Roland JP-8000 vs. SH-201

Maybe there's no contest, I don't know. I thought I could shake the thought of buying one of these, but now that I've played the SH-201 and I've heard the JP-8000, I know it's a sound I'm looking for.

I can get by the looks of the SH-201, but it only has 34 presets, which is kind of low. I don't know how many presets the JP-8000 has, but I'm sure it's more. I know the controls are more flexible for the 8000 as well.

I really don't know much about how these compare to each other. It seems I could get the JP for the price of the SH, so that's an important factor.

Hopefully this hasn't been discussed before, I couldn't find a similar thread.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1563848

no luck for the sh compared to the jp which still stands ground in the va territory ...they sell dead cheap nowdays so pick the jp instead...

::sigh::

I swear I saw that post before, but for some reason I couldn't get it to come up in the search results. Oh well, thanks for redirecting me.

After reading through all that, I've decided to get the JP-8080. I could use the extra 2 notes of polyphony at the very least, plus the fact that it is made of metal instead of plastic is really attractive to me. I've heard both machines, and they both sound great. I've only played the SH-201, but I felt that the controls were limited, even though I'm still a relative novice with synth programming. I'm used to my MS2000B, so I think I'd be selling myself short.

Plus, for the same cost, it seems I'll be getting a better machine. I might even be able to bring it with me to college.

I'll use my DW-8000 as a controller, I love the feel of those keys anyhow (I may be alone on this, but I'm sick of the "mushy" keys, and I don't want hammer action keys for my synth wankering, so the DW's are perfect).

Thanks guys. Wish me luck on eBay.

Both have comparable polyphony (sh has 10, jp has 8), 2 osc per voice, and supersaw. But the JP has all of those sexy sliders and a two line backlit LCD.

I'd have to say go with the JP. A lot of synth for your money.

^ Yep.

I was going to recommend the 8080, but you specified the 8000 so I figured you were set on something with keys.

The 8080 is easily the better synth, among all three -- not only for the added polyphony, but the vocoder.

Good choice.

The JP-8080 seems like it's better build quality, and the improvements over the 8000 are a welcome addition. I just have to figure out where the hell I'm going to put it, I don't have a rack shelf or anything! Maybe another keyboard stand? I have no idea.

yeah 8080 is better and i have it too...cool that you bought the jp at the end...have fun and make some music...

You guys are just ASKING me to say something.........

absolutely right...

Well, I don't think the JP series is better in any way except in patch storage and having a display. The extra synthesis options are worth the upgrade. That's right, I said UPGRADE.

It's a shame that there's some really useful stuff buried in multiple button pushes and the fact that It really NEEDS a computer (you guys know that this never sits well with me) but you just can't beat it for straight "Juno style" programming and ultra portability.

I much prefer the Nord Lead 2X but the SH-201 is an excellent string machine, pad, and FX synth. It's not just as well rounded as the Nord IMO.

I pretty much exhausted myself on this topic here a little while ago, but I completely agree with MuzikB (and still have my SH-201, it still serves me well!). I am intimately familiar with the JP-8000 and -8080 and there are many things, tonally, the SH-201 is capable of that neither of the older instruments are. And there are a number of current-day functionality issues that make the SH-201 far more useful for integration with other present-day music technologies than either of these other instruments.

However, I still love the sound of the JP8k, so that's not to diss that instrument. I just think it's naivete, nostalgia and e-bay prep-ism that leads people to extol the old over the new here. My two cents' worth.

I would even dare to add that -- since the SH-201 is far easier to integrate with a PC than the JP8k series -- it has better storage _and_ interface, if you consider the PC connected to the 201 its storage and interface extension. The software for fine-editing the SH-201 on a PC (Mac or Windows) is quite good, real-time, and almost VST-like in style, and using it both to edit and store, and to run the SH-201 inside a software DAW or sequencer is quite smooth and seamless. Something the JP can't even touch.

Is the JP-80x0 arpeggiator good? I just realized that one of my main reasons for wanting a new synth is so I have a good arpeggiator.

The arp on the SH-201 was more than good enough for me, to give you an idea of what I want.

The 8080 is significantly better than 8000( smoother filters and better op-amps) BUT comparing a 201 to a 8000 is like comparing a truck to a car.Both run on gas and have wheels but were designed and marketed for different usage.