The Roland Jupiter-6 (JP-6) is a discontinued

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, manufactured and introduced by the

Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has f ...

in January 1983.

Background

Although introduced as a less expensive ($2,500-$3,000 market price) alternative to the

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 ...

, its features include some capabilities not present in the JP-8, which makes the JP-6 a successor. The Jupiter-6 is widely considered a workhorse among

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, ...

analog synthesizers, capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, such as ambient drones, pads, lead synthesizer lines, unison basses and techy blips and buzzes. It is renowned for its reliability and ease, but with sophisticated programmability. The JP-6 has 12 analog oscillators (2 per voice), and is bitimbral, allowing its keyboard to be "split" into two sounds - one with 4 voices, and one with the remaining 2 voices (either "Split 4/2" or "Split 2/4" mode). "Whole Mode" is also available, dedicating all 6 voices to single (monotimbral) sound across the entire keyboard. Available waveforms include sawtooth, triangle, variable width pulse, square, and noise. Unusually, the JP-6 allows simultaneous selection of any or all of the waveforms in each of its two oscillator banks, an option not found on the JP-8. Oscillator sync and cross modulation are also available. "Unison Mode" allows all 12 oscillators to be triggered simultaneously by depressing a single key. Unison Mode can also be played polyphonically, with the number of oscillators triggered by each key determined by the number of keys held down. The JP-6 was among the first electronic instruments (alongside the Roland JX-3P and the

Sequential Circuits Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer; it became a market leader and industry standard, used ...

Prophet-600) to feature

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

, then a brand new technology. Sequential CEO Dave Smith demonstrated MIDI by connecting the Prophet to a Jupiter-6 during the January, 1983 Winter

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

. ''Europa,'' a popular firmware upgrade available fro
Synthcom Systems
adds a wide array of modern enhancements to the instrument's MIDI implementation, user interface, patch memory, and most especially its

arpeggiator A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, turning the Jupiter-6 into a contemporaneously adaptable instrument and unique composition tool.

Notable users

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Goldfrapp Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, their ...

Greg Ham Gregory Norman Ham (27 September 1953 – 19 April 2012) was an Australian musician, songwriter, and actor, best known as a member of the 1980s band Men at Work. He played saxophone, flute, organ, piano, and synthesizer. Early life Ham was born ...

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* Eddie Kulak of

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* Human League * Julio Bashmore *

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* Mike O'Donnell and

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(First two series of ''

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'' and the segments of Thomas stories from the four seasons and the Christmas special of '' Shining Time Station'' and the spin-off series, '' Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales''. Also, the opening and closing themes of ''Thomas and Friends'' from 1984 to 2003.) * Nathan Fake * Orbital *

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* Ray Parker Jr. *

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(of

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) * Rob Preuss of

The Spoons Spoons is a Canadian new wave band, formed in Burlington, Ontario in 1979. They recorded several Canadian chart hits between 1982 and 1989, and in 1983, they were nominated for Most Promising Group of the Year at the Juno Awards. Their most ...

Rob Preuss on his keyboards http://www.thespoons.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=52&start=15 * Rhythm Plate *

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Thomas Gandey Thomas Gandey (born 21 March 1976) is an English electronic music producer, composer, vocalist, keyboard player and former DJ, known for work under his own name as well as under his Cagedbaby pseudonym. He has released over 150 remixes to date in ...

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

* Vašo Patejdl *

Peggy Gou Peggy Gou is a South Korean DJ and record producer based in Germany. She has released seven EPs on record labels including Ninja Tune and Phonica. In 2019, she launched her own independent record label, Gudu Records, and released a DJ-Kicks c ...

References

External links

* tp://ftp.roland.co.uk/ProductSupport/JP-6/01_JP-6_OM.pdf Jupiter-6 owner's manual
Sound on Sound's Jupiter retrospective

Vintage Synth Explorer's Jupiter-6 entry

Harmony Central's user reviews of the Jupiter-6

Sonic State's Jupiter-6 entry
{{Roland Jupiter-6 Analog synthesizers Polyphonic synthesizers