Modern Jupiter 8

[Reginator]

I'd like to add a Jupiter 8 to my setup but the going price of $8,000 is a little steep for me. Is there a modern analog synth (not VA or VSTi) that rivals the mighty Jupiter 8?

I know this is a stretch but hypothetically; would it possible to make a JP8 clone?

[Newtown]

The Andromeda A6.

[projectwoofer]

Is there a modern analog synth (not VA or VSTi) that rivals the mighty Jupiter 8?

No

[StepLogik]

the prophet-08 sounds nothing like a vintage jp-8, but its a very good modern analogue polysynth for the price.

[nadafarms]

$8000 is NOT the going rate, it's just what a couple of greedy assholes are trying to get for theirs. THEY WILL NOT SELL FOR 8K!

hfinn is selling his for 6k... I think that is still steep. That synth isn't nowhere near worth 5k even in my eyes.

I would rather buy a lot of things with that much money

[Newtown]

$8000 is NOT the going rate, it's just what a couple of greedy assholes are trying to get for theirs. THEY WILL NOT SELL FOR 8K!

hfinn is selling his for 6k... I think that is still steep. That synth isn't nowhere near worth 5k even in my eyes.

I would rather buy a lot of things with that much money

Pretty much this.

[Solderman]

Yeah, I just recently sold mine for $3500. It had a few issues, but nothing that prevented playability. Call me a traitor, but I actually like JP8V better, because the arpeggiator doesn't suck, there's more precision in the crossmod, it's much easier to sync to clocks, the sliders are automateable, and it doesn't require so much compression that you lose all of the snappiness. I did an A/B comparison, and for my purposes, the biggest glaring differences in the software were the voice tolerances are alot more rigid and unison mode isn't as good. But this is a vintage synth site, so to each his own.

[paugui]

Not the same thing, but you can get a Roland MKS-80 for much less than a Jupiter 8.
The structure is similar and I can tell you I am quite satisfied with mine

I got mine for 600 euros and I honestly doubt the Jupiter 8 is worth all the difference in price.

I bet it's an amazing synth, but too pricey in my opinion...

There is a guy here in Portugal asking 10000 euros for one... that is really insane...

[Reginator]

I appreciate all the feedback - many thanks! I’ve researched the Andromeda A6, Prophet 08, MKS-80 and JP8V. All appear to be worthy successors and capable of holding their own. I’d prefer hands on tweakability in a bread and butter synth and unfortunately the JP8V doesn’t offer that.

I’ve noticed Nick Rhodes has an Andromeda A6 in his setup and that gives me hope considering his affection for the Jupiter 8. I’ve listened to many clips featuring the Prophet 08 and it’s a fantastic sounding synth. I’ve only read a little on the MKS-80 and it has a pretty good retail price. A few folks think it doesn’t sound much like a Jupiter but I can’t say for sure. Could it be a main poly synth..? I’ll have to play and program one to be sure.

I’m not knocking the JP8V but I was hoping to have more tactile control in my #1 synth.

$5-8,000 USD, 10000 euros... might as well be a million bucks

[Solderman]

Regarding tactile control, I use my Access Virus b. It doubles as a control surface, and all of the JP8V sliders can be mapped to the Virus knobs via Midi CC's. Arturia were also smart enough to adopt smoothing from Midi CC's, so there's no stepping. The best thing to do is get a Midi merger so the control surface and your keyboard are sending out simultaneously.

I just did this quickie with JP8V about 10 minutes ago:

It's alot of fun once you map a control surface to it!

[Reginator]

Hey Solderman that definately has some bite and grit to it! I guess I could take time to map the JP8V's controls to my JP-8080. It would be a considerably less financial investment to stave off my hunger pangs for an actual Jupiter.

I also did more digging on the Andromeda A6 and it's a top contender for my keyboard stand. I need to go play the A6 and Prophet 08 to see how they sound under my control. I'll download the JP8V demo after this post to see how it stacks up against my JP-8080. Probably a no contest considering the 8080 wasn't built to battle a modern softsynth but it'll be a fun venture.

[pflosi]

The A6 will blow your mind. And the programming possibilities are immense, it took me like a year or sth to figure it all out. Still easy to dial in simple sounds very fast, but that's only scratching on the surface.

Just DON'T judge it by its factory presets. Hit the "manual" button, turn off the digital and analog effects, and enjoy pure analog goodness

[Reginator]

I tried to install the JP8V but the computers I use for for my DAW are only networked together and never access the internet. The eLicenser wants me to access the web and that's not going to happen.

Yes, the A6 is looking promising but it's out of production. Finding one used doesn't seem to be a problem and the price is right. The Prophet 08 is still produced so availibility is great.

It seems weird that Alesis only produced the A6 from late 2000 - 2001. I don't know the history behind that but I guess they had their reasons.

[krzeppa]

It seems weird that Alesis only produced the A6 from late 2000 - 2001. I don't know the history behind that but I guess they had their reasons.

Numark acquired Alesis in 2001....The Andromeda was still made in limited quantities after that, but it has officially been retired this year.

[101 Force]

The Alesis Andromeda looks like a beauty to me, but I can't speak about it personally. What I can say is the MKS-80 will not disappoint. It's a powerful polyphonic synthesizer, and you can certainly get a lot of use out of it.