My First impressions of Roland Boutique

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Synthtron
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My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by Synthtron »

My First impressions of Roland Boutique.
I got all three in today and wanted to share my impressions out of the box.

-I would say when I first saw them upon opening the boxes is that these look cute. I have never thought of synths as cute (maybe cool) but these are both.

-Build is pretty solid thanks to the metal top panel.

-As others have mentioned the knobs and sliders feel solid and tight for precise control.
-The knobs and buttons are small but I found that they are still accessible and tweakable.

-I love the illuminated sliders on the JP-08 and JU-06.

-This is not a complaint but an observation in comparing the boutiques with the originals synths they emulate. The JU-06 and JX-03 Choruses have noise associated with them as the originals 80's synths did. I noticed it even more on the Boutique synths when listening to them with the on board speakers. The Chorus/noise is not exactly like the original Juno-106 or JX-3p. I am not sure the noise sweeps side to side like the originals. I have to grab headphones to listen closer. The Choruses do capture the originals vibe and character.

-The onboard speaker is my least favorite feature of the boutiques because its sounds as expected: small and tiny. Maybe the speakers will grow on me when I put them in the K-25M keyboard. I only bought one K-25M and I'm not sure which Boutique Synth will make it a permanent home.

-About the Sound, I love it! I love all three. May or may not be 100% dead on (I have not sat down on my Juno-106 and JX-3p to compare side by side...yet) but it captures the characteristic sound of the originals which is what I have been after for years on previous synth releases from Roland. So I am Happy with that.

-One thing I miss already on the JU-06 and JP-08 compared to the original Juno-106 had and the Jupiter-8 is the ability to control the routing or control levels of features that can be controlled by the Bender. On the Juno-106 you can assign an amount for VCO (Pitch) or Filter Cutoff to be controlled by the bender. On My Juno-106 I use the bender to control filter sweeps and record them into my sequencer.

The modules are gorgeous when viewed from the top or from above. They are not as nice looking when viewed straight on or from the sides because they appear a bit clunky on my Jupiter-80 and 50s. Oh well, no biggy I guess.

-My wish list would be for Roland to make a keyboard controller bigger than the K-25M so you could put two or three modules beside each other.

-Overall These are really neat to me. I got into synths big time when the D-50 and its smaller D-series siblings were out about 1988-89. I missed the initial analog releases so I got my analog synths used. I think these boutique synths capture something that I had missed from Roland for over two decades.

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richardbates1
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by richardbates1 »

I only got the JP-08, and have had it 2 days now so I can only comment on the sound of that particular synth.
The sound is SO GOOD! that I ordered another one today so I can poly chain them together and have the 8 voices.

And they look really really cool!

Synthtron, nice rig, the lil synths fit right in there with the big synths.
Synthtron
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by Synthtron »

richardbates1 wrote:I only got the JP-08, and have had it 2 days now so I can only comment on the sound of that particular synth.
The sound is SO GOOD! that I ordered another one today so I can poly chain them together and have the 8 voices.

And they look really really cool!

Synthtron, nice rig, the lil synths fit right in there with the big synths.
Hey Thanks,

I like the sound too. I will get a second one as well.
I placed the JP-08 in the K-25m. The K25-M is built pretty well. it has medal side panels. It feels very solid with the JP-08 on it. I will get another K25-m or two.
When the JP-08 is in the Keyboard it still fits nicely on the Jupiters. It goes about an inch or so off of the back but it still has all feet on the Jupiter's panel.

How do you show the whole picture? My pic size must be too large. The pics show more the left of the picture and cutoff the right side.
I think they look better in the keyboard.
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rsaintjohn
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by rsaintjohn »

Thanks for all the great details! Looking forward to my JP-08, and may not make it through the weekend without ordering the JX or the JU. Keep going back and forth between the two as my next purchase, though if I like them, I'll get all three.

Are either of you in a position to test a Boutique's MIDI with an external controller, beyond just sending notes? I know the doc indicates there's very little more than that, but I'm wondering if it might still be possible to assign external controls to some more parameters, and treat them more like modules.
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richardbates1
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by richardbates1 »

Synthtron wrote:How do you show the whole picture? My pic size must be too large. The pics show more the left of the picture and cutoff the right side
I create my images with these specs in PhotoShop, I hope this helps?
2 inches wide, height doesn't matter. 300 ppi
Any way that works for me, sometimes I just experiment, then preview till I get it right.
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richardbates1
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by richardbates1 »

rsaintjohn wrote:Thanks for all the great details! Looking forward to my JP-08, and may not make it through the weekend without ordering the JX or the JU. Keep going back and forth between the two as my next purchase, though if I like them, I'll get all three.

Are either of you in a position to test a Boutique's MIDI with an external controller, beyond just sending notes? I know the doc indicates there's very little more than that, but I'm wondering if it might still be possible to assign external controls to some more parameters, and treat them more like modules.
Right now I am just using my JP80 to control and play notes.....haven't gone beyond that .....sorry.
Synthtron
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by Synthtron »

richardbates1 wrote:
Synthtron wrote:How do you show the whole picture? My pic size must be too large. The pics show more the left of the picture and cutoff the right side
I create my images with these specs in PhotoShop, I hope this helps?
2 inches wide, height doesn't matter. 300 ppi
Any way that works for me, sometimes I just experiment, then preview till I get it right.
Thanks! i'll try that on my next image posts and hopefully I will have no more cut off pocs.
Synthtron
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by Synthtron »

rsaintjohn wrote:Thanks for all the great details! Looking forward to my JP-08, and may not make it through the weekend without ordering the JX or the JU. Keep going back and forth between the two as my next purchase, though if I like them, I'll get all three.

Are either of you in a position to test a Boutique's MIDI with an external controller, beyond just sending notes? I know the doc indicates there's very little more than that, but I'm wondering if it might still be possible to assign external controls to some more parameters, and treat them more like modules.
i'll try sending controller messages via the Jupiter-50. It does not look promissing because the MIDI implementation chart shows Bender, Mod, Expression, and Hold. Not much else.
Synthtron
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by Synthtron »

rsaintjohn wrote:
Are either of you in a position to test a Boutique's MIDI with an external controller, beyond just sending notes? I know the doc indicates there's very little more than that, but I'm wondering if it might still be possible to assign external controls to some more parameters, and treat them more like modules.

I was sending control changes from the Jupiter-50 and I can confirm no easter eggs. As the MIDI implemntation stated only a few parameters (hold, expression, Mod, Bender)
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rsaintjohn
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by rsaintjohn »

Thanks for checking, no big deal. Would have been a nice bonus, but I'm getting these for the sound and the simplicity anyway.
marctronixx
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by marctronixx »

since this is version 1 software i fully expect these synths to get some added features as it matures. the aira products went down this road too.

i have the jp08 (sits nicely on my jupiter 80) and the keybed and i love it immensely. i already have a juno 60 so i can't justify getting the ju 06. the 3p boutique is not my cup of tea.

the built in speaker is just for fun. i never expected it to be audiophile quality, but i can hear a bit of chorus on that thing, so its not bad.

i dig the chorus "noise" emulation!!!! :)

appreciate hearing thoughts from you more advanced users.
Synthtron
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by Synthtron »

Now that I have these I would like to get a couple more of the K25-m keyboards. I have the JP-08 mounted in
the one keyboard I got but I have decided I want the rest of the modules with a K25-m keyboard too.
marctronixx
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by marctronixx »

lol synth my man you should do it!

i will for sure get an additional jp 08 plus the keybed. ive not had this much fun in a long time!!
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CesarsoundOne
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by CesarsoundOne »

Hi Synthtron, thanks for the review. One question:
-Is the K-25m the same keybed of JD-Xi?

Thanks.
Synthtron
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Re: My First impressions of Roland Boutique

Post by Synthtron »

CesarsoundOne wrote:Hi Synthtron, thanks for the review. One question:
-Is the K-25m the same keybed of JD-Xi?

Thanks.
Yes physically, pretty much the same thing. Has the same feel, same size only less keys of course. The K25-m has metal sides and the rest is olastic. When the Boutique synths are placed inside it it feels sold.
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