Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

Im thinking about tracking down a Jupiter 6 - it sounds like everything I want in an analogue polysynth apart from it lacks velocity, and to a lesser extent - aftertouch...

Would it be possible to Mod a J6 with a modern keybed with velocity and aftertouch? If it had the europa update? Or would it be cost-prohibitive....? I kind of want to use the Jup as a master keyboard as I dont have a lot of room....Maybe I should go with the MKS80 - but there are a few more modulations, arp and the filters on the J6...plus I like the fact its a keyboard format...

Also is it posible to use multiple LFO shapes at a time as well as multiple Osc shapes on the Jup 6? The only other synth I know that you can use multiple LFO shapes in the same LFO is the Pro One - and I loved that feature!

Sorry, the JP-6 will not respond to velocity or aftertouch whether via MIDI or putting in a new keyboard. However, the MKS-80 will repsond to such dynamics and has the same sound engine as the JP-6 minu the multi-mode filter. The Europa adds a more advanced MIDI spec to the JP-6 (I can't believe I used it with "Roland Code" for all those years). YOu can read more about that @ www.synthcom.com.

You cannot sellect mulitple waveforms for either LFO (LFO 2 is sine or tirangle only). However, you can select mulitple waveforms for each oscillator and VCO2 will go sub-audio and both VCOs can cross modulate each other.

The JP-6 is a great synth, but would not make a good master.

Best of luck!

Only a very few vintage VCO analog synths have velocity/aftertouch keyboards. The choices that come to mind are the Yamaha CS80, Prophet T8, Rhodes Chroma, and Oberheim Matrix 12. The Oberheim Xpander and Roland MKS80 respond to velocity over MIDI. The T8 or Matrix 12 would probably be the best choices for a master keyboard. A MIDI retro-fitted Chroma might also make a good controller.

V301H wrote:The Oberheim Xpander and Roland MKS80 respond to velocity over MIDI. The T8 or Matrix 12 would probably be the best choices for a master keyboard

i think it's a strength of the Xpander that it does not have a keyboard because it lets you use it with a nice controller rather than feel obliged to use aged keys.