Exploring the Roland Jupiter 6 | What did I get myself into?

I spent too much money on this. I told myself I shouldn't get it. I knew I didn't need it. I knew it wouldn't add anything to my setup. I knew it would be a project... And yet, I bought it. The Jupiter 6.
The Jupiter 6 belonged to someone I know and have bought other things from. When we started our discussion, only 2 issues were known. The Master 2 knob and the ENV2 keytracking weren't working. I figured I could fix this. Then VCO MOD ENV-1 tracking wasn't working. Then, the unit wouldn't power on at all. They managed to get the power working again (the switch itself wasn't working). So I decided to go ahead with the purchase.
I drove an hour to pick it up.
I got it home and, yes, those issues persisted, but I tested it out and decided right then that this was indeed a mistake. My Prophet 10 is a better synth with less issues. Anyway, a few days passed and I decided it was time to open it up. I replaced the power switch. I tore out the 2 faders that weren't working. I cleaned them and fixed them. I cleaned out a few others that seemed to have intermittent issues.
All seemed well... until I made this video. It was at the very end of this video when I realized that Oscillator 2 has one voice that isn't working correctly. The Pulse wave is silent. Digging deeper into this, I've found that IC36C pins 4 and 5 are not receiving any voltage. This is voice C (or 3). Unfortunately, so far this is beyond my skillset to fix, but it seems something (hopefully common between these two pins, both related to Pulse wave and PWM) is not working. It's not a bad chip, because I swapped chips and the issue persists on the same location, i.e., it didn't follow the chip. One possibility is that this location is not soldered properly, and those two aren't receiving any information. I'm not sure. I'd have to delve deeper, but again, I'm just out of my depths here.
So what are my thoughts now? I'm frustrated that I put so much money into something that really needed more work than I originally thought... But then again, I've also learned a lot, like how to repair faders, how to do some basic IC chip testing.
I am shocked by people saying it's 'cold'. I don't know what that is about at all. Doesn't sound cold at all to me. It sounds like a proper Roland synth. But wow it has a ton of range. I didn't properly capture it here, but a few sounds I have made sounded like hitting a stringed instrument... it's like you can feel the electricity, where I don't often feel that way with the Prophet 10. It's really a great sounding synth. To me, it retains everything I liked about my Juno 6 and added a lot more. The only thing I really miss about the Juno 6 is the better feeling faders and the smoother cutoff when modulated.
All I can say is - I can't wait to have this thing back to 100%.
Happy New Year!

[@Alexandre.Moonwell]

I propose I point out the differences between the Jupiter-6 and 8 (caution : long comment) : The JP-8 uses discreet VCO components which had some issues and were not cheap to make. As a cost cutting measure, the JP-6 uses the same ICs as the Prophet-5, giving you the possibility to mix vaweforms on a single VCO on the JP-6, which is the reason why there are so many cyberpunk-looking LED buttons on the front panel instead of flickable switches and knobs of the JP-8. So now, a sound that would have required the Dual mode of the JP-8 if you wanted a sawtooth, PWM and noise, using 3 oscillators per voice, would now be achieveable with ONE oscillator. Both have Roland's famous and well behaved IR3109 VCF ICs, but they were implemented in series in the JP-8 which resulted in a normal sounding filter, switchable between 2-pole and 4-pole, with a separate HPF that's only used for EQing the bass, whereas the multimode filter design of the JP-6 forced the circuit designers to implement the ICs in a funky way (again, they didn't really know how to actually implement a multimode filter and came up with their own way), and basically the filter is now more "wild" and the resonance will give the filter a slightly more grimm sound. But people like it, so much that there are eurorack versions of the filter for modular synths. Haven't seen a eurorack version of the JP-8 filter. Another problem with the JP-8 is that the enveloppes and LFOs where voltage controlled, which means they were prone to detuning. Normally that's great, it's what warmens the sound, to have slightly off enveloppes and a very slightly drifting LFO, the problem is, this could get quite extreme, to the point where even with the "auto-tune" option, the LFO that was advertised to go as far as 40Hz would no longer get near that frequency, and the enveloppes would sound distinctly different if you waited long enough. That was rare but Roland recieved complaints (for a 3'000$ synth, that's understandable !) and the JP-6 now features digitally controlled enveloppes and LFOs. BUT, the LFO now goes to 100Hz, that's incredible ! Rarely seen in analog synths ! The cross-mod has a more linear behavior on the JP-6 which makes it more useful, but it goes farther that the JP-8 and it's more difficult to find really musical spots. It can be modulated by enveloppe 1 on the JP-6 and stays stationnary on the JP-8. That's useful too ! I don't know why that wasn't a feature on the JP-8, and being an owner of the TAL J-8 VST, i thought it had the option.The arppegiator doesn't feature a random mode on the JP-6 (sad...) the Dual key mode is no longer present (that would reduce the polyphony to 3 voices !) which is really a bummer if you use the synth on stage, but with some planning and an idea of where you want to go, that's not a problem in the studio. Also note that VCO-2 on the JP-6 has a high frequency mode, and while that doesn't sound very special, you can get very convincing glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, organ, clavichord, EPs sounds with this. Some minor improvements is that on the JP-6 portamenti and glissandi can be assigned to the lower, upper, or both panels, as well as arpeggii, whereas on the JP-8, only the lower panel was arpeggio capable and the upper panel only could have portamento/glissando. And, you can start an arppegio sequence from the top if you click the DOWN button first in UP&DOWN mode. What else... Ah ! Yes, the JP-6 doesn't have a sine wave, only LFO-2 is capable of generating one, but VCO-1 is capable of being tuned by half-steps like VCO-2 instead of only by octave like the JP-8. This helps with the cross-mod, as your key will change when you modulate that parameter. That's more for convenience than anything. And to finish, the JP-8 has stereo output, DCB (early MIDI but just for Roland products. Yes you can adapt DCB into MIDI), the JP-6 has very basic MIDI, but MONO OUTPUT ! I hope you can see by this long paragraph the improvements brought by the JP-6 to the Jupiter series, that really should make for a well-rounded synth ! I have the TAL J-8 VST on Cubase next to it (it's a VST done by a single guy in switzerland who has a JP-8 and wished to release a perfect recreation of that synth, you bet it's close sounding) and I compared the basic waveforms using an oscilloscope and an EQ to visualise the frequency peaks. No difference. The raw waves don't sound any colder, although they sound sharper on the JP-6 because the filter goes farther up, but you get the EXACT same result if you switch the JP-8 filter to 12dB mode. Now, the resonance is wild on the JP-6 ! Keep it low cause if you crank it all the way up, you ALMOST get self-oscillation. It distorts the sound in a lovely space-sounding way, and it's really an idea-sparker. The band pass and hi pass options are fantastic as well, you can get sweeps and sharp or hollow tones, you can really PLAY with the harmonics, that's the term, you PLAY with them until you like what you hear and you continue to sculpt the sound. The resonance does sharpen the sound and you'll lose a bit more hi bass than the JP-8, but you know what you can do to fatten the sound ? You add a triangle ! The option's there, use it ! The Jupiter X has an option to use a Juno 106 sawtooth instead of the JP-8 one, being more bassy, well shame on it ! Its ancestor had that feature 40 years ago ! I seriosuly got fatter and rounder tones with the JP-6 than the JP-8. And you know what ? It doesn't stop there. Unison. You get unison detune ! If you detune VCO-1 and VCO-2 enough, and THEN use the unison detune button enough too, oooh mama mia 3 voices supersaw here it is ! If you want a more convincing supersaw, add noise ! It will already be at a pretty low level, being mixed with a sawtooth and then mixed again with the other sawtooth of VCO-1, maybe even with the triangle waves if you decide to bring them out, and you'll get the "tsssssss" glue that holds the 4 saws together. That's why as the JP-8 is rooted in synthpop culture, the JP-6 is also rooted in rave, trance or techno culture. Wild resonance, supersaws, you can see why. So it's fantastic at doing what the JP-8 does, and can go farther in some cases. Think about it, the JP-6 came AFTER the JP-8, why would Roland release a worse synth if they want people to buy it ? Both Jupiters's production stopped in 1985. Okay so, if it's better then, why was it so unpopular and quickly forgotten by the synth community and keyboard players, even Roland themselves don't mention it anywhere on their site! The Jupiter-4 has got more coverage, it's got its own emulation on Roland Cloud ! Well to answer the first part, as I said it's very similar, 90% of the sounds you can make with a JP-8 you can also get on the JP-6, and they will sound the same, even with resonance (you'll just need to turn it down a bit on the JP-6). So in people's mind, where only polyphony counted at the time, the JP-6 was seen as the little brother. Then, more affordable options came to the market, and FM synthesis, and the Junos, and the JX-3P, it was burried by competition, it came too late, to the point where it had become a niche object by the late 1980's, only renowned EDM producers owned one. Even today, it's a collection keyboard. Most of them are in museums or old EDM producers's homes. To answer the second part, is the JP-6 well-known ? Does it have a reputation, does it sell ??? Of course not, so who would buy a Jupiter 6 emulation ? The only reason the Jupiter and Juno X exist is because people know these synths, the sounds they made are recognisable and sought after, to the point where demand arose, and supply was brought. In the end, what's the lesson here ? Well, firstly, reputation makes or breaks a synth, and lastly, it's a great space-sounding synth, especially with resonance. Make a sound with the JP6, it will take it beyond the exosphere. It shouldn't be seen as just a budget jupiter 8, but rather a improvement both in features and price of the jupiter series.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! I love your insight here. I probably need to reread your comment over and over. I’m considering selling it because I like my Prophet 10 a little more. Maybe I’m just overwhelmed with all the gear I have and no good way to store it all.

[@Alexandre.Moonwell]

@@MIDERA your decision, but the jupiter-6 sounds unlike any other, so selling it means you'll be missing out on the jupiter sound... After that, i still support your decision to sell, i strongly believe you only need one good synth rather than several mediocre ones. I only have a jupiter-6 and i'm perfectly content with it because it can do everything effortlessly and be useful in any genre. Don't want to promote consumerism :/

[@DonSolaris]

1) JP-8 does not use ICs for its VCO's. JP-8 is a 100% discrete VCO design. 2) Selecting multiple waveforms on JP-6 is not the same as having independent VCOs. Because the former are phase locked to each other and always sound like a "single" VCO while the later are free running with independent pitch. JP-6 "multiple" waves just alter the overall waveshape, that's all they do. Aside noise button, they certainly don't add "additional" oscillators as you get in JP-8 dual mode.

[@Alexandre.Moonwell]

@@DonSolaris i don't know where i saw the jupiter-8 had ICs for VCOs but you're right. The compound wavshapes don't function as free running oscillators but that's not really a problem and wasn't the point of the Jupiter-6 nor my argument. I think the example i set up is pretty self-explanatory.

[@Dsil303]

@@MIDERA I have both and love them next to each other. The polymod on P10 takes it to places the JP-6 can't go and the multimode filter and omni directional sync takes the JP-6 to places the P10 can't reach. There is some overlap of course, but I'm not going to sell any ;)

[@xisotopex]

when I was a kid, in the summertime I would walk down to Strait music, and play all their synthesizers... the jupiter 8, jupiter 6 juno 6 juno 106 sh101 etc etc... this was probably 1984 or so... they were fine with some weird kid coming in and playing their synths for hours... they just gave me some headphones and let me loose lol... one thing I remember, and this is a weird memory, but I remember the smell of these instruments... cant describe it all these years later but i noticed it then and I remember it now...since then, have never played or owned any of them...

[@MIDERA]

Lovely memory. I used to go to a guitar shop in my town (well, two of them) and just remember wanting to buy all the cool guitars, the cool amps, get fun pedals. I’d spend most of my free time there, chatting with the owners. I’d write music every day, guitar, drums, sing… those were simpler times for sure. Now I hardly play guitar :/

[@marcusholder495]

Very 👍🏽 cool story 😎 👌

[@erichkohl9317]

This may just be experimental noodling, but this is probably the most interesting Jup-6 video I’ve seen on KZbin to date.

[@MIDERA]

Hey thanks Erich - I've seen some great Jupiter 6 videos, so that's quite an compliment. Thanks :)

[@nostandingonlydancin]

I hadn’t been the biggest Roland fan, even though it’s my name, more of a sequential circuits fan - but the Jupiter 6 is one of my dream synths. Fix it. Enjoy it. It’s right there. 🤩

[@MIDERA]

Jupiter 6 never appealed to me! But then a friend offered me one and I just couldn’t say no. I think the synths that I thought about getting were the Xpander, OBXA, and Jupiter 8… but obviously can’t afford some of them and I think I’m good with vintage synths for a while, I’ve put so much effort into repairing this and only a little while playing it!

[@RandyPiscione]

I've heard people say they'd rather have a Jupiter 6 than a Jupiter 8 so don't get discouraged. These are legacy synths, you get them working and pass them down to your kids! Took me two years and a lot of help to get an Oberheim FVS working again. It still has issues sometimes but like me, it's getting old and I have intermittent issues too. Same with my Odyssey, Axxe and Little Brother. It's all part of the ownership experience.

[@MIDERA]

I hear that! I myself have issues and they don’t really go away, just part of aging. Very cool to get these old synths back up and running again. I was tempted to pull every single fader out and clean them up, but decided for now to just do the minimum and clean up the definitely bad ones. I do like how the cleaned ones work, much smoother. It’s nice to learn in the process too! Thanks :) and while I think a Jupiter 8 would be amazing, I’d never in a million years buy one for the prices they go for.

[@PeachBeach]

I share a studio with a guy who has a Jupiter 6 in there (lucky me eh?!) - it's honestly a mammoth and you won't regret your purchase (especially as you are a Roland fan). It has a lot of depth and can sound both like a monster 70s synth AND a 80s monster synth which is quite special. I love the high pass filter - sends everything to another dimension. Enjoy!!!

[@MIDERA]

Oh awesome, yeah, it’s really great so far. Definitely enjoying it! Thanks Joe!

[@Moolanescu]

I can totally relate. 😅 I`m on the same boat, bur with an SY77 (I posted on reddit about it last month). I drove two 3 hours to get it. Bought it cheaper, only to realize there`s gonna be a lot of work to be done after opening it up. Volume faders missing, some weird capacitors mods, phones output not working, push buttons that need to be changed. Already bought parts that sum up more that I paid for the synth, and all of this without the LCD and Disk drive upgrades. But hey, it`s not (necessarily) about the destination, it`s about the journey as well. Just as you said, what you learn during the process and the connection you make with it it`s just priceless. Forget the second thoughts, Jupiter 6 is a dream synth and a wonderful machine. I know for sure that as soon as I finish the restoration process for my SY77 it won`t be going anywhere. As someone stated in a previous comment, it`s a legacy synth. Enjoy!

[@MIDERA]

Oh wow - I LOVE the SY77. Probably the best FM synth out there in my book. I saw someone posting on an SY77 group about a lot of work being done, with mods that seem very odd. Hope that’s not your unit! Good luck with it. That’s a long drive for an SY77!!! But sometimes it’s nice to do a long drive for something fun like synths. I just hope to get some transferable skills after all is said and done! Thanks!

[@Moolanescu]

@@MIDERA Yup, that's my unit alright. 😅

[@myshelby500gt]

You made a great choice and don't beat yourself up over these few issues it's a wonderful machine and I'm sure you will be exploring it for many years to come. Remember the value is not always in what it cost but how it makes you feel deep down and that comes across in your expressive playing. I owned one over 20 years ago and today it's way out of my league price wise. Enjoy it and Happy New Year.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Steve. It has been fun exploring it and actually perhaps even more fun diving in and trying to repair it. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and experience fixing it, thanks to some very kind friends. It sounds like a proper Roland which I didn’t think it would given the reviews online. Quite a fun synth for sure!

[@AlexBallMusic]

You did it! Congrats. Enjoy.

[@MIDERA]

Despite you, and others, suggesting not to get it, I did. 😂 I calculated the odds that I was doing something incredibly stupid, and I went ahead anyway. Thanks for your helpful advice though! In the end, I knew I could for years to come probably get a Super 6… but the same might not be true of a Jupiter 6, and that’s what led me to my decision.

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@MIDERA We've all been there. Sometimes the emotion gets the better of us and the synth we weren't going to buy winds up sat in our studio. We've all been there. 😃 I hope you enjoy it.

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

I too prefer the Jupiter 6 over the 8! Lovely Demo, you won't regret the purchase! PS - Vintage synth nuts always have to have a can of Deoxit F5 on hand 🤣

[@MIDERA]

Thanks for the tip. I actually do have Deoxit F5 on hand! And it made my fader worse, so I had to tear it out and clean it (and a few others) because it just made them hard to move. I’d like to play a Jupiter 8 some day, I doubt my system 8 plug out is at all the same. I swear the Jupiter 6 has snappier envelopes than my Juno 6 had, which seems crazy given the Juno 6 has hardware envelopes. They really did something right on the old Jupiter.

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

@@MIDERA I know, I saw the can in the background of your video! 🙃 I bet the cause of your slider issues was pieces of old, now crispy slider felt breaking off & falling inside the slider over time, and then getting mashed to powder. It is common on these (and the 8) and the only good fix is to remove and disassemble as you did. Tip: Use MG 404b for contact cleaning, not Deoxit. The envelopes in the Jupiter 6 design are digital, but lovely indeed! It came after the Juno 6/60. I can confirm that the System 8 is a very nice modern VA synth, but it does not sound like a JP-8. There is a YT video of a guy doing a direct comparion that I swear is doctored. He gets them to sound way closer than in reality. That said, I think the JP-8 is seriously overrated (certainly in price), I really do prefer the 6. The 8 is a wonderful classic, but I think all of these are superior sonically (per my taste): Octave-Plateau Voyetra 8, all three Oberheim OBs and Matrix 12, Rhodes Chroma, Sequrntial Prophet 5 rev 1/2, Yamaha CS-80 AND 70m.

[@MIDERA]

Ah, I see. That makes sense, didn’t realize the fader spray was in the video. Any idea why one of my faders, which I cleaned, still goes crazy at around 90% max, and then is good on either side of it? I can’t quite figure it out. I’ve removed it like 5 times trying to fix it! I’ll check out that contact cleaner too. And really I should replace the felt dust tabs which seem like they’re disintegrating!

[@SacSynths_Jack_Z]

@@MIDERA The slider porbably needs to be replaced. The carbon track has likely perished entirely at the 90% mark you mentioned. Per the dust covers, if you dont replace them, at least remove them. Leaving them on in that crispy state will just cause more slider issues for you in the future.

[@zalsaper5073]

The criticisms of the Jupiter 6 are valid to some extent. The synth does not have a chorus for the big orchestral sounds, but put a chorus pedal after it and you have some huge and useful sounds. The unison mode can't be matched. If you sell this, I can guarantee that you will miss the sheer wonkiness of this synth. There really is nothing like it. Definitely get this machine working 100%! Mine is in the shop getting the Florian Anwander filter mod done and recap of the power supply for futureproofing. I miss it a lot! BTW, I had trouble reloading the patches through a digital recorder, but playing a cassette through the earphone out worked fine. Enjoy your synth!

[@MIDERA]

Sorry to hear yours is out! I really want to fix mine myself but I clearly don’t have to capacity to understand why one oscillator is not outputting the pulse wave, as it’s not the chip itself that’s the problem. Yes, I can’t wait to have it back to working.

[@zalsaper5073]

@@MIDERA You are sounding great on it, as is, but definitely get it back to working order. I also watched your Chroma Polaris video, and enjoyed it! I then immediately bought one, but that is also in the shop! I am predicting I will get them both back sometime early 2023, as the shop here is overloaded with repairs to vintage synths. All the best to you in 2023!

[@MIDERA]

@@zalsaper5073 My Polaris is in the shop too! It's been there for about a year :S Maybe they're at the same place, haha.

[@djlethal7583]

Just got one about 3 months ago. Have a 106,60 a jx3p and have had them all. Even an 8. Granted mine has the Europa mod. Now , it’s my favorite synth. I love it more everyday I play it. It never ceases to amaze me ! Let’s keep the “cold” thing going haha. 🤫 great synth !!

[@MIDERA]

You liked the Jupiter 6 more than the 8? Do you still have the 106, 60, and JX3P?

[@billrebsamen1810]

I've heard many say that the Europa Mod fixed a lot of ailments on their Jupiter... I tried to get this mod a few years ago but it seems they were not taking orders at the time.... have not checked back in a while. Does anyone know if the Europa Mods are available again?

[@MIDERA]

They are not. But there is the Tauntek mod, although it’s not the same as the Europa mod.

[@thesrabbit]

Sounds incredible and you have honed new skills! It’ll be worth it to get everything working properly.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks :) I have indeed got some new skills (troubleshooting and repairing this synth). And - now it's all working 100%, probably going to replace all of the faders in it though.

[@synthseeker]

Hardly cold. It sounds lovely!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks :)

[@jawoody9745]

I much prefer the Jupiter 6 over the 8. The 8 was candy colored concoctions of oscillator and filter mess. The 6 is a dedicated weirdo! I love mine

[@MIDERA]

Have you played a Prophet 5? I’ve been heavily considering selling the J6 because I just don’t see how it “bests” the P5. I’ve heard from a lot of people that the Jupiter 6 is better than the 8, which is kind of crazy! I have a system 8, but just based on how it looks and feels it’s kind of a let down.

[@syntheticmoment9994]

@@MIDERA The only people on planet earth that will argue that the 6 is better than the 8 are people with a 6 making excuses for not having an 8. The Prophet 5 is a vastly better sounding synth than the 6 as well, that would be a large upgrade for you. The JP6 only sells for what it does because of the name. Sell it and get a Juno 60 for the Roland sound and a Prophet 5 for the American sound and you will never regret it for a second.

[@MIDERA]

Definitely never played a Jupiter 8 before so I can’t say. But it’s also subjective, apart from actual specs stating the Jupiter 8 has better parts, one could easily love the Jupiter 6 for other reasons. Me personally, I sold a Juno 6 to get the Jupiter 6! But agreed that it wasn’t my best move. I also do have a prophet 10, so I’m not lacking for synths. Jupiter 6 is just an oddball to have I guess.

[@syntheticmoment9994]

@@MIDERA I have a 4,6, and 8 among many other things but the only reason I keep the 6 is to say I have them all lol. I've had it since the mid 90's and it has always been the worst well known polysynth to me. Shrill and weedy and build quality sucks compared to the others. Easily my least used synth.

[@lofikorean7051]

great synth

[@MIDERA]

Yes :)

[@betolevrone]

Good work as usual!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Greetings from Tijuana, Mexico

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! And Happy New Year to you too!!!

[@joshuahelmeke]

Most people on KZbin don’t even bother tapping into the sonic range of the Jupiter 6. Orbital still has one, and once you know, you can here it all over there albums. My list of dream keyboards would include the Jupiter 6 (w Europa), YAMAHA DX (w Grey Matter), Casio CZ, Fender Rhodes, Horner Clavichord (w whammy bar kit), a Mellotron (the new digital ones). And, of course, a Mini Moog Model D. I’d send most of them through any one of the the great vintage tape delay machines out there on the market. When it comes to the world of samplers I’d drop money on an old Amiga computer, add a sound card and midi kit to it, then DL some old 8-bit sample software, and presto, it’s a poor-man’s Fairlight! I’d also pick up an Akai S-5000 without any regret. Then I’d go on to make some of the SICKEST Prog House known to mankind. ❤🎉

[@MIDERA]

I can't say I'm tapping into it either - I strangely feel like I took a step down with selling the Juno 6 for the Jupiter 6. It sure can go crazy, but it doesn't go crazy in a melodic way, which is where I find it too challenging to use. The Polaris also spoiled me with per voice LFOs. With the amount of gear I have (which is far too much), it is difficult to use all the gear I have in any sort of meaningful way. Really should cut down on what I have here. I had a mirage and it was an amazing, but confusing, sampler. S-5000 and Amiga would be pretty sweet though!

[@joshuahelmeke]

@@MIDERA understood. The Juno fam in general are ideal an a lot of ways. Especially the Juno 6/60. I just live across the river from you (in the twin cities). If you feel like you want to get rid of the Jupiter 6 in the future. I’d be willing to take a look at it. I’m in the middle of changing careers right now. So it’d be a year or two out… I’ll check in about if/when I’m able to.

[@Digiphex]

You might have a cold solder joint which comes with age. Try heating it to molten. I had a J6 years ago and the seller said it had problems. However, I sent off the board to have a new battery and the Europa and it fixed all issues. It seems that the tape programming system was screwing it up. All in all, I didn't like the sound of it compared to other synths so I sold it for 2K. I guess they are going for more now. Congrats on getting one, we should experience all the 80's synths at least once!

[@MIDERA]

The voice that’s bad is socketed, I’m going to pull it out and turn it over and see if it just isn’t soldered properly and doesn’t have continuity. That’s the simplest fix, if that’s what’s wrong. Here’s hoping, otherwise it goes beyond my skills. Thanks for the comments! I like the sound so far, but who knows long term, I try not to accept the honeymoon phase as gospel.

[@billrebsamen1810]

My Jupiter 6 has had intermittent issues but it is certainly a treasure. In fact, all my vintage synths have had issues (and some still have issues). That's the vintage part I do not enjoy! I recently bought the Roland Juno X and have really enjoyed the familiar layout and possibilities it offers. I'm totally over the fact that it is not analog. The fun factor makes up for that!

[@MIDERA]

Yeah - I also don't like that aspect. Some vintage stuff I've had if I don't turn it on, it just doesn't work! My Polaris has been in the shop since February 2022.

[@MIDERA]

Also - I have a System 8 and agree, it doesn't matter if it's digital or analog, as long as it sounds good!

[@emptyvesselnz]

sometimes it's just nice to indulge, enjoy it for a while, move it on later if you feel you need or want to. Buy the present for the younger you who couldn't afford this when it was new (yeah I bought an OG Wavestation a while back for that me, it also requires quite a bit more work than was suggested by the seller...). At least with gear like this you can be assured its value should, at worst, not go down. I tell myself this kind of thing (and classic cars, another expensive hobby/obsession/vice) is like savings but more fun than numbers on a bank balance. :) Lovely improvising as always.

[@MIDERA]

I tried to get my mother-in-law's classic BMW car that's just sitting in her garage - she offered it to me for free. But then when I went to check it out she kept talking about how she's going to fix it up... she clearly had reneged on offering it to me, but refused to admit it. It's ok. I like my 2003 Beetle, lol. I wouldn't have had a place to store the BMW... I just looked it up, it was a 320i M10. Cool car :/ but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Once I get this back up and running 100%, I think it will be worth $1000-$2000 more than I paid. Really hoping my friends who know anything about circuits can help me troubleshoot!

[@emptyvesselnz]

@@MIDERA ah yeah, cars are a whole other money pit really but I can't help but love them. For sure you will do ok from the Jupiter if you decide to pass it on but in the mean time it's been interesting reading your thoughts on it compared to the Prophet.

[@ultimatefab]

Great piece of music, congratulations ! What reverb/delay do you use on this video ?

[@MIDERA]

Oof, I didn’t write it down. I have no idea, if there’s a delay on there it’s either the El cap or Volante. If there’s not, it’s just Eventide blackhole VST. Thanks :)

[@DoctorRevers]

Lovely thing that

[@MIDERA]

Yeah, agreed!

[@sonicultura]

Totally agree! It has so much character to for example my OB-6. I think it kills it tbh. The sound is just totally amazing in this one! :) What effect are you using here the reverb sounds very lush! Cheers!

[@sonicultura]

Sorry I just saw it now and I will also hook it up to my H9 for some lush reverb to it... Cheers and hope to hear more when it's up and totally running again! Lovely sounds! Thanks!

[@MIDERA]

Interesting. I tried out the OB6. I think given more time I’d enjoy it more. I actually think the JP6 kinda lacks character! Reminds me a lot of the P5, where I think they’re good but there’s nothing where I say “oh THAT sound.” It’s a great synth, but in some ways, I prefer the JX3P and Juno 6. I do dearly miss that Juno 6 now :( but I sold it to buy the JP6!

[@kgbinfo]

You got it!!!

[@MIDERA]

Yes, indeed!!! 🎉

[@Soundartprojekt]

Great

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!!!

[@lashtal]

Sometimes working with limitations can be surprisingly good for the creative process. Still, I'd want whatever I have to be at 100%, but in the right hands, it doesn't sound limited at all. Quite expansive. I can hear the "cold", not a bad cold, but is present. Like the chill of outer space, as opposed to the chill of the arctic. The former has deep exploratory implications, the latter is just unsurvivable and not as romanticized. I'd say keep it for a year, probably do a little more tinkering on synth forums, and if it's still not for you; there's plenty of people who'd be happy to take it off your hands, and would appreciate the improvements. This video, and another one demonstrating more of it's musicality in context, in company with this experimental video would probably help in finding a new owner if the decision isn't to keep it. These things are always becoming less and les available, so if you held onto it for ten years, and just let it sit, dusting it every now and then, it'd climb at least another 500 bucks, just sitting somewhere, due to scarcity.

[@MIDERA]

Agreed. I made another audio demo of it that was way more musical, but alas I hadn’t filmed it, obviously. I just wasn’t really “on” with this one and kept creating really discordant sounds. Once I get it back to 100% I hope to make some music with it! Thanks for the comment :)

[@lashtal]

@@MIDERA Yeah, there's no question about your ability as a musician, and your ear; I think it's why we're such appreciators of what you do, but there's definitely Something to being able to click with an instrument. You can also see it as a challenge, too. For instance, I have a friend who can NAIL any retro/mo-town type song, but as a challenge, I'd ask her to cover Laurie Anderson's "Superman". I think we all need a good challenge sometimes, and this might be it for you. What's funny is I hear the coldness people describe in this instrument, but it's not dead or stale like digital, it's analog, so it's Moving. If I were to listen to your Prophet 10 video again, or anyone's for that matter, there's a real noticeable difference in tonal warmth. But I think as musicians, we need all kinds of colours to fill our palette, so diversity in the studio can be good as well. I for instance have abhorred the sound of digital synths and VST's the moment I heard analog, so I stopped touching them, regarding them as cheap or cold. But if one compliments warmth with cold, it can sound very nice. I think the real challenge for any artist is to find art in everything. A musician can hear a generator and hear some drum beat at some BPM, or a song in a person's casual conversation voice, etc. I think a lot of what we do, how we perceive our art, our world, our instruments, etc. Can be so subjective and change so much overtime. But always do what feels Natural to you, and that it makes you Happy. The moment you're not happy about it, it doesn't become fun anymore, and it should always be fun, I believe, or it becomes torture, not fun, but work, and perhaps not the kind that is pleasing.

[@lab-by-the-sea]

Happy new year! What FX did you use in the video?

[@MIDERA]

Hi - I used Eventide Blackhole VST. Thanks

[@4estral]

Sounds awesome even as it is. What reverb/delay are you using here?

[@MIDERA]

Eventide Blackhole VST, I guess I was too annoyed when I posted it to put that in the description, I’ll update it shortly. Thanks!

[@Dsil303]

Any news? Did you find the cause of voice 3 and/or were you able to fix it?

[@MIDERA]

Yes - I actually made a word document going through the whole process... Honestly, I should make it into a webpage on my site.

[@Dsil303]

@@MIDERA great news! Congrats! You are on gearslutz as well aren't you? Yeah I'd love to read what it was and how you fixed it. My JP-6 has a voice that crackled, my tech (I'm not qualified to fix it myself) probably found the cause, but is stopped doing funny so we decided not to change any parts but see when it acts up again and try to find the cause than.

[@MIDERA]

I am on GS, yes. I remember wanting to share it with a tech group on Facebook but they were very rude and pretentious so I just didn’t want them to benefit from my work. Probably childish, and probably none of them cared anyway… I might throw it up on my site…. It was a bad trace on mine.

[@Dsil303]

@@MIDERA I just turned mine on after a holiday and sadly the 2 voices are acting up again :( so it has to go back into repair.

[@xisotopex]

I think that if you can afford one of these, its worth it. at the very least you will realize that they do not offer anything beyond what more modern instruments are capable of, and you can easily sell it... OTOH, if you love it, then thats all that matters... its an emotional decision, not necessarily a rational one. if I could afford one I would 100% get one, just to try it for a while for sure!

[@MIDERA]

Yeah, that was my thought. I will say it does have a really particular sound that is very interesting to me, I quite enjoy it! But I never enjoy things that aren’t working 100%. My hope is that my voice issue is something easy, like poor soldering on the chip that isn’t working.

[@NigelCruickshank]

Did you sell it?

[@MIDERA]

I did not!

[@NigelCruickshank]

Great! I’ve been loving Jup6 lately. Did you manage to fix the missing voice?

[@christdolphin69]

o yea

[@MIDERA]

Hehehe, thanks :)