The Roland Jupiter-4: Compuphonic 

Thank you to Peter S for the explanation of the digital stepping. It was a reply so I can't pin it, so here it is copy pasta: _The digital stepping is from the panel control microcontroller, a.k.a. the uPD8048C-012. It digitizes the panel controls with 6 bit resolution, allowing only 64 different values for any knob and then control voltages are generated with a low resolution 8 bit DAC to send to the voice circuits, allowing only 256 potential settings across the entire range at a maximum for any parameter. Fun facts: the firmware that runs the Jupiter 4 Compuphonic control panel is only 342 bytes long with 160 bytes of preset data, and the ROM contains hidden features that appear to be left over from development; namely 198 bytes worth of routines that read and write Compuphonic preset data to and from tape, although many will notice the Jupiter 4 does not have a tape port. Wink, wink. Interestingly, the firmware supports 16 ROM presets but only 10 are wired up to switches and the ROM only has 10 of the 16 positions filled with preset data. There is also a build option in the firmware that allows either a 256*4 bit RAM or a 128*8 bit RAM to be used for user presets. When using the 128*8 bit setting, the routines seem to allow access to 256*8 RAMs for 16 potential user memory locations._

I dunno how but every synth sounds like it's the greatest synth when it's under this guys fingers. How does he keep making bangers every video?

My favorite Jupiter. And one of my fav synths. I have the early JP with the BA662 filter. The sound is outstanding

Sounds lovely... started dozing off (got a newborn at home - being tired not related to the video here). Will have to listen more when I am less tired..........

Simply one of the greatest sounding synths ever made

So much a feature of early Duran Duran. Truly classy instrument. Clarity, depth & power

The 70s had great sounding synths..2600, Minimoog, Odyssey, Polymoog, Prophet 5, CS-80, Jupiter 4,OBX.. Just amazing

Oh the 'voice' preset took me straight back to Night boat from the first Duran Duran album

Awesome video as always. I love my JP4, it has a very special tone, I don't know how to describe it, but it's magic.

Little known fun fact: a company called Smedger Symphonic had a competing product called the Uranus 42. Their slogan was "Make great sounds with Uranus!" Critical reception was pretty negative though. The consensus was that it stank.

This ... in my eyes .. being a service engineer back in these days.. was the best .. they hit the formula square and center....I could make it sound like a Monopoly, a Trident, a Trilogy, a Mini700, a Minimoog, ...an ARP.... I have one in my studio .. it's the most devine instrument ever created.

Nice overview ! Glad this video comes out after i found one (-: character galore !

Love the JP4 to bits. If it didn’t exist we would have missed so much good music An essential synth by all means

wickedest synth that came out of Roland in the Jupiter Era. I remember many a synth connoisseur & film composers picked them up and kept it close to noodle with them endlessly discovering synthesis and sound design in the confines of their homes, and offering an inspirational palette that's a sound designers delight, each with a clear and distinct character

great synth and superb presentation as always. A real treat, thanks!

Video has made my day! What a gorgeous synth, my lord!!

I remember thisch wasch the firscht schynth that let you usche four fingersh at a time.

agreed, it is a classic & as always a great demo...of all the synth channel folks I follow, you are by far the best keyboardist Alex.

Beautiful sounding synth 😍

Wow, what a great demonstration of the best sounding Jupiter. Thanks again for doing this. Two years ago I did a one hour symphony with the JP-4 on RU-vid.

Love, love, love your videos. Please do not ever stop. 💙

Ah def one of my dream synths. Fell in love with it after seeing an I Break Horses video with it. Glad it's getting the attention it deserves from a dedicated Alex Ball vid!

Fantastic video. You really made it sing. Also best presentation on the Jupiter 4 so far on the Inter web. Amazing how you always make it stick at about the 10 min mark!

Killer video! Nice to come home after work and watch this with a nice beer

This synth just has "That" sound. It has a warm, romantic feeling and just the right physical texture to the sound itself. Like golden afternoon sunlight through the window of an ancient library. "Rose-tinted sound" indeed Alex. One unmentioned artist here is Thomas Dolby. The Golden Age of Wireless album in particular (and a good part of ones that followed) has this all over it. To their credit, Roland Cloud do a pretty good VST of their Jupiter 4 too. After all, how much money and technical repair knowhow do most of us have spare to spend on such vintage wonders?

Oh dude. This video makes me so happy. Thank you.

Excellent stuff! Great viewing as always.

Enjoyed your video very much!

You’re on a roll! I dig it!

Basically just Thomas Dolby's 'The Golden Age Of Wireless' album, in a box. Magnificent sounding synth. Very unique and fresh for its time.

Thank you so much Alex, I'm sure your videos will turn out to be an invaluable historical treasure for the next generations. 🙌 (Geert Van Schlänger's works of art included...) 🤓

Awesome video as usual!

Back in 1979 when I was living in the UK I remember attending a concert of 332 The Rhumba of the Beast . IIRC back then the main guy was Ken Danger and he was using one of these bad boys live through like 4 different fuzz pedals.. that was POSH

Such a deep relaxing Review 🙏❤️🎶 love that synth..

Cheers Alex, great to see and hear one in action. Like others, one of the synths that shaped a lot of my early fascination for these sounds.

Bloody marvellous! Thanks :o))

Smashing music as usual. Love it!

I love this channel! Awesome dude!

Thank you for the video, this is the first time i can hear a Jupiter-4, i am a fan of Roland Synths.

I bought one new in 1979. Tuning was pretty unstable, especially when stage lights were turned on... I kept a jewellers screwdriver handy during gigs so I could reach over to the recessed screw heads and individually tweak each oscillator. I traded it for a new jp8 and naturally wish I kept both...

Thanks Alex, great video. Love my JP-4 (first “proper” synthesiser I owned). Recent prices have reminded me of this quote from Peter Forrest’s mid 90s bible (The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers) “I can foresee a time when a JP-4 will be worth as much as a TB-303. Or am I just imagining things?” Typical prices in 1996 were £250 - £370!

That was truly C O M P U P H O N I C.

You make these things sing so well man, great video. I actually thought those presets were pretty fun for old presets lol.

This video was so cool. I loved it.

Just wanted to say your "COMPUPHONIC" voice scared the shit out of me. I put on a bluetooth sleep mask that I have a habit of relaxing to so i can just focus on the sound. Sounded like it was in my bedroom lol.

I LOVE my JP-4. Incredible synth.

Great overview! Stuns me that Roland haven’t made a Boutique version. Loved the ensemble effect!.... seemed have an ever greater effect on the sound than the 106 chorus!I enjoyed the presets ( never heard them reviewed before!)- funny you mentioned Duran Duran as soon you played “the voice” pretty certain that exactly what’s on “to the shore” off their first album.

God Damn it sounds beautiful

Yes, this is the sound of late 70's, simply wonderful. Thank you for this, I hope Behringer get this sussed. A big part of my fave Simple Minds era '78 - '81. Love it :)

Yeah!!!!!! I Love this Intro !!! Thank you men!

There is a warmth and depth to the Jupiter 4 and 8 that only a few other non-Roland synths bring to my ears :)

Nice Alex !

Always wanted one ❤

The portamento is sooooo... All Jupiter! Your skills are so great.. many thanks for sare!

I owned this synth once in the past and it's absolutely awesome. The sound is really powerful and the high speed LFO is very useful for experimental sounds.

Oooh, love that smudgey filter ❤️

Foot thanks you for including the button clunk sound when switching presets. Just as foot remembers that keyboard. Good job.

I had a Minimoog, but the Jupiter 4 was my first polysynth when it came out. They were songs & sounds I created on it that just don’t sound the same on anything else. It was amazing,

Presses "voice" preset. Instantly hear a dozen Gary Numan songs in my head. Brilliant.

Your demo song sounds like it could be from "The Golden Age Of Wireless". I played one new for years from 1981 or 1982 (been a while), and the thing that was so unique to me was the voice stealing. I've read where that was the core element in some of Thomas Dolby's work as well. When using a lot of decay/release it is evident in a good way and keeps things from being so layered. Nothing sounds like the JP-4.

Fantastic as usual Alex! One thing you didn't mention is the VCA overdrive which can get into some additional strange gnarly territory. With some big washy reverb to blur the voice stealing the pads and strings on this thing are superb. JP4 is the absolute god-tier synth for late 70s/early 80s UK synthpop fans. Buying one for £400 in 2008 was the smartest (ok, luckiest) thing I ever did.

The JP-4 and 8 are so different if it wasn’t for the name they’d probably never be compared to each other, in the same way that no one compare a Jupiter 6/8 to a Juno. The LFO is probably it’s strongest feature which can create some seriously slow sweeps. Clocking the filter mod is on my list to do. Time to order another cable so I can use the beatstep pro to do the arpeggiator and filter at the same time. Thanks Alex. Another great video

Awesome. An educational video and some tasty jams. Who could ask for more?

its interesting how all the jupiters, especially 4/6/8, differ from each other in various ways other than the voice count, it's the only synthesizer series i know of (or at least none other come to mind typing this) that have the differences; great video as usual! you really make these old synths shine

A very timely video. I just bought the Cherry Audio vst version of this. Nice to compare the sound with yours.

super cool

NICE intro!

Oh my gosh the arp part sounds so pretty

80s funktastic goodness! Great demo of an otherwise unappreciated vintage synth!

Great Alex. All your videos are a nostalgia trip. I remember seeing this when it first came out and was super impressed. It is like 4 SH-09's with memory and colours! Christian Henson just did a studio tour and guess what he has in his vintage collection? Great video as usual.

I have been the happy owner of a JP-4 for many years and it will always have a special place in my heart.

Thanks for talking about the original price. As an old guy, comments sections filled with comments saying a new analog poly synth priced at $1299 is way over priced makes me scratch my head. Absolutely no frame of reference. We live in amazing times.

So new wavy… freaking love this synth

I'm getting strong early Depeche Mode vibes. Good synth, nice presentation, great musical examples.

a piece of history

04:45 - In a strange way, I actually like the digital stepping (osc's, filters, LFO's) of late 70's/80's synths. It's super lo-fi and reminds of a time when I was first exposed to synthesisers & synth music and when life was so much easier. 😊

Great video! That opening track had such a Gary Numan feel, I found! Very cool!

This really is a classic synth, and this is the best demo of it, I've seen so far. Thanks.

One of the greatest synths out there! There's a trick I discovered years ago if you want to play chord hits or simple bass lines you push any of the arpeggio buttons and unison together. Now when you send a trigger from your drum machine it will play it as a chord or single note!

Hey Alex, another great video! The Jupiter 4 is a beautiful sounding synth. No doubt that the Jupiter-8 is a superior, more versatile instrument. Though I do prefer the sounds of the 4 and 6 over the 8. But I don't have access to any of them so it hardly matters. Anyway, I much appreciate your videos on these old machines. Thanks!

I hold the slightly controversial view that the JP-4 is the first but also the best synth to bear the Jupiter name. There is just something absolutely magical about the sound. And as both of the two versions with (slightly) different filters sound amazing, the secret sauce might just be in the oscillators, which to my knowledge weren't carried over to the JP8.

Oh, listen to that creamy sound. Jupiter-4, the synth that lays so creamy in the mix. And don’t forget. That sub oscillator is synced to the VCO which makes it sound so unique and powerful in Unison.

Just putting the Arpeggiator into random and on hold is a great way to listen to the oscillator drift; never too much but always interesting.

I think I like the sound of the Jupiter 4 because of its simplicity. All those hits from the 80’s from Depeche Mode, Human League and the like often had very catchy simple tunes. That’s why I bought them!

This deserves the HIGHEST face rating!

I've never heard anything that analogue, before! 😂

I wasnt even aware of alot of the roland machines, they all have such a rich sound

Excellent video and presentation of this precious synth! I love the sound of Jupiter-4 and I’m very happy to own one. So much vibe in that sound. I can hear a lot of early Thomas Dolby in it too :)

Lovely lush Jupiter goodness

Came for the end jam. As usual, was not disappointed.

This beauty is all over Gary Numan's Telekon album. Very nice indeed 😀

That snap 👌👌

Thanks for showing us the JP-4 vs. the Jupiter she told you not to worry about

Your setup is totally rad, brother! You should do a hook-up video on how it’s all laid out electrically, and comms , etc …

Thoma Dolby, Cloudburst at Shingle Street is like a demo for the Jupiter-4. Those beating chords, from the opening notes... I love the sound and I love the song.

literal best jupiter

Best synth channel on RU-vid!

Wow that's cool. Why won't they make things like this anymore? Thanks for sharing your synth journey 😆

Great stuff!! In terms of the filters, I think I slightly prefer the early filter (The one that starts with the B). It sounds smoother and there is a better curve on the resonance in my opinion, but both sound excellent!

I thought I was listening to a long lost Landscape tune in the outro, nice! The JP4 certainly has a special something, even if it is heavily limited by the available technology.