Using Roland’s acclaimed Analog Circuit Behaviour (ACB) technology the JP-08 faithfully reproduces the original JUPITER-8 sounds. Only 4 voice, but more than one unit can be sync'd together to get more polyphony

The legendary JUPITER-8 synth is back as a limited-edition module no bigger than a book. Part of the Roland Boutique series, the JP-08 is all about hands-on control and that iconic JUPITER sound. With an array of 36 knobs and sliders from the original JUPITER-8 front panel, the 4-voice JP-08 is highly programmable and encourages sonic experimentation, especially with the built-in speaker and battery operation.

Using Roland’s acclaimed Analog Circuit Behaviour (ACB) technology the JP-08 faithfully reproduces the original JUPITER-8 sounds and adds a few new twists in the form of extra LFOs and expanded VCO range. You can even slide the JP-08 into the optional K-25m keyboard unit for a self-contained, go-anywhere synth experience.

The JP--08 is only 4 voice which was a major criticism on release, but you can sync 2 units together to get 8 voices with one unit acting as master for the controls. There's no arpeggiator like the original but it has a built in 16 step sequencer & additional oscillator waveforms including TRI and NOISE for the LFO and SIN for VCO-1, and both VCOs have an expanded range for even more sound shaping potential.

There's no keyboard split which was another criticism of the unit on release, but it has Upper/Lower mode which allows it to play an 'Upper' & 'Lower' patch via MIDI on 2 channels with only 2 voices each or those two selected Upper/Lower patches can work in Dual mode where they stack with 2 voices each. The JP-08 also has 3 play modes: POLY where it plays polyphonically, UNISON where it plays all 4 voices per key & MONO which is monophonic mode.

The JP-08 also features but un-documented very nice Chorus effect which can only be switched via MIDI and features 3 different mode.

Also like with most of the Roland Boutique range the JP-08 has USB & can connect and stream its audio to your DAW via USB & also function as a USB audio & MIDI interface with a mini-jack stereo input.

The K-25m keyboard unit

Like all the Boutique range, the JP0-08 can be used as a tabletop module triggered from any 3rd party MIDI keyboard controller or directly from any DAW external MIDI track, but a further option is to add the optional K-25m keyboard unit which connects to any of the Boutique modules using an included ribbon cable.

The K-25m is a 25-key, velocity sensitive keyboard designed for use with the Roland Boutique series. Measuring less than 12" across, the K-25m acts as a dock for any Roland Boutique module, and once in place the module can be tilted at two different angles for easier viewing and sound programming, or can be laid completely flat.

The K-25m retails at around £95 from most music tech suppliers.

Ok it's NOT an exact copy of the Jupiter-8 and some argue that the JP-08's diminuative size is so impracticle that in most home studio or MID studio-suite setups you might as well use a Jupiter-8 plugin. However for some users particularly in a live gigging situation, hardware is always preferable, and the JP-08 gets you almost all the way to an affordable hardware Jupiter-8 sound.

Like many Roland products the JP-08 is now discontinued, but can be found in the free ads & Ebay for around £250 upwards

Category:

Products » Synthesisers » Modeling synthesisers »

Added: 24 November 2023
New price: discontinued
S/H price: £250 - £375
Company: ROLAND UK

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This product is part of
Roland's
Boutique series

JD-08

JP-08

JU-06

JU-06A

JX-03

JX-08

SH-01A

TB-03

2015 saw Roland debut a new series of modelled synth modules & drum machines derived from their old classics catalog and delivered in a portable, mains or battery powered, table-top sized format.

Initially offering emulations of the Jupiter-8 (JP-08), Juno-106 (JU-06) & JX-3P (JX-03), Roland went on to add further models from 2016 onwards until the full range included emulations of the TB-303, Juno-60, SH-101, D-50, VP-330 Vocoder, JX-8P & JD-800, as well as their TR-808, TR-909 & TR-606 drum machines.

All these modules comprise what Roland calls its Boutique series.

The Boutique series is related to the over-arching Roland AIRA collection of products which included the AIRA hardware units & related Plug-OUT software emulations. Like most of the AIRA series hardware, all these Boutique series modules can connect to a host computer via USB allowing saving & management of patches while they also function as a 24-bit 44.1kHz USB audio i/o interface which includes USB streaming of the module's audio output IN to the end user's DAW & in most models also included streaming of a physical stereo audio input from the unit to the DAW, albeit line level only with no mic' pre-amp included.

For initial Boutique models Roland used a DSP technology they called Analog Circuit Behaviour (ACB) to model the sound of the instruments and they are rated as very accurate. The downside is a reduced 4 note polyphony with the first three models. They do however have a technology built-in which allows more than one unit to be chained together, so you can have two or three JP-08's for example chained together to get a super-accurate 8 or 12 note emulation of the Jupiter-8 and the slave unit/s sync to the master allowing you to edit & control the overall synth patch via one master unit. Later 2022 Boutique series models like the JD-08 & JX-08 are less accurate in terms of absolutely emulating the original's synth engine & use a newer system-on-a-chip modelling which Roland calls Behavior Modeling Core (BMC).

All the synths in the Boutique series run off battery or mains & even include a small built-in speaker. All the synth modules can work with the optional K-25m plastic keyboard mount. The synth modules clip into the keyboard unit and can be angled at different degrees and then played via the small 2-octave keyboard.

With the K-25m keyboard/stand & the built-in little speaker, any of the Boutique synths can be played on location with no other equipment in a rudimentary way if required.

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The Roland Boutique range is a major range of modelling emulations of classic old hardware products and therefore - like the Behringer analog synths section above - we're giving them their own mini-section here so you can see the possible range, albeit you'll only be able to get some of these products secondhand now from the free ads or Ebay.