These videos have got me wanting a vintage Roland. I love the simplicity of the layout. You get so much out of it because you know what you're doing. I'm keeping my eye out for a deal on Juno 6 and an affordable apartment for when my wife kicks me out of the house.
It was a wreck when I got it! I wasn’t sure if I could even bring it back to life, but luckily it seems to be behaving itself after a fair amount of TLC.
@@scottmcauleysoundsit was covered in sticky grime and the remnants of tape etc. a few delicate hours with sticky stuff remover and some TLC brought the case out really nice , but it looked awful when I got my hands on it.
@@StarskyCarr so many do mate, they have mostly been through the mill over the years (Understandably) - If you ever run out of space I'll happily hold on to it for you ;)
Thanks. Hopefully they’ll be popular. I think they can be useful even if you know what you’re doing - always interesting to get others ideas and perspectives
The Jupiters have such good workflow for sound design! It's too bad Roland perfected synth panel layout so long ago, and then never implemented anything close to as user friendly again. Their obscure part-layering and menu diving in their modern synths is a total PITA compared to the beautiful simplicity of their old stuff. They really should just re-release these with a DSI-style "touch source, then touch destination" 4 or 8 part matrix, simple A/B layer bi-timbrality and modern aftertouch keyboard before Behringer, but it seems like these older companies rarely can hear their customers anymore.
I do like the Super 6 as a modern Roland-y layout, though of course as Starsky mentioned it sounds a lot more Prophet-y (but the mod matrix works DSI-y as well so fair enough).
When I got my JP-6, in the late 80s, I was underwhelmed at first. I expected it to sound huge, like a Memorymoog or something. Then I discovered that its true beauty is the vast range of useable sounds that it makes, and the speed with which you can edit them. You demonstrate that beautifully here, and you also make it sound HUGE! Great stuff. This instrument still has so much to give, even compared to the best of the new stuff.
I was the same. I borrowed one from a friend a couple of years ago and made a video essentially being underwhelmed as well… me moaning about the controls, feel and cost. …. Then I went and bought one!
Sweet. I bought my Jupiter for for $700 back when analog was out of style. Some years later I bought an MKS 80 with the programmer (for a lot more money) thinking it would replace the Jupiter 6, but they sound really different to me. So I just kept both of them.
FYI it's Kevin Saunderson, track was Just Want Another Chance (released under the pseudonym Reese - hence the eponymous bass). Great episode as always!
When you first had a JP-6 you were underwhelmed and I offered a few comments in the hopes of helping you come around to learn what’s so awesome about this beautiful synth. Today I see you working within the Jupiter’s difficult sweet spots like a boss. The JP-6 is definitely not a beginner’s synth, and as such it can be off-putting when you first get your hands on one, but if you scratch just a deeper it becomes obvious just how versatile it can be! I’m really enjoying this exploration of analog synth principles, and glad to see you getting on with this misunderstood instrument!!
Haha... I remember! Yeah in that video I had tried 3 different Jupiter 6s and each was either knackered or a bit wonky. The one I demo'd had really scratchy sliders and wobbly knobs (as they all tend to), and I had recently purchased an UDO Super 6. The difference in quality vs flexibility and price was quite something. People were (and are) asking over £6k so the whole thing left me as you say underwhelmed. I stayed with it though as it did have some nice bits, as I demo'd when I put it next to the SUPER6. That was a mates unit but I kept an eye out and found this one. It was completely broken but took a punt on it and someone managed to get it back up and running (I was very doubtful after my experiences with the others). And yes it's very misunderstood. It can do cold and harsh, but it's not restricted to that. Funny how reputations can follow stuff round, even if misconceived.
I really like these videos! Even though I've been programming synth for a while, we all go about this a little differently and this shows me a new perpsective to sound design. Thanks!
Great Series, testing everything out on the Take 5 My Requests Would Be :- 1. ## Things to do with LFO's 2 &3. ## Things to do with Sine/Square Waves & Maybe a '## Things to do with FX' series could be cool too Flangers, Distortion etc etc etc
Beautiful! I will noticed that all old synthesizer has more body, solid low end and noticeable more clear fundamental frequencies, while all modern synths, hard or VST sounds a little thin and bodyless. Thank for your demonstrations!
That UNISON DETUNE SYNC...WTF. IMO This is where the JP 6 is unparalleled. Close second is perhaps the prophet 10 :) Thanks so much for sharing all your years of learning!!!!
These tutorials are really helpful! I'm glad you also focused on FM for a bit, because when I try FM (and most of the time I don't know what I'm doing) it can sound really ugly really fast.
The trick is ‘tuning’ the fm tone. When you get it right.. or just a little off, you can get things from a little added fizz to mallets, percussive basses and interesting leads. The amount of FM dialled in is the key along with oscillator tuning. The best way to experiment is with monosynth sounds.
I bought 3 that were knackered and returned before I got this one - it too was knackered but eventually we got it working (not me … ‘we’ as in someone else!)
thank you so much for another great and insightful video! would you consider doing a video about all the cool things you can do with a noise oscillator? i think they are pretty underrated and underused
maybe. I'll have to think of a fair few things other than noise, haha! But yeh nice idea, there's loads you can use it for, and once you do you miss it when its not there. But its not something I used for years.
I think that's because it can do really metallic and cold sounds that others cant reach - so folks have labelled it as such without realising that's it's additional forte not its overall character.
@@StarskyCarr With a half decent chorus pedal, it can sound very Junoish. Its such an under-rated synth. The longer you spend with it, the more you discover its secrets.
Good new series. Off-topic, but coming from a Juno-6 and Synthex back then, what always turned me off of the Jupiter-6 was the lack of a great chorus and the extremely cheap feeling controls of the Jupe. Best bit for me was the bandpass.
Haha I made a demo of the Jupiter 6 a couple of years ago - questioning whether anyone would pay this much for such a shoddy new synth! Yeah the sliders and knobs feel cheap. Why it doesn’t have 2 outputs is a mystery… and then why no chorus. But… its does some amazing things with sync and FM. Looks cool too!
@@StarskyCarr The good news is that the synth is moddable to have 2 outputs, and it's a quite easy mod to do if you know a bit how to use a soldering iron (if you're not, an electronic tech would do that for little labour price). You just have to be careful, especially when drilling the two holes on the back panel where to place the additional jacks for the two outputs. If the holes are done wrong or the drill slips, you can't repair the damage and your synth will end having scars and looking ugly in that spot. I did that to mine, it was totally worth the hour I spent at doing it and the additional jacks look to be there right from the factory. Regarding the lack of chorus, this was the Roland's philosophy before they did the JX-3P and subsequent JXes: 1 osc synths (Junos and Jupiter 4) got the chorus. 2 oscs synths (Jupiter 6 and 8) got no chorus because you already have 2 oscillators for fattening up the sound.
I love the Jupiter-6. IMO it (and the MKS-80s) are cooler than the Jupiter-8. I'm not sure what the exact qualities are that I like better. It seems to change depending on for example MKS model, and types of sounds, but I've always liked these best in the vintage Roland poly synth department. Not to say the 8 is bad in any way, it's a beautiful synth. Just prefer the 6. Not going to mention the 4 here, because IMO it's a very different animal.
Re the comment on FM at the end: looking forward to your DX7 master tutorial ;) (or perhaps something with a better front panel UI! Or even just a plugin?)
@@StarskyCarr honestly, I love it but even other good programming videos are all “it’s unpredictable, embrace the chaos”. Which I can get behind when I’m in the right mood, but if you know how to “navigate” common situations quicker… those would be super helpful! I tend to use subtractive synthesis for immediate ideas, complex FM if I want to spend an evening figuring new things out… but I love the inharmonic timbres! We’re all geeks here, surely ;) though of course accessibility of the format is important!
On wish list for more videos (since you asked) would be one on typical monosynth patches made with Grandmother or Prodigy but maybe that's already covered in your other videos.
People have been critical of the Jupiter 6. I don’t fully understand why. There’s been more than one occasion when I either wanted it or the MKS-80. I don’t think I’ll wind up getting either of them, but it has definitely got appeal. Why should everyone be particularly obsessed with the Jupiter 8 (continuing to drive up its market price)? Regarding the FM portion of this demo, I occasionally think a more fitting question than if digital can imitate analog is if analog can imitate digital. That could be worth exploring, using the Jupiter 6 or something like the JX8p to duplicate sounds on the DX7.
Starsky my request for you is: Please create the same track you did with ARP AXXE also with all your other synths so to see how they sound in comparison creating the same track. This would be extremely useful because very often synths that shine in stand alone, don’t feet very well in a track context and viceversa
@@waggon321 I'm not sure about the chips, but could well be. SO many synths used the same CEM chips back in the day. There's thread on Gearspace showing just how many used them. gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1016749-cem-curtis-love-thread.html The fun in the 6 to me is the x-sync and x-mod that others can't do. It's a lot of money to keep on the shelf just for that though! Pro800 is a great little synth, and absolutely amazing for the cash.... currently I'm procrastinating, hence looking stuff up on gearspace rather than actually getting anything done 😂
idea for patches: make something with extensive modulation, take a synth with a mod matrix and make some interesting sounds or something with nice automation ideas
@@StarskyCarr it's a famous thread as it opened with that bizarrely titled post and has evolved into a general anything goes fun thread that sometimes vaguely returns into orbit around that topic. Easiest to just look it up and read a bit 😜
I’ve changed the name of this (typo and all) following some excellent comments about a popular and wandering Gearspace thread.
These videos have got me wanting a vintage Roland. I love the simplicity of the layout. You get so much out of it because you know what you're doing. I'm keeping my eye out for a deal on Juno 6 and an affordable apartment for when my wife kicks me out of the house.
haha.. I know the feeling!
What a synth and a tremendous example of one yours is too, it's immaculate! hard to believe it's over 40 years old! great vid as always Starsky.
It was a wreck when I got it! I wasn’t sure if I could even bring it back to life, but luckily it seems to be behaving itself after a fair amount of TLC.
@@StarskyCarr looks and sounds great! cracking job fella! how did you manage to refurb the casing?
@@scottmcauleysoundsit was covered in sticky grime and the remnants of tape etc. a few delicate hours with sticky stuff remover and some TLC brought the case out really nice , but it looked awful when I got my hands on it.
@@StarskyCarr so many do mate, they have mostly been through the mill over the years (Understandably) - If you ever run out of space I'll happily hold on to it for you ;)
I would like to cite Ron Mael's work on" Pulling rabbits out of a hat" album using this device
Very much enjoying these new tutorials!
Thanks. Hopefully they’ll be popular. I think they can be useful even if you know what you’re doing - always interesting to get others ideas and perspectives
The Jupiters have such good workflow for sound design! It's too bad Roland perfected synth panel layout so long ago, and then never implemented anything close to as user friendly again. Their obscure part-layering and menu diving in their modern synths is a total PITA compared to the beautiful simplicity of their old stuff. They really should just re-release these with a DSI-style "touch source, then touch destination" 4 or 8 part matrix, simple A/B layer bi-timbrality and modern aftertouch keyboard before Behringer, but it seems like these older companies rarely can hear their customers anymore.
I do like the Super 6 as a modern Roland-y layout, though of course as Starsky mentioned it sounds a lot more Prophet-y (but the mod matrix works DSI-y as well so fair enough).
JP8000 and System 1 or 8 have nice layouts too
When I got my JP-6, in the late 80s, I was underwhelmed at first. I expected it to sound huge, like a Memorymoog or something. Then I discovered that its true beauty is the vast range of useable sounds that it makes, and the speed with which you can edit them. You demonstrate that beautifully here, and you also make it sound HUGE! Great stuff. This instrument still has so much to give, even compared to the best of the new stuff.
I was the same. I borrowed one from a friend a couple of years ago and made a video essentially being underwhelmed as well… me moaning about the controls, feel and cost. …. Then I went and bought one!
Sweet. I bought my Jupiter for for $700 back when analog was out of style. Some years later I bought an MKS 80 with the programmer (for a lot more money) thinking it would replace the Jupiter 6, but they sound really different to me. So I just kept both of them.
FYI it's Kevin Saunderson, track was Just Want Another Chance (released under the pseudonym Reese - hence the eponymous bass). Great episode as always!
Ditto on the clarification. Thx!
Thanks for that!
Loving the patch videos, I think we need a studio tour next :)
Loving these tutorials! Been into synths for ages but still learning. Thanks!
Great, nice to know.
Great work, it's nice to see vintage synthesizers in action.
It helps me visualize what I can do with software synths
Try the Cherry Audio Mercury-6! Then you can basically reproduce it 1:1.
Yeah it’s a lovely thing
@RayyMusik thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out 🙏
When you first had a JP-6 you were underwhelmed and I offered a few comments in the hopes of helping you come around to learn what’s so awesome about this beautiful synth.
Today I see you working within the Jupiter’s difficult sweet spots like a boss.
The JP-6 is definitely not a beginner’s synth, and as such it can be off-putting when you first get your hands on one, but if you scratch just a deeper it becomes obvious just how versatile it can be!
I’m really enjoying this exploration of analog synth principles, and glad to see you getting on with this misunderstood instrument!!
Haha... I remember!
Yeah in that video I had tried 3 different Jupiter 6s and each was either knackered or a bit wonky. The one I demo'd had really scratchy sliders and wobbly knobs (as they all tend to), and I had recently purchased an UDO Super 6. The difference in quality vs flexibility and price was quite something. People were (and are) asking over £6k so the whole thing left me as you say underwhelmed.
I stayed with it though as it did have some nice bits, as I demo'd when I put it next to the SUPER6. That was a mates unit but I kept an eye out and found this one. It was completely broken but took a punt on it and someone managed to get it back up and running (I was very doubtful after my experiences with the others).
And yes it's very misunderstood. It can do cold and harsh, but it's not restricted to that. Funny how reputations can follow stuff round, even if misconceived.
@@StarskyCarr I want to see what Florian does with one on Bad Gear!
I’m really liking these recent videos, they are inspiring!!
Loving the patches on the fly series. I’m learning a bit, despite being around synths for decades. Thanks!
I really like these videos! Even though I've been programming synth for a while, we all go about this a little differently and this shows me a new perpsective to sound design. Thanks!
I agree, intervals and tunings are the soul of a synth.
Great Series, testing everything out on the Take 5
My Requests Would Be :- 1. ## Things to do with LFO's
2 &3. ## Things to do with Sine/Square Waves
& Maybe a '## Things to do with FX' series could be cool too Flangers, Distortion etc etc etc
things to do with LFOs 2 and 3 is a great idea.
Beautiful! I will noticed that all old synthesizer has more body, solid low end and noticeable more clear fundamental frequencies, while all modern synths, hard or VST sounds a little thin and bodyless. Thank for your demonstrations!
Thanks Starsky! This is now my favourite video of yours 🚀
Wow the last three videos are so perfect!!!
That UNISON DETUNE SYNC...WTF. IMO This is where the JP 6 is unparalleled. Close second is perhaps the prophet 10 :) Thanks so much for sharing all your years of learning!!!!
Quality content Starsky …. as always
These tutorials are really helpful! I'm glad you also focused on FM for a bit, because when I try FM (and most of the time I don't know what I'm doing) it can sound really ugly really fast.
The trick is ‘tuning’ the fm tone. When you get it right.. or just a little off, you can get things from a little added fizz to mallets, percussive basses and interesting leads. The amount of FM dialled in is the key along with oscillator tuning. The best way to experiment is with monosynth sounds.
Great man 👌 we love our synths! your good ol' 6 sounds fab here ❤
Will try out all the patch ideas on a Super6 and a JD-XA. Both will sound completely different to the Jupiter, of course. Great creative ideas here!
cool. enjoy, and let us know how you got on.
Yes! I have one of those in my arsenal. This gives me some inspiration to plug it in.
This is a great video! Thank you!
Nice one, thanks.
Headphones everyone, otherwise you'll be missing the point. (Well you'll be missing the glory at least).
A really great synth! Great video also! Thanks.
that gearsltz thread was legendary haha.
The synth I always wanted and probably never will have 🤩
I bought 3 that were knackered and returned before I got this one - it too was knackered but eventually we got it working (not me … ‘we’ as in someone else!)
Great video, thank you!
Thank you again!
thank you so much for another great and insightful video!
would you consider doing a video about all the cool things you can do with a noise oscillator?
i think they are pretty underrated and underused
maybe. I'll have to think of a fair few things other than noise, haha! But yeh nice idea, there's loads you can use it for, and once you do you miss it when its not there. But its not something I used for years.
I have max 6 oscillators on my Korg Modwave, but I wasn't able to deal with 2 x) !
Thank you a lot for your videos !
haha... the Modwave is another thing altogether!
Ooooo love that FM bass patch. I tried to make something similar on my Poly D.
I started doing stuff like that when I got the Minimoog - it was so easy to access and opened my eye to FM generally.
Great tutorials.
Tnx a lot ❤
Fancy man and TWO whole oscillators...
Looking forward to an episode on FM, now I have my FS1R I really want to make the best of it :)
I did something on FM a while back - I think with the opsix - trying to demystify it a tiny bit.
People label this synth the 'Ice queen'.... which Starsky demonstrates beautifully, that it isn't.
I think that's because it can do really metallic and cold sounds that others cant reach - so folks have labelled it as such without realising that's it's additional forte not its overall character.
@@StarskyCarr With a half decent chorus pedal, it can sound very Junoish. Its such an under-rated synth. The longer you spend with it, the more you discover its secrets.
WHAT A SYNTH.
That JP6 sounds very close to the MKS80 I had back in the time that never sounded as my prior JP8.
Good new series. Off-topic, but coming from a Juno-6 and Synthex back then, what always turned me off of the Jupiter-6 was the lack of a great chorus and the extremely cheap feeling controls of the Jupe. Best bit for me was the bandpass.
Haha I made a demo of the Jupiter 6 a couple of years ago - questioning whether anyone would pay this much for such a shoddy new synth! Yeah the sliders and knobs feel cheap. Why it doesn’t have 2 outputs is a mystery… and then why no chorus. But… its does some amazing things with sync and FM. Looks cool too!
@@StarskyCarr The good news is that the synth is moddable to have 2 outputs, and it's a quite easy mod to do if you know a bit how to use a soldering iron (if you're not, an electronic tech would do that for little labour price). You just have to be careful, especially when drilling the two holes on the back panel where to place the additional jacks for the two outputs. If the holes are done wrong or the drill slips, you can't repair the damage and your synth will end having scars and looking ugly in that spot. I did that to mine, it was totally worth the hour I spent at doing it and the additional jacks look to be there right from the factory.
Regarding the lack of chorus, this was the Roland's philosophy before they did the JX-3P and subsequent JXes: 1 osc synths (Junos and Jupiter 4) got the chorus. 2 oscs synths (Jupiter 6 and 8) got no chorus because you already have 2 oscillators for fattening up the sound.
I love the Jupiter-6. IMO it (and the MKS-80s) are cooler than the Jupiter-8. I'm not sure what the exact qualities are that I like better. It seems to change depending on for example MKS model, and types of sounds, but I've always liked these best in the vintage Roland poly synth department. Not to say the 8 is bad in any way, it's a beautiful synth. Just prefer the 6. Not going to mention the 4 here, because IMO it's a very different animal.
Makes me miss my 6 in all its red LED buzzy goodness.
Re the comment on FM at the end: looking forward to your DX7 master tutorial ;)
(or perhaps something with a better front panel UI! Or even just a plugin?)
haha aan FM masterclass!! Ive got a few tricks u-p my sleeve but will have a think how to do it without being a complete geek!
@@StarskyCarr honestly, I love it but even other good programming videos are all “it’s unpredictable, embrace the chaos”. Which I can get behind when I’m in the right mood, but if you know how to “navigate” common situations quicker… those would be super helpful!
I tend to use subtractive synthesis for immediate ideas, complex FM if I want to spend an evening figuring new things out… but I love the inharmonic timbres!
We’re all geeks here, surely ;) though of course accessibility of the format is important!
Maybe SY77/SY99/TG77 instead? ;)
On wish list for more videos (since you asked) would be one on typical monosynth patches made with Grandmother or Prodigy but maybe that's already covered in your other videos.
Most of it is tbh if you follow these 3 you'll have most of that ground covered.
@@StarskyCarr makes sense. Anyway you've programmed so many patches in your entire series (not just these three) it's greedy to ask for more
Thx! Now what todo with triangle sinus and noise 😃
These are really great quick overviews! Moar please.
People have been critical of the Jupiter 6. I don’t fully understand why. There’s been more than one occasion when I either wanted it or the MKS-80. I don’t think I’ll wind up getting either of them, but it has definitely got appeal. Why should everyone be particularly obsessed with the Jupiter 8 (continuing to drive up its market price)?
Regarding the FM portion of this demo, I occasionally think a more fitting question than if digital can imitate analog is if analog can imitate digital. That could be worth exploring, using the Jupiter 6 or something like the JX8p to duplicate sounds on the DX7.
Starsky my request for you is:
Please create the same track you did with ARP AXXE also with all your other synths so to see how they sound in comparison creating the same track.
This would be extremely useful because very often synths that shine in stand alone, don’t feet very well in a track context and viceversa
Nice idea, I'll have a thing about how I could do it.
You've got everyone lusting after a Jupiter 6 now! 😀
Haha… I’m only doing it to raise prices before I sell them 😂😂 (never!)
@@StarskyCarr sold mine in the 90's. Not that arsed. My Behringer Pro 800 gets me to a similar place. Same chips? 🤔
@@waggon321 I'm not sure about the chips, but could well be. SO many synths used the same CEM chips back in the day. There's thread on Gearspace showing just how many used them.
gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/1016749-cem-curtis-love-thread.html
The fun in the 6 to me is the x-sync and x-mod that others can't do. It's a lot of money to keep on the shelf just for that though! Pro800 is a great little synth, and absolutely amazing for the cash.... currently I'm procrastinating, hence looking stuff up on gearspace rather than actually getting anything done 😂
idea for patches: make something with extensive modulation, take a synth with a mod matrix and make some interesting sounds or something with nice automation ideas
Mod Matrix is an interesting one... they're a mystery to a lot of people.
Gearslutz famous thread haha nice.
Starskyyy. More multisamples. Pleeeease. take my moneyy
When I get some time I'll put something together.
I wonder what happens if you play the Exorcist theme with those triangle bells.
you raise the dead ... obvs.
That's"than what," mate! 😏
Haha I know.. but just couldn’t bear to leave the typo there!
@@StarskyCarr I suspect Alex Juno did that deliberately.
You have 2 Osc and you detune them..than what?
Watch and find out 😂
This should definitely be the video title 😅
Is this a Gearspace thing?😂
@@StarskyCarr a Gearspace mythical artifact
@@StarskyCarr it's a famous thread as it opened with that bizarrely titled post and has evolved into a general anything goes fun thread that sometimes vaguely returns into orbit around that topic. Easiest to just look it up and read a bit 😜
Thumbs up if you are watching this to learn how to use Mercury 6 from cherry audio 😂
So I detuned, then what?
Really?? Watch it and find out. Bizarre comment.
@@StarskyCarr It's obvious you don't read Gearslutz)
@@ingoodmusichaha, not often. I guess it’s an ongoing joke there?
I’ve changed the title! Nice one 😀
@@StarskyCarr lol