A3
Roland Jupiter-8
Year of manufacture
1981
Production period
4(1981-84)
Polyphony
8
Oscillators
2(2 VCO)
Waveforms
5+2(Saw, Sine, Variable Pulse, Square, Triangle + PWM + Noise)
Modulation
2(1 LFO+ VCO 2)
Filters
2(1 Low- & 1 High-pass switchable -12dB & -24dB/octave)
Keys
61
Features
10(Glide, Unison, Hold, Bender, Arpeggiator, Random LFO, LFO-Delay, Oscillator-Sync, Crossmodulation, 3 Keymodes)
Sound-Memory
64
The Roland Jupiter-8
Roland’s flagship synthesizer of the 80s was an 8-voice polyphonic beast among synthesizers. There was no midi yet and no storage capability in the synth itself, but it was possible to store on a standard analogue tape/cassette.
Because of its ultra-fast envelope, you can get perfect basslines out of the Jupiter-8. But the synth is also perfect for pads and stabs in higher registers, like you can hear at the beginning of the song “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.Â
Artists such as Depeche Mode, Tangerine Dream and many more like to use the synth. The Jupiter-8 can also be heard in some Queen songs, for example that pad in Radio Gaga!