JP-08 not that great?

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Myrk-
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JP-08 not that great?

Post by Myrk- »

Hey all,

I've got 3 boutiques controlled via a 3 way split 76 keybed - the JP-08, the JX-03 and the VP-03. The VP I love, I'm addicted to vocoders... in fact lately I'm using 2 vocoders and a talkbox simultaneously to get some amazing harmonizations. The JX-03 is bloody incredible, I love the sounds that thing makes - great basses and leads and pads! The JP-08 though... am I alone in finding this synth not that easy to program sounds for, and that what I do get doesn't really deliver?

So any posts that can show me that I'm being a fool and a newb with my JP-08 and not understanding it would be amazing. haha :D

Failing that, thinking of getting a JU or another JX to sit in the JP's place (won't sell it, it will just live in a dock at work on my desk or something haha)... how do people rate the Juno boutique? Or should I scrap the idea of a JU as I use a JD-XA as well...

Suggestions for what to do with the JP or what to replace it with are really appreciated :) - before I forget to mention, I make mainly synthwave music, an ideal device would be something thats great at bass... maybe a 303?
PugFace
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by PugFace »

I think the ju has the sweetest oscs and filter of the lot. I don't own a jp but played them at the nec show which i thought the jp is very disappointing. It's only advantage is the dual mode as a monosynth. Stacking the osc is great. The sales show the ju to be the best as they no longer make it.
darkstar679
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by darkstar679 »

I have JP08, JX03 of the small synths and for a Juno 106 I use the DeepMind 12 as replacement.

I think the JP08 is the most flexible but also the most difficult to program. It makes great sounds.

https://soundcloud.com/darkstar679/jp-08-test-2
iixorb
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Joined: 15:57, 1 December 2015

Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by iixorb »

Owning all three, my opinion is:

The JP08 is the most difficult to get a useable sound from but with perseverance, it is capable of great things. Remember that it does not have a chorus effect - unlike the other two. Also bear in mind that the original synth was developed in 1980 / 81, so even though this was only ~ 3 years before the Juno 106 and JX3P, technology raced ahead in just these few short years...


The JU06 is the most limited in range of tweekable parameters, but does achieve the best of what the 106 is so popular for. It sounds great, but with a more limited range of different sounds.


The JX03 is the easiest to get a wide range of usable sounds from and I find it easier to tweak its rotary knobs more 'precisely' than the sliders of the JP08
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cloudburst
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by cloudburst »

iixorb wrote:Owning all three, my opinion is:

Remember that it does not have a chorus effect - unlike the other two.
The JP-08 does have a chorus. It is activated by CC93 or using the chorus controls on a MIDI connected JU-06 or JX-03.

CB
RickJP909
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Location: London, UK

Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by RickJP909 »

I bought this because I always wanted a Jupiter 8 but couldn't afford one so this gets pretty close from what I can hear.

Having had a Juno 6 and JX-3P, this is infinitely better because the Juno's were single oscillator synths and while the JX-3P had 2 oscillators, it wasn't as advanced in its programmability and sonic capabilities as the Jupiter 8.

Don't forget that so far, this is also the only Boutique which is on a limited run so in future, the value is likely to go up so I'd say it's a keeper!

Regarding difficulty programming, I've found the fact that as the controls are much smaller than the other models and also the fact that some features can only be accessed from digging into menus, that I needed to get a decent editor to facilitate the whole programming experience so for a measly €6, I bought this fantastic looking piece of software: https://jp-08remote.jimdo.com/

Regarding the sounds, I'd suggest listening to these demos to hear how close you can get this unit to sound like a range of analogue synths that were being used circa 1981 to 1982 and I have to say, the sound designer has nailed most of the sounds as close to their originals as can be.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... P1KYl022lU
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 4ZJwBCNjRV
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 592Jc2yupH

Then there are these new patches also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjpufV5tMyw

Enjoy! :-)
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tomatoKetchup
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by tomatoKetchup »

Just bought a second JP-08 and I have to say it's even more awesome with 2 units! Appart from the increased polyphony for massive chords, there's a couple nice tricks you can do:

- If you set unit A (master) to any MIDI channel other than 1 and leave the unit B to CH1, using the ribbons on the unit A will only affect notes on that unit and it won't be transmitted to the second one. Then a cool thing to do is to select Dual mode and play a 3-chord or 4-chord, then use the pitch bend on one or the other unit to raise/lower the pitch of only some of the notes in your chord for cool effects.

- In Dual Mode again, by swapping the UPPER/LOWER patches on the second unit, you can create very interesting textures with 4-chords (where the first and last 2 notes will sound "mirrored" due to the patch inversion) or in unison mode (when first and last 4 voices will be mirrored the same way).

I personally think the JP-08 is a great synth made even greater if you can get hold of a second module.
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cloudburst
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by cloudburst »

RickJP909 wrote:Don't forget that so far, this is also the only Boutique which is on a limited run so in future, the value is likely to go up so I'd say it's a keeper!
From what source did you hear that the JP-08 is the only limited edition Boutique?

I'm certain this is not the case.

CB
RickJP909
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by RickJP909 »

cloudburst wrote:
RickJP909 wrote:Don't forget that so far, this is also the only Boutique which is on a limited run so in future, the value is likely to go up so I'd say it's a keeper!
From what source did you hear that the JP-08 is the only limited edition Boutique?

I'm certain this is not the case.

CB
Roland themselves and several music shops, see here:
https://www.roland.com/global/promos/roland_boutique/

However, after checking the above link, it appears that apart from the red and blue versions of the SH-01A, the JU-06 is also limited but apart from that, none of the other Boutiques have this statement in their product descriptions.

I would agree in that they've not said how many JP-08s will be made before they're discontinued.
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cloudburst
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by cloudburst »

@RickJP909 - if you click on the JX-03 on the page you linked, you'll see Roland declare it as a limited edition too. It's my understanding that all the Boutiques have more limited production runs than the mainstream Roland instruments and the wording isn't particularly consistent. Just how comparatively limited - I don't know.

CB
RickJP909
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by RickJP909 »

Yes CB, you are indeed correct about the JX-03 as I didn't see that in the write up as its further into the description whereas the other two it clearly states this in brief description.

You maybe right then about the other models in the Boutique range but as noted, none of the other units seem to state this. Then of course, what does limited mean? 1000 units? 5000 units? Anything more than 1000 units wouldn't seem limited to me so I suppose until they discontinue models, we won't know for sure.
iixorb
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by iixorb »

Regarding 'limited' status, the JU-06 (Juno 106) sold out long ago in my local music retailer but they still have plenty of all the other Boutiques in stock. They quote "10+" in stock of each.

As far as I can tell, Roland are not making the JU-06, JP-08 and JX-03 anymore. The stocks of the latter two are probably therefore 'New 'Old' Stock' ...
Synthtron
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by Synthtron »

I thought all of three modules were limited editions. The JU-06 is no longer available and looks like the JP-08 and JX-03 are on sale most places. Perhaps to move them out because the are discontinued? I had all three and sold all three several months back. I just ended up ordering another JP-08. Oops!
iixorb
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by iixorb »

Looking at the second hand market, it does appear the JU-06 is starting to gain some momentum as a 'classic' and the selling prices are quite buoyant. Probably because you can't buy new ones anymore. Retailers do seem to be struggling a bit to shift the JX and JP Boutiques.
RickJP909
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Re: JP-08 not that great?

Post by RickJP909 »

Having done some research now, I've found the same in the UK as most of the retailers I know have sold out of the JU-06. From what I remember, the Juno 106 was very sought after back in the day due to its lower price and simplicity so I suspect that's what drove the better sales of the JU-06, the popularity of its original.

The JP-08 has been the dearer of the units having more features and it's the one I went for. Having had a Juno 6 and a JX-3P, I found the Juno quite limiting and actually, I was able to create most sounds it could do on other synths. The JX-3P was much more different but I found some limitations there too whereas the Jupiter 8, now too expensive having most features and fewer limitations.

I think when the JP-08 sells out, we'll see that gain much higher values than the JU-06 but I don't think the same will be true of the JX-03 as you only need look at used prices of the original JX-3P to note its low selling price still so clearly nowhere near as desirable.
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