Looks aside, if you want an allround good sounding synth with that Roland character, high polyphony and multitimbrality, go for the Jupiter-X.
If you want faithful emulations of the classic Roland synths, with a more in your face analog sound and care more for the little details in the sound than high polyphony, go for the System-8.
Also, JP-X has more modulation options and a deeper synth engine in general, but also a lot of menu diving. The S-8 has almost no menu diving, but is more limited in sound design options.
I really appreciate both of the above responses. So I have a JU-06A and a JP-08. Iāve side by sided to JU-06A and SH-4D and while I can hear slight differences, by the time I put those sounds in to the 404 or in to the mix over all, those slights disappear, at least to my ear. If I got the Jupiter-X I could see myself getting rid of the SH-4D down the road. But with the System 8ās lack of multitibrality I imagine Iād end up using both. Sorry for the rant. Iām trying to think through all my options.
Iām curious how the keybeds compare on the two. Also, do either receive PolyAT?
I had the System 8 for a minute a few years ago. I will echo what others have said about it sounding fantastic, but I found the build quality to be underwhelming for the price, and that bothered me enough to eventually sell it.
This is a question as old as Roland. Do I really need a Juno when a sample-based JV-1080 sounds close enough and gives me way more sounds and polyphony?
Now ZEN-Core is the inheritor of the JV legacy and ACB plays the role of limited-but-amazing-sounding analog. Which will win? Only you can say, and historically thereās been no wrong answer. People have made great music with both JVs, Junos, and their modern software equivalents for decades.
So Iād be tempted to look at the problem in terms of host capabilities:
What devices can host more or less complete ZEN-Core setups?
MC-101
MC-707
Jupiter-X
Jupiter-Xm
Juno-X
Various stage pianos, workstations, and keytars.
What devices can host ACB PLUG-OUTs?
System-8
Thatās basically it unless you donāt care about the Juno-60, Juno-106, Jupiter-8, Jupiter-4, JX-3P, and System-8 (which is no slouch). In which case you can add Sytem-1 and System-1m to the list (FANTOM-EX can also now play a set of ACBs, but workstations are kind of their own thing).
So you have way more options when it comes to ZEN-Core. And honestly Iād be tempted to get something small from low end the range (MC-101) just to cover the bases there. Then go System-8 for the big, hands-on-control keyboard, because thatās the only way ACB is available now anyway.
Honestly if the System 8 had more polyphony, was multitimbral, and less importantly a better keybed, Iād grab that instantly. I do even like how it looks.
The Jupiter-X feels like the last Roland synth Iād buy for quite some time, which I guess is what a flagship is kind of for.
Edit: Thank you for the thorough and thoughtful reply! Adds some good perspective.
I wouldnāt say itās a dead end. Hardware-wise they launched AIRA with it. Then used it in the Boutiques. And they just added it to the FANTOM line. And some parts of the AIRA Compact boxes use it.
On the software side, Roland Cloud is built off the back of it. They just made an ACB version of the Jupiter-4 within the last year or two. The 606, too, I think? For the TR-8?
But it seems the chips needed to run these detailed emulations in stand-alone hardware are not cheep (even the gutsy FANTOMs can only run one ACB instrument at a time). And the current market is not particularly kind to expensive synths. We already see how much they had to cut costs on the 8 with its all plastic construction and no aftertouch.
They could cut out the keyboard and chassis all together and do a rack version. But what would differentiate that from a PC running the plugins? My gut says unless they can source a much cheeper chip for all that ACB processing, this is all weāll see as far as PLUG-OUT goes for a while.
Itās cool. Roland moves in these cycles. They abandon analog for digital, and then abandon the digital for the nostalgia of analog again, playing the hits before doing something new. Weāre very much in the digital era of ZEN-Core right now. Thereās an ACB revival on the horizon somewhere.
Any plug outs installed on the unit you can use for as long as you keep them on there. They donāt phone home or anything.
You can also remove or replace them regardless of whose account theyāre tied to.
I think the Jupiter-8, Juno-106, and JP-3X are part of the firmware, now. So you ought to always be able to get those on there regardless of what you own.
Thanks, all.
Iām going to look at a used one on the way home today and see just how āusedā it is. Condition is listed as excellent.
Iāve been longing for some āclassicā Roland synth sounds on a hardware unit shaped like a synth and controllable like a synth. I enjoy interacting with synths almost as much as making actual songs. (doubt Iām alone here from time to time).
Itās sort of a āgapā in my palette, I think.
I donāt care about how genuine they are as long as theyāre in the ballpark and sound good. Being a perfect emulation of something has never been a āthingā for me personally.
It does indeed.
Thereās a part of me that wants a Juno X, which if thereās another sale on I can get for around 300 more than this will beā¦ it just LOOKS so classic Roland.
I guess thatās the only box that sort of not ticked.
But I donāt need 61 keys, and itās really about the sound. Iāll see how my first 30-second impression of the 8 is. Iāve never seen one before in person.
