Roland JP-8000

version 1.5, since I bought this in July. Presets were nice, but I don't use them much since I programmed custom sounds for myu prog rock band. Can't read the manual due to blindness, but didn't really need it. And forget a pach editor. If you can't figure out knobs and sliders, then get the hell out of electronics.

8 note polyphony, which for old analog synths was normal, but in today's scene, isn't enough. The keyboad feels nice, but 49 keys really sucks as opposed to 61. I guess that is what the jp8080 is for. I sometimes midi it into my xp80 to play things like Jump, which needs more keys. I do not use extensive midi. The effects were simple once somebody read the screen to me. I can do everything without being able to see the display. No expansions.

There are still things I am trying to figure out, like how to adjust the ppitch bend to do more than a whole step, how to assign things to the ribbon controller or velocity. But the sounds are wonderful, to a point. I somehow feel like I am missing something. I can't get thatoverly fat sound like I got out of an Oberheim OBXA. When you threw that thing into unison mode, you would get belted in the head. I hope the jp8080's unison mode is better. I love the effects, but the chorus doesn't seem to work when you run it in mono, which affects some sounds. I like the choruses, but the flanges sound funny to me. I can't figure out why. I think I am going to pipe it through my midiverb IV effects processor and see what comes out of it. I like the delays, though. I find I am distorting it a lot, especially when doing resonant filter work, but I back down the gain, the far right knob on the top and it works, but then my levels are all off. And, sometimes the board is very high endish, lots of trebble and not bass, especially in playing with a band. I guess I have to alter the tone somewhat. Be careful how you prepare your sounds, if you do it in headphones, check your sounds through a full p.a. system or at least an amplifier. But, I give this thing an amazing rating. if only I could have the distortion circuit in it, though. I love distorting synth sounds for a pseudo guitar feel.

I use it on a gig all the time. I haven't ever crashed it to my memory. I have two other keyboards, but none can do what the JP does.

I haven't called with JP specific questions, but I called Roland about my VS880 and they were pretty helpful, but I called onc, and may have been lucky.

I compared this to a an1x, z1, nord lead 1 and 2. The an1x and z1 were too difficult for me, due to an unreadable screen. There was something about both Nord Leads that bothered me. No built in effects, maybe. The JP sounded so good once I got into it. I sunk myself into debt to get it. if it disappeared, I would start killing people. It is my favorite piece for doing Dream Theater keyboard solos. I am probably going to get a JP8080 to control my new purchase of a Roland AX1. But, that Andromeda from Alesis looks so damn good, I may trade in the JP8000 for that. I use all Roland gear. I have been playing for 22 years and love progressive rock and progressive metal. This board is great for doing Keith Emersonish stuff, but would still love my Oberheim back. if only that were lighter and smaller. Then again, Andromeda is coming. ...

8 for an overall use rating ... playing it gets a 10 but programming and the manual can be a little confusing (normal for a Roland)
Patch editing is OK but sounds you can create make up for that also

Well polyphony is a little shy but we have to remember what this machine is created for...leads, fills, screams, EFX
I have owned this baby since it was first released and have really no complaints I find using it to create very enjoyable...OK well I do wish it had some future expandability but you can't have everything

Great for Rock or Dance or anything in between if you are looking for a freedom of sound ... I really do not think it was not really designed to copy any others as much as it was meant to be an original in itself, all keyboards have some similarities in some sounds but this baby has the capability to create new tones

Very dependable...never had a single problem or complaint

Roland is Roland ... enough said

I would certainly want to replace it ... I am a very big fan of free modeling, I do not really like a keyboard that limits your sounds to a few with no adjustments for fine tuning your tonal qualities.
It is one of my main tools but not the only, it would not be a good stand alone piece, I play a JX305 and a Korg Z1 and a N5 also and I intend to keep adding to the arsenal.

I am using software version 1.5 It was a pain to update it, and I really don't see too much of a difference, but that's ok. The presets are pretty nice, in my opinion, you can use this synth out of the box. Its not too much trouble to edit patches; all of the variables are right there in front of you. I haven't used a patch editior with it yet.
The manual seems pretty straightforward, but it's not exactly in laymans terms. I'd like to get the video.

Polyphony is only 8, which kind of sucks but for this type of synth you don't really notice it. It's got a lot of nice things to play with, that's for sure. The arpeggiator is great and so is the RPS. Effects are easy and very straightforward; chorus, delay, etc. Midi sync is very useful. Only 49 keys which is a dissapointment when comparing this to the Z1, which has 61, but in my opinion the JP-8000 gives you more control overall when editing your sounds to the very nuance.

No realistic instruments, but that's not what this keyboard is about. The sounds it does have are amazing... very lush and deep sounding. Great for any style of techno, industrial, ambient, etc. The onboard effects are very nice and there is a lot you can do with them to make your sound just the way you want it. Literally hundreds of thousands of possibilities.

I've never had a problem with it yet.

Never dealt with Roland before in customer support. Heard both good and bad things.

If my JP-8000 were lost or stolen, I'd cry. This thing is my baby, and it's wicked. I've been dying to try using it in a live situation just for the RPS features. The only thigns I don't like is that the polyphony could be more than only 8 voices, and I would've liked more than 49 keys. I am a piano player so I'm used to the full 88 weighted keys, so sometimes when I'm composing larger arrangements that span multiple octaves, I control the JP-8000 with another keyborad with more keys. Otherwise, this is one serious bitch of a keyboard, I definetly reccommend it to anyone interested in an analogue style yet digital feature keyboard.

Using sw 1.04....no problems at all. I owned a Jupiter-8 for 11 years, and took to the JP like a masochist to vaseline. I found that I could get the exact sound I wanted in a few minutes. Presets are OK. Being a Roland, it has the deepest bottom end outside of a Moog. Writing patches is a breeze.

Limited polyphony, but my musical style is minimalist anyway, so it don't matter nunne. Arpeggiator is very full featured & fun. Wish it had a disk drive though, since I'm having a hard time doing a sysex dump to a DataDisk.

Sound is very similar to Jupiter-6, just as the Nord2's similarity to a Prophet-5. Welcome feature is the octave shift +/- 2 octaves. Sounds good across the whole range. Unrealistic sounds, but great chimes, bells, pads, squerques (?), & zleeches. Delay is awesome. Capable of extreme subtlety & nuance of fanciful timbres. Brian Transeau uses 2 of 'em...that's a great testimony in and of itself. Super feature: assignment of all edit parameters to the ribbon controller & velocity.

So far, so good.

Not needed, none anticipated.

I'd buy it again, but he MS2000 & Andromeda do look MIGHTY appealing...

I give it a seven only because the manual threw me off a bit in the begining. once I got the roland jargain down it was a sinch to use. Everything is completly editble. A video is availble to buy.I stongly encourage those new to synths to buy it.

I think the features are great in this price catagory. It could use better chorus effects. But who's using this thing for effects anyway. The 8080 has full on midi implementation, try controling basslines with your voice. sick! It could use more multimbralness. To get the most uot of this synth you need to combine two sounds together. So before using it with a sequencer see if you can record on more than on midi channel at a time. I can't use enough sounds . 9

Some of the richest tones in this class of synth. Check out the patch Hybrid bass. aply some distortion and delay. You've got romping bass.

It has never crashed on me. But when its synced up to my mpc. It gets a little testy if I start moving knobs to fast. It starts squelling out some the most obnoxious squells and thuds.

Hav'nt had any problems

This is a great machine don't plan to use it all the time. I just use to add an axtra leley of wierdness to my tunes. Solid buy feel cofident into it.

Can't be sure of my software version. Tried to check using a "hold-down-button-turn-on" metheod, but wouldn't work!? The presets do well at sharing what the instrument is capable of, some of the sounds can be a good spring-board...maybe trying just to phatten up a couple of the string patches. Editing couldn't be simpler, could it??? Turn of a knob...POOF! The manual reads plainly and easily. Being this is my fist keyboard (and let me tell you...one of the best choises of my life) the manual was somewhat just right for me.

Polyphony? Well, that's a down side for me...8 notes? 4 notes in dual-mode?! Sorry, sometimes not enough!!! The effects are straight forward
and clean. Chorus (flange, phasing) and delay. Nice tempo-synch feature. Though, my FX level doesn't seem very loud, especialy the choruses. No expansion either, but as far as new sounds go...it is quite expandable wouldn't you say? Endless possabilities! A full-blown sequencer would be nice to have; the RPS will suffice.

Though it wasn't designed to recreate realistic instruments, I myself have found some passable "synth-y realistic" sounds. As for analoge-synth pads and mayhem, I haven't seen this one beat in any other keyboard. I float away on the sounds that come out of this thing. Beautiful dream-scapes. I suppose this unit is marketed towards the "dance scene", but NEVER limit or try to pigin-hole it, and it will love you for that. Let it grow. This instrument is very good for that. Work with it, and it will naturally respond more and more with your own heart.

I greatly depend on this board everyday for my happy-music-moments-of-the-day. I've had it for about a year now and I'm hoping to see a long term, harmonious realationship between us. It's the only gear I own, and I LOVE it!

If it was stolen, I too would cry, pondering how this life is so fleeing before our eyes. I would remember the truer points to life: love and peace, giving and forgiving. Then I would go straight down to the "Musician's-Planets-Friend-World-Whatever-Store and BUY MYSELF ANOTHER ONE OF THESE JP-8000 THINGS!!! To me, this is the one, this one is special...I hope others cherish life and all it has to offer, even your JP-8000, just as well.

OH YEAH! How could I forget this?! IT'S BLUE...BEAUTIFULL!!!

Whatever the lates is 1.5? The presets are pretty good. Rather impressing at first, but the more you twiddle and scan through them some sound more repetitious. But they offer a good array of sounds to tweak and make your own sound...which is what a synth is truely about. If you want great preset sounds get a sampler and buy the sample discs of sounds you want! But, nonetheless....it sounds GREAT! Editing patches? ha ha ha With 38 knobs and sliders its all about editing and its simple....there are not many menus to scroll through. Everything is right there in front of you and a twirl of a knob or a slide of a slider alters the sound and can immediately be "saved" to the user area. I havent played with a patch editor yet. None for the Mac OS yet i believe? The manual is ok. Its an ok read. Written in sort of english hehe except the occasional "try to be funny programmer jokes" such as ...."use headphones...instead of scaring the neighbors?" :) anyhow....As for ease of use. Its easy man...with every instrument it takes a couple hours to learn your way around , but then your flying through. twiddlin knobs and making some serious sounds! Although i do recommend headphones....twiddlin some of the knobs and sliders can introduce some SERIOUS frequencies to speakers. Caution...but then again. thats what its all about. Umm...if you want a pretty good idea of the presets before even touching the thing. Check out "Crystal Methods... VEGAS" Album...i think its the ONLY Synth they own :)

Polyphony is 8. The keyboard feels "synthy" some say toylike....nah...i love the way it feels...i never played piano so i dont care about "real feeling" action. If ya want weighted keylike action Stick to your pianos..leave the synths to guys like me. Yes it has effects...some choruses....flanges.....feedback....others...i cant think of yet..i have only had it for about a month....but the effects do sound really good nonetheless. Not much expansion as far as the insedes are concerned. I think you can get a few pedlas for it...thats about it. Oh and a gig bag hehehe Havent fooled with all the MIDI yet. Everything is transmitted though. Which is great....no sequencer. It has some kind of "motion control" thingy that records a couple knob turns or slider movements. Havent lessed with that much yet....doesnt seem too cool. I rather do it all realtime for more control and real effects.

This synth wasnt designed to reproduce sounds of other instruments other than "virtual analog sounds" So i cant say that the instruments sound realistic at all. They sound vintage, They sound analog. For the hundredth time. Its easy to use. :) The sounds could be used in about anything i guess.. It has some great strings....some cool pads...a couple cool piano sounds, but again. If you are going for realistic sounds get a sampler and load the types of sounds you want that were sampled from "real" instruments. Effects are again good. It has a ribbon controller and a pitchbend mod wheel. So you can do all kinds of cool things as far as expressiveness goes.

It has a built in electrical surge protector so thats a plus as far as electric current probs go. I wouldnt ever gig with ONE synth. I own too many to be that simple. But if i had too i would bring only this one. It wouldnt show any probs.I tyhink you could depend on it. As i do all other Roland gear i have owned or went through during the years! I had a weird experience with Roland though. I sent them a sampler...the s-550....to get fixed....wasnt too expensive....and they just sent me another one....a newer one actually. I Thought that was cool. Roland usually makes good sh*t.

See above.

I would definately weep if stolen, cuz more than likely it wouldnt be the ONLY thing stolen as it sits next to a NORD LEAD 2, a Korg Prophecy..etc.. anyhow.Its such a lovely shade of blue. thats what i LOVE about it hahaha. oh for once and for all. All you jerks caught up in this Nord vs Prophecy vs Jp8000 nonsense...the jp cannot touch the Prophecy sounds...nor can the prophecy touch the NOrd sounds...just as the Nord cannot mess with the jp sounds...they all sound GREAT. But all 3. I have used all 3 synths together and love each one. the jp sounds great.,...feels great...looks great....it helps get the chicks dawg! Yes it helps me make music...shit it adds 2 more new sounds to my music.
wanna hear it and the other electronic gear i won in action check me out at http://listen.to/1302

I have a real complaint here, unless somebody else has figured this one out. I wish Roland had put a frequency counter, or some other type of visual output to find out the speed of the LFO. I think it sounds great for Chariots of Fire, but it needs to have some kind of number output to sync up with other machines. Please give me feedback on this, if you have any.

I looked on Roland's Web page for an e-mail address. What kind of crap is that if you can't give them feedback on their own products? Snail mail? No thanks! This is the computer age, guys!

Well, it sure lacks the fatness of a Mini-moog, but I'll give it a thumbs up on the presets, which the Mini-moog never had. I guess you can't have everything. Besides, it stays in tune, and doesn't weigh a ton. Yes, I wish it had more keys, and I agree with others, it should have total polyphony. That's crap that it doesn't.

Version 1.05, KILLER presets! Editing patches is a breeze with knobs and sliders, I can get exactly what I'm looking for in a matter of seconds, not minutes (or hours with some other synths). Manual is excellent very user-friendly, it gives you some real life examples to mess around with. I really like the "template" patches, they explain the way the ribbon controller works and what you can do with it, especially if it's new to you.

Bummer, only 8 note poly. Keyboard action is about average considering it's only 8 note poly. Effects are OK, but a compressor would really warm things up a bit. NEEDS A MIDI THRU JACK!! I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY CUT CORNERS ON THIS. HAVEN'T TRIED THE SEQ YET.

Usingwhat I would hope is the latest version, 1.05 at this writing. Many have commented on this unit, so I will refrain from repeating things. Taking this from the point of view of somebody who is blind, this unit is awesome. I love analog sounds and have never had a way to edit them or get even remotely close to the sound of an old minimoog or oberheim. now, I can. I have played with analog gear like oberheim obxa, korg ms20, Korg dw8000, and a moog rogue. I love the true analog nature, but cannot deal with the maintanance. The jp8000never goes out of tune, is always reliable ahas modern feautres like midi, and basic effects, is light and small, and sounds just as good to my ears. Nothing is easier to program than a synth with dedicated controls or buttons. Just wish it had a disk drive to load things into, but with it being able to accept playback from a sequencer, I just midi my xp80 into it and it works. Wish it had more keys, too. 49 sometimes isn't enough. I also wish it had a reverb and distortion, and a way to edit the depth of the choruses and such. If ti does, I haven't found a way to do it yet. Being blind, I can get around this unit without being to read the display. I love it.

no expansions which sucks, but what do you want, really? 8 voice polyphony which is OK. I am not a techno hound or midi nut, I lovelive performance of rock music, so this works fine for me. the tone chorus and delay knobs are really nice, and since I recently learned how to change the effects for each sound, I am loving it even more. Wish I could learn quicker, since I can't read the manual. Gotta learn how to write patches, assign functions to the ribbon, velocity, or mod wheel, and also how to adjust the pitch bend. But hell, this is farther than I ever got with my old TS10 and xp80. The keyboard action is nice as well, but the keyboard is a bit small.

This is where I give a 50. This is not a keyboard for bread and butter sounds, but for creating your own personality. It is so much easier to do with an analog synth than a digital one. I use my xp80 more for its realistic sounds, and save the jp8000 for creating analog and never before heard sounds. Someday, I hope to really get into programming even more and really pound some things out of this. I love the leadson this machine, especially for progressive rock music. You can really get lost in turning knobs toe volve a sound or to try to get the thickest lead in the world to cut through guitar players volume control problems. the sounds are what make this board. The presets could be better, but hey, there is no excuse for not diving into the structure of this board since the knobs are right there, begging to be turned.

Never crashed it, and I would imagine that would be hard to do just driving it on its own. I have three keyboards, my xp80 and vk7, so I obviously have fallbacks if it went down, but it is so small and light. Put it in a bag, and even my 133 pound scrawny ass can carry it.

Dealt with Roland once or twice on a vs880 issue and there were nice to me. See my xp80 or vk7 reviews.

I have been playing for 25 years. I tried out a nord lead and it left me cold. I used to hate Riolandafter hearing a jv30. I thought I would never like roland ever. I went through my phase of Ensoniq, and yamaha, and when I head the xp50, I was hooked. Now all the gear, except for my upcoming drum machine, is Roland. I won an xp80, vk7, jp8000, vs880, homebuilt computer that I don't really use for music, audiocitron 8 channel powered mixer, a rogers 12 channel mixer is on the way, an alesis sr16 is on the way, a scheur sm58 microhphone and an alesis midiverb 4. I love the jp89000 because it allows me to create more than notes, I can actually create sounds, which I can't do on my xp80 due to its highly visual oriented lcd screen. I can now have a keyboard sound all my own, thanks to the jp8000. I love playing rock and progressive rock, and recently have been doing alot of 80s hard rock and heavy metal, and the jp8000 has been very nice for it. I considered the jp8080, but I am not good with racks. I wanted the third keyboard. I probably could've done the jp8080 with keyboard controller, but I thought this was a beter idea. I have not regretted it.

In general, I used the 1.05 version of the Roland`s own programm an VST. There is no problem with MIDI. Especially imressing that you might control all the Filters and Oscillators through MIDI. Editing patches is not a big deal, if you know how to doing it completely (well, it`s analog modeling...). By the way, the interface of Roland has more intuitive style than many other equipment - if you feel that you`re not ready to fire one or two year to learn "How to use it" Roland would be better choice than, say, Yamaha synth. I put 8 `cose all this analog modeling synth are not the simplest thing in the world. Maybe, it`s not the "first time" machines for the beginners...

JP-8000 has the 8-note polyphony and the multitembr. is only 2, but in a real world (where independent recordings of each MIDI track is strongly recommended) it`s more than enough. There is no expansion capabilities, except the New Patches (www.rolandcorp.com, www.planet-groove.com, maybe some other sites). But it seems, that this machine don`t need it. It`s own musical palette are so rich and special - putting another "expansion card" is breaking the JP-8000`s own philosophy. As I said, If you have 1.05 all the parameters are controlled through MIDI.

The main thing - this is analog modelling synth. That mean, if you want Hammond B3 you must use B3 or sampler. If you want accoustic piano, you must use the piano or the sampler. The JP-8000 create for another goals - produce very wide range of sounds, I think conpletely all kind of sounds associated with the synth. And 8000 doing this job very well, but remaining his own sound character. Sorry for Mr. Sakuae (author of the demo) and other Roland stuff - but the demo songs and patterns (alas for the Roland!) don`t reflects even the small part of 8000` possibilities, nor the potential for using JP-8000 in a real life. If I`d listen this demo and some patches in stores (and never known about this unit from other people), I`d never buy it at all. It`s very hard to say about the very special sounds of Roland JP-8000 - be ready for the long and board reading. When you hear the demo and patches, you may be disappointed. If you listen the more "analog-like" synth sound from Yamaha AN1X or Access Virus, or even some "retro" you`d be disappointed twice. I read about "Big Fat" sounds of JP-8000 - well, I think, that the people are missing the ground. Thanks to Roland, this sound not BIG and, of course, not FAT. Thanks, becouse the magic begins when you put the performance in the multitrack project, in any type - electr. or accoustic, rock or jazz. Any performance from this "blue toy" - chord, lines, arps, pads, strange noise etc. sounds as "it always be there" in any kind of music, at least as natural as you might expect from keys without hard studio works. This is the rarest quality in keys world - and the JP-8000 (as the many other Roland equipment) has it. Bass is always bass, treble notes are always treble notes (without middle frequences "waw-waw" effect) and so on. For me, that`s more than enough. Another thanks to Roland, becouse that "big fat" sounds of "analog-like" synth or "organ-oriented" keys are very impressed in the shops, but can be depressed in a professional works, especially in the studio. For example, if every note from the XYZ synth has full-bodied mid-bass sound character, assotiated with "analog", it would be comletely impossible to create the mix with right overall tonal balance. Especially, if you use several independent tracks. You must put the EQ, Filters, Comression, all that studio gear and the "liveness" of performance begin to die... JP-8000 has those crystal-clear sounds with excellent possibilities to integrate in many musical projects, that I only can live with. I don`t know, maybe the Roland stuff think about it, maybe not - but this sound character is the best things (for me) Roland doing.

I completely depend on it. But, as I sad, I think it`s note the "first time people" synth. JP-8000 has some drum-like sounds, but in any case you need a GrooveBox or drums, a sampler, maybe some other keys. So do I. JP-8000 are not the workstation... But in an "analog synth" world, I think, his doing his job very well. And don`t forget about the sounds...

Don`t know anything about it.

There is no another synth for me, except Roland, wich has the very special clear sound character (see above). That what I love and that what I need in my work. For me Roland is the only choice for any kind of equipment. But, of course, for serious work you need computer, sampler (with many of sound libraries), drums and so on.

I am using ROM version 1.05, downloadable at the Roland site. Editing patches on this machine is very easy, pratically everything is under your control. It is actually a very good synthesizer when you want to be introduced to subtractive synthesis; so far I have not seen any comparable concurrent, even not the famous Nordlead 2 machines do as well in this review category.

The polyphony is 8 notes in single mode, 4 in dual mode, and variable in split mode. Does not sound overwhelming, but it is by far enough considering the very fat sound of the JP-8000.
The built-in effects are very few (tone control, chorus, delay), but they sound as they should and are very easy to use. I wish it had a distortion for more aggressive solo sounds.
The expansion capabilities are pratically zero. Sad but true ...
The MIDI capacities are quite good. The keyboard itself does not have aftertouch but the latter is sent via MIDI. Sounds can be saved via SYX or librarian software. The 49 keys have a good feeling for solos, but not to be compared with an A-90 or K-2500X keyboard. By the way, every (!) controller event can be sent through MIDI.
The on-board sequencer consists in RPS pattern-like event recorder. It is definately not to be used for rock or things like that. It is kinda flexible, depending on the music style being played and very easy to use.
A very good idea has been the addition of the arpeggiator containing 90 preset settings.

This is actually the big advantage of the Roland JP-8000. Everything can be influenced in real-time, on stage, in studio, wherever you want, without any trouble. Standard real-time controls are ribbon controller, pitch bender, modulation, portamento and aftertouch (<= via MIDI only), additional ones everything you can push and turn on this machine, just amazing.
The real-time expressiveness is great, and you can add alot to your playing style. That makes music sound alive.
The preset sounds is the revelation of the bad Roland marketing capability. They should fire their marketing managers because Roland limited itself of selling the JP-8000 as a techno machine. There are better machines for these purpose (e.g. MC-505,etc.) and the JP-8000 does alot more than that. Fortunately, they have given it the capability of being programmed fully.
The pads sound extremely warm and alive. The solo sounds are very wide-ranged and good-sounding, especially together with the feedback waveform. Brass sounds a la Van Halen is absolutely no problem, bass sounds are excellent as well. But there is alot more, just check it out ...
In its price category it sounds actually best. Can be used for anything where such sounds are needed, e.g. progressive metal, rock, techno, etc.
Unforunately, it can only be used as a second synthesizer on stage, for example as a solo / pad synth because of the small keyboard (49 keys) on one hand and because of its sound principle, i.e. (virtual) analog synthesis.

So far I have not had any problems with it on stage. It does very well, looks great on stage and has a security built-in when the power goes away. Another problem is that there are only 2 audio out connections; could be at least two more I guess.
I would never use any synthesizer without any backup on a gig. Alot of weird things can happen on gigs, so better always make a backup. For the rest, you can rely on this synth, it does extremely well.
Definately not a stand-alone synthesizer, should be used as an optimization of your sound library.

Roland customer support is, considering the high prices of their machines, very expensive and very bad !! I have had numerous experiences. Transport costs are the most expensive positions usually when repairing a Roland synth. Don't be astonished by high bills for only a few standard repairs.
Whenever Roland releases a new machine, it leaves the old ones in the dark. What angers me most is that their rack modules always come up with upgraded and better features while their old synthesizers cannot me upgraded. examples: D-50 / D-550, JP-8000 / JP-8080 ... etc...
If customer support is your main concern, then leave your fingers away from Roland; it is definately not worth the trouble.

Today, I would decide for the JP-8080, because it contains all upgraded features (distortion, 10 notes polyphony, voice modulator, etc.) and buy a good master keyboard, because 49 plastic keys is not enough.
However, the Roland JP-8000 does its job well, it sounds good, is easy to use and all in all a very amazing synthesizer.
If it were stolen I would be unhappy because of the lost money, not of the lost synthesizer. I don't know whether or not I would buy it again, considering the fact that the virtual analog synth market develops quickly both in quality and price. As already said, I would buy the rack module, it is by far better and more flexible.

im using the latest software version i think (1.05). works flawlessly. No midi problems or anything of the sort. Presets are great. Most are a collection of other older Analogue synths (Oberheim Leads, Moog Basses and Leads, Juno and Jupiter Pads...etc..) Editing patches is a SNAP! Just tweak away on thee ol' knobs, then when you get somethin to your liking, Hit the Patch write button and its done. Manual is decent. although you better pray you know about synthesis techniques or else you drown fast in the manual...Its Midi section is pretty basic, doesnt focus enough on recording onto a sequencer, SCREW MIDI, i dont need it..just record from sequencer to Hard disk..

Polyphony is 8 voices...Basic but enough.I never have complained about polyphony though. Keyboard action is springy and fast, jus the way i like it! Built in effects are Chorus, Delay and other good stuff. you can change the chorus to Phaser or Flanger, your choice. This thing can expand and take new sounds through Flash ROM, or something like that. Roland has already come out with 2 more banks, pretty cool!! Like I said, Midi Capabilities come by the ton, theres plenty, nothing i have to worry about. No On board sequencer, but it has this motion control thing..which i never bothered with, but when i watched the demo video, it looked as stupid as hell. oh well....

This Board is made to NOT imitate real sounds. Its made to make strange analogue sounds and warm Roland trademark sounds..which might i add, this board is VERY warm...tons o pads. Jp8000 works great for Techno, Dance, Synthpop,Ambient and anything else under that genre. i think onboard effects are great, i use em in live use to add expresiveness. This board is great..its the missing link in my music. It sounds more professional than anything out there. its Very Good on Velocity, and for aftertouch too. When Velocity is added, Dynamics are great.

Ohh yeah! i could depend on it. As a matter of fact, there are two keyboardist and a singer for our band, the other 'boardist is using a Roland jx-305, and i use this. Its my only board. Why would i need anything else?? : )
I always gig this without backup..i'd be surprised to see this thing break

Never had to Deal with Roland, probaby never will. If there are upgrades i will jump to the ocassion.

If it were lost or stolen, id weep and weep...and weep some more..then i'd get up and walk to my music store and buy another one all over again!! I've been playing ever since i was 8 years old (im 16 now). All my gear is Roland Related or Roland. I have a Jp-8000, an Mc-50 sequencer, I just sold off My Tr-707, and i just bought a dr-660. I love everythin bout this synth. Nothing i can complain about with this synth. the closest Comparison i had with this was the An1x i looked at for about 10 minutes, its crap..dont buy Yamaha Crap.

Most operations are easy if you understand the fundamentals of waveforms and envelopes. The manual is a little better than most Roland manuals, but that isn't saying a lot. Complex functions like the "motion" memory are a little difficult at first. Editing is easy, and the unit has an important feature that some of the competition doesn't. It's possible to view the current digital value of a parameter without modifying it. Very handy for, say, copying a value from the filter envelope to the amplitude envelope.

The on-board digital delay, bass and treble, and chorus are excellent and should be standard on all synths. Settings for these controls can be stored with each patch.
The ring modulator is one of the best I've heard.
Only thing I see missing is a noise waveform on Oscillator 2.

In my work the JP-8000 has filled the shoes of a Minimoog, a Korg MS-20, and a Roland Juno-60. It also goes way beyond those instruments. I agree with the writer who said the JP-8000 makes you wonder if analog ever sounded this good.

I haven't had it that long, and I treat my equipment very gently, but I've owned four other trouble-free Roland keyboards in the past 10 years.

If it were lost or stolen, I would replace it with another JP-8000. I learned synthesis on a Minimoog in 1972. The JP-8000 is what I wished the Minimoog was back then.

Using jp8000 with OS version v1.5 (no update i guess , i got it like that). most of the presets sound alike and many are unusable but some are great sounds the 303 emulations and such. IMO this synth isnt built for bass short attack sounds (because it makes an annoying click whenever AMP ENV attack is 0), but its more usefull to fat pads and string sounds (using the super saw waveform). editing couldnt be easier since u have like 30 knobs and u dont have to be a synth master to figure out what every knob do. the manual explains all the synth's features nicely.

the synth is 8 notes polyphonic and 2 parts, and that pretty sucks because u cannot start making much with it unless u have other gear. the keyboard has a kind of 'cheap feeling' , and also no aftertouch. the chorus effect is good for fat pads and string sounds and the tone control ('eq' type thing) is also good but the delay is the best since its syncable to midi. one other bad thing about it that it doesnt have as far as i know any expansions and thats too bad because nowadays every synth can expand itself but not this one i guess... one nice feature though about it is the RPS (phrase sequencer) that can record small riffs, like short basslines or chords.

This synth has some good analog sounds (like 303 emulations and jupiters) . it does what its' supposed to do - analog emulations, these sounds work well for electronic music such as trance/techno or ambient (especially the pad sounds - try STARGATE, cant remember what preset number).

i never performed with it, but i would definetly use it on gigs . never had any problems with it, never locked up on me / hanged / went crazy.

never had to call them (actually i dont think i got roland's number) but i havent even called the store i got it from.

i wouldnt buy it again but not because its not good - but because now u can get for that price things that can do 10 times more than it but it was worth buying when i did. also the reason i bought it was because the nord lead was hell more expensive but if it wasnt i would get a nord becaues its great too and i love the color and the filters are not from this world!!
for conclusion: the jp8k would be much much better synth with more polyphony/parts , thats its' main problem

A very nice user interface. Big easily controllable knobs and buttons with a really nice ribbon slider. The manual is quite clear about what everything does. Certainly the best feature is its ability to store data changes as midi info, so I can flip all sorts of knobs and switches and the data will store directly to my midi file. The only downside was it took me a little while to figure out how do get the patches to work w/ the "performances" (multi-patch storage and playback).

You are just not going to find an analog synth to sound as nice as this. It also has some really nice built in delay and chorus effects which challenge my Lexicon MPX 100. The presets are pretty nice. I'd prefer more than 8 voices (since it's l998), but I'll live. If this was a multitimbral machine it'd be a dream box.

No problems yet

They've got a web site for the jp-8000 so you can download patches. What more can I say.

I write sort of a cross between Crystal Meth/ Beck / U2 and I love this thing. I've been playing for about (wow... has it been)12 years and this makes me happier than the first keyboard I ever bought. (Juno-60). If I had mo' money, I'd probably get two or three more of these puppys. If it were stolen or lost... well I'd weep openly, fall to my knees and scream "Why oh why keyboard gods do you taunt me!!".

The presets cover a lot of what I would loosely term 'turbo analog' sounds. I doubt anyone will like every one. But they are intended to be used as templates to make your own sounds. The ones that catch your ear. Damn! Stand back and take a breath! I suggest you try performance 14 (feedback lead) and lay into the ribbon controller and mod/pitch bende. Then, hop up to performance 24 (1979!) and feel the fat, then grab the cutoff freq and resonance sliders in the filter section. When you've diddled with that a while, keep doing it, but reach over to the osc 1 section and push the waveform button to cycle through the waveforms. Then, jump to performance 45 (Euroneuro) and turn the arpeggiator on. Play a few chords and click the octave button to two, push the arp hold button, and use the mode button and tempo to get wierd. That's the five minute intro to the machine, IMHO. I find something interesting about every patch, and I just fiddle with the knobs until I figure out what it was that made it sound so interesting... I used to tear into 'the keyboardist's' synths all the time (I'm a guitar player turned know twiddler. I have pretty solid keyboard technique, though...) Anyway, I learned how to program on his old alpha-Juno-2 and JX-3. If I hadn't, the manual takes you through everything, with examples using the 'board, modifying sounds. It was well-written and I feel comfortable with all the new stuff, and I think even new programmers would feel comfortable with it. All those knobs and sliders just >beg< to be grabbed!

The unit is 8-note polyphonic, with two oscillators per note (no stealing or running out playing complex voices). On the other hand, it can only play two different sounds at once. It has tone, chorus, and reverb/delay knobs at the lower right side of the panel. They are solid and quiet. The expansion options consist of two pedal jacks and, presumably, a editor/librarian via MIDI. Speaking of MIDI, virtually every single knob and slider is or can be assigned to a continuous controller (and the manual has a thorough appendix of the MIDI implementation and addresses). Talk about turning the sequencer filters off and eating up lots of memory! Besides the arpeggiator (which is cool, but is mostly cool because of the drop dead sounds...), the JP8000 sports a function they call the Realtime Phrase Sequence. It plays back musical patterns that are mapped across the keys. The sequences are not mapped to specific sounds, but you can modify them on the fly and record new ones pretty easily. Played with the left hand while doing a keyboard split, it's pretty wild, since you can have two distinctly different sounds doing lots of wierd stuff! Between the Arpeggiator and the RPS system, jamming live, especially in a dance setting, is no problem for even a lackluster keyboardist. And once again, the lead sounds wail... This is not a be all, end all workstation. It's an analog modeling synth that is trying to do analog one better while offering the same level of control that many of those classic boards did. And in this role, this machine performs its job and then a lot...

Some of the sounds are the synth world's version of digitally remastered audio. You listen and go, "Wow, call me an analog man, but was it ever really >this< good?' This isn't a sample playback machine, so you won't hear those types of sounds, but the pads and basses are all equal to or better than any analog synth I've played that produces a similar sound--and that's Korg, Roland, Oberheim, and Moog, boys and girls. This thing lends itself well to rock, dance, techno, and industrial type sounds very easily. I also have a Yamaha SY99, which I feel has some of the most realistic brass and string sounds I've heard, and despite being analog, a few of the brass and string sounds would sit comfortably in an orchestral piece. I think a great, expressive cello sound will be one of my first programming goals. Whack the keys and the sounds go crazy, grab a knob and the filters go crazy, puch a button and the machine jumps, but it is all easy to control. Some synths make you want to perform, some just play back sounds, this is definitely the former.

I've seen Roland gear kicked, dropped, get hit by power surges and brownouts and come right back up, ready to play. This machine is even more solid than the old JXs, and I would (almost) feel comfortable throwing it in the back of my Montero (without a case) and going four-wheeling with it. No joke. I haven't had a bad experience with Roland gear, whether keyboards or guitar gear. It comes on ready to play, and I'd play without a backup (probably with another keyboard for bread and butter sounds, so I could use this one for the really tripped out stuff).

I've only had it a little while, but I've dealt with them in the past, and they know their stuff. Everything was always handled with complete professionalism. It might take you a week to actually reach someone, but they will get you squared away in no time, after that... A second to air a big peeve of mine: I tried to email them, and I searched their whole website. Guess where their email address is? NOT THERE! GEEZ!

I got a great deal on this board on the Harmony Central used classifieds pages. I want to play 'til I'm wiped out every time I turn it on, because I love the sounds and all the controls. I looked at the Korg Prophecy board in a Trinity, the Waldorf Pulse and Nord Lead. The Trinity just wasn't quite the sound I wanted. Maybe too clean, mabe a bit too weedy, but I wasn't going to pay a thousand or more for a mono synth. The Waldorf had the low end but lacked some punch (except for the price). The Nord sounded a bit thin or gritty at times. I laid into a JP8000 for the first time and thought,'I'm glad I didn't buy anything else. This is it.' If you could get a JV-2080 with a JP-8000 board, like the Trinity with a Prophecy board, well, then you'd have something.