So I bought a Jupiter 8 earlier this year....

[44deluxe]

From a guy in Japan on ebay. Price was good and it arrived in good condition.


I have found it hard to bond with it though and I suspect it might need a service. The notes all work and the sliders seem to, but the LFO doesn't appear to be able to be turned off entirely. This means that on a warm sound, it will suddenly flip to a brighter sound as the 2 LEDS light up above the LFO panel. Then when they turn off it goes back to warm again.


There just seems to be something not quite right...I can tell that it has monster potential and some sounds don't suffer from it.


Lastly, it's quite a lot more complicated than the JUNO 60 I was used to before. I'm never quite sure what I'm tweaking and the two ADSR envelopes as well as the 2 VCO panels confuse me somewhat.


Any tips on making sure that it's all working as it should be?

[44deluxe]

PS Love the new forum look. 8)

[Synthaholic]

Try turning the "LFO Mod" slider in the VCF section all the way down. Play with it to see if it changes the effect any.

Also check the VCF Mod switch and slider near the bender.

[44deluxe]

Try turning the "LFO Mod" slider in the VCF section all the way down. Play with it to see if it changes the effect any.

Also check the VCF Mod switch and slider near the bender.

Thanks synthaholic, I've tried the LFO slider but I'll try the VCF Mod switch and slider too. So, it is possible to have the LFO at zero then, so to speak (ie the LFO lights stay off?)

[Synthaholic]

There's no way to keep the LFO lights off (the LFO is constantly cycling), but with the modulation sliders/switches turned down/off, the LFO shouldn't have any effect on the filter cutoff.

Does it happen on every patch, or just certain ones? It's possible that it's a faulty LFO VCF slider. Is there any change when you move the slider? BTW, the slider in the VCF section controls "continuous" LFO modulation. The slider/switch in the bender section controls what happens when you push the "LFO Mod" button. So, if you find that those sliders have an effect without the button pressed, the LFO Mod button is stuck/broken.

Also, if you change the LFO waveform (4-position knob in LFO section), does that change anything?

[Solderman]

Yeah, it's either broked, or LFO Mod slider should be fully down.
The two envelope sections are easiest to remember if you look at the entire panel left to right and typically follow one simple rule: Always set VCF envelope switch to Env-1. This way, left to right it's controlled as VCF by Env-1, and VCA by Env-2.
I say "typically" because you change the rule when you use Env-1 for VCO Freq mod. Notice in the VCO Modulator section, you only get Env-1. So if you slide up "Env Mod" there, at the VCF section, switch to Env-2. Now both VCA and VCF are controlled by Env-2, just like the Juno only using one.

For the VCO's, first notice you don't get a sub like the Juno. You can simulate a sub by making VCO2 up one octave with its Range knob and turn on the Sync switch. Then make VCO-1 waveform the rightmost square. Make sure Source Mix is centered so you hear them both.
The "Low Freq" switch of VCO-2 comes into play mostly used in tandem with the Cross Mod slider. The switch changes VCO-2 into a keyboard tracked LFO, so you can't hear it until you play really high notes. Turn source mix fully to the left for these, and bring up Cross Mod.

The performance section uses the same LFO, just allows you to "introduce" it by pressing the fat white button. Like a switched mod wheel. This section is easy to figure out if you turn off all the little switches there, then pull up one fader and turn on one switch at a time.

[44deluxe]

Thanks for the help guys, I'll have a tweak tomorrow and report back.

[Solderman]

Oh yeah, one more thing: If you get a Boss/Roland chorus made around the early to mid 80's, you can emulate alot of Juno 60 sounds on a JP8, except for anything where the Juno's filter self-oscillates.
Here's a Juno-like string/pad done with the JP8 running through a Boss CE-300 chorus.

[clusterchord]

of the different analog fx, i never liked chorus on JP8 that much, always felt it robs it of its trademark silkyness n purity. if i need that trademark chorus-ey Roland sound, i prefer JX8/10 series or MKS70, which are just awesome for that. they have a a quieter BBD circuit and imo its more musical than one found in J60/6. matter of taste i guess.

if u havent yet, definetely try and run your JP8 thru an analog i.e. BBD delay like DM300/AD202/E1010 etc. a perfect combination. here's a youtube i've done with this setup. also, JP8 sounds killer with a MXR or TAM flanger.

[justinvm]

I bought a jupiter 8 about 2 weeks ago. I also own a juno 60 and have been making many comparisons.
The jupiter sound is and isn't all that i expected. I'm slowly understanding the characteristics of its sound, but these characteristics are so subtle compared to the 60. The juno 60 sounds warm and full almost all the time (with chorus on), the jupiter 8 seems to transverse between full and thin.

On a side note. Can VCO 2 frequency track to keyboard when it's in LOW FREQ mode. I was messing around with this yesterday and could not get it to track. Also tried modulating VCO2 with env1. have env1 keyboard tracked, but that didnt seem to work either.

FROM THE JUPITER 8 MANUAL

When switched into Low Frequency range, VCO-2... The frequencies produced in this range are not effected by the keyboard

Also, does anyone have some good patches they'd like to share. I know it's beauty lies in programming but I would like to hear what others can get out of their machine.

- J

[Solderman]

I never liked chorus on JP8 that much, always felt it robs it of its trademark silkyness n purity.

Too bad youtube video sound, especially from a camcorder mike, is no way to demonstrate an analog synth. The whole reason I got the CE-300 was to degrade the JP8's signal. It's too easy to make it sound nice. I'd love to try the MXR flange on it though.

[Solderman]

The juno 60 sounds warm and full almost all the time (with chorus on), the jupiter 8 seems to transverse between full and thin.

I find certain waveform combinations sound thinner on the JP8, like VCO1 Square and VCO2 Saw, when they are very closely tuned. Junos don't have this cancellation problem.

On a side note. Can VCO 2 frequency track to keyboard when it's in LOW FREQ mode. I was messing around with this yesterday and could not get it to track. Also tried modulating VCO2 with env1. have env1 keyboard tracked, but that didnt seem to work either.

I have to eat my words from the earlier post. Indeed Low Freq mode does not keyboard track.
For Env Mod, check your Source Mix and what the Freq Mod switch is set to. I didn't notice any key tracking for Pitch envelope though.

Also, does anyone have some good patches they'd like to share. I know it's beauty lies in programming but I would like to hear what others can get out of their machine.

Do you mean programs from tape or audio examples?

[justinvm]

Yeah actual patch dumps. There's hardly any online and the original factory presets (apart from strings) are really bad. really really bad.

[StepLogik]

i too would like to see some jp-8 patches... its always fun to see what interesting sounds ppl have programmed.

i guess for that to work we're going to have to have the same midi kit.... i've got an Encore in mine.

[Joey]

The juno 60 sounds warm and full almost all the time (with chorus on), the jupiter 8 seems to transverse between full and thin.

I find certain waveform combinations sound thinner on the JP8, like VCO1 Square and VCO2 Saw, when they are very closely tuned. Junos don't have this cancellation problem.

junos lack the cancellation problem because it is one oscillator producing both waveforms, so you get a new waveform which is a combo of both, whereas with the jupiter using two oscillators they phase in and out due to their detuning, which is what gives it the thinner sound