Roland Jupiter 8

lots of sliders and knobs
very easy and logical.

8 voice polyphony of the best analog synthesizer out there.

you can't go wrong with the jupiter 8.
VCO made out of real analog electronics
filters and envelopes are fast and sound as good as it can get.
the best analog arp for the money

great but heavy and get hot ( great for winter)

roland still have parts for it.

I love it more than any other synthesizer.
If someone stole it - I can't even think about it.
any sound from Bass to Strings is just the right one.
Roland realy did a great job here and that is why
everyone is trying to recreate the old Jupiter sounds.

As easy as they come...

This is the Best Poly analog synth ever built on planet earth.
the 16 Oscilators are real analog ( no Ic's ) boards.
it is full of features from split to Dual thru Whole.
the filter section is a natural born killer.
for one of the guys here that sold it for a OB-8 Ill say:
"you made a big mistake "
I own the OB-8 and it is a cool synth but it is not a JP-8.
The cross mod is a strong feature and the extra filter HP VCF
is a nice add on to the 24/12 db acid filter.
2 ADSR envelope per osc.
every sound that you program on it sounds great.
a pure heaven fro the synth programmer.
It is very importent to realize that it is a very
warm sounding synth with this special vintage flavor.
just pick up any 80's, 90's or today CD and youll here it on.

I install a MIDI input and it is working great.
It is the most godly sound machine that was created.
I worship it as I use it more than any other synth.
I own 2 of them and can't find the guts to sell one.
Why?
If can play it in unison and it is still poly

1 note = 16 oscilators per note
2 notes = 8 oscilators per note
8 notes = 2 oscilators per note

the sound of the Unison is almost a chorus sound only sweeter.
try it with the arpigiator on Random and you'll FLY !!!

Never had a problem since I bought it used and
sent it to Arizona's "Kurt AMPS" for a whole service with MIDI installed.

none

This synth costed $8995 in 1981.
It is still the best Poly analog synth ever made.
The sounds of today can be achived in a second.
I love it and I will never ever sell it.

Okay, I know I'm not going to win any popularity contests but I have no idea why everyone and their grandma WORSHIPS the Jupiter 8. I owned one for several years and thought is was a decent analog poly. It's great for live performance and the layout is first class. It weighs a ton though.

Knobs and sliders are great. Arpegiator is killer. Cool looking.

I think this keyboard is too damn buzzy. I remember trying to program sounds that were smooth and warm ("Don't give up" CS-80 from Peter Gabriel's SO) and it wasn't happening. It had some cool bass sounds and decent brass, but the filter kinda sucks. Not nearly as warm as an Oberheim or Prophet V.

Mine was a latter model that was nearly bullet proof. Stayed in tune after only one routine. Killer build quality.

Well, it's Roland. You call them today and they ask, "Yes sir...which GROOVE BOX / DJ MACHINE DO YOU OWN?"

Good analog poly. Average sound quality. I sold it in '92 for an Oberheim OB-8 (WAY better string sounds), a Prophet VS (needs no introduction) and a Matrix-12 (destroys anything Roland ever made period).

Ebay has Jupiter 8s going for $2000 these days. Unreal.

I guess everyone knows what these things are like by now, but there's no review on the database so I thought I'd fill a hole. The JP8's user interface is great, given 1981 technology and a 4-char LED display. Everything's intuitively laid out, and there's a knob or slider for everything. Don't know what the factory presets are like because they've been over-written on mine - in any case, it's such fun to program that you won't keep them for long. Don't have the manual so I can't comment on it. The only reason it doesn't get 10 from me is that there's no way to 'reconstruct' stored patches (ie. work out what the fader settings were that produced a particular patch).

8 voices (16 VCOs), or you can stack them all in Unison mode (thus demolishing PA equipment). Bi-timbral - you can split the keyboard and use four voices either side, or you can layer 2 patches. Has 2 LFOs, including random setting, but sadly you can only use one per patch (ie. sounds on either side of a keyboard split use different LFOs, but there's no way to use both LFOs on one sound). HPF and resonant LPF which is switchable 12/24 dB/oct. Plenty of modulation options, though sadly you can't modulate resonance. 2 envelopes, one hard- wired to VCA. Cross-mod and sync between Osc 1 and 2 (though one way only); PWM available on both Oscs and modable by LFO or ENV1. Excellent arpeggiator which includes splendid random setting and is externally clockable. Mod button (instead of wheel) and pitch-bend lever; various things can be assigned to these in varying amounts (LFO mod of freq + filter to mod button, mod of VCO1 pitch, VCO2 pitch, filter to pitch bend). A few unusual features like LFO mod of VCA for tremelo, and the ability to 'reverse' polarity of ENV1. Excellent collection of outputs, including independent jacks and balanced XLRs for each side of the keyboard split, along with CV/gate etc. Later models apparently have DCB too. I suppose an audio input would have been the icing on the cake. Keyboard quite nice but not velocity- or aftertouch-sensitive. The JP8 is a pre-MIDI synth, but mine has a retrofit from Kenton in the UK which is excellent (and would be even better if I had the manual) - much more comprehensive than the factory MIDI on most analogue synths, such as the Jupiter 6.

One of the classic analogue synths I suppose, and sounds like it. Great synth-strings and brass, basses, the works. Can produce great electric piano-type sounds too, but usefulness of this limited by lack of velocity sensitivity. Excellent for weird noises. You can get it to make percussion sounds, and they might be good for dance stuff if sampled, but they aren't really a strong point.

Gives off a frightening amount of heat through a grille at the back that resembles a small car radiator, but this doesn't seem to cause any trouble. I've never gigged with it, but I wouldn't be afraid to on reliability grounds (it's bloody heavy, though). Tuning is remarkably stable, and there's an auto-tune button if it does go out. The only problem I've found is that some of the LED switches at the front don't always work without a hefty prod.

Every bit as good as its reputation suggests. The only problem I have is that programming new and wacky sounds into it is often more fun than actually trying to record music... Never having tried a JP6 or MKS80, I don't know how it compares, though I'm aware that opinions differ. It's a superb piece of design, and I hardly ever find that there's something I want to do that it won't let me, or that I can't work out very easily how to set up. If this one died, or was stolen, I'd certainly look for something very similar - though it's hard to find them at affordable prices.