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It's here and its FREE!!!!!! Roland Jupiter Synth Legends collection


minimoog

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So Roland has unveiled a bunch of free sounds for the Jupiter-80 and Jupiter-50 synths that are meant to emulate their classic instruments.

They have even gone so far as to release comparison videos, that compare, for example, sound for sound, an original Jupiter-8 sound with the corresponding patch on the Jupiter-80.

I can't speak for the other videos, but I just spent five minutes watching the Jupiter-8 comparison video. I know from personal experience how challenging it can be to try and create virtually identical patches on two different instruments. That being said, about all this video did was to convince me I really want to have a Jupiter-8 someday. While a few of the comparisons are spot on, many are not, and I distinctly hear the difference between the true analog synthesizer and its digital re-creation. This is more than simply saying the two sounds are not identical - personally, I hear how they've tried to re-create the same feel, and it simply doesn't work. Out-of-phase oscillators on the Jupiter-8 sometimes simply sound like a chorus effect applied on the Jupiter-80.

I have never consider myself to be an "analog purist," but after listening to this video, perhaps I am more of a purist than I thought I was. That being said, the sounds on the Jupiter-80 are very listenable, usable, and musical in their own right, and could probably effectively emulate a vintage Jupiter-8 when used in a mix. Some of them do sound very close. But, to be fair, so could any number of other instruments, both hardware and software. Bottom line - for me, at least, you're not going to get rid of a craving for a real Jupiter-8 by purchasing a Jupiter-80 and downloading this free sound set. Not having a Jupiter-80 or 50 I may not watch the other videos, especially since I don't anticipate owning one soon - they're just too pricey for me.

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Trust me as a current Jupiter 50 owner this is a very good thing. The synth's current patches are very average and I have to tweak them constantly to erase the vanilla. I love the keyboard and it is a great gigging board but it does sound just OK. This is to compete with the Kronos.

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I can get closer to those Jupiter 8 sounds with my Arturia V Collection 2 (Jupiter 8V) than the Jupiter 80 apparently can -- which is a little surprising. Until I saw that video, I just assumed that the 80 would do a better job.

The Jupiter 80 doesn't sound bad really, just very digital.

Also, the JP 80 does a better job of emulating the Juno 106 than the Jupiter 8, IMO. Again, not bad, but not a replacement for analog either.

I still think it would have been a lot better if Roland had actually constructed separate dedicated virtual modelers of their classic synths inside the Jupiter 80 -- complete with an interface mapped to a dedicated control surface -- and given it a 16 track sequencer on top of that. That would have made it more competitive with Kronos.

As it is, I still scratch my head over the JP-80 every time I sit down and play one.

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It is great it is FREE, specially if you were spending money thinking this is an actual dedicated synth engine designed to emulate the JP 8's oscillators. It is NOT.
But if you already own a JP80 or 50, YES! Free stuff is good and it may breath new life to your keyboard.

Quote Originally Posted by keybdwizrd View Post
I can't speak for the other videos, but I just spent five minutes watching the Jupiter-8 comparison video. I know from personal experience how challenging it can be to try and create virtually identical patches on two different instruments. That being said, about all this video did was to convince me I really want to have a Jupiter-8 someday. While a few of the comparisons are spot on, many are not, and I distinctly hear the difference between the true analog synthesizer and its digital re-creation. This is more than simply saying the two sounds are not identical - personally, I hear how they've tried to re-create the same feel, and it simply doesn't work. Out-of-phase oscillators on the Jupiter-8 sometimes simply sound like a chorus effect applied on the Jupiter-80.

I have never consider myself to be an "analog purist," but after listening to this video, perhaps I am more of a purist than I thought I was. That being said, the sounds on the Jupiter-80 are very listenable, usable, and musical in their own right, and could probably effectively emulate a vintage Jupiter-8 when used in a mix. Some of them do sound very close. But, to be fair, so could any number of other instruments, both hardware and software. Bottom line - for me, at least, you're not going to get rid of a craving for a real Jupiter-8 by purchasing a Jupiter-80 and downloading this free sound set. Not having a Jupiter-80 or 50 I may not watch the other videos, especially since I don't anticipate owning one soon - they're just too pricey for me.
I listened to this video on my studio speakers.
That comparison was painful.

Here it is a funny thing: In the minute 3:00, I can feel the low frequencies on my desk, with my elbows, with the JP 8 patch. But I don't feel anything with the JP 80 version.


Maybe one or two ALMOST sounded kinda like the original, but a 95% of them were noticeably different.
Really bad work, Roland.

I fully agree:

... could probably effectively emulate a vintage Jupiter-8 when used in a mix
Indeed.

Bottom line - for me, at least, you're not going to get rid of a craving for a real Jupiter-8 by purchasing a Jupiter-80 and downloading this free sound set.
Word.

And this:


Quote Originally Posted by zoink View Post
I still think it would have been a lot better if Roland had actually constructed separate dedicated virtual modelers of their classic synths inside the Jupiter 80 -- complete with an interface mapped to a dedicated control surface -- and given it a 16 track sequencer on top of that. That would have made it more competitive with Kronos.
Bingo!
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I really don't think it was a good idea to make some comparisons becuase you can really BIg Time tell the diferance.

This is really suprising becuase its like saying look diferent they sound??!! even doe its called a Roland juppiter 80!

but looks that maybe vol 2 will be on the way

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Guys this is a good thing for the musician who can only have one board. These are capable machines and the sounds are close. I for one am excited as long as I can add the sounds without removing any of the original patches, tones, or live sets. This will curve my GAS for vintage Roland synths.

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Yeah, doesn't sound very jupitery.

There are good sounds(especially on other packs) though, but as an emulations they are strangely rough approximations. Some of them were almost completely different sounds. Some of the new versions sounded better in my ears though. Perhaps in some cases the designer wanted to use the possibilities of this instrument for the sake of the sound at hands, instead of completely puristic(or as puristic as possible) approach.

I think, that in the name of honesty, it was great move from Roland to make the comparison. Not necessarily to prove their similarity, but to demonstrate the differences. Perhaps its better to hear it from Roland, than others.

hmmm...it doesn't seem to have all the samples from D-50? Why not include them in the package? (4 partials vs 3 in jupiter-80?)

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Quote Originally Posted by DJ RAZZ View Post
I for one am excited as long as I can add the sounds without removing any of the original patches, tones, or live sets. This will curve my GAS for vintage Roland synths.
I suppose that a jp80 user has created some own livesets and tones. At least I did in the last 10 months since I own it. Adding those new sounds is impossible without overwriting some existing.
Hence, even loading everything at once is cumbersome since there are two usb sticks required because the whole package is saved as a backup and Roland didn't find a way to give us the ability to name the backups. So, first one has to save his user backup and then put a new usb stick with the synth legends collection into the keyboard and load everything at once.
Do I need to say that the user is required to turn the keyboard off while sticking a usb stick in or out.
I'll try those new sounds later but I'm really not impatient to try them out when I think about how many annoying steps are required to do such basically simple file operations which Roland made harder than shooting a man on the moon.
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I listened to the demo Michael posted, earlier today, the key tracking was off and the EQ on the J80 way brighter so adjusting those on the J80 patches would help clean them up.

You could just buy a MINIAK and be done, it does some mean Analog sounds as it has 8 independent voice A/D processors plus another on effects making it a kindoff hybrid although its mainly digital generation it does seem to treat each channel and effect as a seperate final analog path ;-)

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Quote Originally Posted by sani View Post
I suppose that a jp80 user has created some own livesets and tones. At least I did in the last 10 months since I own it. Adding those new sounds is impossible without overwriting some existing.
Hence, even loading everything at once is cumbersome since there are two usb sticks required because the whole package is saved as a backup and Roland didn't find a way to give us the ability to name the backups. So, first one has to save his user backup and then put a new usb stick with the synth legends collection into the keyboard and load everything at once.
Do I need to say that the user is required to turn the keyboard off while sticking a usb stick in or out.
I'll try those new sounds later but I'm really not impatient to try them out when I think about how many annoying steps are required to do such basically simple file operations which Roland made harder than shooting a man on the moon.
Sounds like the way you add USB sound patches on then GAIA. File managment is using folders on your PC and other tricks on the machine to make new sets per pen drive if you do not have the editor.
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Sani, making regular backups is a good thing. Its really not that complicated. Back your stuff to a $3 USB stick, load the legacy collection from another $3 stick. Yes you have to power off the Jupiter to reboot. Maybe your mommie will help you?

Its a nice collection, a little too much TB303/techno sound stuff for my tastes. Some of the J106 patches are extremely close to what's coming from the JU80. No cassettes required!

Good stuff, thanks Roland smile.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by sani View Post
I suppose that a jp80 user has created some own livesets and tones. At least I did in the last 10 months since I own it. Adding those new sounds is impossible without overwriting some existing.
Hence, even loading everything at once is cumbersome since there are two usb sticks required because the whole package is saved as a backup and Roland didn't find a way to give us the ability to name the backups. So, first one has to save his user backup and then put a new usb stick with the synth legends collection into the keyboard and load everything at once.
Do I need to say that the user is required to turn the keyboard off while sticking a usb stick in or out.
I'll try those new sounds later but I'm really not impatient to try them out when I think about how many annoying steps are required to do such basically simple file operations which Roland made harder than shooting a man on the moon.
You're 100% right about the backup routine, sani - it is my biggest complaint about the JP-80.

However, perhaps you're forgetting about the export/import functions? Using this approach you can select all sounds and export it and give it a name (as a .svd file). This can then be imported wholesale, or just selected sounds from it.

But I do feel that if Roland intend to release further libraries, then we need a librarian to manage them. We've had V1 and V2 sounds and now SL Vol1, to be followed by a SL Vol2 at some point. Add all those up and they're well above the capacity of the slots available.

Either a librarian - or a new OS which has two things 1) increased slots and 2) a better way of moving sounds; at the moment you can only manage sounds at a Registration level.
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Quote Originally Posted by DJ RAZZ View Post
That makes that hard for live use. Bummer
Backups can't be named and have to be in a pre-defined structure.

However you can export/import complete or subsets of the onboard sounds and give them a name to have on the USB. So, not bummer?

(Although I admit - a librarian is much needed)
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Quote Originally Posted by Devnor View Post
Sani, making regular backups is a good thing. Its really not that complicated. Back your stuff to a $3 USB stick, load the legacy collection from another $3 stick. Yes you have to power off the Jupiter to reboot. Maybe your mommie will help you?
Denvor,
may I kindly ask you to take your rubbish nonsense away from here and over to RolandClan. There you have at least 2 or 3 fanboys who will be more than happy to praise with you Roland up to the heaven. Let's allow a little more criticism here since it's not allowed there. And my mommie is dead but there are always idiots who have to be some smart asses and teach others about stuff they don't know how it works in a kinda "funny" way, mentioning other peoples parents. BTW, this is not the first time you do it.

Now, let's go to the point.
Roland asks you to turn the keyboard off where ever you change the usb sticks. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT??? I'm not screaming, I just want you to get the message. It's written in your manual. Read it. NO, let me help you out and quote the user manual:

Never insert or remove a USB flash drive while this unit
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Quote Originally Posted by cellOASYS View Post
You're 100% right about the backup routine, sani - it is my biggest complaint about the JP-80.
Hi Cello,
I'm wondering since you were saying once that you prefer this implementation over that one on Korg workstations.

Quote Originally Posted by cellOASYS View Post
However, perhaps you're forgetting about the export/import functions? Using this approach you can select all sounds and export it and give it a name (as a .svd file). This can then be imported wholesale, or just selected sounds from it.
No, I'm not forgetting it. The problem is that with the export/import function you only export/import sounds. You don't export for example system settings! And they are very important because you set there quite a lot of things. And sometimes you use different settings with different bands, studios and so on. That's the problem. A backup saves everything and export/import just handles the sounds but not the system settings.
See, this it the part where Korg did a nice, clean job. You have a pcg file. It contains sounds and global (=system) data. And you can load all stuff, a couple of banks, one bank, a couple of patches or just one patch. And you can do it for almost 20 years. And Roland needed the jp80 to learn for the first time that people want and need to load single items. Even more, I'm playing in two bands. Different music and completely different registrations. Why do I need two usb sticks for 3 bucks (as our mighty short minded Devnor suggests)? What if I travel to the show and forget the right usb stick? Why can't I have all my files on one usb stick and all my backup on another one? Playing in two bands requires me to have not two but four usb sticks. I also need a backup of the "backup" don't I?
See, there are areas where Roland fails big time, up to a level that an average intelligent person can't follow them what they do and why they do it in a certain way.

Quote Originally Posted by cellOASYS View Post
But I do feel that if Roland intend to release further libraries, then we need a librarian to manage them. We've had V1 and V2 sounds and now SL Vol1, to be followed by a SL Vol2 at some point. Add all those up and they're well above the capacity of the slots available.
Basically we need more user memory. But we wont get any because its limited. You have to decide what to leave there and what to erase.

Quote Originally Posted by cellOASYS View Post
Either a librarian - or a new OS which has two things 1) increased slots and 2) a better way of moving sounds; at the moment you can only manage sounds at a Registration level.
Korg (almost a forbidden word at RolandClan) managed to increase the number of slots because the Kronos has a completely different hardware structure. I highly doubt that you can increase the number of slots in the JP80. Especially not the number of registrations until people accept that it's ok to hit a "next" or "previous" button up to 15 or 20 times until they get to the right bank.
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Quote Originally Posted by keybdwizrd View Post
Out-of-phase oscillators on the Jupiter-8 sometimes simply sound like a chorus effect applied on the Jupiter-80.
That's what I heard immediately from the first sample. WTF?

It's not bad though. The trouble is today's "analog modelling" is quite more advanced in the software world these days. Soft synths like Diva have spoiled me when it comes to realistic sounding analog modelling, I really have no GAS for creaky vintage machines these days for what they go for on the market thanks to the new generation of plugins. (Still not giving up my Andromeda, though. biggrin.gif).
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I still prefer the JP-80 implementation over the OASYS. I agree totally, re the pcg holding global data (which is better) and the JP-80 import/export does not. However, the JP-80 is not burdened by samples as in the OASYS/Kronos. Try loading up your preferred pcg and then load in KSL (or whatever EXs # it is called these days!) and you get all sorts of problems with samples changing thus changing the sounds. And it is only through PCGTools that such things can be managed - an independently produced application; not Korg's.

More memory would be great. But doesn't really address the problem - just makes it bigger! Although, here we get the difference between you and me - you gig, I don't; you want everything at hand, probably in some kind of set list orientation. I want to organise things by studio project. Bigger memory helps you, yes - as you have every sound with you at all times. I just want to load up the ones I need for a project - or rather recall them if I have to redo tracks, for example.

Rolandclan ain't that bad re Korg wink.gif

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Hi Cello,
this shouldn't turn into some weird A vs. B discussion. I said what I said based on my experience with Roland keyboards. You are introducing a new level and that are samples or EX. The Jupiter doesn't have this and still, the file handling is very cumbersome. That's the point before you even touch a single patch. Korg is a word that triggers all kind of nasty answers over there, but it doesn't matter for this discussion.
Don't forget, the jp80 is advertised as a performance keyboard. And as such it fails miserably in quite a lot of aspects. The synth legends collection is maybe nice for some people. I hear aliasing, weird aliasing which is quite strange for a VA and I am confronted with a nasty file system and some ridiculous limitations. I'm limited in what aftertouch is able to control. It can control just two parameters which are fixed by Roland to filter and resonance. That's the most ridiculous limitation you'll get from any of the keyboard manufacturers these days.

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Quote Originally Posted by sani View Post
Hi Cello,
this shouldn't turn into some weird A vs. B discussion. I said what I said based on my experience with Roland keyboards. You are introducing a new level and that are samples or EX. The Jupiter doesn't have this and still, the file handling is very cumbersome. That's the point before you even touch a single patch. Korg is a word that triggers all kind of nasty answers over there, but it doesn't matter for this discussion.
Don't forget, the jp80 is advertised as a performance keyboard. And as such it fails miserably in quite a lot of aspects. The synth legends collection is maybe nice for some people. I hear aliasing, weird aliasing which is quite strange for a VA and I am confronted with a nasty file system and some ridiculous limitations. I'm limited in what aftertouch is able to control. It can control just two parameters which are fixed by Roland to filter and resonance. That's the most ridiculous limitation you'll get from any of the keyboard manufacturers these days.
okay so what else it out there...options?
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