KorgyPorky Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I played a Jupiter 80 this afternoon for a few hours.. And again, i cam to the conclusion : what an incredible performance instrument... Yet it was largely unsuccessfull... and made Roladn decide not to make a follow up... Why asnt this great keyboard more successfull? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I assume the architecture had something to do with it. While you can build massive registrations and manage multiple parts on the fly pretty easy, it isn't as linear as something like a Kronos (which came out at the same time) - specifically in regards to building performances across the keyboard. The FA series does a much better job at this. BUT - the big thing is, people were expecting a re-make of the original, or at least the next evolution of the original. Other than the Upper/Lower part scheme and the color pallette, it isn't a recreation in any way. So...I think that ultimately hurt sales. I love mine - the only gripe is they never did much with the software past Rev2. Being able to assign the sub out at a registration level would have been a critical improvement. Currently it is global at the upper or lower part level. WHich is very limited. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I have one. Love the build. Love the keys. Love the sound. Hate the design elements that come from accompaniment keyboards. Preset buttons for things like Oboe? Really. And the push towards a defined 4 part setup of bass, drums lead and pad? Not what I want in a keyboard. You can get past this and break the definitions, but it does not feel like a "comfortable" setup. At the same time the Kronos feels like a stage keyboard. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KorgyPorky Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 I have one. Love the build. Love the keys. Love the sound. Hate the design elements that come from accompaniment keyboards. Preset buttons for things like Oboe? Really. And the push towards a defined 4 part setup of bass, drums lead and pad? Not what I want in a keyboard. You can get past this and break the definitions, but it does not feel like a "comfortable" setup. At the same time the Kronos feels like a stage keyboard. Actually thats its herritage from the jupiter 8... Those preset buttons is what Roland tried to archieve with the jupiter 8 Its not so much a herritage from accomapniment keyboards.. Its its true herritage from the jupiter 8.. I allways tought the next version would have all the sounds of the integra 7.. And some acb/dcb plugout slots... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Love my Jupiter-80. Been gigging with one, along with a Kronos 88, for around 5-6 years; they compliment each other very well. The JP-80 is capable of some huge, layered sounds that are useful in a live performance situation. I can pretty much get it to do everything I need but agree that at times it can be a struggle. I do enjoy those bank/program buttons that run across the panel below the keys, they are very useful/convenient. I too, wish they had developed an updated model, including an 88 weighted-key version that contained the full palette of Integra-7 sounds. Presenty, Roland appears to be without a true flagship axe. An RD-2000 with the guts of a Jupiter or Integra would certainly float my boat. "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...
KorgyPorky Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Love my Jupiter-80. Been gigging with one, along with a Kronos 88, for around 5-6 years; they compliment each other very well. The JP-80 is capable of some huge, layered sounds that are useful in a live performance situation. I can pretty much get it to do everything I need but agree that at times it can be a struggle. I do enjoy those bank/program buttons that run across the panel below the keys, they are very useful/convenient. I too, wish they had developed an updated model, including an 88 weighted-key version that contained the full palette of Integra-7 sounds. Presenty, Roland appears to be without a true flagship axe. An RD-2000 with the guts of a Jupiter or Integra would certainly float my boat. I definately can see how this compliments a Kronos... epescially the super natural acoustic instruments which cover some of the weaker parts of the Kronos(emulating classic acoustic instruments like winds, brass and saxes) Maybe Roland will se the light... and give us what we want.. and make it a workstation to expamd with Roland cloud sounds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 I'm surprised Roland haven't gone further with a "performance keyboard" model designed for live playing. They've got their pick of Integra sounds, VA from the FA series (plus a wide range of "boutique" synths), clonewheel from the VR range. Wrap that up in an easy-to-use board (drop unnecessary features such as a sequencer) and you've got a strong Nord Stage competitor. Honestly, the amount of Nord you see around, you'd think Roland and Yamaha would want some of that "stage piano+organ+synth" market. Korg are trying with the GrandStage and Vox, and even Kurzweil have a stake here, although they're coming at it from a slightly different (more "workstation"y) angle. Cheers, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyray Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 The RD-2000 competes with the Nord stage 3. Although the RD doesn't have a VA engine some of the classic synth sounds are playable though. Organ isn't bad either with the new update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 @Bennyray I agree that there is some overlap of the Roland RD2000 with the Nords. But it doesn't have a "full-featured" clonewheel emulation (no chorus/vibrato), nor a VA component. And it's hammer-88 only, no "organ-forward" sprung/waterfall action. Cheers, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KorgyPorky Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 The RD-2000 competes with the Nord stage 3. Although the RD doesn't have a VA engine some of the classic synth sounds are playable though. Organ isn't bad either with the new update. I fully disagree.. The strong point of the nord stage 3 is the interface and direct access witouth menu structure to all the important parameters.. The RD 2000 excells as a Masterkeyboard.. but doesnt come close to the stage3 as a live performance controller.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KorgyPorky Posted August 19, 2018 Author Share Posted August 19, 2018 @Bennyray I agree that there is some overlap of the Roland RD2000 with the Nords. But it doesn't have a "full-featured" clonewheel emulation (no chorus/vibrato), nor a VA component. And it's hammer-88 only, no "organ-forward" sprung/waterfall action. Cheers, Mike. Where it comes to engines... the rd-2000 should have had all the supernatural(including clonewheel) sounds of the integra 7.. and the super natural synth engine... Altough, do you need those if you use the rd2000 as a mainstage controller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyray Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 The RD-2000 competes with the Nord stage 3. Although the RD doesn't have a VA engine some of the classic synth sounds are playable though. Organ isn't bad either with the new update. I fully disagree.. The strong point of the nord stage 3 is the interface and direct access witouth menu structure to all the important parameters.. The RD 2000 excells as a Masterkeyboard.. but doesnt come close to the stage3 as a live performance controller.. Thanks KorgyPorky for the information. Yawn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 I have one. Love the build. Love the keys. Love the sound. Hate the design elements that come from accompaniment keyboards. Preset buttons for things like Oboe? Really. And the push towards a defined 4 part setup of bass, drums lead and pad? Not what I want in a keyboard. You can get past this and break the definitions, but it does not feel like a "comfortable" setup. At the same time the Kronos feels like a stage keyboard. Actually thats its herritage from the jupiter 8... Those preset buttons is what Roland tried to archieve with the jupiter 8 Its not so much a herritage from accomapniment keyboards.. Its its true herritage from the jupiter 8.. I allways tought the next version would have all the sounds of the integra 7.. And some acb/dcb plugout slots... A lot of the Roland workstation/ROMplers over the years have the quick select buttons with 8 banks and 8 patches. Most of the time they are just a simple black color. The Jupiter 8 was pure analog. The buttons were not labeled for instruments like oboe and flute. It was also a 2 part synth and did not push the user towards a basic lower, upper, solo setup. These traits come from Roland's accompaniment keyboard line, not from the original Jupiter 8. It ends up being a confused interface and a main reason that it did not sell better. Too many people bought it, got frustrated, and then sold it. There were so many used JP-80's on the market that it drove the price of new units down. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 It was also a 2 part synth and did not push the user towards a basic lower, upper, solo setup. These traits come from Roland's accompaniment keyboard line, not from the original Jupiter 8. No solo part, but it seems the Upper/Lower setup was very much a part of the design of the Jupiter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Yes it was, as was layer 1 and layer 2. The Chroma was the same way. Very easy to set up layers and splits. But those two keyboards did not try to pre-define which sounds would always be upper and lower. Nor did they label the buttons with useless patch names like oboe, guitar and flute. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Not to mention the drum implementation. Totally accompaniment keyboard assigning various patterns to be triggered by keys. No band musician is going to use that. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 I scratch my head at the percussion part on the JP80. It is nice that you can assign whatever you want to the colored part buttons. I will say...Oboe has yet to come up as a sound I've needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devnor Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 RABid clearly has no clue how to use the Jupiter. The board doesn't define upper and lower voices, you can have anything you want - except TW organ, upper voice only. The percussion layer can be a tone or a multisampled drum sound. Not the first board in history to map all the samples across the keyboard. I find the colored buttons very useful for accessing my favorite sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 RABid clearly has no clue how to use the Jupiter. The board doesn't define upper and lower voices, you can have anything you want - except TW organ, upper voice only. The percussion layer can be a tone or a multisampled drum sound. Not the first board in history to map all the samples across the keyboard. I find the colored buttons very useful for accessing my favorite sounds. Well of course you can define what you want, where you want. But if you take the time to LOOK at the panel of the JP-80 you will see that IT specifies upper and lower, and Roland put labels on the buttons like Oboe and Flute. That is the point I am making. Roland pushes the user into the accompany keyboard mentality with their layout, and the user has to block all of that out to use it as a 4 part keyboard suitable for stage use. It is like they designed it for solo or duo work. There is more that I could say, but I will try to be nice. You clearly have no clue as to my abilities or talents. Try to understand, it is okay for people to have a different opinion than yourself. That is the way of the world. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyray Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 RABid clearly has no clue how to use the Jupiter. The board doesn't define upper and lower voices, you can have anything you want - except TW organ, upper voice only. The percussion layer can be a tone or a multisampled drum sound. Not the first board in history to map all the samples across the keyboard. I find the colored buttons very useful for accessing my favorite sounds. [/quotee Well of course you can define what you want, where you want. But if you take the time to LOOK at the panel of the JP-80 you will see that IT specifies upper and lower, and Roland put labels on the buttons like Oboe and Flute. That is the point I am making. Roland pushes the user into the accompany keyboard mentality with their layout, and the user has to block all of that out to use it as a 4 part keyboard suitable for stage use. It is like they designed it for solo or duo work. There is more that I could say, but I will try to be nice. You clearly have no clue as to my abilities or talents. Try to understand, it is okay for people to have a different opinion than yourself. That is the way of the world. Yea I laughed when KorgyPorky started telling me about the NS3 and I just sold a Nord and bought the RD2000 it fits my needs better great piano and keybed. I have my opinion but I like yourself have been around a few years. It is perfectly ok to have different opinions without being a SA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I particularly like the size and presence. Clearly not designed for a head bobbing knob twisting hipster. Fine with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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