I Played the Jupiter-80 Yesterday!

[b3keys]

I was in NYC this past weekend and stopped into Guitar Center in Manhattan. They had the Jupiter-80 on display and I was able to play it for about 30 minutes.

Here are some initial thoughts mainly focusing on the sounds:

To begin with there are 2,300 tones. You can combine up to four into a registration, which you probably knew from reading the online manuals. Here's a run down of the sounds:

Pianos - Surprisingly, not the first tone/registration as on most synths! There are about 6 variations of Grand Pianos, a Bright Piano, a SuperNatural Piano and some others. The SuperNatural Piano is awesome - smooth as silk.

EPs - I loved the electric pianos. Rhodes (Stage, Suitcase, FM are all represented) and Clavs sound great. There are two Wurly tones, which are also great. I have never been very excited about Wurly emulations by Roland, but these are really great.

One of the nicest things about the JP-80 is that if you are familiar with the Fantom Series (I have an X7) and the V-Synth Series (I have a GT), the effects block is very similar. I didn't feel I would have to relearn anything here. For instance, if you are familiar with the Piano mode on the Fantom X, you can basically perform similar edits (speaker setups, raising the piano lid,etc.) right from the edit menu.

Strings: There are some really great Chamber sections which sound really great. The keyboard really responds well to velocity, so depending how forceful you play, the sound dynamics can get louder. Much better than on the X series.

Flutes: Some standout flute sounds here as well. The Pan Flute was a highlight for me.

Brass: I wasn't that excited about the acoustic brass sounds. Maybe with some tweaking, they could be made better. Saxes were also not that exciting.
Synth brass was pretty good though.

Pads: I will echo the other review. The pads are very, very lush. There are several D-50 and some FM type sounds that are great.

Bells: really cool bell sounds, traditional, FM, D-50 Type.

I didn't even have time to check out the Synth section!

I didn't have enough time to check out all of the features. When the board hits my local stores in PA, I will definitely take some more time testing it.

Looks: As the other reviewer said, it does look better in person that in the pictures or online videos. Keys: The keys are more similar to my V-Synth GT, semi-weighted and shorter than the keys on the Fantom X7. I could play the keyboard well, so this wouldn't be an issue for me.

Would I buy the Jupiter-80? Maybe. I think that I would need some more time with one before making that decision. It does sound fantastic though.

[piaknowguy]

Awesome! Thank-you for your thoughts, B3keys! The Blend function on this keyboard is what I find very interesting! Any thoughts? =)

[b3keys]

Yes, the blend function is pretty cool. I found that it worked best with combos like Piano/Strings, where you want to bring the strings in either subtly or more pronounced.

I actually wished I would have had more time to test it. I will definitely check it out when it hits my local stores.