Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Forum for JUPITER-50
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Chrisk-K
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Joined: 15:42, 25 June 2011

Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by Chrisk-K »

With the price of $1,499, I'm very tempted to buy a Jupiter-50. How is its keyboard quality? I've been to a couple Guitar Center but they don't have one in stock.
Mahobe
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by Mahobe »

Hello. Do not hesitate to go for it if your doubt is building quality. It is made in Japan, differently from FAs. It will last you more than you can imagine, the building quality is superb, and the keybed has a feeling I have not seen in any other keyboard. Enjoy!
skinmechanic
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by skinmechanic »

I bought one last week, and love the keybed to be honest. I bought it for the sounds but to be honest there isn't many 73 key semi-weighted keyboards out there, the build quality overall is good. I have also had the Motif XF7, and Jupiter 80 and this is on a par with both. They keys are a little shorter than the Yamaha workstations but feels good.
Synthtron
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by Synthtron »

Chrisk-K wrote:With the price of $1,499, I'm very tempted to buy a Jupiter-50. How is its keyboard quality? I've been to a couple Guitar Center but they don't have one in stock.
Did you end up getting a jupiter-50?

The build is good, not as robust as the Jupiter-80 of course since the body is half plastic with a brushed metal top panel. I have a Jupiter-80 and two Jupiter-50s so I can compare the two models. I like that the Jupiter-50 is lighter than the JP-80 but I do miss the larger and more intuitive touch screen of the JP-80 along with a few other features cut to reduce costs.
troggg
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by troggg »

If someone is just interested in the 73-key keybed -- and I could see why they would be cause it does feel absolutely fantastic if a lot of keys and an accurate feel is what you're after -- isn't there a Roland Stage Piano with the same keybed for a lot less money?

I have found quite a few onboard sounds to my liking, but as pristine as they are, there are probably samples available which are just as good.

That said, at used prices, it's a heck of a board for $1,000 or less. I would not buy one new for $1,499 as there is virtually no Roland support for it whatsoever.

Ask your Guitar Center if they'll blow it out for you; I got mine new for $1,000 at a Guitar Center a year ago (without negotiating; the price was marked on the instrument).
Synthtron
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by Synthtron »

Roland has 76 note keys and I thought Korg has 73 keys. As for support yeah Roland did not offer a Librarian/editor but they have had a couple updates and one recently which I updated on my Jupiters a few days ago to fix a bug in the effects section. Roland are still supporting them at the moment anyway but I would love an editor/librarian.
troggg
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by troggg »

Synthtron wrote:Roland has 76 note keys and I thought Korg has 73 keys. As for support yeah Roland did not offer a Librarian/editor but they have had a couple updates and one recently which I updated on my Jupiters a few days ago to fix a bug in the effects section. Roland are still supporting them at the moment anyway but I would love an editor/librarian.
My mistake about the 76 keys but no backing down on the lack of Roland support. It's nice that they fix a couple of bugs every few years.The JP50 may as well be Jupiter 8 for all the improvements we're ever going to see.

Since you mention Korg, there would have been refinement after refinement if it was their board. Ever tried calling Roland? Good luck with that.

I would advise anyone who wants to know about Roland support to read older posts on this forum and the JP80 forum to see how satisfied most owners are with the company.

That said, it's still a great board at the price you can pick them up for -- and that's mainly because Roland support is so inadequate and the lack of an editor/librarian is a cardinal sin.

I continue to use and enjoy mine every day even if the company blows.
Synthtron
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by Synthtron »

troggg wrote:
My mistake about the 76 keys but no backing down on the lack of Roland support. It's nice that they fix a couple of bugs every few years.The JP50 may as well be Jupiter 8 for all the improvements we're ever going to see.

Since you mention Korg, there would have been refinement after refinement if it was their board. Ever tried calling Roland? Good luck with that.

I would advise anyone who wants to know about Roland support to read older posts on this forum and the JP80 forum to see how satisfied most owners are with the company.

That said, it's still a great board at the price you can pick them up for -- and that's mainly because Roland support is so inadequate and the lack of an editor/librarian is a cardinal sin.

I continue to use and enjoy mine every day even if the company blows.
This is your opinion that Roland blows.

Also you have to remember the Jupiter-50 came out with the added filter models that the Jupiter 80 got as a refinement or update. It seems like it was already complete as it is.

What other/kind of support are you looking for in the Jupiter-50/80 besides an editor/librarian anyway??? Really?
troggg
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by troggg »

Let's start with a forum like the one Korg provides that is actually regularly visited by company representatives.

Then let's talk about the memory issues.

After that, we can get into how few sounds the company have produced to augment the factory sounds. It's swell that they created a repository for third party sounds.

But the editor/librarian is really all the evidence anyone needs.

And I could keep going but if you actually feel that the company is accessible and cares about Jupiter owners you're entitled to your opinion. My sense is that they threw the boards out there, they didn't sell particularly well, and that was that. The skimpy evidence to the contrary you threw out doesn't sway me in the least.

It's a dead platform. Except that the board is very useful and I hope to keep mine forever for the keybed alone, as I said, despite the company. Once again, you're welcome to disagree.

I've also said many times it's well worth the money I paid for mine. So what do you care if I admire the way the company runs its business or not?
Synthtron
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by Synthtron »

troggg wrote:Let's start with a forum like the one Korg provides that is actually regularly visited by company representatives.

Then let's talk about the memory issues.

After that, we can get into how few sounds the company have produced to augment the factory sounds. It's swell that they created a repository for third party sounds.

But the editor/librarian is really all the evidence anyone needs.

And I could keep going but if you actually feel that the company is accessible and cares about Jupiter owners you're entitled to your opinion. My sense is that they threw the boards out there, they didn't sell particularly well, and that was that. The skimpy evidence to the contrary you threw out doesn't sway me in the least.

It's a dead platform. Except that the board is very useful and I hope to keep mine forever for the keybed alone, as I said, despite the company. Once again, you're welcome to disagree.

I've also said many times it's well worth the money I paid for mine. So what do you care if I admire the way the company runs its business or not?
I agree that Roland should host its own forum instead of an unaffiliated fan site that originated I think to sell third party sounds.

I am not sure what memory issues you are talking about.

More sounds? Not sure what you mean.
Are you wanting Roland to come up with new waveform data for the Jupiters? or programmed sounds (registrations, Live Sets and tones)?
Why not program your own?
troggg
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by troggg »

The fact that there is next to no extra memory to load sounds. This is a new issue to you? Really?

I'd personally like more acoustic instruments, particularly orchestral instruments. More percussion would be sweet, too.

Basically, I like companies that invite communication with their customer base. You don't seem to care. So we disagree. That's the way of the world. Meanwhile I'm gonna have a go with the beast right now! My disappointment with the company doesn't lessen my enjoyment any when I play.

Although I'm mostly a singer-songwriter type, I like playing Tchaikovsky with the string sounds, particularly The Nutcracker to warm up. Then I do a little Mozart with the harpsichord sound (which was really buried, btw, like a lot of them). The harpsichord could use a better sample, a little more meat wouldn't hurt. Maybe I'll do some Bach with a big organ. Warming up with various instruments really helps with my ability to arrange and orchestrate.

But getting away from our little diversion and back to the basic keybed question -- cause I have a lot of songs to record, I've stated my piece on this enough -- there's really no comparison between this beautiful 76-key keybed and any plasticy 61-key controller keyboard on the market. If you're gonna play keyboards live or on your recordings, as opposed to just bass parts or drums, you're always going to be compromised unless you have 76 keys.

This board is a great way to go cause you're not paying extra for stuff like sequencers and weighted keys (as long as you don't crave weighted keys, which you probably don't or you wouldn't be on this forum). And it's crazy light without feeling cheap and the thing loads in like 8 seconds.
Synthtron
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by Synthtron »

I was curious what your beef was.

About memory I personally write over the unwanted registrations/lives sets/tones with my own sounds (I have two JP-50s). Different strokes for different folks.

About Roland support, I guess what one expects from a company differs from person to person. As a long time Roland user (over 25 years) I have found Roland's support good. They take care of their products under warranty if there is an issue.

Anyone who decides to purchase a Jupiter-50 or any other synth or product should feel confident that Roland will stand behind their product if there is a need.

The Jupiter-50 is a complete machine not needing any special upgrades. It is a great performance synth and a solid piece and i agree the weight is good leaving my Jupiter-80 and other heavier synths in the in the studio.
troggg
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Re: Jupiter-50 Keyboard Quality

Post by troggg »

No, they didn't do anything particularly nasty to me, so no personal beef. I've just read most of the threads here and comments after reviews elsewhere and that's the impression I've formed, though, yes, when I was learning the board I did try to call and reach a human who might get me straightened out and that wasn't happening at all. I also sent an email which never got returned. That's when I formed the distinct impression that I was on my own except for this site. I didn't imply that the company doesn't honor it's warranty or that it isn't repairing out of warranty instruments.

I have also followed Roland and other big synth companies for at least 25 years myself and there is zero doubt in my mind that Roland has the least presence of any major player currently.

So it is my feeling that if someone buys a Jupiter 50 or 80 they are buying an instrument and not a relationship with a company that is enthusiastic about its products.

Once again the good news is that the products have become devalued as a result and it is an opportune time to buy them. Just don't think the pro audio guy at Guitar Center is gonna be able to answer your questions about a Jupiter because they don't sell enough of them to bother learning about them. And if you buy one you're gonna have a lot of questions because there is nothing intuitive about them. The 80 might be different because of the huge touch screen, but we're not talking about that here.
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