Roland JP-8000

Very easy to use, even if you are new to the whole 'Analogue' thing. just tweak the controls untill you get the sound you're after, then save it to memory. The manual, as with most of Roland's, is very well written but honestly, you probebly won't need it.

The polyphony is 8 voices which i think is a real shame. 8 voices is great on a 'real' analogue polysynth but the JP-8000 sounds much thinner so ideally a few more voices would be very useful. The keyboard action feels pretty good and my only complaint about it is that there is no aftertouch at all.

The little sequencer, RPS, is a fantastic feature. You can record 2 or 4 bar phrases onto any of 48 keys and midi sync them to a drum machine or external source.

The effects provided are good but reverb is sadly missing.

The waveforms are really nice, the classic 'supersaw' cuts through a mix with ease and is a timeless sound, the saw and square waves sound like good old analogue.

The JP-8000 manages to emulate the tone of analogue synths to a certain extent. Its nowhere near as warm or meaty as a true analogue synth but the overall sound is unmistakably analogue like. I consider the JP-8000 to be a fine dance machine, the supersaw is meaty and powerful and the envelopes are fast enabling some cool dance basses.

I really like the sound of the JP-8000. Like i said its not the real thing, but it can get very close at times.

The JP-8000 is probebly the most reliable synth iv ever had. I lugged it all over the place, gigged it to death and it never complained once. I gigged with one for 3 years and it never let me down.

never needed it.

I don't have my JP-8000 anymore, and i miss it at times. my heart lays with 'real' analogue synths so i upgraded to an Alesis Andromeda last year, which is one phat sounding monster.

The JP-8000 is an awsome piece of kit and i highly reccomend it to anyone looking for a modern analogue alternative on a budget. The JP-8000 helped establish me as the local synth player i am, people ask me where it went coz it made such an impact on em with its killer sound and slick looks.

I find it veary easy to use :) :D! Every one whit basic knowlage sould be able to use it :D :) iam not good on lfo but thtas just cause i dont know so mutch aboute it but i think iam getting the hang of it :)

the on board Sequencer can only record loops and i never use it so i wont rate it.
No pressure sensetive keys is a minus.

i would give it a 10 but the effects r poore and it hasent reverb. but u can still do veary mutch whit it i Produce HardStyle and it dose good leads and fx fore hardstyle and other dance music :) :D and u can always add teh effects in the computer or u can conect it to effect racks :) :D Its good for Leads Pads and Fx's :D :)

It feels veary high quality the plast or what ever its called in english feels almost like metal

Never used it

Would definitely buy a new one if it were stolen. its definitely worth the money :D :). I love the SuperSaw :D :) The Quality and the Whole Synth :D :). I hate that osc2 hasent got all the wave forms and that the example the detune and mix can only be used on ytghe supersaw.

no upgrades

twist turn bend and slider the hell out of this baby
the interface is begging to be adjusted, for real time sound design
the presets are analog digital bass pads fat leads and ambient textures etc etc! they are amazing , but you need to fiddle with this synth to get the best creation

editing is easy and smooth, no zipping or cheap & nasty sounds simply smooth or as drastic as you want it to be

manual is to the point, sort of, but again more diagrams X100000000

8, so its enough for leads bass pads and most strings also enough for arps and pads - you might need to make sure the release of a sound is at its maximum for some


so many effects and they are very welcome, also with knobs for editing treble and amp easy , yes just practice

not really [no expansion, i dont mind, did the moogs have it!

midi, of course this is great in logic or cubase or any other lower priced stukk maybe sonar of cakewalk, just go crazy

the JP800 has a memory for keyboard work so let it record and change knobs in real time [cutoff rez, tempos etc] and hit the play button and the jp play while you slam phat bass or pads

this is for [jp8000] the phatest basses harsh leads abd amazing pads, fit for any kind of electronica - house trance electro psy hip hop ambient and experimental stuff, no pianos but you can get ok electro piano organ if you really try

works great for arpeggiated leads and bass phases and swellimg atmospheres and crazy tones and drones - so trancefor its big warm vintage strings and bass for its funky lines and electro for its squeezi rezonating rips

effects are fine but i use warpfactroy and leave effects off most of the time just get the edited sound right before you add chorus and reverb/delays

the keys are nice and light but well made and will last, but look after them and the repair shop will not be seeing you soon

leave aftertouch off and also when recording and editing the velocity is adjustable and you may edit this funcyion to your personal keyboard needs

The Jp8000 has been designed using a first-of-its-kind Roland Analog Modeling sound source for powerful sounds associated with vintage analog synths with the flexibility of digital technology and midi. Like the classic Roland synths of the past, the Jp8000 has a collection of 38 front panel knobs and sliders for powerful real-time sound cintrol, Innovative "Motion Control" feature memorizes all sequential slider and knob movements, ensuring that a great real-time "tweak" will not be lost.

"Analog" synth functions like oscillator sync, ring modulation, -12/-24 dB filtering, cross modulation, an assignable ribbon controller and powerful pitch bend/modulation powerful synthesizer for live.

always in the studio [home bedroom] the dust can get into the slider holes do lightly dust the interface daily and wipe with slightly damp cloth NEVER WET!!! cover it up when not in use. The power lead is very strong, compared to Korg MS2000 etc, synths deserve thik and strong cords.

dont gig but it would be fine as a lead synth, couple the playback ["Motion Control"] your own programming and eiditing live, this jp8000 os ready.

i think a midi keyboard also with knobs would help if you have additional softsynths in an Apple notebook - for live situations, where you just want to plat the JP8000 and program other stuff on-the-fly in Ableton LIVE or sequencer

never needed roland assistance


no, i would repaired then way down the track seek out Access Virus and Softsynths, the JP8000 is like aretro synth that never falls apart, the thing is digital but analog in many ways

fine in the bedroom studio on a quiklok stand and connected to other gear, worth every cent used so i am happy with this all in one synthesizer from a trusted brand.

been playing and experimenting with the minimal sode of ambient for a while now, the jp8000 is wild amd begs for mndbending soundscapes or simply funky bass and trippy sounds, go wild bening shapes.

apple notebook, pc - 1000mb ram, 160gb hdd, audiophile sound card
software...on & on... Warpfactory, for getting sound just right absynth 2 and various other Native Instrunment software, edirol and Maudio midi keyboards - for the softsynths.

etc

looked at other Korg and Racks but th Jp8000 has everyting i wanted in a synth.

ge tit [if you can] for ambient/experimental. bass electro house trance psy hip hop trip hop alt rock or and especially Illbirnt work
this board has classic sound and also has fine cold digital stuff too, great Moog basses and phat leads just arpeggiate and go wild.

some users include Hebie Hancock, Way out west, Siser Bliss, the Crystal Method, BT, Orbital, Ken Ishii, Vince Clarke, Goldie, Dave Holmes, Prodigy, Groove Armada, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, ATB, Uberzone, Faithless, Gary Numan, Scooter, Konflict, William ?rbit, Paul Van Dyk, Groove Armada,


MISC:

Oscillators - 2 Roland Analog Modeling DSP oscillators: Saw, Square (PWM), Triangle (PWM), Super Saw (7 de-tuned Saws), Triangle Mod, Feedback OSC, noise

Filter - Resonant 12/24dB/oct low pass / band pass / hi pass; ring modulator Memory - 128 preset patches, 128 user patches, 64 performances, 64 user performances [ok]

Arpeg/Seq - Powerful vintage-style arpeggiator with beat patterns; Programmable real-time Phrase Sequencing

49 full size keys and roland bender GET THIS CLASSIC NOW


AND WHY DID ROLAND STOP MANUFACTURING SUCH A BRILLIANT SYNTH, THEIR NEW STUFF IS MORE WORKSTATION THAN ANYTHING...

Effects - Onboard digital delay and chorus

This synth is a dream to use. I got some fantastic sounds out of it the first day in use. Like a real analog, most of the editing can be done real time. In fact, I only looked in the manual to figure out how to save sequences and edits. The presets sound good, but many veer away from the analog sound into more digital sounding stuff.

There are plenty of great effects, and the polyphony is fine for my needs. Most of the sliders and knobs are pretty smooth for real time editing. The ribbon is really great and I miss it on my synths these days (I live in a different country than my JP8000). The sequence takes a little figuring out, but it works well enough. The split keyboard option is especially great and is tailor made for my composing style. I really miss this feature on many non-Roland synths.

The expressiveness of this keyboard is great. It's too bad there's no piano synthesis on this machine. I think the keyboard would serve it well. I think the JP8000 would be pretty versitile for any kind of music. My only problem is that I'm usually out for more vintage sounds, and I really have to search for them sometimes just because there's so much on board.

No problems at all thus far. I used this at gigs with no backup and no worries.

It took a really long time to get a manual for this synth. But that was the music store's fault as much as anyone else's. I don't believe Roland manufactures this synth anymore, so that could be a sore point for future service.

My old roommate actual bought the JP8000, but I ended up using it far more than he ever did (he was more in the market for an electric piano). I spent a year with this as my only synth and created plenty of music that I'm still proud of. This is a fine choice for a primary synth. I prefer the Alesis Ion and Korg MS2000B in the long run, but I think those synths are aimed a little more at analog sounds than this one.

Easiest keybord I've ever played! Especially for people who don't have a degree in reading the stupid PHD-level manuals. All knobs and sliders are right on the front of this keyboard. If you move something and don't like it, just slide it back to where it was and the sound goes back to the original sound.*

Keyboard action takes some getting used to because it is so light, but what do you expect? This is a synthesizer. You do have the luxury of turning the velocity on and off with a quick touch of the button.*

I use this keyboard exclusively for synth bass! Mainly R&B, gospel, and hip-hop. Excellent! Smooth bass sounds. The JP-8000 is VERY WARM! Digital keyboards just don't add up! This is an analog modeling synth designed just for experimenting and creating your own custom sounds. I've also experimented and got some pretty crazy sounds. Onboard effects are all only a touch, slide, or turn of a knob away!

Seems like a very reliable keyboard. I can say this because these keyboards are becoming even more rare every day and very much sought after. If it wasn't reliable, everybody wouldn't be trying to get one. Mine was used and is in MINT CONDITION!*

N/A

I could not live with myself if anything happened my JP-8000(49-keys). I would immediately search and pay for another one. I would settle for nothing less! I only hate Roland for not continuing production on the best, easiest to use keyboard they ever made! For bass synth, this is the cream of the crop. Second choices maybe something like: Korg MS2000(44-key)-looks to me like an exact remake of the ultra vintage, ultra rare Korg MonoPoly(44-key), Korg MicroKorg(37-key, sounds great, but beware of EXTREMELY small keys). Nord Lead 2x(49-key), Nord Lead 3(49-key), Nord G2 Modular(37-key), and Alesis Ion(49-key), and Alesis Micron(37-key). JP-8000 is the best choice*

Couldn't be simpler, really! I haven't used the manual, but this thing doesn't require you to - it's a synth for playing around on, and for getting very professional patches extremely quickly. Editing patches is so easy, especially with all the knobs and sliders on the front - this machine is THE patch tweaking synth!
The presets are surprisingly good, though mostly orientated at electronica/dance kinda stuff. Don't expect any attempts at realistic instruments with this machine, it's for fully synthetic sounds - and it does its job superbly.

The effects department is pretty limited, you only get chorus and delay. I'd have loved a reverb on this, but it is meant to be virtual-analog after all. The effects it DOES have are pretty amazing, they really work well. I've found the delays to be competent enough to abolish the need for reverb, on some sounds.
The polyphony is quite low, but again, it's what you can expect from a VA synth. To be honest, I use this thing for basses and leads, and some FX sounds, so the polyphony doesn't really limit me as a user. The JP8000 is not a performance synth; it's one you use for specific elements of your track, and it doesn't need to do all the work for you.
There's no sequencer, but the pattern recording is pretty versatile. As long as you have a decent setup, with either other hardware synths, or software sequencers, this machine's restrictions aren't a problem.

I'm marking the sound quality here on what this synth was meant for. No, you can't make orchestra-standard string sounds, or perfectly shaped grand pianos, but you can pull off some amazing synth leads and basses. The supersaw wave is unique to the JP8000, and it opens a lot of doors. I use this synth mainly for trance, techno etc., and it's perfect for making sounds in this area.
The JP has a pretty harsh, sharp sound to it. You can tweak sounds very gently, so it gives you a lot of variation, but it's difficult to pull up a sound with a very smooth edge. Some of the basses and leads you can make with the supersaw\PWM square system though, are devastatingly good. It packs a lot of punch - you really can make some ripping sounds with it, especially if you make use of the DUAL perform mode, where you can have a great double-OSC patch, and then layer it over itself again to make something really phat.
It's exactly what I expected it to be, and can work for most genres. The keys aren't great, but I'm judging this as a hardcore patch modelling synth - and as that, it is one amazing piece of equipment.

Haven't had any problems. It's quite light, and it survived being posted to me through a dirt-cheap Royal Mail service.

Overall, I'm really glad I bought this.
You have to know what you're going in for though. It's a synthetic monster, and it can produce some sounds that are out of this world, after minimal practice. Because it's so versatile (especially because the supersaw is a unique waveform), you can really have your OWN sound on this synth, and you can use it for years and always come out with something different.
It's not as good as some of the modern day stuff, though - if you want something similar to this, and you can afford it, the Access Virus C or Clavia Nord Rack 3 are the way to go; I might try and get one\both of those in the future. But you pay more for them, and at the end of the day they don't look as cool, or work as easily, as the JP8000.
It's great stuff.

dunno which sw ver.
i like the presets but im just a lame-o drum playing guitarist with a keyboard.
editing could be done by a backwoods southerner. oh wait thats me. damn.
no book

8 note poly. the only thing i can compare it to is the an1x we have in the studio and the jp kicks it buttt all day long.
agian the whole backwoods redneck thing. whats a midi? (joke)
i started play one of these things in 97 when they came out and i would spend hours in the music store tweaking and drooling on it. i actually fried one at mars music once(oops)i left in a hurry. but i make a lot of ambient background noise for the horror show called life.

why would you want a synth to sound real? i thought the point was to make real things sound synthetic? the onboard fx are limited but thats what you buy a lexicon for right?i will have to say that the lack of aftertouch is odd. but hey for the sound i can get out of this thing i can deal. btw my first experiment with synthesis was running all my guitar fx pedals in a loop and using the distortion to get a feedback signal and tweaked from there so maybe thats why i like the jp so much. lots of knobs lots of noise easy to mutilate.

i hope i don't break it. like i said i already killed one...

i ordered a manual from them and it was easy so if i ever have to call them again i hope its as quick and painless as that was.

i would buy another one in a heartbeat, hell i'd buy 2 more if i could afford it then i could take them apart and build one bigass jp 1600 with 4 osc and a billion knobs and sliders and tweakable lfo.
like i said im not a keyboard player so if you just like to make crazy ass noise with your instruments ala cabaret voltaire, einstruzende nubauten, p.e., download, skinny puppy, i say go for it.
i would love to have a pile of old and new analogue and va synth to just tear apart and build some crazy one off instrument of my own.
i don't really think we "make" music. i think it is all around us and we just play what we feel and see or like c c deville said"i listend to all the right bands it just didnt come out right"
i don't like to stick to one genre of music i think when you do it becomes stale and repetitive. music for the masses maybe, but i like to play for a more dedicated fan base.and these amps go to 11.
other instrument include: ibanez talman ibanez gx series 2 bc riches and peices of other instruments. the best music comes from crappy instruments with great players who push them to and beyond their limits.

Ive had my jp8000 for over a year now and i love it. this synth is capable of so much that i still havent gotten bored with its features. I am using the latest os (1.5) though i dont know what the difference is.

I think that there are some usable presets but not many at all. Roland tends to make crappy presets for some reason, regardless they are incredibly easy to edit and also loads of fun. id just like to say to all those who claim that the jp8000 cant create believable true analog sounds, has never truly heard true analog or doesnt know how to edit the patches properly. i guarantee if this synth were in a room with a jp6 or 8 that the majority of people couldnt tell a difference in sound (ive tried it). i usually hate roland interfaces but this on is rather shallow and easy to navigate.

there are couple of things that really bother me about this synth. I really dont like the delay, i dont think that the time is long enough and that the level cant get louder than its set to. also the rps function only lets you assign a pattern in one key. this a huge pain in the ass if your playing a song with different chords i assume 99.9% of all songs have different chords.

definetly gig worthy! its never failed me at a gig and its made out of some durable material that its hard not to keep it in good shape.

ive had a problem using this synth with cakewalk. the board just kept freezing up until finally i gave up. very frustrating.

theyre ok

probably wouldnt buy it again because of all the new synths that have been coming out lately. but i would try to buy the jp 8080. ive been playing synths for 8 years. i own a kurzweil pc88 korg cx3 jupiter6 fender rhodes and a novation a-station

Keyboard contains a very esy on the fly concept of mixing analog and digital controls. There are no sub screan categories that you need to scroll through to get the desired effect. When you are using an arpegio and you need to change the filter rate with the lfo pitch all you need is to turn the knob, Unlike the Korg and yamaha synths with two button coltrols to go through about ten sub categories, that take about 2 minitues to go through, to get the sound you like.

The Effect controls are analog to the touch but have a digital display so you can see what, lets say, the BPM is. Before this keyboard it was very hard to use amy midi control without getting a headache. Although over simplified the keyboard has a very easy to use midi control setting that could be set individual to many layered sounds within the sound pattern itslef. This takes some time to do because it is controled in the cpu's sub-catigorical tree listing. You have to open category after category to get the controler set. This is still a lot easier than the Korg X2 method.
Onther draw back is that there is no sequencer but you can add one through midi. There is a limited amount of sounds, but the on the fly effects changes make up for the lack of sounds. I have recreated any keyboard sound i wanted with the JP8000. I created sound that are on the Nordlead (1-3) and the Virus Modle.
It also can record tracks on each key for simultanious playback. Another time consuming thing but well worth it when you need a good sound pattern and you have one on hand when performing.

Like I said, effects are on demand, high in quality and easy to use. The lack of sounds in the memory banks can be made up in midi. Unless you create your own and store them in the memory bank your self.
Great expression in the Industrial/techno sound not to good in the classical music department.

It has been dropped and had beer spilled on it and still work, 3,000 shows cant be wrong.
The sound strip is getting a little bit less responsive but still works.

never needed it.

buy a used one, there only 300 now.

Best feature of the JP8000, it is supremely easy to get nice sounds out of it.

Poor keyboard action, lacks after touch, 4 octave keyboard (that's bad!) and only 2 outs.

Still, it's great having a slider/knob for each parameter.

Onboard effects are extremely limited.

Thin and weedy.

I never really got any sounds out of the jp that I considered good enough to use in a track.

Good for poppy / euro-techno sounds, if that's your thing. Also good for proggy stuff.

Thoroughly disappointing, I got rid of it after 5 months. I would never buy another one. The sounds are what make an instrument and this one didn't have any that I could use.

However, some people will love it (supersaw eurotechno creators) and good luck to them, it just wasn't for me.

Incidentally, the story has a happy ending - I swapped it for a korg z1 which is definitely my bag.

Extremely easy to use.
The presets suck unless you're a trendy a** wannabe dj.
Throw away the manual and grab a knob.
Editing is easy but (in my opinion) extremely limiting, you can't REALLY get that FAT Analog sound out of this unit - DON'T FOOL YOURSELF! The JP-8000 does sound great all by itself and works wonderfully as a scratchpad for development, but I find that we always end up replacing it's patches with something else by the time we hit the final mix. It just doesn't have balls.

You know the specs, it has no expansion ability, but this board isn't really aimed at that market. No Midi thru, ONLY 1 Stereo Output?? WHat the heck was Roland thinking? (this is the most vintage feature on the board).

Again the sounds are great on their own, but if you play and tweak the JP-8000 side by side with a SuperNova, any Waldorf or any REAL piece of ananlog equipment from back in the days - You WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. It really comes down to balls - the JP-8000 has none.
This is Roland R&D modifying a couple of MC series units to fit into a box with a ribbon and keyboard - pop the cover many of the components are the same.

Dependability is solid but, I would never take it on the road.

If they can help you Roland CS is great.

It's fun to have it around so my kids can beat on something cheap and learn the fundamentals of sound development, but it is a very limited piece of equipment when it compares to other gear of the same value. Save your money unless you find a good deal on one.

Not sure of the software rev, but considering this unit was purchased at the end of it's production run, I expect it's the latest version.

Given that it's a knob and slider laden "Virtual Analog" synth, editing patches is a piece of cake. My patch editing software has a JP 8000 profile, but I don't hardly see the point in using it for this machine, it's real easy to get around on.

Manual is the typical obtuse Roland piece of crap, fortunately the JP 8000 is so easy to use I've not needed to crack the manual very much.

My review of this synth is coming from a slightly different perspective, I will be using it mainly as a sound source for my Roland PK-5 midi pedals. I play prog rock and we do material in a Rush/Yes/Genesis/ELP kinda vein, so having deep bass pedals is part of the act.

I was using a Yamaha CS1x for this purpose, the JP 8000 kicks serious ass on the CS1x, but I expected that.

The other factor is the price...I got this thing on a closeout for $699, including shipping. If I had paid more (like when the unit was introduced it sold for around $1600) my opinions would be a bit different. I'm not gloating over the price, this machine is worth far more, just pointing out that the $699 I paid kind of colors my opinion. Hell it's only $60 more than I paid for the CS1x.

Buying yesterday's midi technology for a discount price is fairly standard for me...since I'm not really a keyboard player, I don't have the need to have the latest thing.

On to the review:

Features -

8 note poly as many have noted, but I don't feel constrained by this.
If this was your only synth, yeah maybe but as a lead or bass synth, or with the bass pedals 8 is more than enough.

Several reviewers have taken issue with the 8 note poly, but it's not fair to compare this thing to newer synths, back when it came out 10 -12 voices in a VA synth was pretty typical. At least you get a real 8 notes, unlike ROMplers, each voice consists of two oscillators, not one.

Hell the Prophet 5 had only five note poly, the CS-80 and Jupiter 8 only had 8, the Memorymoog only had 6, most synths up to about 1986 had only 6 note poly. Frankly I don't see the point in slagging this thing for only having 8 note poly. My Proteus 2000 has 128 note poly but the JP 8000 is a lot more fun...

The keyboard action is a little light and plasticky, not up to typical Roland standards. The action on my JV-90 is way better. I'm taking some points off for lack of aftertouch. I expected that on a $600 CS1x (no aftertouch) but for the amount the JP 8000 fetched when new no aftertouch was pretty lame.

It's a really expressive synth, why take away the aftertouch?

The effects are basic, just a chorus and a delay, at first I was bummed that it has no reverb, but frankly I have not missed it. The delay works really well, and is pretty warm sounding for a digital delay. If I need higher quality F/X I'll just use my outboard stuff, but as it is the delay is really cool for ripping lead sounds. The delay and chorus are very easy to use, just twist the knobs, there is some basic editing in a menu for the delay type but that's about it.

I'll get into this later on but the ease of use of this synth is both it's charm and it's biggest limitation...it's very easy to use but at the same time you are limited to what you can do compared to the competition.

No expansion capabilities, but frankly you can just edit sounds, save them, then dump to a computer via midi. I don't think it needs a RAM card slot or expansion bay. Being able to add polyphony would have been nice, but not a big deal.

Midi capabilities are pretty basic, I expect I'll be mainly recording this beast, not virtual tracking with it. I hooked up my midi pedals to it, and after sorting out some confusion with the performance mode vs. patch mode I got it to work right away.

It has an onboard arrpeggiator, which is very easy to use. On the surface it looks like you only get three patterns, but you can go into the menu and select more. The problem is the additional patterns in the menu all sound pretty similiar.

The other "sequencers" are the Motion recorder and the RPS. I've not used the Motion recorder (which records front panel tweaks for playback) but the RPS is pretty cool. Kind of a bitch to program, but having 48 riffs under each key is a cool feature.

Now on to the opinion part of this.

I think this synth is extremely cool because it is so easy to use. Lots of VA synths are easy to use, but I was getting around on this one wi

Sounds are relative and very subjective. The stock presets on this thing are not that great, but thankfully they have spared filling the thing with annoying dance/techno/rave arpeggiator sounds...yes there are still plenty of these but far fewer than most synths of this genre.

I don't have anything against this genre of music (in fact I thank them for making the market big enough to bring back synths with knobs) I just don't want every preset to be dance/techno/rave.

One reviewer suggested that the presets were "dated". I find this to be a really lame comment, I mean the whole purpose of this thing is to program your own sounds, right? If you want "cutting edge" presets, go buy a friggin ROMpler.

Realistic instruments are not this things forte, I do like the string machine emulations though, they are pretty cool. I have no idea why they felt the need to put organ presets on it though.

This thing is so easy to use, just write your own programs, hell a drunk crackhead could program this thing.

Here is another opinion piece, like I said I play prog rock, but most of the market for these VA synths are in the Dance/Techno/Rave/etc. genre.

The JP8000 would likely suit the bill for you if:

1. You play in a classic rock band and you needed those "70's and 80's synth sounds" I can easily imagine a wedding band keyboardist doing "Addicted to Love" with this thing.

2. You played synths long ago, got out of it, but are getting back into it. Maybe you had an Oberheim (if you were rich), or a Jupiter 8 (if you were rich), or a Juno 6/60. While this unit is no accurate recreation of those synths, it will get you in the ball park and make you feel comfortable using it. It does the 1980's analog synth thing very well.

3. You play progressive rock or metal music, and you need lots of cool pads, ripping leads, etc. This synth is a real player's synth, you can really wail on it and the front panel is your friend. I brought it over to band practice, my keyboardist put it on his stand (in place of his Oberheim OB-12) and he just used it right off on several songs. He glommed to it right away and said "it sounds bitchin"

I think that users that are more into the total flexibility thing with synth programming might do better to look at Waldorf's stuff, Access, etc. The JP 8000 can do the dance music thing, but I don't think it's the best tool for that.

The effects are very suitable for what this thing is intended for...actually they were a pleasant suprise for me, especially the delay, it really makes the lead sounds come alive.

The playability of this thing, along with the front panel is very inspiring, although you sometimes get parameter jumps when you load a new program and grab a knob, it's not real noticeable, and every thing you grab actually does something, right away, in real time.

The first night I really had a chance to use the thing, I messed with it for three hours....even with a new synth, I usually get bored earlier than that.

Velocity response is very good, and VERY programmable. You can program the same assignments to velocity that you can to the ribbon controller, which is way cool.

No aftertouch, which totally sucks.

Now more opinions on the "sound".

1. Like many have stated, it is more "digital" sounding than many of the VA synths out there. In a way though it gives the JP8000 some of it's own character, in some respects it's kind of like a Jupiter 8 and a PPG wave got together and had a baby.

2. I have noticed the "thinness" that some people mentioned. What is weird is that in the lower register, it has tons of bottom end, but around the middle to the high end, it thins out. You can fiddle with the filter and get some thickness back, but I agree it's not the "fattest" sounding VA out there.

3. The Super Saw waveform rules (only available on the first oscillator), you get a lot more fatness and balls than just the regular w

It's like most Roland gear, very reliable, but I will say the plastic case is a little offputting, and the knobs are not as solid as they should be.

One nice thing though, the knobs are fairly low profile, and of course the sliders are so this thing would be a lot more roadworthy than many VA synths.

Extra points for the internal power supply, I have never left the wall wart for my CS1x at home before a gig, but it always worried me that I would.

When I went shopping, I crossed off anything that used a wallwart (goodbye Novation K station and MS-2000)

Most Roland stuff is built like a tank , I'm taking a few points off because the JP 8000 is kinda plasticky for a Roland.

I've generally found Roland customer support to be pretty lame, but have not used it in years, so I won't slag them based on my experience from years ago.

Their website is pretty uninformative compared to the competition...well the Korg Website blows even more chunks.

Funny how Waldorf, which is a very small company has the best website of any synth maker (FWIW my next synth will likely be a Waldorf)

If it were lost or stolen, I'd likely try and get a replacement. They seem to be common on the used market and not that expensive. I don't think I'd drop $1200 on a new one, but it's a very cool synth.

Very much well worth what I paid, and then some.

I've been diddling around with synths like forever, or at least lusting after them, even though I'm a bass player. My first actual synth was a DW-8000 I bought in 1987. I still have that one, with an Angel City Turbo mod.

Other synth gear I own include a Yamaha S-80 (with Piano and AN1x analog expansion ROMS), Yamaha CS1x, Roland JV-90 (with VE-JV1 voice and "Vintage Synths" expansion ROMS), a Kawai K1, a Proteus 2000, a Proteus F/X, and two Oberheim Matrix 1000 synth modules (one black face, one white face...heh heh, sort of like that Star Trek episode), also I have an Alesis D4 drum module, along with an old HR-16 drum machine and a Roland TR-505 drum machine (the TR-505 is used to generate click tracks, the HR-16 is in my "writing rig").

I've been wanting to get a VA synth for some time, and came really close to buying an AN1x, but I was kind of waiting for the market to mature and prices to come down.

Having said that my "dream machine" is the Waldorf Q, but at about one third the price, the JP-8000 will do for now. As you can see from my list, I mainly have ROMplers, which have served my needs well, but I craved the instant interaction you get with knob laden VA's.

My Oberheim modules are way cool, but you have to program them with a computer, which is a lot more time consuming and less fun than knobs.

I love the expressiveness and realtime control of the JP8000, it's just a really fun piece of gear to use...sometimes programming and using synths can be a frustrating experience, the JP8000 is just a drink beer and have fun machine.

What I hate:

No Aftertouch
Limited LFO routing for the 2nd LFO
NO MIDI THRU (boohhh!)

What I merely dislike, or wish it had:

1. that the 2nd oscillator was "full featured" like the rest
2. More variety in the onboard F/X
3. Metal top front panel
4. Dual mode(s) for the knobs, a "pass thru mode" and an "instant mode" (so you could choose whether or not knob movements affected your programs when you first twisted them.

I compared this unit to a number of others:

1. Korg MS-2000 - I liked the sound, but not the package. Very tiny knobs, cheesy look, kinda toylike, and a wallwart power supply

2. Novation K Station - Frighteningly cheesy construction, more limited in some respects than the JP-8000, no patch names, and it cost the same as what I paid for the JP 8000

3. Novation KS4 - Heard it was the same as the K Station, just bigger with some improvements. Sorry but the K Station is built like crap, the model I tried had buttons mashed down through the front panel.

4. Waldorf XTK - very cool, but a lot more money...this one is on the shoppping list though

5. Oberheim OB-12 - my keyboard player has this, very cool synth but a lot more difficult to program than it should be

6. Yamaha AN1x - I should have bought this thing when it was new and on closeout, I think they were $499 or $599 at the end. I have a "half an AN1x" in my S-80 (via the PLG-150AN expansion card) and it's a pretty cool sound, but you miss the knobs.

Given the $300 - $400 that AN1x's are fetching these days, I expect I'll wind up with one of them and take the CS1x over to band practice full time.

The JP 8000 is gonna help me make music in a big way, I haven't had this much fun with a synth since I bought my first one. We're supposed to get snow this week, I'm hoping it's a blizzard so I can get stuck in the house and have a few days to really bond with the thing.

Even though I'm very technical and have a lot of keyboard and studio gear, I've come to the realization that simple is usually better...it's better to have a simple rig that lets you make music than getting all bogged down in t

Updated software. I agree that this synth is NOT, I repeat NOT a quick fix for everyone out there drooling over about $10,000 in vintage equipment. It is however, a kickass box, with it's own character. It's warm, it's versatile, and well, just down right fun (did I mention tweakable?) The manual is a quagmire unless you know your terminology or are really bored. Its for E. Engineers by E. Engineers, PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND SHAKE HANDS WITH YOUR NEW FRIEND! This synth is a breeze to use and edit, considering its liquid-like flexability.

Eight is limiting, and four on dual is downright pathetic. Granted I get a certain "vintage feeling" in my bones trying to wrangle with only 8-4 keys, but that fades quickly into frustration. Sure their trying to recreate classic synths here, but lets try and not recreate their limitations OK boys? As for the effects their decent (I wouldn't lean on them, but what self-respecting keyboard player only uses on-board effects?) but not amazing. The delay is as good as the others say. The seq. etc are all pretty standard. But in the end, the "feature" on this baby is it's hands-on tweakability. I LOVE IT!

I admit the sounds were not up to my wildest dreams or expectations for that matter. I was expecting a Minimoog/ARP/Odyssey/Etc. right out of the box and that it doesn't deliver. I can tell a great many of those sounds are in there somewhere, you just have to pull (tweak) them out. Also, the envelopes/filters are not quite as smooth as you get from a warm & fuzzy old-school analogue box. They are smooth, but the tonal "stepping" is more obvious, the gradations more distinct. There is 1,000,001 sounds here, but like the others say, dump the presets and start from scratch in this big kitchen! Is is static or expressive? Well, a little of both, but generally expressive (in that Roland way...) I really dig the sounds here, even if there not what I quite expected. Time, time, and more time tweaking... As others have noted it is a groovy pad-ripping machine, and the bass can really hold together, but again TWEAK, TWEAK, and TWEAK again! That ultimate sound your looking for is somewhere out there in those knobs. Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps, AHH!! There it is!

It seems more solid that some reviewers have let on. It's NOT a Casio for christ's sake! But, it's not like a mid 70s stereo reciver with tough fly-wheel feeling knobs either. The keys are springy but a bit light. The knobs seem solid but turn a little to easily for me to trust them. Generally seems well built though.

N/A (so far!)

I love it. It's not quite what I was expecting, but its a nice challenge to incorporate new sounds. This is a BIG GUN to have in your arsenal. Lots of potential here. You here this synth everywhere on the dance scene, but its potential is much deeper and wider that a lot of its famous users have let on... TWEEEEEAK!

Latest, as of 1998

Presets are awfully dated - as are most presets.
Editing patches is a doddle, I've crafted the rudest bass sounds ever heard. I've had the board for three years, and the sounds I can get out of it are still sounding fresh.
The manual is crap.

You all know the features.

It's not limiting if you're using the synth in a larger set up - I agree with matey earlier, who said it was a dedicated Pad and Bass Synth. Correct!!

The pads can be beautiful. The bass can be devastating.

The overall sound of the machine completely fits with my ideas of what future music should sound like. It's rich, but slightly metallic sounding. We make new-as-we-can sounding dance music. This is the tool we use for the tonal quality of a bass sound - I've had a bit of trouble with getting a full deep bass sound out of it. That's why we're building our own analogue synth, and getting a Supernova 2. Like I said though, it can produce a very interesting bass sound. The same can be said for pads.

Forget lead sounds - it just comes off sounding cheap and cheesey. Get a Nord or an MS2000

It's also rather tasty at producing odd abstract (but very musical) sounds, mainly because of the inclusion of the feedback oscillator.

Onboard effects aren't anything special.

Totally reliable. We've used it on stage as part of a MIDI only setup, no problems.

Never dealt with them. Haven't needed to.

Stolen?

I'd be distraught. I'm a beginner, so this has been my only synth (aside from the fact I loved it so much I bought a JP8080 aswell) until recently.

I'll never sell it.

I bought it used, without the instruction book. But I was able to figure everything out in a day or so. The OS is genius, and everything is laid out well.

The polyphony is only 8, but you aren't going to write a symphony with this synth. Its techno, how many voices do you need? The keyboard feels decent, the effects aren't half bad and you can sync the delay or lfo to Midi. I don't know anything about the sequencer, but I haven't heard anything too good about it. It would be nice to have distortion though...

Great sounds. Even without distortion you can make pretty much any sound imaginable. And computers can fix the lack of distortion...

I wouldn't gig without a backup. This is its downfall. The JP8000 is made of plastic. I've had problems with the ribbon controller, the pitchbend wheel and the velocity assign. But roland support was very helpful, surprisingly enough.

Wow. My problems turned out to be more complex than originally expected. So they weren't in the tech support guys "book of answers." He spent one and a half hours calling up different people and tweeking his the JP8000 in front of him to figure it out. It was something wierd with the internal computer and I had to perform a bunch of wierd tests. Anyways, thank you Roland.

I would definitely replace it if it was lost or stolen.

Latest software version, whatever that is. Some good presets, some just average. All are good starting points for creating your own performances & patches though. And doing that is simple & fun w/ the knobs & sliders. The manual is OK - it helps when intuition fails.

8 note polyphony - I'm starting to find that a limitation once in awhile (but not often). It's really only a limitation when I'm too lazy to haul my other keyboard around. The built-in delay is good; the other effects are OK but not great.

No expansion capability. Lacks MIDI thru! Also lacks aftertouch (though I don't mind) and I haven't really used the sequencer - but I find the built-in patterns kinda limiting.

The user interface is awesome though.... I find the general layout easier to comprehend than almost any other programmable synth I've seen. The modules are well laid out, the pitch-bend/mod lever is great, and the ribbon controller is awesome! Toss all the other stuff; this and the sound is why I bought it.

There is NO realistic sound in this board; it seemingly wasn't designed for that. It WAS designed to make you feel like you're playing a combined Minimoog/Prophet, and it does that wonderfully! While I'm finding some limits & quirks to it's sound-generating ability, it gives me tha ability to emulate most anything I hear from Pink Floyd, Rainbow, ELP, Yes, and similar bands. And it seems to be pulling me toward dance-type stuff also....

It is quite playable. I've played better-feeling keys, but the rest of the interface makes up for whatever it lacks in key feel. Velocity works well; there is no aftertouch.

Haven't had it long enough to address these questions....

Roland US support is lacking. Wish I lived in Canada sometimes - Roland support north of the border seems much better.

I originally got hooked by the 1st demo track and the user interface; I was originally gonna just play w/ it a bit & return it after two weeks for a refund. But I just am blown away by it; I couldn't bear to part w/ it! And it just happens to fit very nicely atop my Hammond <g>

When I got it, I was also looking at the NordLeadII and the Korg MS2000 (as well as some others). There's just nothing in the price range that gives the combo of sound & interface this keyboard provides. There's plenty I wish it did; but then I'd be spending $3K on an Andromeda or something - and it wouldn't fit atop the Hammond. For a new synth under $1K this is as good as it gets, and even if I spent much more I might get some better sounds but NOT the interface - I don't think any surpass it. Making music is easy on this machine. No regrets on buying it. Too bad they discontinued it - I hope Roland uses most elements of it in a future offering.

Latest software. Didn't really notice any difference when I had updated it. The prests are OK. Not great. It shouldn't matter though, since the reason you buy one of these machines is to make your OWN sounds. If you ever want a good laugh go rent the movie "Titan AE" and skip to the very end of the movie, when they find the spaceship. The synth sound they use is the opening patch on the JP8000 "Chariots." It boggles my mind that with all of those sound editing options, they used a goddamned preset, not to mention THE FIRST PRESET THAT POWERS UP WITH THE MAHCINE.<br>
Editing patches is VERY VERY EASY; virtually everything that affects the sound is on the front panel with a knob/slider. Very few things are hidden in the menus (RPS functions/MIDI stuff).<br>
The manual is written by Japanese engineers, need I say more? Though hard to read, it does provide useful information.

8 polyphony, 2 parts multi-timbral, 2 oscillators per voice, effcts: chorus/delay, tone control. Goto http://www.rolandus.com/ for a more comprehensive list. The keyboard is pretty solid, though made of plastic, and the keys also have a very plasticky feel. Personally, I think it comes up a little short with the effects. The JP8080 (rackmount JP8000) has added Distortion/noise to effects, plus 10 polyphony instead of eight, and a vocoder.<br>
It can't expand. MIDI on this thing can be an absolute nightmare for first time users. I never used "performance" mode AT ALL, i would just run the keyboard in patch mode with a keyboard split for sequencing purposes. No Midi Thru, and No aftertouch, but responds to velocity.<br>'
No sequencer, but something similar called "RPS"; I never really used it, but I suppose it could be useful for playing live.<br><br>

The things I probably liked most about this Synth were the Supersaw waveform and the Tone Control. What I didn't like was the fact that its only bi-timbral and has only 8 voices.

It can create a wide variety of sounds which is only limited by your imagination. It's a great sounding board, but one of the things I absolutely HATED about it was the ZIPPER NOISE you get when changing parameters very very quickly. Otherwise, no complaints as far as the sound goes.

It seems pretty sturdy, despite its plastic case. I'd use it on a gig w/out a backup. The interface locked up on me only a couple of times when I had it.

Never Dealt with Roland Customer Support.

The JP8000 was my first synth, and I learned the basics of subtractive synthesis on it. It is excellent for beginners, and it will probably be popular for a long time to come due to its extremely user friendly interface. However, I have since sold it. As far as price/feature was concerned, it just wasn't measuring up. I found myself very quickly running out of voices, wishing it had more multi-timbral capabilities, and more modulation routing options. It does sound VERY GOOD, however, and I didn't really like selling it. There are much better VA's out there though, of course, they cost a lot more. If I was looking for a synth in the 800-1100 price range I'd take a closer look at maybe a Nord Lead2 , or possibly a MicroQ. If you're interested in the JP8000, get the JP8080; its the same exact cost brand new, and it has many more features. Or just save your money and get one of the BIG VA's ... hehe. The sale of my JP funded my Viruskb.

Depends on what you're looking for. As far as editing the sound goes, just turn a knob and you'll see what it does. For recording via MIDI, I'd say get a cup of coffee and get ready to flip through the manual for a while, because the manual can be very term-heavy if you're a first time user. However, the quick start is VERY useful in telling what each knob does and illustrating it to you. You can make professional music by touching a key with this unit, I was very impressed with the sounds.

I haven't had a polyphony problem yet. This is the kind of board where the sounds can be so thick you won't notice the 8-note polyphony so I don't know why that's a big gripe. This isn't the kind of keyboard where you're creating an entire symphony and playing it all at once, it's a dedicated bassline/pad synth, at least to me. The built-in effects are great, very deep and can be really noisy if you let them. I really really wanted a distortion effect on this thing, and there is one on the next model (JP-8080), but that doesn't help me now. If you try and experiment you can fake it though. Another thing is the MIDI IN/OUT on it...this is a great unit but it needs a MIDI THRU; you can work around it but again, get a cup of coffee. The ribbon controller is a lifesaver. 4 knobs can be programmed into it and that saves a lot of fiddling if you know what you want to do live. The onboard sequencer is great IMO, I just quickly program a few cool basslines into the RPS and set the ribbon controller and you have an instant 2 hour dj set with the right drum machine/sampler to back you up. And this thing just looks so cool too...

This unit has some VERY impressive sounds. The filters are awesome, 7 waveforms to change the sound and get some really drastic differences in tone; just a wonderful sounding piece of equipment and I'm not sorry for the price I paid. The only reason I gave this a 9 is because A) there's always something that will come out and sound better and B) there's no distortion built-in. As far as I'm concerned, sounds are where this thing shines. Short of shelling out more cash for an Access Virus, I can't see anything topping this unit for a while within the price range. This is a very very professional sounding board, and you can definately tell why so many pros out there turn to this thing.

Turns on every time. Makes me happy. I couldn't afford a backup, and so far I haven't needed one.

N/A, the phone #s for Roland are in the manual though.

This unit is great for me. It's the best piece of equipment I own. I scouted this unit out for a long time and learned everything I could about it before buying it though, which I recommend to anyone--take your time before buying something like this, it's a big investment. I got into electronic music making about 3 years ago and now I own my little dream studio: Roland JP-8000, Roland PMA-5, Boss SP-202. No, I don't limit myself to only Roland products, I just like what this combination of gear can do for me as far as a variety of stuff goes. You don't need a million dollar setup to sound good.

I don't feel that the presets show the true capabilities of
this keyboard.. but that is quickly learned once you sit down with
and work your own magic on it. I've made some amazing sounds come out
of this keyboard - sounds I didn't expect it to be capable of making.
Saving the names of the patches I've created is a bit odd.. the method
they chose for saving the names is pretty non-intuitive. It's easy once
you figure it out.

I've found that the JP-8000 sometimes freaks out and needs to be
rebooted when you send too many MIDI signals to it. This doesn't
happen often enough for it to bother me, but it has happened. The
polyphony is definitely enough for me. It would be nice if the keys
were weighted, but I'm just nitpicking :) Everything else has really
been covered in this category

The string instruments are rather realistic, but the piano ones
are too light and airy. I've made some incredible moog-like replica
sounds that could truly pass for the real thing. I duplicated a sound
from my Micromoog last night and was impressed. I think this synth can
be used for making any type of music, really.

This keyboard feels like you could drop it out the window and have
it still work afterwards. It's incredibly sturdy-feeling and well-made.

I never had to deal with their support.

If the JP-8000 was lost, I would replace it immediately. Most of the
music I make utilized the JP-8000 in some way.. and it sounds totally
different in every one of my songs. I love the wide range of sounds
it makes and how well it seems to be made. I totally recommend this
synth to both beginners (to learn audio synthesis) and to studio
professionals.

I am using the latest software version.
The presets sound awesome, and tweaking them is a finger flick away.
Wanna sound like Vangelis? The boot-up performance is called Chariot, strings for the right hand and bass for the left. A patch editor doesnt do that much cos programming this thing is EASY.

Took about a day to figure out how to do alot of things, and this is my first synth. I don't mean that this synth isn't powerful or anything, just with 40 or something knobs on the front panel, it gives you the ease of editing of an analog synth.

The manual is good, which is another reason why I thought thatit was easy to learn. Just flip to the appendix and make a bass, string, piano, and organ and you'll get the hang of it all.

Polyphony is only 8, but then again this is a Virtual Analog synth.
For electronica this is perfect. The effects include chorus/delay which can be SYNCED to LFO or MIDI CLOCK!
Lacks distortion but with the GRITTYness and SHEER power and fatness of this synth, who cares? The Nord Lead series doesnt even have effects. It has a RPS (phrase sequencer) which allows you to play a couple measures and assign that to a key. The keyboard isn't weighted, and it feels kind of light, but then again, this keyboard wasnt made to make classical music. The midi capabilities are nice with syncable effects, velocity but no aftertouch. The arpeggiator is also VERY NICE.
The RIBBON CONTROLLER is awesome as you can assign that too. Basically you can make velocity/ribbon controller(this little pad you move ur fingers on) to do anything.

The instruments aren't realistic of course, because this is a VA.
It is perfect for trance, goa, any type of electronic/dance music
The onboard effects are good but this board sounds FAT
GREAT pads and leads and pretty good basses

It is pretty reliable, kind of plastic but it hasn't failed on me yet.
I would use it at a gig without a backup, it has never failed on me before.

Never had to contact them

If I had to buy something for the same price, I would probably get the Kurzweil K2000 used, as it is more versatile and I have no other hardware except for a computer.
I've been playing for about 2 years and the JP-8000 has to be the funnest piece of equipment I've ever played/seen at stores.
The controlling on this thing is PERFECT
It helps me make music

Yeah, I did pay $1600.00 for it, but thats because I am impatient, and I bought it the first
month it was out. OS Version 1.05, which I upgraded myself from a previous version (1.01 I think).
The editing of the patches is straight forward (all the knobs are right there! jeesh)
Presets are ok i guess, but only a prelude to actual unique sounds. The manual isnt great
but for a Roland manual, it isnt bad. If you arent too familiar with synthesis, the manual
can actually teach you some basics about oscillators, filters, etc... There is a Librarian Roland released for the JP, but no editor. You can find a patch editor via
3rd party software on the net. If you're looking for the Librarian, you can grab it from my site (see link in last section)

Poly is 8 voice (as you have probably read by now) 8 voice poly is a joke if
you ask me, but if you're using this synth for nothing more than mono basses, or
simple arppeggios, than 8 voice should be ok. The effects are limited to a few chorus
effects, a few flangers/phasers, and a few reverb & delays. NO DISTORTION!!! damnit, this
should be manditory for an "analog modeling" synth. The JP-8080 (rack version) does come with
distortion if you dont mind the lack of keys. On board sequencer is limited to an RPS pattern based,
key triggered enviroment. Useful if you are just jamming with a drum machine I guess. Not very useful
otherwise.

Sounds are a 10+ Very nice, very loud, and expressive sounds. Every sound is
easy to jump on and alter if you dont like it. The 11-18 (etc.) patch placement
scheme is quite annoying, but is not insurmountable if you know MIDI. I would still
prefer it started at 001 or 000. The keys are very, VERY light feeling. And with the
crazy shit I play, Im always afraid I might just knock one loose. Timing seems ok, haven't
noticed the aftertouch, not sure if it has it or not. I mostly sample this board or use the
arp, so not a whole lot of "after touching" going on here.

It is very plasticy feeling. The keys are very light, the knobs feel even weaker
than the keys. Dont play this board while you are mad. Would I gig with this board,
hell yeah. Hasn't pooped out on me yet.

Never had to deal with Roland tech support. And from stories I have heard, I dont
want to. There is nothing Roland can tell me that I dont already know anyway.

Since I have created so many tracks and used it heavily in many songs, I would replace it
in a heartbeat. I might opt for the rack model (JP-8080) the second time around though. The
rack isnt that big of an improvment though... yes, it does add a distortion effect (finally), and 2
whole voices of poly (whoopy), and a vocoder, but thats it (literally)...oh except for that dumbass
smartmedia card slot....geez, doesnt anyone dump sysex anymore?

If you are looking for an analog modeling digital synth, the JP-8000 is a good choice, considering its
competitors (the NORD, the Prophecy). Those boards are great (i have owned both at one time)...but lets
face it, MOSS is one of the most damn awkward synthesis methods ever developed, and the Nord has a stone
mod wheel, and a wooden (yes wooden) pitch bender (silly swedes).

For some JP-8000 sounds, resources, and links (and I bet you'd like a JP icon too eh?) check out my site,
http://fade.to/sixline

The Software version in my JP-8000 is 1.5. The preset sounds were typical 'presets', that is to demo every extreme you can do with the synth. I never use presets, besides to create own ones, but the presets on JP-8000 are ok. Editing patches is really easy and intuitive, specially if you have tuned into your typical Roland style mindset. The Manual is over-easy, but I didn't read more than a few pages of it.

8 note Polyphony is propably the only thing that sucks on this thing. I have 10 fingers, so 8 notes can't be enough. It should be 16 notes. However you get used to this, and I think that the overall vibe of the JP-8000 is 'retro-analog' so you don't end up playing things that need more than 8-note polyphony. I find myself having the polyphony in mono position most of the time anyway. The keyboard action is ok, but it could be better. It is a bit plastic. The built in effects are ok, but agreably there could be a distortion, plus the delay could have a tone knob for tape-like dub-style action.

The JP-8000 is very intuitive to use and I find myself playing along records and can instantly (5-10 seconds) find the same sound that's on the record just by tweaking the knobs. I dont know about realism in the sounds. I think the thing to do with the JP-8000 is the quite opposite, as to get out-of-this-earth -sounds. I use the JP-8000 for HipHop and old rock things, Pink Floydish stuff. You can get nice expressive moogy lead sounds. And I find myself sampling big fat basslines from the JP.

As for reliability all I can say is: It's a Roland. It's rugged and it is quality.

N/A

I think I would replace the JP-8000 with something else, since I've sampled it a lot. But I haven't used it's MIDI capabilities yet, and I specially find interesting if I can assign the JP's many controllers to tweak different 'knobs' in PC audio software.

It's not like you can just pick it up and compose symphonies on it without any talent whatsoever. But give it a few minutes and you'll be surprized! I think it's very easy to use. You could only use the presets and be perfectly happy with it. But editing to get the sound you want is easy (After reading the manual, of cource). The manual provides a quick start (for those who want to get the reading over with and dive right in) and a more in depth tutorial that helps you understand what to do to get your prefered sound.

I was slightly dissapointed that the polyphony was only 8, but once I started using it, I realized that I rarely used more than 8 voices. It has chorus effects, echo, but no aftertouch. The weighted-key feature is really handy because you can assign other features like resonance, or the osc. settings, or practically any slider or knob on the board (with the push of a button). It is midi compatable, which makes it all the more easy to use for a sequencer (seing that it doesn't have one on-board). Although it doesn't have a sequencer, it does have a feature that allows you to record up to 8 voices (only varying in note) for up to 8 measures.

If you're looking for a realistic sounding synth, look somewhere else. The JP-8000 was made to sound like the vintage analogue synths, not grand pianos. This synth would work well for dance, techno, electronica, or pretty much anything that you want to have unique sounds in. The onboard effects are very good, but should be preset unless you know exactly what you're doing. This synth is a robot. it does exactly what you want it to and doesn't ask why.

I would depend on it implicitly, without a doubt that it would work (I haven't had mine for that long, but it still works like new). It hasn't been knocked around (except for when my clumsy brother bumped it off it's stand and onto his foot, but there was no damage at all).

I haven't dealt with the company yet, but I can imagine that they are helpful.

This is my first synth, and I am proud to say that I chose the JP-8000. It does everything I want it to. It does tend to get a little warm, though (not really hot, but warm never the less). I compared it to a few vintage synths as well as digital, and decided that this one was better than the vintage because of it's polyphony and midi capabilities. And it was better than the digital because of it's richer sound. If I could have one thing in it that it didn't already have was an actual sequencer. This definately helps with my music (but then again I do entirely synthesized music). If your looking for an easy to use synth that has a lot of potential, then look at the JP-8000. You wont be dissapointed

This is my first synth. So I cannot compare with others, but I think this baby is very easy in use. It has a good manual and the controls to change all the presets are clearly illustrated and/or are accompanied bij red leds.

The features are somewhat limited due to the fact that you can only use 2 sounds in your JP-8000 (unless you sample them offcourse).
The built-in FX are quite cool... But no percussion on this thing... and where is the distortion knob!?!?
The Keyboard looks very cool, but the keys feel somewhat plastic to the touch.

This machine has some cool analog sounds! You can make the sound do virtualy anything you like (with some effort). Most presets are a bit lame, but add some FX and there you go! :)
I don't play the piano, so I cannot really compare that kind of sounds. But this machine wasn't build for that! These sounds are really House/Techno like... even Hardcore (house style in Holland) is very easily created with this thing. Kewl!

The unboard FX are quite good, there's no Reverb and distortion ...that's the only lack of this thing.

I never had any problem with it! It's really stable. I'm not an on-stage performer, but I would use it if I was!

I (luckily) never dealt with them

I think I wouldn't replace it when it was stolen, cause I'd buy an Acces Virus instead. Not because the JP-8000 is bad, but because the newer synths have more options. The JP-8000 is definately worth the money I paid. I wouldn't buy it in a store though....
I love those analog sounds, an I hate the lack of Reverb and Distortion and the lack of only having 2 sounds at the same time under Cubase VST.
If you use this machine the right way, it can REALLY sound VERY good!

Everyone whines and bitches about the presets, but I thought they were actually not bad sounding, remember folks, its tweakable. The manual is written for idiots, very comprehendable (sp)

Im not too impressed with the midi, because sometimes i have to mess with it too much (im running logic)
unfortunately no room for expansion, but i guess thats aite for now. IT could have more features (effects, storage, audio in stuff, etc..)

realistic....no at least thats how I dONT want it...... playing it is great, feels nice, nicely sensitive keys, all good

so far no probs, although it feels like a cheap plastic casing, it still feels somewhat rugged
its roland its all good

The service department is AWESOME, the ordering dept. needs work I ordered a vs1680 ( I order direct from artist relantions dept.),at first they sent me the wrong unit and then they accidently charged me for three units instead of one

i like it, i dont want to get rid of it, infact i want to get the jp8080 soon

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.