Just look at the UI. Easygoing. All most important synthesis parameter have their own knob. Can’t get easier than this.
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Yeah just wandering if there’s any hidden pain in the arse gotchya that is explaining all these comparison presets but no proper review videos?
They are two very different synths so definitely worth having both. I’d actually say that the JX-08 could easily create most Juno-like sounds, but the JU-06A has no where near the sonic potential of the JX-08.
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Yes it’s very easy to program your own patches for each Part. There is an option to erase an existing tone in the Part menu and you can store your own patches just by holding down the step button that corresponds to the desired patch location. Dual layered patches and splits are saved in a Pattern.
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I felt like the lower notes on the pad sound had more movement and presence, and a bit livelier sound over all on the 8p unit. I almost feel like bass patch on the jx08 while a little sharper also has less sonic content to compete with, I kind of have the a feeling you could get the 8p to punch just as hard if you wanted.
Patch matching like this is always going to be a weighted comparison though, like maybe you wouldn’t make that sort of lead on the jx08 because it doesn’t really sound right. Maybe you would work a little more in programing movement into your modulations and so on.
I do feel like to my ear some of the oscillator movement that they had captured on the past ACB tech perhaps is gone but also it is probably worth it for the extra voices in this case.
Still it sounds great, but also I hope they don’t give up on the ACB tech because there is something there if they can get the voice count up.
I’m digging it 
just getting started with it. The drone, and the chords. I think it’s my new favorite synth. It has a footprint similar to the MicroFreak.
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Yes, could be. Thats why i want to test it myself. In other factory preset videos, there were some sounds, that i really liked.
Yes i think so too, but ACB might be too complex and not as cost efficient for them to recreate? We will see. Maybe they will one day drop their current DSP line and use some much more powerfull ones from other manufacturers and drop the plugin/out code on that. Maybe the usage of DA converter is also an important factor. Famtom sounds much fuller than the Xm, i´ve heard. And the X being inbetween those too. Maybe also a question of sample rate being used internally?
From other videos about the 8p, i assumed that this is not possible, due to the (softer) envelope behaviour of the 8p.
Edit:
Look, what just landed…
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As with any preset synth with many knobs…the main pita for some people could be, …that the knobs and sliders don´t move by itself, when you switch to another preset. Some synths, like the Analog Four solved this by using a parameter matrix plus display plus encoder to avoid this. Hydrasynth has additionally LED rings. But however…it can be still a pita, because you don´t know what value the single parameters might have changed to. Some manufacturers solve this by implementing different “pick up-value” algorithms. Some even let you choose which algo. On the JX08 the algo that is implemented is the “jump to” algo. You move a slider, and the preset parameter value jumps to the slider moved-parameter immediately. I haven´t read the manual yet, but maybe this behaviour can be changed?
Also PITA for me right now, after unboxing, and that´s the same IMHO on all Boutiques…the output level is very soft when using standard line out. Not sure how to deal with it. I guess i have to use some preamp. That bothered me also already on the SH01a.
A third complain, that might be caused by not knowing the synth yet…when i press Start…two sequences are running, one from the first patch, which changes, when i change a preset, the other one is always dengeling the same sequence. So i have to consult the manual, how the sequencer works in detail. It´s not working properly for me right out of the box intuitively.
All in all those things might or might not be something you should consider.
Is there a well sounding preamp that specifically for the Boutiques someone here can recommend? So far i am using just “Gain” on my RME TotalMix…
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On the Espen video he did not have the envelopes set the same on the 08, you can hear in the patches the release is clearly shorter in some of them.
I guess it could have been an oversight or maybe a bit of cognitive bias, or maybe the envelope response on the 08 is not quite right.
Edit: I did not watch the whole video, so he might explain this, I only quickly listened to the patch comparisons.
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He just said that, that he had difficulties to match patches because of some difference in the engine. Mostly envelopes and Osc sound as mentioned.
Oh, kind of daft to do a comparison without getting the patches as close as possible - if Roland did actually get the envelope responses right of course. Based on the other boutiques I would think that Roland did, but I guess I’ll find out when I get one, I had a JX8p for some years and have a few recordings using it somewhere.
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I think we have to wait and see if Starsky Carr does a proper comparison. He did an excellent job with other synths and their remakes so far.
I am exploring the synth in its own uniqueness. Going through the manual now. During my 4h jam session I had some head scratching moments. Like how to avoid 08 sequencer start, when using the Keystep 37 as a sequencer….or how exactly can I dial in Xmod. Or how does modulation in general works. It wasn’t always resulting in what I expected. The filter resonance when driven into feedback is imho the weakest Point about this synth. It sounds kinda meh, imho. But I am very spoiled by synths with excellent analog filters, like Moog, Sequential or Waldorf, so ignore my opinion and make up your own.
Btw. most videos show only factory preset Bank A. I found some gems on B…
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Ok, here´s a short musical idea (ambient style) i threw together. 3 tracks, noisy pad , bass, arp. All custom patches by me, partially dry without FX, partially i faded in some reverb from Source Audio Ventris.
I need more testing, but i am not so sure anymore, if i want to keep it. Ordered a JU06a now to compare (again). Also i need to pull out that SH01a and use it as a poly too for comparison .
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I’m curious as to how these new Boutiques compare to the JP-08 sonically. Yes they have more voices but do they sound as good as the first gen of Boutiques?
The JP has caught my eye again after borrowing one from a friend. The architecture is somewhat similar to the JX though it has two full ADSR envelopes (albeit with tiny faders). Still finding a lot of sweet spots in the JP.
Anyone tried both yet?
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My impression is that they sound better than first gen but no real experience, just the videos. Some people have wondered if the jx could be better with the more recent ACB from ju-06a but both new boutiques are sounding great to me, seems like they’re just getting better and better
I am not so sure. Zen Core lacks some qualities. Someone mentioned above the little Osc instabilities that made the 8P more organic sounding. Roland gave up the full component modeling to gain in polyphony.
I saw someone else also claim that JX-08 is a Zen Core synth. When pressed for proof, he did not answer.
I‘ve heard that too. Wasn’t it mentioned by Roland in their first video?
Proof is, that Roland has the Zenology Model Extension JX-8P on their Zen Core Site. And several music tech sites wrote that the JX08 is that Model Extension in Hardware form.
Revisiting this video now. No Zen-Core mentioned.
The most obvious sign is if it was ZenCore hardware it would have been shown on the Zen Core hardware page on the Roland site. Roland seems proud of ZenCore so they are unlikely to hide it being used in the JX-08, if it were indeed the case.
Judging by the polyphony count I’d say it it definitely is. I’ve assumed that but not sure if it’s actually based on factual information, but I did watch that long interview with developers last year about how they were transitioning over to zencore universally. Zenology sounds excellent to me, I was sceptical at first but I think it’s a really good engine. Needs some decent reverbs though.