The Roland JP-8000 is an

analog modeling synthesizer An analog modeling synthesizer is a synthesizer that generates the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers using DSP components and software algorithms. Analog modeling synthesizers simulate the behavior of the original electronic circuitry in o ...

released by the Roland Corporation in 1996.

Overview

The Roland JP-8000 was released in early 1997 as part of the first wave of virtual analog modeling synthesizers (VA synths). Others from that period included the

Clavia Nord Lead The Nord Lead is a series of virtual analog subtractive synthesizers, manufactured by Clavia. Released in 1994, the original Nord Lead was the digital synthesizer that made the term ''virtual analog synthesis'' popular. The now widely accepted ...

(1995),

Korg Prophecy The Korg Prophecy is considered one of the earliest (mid-nineties) virtual analog (a.k.a. VA) synthesizers, although its synthesis capabilities went beyond many of its VA contemporaries. Details Along with the Korg Z1, the Korg Prophecy is a d ...

(1995),

Access Virus The Access Virus is a virtual analog synthesizer made by the German company Access Music GmbH. It was first produced in 1997 and has since been upgraded frequently, with the company releasing new models about every two years. Early models includ ...

(1997) and

Yamaha AN1x The Yamaha AN1x is a DSP-based analog modeling synthesizer (a.k.a. virtual analog synthesizer), produced by Yamaha Corporation from 1997 to 1998, and was marketed as an "analog physical modelling control synthesizer". Development The AN1x is a f ...

(1997). VA synths had the goal of recreating the sound, functionality and user interface of classic analog synthesizers. The JP-8000 was viewed at the time as the modern digital incarnation of the classic

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 3300 units have ...

, from 1981. The programming interface, synthesis options and general tone is very similar to Roland's Jupiter-6 as well. The JP-8000 sought to digitally reproduce the warm analog tonalities and sheer power of its analog predecessors. Although it lacked somewhat in analog warmth due to its early digital architecture, it added many new features, such as RPS (Realtime Phrase Sequencing), which allowed short sequenced phrases to be assigned to keys, and such as motion control. It also featured the unique Supersaw oscillators and analog-style controllers such as an arpeggiator and an assignable touch response ribbon control. The JP-8000 had several features that differed from other analog modeling synthesizers of the time. Most notably, Roland's unique oscillator types ("Feedback" and "Supersaw") and the use of sliders instead of rotary encoders (''knobs'') to edit

patch Patch or Patches may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Patch Johnson, a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'' * Patch (''My Little Pony''), a toy * "Patches" (Dickey Lee song), 1962 * "Patches" (Chairmen of the Board song) ...

parameters. The Supersaw in particular was the reason why the JP-8000 was particularly successful as a main keyboard (along with the Virus) in the dance music market, especially for

trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minut ...

. Just like what the

Roland TB-303 The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulate bass guitars, it was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units were ...

had done for acid house and acid techno, the JP-8000's Supersaw leads became characteristic of a certain type of trance music that can be roughly called "

Anthem Trance Uplifting trance (often synonymous with epic trance, energetic trance, anthem trance, emotional trance, or euphoric trance) is a broad subgenre of trance music. The name, which emerged in the wake of progressive trance in 1996, is derived from ...

", where a melodic, powerful lead based on a Supersaw patch provided the hook and melody throughout the song. The sound processor is 16 bit. Roland_JP-8080_Rack

In 1998, Roland released a 6U, 19" rack version of JP-8000 called the JP-8080. The JP-8080 combined the analog modeling sound engine of the JP-8000 with additional features such as an internal

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder was ...

. The JP-8080 also had three times the number of patches and performances, an additional Noise waveform on Osc 2 and a distortion effect. Due to these changes all JP-8000 patches are compatible with the JP-8080 but not all JP-8080 patches are compatible with the JP-8000. In popular usage however the two synthesizers are usually thought of as identical in regard to sound architecture (often referred to collectively as JP-80x0). The JP-8080 is prominent on the

Darude Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen (; born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude (), is a Finnish DJ and record producer from Eura, Satakunta. His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style. He started making music in 199 ...

single

Sandstorm A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transpo ...

. The song is named for the pad patch loaded on boot up of JP-8080.

Supersaw

The supersaw is a

waveform In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time.David Crecraft, David Gorham, ''Electro ...

created by Roland for their JP-8000 and JP-8080 line of

s. It emulates the sound of multiple detuned sawtooth oscillators. The waveform is described as a free-run oscillator whose shape resembles 7 sawtooth oscillators detuned against each other over a period of time. Since production of the JP-8000 ceased, several companies have incorporated "supersaw-like" oscillator algorithms into their hardware and software synthesizers. SUPERWAVE P8 is an example of a software synthesizer inspired by the architecture of the JP-8000, with its multiple sawtooth oscillators. Another is the Supersaw Plus, which has a JP-8000-style interface and a variation on the supersaw waveform that provides 2, 4, 6 or 10 oscillators. In 2005, Access Music released the TI-line of synthesizers, which feature an oscillator type called Hypersaw that is similar to Roland's supersaw oscillator. Roland also continues to produce other synthesizers, such as the SH-201, the SH-01, the

Roland V-Synth The Roland V-Synth was released 2003 and was Roland's flagship synthesizer at the time. It combines multiple oscillator technologies and a built in sampler. It also features an arpeggiator and COSM filtering to aid the creation of new sounds. Fea ...

, and the Roland V-Synth XT that have the supersaw oscillator type. The supersaw gained popularity in electronic dance music, especially with its use in

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

and

future bass Future bass is a style of electronic dance music which developed in the 2010s that mixes elements of dubstep and trap with warmer, less abrasive rhythms. The genre was pioneered by producers such as Rustie, Hudson Mohawke, Lido, San Holo and ...

music.

References

Notes

External links

Roland JP-8000
at Vintagesynth.com
Roland JP-8000
JP8000 user comments at Dancetech.com

(archive.org)

(archive.org)

(archive.org) {{Roland JP-8000 Virtual analog synthesizers Polyphonic synthesizers Digital synthesizers

Overview

Supersaw

References

Notes

Further reading

External links