Sequencing a jupiter 8

doedshammeren · 2013-12-12T22:40:39.000Z

I am looking to buy a vintage polyphonic synth. And i am curious as to wether or not i will be able to use the analog four sequncer to cv sync/control a roland jupiter 8?

Cocker · 2013-12-12T22:52:03.000Z

never bothered to look at the back panel of a jupiter 8 until now. shouldn’t be a problem. seems to be plenty of control options available. although it looks like pitch cv isn’t one of the options. guess that’s what the keys are for. was marketed as a performance synth for actual playing musicians back in the day to be honest

here’s the back panel

roland_jupiter_8_19917.jpg1600×1108 199 KB

Cocker · 2013-12-12T22:56:21.000Z

you could have the A4 sending clock to the arp / lfo and those will be rock solid in time with A4 sequencer. You could send CV to the filter and VCA. Unusual no cv pitch though. Unless it’s further down the panel. Hard to find good pics. Still would be loads of fun. I use my SH-101 like this. Never get bored of it. And a Jupiter… well I can only guess how much fun that’d be

doedshammeren · 2013-12-12T23:00:54.000Z

Cool, so i would have clock sync.
But i would need pitch control to transfer a sequence of notes?

Thanks so much for the info! I have very limited knowledge/none when it comes to using cv.

Cocker · 2013-12-13T00:29:01.000Z

Have a look at this video. In it I am sending clock (16th note trigger pulses) from the TR-606 to the clock in of the Roland SH-101. This keeps the SH-101 internal sequencer/arp in time with the TR-606. I am controlling the pitch of the 101 via the CV input (which is directly mapped to pitch) using an external sequencer. I can then transpose the sequence using the keyboard and fiddling with the slider to change the filter etc. The Analog four is more than capable of performing all the necessary CV/trigger/clock duties shown here.

However I don’t see a dedicated pitch CV input (mapped directly to pitch) on the back panel of the Jupiter. Although I’m pretty sure it has it’s own internal sequencer. Definitely has an arp. Maybe someone could chime in and enlighten us on that. If it does have an internal sequencer then your A4 cv’s are free for use on other modulations

Golly though, If you have the cash for a good condition Jupiter 8, go for it. I would love one. You’ll defo get great stuff out of it if you ignore the fact it has no midi and use it with other analog gear. It’ll be a blast

Aaron2 · 2013-12-13T02:49:54.000Z

I think the reason why there’s no CV or Gate in is because you’d need 8 of them – one for each voice of the synthesizer, right?

So, the better option, I think, is to get a MIDI upgrade on the JP-8 and, if you’re hell-bent on using the A4 to control it, that’s the way you’d have to do it. (And before anyone gripes about the cost of a MIDI upgrade, remember this is an $8,000 synth in today’s market.)

Since most monosynths of the era would have had CV/Gate in and outs (like the SH-101 someone mentioned earlier), that would be your best bet – again, if you’re looking to control it with the A4 and want to do so using CV/Gate.

If you ask me (and I realize you didn’t), there are a lot better ways to spend your money than to drop $8,000 on ONE synth. That kind of money buys lots and LOTS of usable, cool kit, vintage or new.

Semitone · 2013-12-13T04:10:40.000Z

Doedshammeran

As others have stated, the money is probably better spent elsewhere unless you have had an loved a Jupiter 8

I would say that the chances of you feeling satisfied with your purchase is risky because of the cost - (7 or 8 grand) which can be spent on several purchases

I bought a Jupiter back when a JP8 dcb 14 bit was 6 thousand
I loved it, and I will get another when I could afford to throw money like that at synths
I also dropped 10 thousand on a CS80, and I can tell you that I truly enjoyed my experiential journey with both, but like almost all machines there is a limited core sound, and though the Jp8 and CS80 are two of my favorite sounding analogs… They start to sound very one sided after a while

If you are after such an analog like the JP8, I would also consider trying to hunt down the elusive Jomox SUNSYN

Best of luck brother

P.S. At least wait till after NAMM until you drop the cash, or you might be sorry Pee Wee Herman )

avantronica · 2013-12-13T10:39:15.000Z

whatever you do, don’t get one to just midi retrofit for use specifically with an A4 as the A4 ain’t gonna work for you in that regard anyway !

RyanElektric · 2013-12-13T10:51:17.000Z

""Semitone"":

Doedshammeran

As others have stated, the money is probably better spent elsewhere unless you have had an loved a Jupiter 8

I would say that the chances of you feeling satisfied with your purchase is risky because of the cost - (7 or 8 grand) which can be spent on several purchases

I bought a Jupiter back when a JP8 dcb 14 bit was 6 thousand
I loved it, and I will get another when I could afford to throw money like that at synths
I also dropped 10 thousand on a CS80, and I can tell you that I truly enjoyed my experiential journey with both, but like almost all machines there is a limited core sound, and though the Jp8 and CS80 are two of my favorite sounding analogs… They start to sound very one sided after a while

If you are after such an analog like the JP8, I would also consider trying to hunt down the elusive Jomox SUNSYN

Best of luck brother

P.S. At least wait till after NAMM until you drop the cash, or you might be sorry Pee Wee Herman )

There was a Sunsyn- that was new in the box, never used- on Craigs List here in LA for $5,600 2 weeks ago. It was gone in a few days.

I seriously almost decided to live on Ramen noodles for a month or two…

RyanElektric · 2013-12-13T10:56:57.000Z

If you can afford a Jupiter, there’s not much to lose if you buy it. At the least, you’ll make your money back on a sale (unless it’s much more than $8,000).

But it has the same CV set up as my Juno 60: you can sync the arp, but you have to tune both the sound of the synth and the gate trigger to really reflect a 1/16 note.

At best, you can make this kind of 80’s stutter bass line (which I happen to love!). The Retrosynth guy sends a rimshot trigger out of a 909, which can be recreated on the A4 (with some fiddling):

Fuseball · 2013-12-13T13:13:40.000Z

If the Jupiter 8 has a DCB socket then you could consider a Kenton PRO-DCB box.

http://www.kentonuk.com/products/items/dcb/prodcb.shtml

I have my Juno 60 hooked up to one of these and it works a treat, both for sending MIDI notes and syncing the arp to MIDI clock.

An Octatrack or Monomachine would then be better for sequencing it. The Jupiter 8 isn’t really a synth designed for CV control.

100_Elektra · 2013-12-15T21:05:32.000Z

Some of the older Oberheim Poly’s allow for CV/Gate control. The OB-X has connections for the first voice and the Xpander for all 6 voices.