Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

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iixorb
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Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by iixorb »

Hi all,

Just out of curiosity, I asked my music store how many of each Boutique they have on back-order ( UK stocks have run out apparently).
JP-08 = 88
JU-06 = 80
JX-03 = only 23 !!!!

...and they actually had a jx03 in stock ( which is mine now :-) )

Since the announcement of the Boutique series, I've been deliberating over the JX and the JU ( not so much the JP to be honest).

YouTube videos are only a rough guide as to what to expect I guess but for me, I based my decision on how much sound shaping will be possible. The JX03 has lots of controls whereas the JU06 seems to have a lot less available in terms of how far you can shape the sound ( I know they are based on what the original synths had ;-) )

I'm just wondering why it appears to be less popular than the JU and JP ? Perhaps because the JX3P isn't as well known as the Juno or the Jupiter. Maybe the Boutique JX-03 will be a future sought-after classic if its rarer than the other two? !!

Cheers
Steve.
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witchmaster
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by witchmaster »

The JX-3P is not as popular as Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 probably because of the bad user interface.

I have all three Boutique synths and I like JP-08 the least, I find it uninspiring. Every time I use the JU-06 or JX-03 I get new musical ideas. This is of course a personal opinion, but also the sliders on the JP-08 are too small, the usable travel is about 8mm, total travel is 10mm but about 1mm at the bottom and top is the safe zone that doesn't change the value.
marctronixx
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by marctronixx »

Jupiter 8 was the leader among those synths, so its a no brainer that its the most talked about model. its also more expensive.

i only ever considered the jp-08 and bought 3 modules of 08s. some people are uninspired by the jp-08, and I am very much inspired..

As with anything, your mileage may vary...
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arcwlf
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by arcwlf »

Bought the JU and JX and didn't really hold out a lot of hope for the JX to be honest, I though for the price just go for it and you'll get a couple of good sounds out of it, but since getting one it's my favourite, love the little thing.
SynMike
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by SynMike »

About the Originals:

The Jupiter-8 is well known well known as one of the best of all time synths so the JP-08 is a natural hit. I automatically ordered the JP-08 because I own and love a Jupiter-8. I just couldn't refuse it as a little brother companion.

The Juno-106 came along shortly after the JX-3P with better interface and more complete MIDI Implementation. So Juno-106 probably outsold JX-3P many times over. More people own them so it appears in more music. So people are familiar with the simple power and sound of a Juno. JU-06 benefits from that recognition.

The JX-3P was a bit limited. I bought one brand new but could not afford the programmer. I was willing to live with the lesser user interface to get the 2 oscillators per voice as compared to a Juno. I bet most were sold without programmers. Fewer people have owned one and suffer the nostalgic pull. Fewer people recognize the sound of one on recordings as compared to Juno.

About the Boutiques:

The JX-03 might be a bit overlooked because of that history. I hope to pick mine up this week. I initially decided to order the JX-03 because I think the user interface with knobs will suffer less from the tiny form factor than the other 2 models. Then when I tried it I loved the sound.

I ordered JP-08 and JX-03 and I hope they will arrive in a few days. I would not be surprised if end up liking or using JX-03 more than the JP-08. They sound quite different from each other and both will have their place sonically. But I expect the user interface of JX-03 will be more inviting to tweak.
skinmechanic
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by skinmechanic »

I have today unboxed by JX-03, the bottom end on this is really nice, the low end synth drones and basses are excellent, I like the interface too, and with the small footprint is the reason I got this over the other two.

The original JX-03 I remember reading Gary Numan MIDI chaining 5 to get that synth sweep sound on his two albums ("Berserker" and "The Fury"), so if you can ever get to listen to any of these albums it's basically 70% the JX-03. Also Depeche Mode's Black Celebration and Some Great Reward is full of the original JX3P synth. I certainly think it has more parameters for editing than the Juno on the original (with the PG200 controller) and I think this module is the same.

The only think I have with mine, on certain patches there is a lot of background noise, anyone else noticed that?
iixorb
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by iixorb »

Hi.

The patches with some background noise, are likely to be using chorus.

The hiss was created to mimic the original JX3P but can be removed by pressing Manual, then button 12 and selecting either 1, 2 or 3 for the level of hiss required.

This was mentioned in one of the threads further down the list.

Cheers .
Mark76
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by Mark76 »

Well I got a JU06 and JX03 and I have to say the JX03 is my favourite by miles!

Lovely warm pads which sound awesome as minor 7th's low down in the mix. I love my JU06 too,but I feel you have to work this a lot more to get the same results. But THAT chorus! Yeah I know why I have the JU06 too!!
iixorb
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by iixorb »

Having started this thread initially, I thought it's time to chip in again...

I now have all 3 Boutiques (JU, JX and JP. Not A01) and my take so far, is:

JU06 - Great at those luscious Juno sounds, but sound shaping possibilities are a bit limited in scope compared to the other two. Very easy to create patches which sound fresh and 'current' though. 64 user slots very handy !

JP08 - Huge capability for 'off the wall', wacky, modulated sounds but quite tricky to achieve something specific. Tiny sliders not as much of a problem as I first thought and great having 64 user slots.

JX03 - The easiest to program something which you have in mind (brass, strings, percussion etc) and in my opinion, this is the best all rounder because of the variety of sounds which can easily be crafted. Let down only by limited user slots (16 patches vs. 64 on the others) which is a shame, as it is sooooooo easy to come up with new, usable patches!

Of the 3, the JX03 is my favourite. It looks the most authentic (it could have stepped straight out of the 80's!) and appears to offer the greatest creative possibilities.

Cheers.
cresshead
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by cresshead »

I have the jp 8 and the jx 3...love the jx3 great sound and u.i.

I used to have a jx-3p and pg 200 back i the 80's btw.
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Myrk-
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by Myrk- »

I have a GR-700 guitar synth, which was basically the JX-3P hooked up to an old midi pickup built into the Roland G-707 guitar. I never got the programmer for it unfortunately, but based on the original sounds from the GR-700 (JX-3P) I got the JX-03 and JP-08 boutiques.

Have to say I agree with a lot of comments. The JX-03 is really quick and easy to get wicked, and most importantly usable sounds out of it. The JP-08 I find takes a bit more time to craft, and the slider pots a disadvantage over the JX-03's pots. Also wish VCO-2 pot on the JP-08 had indent points on the rotations like the tune knob next to it - it's nightmare trying to get the osc. dead on 32 or 16 quickly to match the other oscillator!

The question I ask myself, is it worth getting the JU-06?
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funktree
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by funktree »

I have rather a strange question... which one of these 3 can cover the most of the tones of the others.
Granted the JP-08 does not have chorus and others don’t have dual mode (sorry if I’m incorrect here) After watching almost all the videos on YT :) and based on this thread I’d say:

* Jx-03 can cover the most
* JP-08 can cover some of the others
* and lastly JD-06 can cover the least of the other two sounds.

What do you think ?

... For example I've tried to create some moog cream bass sounds on JP-08. I think I was 70% successful
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Myrk-
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by Myrk- »

Whenever you try and emulate or copy you will pretty much always end out with a worse version than the original... I think it comes down really as to which you enjoy using the most. I like the JX-03 cus it has circular pots that aren't effected by it's small size, and as I said it is quick and easy to make sounds on. The JP and the JU are different machines which produce different sounds. If one could cover all 3 then that would surely put the other 2 out of business? My advice is to play around in store with them for a few hours.
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jx3please
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by jx3please »

Wasn't any choice for me - I used to own a JX3P so had to have a JX03 :)
And not disappointed - it's a cracking little synth. My only grumble is the 4 note polyphony, where the JX3P had 6. When playing it on the K25M it isn't too big a deal, but playing it through MIDI from a full size keyboard is more limiting.
If anyone is interested, I just posted a demo on youtube - just me playing the Bank C sounds - some came with it, but most were sounds I programmed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-ZgFlHQpo
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funktree
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Re: Is the JX-03 being overlooked?

Post by funktree »

Thanks for the demo, I wish there was video :)
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