Roland JX-8P vs Jupiter 8
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Is the JX-8P a poor mans Jupter 8? I would say no, they are very different sounding beasts! The JP-8 has more low end and is more powerful, but the JX-8P has very beautiful string, pad and lead tones.
To make an objective and fair comparison because of the built in chorus in the JX-8P I used for the Jupiter 8 a Boss CE-2w Chorus Pedal (new stuff, no vintage). The setting was an emulation of the old and famous CE-2 Pedal.
Around the first 6 minutes I demonstrate some typical classic sounds of both mashines and I tried to programm them quite comparable. I begin with two very famous keyboard hooklines. EUROPE and also ALPHAVILLE used for the original recordings a JX-8P as I made my research. Please inform me, if I am wrong!
Beginning about 6 minutes I messed around with the JX-8P and played sometimes the JP-8 as a counterpart.
Please enjoy the video and tell me your opinions about those two classic synths. Above all please forgive my when the output was not always equal. I tried to do my best of making a objective comparision. I didn't use additional effects or mastering.
Cheers, Ruediger
8p guy here. I’ve owned a few Jupiter’s and JX’s over the years. Always loved the slow attack envelopes and pads like velvet on the 8p. Gorgeous.
Dude, the JX IS the Europe sound, while the JP the Alphaville synth - you just made it even clearer! Heading for Venus, we'll bring a DX and a Matrix, but remember, you also need a PPG and a Solina to stay forever young ;D
It’ll cost you more for a pg800 than JX8p, but you don’t need it. JX8p is a fascinating board, hope the haters keep hating, because it keeps the prices down to what they should be for a 35 year old piece of kit.
No, JX-8p is the rich's man because you save thousands! I bought mine for $75 with the roland hard case. Of course, it doesn't play, but that is just a minor detail that will not cost thousands to fix. In fact, I will enjoy the repair.
hahahah!
jx8p for 75!!!!!!! huge steal!!!
I bought mine also not in best shape. Had to exchange some barrels and some welding. Now it’s quite alive. It was about £400.
I just bought a JX-8P in good order for us$130 :) only thing not working, for some reason, is the pitch bend range slider, always bends 2 semitones whatever the setting .. not a biggie. It's a really lovely synth!
Man that forever young pad on the Jup.... wonderful....
Is it wrong for me to prefer the sound of the JX-8P here?
Mibrilane not at all. The JX8P is great sounding and as I mentioned above very different to the JP8, but not worse. It’s a question of taste
Of course not 😀 They are so different. But just like 3P and the Alpha Juno's it's more sterile and digital to the sound. Or from another perspective: better kept in precise tuning. Sometime's that's more wanted.
For some reason, that comment is bringing to mind a scenario in which somebody has used the MKS-80 as an example and the TX-7 but has turned their nose up at the JX-8p and its brothers. Wouldn’t put it past them, even though I am loyal to my 8p.
With the headphones on I’m with you
The JP-8's sounds have a lot more 'width', 'depth' & evolving 'complexity', so the JP-8 definitely would be my first choice in a studio environment. However the JX-8P has a more aggressive 'punch', greater 'presence', plenty of character, and more parameters to adjust (with the Vecoven mod that's available), so it could be a great choice for a keyboard player in a pop/rock band.
As a lucky owner of both...I will not choose between one or the other. They both have their individual uniqueness...JX-8P the younger of the two, has never cease to amaze me of its smooth and warm sounds, although of course it can also create fat, spiky distorted sounds as well...I remember programming a sound from Van Halen's song intro 'Why Can't This Be Love' and ended up creating and mimicking the guitar sounds as well...and of course, having a JX-8P with the PG-800 is a must for serious advantage over the power this synth has!
The Jupiter 8 on the other hand, is an analog beast monster to be tamed...to be overwhelmed with its rich and fatness sounds is pure synth heaven, no wonder it is called as one of the best synth ever created by Roland, as opposed to the CS-80 by Yamaha. Are those two comparable? Can't know for sure...never even touched a CS-80 before...out of all the synth's I collect, I never had a Yamaha even once. Still want them so much though.
I'm the opposite. Although I've never actually played a CS80 I've played a couple from the Yamaha CS range, I own a CS10 and I own a SK30 which is not the same league but it does give you that lush Yamaha sound of that era. I recently tried a JX8P and was impressed with it. I doubt I will ever own a JP-8 so if I could get the JX8P that would work for me.
...and what is the KORG equivalent to the CS80 and the JP8? Trident ??
@@larslevinberget9558 Probably Poly 6/61. That was their answer to the Juno 6/60, which were basically just simpler versions of the Jup 8 (the Juno 6/60 shared a lot of same components).
Also … Juno was the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology (Zeus and Hera in earlier Greek myths).
I remember in the 90s the JP-8 was going for around the $1,500 - 2,500 range. I thought it was too much back then, and bought a Juno 106 for $200.
Those JP8 vco tune imperfections is one of the reasons for sounding so special. I love my JX8P but I wish It had vco's instead dco's.
An MKS-80 rev. 5 could be thought of as the VCO version of JX-8P, with better envelopes to boot.
@@100DollarHeadache it's actually the rack version of a Jupiter 6 (with 8 notes polyphony) but it costs like 8/10 jx8p 😢
When I was a kid, I used to go around the music stores in my hometown just to see a JP-8 in a certain store. With time, I was able to buy a JX-8P thinking just that, "it's a poor man's Jupiter" because of the price. After playing with it for several years, I came to appreciate the sound, it's amazing, and finally felt I bought a very fine keyboard. The hidden power in the JX-8P is its programming power. It gave me lots of freedom in terms of creating unique sounds, and expressively playing them thanks to its velocity and pressure sensitive keyboard. If you can fetch a PG-800 programmer, you won't miss the JP-8 panel a bit. I reckon both keyboards are awesome, but I still hold to my battle-scarred JX-8P which I still own. Lots of respect for both keyboards.
This is why I love the jx10/mks70.
Even fuller sounding.
It's all you need for an 80's poly monster synth fix.
JX as Jupiter X as in New, Improved Jupiter, don't let purists make you biased. You can do the same things, get equally great results at a fraction of the price with a JX8P... Sure the ones DCO the other is VCO but tuning is super stable on DCO's and its still analog just Artificially intelligent VCO's ;) Envelopes are great, people say they are slow but unless you are after some supersnappy sounds, these envelopes get the job done just fine. Some people say that the JX's (10 & 8P) are not as warm as others of the same era, total bullocks, these babies are so thick that sometimes its hard for them to even sit in some mixes. Yes, they can make thick, warm and wild sounds too not just pads. Also bare in mind that an upgrade is being developed for the JX8P that also gives it PWM (vecoven mods) And if you're after more than 6 voices there's always the mega beast JX10, get em while their cheap cause the purist fiasco will f**k things up sooner or later. Ask yourselves truthfully if there wasnt a side by side comparison and you heard either one of them in a mixed song i believe you would been satisfied with either one of them ;)
I think a Jx8p and Juno 6 would be able to cover most of the Jupiter sounds for a lot less money.
i have a 6 and you're exactly right
JX-8P wins. Sold my JP-8. No regrets.
yah right
😄😁😂🤣
hahahahaha
That’s real commitment and loyalty.
Yeah say what you want it don't change the fact that prof keys players prefer the Jupiter.
I think the JX-8P has a more agressive sound. And the Jupiter 8 a sweeter sound. Both are amazing tho.
The JX8P was my first synth way back when I was 16, and I loved it, sadly it died after falling off the stand playing a gig on a sloped surface, I have missed it sorely down to this day. The ads stated that it could do both classic analog sounds as well as more digital-type sounds (Think DX-7) and I think that´s a rather good description of the instrument, it does excellent bells, FM-style pianos and assorted metallic noises. The only serious omission, in my opinion, is that it does not have PWM, but I´m not going to get a JP8 over the JX for that one feature. As for the opinion that the JX8P is worthless without the programmer, that is just bullshit, the instrument is incredibly easy to program from its single slider (provided, obviously, that you know what you´re doing.)
The differences here are pretty evident - the JP-8 has a distinctly fatter/fuller and more stereotypically analog sound (almost more buttery and aggressive, particularly the edgier harmonic the JP spews out during filter sweeps), whilst the JX is lighter and glassier (more comparable to a DCO-fuelled DX7) with the 'swirling mid-80s gossamer' edge permeating the sound character more clearly and giving it a cleaner, fluffier edge. That being said, the JX is clearly the better machine for twangy portamento-infused mid-80s strings and slow pads, whilst the JP-8 is better at the wider-sounding filter sweeps and prog rock sounds (despite its current prices being absurdly bloated whilst the JX remains relatively cheap thanks to its awkward calculator-style interface). Thanks for the unorthodox choice of comparison - it really helps to highlight the evolution of synth sounds during the 80s.
Rosie Davall thank you for the deep comment.
Agreed. :)
I’m not sure I agree. I watched it again today, and I had my back turned part of the time. I honestly could not tell them apart when the sounds were identical.
@@Shred_The_Weapon I fully understand what Rosie means, this comparison makes you think they are somewhat similar but in reality these are the exact sounds JX-8P is capable of doing well, instead JP-8 is versatile as synth can be. If you're into certain cliched brasses, strings and pads look no further grab a JX-8P still they are cheap. If you're into expressive sounds looking something unique and detailed there is better alternatives (and obviously cheaper than JP-8).
That alphaville cover on the jupiter 8 is dam near perfect !
As far as DCO versus VCO goes. I have the Jx-8p as well as a VCO synth and some modern VA synths. I would say that the wonderful sounding oscillators in the Jx-8p have the same magical analog sound as the VCO synths. It's quite old so maybe just aged to perfection, but I can listen to the low-end all day and it never ceases to blow me away. The Virtual Analog stuff just doesn't have that magic. I would point out that my Deepmind 12, which is DCO analog, also misses the real "vintage" analog sound somehow. Too new and working too perfectly I am guessing. It has some "oscillator drift" parameter that I haven't messed around with enough yet, that might help.
I play on the JP-8 way more than the JX-8P. I prefer the JX-3P in the JX series and the JP-8 in the Jupiter series. However, I love the Juno series just as much. Thanks for the demostration! Keep up the great work!
Machiwoomiapoo thanks, Sam. I allready sold my jx8p. Because with the jo8 and Juno 60 I have the full spectrum.
@@vintagesynths I would love to have a JX8P because the JP-8 is out of my price range and the JX8P could give me a lot of what I would require from the JP-8. Both you and Sam are very fortunate to own one of the great classics from the 80's synthesizers.
the Juno-6 and 60 sound a lot more like the Jup-8 than the JX-8P in case you are looking for the same sound character (i have the Juno-6)
JX-8P- is warm as hell
Jup is fatter.
Indeed.
@@georgegeorgio1751 jup is the top of the top
Both are good but i like the JX-8P better.
I notice the JX8P is the one with most bottom. Listening on headphones, it obviously generates more sub... I sometimes prefer the Jup, but for wide strings, the JX is a lot better.
The Layering on the Jupiter 8 is where it comes into its own, that why the Roland JX10 is a great head to head. Especially since the Vecoven modifications which make the envelopes lightning fast
Odd, in most of the examples I prefer the JX-8P.
it's not odd, JX-8P has it's charm but gets old really fast
@@lownrgy how does it get old? it's pads are amazing
What's the point of posting videos of JP8 sounding like misc synths?? Sure, it can do every pad. But can all those synths sound like a JP8 ?!
JX-8P, since its DCO base (clocking for all oscilators/tones is done by precise digital crystal) synth, lack all thoose drifting / small tone nuances and sounds that J8 (or any VCO based synths) have. But when you get deeper into programming and start detuning oscilators and start modulate everything with LFO, you can get pretty close. Only thing that JX8P is pretty missing is PWM, you can get kinda ish similar sounds using cross modulation, but its not same. Anyways JX8P is really workhorse for many of my project and if I want it to sound fat and "demolish" everything else in mix (bass / lead sounds) its easy, just push the unison "magic beast mode" button.. :)
PS. Still would love to have J8 :D, but pricepoint is pure nonsense now, so bought small JP-08 boutique in sale. For my use and in whole mix its pretty much "close enough". :)
DestroyER82 i got the JP8 some years ago from my wife as a gift. If I hadn’t it I would be happy with the JX8P. It is really great for that price. Even the alpha Juno’s are great.
@@vintagesynthsYour wife must be the greatest gift I guess, really nice from her! :) I actually have Alpha Juno-1, had Juno-2 for while as well but sold it since it wasnt really upgrade and kept the handier/smaller one. Really great workhorse and usefull for any style, fits great in all mixes.
DestroyER82 she really is. Is old my jx8p and have now also an alpha juno1. With pads worse but great for bass, arpeggio, and very versatile.
In this comparison a chorus effect was added. The JP has faster envelopes which is fine, however the JX has those warm DOC's. Things being equal I'm am going to have to say the JX has the sonic edge coupled with the Stock MIDI interface it is an ideally practical synth, if I were looking for some warm evolving analog Poly pads the JX would be the solution although a couple more voices of polyphony would be nice.
Alphaville FY sounds like there's some PWM in the jp8 patch, im going to try the same thing on my vecoven modded super jx, I reckon it will be very close.
Jupiter 8 is an absolute classic, cult synth right? .... However, let's start here with ... 8P has velocity + aftertouch (assuming you've fixed that again since the 80's!), JP8 none of that, but has snappy envelopes generated by HW chip, not SW gen like latter. 8P has sluggish envelopes, unless you overlay Kiwi 8P upgrade. 8 voice Jupe vs. 6 voice on 8P. Mortgage vs. Slush fund .... 8P MIDI implementation is still impressive for the time. Anyway both great. Keeping my 8P just for those silky analogue strings and punchy brass patches :) 😎🎹👍💕
Alphaville definitely didn’t use the JX8P for forever young as the album was released before the synth came out. They used a few other synths including the mighty JP8 and the PPG wave
Wow that sound at 12:30
Whenever I play on the JX-8P, I dive into another world. It's a world full of magic and fantasy. Can't describe it. I just want to play 1h and it turns into 4h or so ;-)
Is it about getting the 8p to sound like the JP8 - or exactly the opposite?
Still holding out for somebody to present an overview of the 8p. Heard lots of awesome demos, but no one has ever taken the viewer through how it works. Especially versus a VCO model.
+ShreadTheWeapon You and me both. The JX-8P is an amazing beast if you dig deeper (beyond the less than inspiring presets) and unlock the features which nobody knows about. I've been meaning to do a demo, but for now check out a great demo by Synthdude. The first 4 mins are just atmospheric pads, but after that he starts digging deep and showing how to come up with some incredible sounds. ruclips.net/video/IxH5OlsUIaA/видео.html
I once went into a public toilet and while I was doing my business I saw that someone had written this on the wall opposite: „While you are reading this, you‘ll hear The Final Countdown in your head.“ Please never ever start a video like this… otherwise great job!
Thanks, better than Jump 😹
@@vintagesynths Jump was OBX/ OBXa
These days you have to wear a suit to play an JP-8 :-D JX sounds nice as well, why have i sold mine , hmm ??
Sir Taki 😅 I came home from work very late in the night and sit on those two beasts to improvise a little bit. Then I just decided to switch on the camera and audio interface. There was no time to change the clothes.
The Jupiter excels at upper end, raw and gritty texture. The JX is smoother but less cut. I think for a fraction of the cost you get a stellar synth in the JX. The Jupiter sounds panned to the left?
I wonder how the Roland JX-10 compares to the Jupiter 8?
Low right channel level on the JP8. Balance issue ?
Cool video. Congrats on having a JP-8. I had an MKS-70 once (2 JX-8Ps in a box). Wish I still had it. 😕
I want one too, Dadrian Wilson, especially since I turned loose of my JX-10.
Didn't watch/listen to whole video yet
but will give thumbs up anyways.
The JX is nice. Actually I grabbed a pair of good headphones for a better judgement and now I crave for a JP-8 :>(
EUROPE - main lead Yamaha TX816 .. it seems ... jx for pad ... it seems )) .... amazing compared video ..thnx )) in spite of the cost of jupiter, I prefer a warm character JX ))
This is not a comparison this is a massacre. My poor old JX-8P comes out of it with broken bones. The J-8 sounds so much better in nearly all the patches. Only exceptions are the "digital-like" patches where the J-8 is not well suited. On the other hand, the JX-8P in turn would lose against a DX-7 or Prophet-VS in the more digital-sounding patches. All in all, the JX-8P has the well known problem that made me sell it back in the day: not warm enough for the analog sounds, not crispy enough for the digital sounds. Plus, it has the extra annoying "pop" sound (well known to the JX-8P owners) whenever you reach the polyphony limit and the voices are retriggered; that also was a deciding factor for me to sell it (and replace it with a Matrix-6).
Nonsense. Ignoring the JX presets, if you spend the time programming the 8p and add a little reverb, it is analog perfection. Even with slower envelopes, thumping basses are easily achieved. Pads are the 8p strength though - after 36 years of ownership, and a multitude of synths, my 8p is still the go to choice for pads. Obviously J8 is another level and is the ultimate synth in both looks and overall sound texture, but it just isn't worth the prices being asked of it now. As with priceless vintage cars, the J8 rich history and provenance elevates its value to a level that way exceeds its sonic capabilities. To repeat though - those who program and use the 8p properly love the synth and know its sonic potential. Those who don't, can't see beyond its awful piano and cheesy brass presets.
That is sweet man!
The sound of the Jupiter is just so magical..... Nothing like it. Amazing.
Nice!!!sounds
The filter sounds way more aggressive on the JP-8. I own the 8P and will get the programmer soon. Good for me! The iPad app is ok, but so boring. I just end up not using the synth at all bc of my 106 and Xpander.
I think the JP8 has less volume in this video, which plays into the JX's hand. I have owned both, but only have the JX now. It's the ultimate "layer 2" machine and has character, whereas the JP8 will usually play first fiddle, but sounds just as generic as fantastic. Also, the JP8 has a lot more going overall - this video showcases sustained sounds (strings etc), where the JX clearly can hold up. In bass and plucks, not so much. Finally, the JP's 12db filter is just outstanding, whereas the JX simply doesn't have one. Great video, though!
It would be awesome to do a video Roland vs Nord. Nice work 👍
To me it sounds like they take up different sonic space. With the slower/dreamier bits here I really enjoyed going from one to the other. I could imagine in a composition it could keep a ear/mind interested with the slugger different timbre playing the same line.
I never been able to get forever young that perfect on the Jupiter 8.
PS: Forever Young definitely used a Jupiter 8.
The fact that Roland had to manufacture those PG's should have sent them back to the drawing board, but I understand that the DX7 was killing the analog market at that time and they had to mimic in order to compete. Just an awkward solution. I don't have a PG-800, so my JX-8P sits in the basement waiting to be sold.
ebeep do you have an iPad? The i800 controller app is great and costs less than 5 dollar
synthlegends, eh, my Juno 60 will be here tomorrow, so I don't think I'll be giving the JX-8P another glance.
@@ebeep Junos, 3P every time over 8P
Well, minimizing a JP-8 to basic Synth functionality cant make him sound better in a direct comparsion video. As soon as you Create deeper textures by doubling a Sound, change values lightly, layer it or smash all 16 discrete oscs of the jp on one Key u hear why the Jupiter is lightyears above all the smaller Roland synths. Nice Video, but like this not comparable. Got a J60, 106, JX3 & 8P, JP-8. A Comparsion between 60, 106 & 8P would be far more interesting.
Jupiter 8 can sound like anything. That doesn't make "anything" sound like a Jupiter 8 ;)
Jupiter 8 is overrated and overhyped
I went the integra 7 route!! I even bought 4 of them!! then the new I pads for the editor.
Why do you need 4?
Do Jupiter 8 vs Mks 80 Super Jupiter next!
Alpha Milk Recordings MKS 80 is similar to Jupiter 6
Jupiter-8 with JX-8P compare-that pencil and finger. This is not a price difference though of course.
This is awesome compassing of these two monsters and jp-8 is overpriced due to being collector's item and releance on history of EM. Nothing can nail that Alphaville's forever young Soundtrack patch like JP-8.
Sonikbytes thank you. JP-8 is great but in fact nowadays in musical manner, there is no sense to spent 12 k for it.
How do you have make alphaville forever young with your Jupiter 8
I’ve also been wondering this
jp so warm :)
Excellent playing sir. Would you consider selling some of those JX8P patches?
Andy Peck thank you. Unfortunately I don’t have the JX anymore. So my sounds are gone as well
Are you selling jx8p patches? Would love to adapt them to my mks-70
Sonikbytes unfortunately not. Is old my jx8p and i saved them only on the also sales cardridges.
There is one thing i dislike about the JX-8P and that it's filter.
Jx8p el efecto es stab brass.
JP-8 is too much overrated. JX-8P is OK. But SYSTEM-8 is way better then both JP-8 and JX-8P together.
So, what drugs are you on? Email me because i wanna know
Just got a JX-8P with minor issues for a price that was cheap enough for me to try and not lose if I don't like it. Also while JP-8 is out in the shop and I wanted something with "J", "P", and "8" on the case.
JP-8 is fit for a king, the Platonic ideal of an analog synthesizer sound. JX-8P is sloppy plastic in comparison. That said, the filter on the JX-8P, in its sweet spots, can achieve a vocal quality JP-8 won't. And of course you have velocity and aftertouch on JX. For me, JX will still have a place even when JP returns.
It's such a shame jp8 is panned to the left channel
Stab Brass is right preset ;)
why does your jx-8p sound so much better than mine? just using the factory presets
I just have mine going direct into a Focusrite interface and Logic
Its the stereo outs ;)
Tae Jun I used on the alphaville and Europe Sounds presets, but tweaked them a bit. A bit more release in the VCO envelope at least I tweaked. Other sounds are not factory presets.
Tae Jun I used Stereo outs directly into apogee symphony interface. No further effects and mastering
There are different versions of the JX8p, all sound different
For the price of 1 Jupiter 8 you can buy 62x the new JX-08 boutique. That makes a total of 1253 voices !! Guess you simply trash the Jup8 if it comes to fatness...hahaha.
When I made this vid, a Jupiter 8 was for 10 k available, a jx8p for around 300 Euro
El jx8p tiene sonido más real.
Why does everybody have to play that awful Final Countdown song? Ugh. That song is the worst! Cringe.
Hey !
I think it's because that sound is a ritual, like a test, if the synth can play that "song" it can play much more ;)
Bye !
Because that lead line on the original was played on a JX-8P, though I think they used the STAB BRASS patch, not the POLY BRASS patch used here. And I also think I read somewhere that there was another synth layered with the JX-8P on the recording.
Thoma Jani interesting. I also thought that they used the stab brass sound, but it did not sound like the original. The poly brass matched it more IMO. But I also tweaked it a bit. A bit more filter envelope and amp release.
@@TH3_FURY Any subtractive synth can mimic that sound
@@vintagesynths SynthLegends, I can confirm that Patch No. 28, Stab Brass, IS the exact patch used for the TFC synth lead. =B