Roland JX-8P is a 61-key, velocity- and
aftertouch
Keyboard expression is the ability of a keyboard musical instrument to change tone or other qualities of the sound in response to velocity, pressure or other variations in how the performer depresses the keys of the musical keyboard. Expression ...
-sensitive, six-note
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 ...
, almost entirely analog
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 ...
released by
Roland
Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...
in 1985. In a time of rising popularity of digital
frequency modulation
Frequency modulation (FM) is a signal modulation technique used in electronic communication, originally for transmitting messages with a radio wave. In frequency modulation a carrier wave is varied in its instantaneous frequency in proporti ...
synthesizers, such as
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 1980s, th ...
, JX-8P was marketed as the best of both worlds: while it was possible to create classic analog synth sounds, several new modulation parameters and redesigned hardware enabled it to produce certain types of sounds associated with
FM synthesis, such as metallic percussive sounds. Likewise, traditional hands-on controls were replaced with a
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 1980s, th ...
-style interface with membrane buttons and one "edit" slider.
The forerunners to the JX-8P were the
JX-3P and the rack
MKS-30. JX-8P was among the last true analog synthesizers produced by Roland in the 1980s, with
Alpha Juno 1/2 synths, racks
MKS-50 and
MKS-70, and finally the
JX-10.
Factory presets on the JX-8P were created by
Eric Persing
Eric Persing is an American sound designer, professional synthesist, keyboardist, recording artist and music producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known as the Founder and Creative Director of the music software and virtual instr ...
and Dan DeSouza.
One of the JX-8P's best known uses is in the opening brass fanfare of Europe's 1986 hit "
The Final Countdown", layered with a preset patch on a
Yamaha TX816.
Features and programming
Though the JX-8P is relatively complex, it may appear otherwise for its lack of traditional synthesizer controls. It features two
DCOs per voice, two software-generated (and relatively soft)
ADSR envelope
In sound and music, an envelope describes how a sound changes over time. For example, a piano key, when struck and held, creates a near-immediate initial sound which gradually decreases in volume to zero. An envelope may relate to elements such ...
s,
high
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
- and
low-pass
A low-pass filter is a filter that passes signals with a frequency lower than a selected cutoff frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. The exact frequency response of the filter depends on the filt ...
filters, two types of (fixed-rate)
chorus effect
Chorus is an audio effect that occurs when individual sounds with approximately the same time, and very similar pitches, converge. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally, as in the case of a choir or string orch ...
, three different
sync
Sync and synch are abbreviations of synchrony, or synchronization, the coordination of events to keep them in time. The opposite of synchrony is asynchrony.
Sync or synch may also refer to:
Computing and technology
*Sync (Unix), a command and a ...
modes, etc. Additionally, it offers two "polyphonic" play modes, two "unison", and two "solo" modes, one of which stacks all its oscillators into a single monophonic sound. Further, the synth's
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, ...
specification is surprisingly polished for an instrument of this vintage (unlike most earlier Roland synths, and even its direct successor,
JX-10).
Programming is achieved either by means of one "edit" slider and a table of parameters for selection by number input, or by means of a separate unit, the Roland PG-800 programmer. All parameters are available without the programmer, but editing with the data slider requires patience, and it is severely limited for live tweaking as only one control can be accessed at a time. The PG-800 provides dedicated slider controls for most parameters and fits comfortably onto the synthesizer. The PG-800 connects to the JX-8P via a dedicated port, with a proprietary 6-pin DIN cable.
The programmer unit had to be purchased separately, and due to relative rarity, nowadays a second-hand PG-800 unit would ordinarily cost more than the synthesizer itself. However, with recent advances in technology, adapters can be used to turn most tablets into virtual PG-800 programmers.
It is important to note, however, that most of its synthesis parameters can be accessed via system-exclusive (
sysex
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, ...
) MIDI messages from a third-party hardware MIDI controller, or computer software over standard MIDI ports.
Memory
JX-8P's sound presets are organized into two banks, with 32 sounds each. Additionally, users can store 32 custom sounds in its internal memory, and 32 more in the optional M-16C cartridge. Patches can also be imported and exported via system-exclusive (
sysex
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, ...
) MIDI messages. Patches are compatible with
Roland JX-10
The Roland JX-10 Super JX is a 12-voice analog synthesizer keyboard produced by Roland Corporation from 1986 to 1989, along with a rack-mounted version, the MKS-70. For nearly 30 years, it was the last true analog synthesizer made by Roland an ...
and
MKS-70 synthesizers.
See also
*
Roland JX-10
The Roland JX-10 Super JX is a 12-voice analog synthesizer keyboard produced by Roland Corporation from 1986 to 1989, along with a rack-mounted version, the MKS-70. For nearly 30 years, it was the last true analog synthesizer made by Roland an ...
References
External links
JX-8P at Vintage Synth ExplorerJX-8P Test Report - GreatSynthesizers
{{Roland
JX-8P
Analog synthesizers
Polyphonic synthesizers