# Any feedback on Roland Jupiter X/XM or System 8



## pmountford (Jun 22, 2021)

I'm curious to hear thoughts on these 2 HW synths and experiences.

I don't have any Roland synths (though the RD2000 has a few synth presets) and was interested in a mellow, warm poly synth for pads. I do have the Novation Summit (which is currently my favourite and love it - incredible tech support aswell) so I was wondering if the Roland offerings would add much more or a different sound? Interested in the XM arps/drums aswell as the pads. It seems incredible value for money but not sure how much love it is getting. I watched @whinecellar video which is a great comparison although I'm not really after authenticity. Just warmth.


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## whinecellar (Jun 30, 2021)

Thanks for the note re: my comparison video between those two. Both the Jupiter X and System 8 are incredible synths, and would give you exactly what you are after. If you are a fan of Roland’s analog synth era, they will keep you smiling for ages. I’ve had many of those iconic pieces, and sold them all in favor of their modern replacements. Honestly I got tired of the headaches with vintage gear: some of it is fun to own, but it gets tedious wondering if it’s going to work when you turn it on today.

Between those two, the System 8 gets my vote for sheer inspiration, authenticity, and fun factor: it’s the most similar to using the originals, and the modeling is so good that I’d consider it a true stand-in for a Jupiter 8, Juno 106, System 100, JX-3P, etc. It sounds stunning and is easily one of my favorite synths of the last few years. Frankly I think it’s criminally underrated!

The Jupiter X is really great too: the hardware is top notch and it has a handful of things that the System 8 doesn’t - but for my taste much of it is stuck behind a bit of a frustrating interface, which is ironic considering it’s meant to look like a Jupiter 8. Still an incredible piece of gear though!

For those not familiar with the video you referenced, here it is:


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## whinecellar (Jun 30, 2021)

Also, I should mention that the Fantom is right up there with the Jupiter X if you’re a fan of those iconic Roland pieces. It has the same “Zencore” models and then some, and while it’s in more of a workstation-style case, it’s a bit ironic that it’s easier to edit with that big beautiful touchscreen! Might be a good option for you as well. Final thought re: the Fantom and Jupiter X: both have really good filter models of Moog and Sequential synths as well as Roland, so they are truly excellent synths for someone who wants a wide variety of analog flavors in one box…


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## pmountford (Jun 30, 2021)

@whinecellar Thx for this Jim. Does the Jupiter X/XM offer anything that the Fantom doesn't sound wise? I've read/watched quite abit about programming the XM and it seems rather fiddley. Also, I was wondering whether tye Fantom8 would replace my RD2000 (which I do rather like to perform with)?


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## whinecellar (Jun 30, 2021)

pmountford said:


> @whinecellar Thx for this Jim. Does the Jupiter X/XM offer anything that the Fantom doesn't sound wise? I've read/watched quite abit about programming the XM and it seems rather fiddley. Also, I was wondering whether tye Fantom8 would replace my RD2000 (which I do rather like to perform with)?


Sure thing! At the moment, the JPX has the JD-800 model available as an expansion, but I’m betting that will come to the Fantom as well sooner or later. Otherwise, the Fantom and JPX really overlap quite a bit, but I’d say the Fantom is a much more complete synth in terms of its library of sounds - and they’re far more accessible. I actually really like programming on the Fantom: even though it’s not quite knob-per-function, everything you need is right there as a hardware controller: filter, envelopes, etc. - and they’re all dynamically color coded depending on which model you’re working with. It really is a flagship piece. And yes, I’d vastly prefer a Fantom 8 over the RD2000: the Fantom has killer piano modeling facilities, and you can even load your own samples now!


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## pmountford (Jun 30, 2021)

whinecellar said:


> And yes, I’d vastly prefer a Fantom 8 over the RD2000: the Fantom has killer piano modeling facilities, and you can even load your own samples now!


It sounds ideal. (No pun intended) But I've just found out it's 27kg, so another 6kg over the already sturdy RD2000 at 21kg. So abit too heavy to gig with for me. Shame.


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## whinecellar (Jun 30, 2021)

pmountford said:


> It sounds ideal. (No pun intended) But I've just found out it's 27kg, so another 6kg over the already sturdy RD2000 at 21kg. So abit too heavy to gig with for me. Shame.


Yeah, those 88 wooden keys & weights add up - it's a beast of a machine!


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## SNOKing (Aug 5, 2021)

pmountford said:


> I'm curious to hear thoughts on these 2 HW synths and experiences.
> 
> I don't have any Roland synths (though the RD2000 has a few synth presets) and was interested in a mellow, warm poly synth for pads. I do have the Novation Summit (which is currently my favourite and love it - incredible tech support aswell) so I was wondering if the Roland offerings would add much more or a different sound? Interested in the XM arps/drums aswell as the pads. It seems incredible value for money but not sure how much love it is getting. I watched @whinecellar video which is a great comparison although I'm not really after authenticity. Just warmth.


I own a Juipter-Xm and I can honestly say its growing on me. The first week I was just slobbering all over the fact that I finally had a "Jupiter". Then I really started integrating it with my setup and its like a Swiss Army knife. A real cutting edge one. If any of you ever built a synth using an Arduino and the M series Cortex processors this is your best friend and you might be able to do things no synth could ever do... if you had an SDK. On the surface its grand. But once you start making a patch and saving your cutoff preferences it gets dicey. The sound is great but the mechanics of saving a Tone or a Scene or a Scene and Tone together is rather different for me. I come from the world of the XP-10, the Korg iS-40, and the Korg R3. Mechanically the same but functionally in principale I can see the decades of advancements. Sorry... It has astounding pads if you go in and update to the latest firmware 1.50 just released Aug 2021.. and It's the best sounding now. Its been tuned a bit "bugs" fixed and its a monster of polyphony. I sprung for the JD800 and some of the SRX expansions available for purchase for $0.99 so I graded a few and installed them into its incredibly large patch library... It's like a hardware version of Omnisphere. Anyways Ohboy now the JD800 is a must if you really want to see this synth blast its horns. It unlocks full usage of the LFO 2 function within the JD800 engine only. I say this because the LFO2 is used in a controlled "Normalized to subsonic levels" but the JD engine goes to some pretty base patches that formally used its LFO2 and I mean alot. Yes, in short the Xm is a small synth and albeit perfect for studio and gigs, and checks all the boxes for anyone. That's my two cents. Incredible Pads.


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## SNOKing (Aug 5, 2021)

pmountford said:


> It sounds ideal. (No pun intended) But I've just found out it's 27kg, so another 6kg over the already sturdy RD2000 at 21kg. So abit too heavy to gig with for me. Shame.


If you like the RD, go check out a store where the have the Jupitr-X and listen to its RD engine. Its supposed to be the same, but the sound, it just doesn't sound warm.. They only provided 5 patches and they all had a saw wave playing at the end of the keyfollow, so its just buzzy and it bothered me. The other patches play nice....


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## pmountford (Aug 6, 2021)

SNOKing said:


> I own a Juipter-Xm and I can honestly say its growing on me.


Two concerns for me which are holding me back. 1) mini keys 2) not straight forward to program. How do you find this? Having said that, I like what I've heard and the XM seems good value for money.


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