I did much of the soundtrack for Robert Rodriquez's Showtime film "Roadracers" 1994 on my trusty Roland JV-80 including the drums and bass parts on the main theme "Midnight Rumble." I used my old MMT-8 Alesis sequencer and sent quite a bit of SysEx to back and forth for changing sounds quickly in the studio. Many pieces from the film are on my RUclips page. Great instrument the JV-80 and great video here, really enjoyed watching.
As an owner of a JV-1000, I have to support this video and say how awesome it is to see demos from this synth family. Everyone knows about the 1080 and beyond but not much before so it's good to see this content! Awesome synth and performance
JV 1080 was my first rompler. Still have it after almost 3 decades. That thing is unmistakeable sound of 90s electronica, but also can fit so many different genres.
Best Synth ever made... It's was Rack version for Roland JV-80 And In 1993 Roland Released the JV1000 it has Built In Roland MC-50 knows as Midi Sequencer and 76 Keys.
Thanks for a lovely overview of this amazing 18 bit monster. I read the comments in here and I gotta chime in about something. You guys are talking about VST's vs Hardware synths a lot, one side thinking the other side is better - it's a never ending war that is essentially futile, no one wins - or rather - everyone wins because no matter what instrument you chose, the instrument (whether VST or Hardware) is only as good as the musician playing on it. So you chose what you WANT to chose, use the tool that fits your workflow best, and make the music of your dreams come true.
I agree with your statement. Also, I think from a sound perspective that there is a high probability that hardware synths can create a more desirable sound. Not fact but opinion.
As project95 put it....well said. I can go out and buy the most expensive do all hardware or software synth and i assure you its still gonna sound like a simpleton lol. My preference has always been the simple hardware units and can get what i need but a friend of mine bought into the software synths and recording programs and never looked back and it just turned out to be his thing. I like old school knobs and faders he likes his mouse. We have even worked together a couple of times. That being said im on my 3rd 880 and i believe ive learned my lesson and wont part with this one. Had the jv80 before as well. All i want for my 880 is to acquire another vintage synth card and i know ill never rid myself of it. Got lucky on my 1st 880 as the music store clerk didnt know it had that card installed in it. It was about a week after purchasing the unit that i found and only out of curiosity as to what was under that top panel.
The JV880 came out in 1992 and the JV1080 in 1994 so its a bit of a no brainer really. The JV880 only had room for one expansion as well. Out of all of these the best one is the JV2080 with its 8 slots, much larger display and the soft keys that make navigating easier. Plus its got the overall great Roland sound as well.
The JV2080 also allowed up to 3 insert fx at once in performance and multi mode. I wanted to get one but I opted for a couple of extra JV1080s that I picked up way more cheaply and had those 3 insert fx and 192 notes of polyphony to boot. Saying that, IMHO both the JV2080 and the XV5080 are the best modules that Roland ever made during the golden era of the late 90s and early 2000s.
Thanks for demo-ing this module. I really like the pads on this thing. Really lush and well balanced. And like you said, modern synths just don't do these kind of sounds anymore.
Totally lush and well balanced. Yes. And very playable. I just now played it using only the factory internal sounds. The patches reveal wonderful surprises when played at the extreme ranges. And the internal reverb is very good.
Roland wasn’t really competing with Korg at that time, since Korg made full workstations at a much higher price point, but Roland’s sound definitely benefited from better DACs, sample quality vs quantity, and the continued offering of filter resonance (except on the U series). Korg had a greater variety of sounds, withmore of a meaty/midsy tone, and benefited from dual multi-effects vs Roland’s reverb/chorus on the initial JV series.
Very well stated. Roland didn't get serious with regards to effects until the release of the JV1080 in 1994. However Korg didn't get serious about adding decent resonant digital filters up until the release of the Trinity in 1995. Roland was ahead when it came to polyphony at that time with the stock Trinity offering only 32 notes. This IMHO was a big limitation for a pricey top of the line mid 90s workstation when the likes of the Roland XP series offered 64 notes of polyphony. Saying that, the Trinity had vastly superior multi timbral fx and that (at the time) revolutionary touch screen interface.
Bought the 880 based on this video and I must say that it sounds amazing, such a difference with my xv5080 and mc909! It is indeed super strong in the lows. My DT770s were rattling, a lot it is ridiculous. In 2023 it is a very colored device, not for mainstream projects, but for enthusiasts of vintage gear with character it is a must have.
Love the jv880 you wouldn't by chance have a jv 880 .ins file as trying to load it into cakewalk midi instruments so i can see all the patches. Used to have it years ago and Roland doesnt even have the .ins file anymore. Have feeling I'm out of luck.
Don Solaris site says JV 880 had it's sound that due to it's DAC that allowed a cool sounding "alias" frequency to be heard. I still have yet to a/b test my JV 880 with my XV 5080 using the SR JV Vintage card.
OK, since the DOS Voyetra days and 8 Track tape machines I have used almost every sound module made, well, at least way too many to list and the JV-880 holds a special place in my heart. Before having my DAW on a Mac G4 then a Mac Pro, it was common for me to use the reel to reel 8 track for 5 Vocal tracks, 2 Guitar tracks, and 1 SYMPTE track; the MIDI sound module tracks were mixed live with all the synth/sound modules playing in sync via sympte on a DOS PC with Voyetra; the point I am trying to make is I needed a lot of sound modules since all the synth tracks never made it to tape, they were mixed thru a real console with the recorded tape tracks to DAT. I would have to trigger between 5 to 12 separate rack sound modules & samplers simultaneously with the sequencer. For some crazy reason, I found myself buying more and more JV-880s. It was like a weird obsession/addiction. I owned all the yamaha, Proteus (E-Mu), korg stuff and many other rolands, but the JV-880 was the best sounding in the mix. Anyway, at one point I had (6) JV-880s and sold all but 2 of them which I put in storage for over 10 years. All the other rack gear is long gone. Bought tons of crap from the Roland cloud and liked it alot until I brought out one of my last 2 JV-880s last month and gave it a fresh listen, blows away the cloud as far as the depth/thickness of the sound. I am now going to start using external gear again with Logic Pro X, so I guess I am going to have to start buying all that throw-away gear from other musicians downsizing :)
Hi great channel and very interesting reviews of 90s technology. I’m fortunate enough to have a pristine JV 8080 as one of the core instruments in my pallet.Keep up this informative work .🙏🙏🏿🦄
Roland D10 and JV880 where my first synths. I bought a JV880 new a s soon as it came out. You made me looking through classifieds to try to buy one back.
Glad i kept my jv-880. At one time I had 4 1080s and a xp50 those are all gone now..but the 880 lives on... im convinced the 880s are thicker sounding for pads
Looking at getting one after this video. Good job! I just bought the JV-2080 and it sounds really good but seems like you have to menu dive a good bit but that is the case with most digital synths. I have 2 for you to review - YAMAHA TG-500 and KORG - TR-RACK. Keep up the good work.
I absolutely loved my Korg TR Rack with those extra 8MB of waveforms sadly missing on the Trinity itself, particularly those vastly superior piano waves.
@@texacomann I'm curious - why do you like the TG500 (a.ka the SY85)? I love most of Yamaha's professional music gear, but was really disappointed with the TG500. I even bought some third party Sound Source Unlimited patches for it, and although there were a couple nice ones - for the most part it just sounded really weak, so I sold it onwards.
One thing I never hear you guys mention when you do the JV series or the XP series is the expansion boards. ROLAND had the SRJV expansion boards series and this really, really did change the synthesize. I remember a friend back in the 90s getting the Vintage Synth expansion board and it was just awesome. it was vintage sounds and textures that the JV80 did not have on its own.
It is the standard. Even compared to the fabulous JD 990, better for me to get another JV 880. So what that JD 990 has panned partials, it's sound doesn't have what the JV 880 has.
The JV-880 has resonant filters for all the sampled voices, but looses the digital waveforms with pulse-width-modulation, that the d-50/550 has. The JV-80/880 set a long lasting standard for romplers with 4 voices (partials) per sound, all with their own dedicated amps, filters, envelopes and lfo's.
You've got to be running that through some external processing. I don't recall my 880 sounding that full. It was a great source for meat&potatoes multitimbral sounds. And Roland built them very solid. There's a lot of sameness in synths from that era. Every year it was more memory, more parts, more effects, as it became cheaper to do, but not really unique. But there were standouts like the Wavestation, Emu Morpheus, Waldorf, Yamaha SY and EX series, etc, which are truly unique from that era.
No external processing believe it or not - it sounds great!! I think there is some magic in the early JV racks. From what I understand, the latter stuff lost it with minor changes in compression and high resolution sound which while ‘technically’ superior, was musically inferior. More videos to come in the future exploring this.
@@vjreimedia Ha! _"Everything sounds mid-range and out of phase!!!!"_ Been there! Every added FX and e.q. can alter the phasing over multiple bands. No way to recover from that other than start over on be very careful with the audio inserts and sends, be they hardware or vst FX..
Lovely demo Zach! The M-VS1 is basically a JV-880 with just the SR-JV80-04: Vintage Synth expansion. And the M-DC1 is the SR-JV80-06: Dance expansion. And there's a strings one. You can get them for $200 or less really easily. And they're tiny! The JV-880 is a 14" deep rack unit, and the M-VS1 is a 5.75" deep rack unit. I don't have a lot of room so I like the more compact ones. The Dance expansion drums are the best drums on any Roland rompler. It has really good punchy 808/909 samples, and multiple SH-101 / TB-303 bass patches. And a lot of '90s beat loops and some retro stuff that's goofy as hell but I mean it's got the Cypress Hill drums LOL. If you have the room for pizza-box-sized synths, you definitely should get a JV-880 and a TX81Z. But if you need smaller ones there are still some really good '90s modules. The M-DC1 / M-VS1 are 5.75" deep. The XV-5050 is 7.5" deep - and it has SPDIF and class-compliant USB MIDI (you just need to flip the menu setting from VENDOR to GENERIC), which is pretty crazy for a synth made in 2001. And all the E-mu Proteus/etc. modules are 8" deep.
And it's kinda cool that the M-DC1 / SR-JV80-06 card were discontinued for legal reasons LOL. The samples are definitely a bit different from most Roland stuff, because most of the good Roland patches were Eric Persing / Spectrasonics, but the JV80-06 Dance card is from a place called AMG.
I just powered up my JV 880 after 2 years. I am so! happy that i never sold it. I also have the Roland U220 and the XV 5080. The JV 880 is here to stay. 4 years ago I sold my JD 990 and *I don't miss it at all* . Better GUI editing on the JD 990 notwithstanding, the pure raw sound of the JV 880 says it all. I do have the SR JV vintage card in it. I might do an A/B sound test against my XV 5080 with the SRX-07 card [has the Vintage card wave forms] . But there is NO reason ever to sell the JV 880.
IMO you sold the wrong synth. I suggest you do some research...the JD990 is the absolute king of all the Roland modules for several reasons, especially the sound. The XV sound is very thin and underwhelming by comparison.
@@Abruzzo333 I hear you! A side by side comparison would tell the whole story on the JD 990 and the XV 5080. But, the JV 880 holds it's own in the sound, albeit more tedious editing and fewer outputs. However, the reason I parted with the JD 990 was to finance an Ensoniq TS10, which is not exactly a loser in the sound department.
Once again, i really like the demo of the analog sounding patches overall. I be interested to hear more demos of the later JV/XV models in the future. Great video!
The JV80 had IMHO vastly superior resonant digital filters compared to the non resonant digital filters on the 01W. On the other hand, the fx section in the 01W was vastly more flexible than those of the JV80. It also had 4 more notes of polyphony whilst the JV80 had those 8 real-time sliders.
I have 2 JV-80s, which I'll flip. And A JV-1000, which I'll keep. Love the sound of all of them. Sounds to me to be thicker and less "digital" than later JV and XP models. The JV-1000 with the SR-JV80-04 and VE-JV1 is a BEAST.
I recently found a well looked-after 880 on Reverb so I had to buy it. I thought I would end-up buying all the add-on cards for it but the sounds it comes with are enough. It sounds fabulous to my ears. I am looking for the best of each type of synth. It's just a hobby - lots of different sounds inspire me to write tunes although I'm really only the drummer. I already have several of the subtractive analogue and VA type, and now this Roland ROMpler, so now I need something from Yamaha's FM range - DX7 or DX11 era (would prefer a TX802 for it's rack format), and maybe a Korg M1R.
I grabbed the JV-880 back in 2019 for $175 on Reverb after one of my favorite producers told me it’s his favorite go-to synth for his old video-game soundtracks back in the 90s. These things are unbelievably underrated to me. I also have a JV-2080, and while the 990, 1080, 2080, 5080, and Integra-7 are far beyond what the 880 can accomplish in terms of their sonic palette and functionalities, the JV-880 has this beautifully unique timbre and sonic quality in its waveforms that I don’t hear in many newer synths. Coupled with the SR-JV80-04 vintage synth expansion (or perhaps any expansion!) one would not believe how powerful and amazing this can get with the right amount of patience in its programming, and all for just 1U of rack space. I think each of the Roland PCM rack synths have their own unique characteristic to them. It’s very minor and perhaps splitting hairs to some, but to my ears, comparing the same presets across the synths, the 880 sounds rich and sharp, the 1080 feels more retro and gritty, the 2080 is gentler, and the 5080 is well-rounded and lush. Obviously during the production process all of these synths can achieve any of these characteristics in a mix, but that’s my take on their minute differences. I’ve been using the JV-880 on probably everything I make. It’s my bread-and-butter. :) I’m sure people will disagree, as the JV-880 doesn’t have the same reputation that the JD-990 and JV-1080 has. My biggest issue with the 880 is its polyphony, which is why I switch to the 2080 when I need more of it.
@@DalekEnclave123I actually didn’t know Tim Follin used the JV-880! I’m slightly familiar with him from Ecco the Dolphin. I was actually referring to Rom di Prisco, who did a lot of music for EA games back in the late 90s and so on. There’s a track called “Sirius 909” from one of the games that has the JV-880 all over it. You’ve got me interested in Follin’s music now, will be taking a closer look at it today. ;)
if you want a go to box for old video games sounds you're going to want an mt32 and a sound canvas. there's also a box that combines sound canvas and mt32 into a single housing. JV 880 sounds too clean and HiFi for old video games.
honestly I would take JV 880 over jd990 any day. I really don't care for the sound of the jd990. it sounds like a Michael McDonald song that would be at the end of a Disney movie from 1992. Its very good at nailing that terrible slice of sound from 1992 to 1994. I know a lot of people consider it a holy Grail but i find it nauseating. I even bought one at one point to see what the hype was about (when they were 300 on ebay). now theyre going for like 1500 and up 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Nice demo. These JV are a personal choice these days. You can have these sounds in hundreds of instruments and software. After 17 years with a XP-30 which has the same kinds of sounds, I decided to go backwards and got a boutique D-05 . even rawer and more vintage sounding, while keeping the same typical gentle Roland sound.
I had a JV 880 a while back now. I was suprised how good it sounded. The bass was quite strong on it. I recall only 24 notes Polyphony. I really like the sounds in your demo. Makes me regret selling mine. Trouble is you won't get very far with 24 notes and those sounds on the cards............it is an interesting synth though in terms of it's timeline.
I prefer the JV-1080 because it has more patches and possibly more waveforms. But the JV-880's waveform selection is slightly different and it has some patches the JV-1080 doesn't. The JV-880 might be the best candidate to fit with the Pop SRJV expansion board as well as possibly sounding better with certain PCM1 cards.
At one point, Roland included the Pop expansion board with the JV-80 which, for home sequencing, allowed it to cover more bread and butter sounds with more polyphony than the M1.
I think people often misjudge the 1080 since its so cheap. Its a powerful synth, possibly the best of that era and once you learn its mapped out like a giant grid it becomes really easy to program. Mine sits comfortably in the collection alongside synths that cost 30x as much.
@@vjreimedia very well summed up regarding the JV1080. I remember getting a very severe case of gear lust when the JV1080 was released and the only thing that stopped me from buying one for a couple of years was the incredibly steep AUD$2995 price at its release. Prices went down markedly once the JV2080 was released and I then picked up a JV1080 for AUD$1850. I stuffed that one with SRJV expansion boards and then bought 2 more JV1080s and an XV3080 and also stuffed them fully with expansion boards. I had access to every great Roland sound and they completed my Korg Triton, Z1EX, T3EX, 01WFD, DW8000 Wavestation AD and Wavestation SR beautifully.
Bought one new back in the days. Still have it. Later on I bought a JV-2080 and JD-990 with the intention to sell the JV-880. I never did. It sounds much bigger and fatter than the JV-2080. I really use the JV-880 more than 2080. Although JV-2080 sounds perhaps cleaner. Just like the JV880 better. But matter of personal taste probably. Great synth still.
@@AnalogFlava JD990 is really the king. It is an amazing synth. Perhaps the most powerful Roland synth ever. JV2080 is also great. Same as XP50. JV80/JV880 is just a generation before XP50. So I think there is not much to gain for you. Unless you buy a JD990. There are good editors too. I personally think it is not hard to program it.
I agree with your comment's 100 per cent I have owned many synth include the later Roland modules/synths - but in my opinion this one and the D 50 beat them all. Great playing - Can I ask are these the pre sets that you playing or have you modified them?
never heard of this one to be honest. it's not often i don't know a piece of roland gear so kudos to you. It sounds nice enough but does the world really need another one of these JV machines...?
I still am amazed by the things a JV1080 can do all these years later. It is arguably the most comprehensive digital Roland synth ever once you understand its just a giant set of grids. I have WAY nicer synths but man... I can get one to do basically anything.
Check out my "Bordeline (Summer 2018)" video. Heavy use of "SLAP!" bass and a modified lead sound from the JV-880. Middle section around 3:40 is all slap bass-o-rama. Would link you, but RUclips doesn't like it when we link in the comments - god forbid one should ever link to something good and useful here. :P
NICE! You and your commenters seem very knowledgeable, so I'm going to hazard a question. Where does the brain behind my old RS-9 (88 key version of RS-5) fit in the comparable Roland rack line up? I played out with it for years and it's still going strong. Also, I used my U 220 live for just the piano patch forever, but it is F-ed up. They don't seem very highly regarded. I'm not hip to all the alphabet soup and pedigree of the Roland stuff through the decades. Some pieces seem cultishly pricey. Thanks, and rock on folks!
great video, but no longer 125 bucks, haha. I feel like every time video like this comes out, prices of used gear skyrocket thanks to the greedy vintage gear speculators, which is sad.
Why smash any of them when you can have all three? Oh wait, that's what I have (actually two JV-2080s, a JD-990 all with vintage boards and a JV-880). ^_^
@@djangofett4879 😂😂😂I have no idea what a Michael McDonald song is, but "heinously cheesy" is possibly the most inaccurate description of the JD-990 you'll ever find. All 90's romplers include cheesy presets but the 990 (rackmount JD-800) has universal acclaim and is lauded by anyone who knows their synth history and the artists that used it (Hans Zimmer, Vangelis, LTJ Bukem, Prodigy, Underworld, Tangerine Dream, Apollo 440). If you're incapable of sound design that's on you.
@@AndersEngerJensen Hei pa dej Anders, which would you recommend out of all three? I have an xp50 but got a chance to grab a JD990 for about 1200 dollars. Not sure if to jump on it or just get the JV880 which is way cheaper and perhaps just as capable?
You have it reversed. The JV-80/880 is brighter than the JV-1080 as it extends the high end all the way to 20k as if it was a 44k device. The JV-1080 is known for it's dark sounds as some feel with this darker sound it fits in the mix better. Just compare the pianos and bells.
From what i heard on various demos around the interntet it seems JV-880 is at the same time brighter and has more low end punch. Lots of people play it very soft to escape those shrill high end harmonics, but i saw some examples where those sounds fit nicely like agressive brass lead tones in Vangelis style etc.
For $125 you can get a very powerful VST synth! I personally love the JV-880 but if someone really isn’t impressed with what it offers, a good VST is going to be great as well, maybe even better depending on what you’re looking for and what sounds you’re after. There’s truth to your comment!
@@nilsvanderplancken I have to respectfully disagree. While I’m biased in favor of hardware synths, hardware gear is not always intrinsically better than modern day VSTs. A seasoned producer using VSTs is still going to out-do any amateur or hobbyist using hardware stuff. I’ve seen it first hand.
What’s with this boring obsession over the synths «worth». Of all the qualities that makes a musical instrument, worth must be about the least interesting.
@@vjreimedia dude... in another comment you literally insulted entire generations of music equipment consumers and injected your sad culture war nonsense into a synth conversation and now you're saying that this other guy should apologize? this is not a defense of his slight overreaction, btw. this is me telling you to have a shred of self awareness.
idk, i think this is all heading for irrelevant cork-sniffer territory, ESPECIALLY as time marches on. IMO, espen kraft is not worth my time. he is a museum curiosity and offers nothing i can actually use in my music world. vintage has feature, performance and physical shortcomings (dried up caps, dead batteries, noisy switches and pots, etc). i own some vintage gear and after the magic 30-40 year mark, things start screwing up. (boss DR-synth, original alesis sr-16, original DX7, kawaii K4r module, jv-2080. sold the arp odyssey) it is a pile of gear that all of which has some kind of issues(except the jv-2080 is still too young, but the encoder is partially worn out and a bit dodgy), so i'm NEVER investing in anything vintage ever again. this video will only attract people who already have one of these roland products(like me)
I did much of the soundtrack for Robert Rodriquez's Showtime film "Roadracers" 1994 on my trusty Roland JV-80 including the drums and bass parts on the main theme "Midnight Rumble." I used my old MMT-8 Alesis sequencer and sent quite a bit of SysEx to back and forth for changing sounds quickly in the studio. Many pieces from the film are on my RUclips page. Great instrument the JV-80 and great video here, really enjoyed watching.
As an owner of a JV-1000, I have to support this video and say how awesome it is to see demos from this synth family. Everyone knows about the 1080 and beyond but not much before so it's good to see this content! Awesome synth and performance
Thank you!!
I bought one when it came out and loved it. I was using an Ensonic EPS 16 plus to sequence and needed more synth sounds.
JV 1080 was my first rompler. Still have it after almost 3 decades. That thing is unmistakeable sound of 90s electronica, but also can fit so many different genres.
Best Synth ever made... It's was Rack version for Roland JV-80 And In 1993 Roland Released the JV1000 it has Built In Roland MC-50 knows as Midi Sequencer and 76 Keys.
While you're at it, maybe do a rundown of the XV-5080?
Thanks for a lovely overview of this amazing 18 bit monster. I read the comments in here and I gotta chime in about something. You guys are talking about VST's vs Hardware synths a lot, one side thinking the other side is better - it's a never ending war that is essentially futile, no one wins - or rather - everyone wins because no matter what instrument you chose, the instrument (whether VST or Hardware) is only as good as the musician playing on it. So you chose what you WANT to chose, use the tool that fits your workflow best, and make the music of your dreams come true.
👏🏼well said
I agree with your statement. Also, I think from a sound perspective that there is a high probability that hardware synths can create a more desirable sound. Not fact but opinion.
As project95 put it....well said. I can go out and buy the most expensive do all hardware or software synth and i assure you its still gonna sound like a simpleton lol. My preference has always been the simple hardware units and can get what i need but a friend of mine bought into the software synths and recording programs and never looked back and it just turned out to be his thing. I like old school knobs and faders he likes his mouse. We have even worked together a couple of times. That being said im on my 3rd 880 and i believe ive learned my lesson and wont part with this one. Had the jv80 before as well. All i want for my 880 is to acquire another vintage synth card and i know ill never rid myself of it. Got lucky on my 1st 880 as the music store clerk didnt know it had that card installed in it. It was about a week after purchasing the unit that i found and only out of curiosity as to what was under that top panel.
The JV880 came out in 1992 and the JV1080 in 1994 so its a bit of a no brainer really. The JV880 only had room for one expansion as well. Out of all of these the best one is the JV2080 with its 8 slots, much larger display and the soft keys that make navigating easier. Plus its got the overall great Roland sound as well.
The JV2080 also allowed up to 3 insert fx at once in performance and multi mode. I wanted to get one but I opted for a couple of extra JV1080s that I picked up way more cheaply and had those 3 insert fx and 192 notes of polyphony to boot. Saying that, IMHO both the JV2080 and the XV5080 are the best modules that Roland ever made during the golden era of the late 90s and early 2000s.
Thanks for demo-ing this module. I really like the pads on this thing. Really lush and well balanced. And like you said, modern synths just don't do these kind of sounds anymore.
Totally lush and well balanced. Yes. And very playable. I just now played it using only the factory internal sounds. The patches reveal wonderful surprises when played at the extreme ranges. And the internal reverb is very good.
Roland wasn’t really competing with Korg at that time, since Korg made full workstations at a much higher price point, but Roland’s sound definitely benefited from better DACs, sample quality vs quantity, and the continued offering of filter resonance (except on the U series). Korg had a greater variety of sounds, withmore of a meaty/midsy tone, and benefited from dual multi-effects vs Roland’s reverb/chorus on the initial JV series.
Very well stated. Roland didn't get serious with regards to effects until the release of the JV1080 in 1994. However Korg didn't get serious about adding decent resonant digital filters up until the release of the Trinity in 1995. Roland was ahead when it came to polyphony at that time with the stock Trinity offering only 32 notes. This IMHO was a big limitation for a pricey top of the line mid 90s workstation when the likes of the Roland XP series offered 64 notes of polyphony. Saying that, the Trinity had vastly superior multi timbral fx and that (at the time) revolutionary touch screen interface.
Just dusted off mine. My jaw was on the ground with how awesome it still sounds. And the guitars! Hard to beat, even today.
The best demo of JV880 i heard. Thanks.
For as old as these are, they sound fantastic.
So many wonderful unique and creative things came out of “CPU limitations”
Have a JV880 with the orchestra card installed. Absolutely beautiful texture about it
I have the Indian instrument ROM and it's sick. Does anyone make 3rd party cadres
I wish you showed what patches you were using. They sound awesome. I want to find them on my 880
Bought the 880 based on this video and I must say that it sounds amazing, such a difference with my xv5080 and mc909! It is indeed super strong in the lows. My DT770s were rattling, a lot it is ridiculous. In 2023 it is a very colored device, not for mainstream projects, but for enthusiasts of vintage gear with character it is a must have.
Love the jv880 you wouldn't by chance have a jv 880 .ins file as trying to load it into cakewalk midi instruments so i can see all the patches. Used to have it years ago and Roland doesnt even have the .ins file anymore. Have feeling I'm out of luck.
Still have my 880 and will never get rid of it 💯
Don Solaris site says JV 880 had it's sound that due to it's DAC that allowed a cool sounding "alias" frequency to be heard. I still have yet to a/b test my JV 880 with my XV 5080 using the SR JV Vintage card.
Same
You want to try and do a review of the Roland Integra 7. 9 years on and still sounds brilliant.
Love the beautiful sounds of my JV-880. Thanks for the review!
OK, since the DOS Voyetra days and 8 Track tape machines I have used almost every sound module made, well, at least way too many to list and the JV-880 holds a special place in my heart. Before having my DAW on a Mac G4 then a Mac Pro, it was common for me to use the reel to reel 8 track for 5 Vocal tracks, 2 Guitar tracks, and 1 SYMPTE track; the MIDI sound module tracks were mixed live with all the synth/sound modules playing in sync via sympte on a DOS PC with Voyetra; the point I am trying to make is I needed a lot of sound modules since all the synth tracks never made it to tape, they were mixed thru a real console with the recorded tape tracks to DAT. I would have to trigger between 5 to 12 separate rack sound modules & samplers simultaneously with the sequencer. For some crazy reason, I found myself buying more and more JV-880s. It was like a weird obsession/addiction. I owned all the yamaha, Proteus (E-Mu), korg stuff and many other rolands, but the JV-880 was the best sounding in the mix. Anyway, at one point I had (6) JV-880s and sold all but 2 of them which I put in storage for over 10 years. All the other rack gear is long gone. Bought tons of crap from the Roland cloud and liked it alot until I brought out one of my last 2 JV-880s last month and gave it a fresh listen, blows away the cloud as far as the depth/thickness of the sound. I am now going to start using external gear again with Logic Pro X, so I guess I am going to have to start buying all that throw-away gear from other musicians downsizing :)
JV-880 with exp boards was mine fav in the 90s...great video!
The Roland Integra-7 is waiting to be featured. It’s the end cap to the JV series and still can be had new as of this comment.
880 has its limitations but it is a gorgeous wide sounding synth. The 1080 is an upgrade, I would have both.
Hi great channel and very interesting reviews of 90s technology. I’m fortunate enough to have a pristine JV 8080 as one of the core instruments in my pallet.Keep up this informative work .🙏🙏🏿🦄
JV-8080?
Roland D10 and JV880 where my first synths. I bought a JV880 new a s soon as it came out. You made me looking through classifieds to try to buy one back.
I recall it cost me I think a bit over $800 new back then. Sweetwater will sell for more than $300. Ebay? $125. Yeah, I know your post is old.
Glad i kept my jv-880. At one time I had 4 1080s and a xp50 those are all gone now..but the 880 lives on... im convinced the 880s are thicker sounding for pads
any idea where to get the roland jv880 .ins file for download as need to import into cakewalk
Looking at getting one after this video. Good job! I just bought the JV-2080 and it sounds really good but seems like you have to menu dive a good bit but that is the case with most digital synths. I have 2 for you to review - YAMAHA TG-500 and KORG - TR-RACK. Keep up the good work.
Tg500 was my first synth, bought 1992 sold 1999, bought 2020 and never sell again!
I absolutely loved my Korg TR Rack with those extra 8MB of waveforms sadly missing on the Trinity itself, particularly those vastly superior piano waves.
@@texacomann I'm curious - why do you like the TG500 (a.ka the SY85)? I love most of Yamaha's professional music gear, but was really disappointed with the TG500. I even bought some third party Sound Source Unlimited patches for it, and although there were a couple nice ones - for the most part it just sounded really weak, so I sold it onwards.
@@ram-4 okay this must be a matter of taste, but the tg500 is usually such a flexibel synth, I cant imagine that someone has no musical use for it.?
One thing I never hear you guys mention when you do the JV series or the XP series is the expansion boards. ROLAND had the SRJV expansion boards series and this really, really did change the synthesize. I remember a friend back in the 90s getting the Vintage Synth expansion board and it was just awesome. it was vintage sounds and textures that the JV80 did not have on its own.
I have two JV-880's and will never get rid of them. As far as romplers go, the sound of the JV-880 is the standard by which I judge all others.
It is the standard. Even compared to the fabulous JD 990, better for me to get another JV 880. So what that JD 990 has panned partials, it's sound doesn't have what the JV 880 has.
@@rockyhill9965 Nothing really does - you either have an 880, or you don't.
@@Sui778 Exactly!
The JV-880 has resonant filters for all the sampled voices, but looses the digital waveforms with pulse-width-modulation, that the d-50/550 has. The JV-80/880 set a long lasting standard for romplers with 4 voices (partials) per sound, all with their own dedicated amps, filters, envelopes and lfo's.
You've got to be running that through some external processing. I don't recall my 880 sounding that full. It was a great source for meat&potatoes multitimbral sounds. And Roland built them very solid. There's a lot of sameness in synths from that era. Every year it was more memory, more parts, more effects, as it became cheaper to do, but not really unique. But there were standouts like the Wavestation, Emu Morpheus, Waldorf, Yamaha SY and EX series, etc, which are truly unique from that era.
No external processing believe it or not - it sounds great!! I think there is some magic in the early JV racks. From what I understand, the latter stuff lost it with minor changes in compression and high resolution sound which while ‘technically’ superior, was musically inferior. More videos to come in the future exploring this.
Also, not all patches sound great on it. I cherry picked. The ‘realistic’ patches are particularly bad.
@@vjreimedia
Ha! _"Everything sounds mid-range and out of phase!!!!"_ Been there! Every added FX and e.q. can alter the phasing over multiple bands. No way to recover from that other than start over on be very careful with the audio inserts and sends, be they hardware or vst FX..
@@asoundlab Plenty of good cherries, then!
is it the JV880's built in effect in this demo or some extra effects on top?
Lovely demo Zach!
The M-VS1 is basically a JV-880 with just the SR-JV80-04: Vintage Synth expansion. And the M-DC1 is the SR-JV80-06: Dance expansion. And there's a strings one. You can get them for $200 or less really easily. And they're tiny! The JV-880 is a 14" deep rack unit, and the M-VS1 is a 5.75" deep rack unit. I don't have a lot of room so I like the more compact ones. The Dance expansion drums are the best drums on any Roland rompler. It has really good punchy 808/909 samples, and multiple SH-101 / TB-303 bass patches. And a lot of '90s beat loops and some retro stuff that's goofy as hell but I mean it's got the Cypress Hill drums LOL.
If you have the room for pizza-box-sized synths, you definitely should get a JV-880 and a TX81Z. But if you need smaller ones there are still some really good '90s modules. The M-DC1 / M-VS1 are 5.75" deep. The XV-5050 is 7.5" deep - and it has SPDIF and class-compliant USB MIDI (you just need to flip the menu setting from VENDOR to GENERIC), which is pretty crazy for a synth made in 2001. And all the E-mu Proteus/etc. modules are 8" deep.
And it's kinda cool that the M-DC1 / SR-JV80-06 card were discontinued for legal reasons LOL. The samples are definitely a bit different from most Roland stuff, because most of the good Roland patches were Eric Persing / Spectrasonics, but the JV80-06 Dance card is from a place called AMG.
I just powered up my JV 880 after 2 years. I am so! happy that i never sold it. I also have the Roland U220 and the XV 5080. The JV 880 is here to stay. 4 years ago I sold my JD 990 and *I don't miss it at all* . Better GUI editing on the JD 990 notwithstanding, the pure raw sound of the JV 880 says it all. I do have the SR JV vintage card in it. I might do an A/B sound test against my XV 5080 with the SRX-07 card [has the Vintage card wave forms] . But there is NO reason ever to sell the JV 880.
IMO you sold the wrong synth. I suggest you do some research...the JD990 is the absolute king of all the Roland modules for several reasons, especially the sound. The XV sound is very thin and underwhelming by comparison.
@@Abruzzo333
I hear you! A side by side comparison would tell the whole story on the JD 990 and the XV 5080. But, the JV 880 holds it's own in the sound, albeit more tedious editing and fewer outputs. However, the reason I parted with the JD 990 was to finance an Ensoniq TS10, which is not exactly a loser in the sound department.
i'm looking to do the same comparison between jv880 and integra-7...
I just purchased it and it comes with the pop expansion card a memory card for £200. Can't wait for it to arrive!!!!
Once again, i really like the demo of the analog sounding patches overall.
I be interested to hear more demos of the later JV/XV models in the future.
Great video!
The JV80 had IMHO vastly superior resonant digital filters compared to the non resonant digital filters on the 01W. On the other hand, the fx section in the 01W was vastly more flexible than those of the JV80. It also had 4 more notes of polyphony whilst the JV80 had those 8 real-time sliders.
I have 2 JV-80s, which I'll flip. And A JV-1000, which I'll keep. Love the sound of all of them. Sounds to me to be thicker and less "digital" than later JV and XP models. The JV-1000 with the SR-JV80-04 and VE-JV1 is a BEAST.
Espen Shout Out, you’re awesome Zach and yes you may have the 90’s
best intro 😅
I recently found a well looked-after 880 on Reverb so I had to buy it. I thought I would end-up buying all the add-on cards for it but the sounds it comes with are enough. It sounds fabulous to my ears.
I am looking for the best of each type of synth. It's just a hobby - lots of different sounds inspire me to write tunes although I'm really only the drummer.
I already have several of the subtractive analogue and VA type, and now this Roland ROMpler, so now I need something from Yamaha's FM range - DX7 or DX11 era (would prefer a TX802 for it's rack format), and maybe a Korg M1R.
I grabbed the JV-880 back in 2019 for $175 on Reverb after one of my favorite producers told me it’s his favorite go-to synth for his old video-game soundtracks back in the 90s. These things are unbelievably underrated to me. I also have a JV-2080, and while the 990, 1080, 2080, 5080, and Integra-7 are far beyond what the 880 can accomplish in terms of their sonic palette and functionalities, the JV-880 has this beautifully unique timbre and sonic quality in its waveforms that I don’t hear in many newer synths. Coupled with the SR-JV80-04 vintage synth expansion (or perhaps any expansion!) one would not believe how powerful and amazing this can get with the right amount of patience in its programming, and all for just 1U of rack space.
I think each of the Roland PCM rack synths have their own unique characteristic to them. It’s very minor and perhaps splitting hairs to some, but to my ears, comparing the same presets across the synths, the 880 sounds rich and sharp, the 1080 feels more retro and gritty, the 2080 is gentler, and the 5080 is well-rounded and lush. Obviously during the production process all of these synths can achieve any of these characteristics in a mix, but that’s my take on their minute differences. I’ve been using the JV-880 on probably everything I make. It’s my bread-and-butter. :)
I’m sure people will disagree, as the JV-880 doesn’t have the same reputation that the JD-990 and JV-1080 has. My biggest issue with the 880 is its polyphony, which is why I switch to the 2080 when I need more of it.
Is it Tim follin or it someone else? i know he used a JV 880 for game music back when, either way it sounds unique for a JV module.
@@DalekEnclave123I actually didn’t know Tim Follin used the JV-880! I’m slightly familiar with him from Ecco the Dolphin. I was actually referring to Rom di Prisco, who did a lot of music for EA games back in the late 90s and so on. There’s a track called “Sirius 909” from one of the games that has the JV-880 all over it. You’ve got me interested in Follin’s music now, will be taking a closer look at it today. ;)
@@cygnus_XI I remember him mentioning it on interviews along with a Ensoniq ASR 10 which i find interesting.
if you want a go to box for old video games sounds you're going to want an mt32 and a sound canvas. there's also a box that combines sound canvas and mt32 into a single housing.
JV 880 sounds too clean and HiFi for old video games.
honestly I would take JV 880 over jd990 any day. I really don't care for the sound of the jd990. it sounds like a Michael McDonald song that would be at the end of a Disney movie from 1992. Its very good at nailing that terrible slice of sound from 1992 to 1994. I know a lot of people consider it a holy Grail but i find it nauseating.
I even bought one at one point to see what the hype was about (when they were 300 on ebay). now theyre going for like 1500 and up 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Nice demo. These JV are a personal choice these days. You can have these sounds in hundreds of instruments and software. After 17 years with a XP-30 which has the same kinds of sounds, I decided to go backwards and got a boutique D-05 . even rawer and more vintage sounding, while keeping the same typical gentle Roland sound.
Are you just playing the stock presets in the demo section of this video?
realy liked your performance. Nice pads at the end
I had a JV 880 a while back now. I was suprised how good it sounded. The bass was quite strong on it. I recall only 24 notes Polyphony. I really like the sounds in your demo. Makes me regret selling mine. Trouble is you won't get very far with 24 notes and those sounds on the cards............it is an interesting synth though in terms of it's timeline.
Hi Zach, love the video and love the JV880…sounds are amazing, my lcd is gone so I can’t program it but the presets are PRICELESS!!!!!🎉
Soooo you going to do a collaboration with old Espers then?
Thank you. Love my Fin.
Love it!
I prefer the JV-1080 because it has more patches and possibly more waveforms.
But the JV-880's waveform selection is slightly different and it has some patches
the JV-1080 doesn't. The JV-880 might be the best candidate to fit with the Pop
SRJV expansion board as well as possibly sounding better with certain
PCM1 cards.
At one point, Roland included the Pop expansion board with the JV-80 which, for home sequencing, allowed it to cover more bread and butter sounds with more polyphony than the M1.
I think people often misjudge the 1080 since its so cheap. Its a powerful synth, possibly the best of that era and once you learn its mapped out like a giant grid it becomes really easy to program. Mine sits comfortably in the collection alongside synths that cost 30x as much.
@@vjreimedia very well summed up regarding the JV1080. I remember getting a very severe case of gear lust when the JV1080 was released and the only thing that stopped me from buying one for a couple of years was the incredibly steep AUD$2995 price at its release. Prices went down markedly once the JV2080 was released and I then picked up a JV1080 for AUD$1850. I stuffed that one with SRJV expansion boards and then bought 2 more JV1080s and an XV3080 and also stuffed them fully with expansion boards. I had access to every great Roland sound and they completed my Korg Triton, Z1EX, T3EX, 01WFD, DW8000 Wavestation AD and Wavestation SR beautifully.
Bottom end of the 880 blows the 1080 out of the water. It's butter.
Bought one new back in the days. Still have it. Later on I bought a JV-2080 and JD-990 with the intention to sell the JV-880. I never did. It sounds much bigger and fatter than the JV-2080. I really use the JV-880 more than 2080. Although JV-2080 sounds perhaps cleaner. Just like the JV880 better. But matter of personal taste probably. Great synth still.
Is it harder to program? I have a xp50 and been eyeing a JD990 locally, but now I am not sure if to just pickup the JV880?
@@AnalogFlava JD990 is really the king. It is an amazing synth. Perhaps the most powerful Roland synth ever. JV2080 is also great. Same as XP50. JV80/JV880 is just a generation before XP50. So I think there is not much to gain for you. Unless you buy a JD990. There are good editors too. I personally think it is not hard to program it.
I agree with your comment's 100 per cent I have owned many synth include the later Roland modules/synths - but in my opinion this one and the D 50 beat them all. Great playing - Can I ask are these the pre sets that you playing or have you modified them?
never heard of this one to be honest. it's not often i don't know a piece of roland gear so kudos to you. It sounds nice enough but does the world really need another one of these JV machines...?
Yes and yes. I love mine
Zach, the camera is a bit out of focus. Unless you meant to focus more on the module, instead of your face.
I still am amazed by the things a JV1080 can do all these years later. It is arguably the most comprehensive digital Roland synth ever once you understand its just a giant set of grids. I have WAY nicer synths but man... I can get one to do basically anything.
Where’s the bass and lead sounds? Sounds great.
Check out my "Bordeline (Summer 2018)" video. Heavy use of "SLAP!" bass and a modified lead sound from the JV-880. Middle section around 3:40 is all slap bass-o-rama. Would link you, but RUclips doesn't like it when we link in the comments - god forbid one should ever link to something good and useful here. :P
YES! JV880 (JV80) sounds much warmer and fatter than JV1080... have both, for synthsounds I prefer JV880.
Please review the roland jupiter 80
Please !!!!!!!!
NICE! You and your commenters seem very knowledgeable, so I'm going to hazard a question. Where does the brain behind my old RS-9 (88 key version of RS-5) fit in the comparable Roland rack line up? I played out with it for years and it's still going strong. Also, I used my U 220 live for just the piano patch forever, but it is F-ed up. They don't seem very highly regarded. I'm not hip to all the alphabet soup and pedigree of the Roland stuff through the decades. Some pieces seem cultishly pricey. Thanks, and rock on folks!
You definitely ARE the 90s! :-))
I have a jv90.
Just picked one up for 130 €
great video, but no longer 125 bucks, haha. I feel like every time video like this comes out, prices of used gear skyrocket thanks to the greedy vintage gear speculators, which is sad.
The earlier, the better
Good to see Rick Moranis keeping busy.
they are like 300 now
In my opinion Super JD-990 with Vintage Synth Board installed would smash both of these modules.
Why smash any of them when you can have all three? Oh wait, that's what I have (actually two JV-2080s, a JD-990 all with vintage boards and a JV-880). ^_^
JD-990 is amazing if you want to sound like a Michael McDonald song from the end of a 1992 disney movie.
it sounds heinously cheesy.
@@djangofett4879 😂😂😂I have no idea what a Michael McDonald song is, but "heinously cheesy" is possibly the most inaccurate description of the JD-990 you'll ever find. All 90's romplers include cheesy presets but the 990 (rackmount JD-800) has universal acclaim and is lauded by anyone who knows their synth history and the artists that used it (Hans Zimmer, Vangelis, LTJ Bukem, Prodigy, Underworld, Tangerine Dream, Apollo 440). If you're incapable of sound design that's on you.
@@project-95 I agree!!
@@AndersEngerJensen Hei pa dej Anders, which would you recommend out of all three? I have an xp50 but got a chance to grab a JD990 for about 1200 dollars. Not sure if to jump on it or just get the JV880 which is way cheaper and perhaps just as capable?
You have it reversed. The JV-80/880 is brighter than the JV-1080 as it extends the high end all the way to 20k as if it was a 44k device. The JV-1080 is known for it's dark sounds as some feel with this darker sound it fits in the mix better. Just compare the pianos and bells.
yes, Jv880 is a bit more Hi-fi sounding
From what i heard on various demos around the interntet it seems JV-880 is at the same time brighter and has more low end punch. Lots of people play it very soft to escape those shrill high end harmonics, but i saw some examples where those sounds fit nicely like agressive brass lead tones in Vangelis style etc.
I'll take the JV1080 over the 880 any day.
This is fun, you are playing on Jupiter-X, but JV-880 sound like nothing Jupiter-X could shame off.
Rick Moranis?
I would go for a plugin instead , no way i would spent 125 on this synth theres no point imo
snoooozzz
vsts don't inspire imo, hardware for life
For $125 you can get a very powerful VST synth! I personally love the JV-880 but if someone really isn’t impressed with what it offers, a good VST is going to be great as well, maybe even better depending on what you’re looking for and what sounds you’re after. There’s truth to your comment!
@@cygnus_XI you can’t compare vsts with hardware. You can spend 125 on a great meal, so why get the JV. Same comparison.
@@nilsvanderplancken I have to respectfully disagree. While I’m biased in favor of hardware synths, hardware gear is not always intrinsically better than modern day VSTs. A seasoned producer using VSTs is still going to out-do any amateur or hobbyist using hardware stuff. I’ve seen it first hand.
Sure. I give you the 90s.
What’s with this boring obsession over the synths «worth». Of all the qualities that makes a musical instrument, worth must be about the least interesting.
Value for $ is quite relevant.
@@vjreimedia dude... in another comment you literally insulted entire generations of music equipment consumers and injected your sad culture war nonsense into a synth conversation and now you're saying that this other guy should apologize?
this is not a defense of his slight overreaction, btw. this is me telling you to have a shred of self awareness.
An old saying: _"Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten"._
idk, i think this is all heading for irrelevant cork-sniffer territory, ESPECIALLY as time marches on. IMO, espen kraft is not worth my time. he is a museum curiosity and offers nothing i can actually use in my music world. vintage has feature, performance and physical shortcomings (dried up caps, dead batteries, noisy switches and pots, etc). i own some vintage gear and after the magic 30-40 year mark, things start screwing up. (boss DR-synth, original alesis sr-16, original DX7, kawaii K4r module, jv-2080. sold the arp odyssey) it is a pile of gear that all of which has some kind of issues(except the jv-2080 is still too young, but the encoder is partially worn out and a bit dodgy), so i'm NEVER investing in anything vintage ever again. this video will only attract people who already have one of these roland products(like me)
What a muppet! Where's your massive channel! 🤣
Didn't read
To use the Juper-x as a midi controller for the JV80 is like using a Mercedes to take out the garbage...
Shame !!
lol