digital classic from Roland, the JV-880.
Roland’s JV-880 is the rack version of the JV-80 keyboard, an early ’90s synth and mainstay of college rehearsal rooms through the early 2000s.
Giulioz uses a modded version of NukeYKT’s open-source DSP emulator for the Roland SC-55.
DSP emulation is a divisive topic in the synth world.
As with emulations like Xenia and JE-8086 by The Usual Suspects, Giulioz’s VirtualJV requires the original Roland JV-880 ROM file to work.
On the one hand, we have emulations that sound incredible; on the other, legally acquiring the ROM makes it a non-starter for many of us.
If you can get past the ROM requirement and the somewhat fidgety install process (see the KVR Forum for further discussion), you’ll have the JV-880, virtually in all its glory.
Here’s a note from the dev:
“You’ll need ROMs to use this software. During the first run, you will be able to open the destination ROM folder. Copy your ROMs there, restart the plugin, and wait for a minute for the first load to happen (waveform ROMs need to be descrambled and copied to a cache, which may take a minute). Have fun!”
VirtualJV is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows.
VirtualJV is such a nostalgia trip. If you know the JV-880 or used JV keyboards back in the day, there are so many familiar sounds.
The JV piano sounds drove me mad for a year or two, and now I want them back.
The vintage synth sounds are a mixed bag, but some of them are the foundation of 90s power ballads and dance tracks.
You even get the Vocal sounds, with Roland’s famous jazz scat voices, and if you didn’t annoy bandmates with The Simpsons theme or Linus and Lucy on jazz scat for around a week, until you hated it too, what were you doing with your JV?
It’s unlikely that the JV-880 sits atop many people’s must-have synth lists, but even if not, it certainly has nostalgic value and some excellent sounds.
Most importantly, it sounds just like it should!
Download: VirtualJV (FREE)
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Last Updated on November 14, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
