Roland JD-800

i dont have a sequencer that suites it yet, i tried seq-303...i laughed.
the presets are nice a little overbaord but display its capabilities well.
patch editing was a dream i had it down in mins.
no manual ...so far no need..well see.

five effects i believe...not sure on polyphony...actions fine.
mine came with a drums perc. expansion card (and data card) ....ive used it
very little, though they sounded great.
All midi realtime capabilities youd expect.
no on board sequencer....simple and powerfull.

Instrumints are mainly veriouse synth voices but some piano and organ and natural
sounds.....all feel very nice...(hoping for some phatter anologue leads saws but may be i just
need to search a bit more).
This board would be excellent for all forms of music.
effects seem great, so far.
amazing controll over aftertouch.

its been to a gig or two before i got my hands on it and it seems to be running
like a caddy.
Ide use this on a gig with a drum kit and outbaord fx, alone.

i would buy it again in a heart beat.
ive been playing guitar for 7 years and making electronic music for 3 or so
and i also own alisis hr-16, samson mix pad 9, roland u-20, and a pintium 133
(all ive needed) full of great programs.....rebirth sound forge etc.
I love the sounds it can produce and i hate nothing.
nope.

Believe it or not...a well-written manual! Divided into a new users book and a reference volume. Th unit is a breeze to operate and fun fun fun to program on.

No sequencer...but excellent performance characteristics. Very expressive and warm. Good aftertouch and controllers. Does not try to be all things. Bright display, hard to get lost on it!

Would give it an 11 if I could.

Stellar. Mine was trouble free until I lost it in a fire. Grabbed a used one in the same month, and so far it is also trouble free.

O.K. Let's start this review of the JD-800 with a summary: I love the JD-800. Would I ever sell it? No. Would I hunt someone down if they stole it? Yes! Would I comb the world to find another one? Yes! Would I buy it again? Absolutely!

Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get on with the review.

The JD-800 came out in 1991 and is one in the middle of a long chain of synthesizers based on Roland's 4-tone (oscillator) architecture now used in the their JV/XP series. There are probably some odd twenty (or more) synthesizers that Roland has made over the last fifteen years with this architecture. And while the JD-800's implementation is more simplistic than Roland's current JV/XP implementations, sometimes more is not always better.

For starters, lets talk about the JD-800's sound. This keyboard sounds wonderful. It is probably the last keyboard that Roland ever made that has its own character. While the JD-800 does not have oscillators (its wave generators use PCM waveforms as their raw source), it has an incredibly rich, warm analog sound. Strings, pads, clav, FM Rhodes, and beautifully moving, swirling, and haunting textures are what this synthesizer excels at. The factory presets are all very useable. That is, if you turn off the bucket of reverb that Roland programs into all their patches (on both old and new synthesizers). And most of the presets can be turned into completely new sounds with only a few tweaks of a slider. This is, without a doubt, the easiest synthesizer to program that I have ever owned. (By easy, I mean not just easy to use, but easy in the sense that it is very responsive to adjustments. You don't have to spend hours programming to get unique, warm sounds.)

The JD-800 can generate many of the sounds that current virtual analog machines can. But because it uses PCM waveforms as its raw oscillators (approximately 100 waveforms are provided), the JD-800 can produce sounds that you wouldn't have a hope of getting from a VA machine. You might be tempted to think that the availability of only 100 waveforms is limiting, however this is not the case. The waves are saw, sine, pulse, noise, plucks, bows, and other sounds that are designed for use as the raw starting point in building sounds. You do not play these waveforms. You use the waveforms to create original sounds. Having more waveforms available would actually take away from the creative process. This is the problem I find in Roland's current JV/XP synthesizers (some of which have 1500+ waveforms in them). You can scroll through waveforms for hours and not get anywhere. The sheer number of waveforms is debilitating. In the JD-800 there are enough waves to create original sounds, but not so many that you can't remember where and what every one is.

The JD-800 was not designed to mimic acoustic instruments in all their splendor, it is a synthesizer. Its sounds are unique and original to itself. The beauty in this keyboard is its simplicity, flexibility, and ease of creating and modifying sounds. The key reason for this is the JD-800's front panel, which is laid out with an individual slider or knob for almost every one of its parameters. (Hello Profit 5, Oberheim OBx, and every other great analog synthesizer.) The other reason is the JD-800's simple, yet flexible architecture (more on this later).

Let's talk about the JD-800's user interface (something that every keyboard vendor seems to have forgotten about except for Korg in their wonderful Triton/Trinity series.) The JD-800's interface is simple, direct, and a joy to use. It has LARGE analog-synth-styled buttons that are used for selecting patches and for accessing system programming features. Many of the buttons light up, giving feedback that a function is on or off, or that a mode is active. Envelopes, LFOs, filters, and other parameters are adjusted with dedicated sliders and knobs. Want to adjust the decay of the filter envelope? Just

Features, features, features. By today's thousands of patches, 64/128 voice, built-in sequencer, built-in arpeggiator standards the JD-800 pales in comparison. But this is not why I bought (or why you should buy) a JD-800.

The JD-800, according to Roland, is 24 note polyphonic. In typical use however, the instrument gives 8 voices of polyphony. To arrive at this conclusion, I took the total polyphony available in the JD-800 and divided it by 3. This rule applies to all Roland JV/XP synthesizers as well because they share (approximately) the same architecture as the JD-800. The reason for this is that the JD/JV/XP synthesizers allow up to four tones in a patch. Roland states polyphony by tones in a patch, not by notes played. A patch using only one tone will give you 24 note polyphony on the JD-800 (or 64 note polyphony on the newer JVs and XPs). But to do anything rich and interesting, most patches use three tones. Thus, the divide by three rule. So yes, you can take Roland's 64 voice monster synths and divide their polyphony by three (giving you 21 voice polyphony). This is what you are actually going to get in real use.

On the JD-800, polyphony is not really an issue. As I said before, the JD-800 is not a generic one-synth-fits-all type of synthesizer. It is an instrument that allows you to create wonderful icing. You cannot use the JD-800 as a main keyboard. This is not my purpose for it and it was not Roland's either when they designed it. The JD-800 provides incredible warmth behind a piano or chilling ambience in a soundtrack. A Fender Rhodes (or nowadays a Yamaha P200) it ain't. Most of the time I only play four to six voice chords and linear parts on the JD-800. Its sounds lend themselves to this style of playing. (Picture the way Lyle Mays supports his grand piano with an Oberheim four-voice and you've got the right idea.)

Now we come to the JD-800's architecture. At first glance, the JD-800 seems rather simple and inflexible. Looking at the front panel you would think the following: 1 tone generator, 1 multi-mode filter, 1 amplifier, 2 LFOs, and 3 dedicated envelopes (one for the tone generator, filter, and amplifier respectively). While it is true that this is the basic architecture of a tone, a patch is comprised of four complete layers of these. Thus, a patch may actually have up to: 4 tone generators, 4 multi-mode filters, 4 amplifiers, 8 LFOs, and 12 envelopes. Ah! Now we're talking about some powerful and unique synthesis capabilities! And now you can see why the JD-800 makes such wonderful analog pads. ...all those yummy LFOs to play with!

I want to mention a few subtle, but important features that make the JD-800 sound more organic (read: analog) than you might think, it being essentially a digital synthesizer.

Pitch Random. Each of the four wave generators incorporates a Pitch Random parameter. This parameter introduces tiny or large amounts (depending on how much you apply) of randomness to the pitch of a tone each time a key is played. What's the point? This point is that this is exactly what happened in old analog synthesizers. Their oscillators were always randomly out of tune as they heated up and cooled down. The fact that the oscillators were always marginally out of tune with themselves is what made old analogs sound so warm and organic. Pitch Random on the JD-800 is even better because you can control how much out-of-tuneness you want. To make a string sound really fat, all you have to do is select a sawtooth wave, copy it to three wave generators, and apply different amounts of Pitch Random to each generator. Voila! Instant fat, warm, organic synth sound! Newer virtual analog machines don't even do this. (There is no rocket science here, just an unusual display of forward thinking from Roland.) Thus, even though the JD-800 is using sampled analog waveforms, it sounds very analog indeed.

Random Sine Wave. The LFO's on the JD-800 have th

In a single word the sounds of the JD-800 are "amazing". Lush. Warm. Moving.

The sounds the JD-800 does well: strings, pads, anything that moves, rolls or swirls, clav sounds, special effects, analog horns, flute sounds, breathy sounds, lead sounds, some amazingly DX-7 like Rhodes, percussion, and glass sounds.

The sounds that the JD-800 dose not do well: acoustic emulations, piano.

The JD-800 will work in all types of music. It is a wonderful supportive instrument for acoustic instruments and symphonic tracks due to its random pitch modulation sources that make it very organic. The JD-800 would also find itself very much at home in jazz, pop, and electronic music styles. I recommend the Strings card set to anyone who does not have it. Search the world for this card if you must. You'll be glad you did.

The sounds are very responsive to keyboard velocity, with a nice evenness from soft to loud. Some of the sounds get a little muddy in the lowest octave and a little tiny in the highest octave (depending on which waveforms are being used). This is actually part of the instrument's analog character. (The effect is quite similar to tracking the filter at quarter-step intervals across the keyboard.) In an odd way this makes the sounds even more expressive. Most of the sounds however, can be played quite well across the entire keyboard.

There is simply nothing else to compare a JD-800 with. Its sound is all its own. Therefore, I give it 10. (Has anyone figured out that I like this thing yet?)

The JD-800 is built like a tank (metal on the bottom and metal on the top). The side panels (which have a new-age curved look) are plastic, but are re-enforced with steel plates inside. All the sliders and buttons have a solid feel to them. This keyboard is a little heavier than most of today (a good thing which is further indicative of the build quality). I have taken this keyboard on gigs. Yes, I would and do depend on it. The only downside (as with all Roland products) is that the jacks on the back panel are soldered directly to the PC board. However, they are on a "jacks" board that is separate from the main synthesizer board. At least if you step on a patch cable, you'll only crack an auxiliary board and not the main board.

I have had no problems with my JD-800. It is now nine years old so that's not bad for an electronic instrument! I have also run all the internal diagnostic routines and it passes every one with flying colors. Thus far, my JD-800 seems to be a healthy beast. (Note, to put your JD-800 into diagnostic mode press the "Multi" mode button. Then, press the "Exit" button, the "Left" cursor button, and the "Right" cursor button all at the same time. Your JD-800 is now in diagnostic mode. Cycle through each test by holding the "Exit" button and pressing each bank number button and each patch number button. Each test gives you instructions in the display. To exit test mode at any time, hold the "Exit" button and press patch button eight.)

I would have given the JD-800 a 10, but I have a thing against all vendors who don't bolt I/O connectors to the cabinet of professional equipment. It is just so likely that at some point a cable is going to get pulled or stepped on. Therefore I give the JD-800 a 8.

To those that have read my XP-30 review, my apologies. These are my comments about Roland from that review verbatim.

For customer support, forget Roland U.S.A. They have been awful every time I have contacted them. "Customer? You're a customer? How dare you waste our time!" Roland Canada is a different story. (And I'm not saying this just because I am a Canadian.) I have found Roland Canada extremely helpful. People call you back when they say they will. Their service technicians have helped me debug problems over the phone. Their sales people have helped me track down hard-to-find, out-of-production items. Roland Canada gets the thumbs up as far as I am concerned. So if you need support, don't call Roland U.S.A., call Roland Canada!

Another plus for Roland is that they have been in business for a long time. And it looks as though they are in no near sign of going out of business (something that you *do* have to be concerned about with keyboard vendors). Roland also has support and their own service centers all over the world. This is yet another plus. I found out how important support is when I bought a Yamaha P200. I almost bought the Kawai MP 9000 instead, but Kawai had no local support. Soon after I bought the Yamaha, I did have a small problem with it. (For those of you that don't know what a P200 is, it is a digital piano that weights mucho pounds!) Yamaha sent someone to my house to fix it. No kidding! They gave me absolutely superb customer support. Kawai could not have provided this kind of support.

For customer support (despite Roland U.S.A.) Roland gets an 8.

And now we have arrived at final judgement day. By now, you have probably figured out that I like the JD-800. Its sound, ease of programming, and its look (all those sexy sliders, buttons, and lights!) put it in a class by itself. Because of these things my overall rating for the JD-800 is a 10. I use it in all my music. It allows me to create sounds that are distinctly "me".

In an age when every synthesizer looks and sounds the same, I was delightfully surprised by the JD-800. (And a Roland synthesizer too! Never thought I'd own one of theirs. I always thought Roland stuff was kind of toy-like. But the JD-800 has changed my mind.) I bought my JD-800, in show-room condition, from a high-school teacher who bought it for his school but never used it. I paid the give-away price of $600 Canadian dollars for it (approximately $360 American dollars.) I would have happily paid three times this for it.

To any owners of JD-800s who are letting themselves get taken in by hype and marketing: DON'T SELL YOUR JD-800. You'll miss it sorely if you do.

Excellent. End of story.

Low polyphony with the biggest sounds is a bit of a downer, but the sounds are just unbeatable.

Very easy to get new and wonderful pad sounds. this is the instruments forte.

Prog rocker's delight! Big pads are what this machine excels at. Also does very good monophonic stuff for soloing.

Never had any problems!

Never had any

this is irreplaceable. If it got nicked, I'd buy another like a shot.

Don't kid yourself that this is an analogue synth. It isn't, but the sounds are wonderful and easy to use.

one is for sure: the JD is really fat, but i can`t understand why nobody`s editing the special part. i just hear the factory sounds ( i-can`t-dance-like ) the JD is really able to create fat bassdrums and ultraclear hihats and other neverheard percussionsounds. so try it !!!!!!

Sliders are quite straightforward and it probably impresses people in music shops because it takes absolutely no talent or creativity to create some rather exciting sounds...

Everything is quite well but don't use it in multi-timbral mode... It is not made to sound good in multi-timbral mode. The effects aren't bad but don't come close to a Korg's.

This is a pad synth, and if you know what you are doing you can get good basses. This has absolutely terrible pianos and drums. This this a special synth meant for special sounds. One can do very amusing things with velocity and aftertouch...
However, I have a Korg O1/W and I think the JD-800 had half the sound quality. I sold it and while I miss it, I like my Korg better. Other than pads, it doesn't sound that good... It can be very abrasive on the ears.

It has never had any problems and in fact has neat self diagnostics. It's a very pretty synth, very pretty.

Never had a problem.

Given the chance to spend $1300 on synths, one can do much better, if one already owns a controller. Speaking of which, the keys are not comfortable like on a Korg.

The preset sounds are great!! But Roland, as well as other companies, recycle their samples for too long, (like the piano or pseudo-fairlite samples) Making patches is very easy, a patch editor would be harder to use than front panel.

Unfortunataly, the synth is only 5-way multi-timbral (6, including analog drums). The keyboard action is, very good, as for a lot of Roland Synths. The Distortion and Phaser effects are welcome, (I hope Roland will understand one day that Reverb, delay and Chorus are not enough). As for Spectrum and Enhancer, they only beef the sound the way it should be on a analog synth. I own the Drums and Percs I PCM Card and it made my JD-800 very useful in sequencing situations, the drums sound very good. One bad thing about the unit is only 64 sounds in internal memory, the double could be acceptable As for the sliders, their move can be recorded over MIDI Sys-ex and played back with a sequencer. It does not have any sequencer in it.

The sliders improves expressiveness of the unit, even if acoustic emulations are a bit deceiving. This machine is perfect for progreesive rock keyboard players as well as for Dance/techno composers. The on-board effects are very good, the reverb is particular and can be disturbing sometimes.

Roland synths are very reliable. Sotware is very stable. As far as I'm concerned, the most useful switches and sliders(Filter Cutoff!) got un-calibrated so I had to replace 2/60 faders, 4/8 switches after buying it. It seems to be a bit fragile, but the case is almost all-metal and seems to be hard to scratch

Receiving the faders and sliders for Roland took more than 2 months!!

It is a very expensive synth, but I think it Woth it I love the sound, the user-interface, (I love the look too!) Distorted guitar patches are very, very, very good. It is, as far as I know, the only intrument that can emulate analog sound and feel that is technologically up-to-date. The sound is more interesting with the spectrum and enhancer effects (they are unavailable in multi-timbral setup).

The preset sounds are great. From lush & glittery pads, analog basses with resonance to excellent sounding digital creations. All synth paramaters can be accessed from on-board sliders & knobs. Editing of this sort has not been available since analog synths of yesterday. Two manuals are included: Basic and Advanced. I didn't find them too difficult (even though they are Roland), but I'm an engineer. <g>

24-voice. 16-part multi. Keyboard action is great...the best I have ever played on any 61-note velocity & channel aftertouch synth. The built-in effects depend on whether or not the JD is in single or multi modes. Single: Rev, Chorus, Delay, Phaser, Distortion, Enhancer and Spectrum...Multi: only Rev, Chorus and Delay. All very easy to use. 64 patches are held in internal memory with an optional 64 on a RAM card. 108 total waveforms (mostly digital/analog/percussive). Extra waveforms can be added via a single PCM card slot. The only thing (only?) missing from the JD is more polyphony, more waveforms and more effects. (An arpeggiator would be great also!)

Imagine playing and tweaking sounds at the same time? This is a digital synth with the ease of control that an analog synth provides. If you're looking for 'realistic' sounds, then this synth is not for you. Users include Paul Shafer, Shep Pettibone (Madonna), LFO, 808 State and me. Excellent performance synth. Is it the ultimate?! (Not including the Waldorf WAVE =')

When lots of tweaking and MIDI data are being thrown at it, the display will lite up and say, "MIDI Error." But, that's no problem...afterall, this is not the synth to end all synths. Great as a controller to a larger MIDI set-up. Excellent build qaulity. Metal on the bottom...metal on the top. There are too many synths being built these days that their casings are entirely made of plastic.

I knew about it more then the guy that sold it to me. Oh, you mean from the company. There are some card sets, but mostly it has been surpassed by other more expandable Roland synths...most notably the JV-1080 (I own that one too =').

I would definitely buy it again. The JD is a synth that will keep its value for a long time. I love the control...I love the sounds...I love the look of it...I just wish for more polyphony. This is a classic in the making.