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Roland JX-3P

19-Mar-2024

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Roland JX-3P



Category:  Products / synthesisers / dco synthesisers

Added: 13-Dec-98  |  Author: admin

New price: discontinued  |   S/H price: £700-1000


Roland JX-3P



Released in 1984. The JX-3P is a 100% Roland analog synth utitlising Digitally Controlled Oscillators (DCO's) combined with analog filters & envelopes & it can be considered part of the Juno Series.



 



This was Roland's first synth offering MIDI but only basic note on/off is sent & received. This was also Rolands first analog synth which discarded the traditional Jupiter-style sliders for editing & controlling the main synth parameters, and instead offeried the new membrane switches used by their competiors like Yamaha & Casio. This was Rolands first synth which sported these memberane switches



 

 

 

The PG-200 programmer





As a consequence of not having hands-on controls for the synth parameters, Roland offered an add-on programmer unit which connects to the JX-3P using a special included DIN cable. Ideally you need the PG-200 programmer unit to really tweak either the JX-3P or its sister rack version MKS-30, & they are a bit hard to find, costing around £400 - £500 on Ebay. However, you can get a 3rd party controller, the DTronics DT-200 which does the same thing for around £235 GBP.








Product Videos


Roland JX3P synthesizer

some noodling on Legowelt / Smackos' analog Roland JX3P synthesizer with its cool built in step sequ...


syntezatory.prv.pl - Roland JX-3p

1983 Roland JX3p. Brought to you by WC Olo Garb. The sounds have been programmed by WC Olo Garb./// ...


Roland JX-3P and PG-200

I wrote a very basic step sequence which I synced to a drum machine. I scrolled thru a few presets a...







Product Manuals or Files





Product Resources










User Comments

Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: eddie
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer,Hobby-ist
Date: 25-Apr-99

i ve bought mine today with pg200
do not ever think buying it without pg 200 it is like buying a car that doesnt turn left or right...
my first synth used it for 5 hours and i am not bored at all so...
if u have 300 bucks and somethin good get this...

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: andy
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 27-Aug-99

oh come on you damn babies. mine never had the pg200, and by now i have all the parameters memorized. and i've only had it for a few months. if you screw with it, this is one sweet synth. the pg200 may be a nice add-on, but it's not necessary. besides, you can't use the programmer with midi so what's the use? i'd rather bust out some sequences (and NOT from the crap on-board sequencer) then twiddle the cutoff with a programmer while trying to play some basslines with my hands. believe me, the JX3P is next 'en vogue' roland! well, maybe not. but it's kickin'! with TONS of bass! yup, it's a thin synth. thin, like as thin as 4 feet of concrete!

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: dave
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 18-Sep-99

This is one of my all time favorite roland synths. Very, Very cool unit. in fact, its the only hardware synth in my studio these days. its ridiculously simple to use, sounds great, and is really cheap right now. what more can i say?

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Stephen Peacock
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 03-Jan-00

No PG200 = No problem IMHO. It just takes a little longer! It's still easier to program than many others. Even so, does anyone know of a Windows-based editor for the JX3P ?

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Eddie.
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 01-Mar-00

This unit is not really thin, actually this thing has bad ass bases, chorus is noisy on mine, i dont know if it is the problem with everyone elses, pg200 helps a lot for building the sound but not a neccesity.I saw one guy on the net,implementing midi to pg200, that would really cool, since you can contreol reonance/cutoff/adsr from the sequencer.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: zgygoos
Email: Email supplied but hidden
sdf
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 22-Sep-00

Fucking good amazing synth ! my mate Denis owns one. It was rusting in his bed room. One night i came around and plugged it. Cool old analog sound, nice square basses and also cheap price. Stop watching TV and go out to get one !

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Matt
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 01-Jun-01

I own this one. But I need the cable that connects the PG-200. I wish I could experience the full effects of this great machine. If any knows where I can get one email me please. Thanks!

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: alex
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 19-Sep-01

Well it is true that is doesn't sound as thick as a juno (60), but too thin I don't agree, you can get good techno sounds out of it. I think this is a pretty good synth and for that price you can get it for, it's a amazing synth.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: alex
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 12-Jul-02

No problems without the pg200, it is just a good working synth even without that pg200. Thin??? It is strange so many people has that same opinion. Okay it is not as thick as a juno 60, but certainly not mega thin. Good for techno sounds and basses. I programmed a lot of fair warm sounds.
For that price, that cheap!!! get this one.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: sense
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://sense.i2pi.com
Activity: Professional
Date: 07-Jan-03

MM i love the roland jx-3p with or with out the pg200 its an amazing synth , it is the DETROIT master , most all stabs and pads are detroitesque and alot of well known musicains wouldnt be in the studio with out thier 3p's. Personally i have had my 3p since 1991 and its the first synth i got and with it , ive learned sound synthesis ... I need to know if anyone knows the SPECS on building a cable for the PG-200 as i have now a PG-200 and my sense SLIDER is broken .. so i need to use the pg-200 to tweak anything. finally a friend of mine . a girl gave me a PG200 as a present .. since ive allways wanted one.. Please .. can anyone advise me on how i should go about making a cable for it..

cheers

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: mike
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 24-Jul-03

It does have analog filters but digital oscilators.

The MIDI is crap (omni only).

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: tom c
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 25-Aug-03

I can make the cables that go between the PG-200 and the JX-3P. I charge $45 plus shipping and handling for a cable that is tested (on my unit) and guaranteed to work.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Need PG-200 cable specs
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity:
Date: 09-Sep-03

Lovely synth.

What are the pinouts for the cable? Is it straight through on all 6 pins or not? The cable I've made doesn't seem to work like this, although I cant be sure the pg-200 isn't stuffed.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: daniel
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 14-Oct-03

can u plug a drum machin into jx_3p?

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: C738
Email: Email supplied but hidden
-
Activity: part-timer
Date: 15-Oct-03

Cant you use a regular MIDI cable to connect the PG to the JX?
DCO means digital controlled oscillator. The osc is analogue, but controlled by digital components. VCO is voltage controlled and it is said that these osc are more lively than the dco's. The DCO's dont detune like VCO's tend to do.

Robin

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: justin mills
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 13-Jan-04

lovely synth, easy to program great sounds and the sequencer is very useable.
midi is shit, so I use a 707 for timing.
havent got a pg200, dont think i need one.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Roxanne
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 18-Jan-04

Hi

I own a Roland JX 3P, I have been playing piano for 10 years now and I am starting to get into recording and CUBASE and I am looking into up grading to a newer Roland, I love the synth but it aint cuttin it anymore..
So if there is anyone out there that is interested in buying my beast(workd excellant never had a problem yet) drop me a email and we will talk .......

Ciao
Roxanne

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Parris
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 15-Jun-04

I just took delivery of the most shoddy Roland JX3p you have EVER seen! She looked as if she had been thrown down a flight of stairs. When you buy anything from eBay, on-line auctions or without having actually physically seen, put hand on the item you are buying then beware!

Personally, I think I could get this thing working again, or have the spare parts to get yet another JX3p up and running. So, if are reading this, own a totally knackered unit in the UK, so long as it powers up and the KEYS are complete, then please get in-touch with me. I can't promise a kings ransom, these keyboards are hardly worth much now, but I will pay the P&P!

Further to this, anyone able to send me an image of the internal wiring loom, schematic diagrams and information please email me!

The 3V battery was removed, cables were cut, the keyboard was destroyed (possibly by Royal Mail) the entire PCB of the motherboard looks shot to pieces.

I suspect I am looking at a lovely doorstop!

I marked this unit as 3 as I know it will be great once it works!

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: switch
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 01-Dec-04

queztionz!....i own an mc50 sequencer,can the jx3p be controlled by it?i also have a dr 202 drum machine,as we all know it has an external sequencer,again can i control the jx3p with my dr202?...cause i just found one on sale for $100!reeel cheap...i need your opinion guys..thanx!pls email me=)..im a BIIIG fan of analogues!

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: dextroSpinoza
Email: Email supplied but hidden
www.audioengineer.com/spinoza
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 05-Jun-05

jx3p- regarding the midi implementation on the roland JX3P....since it is Rolands
very first piece of gear with MIDI, we really cannot bash the MIDI capabilities of it.
I have interfaced a Roland CN-20 Midi music entry Pad with my Jx-3p, and it solves
the problem by aiding with some extra midi controls.
I also have a MKS-7 SuperQuartet, and i would have to say that the jx3p is on par
with the sounds that the Mks-7 can create.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: dextroSpinoza
Email: No email added
Activity:
Date: 30-Aug-05

The JX 3P a super polyPhonic Analogue synth with Digitally controlled Oscillators, i
also have and use the MKS-7 SuperQuartet which is a rackmounth version or
incarnation of the Juno 106 synth engine.....and the JX-3P totally holds its ground in
all departments, and sound types....I memorized the programming within a while,
refering to a list i stuck on my wall in front of me, but now i have the PG-200 thing
with knobs, and it is ok, but i find myself using the step edit way by habit, I use a
Roland CN-20 music entry pad via midi to control some parameters on the MKS-7,
but it is a tedious synth to program, thank goodness for eMagic and SoundDiver !!!

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Thomas
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 27-Sep-05

The JX-3P has analogue filters. The EGs are digital and it's got DCOs (which in fact are analogue oscillators controlled by a digital circuit). I'm not sure about the LFO, but it's got a fourth mode which is something like noise (not like the S/H, it's something like bubbling) and it's sine instead of saw. Mine sends Midi for the pitchbend er. I have no pedals to test.

Check the english wikipedia for a sound demo.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: dweeb steinwad
Email: Email supplied but hidden
none@aol.net
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 19-May-06

Axel F anybody with me on this? I think mine is 10 voice poly with two filters and three lfo's.It has 3 dco's and an 88 note keyboard.That's what the ebay man said as I havent gotten it yet.I can't wait to get this near mint jx 3p! Do they sound good and well? On my island they play 70's music so I am be sure make nice groovys with this jupiter like keyboard.They told me it sounds like Maddona!!!!

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: PowerZeus
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 28-Aug-06

Does anyone know where the battery is on this thing? If so please email me,
because I can't find it. haha, Greg

gwahlers@chicagosearay.com

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Rocka!
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http//:www.myspace.com/song23
Activity: Professional
Date: 04-Feb-07

Now had my JX3P for 20 years.
Never had the PG200.
I just wish someone would write an XML file for it for Cubase 4.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Aquila
Email: Email supplied but hidden
http://organix.inque.org/proj_jx3pexp.html
Activity: part-timer
Date: 27-Apr-07

This is a surprising synth. It doesn't seem to be thin, rather able to come up with some throbbing, growling baslines and howling leads.

The unit I bought last year was an easy restoration job. The biggest problem was the volume pot was all scratchy, but a good dousing of electrical contact cleaner worked wonders now it's a fully working synth.

The MIDI support is disappointing, where there is no sys-x (damn spam filter!) for any paramater change, however I there's a mod available that'll convert the pg-200 signals into MIDI, the website is here is linked under my profile.

Looking forward to making some sweet sounds with this little baby! Definitely an underrrated synth.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: joel
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 25-Oct-07

most mental synth i ever got, my first one as well. it's boss. that's it.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Carl Max
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 11-Mar-08

I have a JX3P for sale in London UK. It is in perfect working order with no damage. I love this beast but I am moving abroad soon so it has to find a new home. I'm looking for offers around £250 and it comes with a PDF file of the manual. Thanks a lot.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Carl max
Email: Email supplied but hidden
none
Activity: Professional
Date: 11-Mar-08

I have a JX3P for sale in London UK. It is in perfect working order with no damage. I love this beast but I am moving abroad soon so it has to find a new home. I'm looking for offers around £250 and it comes with a PDF file of the manual. Thanks a lot.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Laurie
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 08-Mar-09

The JX3P is completely analog.

It is the Control(tuning) of the Analog oscillators that was digital...

Voltage Controlled oscillators were commonly going out of tune, so at the birthplace of midi implementation, Roland introduced a digitally controlled oscillator like Yamaha did on the CS70M.....
The DCO is Analog...
The Filters on the JX3P are also analog...
the Brilliance circuit and Chorus are also analog

there is a VSTi which does the JX3P and it is called the
"Stumm PG-23P".

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: phobik2000
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 04-May-09

Got mine today. No Pg200 and sadly patch buttons 1-8 are not working, besides the whole area when pressed activates the hold button for some reason. Other then that it sound nice, although there's an urge to reach for the knobs and tweak which isn't happening.

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: override
Email: Email supplied but hidden
www.override.org
Activity: part-timer
Date: 01-Jun-10

i've owned a jx3p for about 10 years now. it was my first synth ever. got it from a pawn shop for $300. mine was having some problems recently, so i spent a day cleaning it and fixing the dead keys/buttons. now it is back in amazing shape and sounding AWESOME!

never had a pg200, never needed it.
midi omni does suck, but it transmits the sustain pedal via midi so it's not bad as a controller.
there are some sick mods that can be done on this. organix has a sweet midi kit for the 3p. allows full control of all parameters via CC's, use the pg200 & midi at the same time, and allows it to receive midi on channel 1,2 or 3 (no more omni!)

imo the biggest downfall of this synth is no legato/portamento. other than that, it rocks. i will never sell this keyboard

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Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: jello
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 16-Sep-10

There's no doubt that JX-3P is the business. For techno, electronic, idm, 80's, basses, leads, pads especially... it's really something when you get into it. Firstly it's not digital. It has DCO's which are VCO's controlled by a digital circuit just to keep them in tune (wonder what it would be like to disable this?) . Similar to the juno but overall it sounds different and can do more things because it is 2 x DCO per voice rather than one, I had a MKS7 too for a while and could compare it first hand. The only thing it lacks is yes portamento and the envelope attack could be a bit faster, othewise it's hard to fault this one. The sequencer is awesome and can be synchronised via the usual click input. I have the modification mentioned above that enables PG200 use with MIDI, it's worth every cent, well done to the guy that did it! There are a lot out there happily so go get one.....

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Last added comment

Product:  Roland - JX-3P
Name: Oliver Straus
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Professional
Date: 22-Dec-14

If you still make cables please contact me

Thanks

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