The Roland Jupiter-6 (JP-6) is a discontinued subtractive

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, manufactured and introduced by the

Roland Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefect ...

in January 1983.

Background

Although introduced as a less expensive ($2,500-$3,000 market price) alternative to the

Roland Jupiter-8 The Jupiter-8, or JP-8, is an eight-voice polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizer introduced by Roland Corporation in early 1981. The Jupiter-8 was Roland's flagship synthesizer for the first half of the 1980s. Approximately 3,300 units have ...

, its features include some capabilities not present in the JP-8. The Jupiter-6 is widely considered a workhorse among

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ...

analog synthesizers, capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, such as ambient drones, pads, lead synthesizer lines, unison basses and techy blips and buzzes. It is renowned for its reliability and ease, but with sophisticated programmability. The JP-6 has 12 analog oscillators (2 per voice), and is bitimbral, allowing its keyboard to be "split" into two sounds - one with 4 voices, and one with the remaining 2 voices (either "Split 4/2" or "Split 2/4" mode). "Whole Mode" is also available, dedicating all 6 voices to single (monotimbral) sound across the entire keyboard. Available waveforms include sawtooth, triangle, variable width pulse, square, and noise. Unusually, the JP-6 allows simultaneous selection of any or all of the waveforms in each of its two oscillator banks, an option not found on the JP-8.

Oscillator sync Oscillator sync is a feature in some synthesizers with two or more VCOs, DCOs, or "virtual" oscillators. As one oscillator finishes a cycle, it resets the period of another oscillator, forcing the latter to have the same base frequency. This can ...

and cross modulation are also available. "Unison Mode" allows all 12 oscillators to be triggered simultaneously by depressing a single key. Unison Mode can also be played polyphonically, with the number of oscillators triggered by each key determined by the number of keys held down. The JP-6 was among the first electronic instruments (alongside the

Roland JX-3P The Roland JX-3P is a synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation of Japan from 1983–1985. The "3P" in its name refers to "Programmable Preset Polyphonic". It is notable as one of the company's first synthesizers (along with the Jupiter-6) to ...

and the

Sequential Circuits Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer, which was widely used in the music industry. In the ...

br>Prophet-600
to feature

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

, then a brand new technology. Sequential CEO Dave Smith demonstrated MIDI by connecting the Prophet to a Jupiter-6 during the January, 1983 Winter

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

. ''Europa,'' a popular firmware upgrade available fro
Synthcom Systems
adds a wide array of modern enhancements to the instrument's MIDI implementation, user interface, patch memory, and most especially its

arpeggiator A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

, turning the Jupiter-6 into a contemporaneously adaptable instrument and unique composition tool.

Notable users

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*Eddie Kulak of

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Goldfrapp Goldfrapp were an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consisted of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, thei ...

Greg Ham Gregory Norman Ham (27 September 1953 – 15 April 2012) was an Australian musician, best known as a member of the 1980s band Men at Work. He played saxophone, flute, organ, piano, and synthesizer. Early life Ham was born in Melbourne and attend ...

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* Julio Bashmore *

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(of

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) *

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* Mike O'Donnell and

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(Musical score for the first two series of ''

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'') *

Nathan Fake Nathan Fake (born 3 March 1983) is an English electronic music artist from Necton, Norfolk, England. He has released music on the Border Community, Ninja Tune, and Cambria Instruments labels (the latter a project by Fake and Wesley Matsell). ...

* Orbital *

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Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters'' and also sounds from the animated series '' The ...

* Rhythm Plate * Rob Preuss of The SpoonsRob Preuss on his keyboards http://www.thespoons.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=52&start=15 *

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* Thomas Gandey *

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Vašo Patejdl Vašo Patejdl (born Václav Patejdl; 10 October 1954 – 19 August 2023) was a Slovak musician and composer. He was best known for being a co-founder and long-term member of the pop-rock band Elán (band), Elán. He wrote songs for other musicia ...

References

External links

* tp://ftp.roland.co.uk/ProductSupport/JP-6/01_JP-6_OM.pdf Jupiter-6 owner's manual
Sound on Sound's Jupiter retrospective

Vintage Synth Explorer's Jupiter-6 entry

Harmony Central's user reviews of the Jupiter-6

Sonic State's Jupiter-6 entry
{{Roland 1983 in music Products introduced in 1983 Jupiter-6 Analog synthesizers Polyphonic synthesizers