Right on! Jupiter X is a beast - and lots to grow into! With v3.0 it really set a path to the future for this and the Junox Good resources online for tips - the Roland team, John St John is the X-pert, and others. Really enjoying the Jupiter world!
Had the JP-8 for years - what a masterpiece.. but I'm telling you the JP-X is just incredible as well once you just settle down and focus on one engine, in my case the JP-8 model. The sound shaping, playability of the keybed and how the engine reacts (also to important subtle changes) is a real joy! It has that big alive character, a bit more produced (slightly less mid-focused than the original) but that is a good thing... when you're after JP-8 goodness, the scene is your friend - once you handle the part select/part on/off stuff you can adjust panning, detuning, fx of the parts for those wide and lush stereo sounds (recreating JP-8's DUAL mode). During the sound design process it surprises more with welcome features than getting to a point for things to ask for. First digital synth I enjoy as much as a real analog beast
Jupiter X is a good choice. Enjoy. I develop additional sounds with additional external synths as needed and auto sample them into an MPC or MPC software. Besides sound design and auto sampling, I don’t use my synths that much anymore. I compose. I don’t live perform. I don’t make a lot of beats. Therefore, a synth is just a engine for new sounds to use elsewhere.
Good choice! I have the Jupiter x. You won’t regret this. Not only does it sound amazing.. it looks incredible and makes you want to play. If it makes me want to play.. done deal.
Congrats! The X is a beast, hard to tame at the beginning but that's because it's like having 5 different synthesizers at the same time, plus tons of effects and fancy things.You can check the Jupiter Xpert videos. Most of the videos were made using the earlier OS versions so they're a bit out of date, but they'll give you a nice idea on how to use the X.The Funny thing is that I use Cubase but I wanted to go away from the computer a bit, and squeeze my hardware synths like I did during the 90s, so I bought a MPC one, my 1st MPC ever, and I love it. Connecting the Jupiter X to the MPC using USB was a breeze and I can change the patches, use the 5 multi timbral parts and record automation and more. Enjoy your new baby!
To me the jupiter is more of a players synth. Quickly dial in an old school analog brass or bass or pad etc. patch then easily tweak it to where you want it. Polybrute can do that as well, but I feel the mindset is different and the design seems more to encourage "mad scientist" exploration which can be a rabbit hole when trying to get a piece put together. IMHO the prophet you have sitting above it is the ultimate example of the perfect interface for putting a sound together from scratch and wonder what this will add to that? (Highly flexible vs. super focused maybe?) For me too many of the factory patches seem to rely on a lot of layers and effects which, when stripped to single timbres without effects, are no better or worse than most other synths today. Still a super flexible design, I just lean to keeping most layering and effects in the DAW. I would guess you will love it, but also wonder how adding an SEM filter (OB-6) to the 2040 and 3320 on the prophet might have been instead...
Honestly, I wanted a synth that would give me plenty of options for growth. So far it’s seems to be very versatile. The prophet has a very distinct sound and I want to combine that with what Roland brings to the table. The stock patches definitely have a lot going on, but once I learn it’s language, I should be good to go. Thanks for the insight!💯
Nice Jupiter X. I did consider the idea of getting one a while back but decided not to because I don't really see what this can bring to the table that I can't get with other synths I already own, to be honest (with the exception of the Vocal Designer which is a separately sold addon). With that said, the Jupiter X is a wonderful sounding synth and you made a nice choice. However just out of curiosity, what made you decide to choose the Jupiter X over the Polybrute? What was it about the Polybrute that made it no longer an attractive option to consider?
Polybrute is a designers wet dream and can take you to experimental paths many few synths can but thats it experimental ... But the x..the x is a beast. A freaking animal. Once you find it's workflow as is a traditional pain in the arse workflow is the best live instrument ever made. It has a phenomenal sound that will blow your speakers off. And roland build It quality.
Great choice! I have the XM and that thing is a (tiny) beast also. It compliments my OB-6 beautifully. The sound engine of the X/XM (IMO) is underrated. Glad I finally added Roland gear to the studio. I feel you on the PolyBrute, Super 6, and the Summit (to name a few) . That said, there is just something about the sound/creative potential of Roland gear. I get it now ;) Finally, I have the Key61 on order and am interested in your impressions on the sound quality of sampling your Prophet 10. Hopefully my Key61 wont be plagued with quality control issues!
The one thing that I really wish Roland would implement on the Jupiter X is the ability to allocate or determine the number of voices of polyphony per patch. If you are trying to recreate a Jupiter 8 patch....anything more than 8 voices is going to sound off. Plus I tend to find the increased polyphony makes it incredibly difficult to sit in a mix. My friend sold his Moog One 16 voice for an 8 voice because he said when he was trying to have it sit in a mix it was way too massive sounding. Like playing a 300 watt guitar amp....it's not practical and no one records with them for a reason. What did Marc Doty say again about Unison modes? "There's a difference between a great sound and a massive sound." Even on my Prophet 6 and X, anything over 2 voices stacked is overpowering in a mix. I can't even imagine the Jupiter X in Unison mode...absolute chaos.
Good on ya, I don’t think you will regret your choice as I said I love mine, I think you do need the Roland Cloud Ultimate and a WC-1 to get the most out of it and ultimate is not that expensive if you are able to get it when Roland do the promo to get 2x free lifetime licenses with the ultimate subscription. it’s an awesome synth enjoy.
I don’t think you get the Jupiter sounds on the Juno X, but you can get them if you purchase the WC-1 Roland cloud connect and get them on the Juno X. Thanks for the t shirt complement!
I do the exact same thing with plug-ins: browse the presets, find one that's "close" and tweak it a little. With hardware I almost always hit INIT and program from scratch. Good to hear I'm not the only one who is weird about plugs this way. I think it's just so not-fun to use the mouse to program compared to twisting real knobs. Good luck with the Jupiter!
In regards to the Prophet, do you find the lack of onboard sequencer and effects and mono output to be a bit of a set back compared to the Jupiter and MPC? I have a Prophet 6 currently and I’m tempted to switch to the 5 or 10 to compliment my Prophet X and other gear but I’m hesitant because I feel I would have to add more to the P5/10 in order for it to keep up with my other gear which have more features and functionality out of the gate.
Good question, I wouldn’t say it’s a set back, but it does not have any onboard effects which could potentially be a turn off to some. I’m not a professional keyboard player, but I like to create my own patches and process them in my DAW afterwards, so the prophet 10 is perfect for me. It compliments my current set up as it’s my only TRUE analog synth. If you already have the P6 you’re pretty much set, especially if you require the on board effects, you won’t get that with the P5/10.
To be honest, I had a montage 6 last year and ended up selling it. Not because the sounds weren’t good, it was hard for me to find my way around that thing. The menu diving was a bit too much for me. It’s easier for me to program patches using knobs and faders. To each is own though, I know some folks that create some great sounds with the montage and a lot better with programming it than myself. Thanks for watching!
Please don’t get the Juno X stay away from that crap it’s the exact same thing is the Roland Jupiter X. I thought the Jupiter X was trash and I sold it after two months lol
