Roland Jupiter 6

The Jup-6 has an intuitive layout. It's easy to see what modulates what. Programming is a little more difficult. I had previously only owned one oscilator synths such as the Juno 60 and 106. Working with two oscillators and two envelopes made things a little tricky at first. However, it also exposed the limitations of a one oscillator synth. The capabilities of the Jup-6 are almost endless (once you get the hang of it).

Everything you want in front of your face. There are no menus, sub-menus, data wheels, etc. The Jup-6 has two oscillators, two envelopes, split capabilities, high-band-low pass filter, cross modulation, four waveforms (with noise), LFO with triangle, saw, square, and random waves, etc. Most of these parameters can easily be routed to other features. The back panel includes MIDI and trigger inputs for the arpeggiator, VCA, and VCF.

inally, the Jup-6 is bi-timbral. Models that have MIDI Thru can easily be set to receive two MIDI channels. Mine, however, did not have MIDI Thru. In this case, you have to: 1. Turn the unit off 2. Connect a MIDI cable from the In to the Out on the Jup-6 3. Turn the unit back on 4. Press any key on the board 5. Disconnect the MIDI loop and reconnect the MIDI In to your sequencer.

(It's kind of a pain but my only other option is to shell out $250 [that I don't have] for a Europa chip.)

This synth can accomplish a broad range of sounds. People complain that it sounds thin but I cannot agree. It took me some time but I did get some decent bass sounds from it. I think it really shines for those quirky analog blips and LFO-modulated sweeps.

I have great faith in old Roland gear. Everything I've owned has been built solid and has never given me problems. Granted, misuse or accidents can kill any synth. I bought my Jup-6 as mint as any board built in 1983 is going to be. Hopefully, it will go strong for another twenty years.

N/A- Never had to deal with them (knock on wood).

I would be very bummed if this piece were damaged/destroyed. I'm convinced that its features are superior to any analog synth of its era (except the Elka Synthex). I would also consider a Jup-8 or Prophet 5 but those seem to command a price beyond me. Regardless, two oscillator synths are at the top of the food chain. The split capabilities on the Jup-6 and Jup-8 make them more attractive to me. (It's like getting two synths for one.)

it's very easy to use .you don't need manual .

good features for an 83's synth .

it really sounds pretty good .
good bass .you need unisson mode to create fat strings .
unisson mode is better than jp8 's because you can detune it to do fatter sounds . jp6 is a monster !!
like oberheim obxa .i didn't imagine that it could sound like that.

i have an atc1 with 4 filters, my number1 .
the number2 is jp6 .i also have a jp8000,jv1080,S2000,RD150,emuproformance .
I would buy it again and again .

This is an easy synth to program. The knobs, sliders, and buttons are very straight-forward, without any of that multi-function crapola nor sub-menus. Of course, there are some dumb-bell synthesizers out there that are easier to program, but they don?t have the sound nor capabilities of the Jupiter 6.

This synth doesn?t have velocity or aftertouch, but that is no biggie. You can can trigger an LFO, open up the filter with the performance controls left of the keyboard and bend VCO(s) (this is good when you have an oscillator synched up to the other one). As you can have two different sounds simultaneously on the split keyboard, you can play chords or bass with the left hand, and chords or a melody with the right.

this Keyboard makes a variety of warm analog sounds, but it?s not real big in the "fat" department. However, you can have the voices in unison, and detune them, for a bigger sound for monophonic leads and basses. It does good Hammond and Farfisa impressions, as well as comes with a nice electronic piano patch (just use some keyboard tracking to open up the filters a bit more on the higher notes). This is not a prime Sequential Circuits Prophet, Oberheim, Yamaha CS or Moog -- those machines are much better at serving up fat synth sounds. My digital Roland XP-30 has a better analog-type synth-brass sound than the Jupiter 6 can do. Pads, spacey effects, and string ensemble sounds (it whips all those fizzy string machines' butts) are all very good on the Jupiter. Some of the stock patches are bells and Rhodes-type sounds. It was like Roland was trying to day, "See, you don?t need a Yamaha DX-7 for those FM -type of sounds."

I used my Jupiter 6 live exclusively from 1986 to 1989 (it was that versatile), and recorded an EP with it, and it never let me down. It?s still an important part of my studio rig. I would never take it out live now; it?s just too old.

Except for one minor problem, I?ve never had the JP-6 serviced.

I sold my Juno 60 to buy this synth. DCOs don?t sound as good as honest-to God VCOs. A music store in the San Fernando valley was unloading these sweet Jupiters for a mere $1200/each, new, probably to make room for those crappy earry digital keyboards. This is overall quite a good, programmable, polyphonic analog synthesizer. It was Roland?s first keyboard with MIDI, which makes it relevant in today?s world of digital audio sequencers; but, I must say that my Korg MS-2000 is a better-sounding analog-style synth, and it set me back only $750, new.

Don't know the software version but it is the one with MIDI in and OUT--Probably an earlier version of the Jupiter 6, but I believe the outlay is the same throughout the manufacturing run of this synth. The presets all sound great, very lush smooth filters. The editing and/or creation of patches from scratch is very easy, probably one of the most intuitive outlays of any synth available, which is why this synth was in my analog synthesis programming class back at Berklee College of Music in 1986. The other synth they had, a Juno-106, was there below it, and it was very easy to see the differences. The JP-6 sounds great. It is true, the bass sounds aren't as fat as the 106, but other than that, this synth is about twice as deep, but still very easy to operate. I don't have a manual.

The JP-6 is a 6 voice polyphonic synth. It has excellent keyboard action although it doesn't have features put on later 80's synths such as velocity, aftertouch, but it plays these sounds easily, and one can adjust the VCA envelope for variables in sound. Also the LFO can control the amplitude. The bender can control the LFO, there are 2 LFO's one in the bender section and the other up top. The top LFO can be changed in waveform from simple sinewave(triangle) to square to pulse-width modulation to random. One cool feature the JP-6 has that neither the JP-8 or Juno 106 have is a nice multimode filter. You can switch it to either Highpass 24db/oct, Lowpass 24db/oct or both(Bandpass 12db/oct).This puts it up there with some of the coolest synths because it can make stringy, spacey sounds and really subtle changes with this filter. There are 2 envelopes on the JP-6 while the Juno106 has only one.
Used to be no expansion capability until a company called Synthcom came up with the Europa, a MIDI expansion update that runs around $200. Although I haven't tried this, I intend to, because it can really boost the features of the JP-6.

The Jupiter6 already has a nice arpeggiator that can be switched ranging from 1 to 4 octaves, and can be programmed for UP, Down, UP/Down, or Down/UP. With Europa the thing can do note-order arppegiator and even has a limited sequencing capability. I just got this synth and plan on really finding out all the things it can do but for now I can just say it could rival even the JP-8 for features, and is still usually priced below that, although the Europa mod does increase the value of this synth quite a bit. I would like to echo the last poster's comment that this is a synth, and so the great thing about it is the strange sounds you can make with it. It can produce adequate mimicry of horn and string sounds, but the ideal sounds are all in the realm of analog synthesis.

It plays itself--not other instruments. This isn't a sampling keyboard, so I wouldn't expect it to play "instruments", but it does play an excellent string ensemble sound, great bass(as stated above not as fat as a JUNO106, but in some cases you want a more cutting bass line, and this does have plenty of cut and strong attack). This works for ambient music, classic rock, Jazz-rock, New age, trance, anything. The real limitation only exists in the programmer. Excellent addition to any studio. There is an amount of clicking that the envelope creates on the faster attack settings, but I actually like this percussive attack. You can roll off the envelope and get it to go away. I don't know why others have complained about this feature, a Minimoog does the same thing, and that is a feature Minimoog enthusiasts LIKE. Has no Velocity or Aftertouch. Personally, I don't want these features on most analog synths (unless it is disableable) because it becomes too overbearing for me to control all those functions(and many newer synths with this feature are programmed, too deep for me to remove it, and they sometimes put aftertouch in there with an LFO controlling the filter or something, or a vibrato, and it just sucks, unless you're looking for a sampler with realistic horn mimicry or something...I'm not).This thing reacts to my playing and every knob/slider/key/button has a definite effect on the sound, which is what I want. Also the split keyboard is very handy, so you can have some multitimbral activity going on here.

This synth is about 20 years old now, and everything works well on it. I would be careful about gigging it if I had any reservations about how it would be treated. It has an Anvil flight case and is protected but unless I was close by and supervising, I would not just let anybody lug it around.I think the plusses of the great sound would help me decide to take it out without hesitation if I trusted the helpers. Without a backup.

Roland has an excellent customer service department, although I have never had to have this item fixed. They have sent me copies of Juno 106 manuals though, and were prompt and friendly. Additionally there are many Roland websites and other Jupiter 6 related sites that one can go to for information/support.

I would definitely try to replace this if I could were it lost or stolen. It is work about 2-3 times what I paid for it. I have been playing synths on and off for about 20 years. This is a very musical synth. I have had many brands of synths, and of the Rolands that I've owned, this is the most versatile, best-sounding, musical synth I've owned.

some of the presets are ok as a starting point for tweaking. contrary to popular belief, they do not all suck. some pads a la jupiter 8 are useable. the manual is typical humourless obscure rolandspeak. but perfectly understandable (but not very sexy to read). it can be downloaded for free, too.

i don't use midi.
the arpeggiator...i've used better ones.
it sure would be better if it had aftertouch but then again: you'd need to be a neptunian squid with ten arms to fully be able to operate all the knobs on this machine, anyway.
i'd sum it up saying that possibilities for tweaking are infinite. careful with them sliders! little changes can turn out to be drastic. buy some acid and go ape with this baby. (needs some form of compression though when you're improvising)

not sure if it reacts to my playing, feels more like i have to react to it. i'd say the yamaha cs-60 i own reacts to my playing. the jupiter offers way more programming options, but you'll need time to learn.
i haven't mastered mine fully yet.
sound quality is excellent (esp. how it cuts through any mix), though i personally don't always like the harshness and electronic precision.
the key is subtlety. another aspect to be mastered. it'll make you work hard at getting beautiful / musical sounds out of it (as opposed to shrill industrial noise assaults) - but when you succeed. oh boy.

i'd say an advantage is that curtis chips still crop up regularly on ebay, for quite reasonable prices.

never did

i mainly work with analogue synths, as i like their warmth and also their immediacy and their quirks. my favourite line of synths is the yamaha early cs line, though, and moogs. i do not think the rolands are quite up there. but close.
i never owned a virtual analogue, but then, what's the point. the build quality on these older instruments is so much better. the jupiter 6 is no exception.

Synth is very easy to use. Easy to edit and create your own patches.
Anyone with a basic understanding of synthesis should have no problem
understanding this beast also very good for beginners. The presets sound really good to really bad so don't judge by this. Make your own patches and see where it really stands out. The manual is alright
but doesn't go into depth on how knobs and sliders effect your sound.

Polyphony is good enough for what it is and what your going to be using it for. This board has very rudimentary midi capabilities but
as long as I can sequence with a board it doesn't matter how good the midi is. VERY GOOD FEATURES FOR 1983.

Most sounds are excellent. IMO a synth shouldn't sound like a real
instrument thats what sampled sounds are for. This monster makes the best industrial and Sci-Fi sounds you will ever hear, also makes good soft and smooth sounds. Basses are a little different than say a Moog, they are a lot grittier and cutting as a Moog's are warm and punchy not to say that the basses aren't warm and punchy because they definetly are. The leads are great especially in unison mode. Pads and sweeps are this boards best sounds. Like mentioned in other reviews this thing can do a filter sweep from hell, fast and slow deep and shallow. The filters on the JP6 are some of the best of any synth ever produced. The best High pass and band pass filter I ever heard. Different routings and syncable VCO's plus the multi mode filter make this the most versatile synth ever produced.

No problems yet haven't had any problems in the short time I've
had it. Battery is probably 20 years old and is still going strong.

Haven't dealt with Roland yet so I don't know.

This Synth Reeks of Analog Goodness one of the best Analogs ever produced. There is nothing I can complain about on the unit. It's built like a Tank and it should last you another 20 years if taken care of. I Can't see myself without this wonderfull synth!!!

My Jupiter is the first version (Midi in/out only) but I ain't gonna open it up unless I install EUROPA. No presets just programs and they're all mine so AWESOME! Programming it is very easy due to the knobs, sliders and buttons. Didn't get a owners manual but Roland did supply me with a service manual a few years back.

6 note poyphonic with 2 VCO's per voice. The keyboard is lovely and oozes quality. No effects but that would probably spoil the synths pureness. No cheap bells and whistles on this monster. Now EUROPA is available I'm gonna invest but a word of caution to other owners. Roland cannot supply the CPU controller board anymore so be very careful. Midi is basic on the Jups original O/S but EUROPA is the answer. No sequence but a good arpeggiator.

This sizer can sound realistic but why when GM modules are ten a penny? Its sound works well in most senarios and it sounds BIG, HUGE! It has to be one of the most expressive synths ever made. No velocity or aftertouch but who cares. I've got a one and that's all that matters. I can sit for hours just listening to a sound riff on the arpeggiator of jam with my Moog Source which is a fab combi.

Replaced 2 pots but that's due to external damage. Roland had replacements (1994), apart from that nothing has ever gone wrong. It's always the mainstay of the studio and used constantly with never a glitch. My mates girlfriend threw a sock at him, it missed and brushed the Jup, the relationship ended! It's that precious to us. It's in absolutely pristine condition even after almost 20 years.

Roland (UK)like Korg (UK) have excellent aftercare. They've provided me with info, parts and manuals when required. 10/10. Parts must be getting scarce though as the production run was for 1 year only so there can't be to many Jups left.

God created the world in six days and designed the Jupiter 6 on the seventh! If it were stolen I'd be found swinging from a short rope. I can't see myself even being able to find another and even so it would be untouchable in terms of price. I got mine for #100 and a MKS7. Unbelievable nowadays but in 1988 it was old hack. There is nothing bad to say about this synth as it's perfect. The Jupiter 8 is cool too and supposed to be one of the top 10 synths ever built including the MKS 80. Yet the MKS is a 16 VCO version of the Jupiter 6. Hmmm? Its got an unique sound. It may have some software LFO's and such but that's irrelevant unless your an anorak. I used to dream of owning a Jup for years, staring at ads (particularly the one where it in semi darkness)and praying for one. It's my favourite synth of all time. If there's anything I could wish for then it would be EUROPA up and running and another Jupiter 6 so I can look at them stereostropically. Amen!

This synth gets faulted one point for the MIDI spec, which is a real
nuisance. Very primitive, and while there IS a channel-change
capability, it's an arcane thing to set. Just leave it on 1 and be
done with it. MIDI aside, the rest of the synth is snooze-level
difficult. It can get sort of deep, programming-wise, but it's very
easy to get good, serviceable sounds out of one of these PDQ. The
factory presets are...ah...OK, I suppose, but the real meat here is
in the ease of programming your own stuff. Everything on the patch
panel is well-indicated, works as described, and after a little bit
of work can get to the point that you'll have one hand on the
keyboard and the other on the knobs all the time. A true joy to
work with and to play.

Six voices, crap-grade early-spec MIDI, no aftertouch, and a really
fun arpeggiator that you sadly can't sync to a MIDI clock. Those are
the downside points. The upside points are the amazing mod routings,
the MAD multimode filter, super-intuitive interfacing, a nice-feeling
keyboard, the great bender/LFO 'mash-pad' expression section, the
split capability, and construction that borders on mil-spec.

Good ghod...just let me give this thing a '10' and be done with it
on this aspect, already! Analog polyphonic heaven, to make a bit of
a paraphrase...

I've had mine about 12 years now. In that time, it has NOT ONCE done
anything I would categorize as 'questionable behavior'. Construction
of these is nigh-trashproof...and I've had mine out on road gigs,
in the studio, and even used it as a writing-desk keyboard back in my
old academic composition days. Would YOU feel safe doing smash-down
forearm clusters on YOUR synths? I do with this one...and have! Truly
a device from the days when Roland built things to last...

Roland still 'recognizes' these, although specialized parts can get
a bit troublesome if they fail...which isn't often from my experience.
Also, techs are apt to know and have docs for these. You can feel
pretty safe here.

Another of those 'touch this and you die' synths, to be sure. I've
used mine without reservation on minimalist classical, hardtrance,
noisecore, ambient, Berlin school spacemusic, and even a performance
of Stockhausen's "Set Sail for the Sun" from _Aus den Sieben Tagen_.
Yes, it's _that_ versatile. It is NOT merely a rave toy. While it
doesn't have the raw power of some other late analogs like the
Oberheim Matrix-12/Xpander or Elka Synthex, it makes up for that in
an intutiveness that makes it ideally suited for live performance.
I wouldn't feel wholly comfortable with an Xpander on stage (and
haven't!)...but I'm 'at one' with my JP-6 when I sit down at it. I
should note, btw, that there are two versions of the JP-6; a few
early models did not have a MIDI thru. These also don't have some
of the albeit limited MIDI capabilities of the later version. Luckily,
most are the later flavor.

Not sure of the software version, but this one doesn't have a MIDI through.

Very easy to use due to the multitude of dedicated sliders. If you know analog synthesis, then this is a breeze. If you don't, this synth is a great teacher! You'll learn what all those things mean in your VA's.

The presets are O.K., I like some of the softer sounds, but the lead and bass sounds are kinda tame compared to the supreme nastiness that the Jupiter 6 is capable of. Don't judge it by the presets, you'll think it sounds "bland"...well at least I did at first, thanks god I've had a chance to program it (I was going to sell it as soon as I got it, but didn't)

If you enjoy programming, you'll be up many a night tweaking this beast, everything sounds so good - you'll end up creating mini masterpieces every night! Once I turn it on I can't stop tweaking!

The manual is decent, but not great - it tells you what things are but not how they effect the sound. If anyone needs one, I have created a .PDF file of it and I will email to anyone interested.

Polyphony is 6 notes.

Keyboard action is decent, the thing I really like is the bender joystick and mod button, it feels tight and is fun to use, there is nothing like playing with your right hand, and using the other to bend the filter, your pinky to select the mod button, and our other fingers to adjust the controls!

MIDI is basic - note on/off. Man do I wish I could record CC changes (cutoff/resonance/lfo speed)

No sequencer, but it does have an arpeggiator.

Good for pads, leads and wierdness.

Filter sweeps from hell (or heaven). I first heard a hi-pass filter on my Quasimidi Sirius, but it was nothing, and I mean nothing like the Jupiter 6! You know those Drum & Bass hi-pass filter sweeps? This is a specialty of the Jupiter 6..cutting and smooth and deep at the same time.

Basses are elusive, but I am making some phat ass stuff now. Not as punchy as a Juno 106...the attack is slower, but you can get a nice ROUND dubby bass out of it. Also great squelchy basses, but watch the filter, if it sweeps to depp you'll loose all the low end. You can get some real "dirty" leads from it, and (in unison) they are so rich it amazes me. People talk about the "tone" of the Jupiter 6, and I know what they mean now. The "tone" can be described as rich, full and round. Overall, the sound is perfect in a analog sense.

The Jupiter 6 also exels at low-fi video game sounds. Have you ever heard the SidStation? Similar sounds are possible. I have made Donkey Kong sounds, weird laser gun/bubble sounds, and Squeeky, fizzy pitch bend things easily.

Not velocity or aftertouch sensitive.

No effects.

1 point off due to the somewhat slow attack.

Built with metal, it is heavy as well.

I would use it on a gig, but I think I would sample it instead so I could leave it safe at home!

Never dealt with Roland.

I love it more and more every day. It fits well into a mix. If you are at all interested - get one, you'll love it too.

of course, it's interface is analog.

however, it can be hard to get an exact setting with the sliders (there's not much throw imo).

as many features and possibly more than what to expect from a 16 year old analog synth. voltage-controled low-pass, high-pass, AND band-pass resonant filters. factory midi. nice keyboard action.

wonderful sounds. has a distinct character- can be warm in its own way but also sharp and metalic sounding. bass sounds may not stand out well in the mix, but do hold their own better than most. pad sounds may be thin compared to a prophet 5, but that is really an unfair comparison. the saw wave is thin sounding, but pulse wave is full sounding. not to mention the pwm is incredible sounding. the filter sounds wonderful with the minor exception that the amplitude of the sound becomes inversely proportional to the amount of resonance applied. so the more resonance, the softer the sound- this is particularly true in the bass region which imo contributes to the fact that the bass is a bit weak. this of course can be worked around. all in all, a wonderful distinctive *synthetic* sound.

very dependable.
built like a tank.

customer support from Roland? on a 16 year old instrument? ha! you may be able to order schematics and/or operation manuals...

check with third party companies that do good electronic repair for servicing. Electronic Innovations in the Detroit area is good.

owned this synth for almost a year and have grown to really like the way it sounds and where it fits in composing and in the mix.

i wish someone would come out with a midi upgrade- especially for controling VCO cutoff, VCA level, envelope times, etc.

all in all a very nice value if your looking for this type of sound.