ElmerJFudd Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Interviews with the designers of the JUPITER-8, JUNO-106, and JX-3P synths and the new boutique series 03/12/15 Interview #1 Interview #2 Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Very interesting read! Thanks for posting. ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franz Schiller Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 The one guy says, "With ACB, all you need is a circuit diagram and the actual synth to get pretty decent simulations." Which I guess means they can reinterpret any Roland analog synth. Think about that... What about a Roland SH5? or SH7? Those sounds amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Those were indeed interesting reads. Made the half-hour I needed to kill earlier today go by quickly. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Very interesting interviews. That ACB stuff sounds really promising. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 That was awesome. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Very interesting interviews. indeed .. That ACB stuff sounds really promising. Thank you. Yes, but I´m surprised the developers focussed so much on miniaturization, battery operation and USB audio. Even the basic sound is good when using ACB, you cannot make precise adjustments w/ only 1.5cm parameter-fader travel. JP-08 has the shortest faders of all the three models, JU-06 faders are about twice the length already. Mini jacks for audio connections are unacceptable too,- at least for a Jupiter-8 re-creation. The speaker in these units is real crap and obsolete. So I hope for a somewhat larger, non-speaker but longer robust faders and 1/4" TRS audio line-in/line-out desktop module offering double polyphony and same feature set. Keep the USB-audio, USB-MIDI & buspower too. Yes ROLAND, I know, it will be more expensive, but please do it at least for the JP-08. A.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joegerardi Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 The really irritating thing is that they could put 2 of the JP-08s in one full-sized case with a real, adult, 5-octave keyboard, market it for $999.00, and they'd have one hell of a winner on their hands, but they opt for for a 4-voice mini-synth with a keyboard built to be comfortable for 8 year-olds, or Mini-Me. ..Joe Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 The really irritating thing is that they could put 2 of the JP-08s in one full-sized case with a real, adult, 5-octave keyboard, market it for $999.00, and they'd have one hell of a winner on their hands, but they opt for for a 4-voice mini-synth with a keyboard built to be comfortable for 8 year-olds, or Mini-Me. ..Joe My gut tells me that they will probably do something like this, or at least we can hope. Recreation of vintage synths is a smart business move for Roland and other companies. Dave Smith and Moog are the beacons for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 The really irritating thing is that they could put 2 of the JP-08s in one full-sized case with a real, adult, 5-octave keyboard, market it for $999.00, and they'd have one hell of a winner on their hands, but they opt for for a 4-voice mini-synth with a keyboard built to be comfortable for 8 year-olds, or Mini-Me. ..Joe My gut tells me that they will probably do something like this, or at least we can hope. Recreation of vintage synths is a smart business move for Roland and other companies. Dave Smith and Moog are the beacons for this. +1 Fingers crossed. "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 The one guy says, "With ACB, all you need is a circuit diagram and the actual synth to get pretty decent simulations." Which I guess means they can reinterpret any Roland analog synth. Think about that... What about a Roland SH5? or SH7? Those sounds amazing. Would love to see the SH7! One of my favorite lead line synths. Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Yes, but I´m surprised the developers focussed so much on miniaturization, battery operation and USB audio. Even the basic sound is good when using ACB, you cannot make precise adjustments w/ only 1.5cm parameter-fader travel. JP-08 has the shortest faders of all the three models, JU-06 faders are about twice the length already. Mini jacks for audio connections are unacceptable too,- at least for a Jupiter-8 re-creation. The speaker in these units is real crap and obsolete. Obviously, their design goals were different from yours. ;-) I'm not bothered by most of that stuff... it's cool for what it is, the super-portability is part of the raison d'etre, and that includes miniaturization, minijacks, battery operation, and *some* speaker rather than none (obviously no "serious" speaker is going to fit in the unit). What bugs me, though, is not that the faders are small, but are MIDI sysex instead of CC. If not for that, it would be a cinch to map key parameters to the full-size controller or other control surface of your choice. Having the controls send CC would also these units to do double duty as cool controllers for soft-synths in your iPad or whatever. But as the following posts from Joe, eric, and moonglow allude to, this is only a first product with this tech, and one that is being promoted as being part of a limited production. They probably have plans to extend this tech in more directions. Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 The really irritating thing is that they could put 2 of the JP-08s in one full-sized case with a real, adult, 5-octave keyboard, market it for $999.00, and they'd have one hell of a winner on their hands I assume you mean with one set of larger controls, instead of two sets of mini-controls. Maybe we'll see seomthing like that. But if you can live with the mini controls, assembling something close to what you want out of what you can get today doesn't look too hard... Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 . Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DulceLabs.com Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 The really irritating thing is that they could put 2 of the JP-08s in one full-sized case with a real, adult, 5-octave keyboard, market it for $999.00, and they'd have one hell of a winner on their hands, but they opt for for a 4-voice mini-synth with a keyboard built to be comfortable for 8 year-olds, or Mini-Me. ..Joe You know, there is this thing called MIDI.... And as far as a what Roland needs to do to have a "winner", these things are selling like crazy. Roland knows what they are doing: The market for sub-$500 minisynths is much larger than the market for full-size $1000 synths. It's the hobbyist they are trying to appeal to, not the professional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Verelst Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 It's a thing of the future that circuit simulation on special chips like in these machines (the ESC2 from Boss/Roland, be it an FPGA with DSP functions or a traditional DSP with a program) makes it possible to achieve a certain amount of accuracy in synthesizer simulation. In principle it is even possible to change the program to get other simulations from the same machine. Or create a general machine with some of those and other chips and generally usable controls for various simulations. The main questions besides price and the trick of a limited edition are what is the simulation accuracy (compared with the original) are there more fun things built in the simulation, and how well can the controls be used (probably the interaction speed for the dedicated machine is good, just like it might be the band-cable keyboard for the little boxes is better than a USB keyboard). T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoochie Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 We're all going to get one in a few weeks. What a great gift and you know how hard it is to get anything for us. Time to start dropping hints!! I originally looked at this as a toy but as a module to get "that" sound? Yes. 1000 bucks and you get 3 classic Roland bits of kit. Or $800 for 2 of the 08's and your very close to a Jupiter 8 that doesn't cost $8 -10 k. I'm wondering what the chain function uses to transmit/receive parameter control changes between like kind boxes and can we exploit that somehow? John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I'm wondering what the chain function uses to transmit/receive parameter control changes between like kind boxes sysex Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joegerardi Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 You know, there is this thing called MIDI.... Yeah, and that's not really my issue. What is, is the 4-voice limitation. 2 circuit boards, 1 set of controls, and you have a REAL testament to the Jup-8 with 8 voices. And while my MIDI routings currently require an MX-8, a MOTU Micro Express, AND an Anatek Pocket Merge to get everything fully talking the what I need, I need a couple of modules fapping about the rig like a need a third testicle. (And that's coming from a guy that hasn't been on a date in 14 years!) They make them to fit in a little keyboard; why not make them fit in a rack? More to the point, we faff about trying to get virtual recreations of synths we can't ever own, we buy the new hardware versions of the same thing; we're forced to suffer gelded version of the items (can we say 4-octave keyboard on a P6?) all the while they can make the real thing, but release limited, or smaller versions. Would it have killed Korg to make the Arp Odyssey full size? Did Dave Smith REALLY keep the cost of the Prophet 6 down by omitting the 5th octave on the keyboard? Is there anyone that might have changed their mind and bought a Jupiter-50 if it had aftertouch? (Besides me?) How many would have bought a full-size, keyboarded version of these boutique synths if they were 8-voice? I don't really get their marketing plans. It's like they're purposely making you sleep with the not-quite-as-pretty friend of the girl you really want: you're almost there, but it's still something not quite satisfying. ..Joe Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherScott Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 They make them to fit in a little keyboard; why not make them fit in a rack? Personally, I prefer the small size. If you're not already using a rack for other purposes, rack-sized pieces are awkward to use, unless you, well, put them in a rack. These are small enough to be velcro'd to many boards, without having to deal with the weight/bulk/wiring/placement issues of a rack. That said, I think it might be cool if Roland (or some other company) came out with a rack mount adapter for them. Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DulceLabs.com Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 I don't really get their marketing plans. That's because you aren't their target customer. Plain and simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 They should have "Behind The Scenes With Roland's English Owner's Manual Writers". Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joegerardi Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 That's because you aren't their target customer. Plain and simple. How can I not be? I'm a musician, I play synthesizer, I want the old analog sounds. These ARE synthesizers, are they not? That makes me puts in there. In that entire list of questions I posted, I'm not their target customer in any one of them? Then exactly who are their target markets? ..Joe Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Beaumont Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Their target audience are mostly: The bedroom studio or the 'skrillex/deadmau5 wannabe'. Anyone who wants that sound and doesn't want to pay a lot for it. People laughed when Korg came out with the MicroKorg years ago but they sold a shitload of them. And now you can go into many teenagers bedroom and find 2 KrK monitors, a laptop, and one of the dozen or so groove boxes or ableton controllers. And a 25 key keyboard controller. A couple of months ago I took a bus ride. There were two different people with an iPad and headphones and both had Novation Launchpad. They were both tapping away, oblivious to their surroundings. Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12 Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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