Need your feedback on the JP-80

Forum for JUPITER-80
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cello
Posts: 1487
Joined: 11:47, 1 August 2011
Location: Glasgow, UK

Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by cello »

Hi all - I'm doing some research and hoping the Clan can help me. I have three questions that give some key indicators to the most important aspects about the JP-80. I'd like you to give the following:

Positive - the one thing you think is the best feature of theJP-80

Improvement - the one thing you think that the JP-80 most needs improvement

Keep - the one thing you would like to see kept in future products (be they related or unrelated to the JP-80)

An example answer might be;

Positive - touch screen
Improvement - bigger touch screen
Keep - the touch screen


Please note that this is not a bug-chasing exercise!

Many thanks in advance for all responses. I promise there is value to the exercise.
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kimsnarf
Posts: 275
Joined: 17:55, 4 January 2013
Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by kimsnarf »

Positive: Playability. Very inspiring and easy to choose and mix sounds.
Improvement: Direct control. More control over both the performance and programming. Meaning knobs, sliders, ribbons etc.
Keep: Focus on performance. Avoid sequencer, drums, audio playback/record and other distractions better handled elsewhere.
cloudswimmer
Posts: 13
Joined: 03:39, 24 March 2016

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by cloudswimmer »

cello wrote:Hi all - I'm doing some research and hoping the Clan can help me. I have three questions that give some key indicators to the most important aspects about the JP-80. I'd like you to give the following:

Positive - the one thing you think is the best feature of theJP-80

Improvement - the one thing you think that the JP-80 most needs improvement

Keep - the one thing you would like to see kept in future products (be they related or unrelated to the JP-80)

An example answer might be;

Positive - touch screen
Improvement - bigger touch screen
Keep - the touch screen


Please note that this is not a bug-chasing exercise!

Many thanks in advance for all responses. I promise there is value to the exercise.
I don't think your going to get a lot of replies here. The Jupiter 80 has been around for several years now and it seems people have moved on and are busy playing theirs and not hanging around forums :) I just bought mine mainly because I am use to 76 keys, the Roland syle pitch bender, and I was getting fed up with all the cheap and spongy keybeds of the dedicated controllers now on the market. Also as a Jupiter 8 owner for most of the 80's I also thought it looked cool with the colored buttons :) I would like to see Roland bring back a quality controller like the A-70 and 80 of the 90's, you know solid metal construction with a solid keybed like they produced back then, with extensive midi implementation.

As the Jupiter 80 sits right now, I would have liked to see a PC/Mac editor librarian and perhaps more extensive external midi implementation. Also more extensive tutorials online i.e. I'm still looking for instructions how to get both my audio and midi into my DAW which is Cockos Reaper via an Emu 1616m dock (the manual on page 90 describes the ability but not the process)

People complained when the 80 was announced saying things like 'its not worthy of the Jupiter name' and 'it needs more knobs' Perhaps indeed more knobs would have been nice, but as a successor to the Jupiter 8 .........well all I can say is besides a little studio work, I gigged the Los Angeles/OC club scene all through the 80's with a Jupiter 8 with a Yamaha DX7 stacked on top. If back then we had the choice of the Jupiter 8 and Jupiter 80 I personally would have hands down chose the 80 the way it sits now, and I know many of my peers back then would have too. Really looking back the only knobs I ever really tweaked during a live performance were filter cutoff and resonance, and you can do that with the Jupiter 80.

Are you thinking of buying a Jupiter 80, or do you work for Roland R&D?
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kimsnarf
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Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by kimsnarf »

cloudswimmer wrote:As the Jupiter 80 sits right now, I would have liked to see a PC/Mac editor librarian and perhaps more extensive external midi implementation.
What would you mainly use a librarian for on the Jupiter-80?
cloudswimmer wrote:People complained when the 80 was announced saying things like 'its not worthy of the Jupiter name' and 'it needs more knobs' Perhaps indeed more knobs would have been nice, but as a successor to the Jupiter 8 .........well all I can say is besides a little studio work, I gigged the Los Angeles/OC club scene all through the 80's with a Jupiter 8 with a Yamaha DX7 stacked on top. If back then we had the choice of the Jupiter 8 and Jupiter 80 I personally would have hands down chose the 80 the way it sits now, and I know many of my peers back then would have too. Really looking back the only knobs I ever really tweaked during a live performance were filter cutoff and resonance, and you can do that with the Jupiter 80.
I get the impression the Jupiter-80 was built for performers like you. I think it is mostly the studio/tweaker guys complaining about knobs. If the 4 knobs on the 80 were more flexible, i.e. adapted to what you were doing, like on the Prophet 12, they would go a long way. And cutoff/resonance should be possible to toggle for the whole registration, not limited/split to upper/lower. Smarter software could compensate for lack of physical controls. But I would love some assignable ribbons for performing.
cloudswimmer wrote:Are you thinking of buying a Jupiter 80, or do you work for Roland R&D?
Neither. I would describe him as a long-time Roland enthusiast and Jupiter-80 owner with contacts.
Devnor
Posts: 696
Joined: 20:22, 27 September 2010

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by Devnor »

Most importantly, Roland needs to fix the alising issues with SN VA waves. It not just happening with the alt-PWM wave but on all waveforms. I never really noticed it before but since I've been using the Linnstrument as a controller, sliding around that thing reveals much about the SN synth. The effect are easily duplicated with the pitch bender.
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scottrod
Posts: 106
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Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by scottrod »

Positive - overall sound is wonderful
Negative - no LFO modulation control using aftertouch. You have to be kidding me.
Keep - the build quality
spottingjonah
Posts: 107
Joined: 16:01, 2 August 2013
Location: Tennessee, USA

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by spottingjonah »

Positive - Build Quality
Negative - Organs (No VK???) / Funky Voice Architecture (4 tone Live Set, Registration w/ 2 Live sets and... and... sigh...)
Keep - Performance Focused
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cello
Posts: 1487
Joined: 11:47, 1 August 2011
Location: Glasgow, UK

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by cello »

Thanks for the feedback everyone - much appreciated! Do please keep them coming :)
cloudswimmer wrote:Are you thinking of buying a Jupiter 80, or do you work for Roland R&D?
kimsnarf wrote:Neither. I would describe him as a long-time Roland enthusiast and Jupiter-80 owner with contacts.
Kimsnarf pretty much nailed it :) I am collating feedback on all current Roland synth products. I believe Roland should know what their users think - this ultimately helps them to help us ;) The output (without respondents names) will be sent to Roland.

I am lucky enough to be able to enjoy several Roland products -> (in no particular order) 2 x JD-XA, Jupiter-80, FA-06, Fantom G6, V-Synth GTv2, System-1, TR-8, TB-3, VT-3 and MX-1.
knolan
Posts: 158
Joined: 19:50, 10 April 2008

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by knolan »

Hi Neil

My choices:

Positive : Supernatural Acoustic Tones (especially Pianos, Woodwinds, Orchestral Strings and Timpani)

(also - build quality - it oozes class, and is built like a tank)

Negative: Layered Architecture, as implemented. Simplify (the V-SynthGT has a layered architecture but is far more straightforward). Keep Registrations and Livesets - but - allow the user to Perform and edit on any of the Tone, Liveset or Registration level, according to their needs.

(also - fix the bloody PWM aliasing issue on the Supernatural Synth Engine)
(also - more modulation destinations and affect from aftertouch)
(also - need for sophisticated USB storage of multiple backups on one device, and a computer librarian)

Keep: Registration Selection Buttons below keyboard (but broaden their use to be programmable so the user can affect their choice of instrument selections). Amazing idea - amazing on Organs, worked wonderfully on early Roland preset synths and are GREAT on the Jupiter 80

(also - keep D-Beam - I love it!)

Kevin.
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cello
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Location: Glasgow, UK

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by cello »

Thanks for the great feedback! Keep 'em coming :)
gridpower
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Joined: 15:00, 30 March 2016

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by gridpower »

Positive: Feel of the key bed and honorable mention goes to the EXCELLENT FX section! The FX really open up the sound sculpting possiblities

Negative: Not enough realtime controllers on this keyboard. I mean this is supposed to be a performance synth, but not if you are a tweaker. You better have your sounds correct before a gig. Also the aliasing gets on my nerves, so I don't open the filter a great deal when playing in the upper register (this is a severe handicap)

Keep: Build quality and touch screen.
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Macker62
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Location: County Mayo, Republic of Ireland

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by Macker62 »

Hi Cello,
Here's my take on your request:-
Positive - The overall sound and effects.
Improvement - More knobs and sliders. Learning curve was too steep for a Terry Fuckwit like me. Need more examples and quick starts just to get noobsters up and running until they can find their way with the beast by themselves. A librarian. A link for the internet so information, updates etc can be downloaded directly to the JP80 and automatically. A help function onscreen, hold finger on icons etc and tips pop up just to help with functions and guidance, obviously this function could be disabled if not required.
Keep - The build quality, the touchscreen, the 'Jupiter' styling (I like all the coloured buttons and design). The connectors for leads and cables are perfect.

Hope all that makes sense!
TJ80
Posts: 103
Joined: 00:48, 20 May 2013

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by TJ80 »

Positive - The sound and relatively easy to grasp architecture.

Negative - The lack of librarian

Keep - The build quality.

Best of luck with your survey!
cloudswimmer
Posts: 13
Joined: 03:39, 24 March 2016

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by cloudswimmer »

kimsnarf wrote:What would you mainly use a librarian for on the Jupiter-80?
Well myself I've used editor librarians since the Opcode Vision/Mac SE30 days to tweak patches and organize banks on my various synths and modules, but I admit after an intial period of tweaking and building my banks I'd rarely touch the software (mostly cause a new synth would make it into my aresenal grabbing all my attention till the next synth came along) Now that I've had my Jupiter 80 for a few days the touch screen really does offer up quite a bit of tweakability and usefulness, and if I had the eyesight I did back in the 80's probably would be content. But I have typical aging boomer eyes nowdays and need my higher power reading glasses to edit on the Jupiter 80's touch screen, so being able to do the same task on my 30" computer monitor would make the whole process easier. I'm going to order that Roland wireless USB dongle thing and give the iPad app editor a try, I'm glad they at least give us that option for external editing :)
Méka
Posts: 48
Joined: 16:14, 10 October 2011

Re: Need your feedback on the JP-80

Post by Méka »

Positive : Build quality / Physical Modeling Sound Generators (SuperNatural) / Massive Layering Approach

Negative : Lack of AfterTouch Destinations / Lack of External Registration Librarian

Keep : Touch Screen / FX sections / Behavior Modeling

I hope the Jupiter-80 version 3.0 !
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