Roland JD-08 review and tutorial

The #Roland #JD08 is one of the "Boutique" synths inspired by 1991s JD-800, which brought back an analog style user interface to a digital #synthesizer. In this video, I give a short overview what this box is and does and then create a patch from scratch, using it with the built-in sequencer later. Table of contents:
00:00 intro
00:44 hello
01:06 hardware overview
03:26 creating a patch: layers
03:49 selecting a multisample (sine wave)
04:11 tuning
04:23 amp envelope
05:02 loudness, amp lfo
05:45 second layer
06:14 selecting a multisample (saw wave)
06:24 tuning
06:33 filter and amp envelope
08:21 filter lfo and resonance
09:18 loudness
09:57 effects
10:34 fiinished sound
11:27 the sequencer
11:39 selecting a part
11:49 activating the sequencer, setting sequence length
12:21 step input
13:12 realtime recording
13:46 selecting another part and sound, improvising
14:45 important considerations
15:12 conclusion: is it good?
16:35 bye-bye
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[@thekindacooldad]

your speaking voice is the most interesting instrument on KZbin 🙂

[@mr_floydst]

Eeh, hmkay. Thanks. :)

[@jrodohio]

Great tutorial, Floyd. I've had mine since launch, and I love it!

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you! We had to wait for half a year longer :) But it was worth the wait.

[@dillipphunbar7924]

What a powerful little synth! Nice demo.

[@mr_floydst]

Many thanks!

[@ClemensWennersMusic]

What an awesome unit! I want one! Great video too, as usual!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks, Clemens! A ROMpler with a hands-on UI. A rare thing. :)

[@mikemeengs5720]

Another great video...thanks! I've had mine for almost a week, and REALLY like the massive polyphony. Last night I layered four saw waves, each with slightly different LFO pitch modulation and some random pitch as well. Layered it with itself and far panned each layer. At eight voices per note, it sounds absolutely silky, thick, and rich! I don't know of any other hardware synth that can do this.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! It's a very nice synth, especially considering it's size and price. Most "PCM synths" can score with big polyphony, but most of them suffer from a terrible user interface. The JD-08 (or it's grandfather, the JD-800) doesn't.

[@ernest1205]

AWESOME TUTORIAL! Clear, concise, and efficient,. Please create "10 Things You Might Have Missed" for this unit as you did for the JX-08!!! That too was VERY cool. Thank you so much!

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you very much! I can't do that as I exchanged the JD-08 for the JX-08, but I did a video on the JD's sequencer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnOvq42Ymdh9r9k

[@gavinpeters9531]

Great break down of it! I'm loving mine, now that I know how to use it,

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@PhilB303]

thanks for this, great tutorial for both patches and sequencing... now to have a play!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@TheIndustrialRetrospective]

I had one for about a year and sold it, but I recently re-bought it as I realized I never even scratched the surface of what It can do. thanks for this video, this is great!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@spoppp]

Thanks for the video and the tutorial, you have convinced me to buy one!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! It's a nice synth, and seeing current prices of the D-05, you also see this as an investment of sorts. ;-)

[@RicoTropico]

I finally own it and must say that is amazing synth not only for value but sound and overall functor. Yes, it's not easy to programming due little switches and other controllers but even that. I love it

[@mr_floydst]

Congrats! You can always use the 4 bigger sliders which will always perform the same thing as the last control you touched.

[@JonathanDotExe]

This really good value for money imo. A fully featured modern classic in pocket size :D

[@mr_floydst]

Exactly! It a bit like the EX5, only it fits into a backpack! :)

[@DawlessHouseMusic]

I think this is a must have at the price

[@mr_floydst]

I agree. And (as I said in the video) - I think prices will rise once it's sold out. Look at the D-05 and the 909 and 808 clones...

[@atrothe]

You are afantastic man. I like your voice as well. Just super cool and on it. Thanks mate.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@wiggesobk]

Awesome Tutorial!

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you!

[@aftertheendtimes]

Thank you! dear Floyd for your exellent work and demos aswell a ton of inspiration🙏❤Ive ordered the JD-08,..I think it vill be a creative tool, at a affordable price, as the JD-800 was out of my budget in the early 90's..❤Love cheers

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching, and I hope the synth works well for you!

[@aftertheendtimes]

@@mr_floydst Thank you! i am exited to timetravel back to the JD 90's 😄😆🙏🎹 love cheers to you dear Floyd 😍

[@rexcellencemagee6729]

Hi Floyd! I thought to myself watching this video, man I’d like to have one of these! Then I thought, wait a minute I do have one of these in my Integra 7. I believe it works the exact same way, plus it has a built in Jupiter. So I need to get busy! Lol, another great video!

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you! Yes, sample-based synths are quite similar in architecture. This one is quick to edit with it's 1:1 sliders and knobs.

[@ruffark]

I don’t know how, but I share the same taste in gear you have. Thanks for the review.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I love my 90s stuff. Even the bloated, nested, LCD-hell menu driven workstations. :-)

[@notafunnyuser]

your channel is incredibly underrated, keep up the amazing work!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks! Yeah KZbin doesn't like me, haha. Though I double my stats every year, and '22 was no exception so far.

[@rickr.mortis4821]

Easy to follow. Thanks!!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@Optical_Ollusion]

Great tutorial thank you!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@alexwestconsulting]

thx for the vid. the JD has always amused me for being a return to hands-on analog-style control.....on a completely PCM based 'synth'. Anyway, it just begs to be played with. With the D-5 going up in price and considering the price of an OG JD, I agree that this one will go up too. I just wished I liked the sound of it more.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! I like that sound a lot - it's all up to personal taste, I guess. Some of the samples are looped badly, but you can gloss that over by adding more layers. ;-)

[@dadduorp]

Great vid! I bought one in Feb (22) and have yet to put it through its paces (time limitations). Your video helped a lot. I also have its inspiration, the JD-800 which I’ve had since the early 90’s. Gorgeous machine.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching! Both machines are eye candy, haha. And sound great, too.

[@_mickmccarthy]

Cool! I got the JX-08 back in Jan there, such an awesome little thing. Though the Wailing Guitar patch alone (A18?) on the JD-08 had me considering it!

[@mr_floydst]

Both are great. I'll upload a second video later browsing all the patches in bank A :-)

[@_mickmccarthy]

​@@mr_floydst Woo! Also, I definitely agree on the sysex compatibility (I have loads of JX-8P patches that I need to manually recreate if I want to use them), as well as just better patch management. At the moment all you can do is export/import the entire patch memory.

[@floyd101954]

Wailing Guitar is A-15, It's cheesy but I love it. Give it some mod and fancy pitch bend and it really rocks!

[@oldschoolebm666]

Just got this lil monster. So capable! Great video. Got me going faster.

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you!

[@rexcellencemagee6729]

I really never thought about getting one of these, until I decided to increase the Aria series twice over and the Integra 7/with the SH4D I think can do some cool Roland stuff! Thanks Floyd!

[@mr_floydst]

You're welcome!

[@thefumigator]

Oh my... you mentioned the EX5 and I envy you! I could only dream of an EX5, now... joining the EX5 with the JD, (and maybe the reface dx?) In a jam, would be awesome 👌

[@mr_floydst]

I havn't posted music in a long time ;-) Maybe I'll do it. Thing is music videos are a lot of work (I want to post complete tracks and not jams) and get 1/10 of the views of the other stuff.

[@nameofpersonnumber8390]

Love sample based synths like this. For those who want to save some coin, animoog Z can be used kind of like this and has some awesome waveforms to choose from (I mean... They're moog lol so of course)

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for your feedback!

[@floyd101954]

Great video overview. I've only had my JD-08 about a week now and your video of the various sections of the synth moved me quickly through the learning curve. I actually matched your sound selection and adjustments just to be sure I was absorbing it all. One minor comment and I admit user error on my part, but before I got to the Sequencer section of your video I unintentionally changed to another Preset sound and lost all of the settings I made to the original INIT Sawtooth. I had to start all over again, I just forgot that I needed to save my patch before leaving it. It would have been helpful if you showed how you saved your final patch before you went to the Sequencer part. Being new to this Synth I didn't immediately know how to do this so I went to the Roland User Guide for the steps to save and then recreated your patch again. Not a real big deal but it's always good not assume "newbies to this synth" like me know all of the basics. Anyway, thanks for a great video!

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for your feedback! You're right, that would have been better. Noted! :-)

[@atdubya]

Nice one, ty !

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@laberinttto]

yeeeeep Floyd you are the best!

[@mr_floydst]

You are! :)

[@mayblossomproject]

Great video! I didn't know your channel and right now it's one of my favs. Just one question: Do you know a way for checking any parameter value before moving its corresponding fader? Thx in advance :)

[@mr_floydst]

Thank you! I'm afraid there is no way of finding the current settings that I know of.

[@glenesis]

Hello Floyd. I'm Glenn. Thanks for the great tutorial. I will watch again and follow along with you. Two questions, please: How did you initialize a new patch? And how did you save the patch that you made? Cheers!

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! Saving is really simple, just hold down the patch selection key you want to save in for a second or so. To clear a patch, press "common", then scroll to "util", and in that menu, select "t.clr" and execute that.

[@Georg89]

Thank you for the video, amazing! 🙂 I have one question: How did you connect the nanokey to the JD-08

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for your kind words! I made a video to answer _this_ question specifically: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXgIaIfJt-n9E ;-)

[@gaborb6577]

Thanks. ROLAND family is cool

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for watching!

[@pauloabdalla8599]

Does anyone know if this synth has a ‘hold/sustain without launch the arpeggiator?? I want to leave some patch going on with some movement and I don’t want to use a sustain pedal

[@mr_floydst]

I'm afraid the Arpeggiator is the only way to do that...

[@francist6291]

hello! thanks for the video! one question! what's about the Manual mode with the Manual button? thank you!

[@mr_floydst]

That button can be used for entering notes step by step (enter note, sequencer advances to next step, enter next note, and so on) You can also use it to tie notes (make them longer).

[@saniespinosa8323]

how are u connecting the nano key to the unit? I see there is a usb coming out of the key, and a 5pin entering into the JD, do u have some kind of adapter? how do u go about powering the keyboard if 5pin Midi doesn’t provide power ?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching, I'm using a MIDI USB host be Hobbytech: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXgIaIfJt-n9E

[@messier33]

Hello!! I love your tutorials but I dont found how to save sequence, everytime I turn on it on it keep the factory sequence :(

[@mr_floydst]

Hi! That's nearly the same as saving a sound. Hold the START key and press a number in the NUMBER block until the display shortly flashes. See static.roland.com/manuals/jd-08_reference/eng/17812069.html

[@messier33]

@@mr_floydst oooh Thank you very much for your answer, that resolves every thing, I wanted to ask if you can do a tutorial how to extract the save patches for backup, thank you in advance

[@marcojuno9262]

Mr Steinberg I own A Roland JD 08. I know how to do an original sequence, but I'm having an issue on pattern 22. I'm able to mute Tone A, Tone B, Tone C, and D. And even when I mute all of them, there's another sound and it's a sequence that keeps going. I can't find where it's coming from. How do I find it and how do I edit that sequence from the original factory pattern? I would really appreciate it if you could get back to me. Thank you.

[@mr_floydst]

Sounds like you've discovered the "bitimbrality" feature. ;-) Each sequence has two tracks that can use one sound each. There's an A/B switch in the sequencer menu for choosing the sound you're working with, use that and you're also switching to the second sequencer track.

[@marcojuno9262]

Thank you!

[@patrickdimascio4306]

Im I missing something? How do you write the sound into the bank?

[@mr_floydst]

Hold down the second digit number key until the display flashes.

[@kaylacombe3194]

Hey! I bought the exact same set up as you are using right now (along with the Korg nanoKey 2), but I can't seem to connect the 2 with eachother (I tried to do it with adapters, there's no usb port). How do you connect the two with each other, is it via your laptop or something else? (This is my first instrument ever so sorry if I sound like an idiot).

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! You're right, you can't connect them. You need a USB MIDI host adapter for that, see me video kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXgIaIfJt-n9E for more details.

[@kaylacombe3194]

Thank you for the quick reply! I'll check it out :)

[@NathanChisholm041]

Mate so are these worth buying? Im setting up a DAWless rig to jam on and have a Dreadbox Typhone a Roland MC-101 but would like to add a good sounding digital synth any ideas or will the JD-08 do the job? I make ambient house and some techno sounding tracks ?

[@mr_floydst]

I can't answer that for you. :-) I thought it's a nice breath of "fresh air" after all those virtual analog synths and the theoretical polyphony of 128 (32 min) is nothing to scoff at as well. In the end, I sold mine because it just a little bit too big for mobile usage and in my "studio", I have a Yamaha EX5 which is superior to this box. But if you don't have anything like this, it's a nice thing to have.

[@NathanChisholm041]

@@mr_floydst I'm only after small synths for jaming under the patio hence the small Roland MC-101 and the Dreadbox Typhon which sounds amazing. I also own a Roland JP-8000 but it's just too big even though its a classic. I might stick to my original plan and get the Erica synth baseline. Cheers

[@atrothe]

Is it true that SYSEX was left out of JD08 alltogether. Thus it can not be edited properly on a PC Did they do an update to this?

[@mr_floydst]

Yes, I'm afraid this is true. It's not compatible with the original JD-800's SYSEX, at least.

[@159awi]

I just got one of these. Despite reading the manual, I still can't figure it out. What exactly do the tone sliders do? I can't seem to isolate a tone to edit it. I understand subtractive synthesis, but the JD-8 has a weird spin to it. The presets are awesome though. Does each tone have it's own envelope or does the one envelope apply to all tones?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi! Hm, I thought all those questions were tackled in this video. ;-) Every layer has it's own envelopes both for filter and amp. If all the layers are in edit mode, you can set up the same envelopes for all of them, but if only one layer is selected, the envelopes (and all other settings) apply for that layer only. The tone sliders will always perform the function of the last control you moved.

[@159awi]

​@@mr_floydstYes you did explain. I just had to get some hands on for it to sink in. I see what it's doing now. Actually, your video explains it better than the manual. Thanks for the reply.

[@mr_floydst]

@@159awi Once you wrapped your head around this, you can do so many things! e.g. create a bell-like sound followed by a slowly rising pad sound. The JD08 can also do "sforzando" type envelopes, which isn't the most common feature in synths, sadly.

[@159awi]

@@mr_floydst sadly, I can't get the effects working. You made a delay effect really quickly. I've tweaked it for 30 minutes and still nada.

[@159awi]

Finally got it figured out. Created a decent patch with. It's a great synth, but it's not going to steal me away from my DX reface.

[@harpmanmachine]

How do you link your Nanokey to the JD08?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! I made a video to answer this question specifically ;-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXgIaIfJt-n9E

[@darkillusionsstudios6335]

How did you hook up the Korg to use with this and get power to it?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi! I made a video to answer that question specifically. :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eXgIaIfJt-n9E

[@darkillusionsstudios6335]

Thank you! I will go check it out now 👍🏻

[@MrKeys57]

i se you are a synth wizard, and i do subscribe to your channel - i have this JD08, and now my totally newbie question: everybody says it has 128 sounds/patches, but i can only find 64?? - and i might have more questions later!! - thanks for a nice and educative channel! - Levi in Sweden

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching. Just press the BANK button multiple times to switch through the groups. See static.roland.com/manuals/jd-08_reference/eng/17812067.html?&k=group

[@MrKeys57]

@@mr_floydst yes, so much i understand, lol, but i cannot find more than 64 occupied banks, the rest consists of a singel pure tone, should it be like that, or is my unit faulty? Greetings Levi

[@mr_floydst]

That's how it is. The second group has a couple of patches but mostly empty.

[@MrKeys57]

@@mr_floydst okido! now i understand! thanks! - have a good evening!

[@vegsozoltan5283]

It's disappointing that old sysex's can't be loaded (not even in the VSTi version)!

[@mr_floydst]

Yes indeed. What were they thinking?

[@vegsozoltan5283]

@@mr_floydst interesting, because the D50 VSTi reads the 35yo sysex's.

[@mr_floydst]

@@vegsozoltan5283 I hope they'll fix that with an update but it's been more than half a year since release and nothing happened so far.

[@Wang_jyuan]

why？It’s not perfect

[@valley_robot]

So it’s a rompler then ?

[@mr_floydst]

Yes, this is a ROMpler. (The JX-08 is the virtual analog one). I like ROMplers. I don't understand why people don't like them. :-)

[@JonathanDotExe]

@@mr_floydst In my opinon it doesn't matter from what source the waveform comes from be it virtual analog or sampled. Each have their own ups and downs. While VA supports stuff like PWM and Sync, romplers can offer much more waveforms and also emulate non synth instruments.

[@mr_floydst]

@@JonathanDotExe Entirely agree. At the height of their popularity, ROMplers could do all the synth stuff on samples (see EX5, Kawai 5000, and others)... The only important question really is "does it sound great?" ;-)

[@matszh]

Thanks for showing how to record 2 parts on the sequencer. Someone found a way to transfer patches from the JD800: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoDCdH1-a515mc0 Seems like it works with the Jupiter X/Xm too (!). Question: does the JD-08 work with a USB B to C cable from my Reface DX, without burning something?

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thanks for watching! And that's a great video you shared. Really cool!

[@matszh]

@@mr_floydst Yeah, makes you wonder whether the Zen-core in fact just is a development of the JV/JD-line though?

[@mr_floydst]

I don't think so - zen-core is more of a universal synth content management system. I don't know anything but if I were to make a guess I'd say there's an API somewhere so you can easily design user interfaces, and a number of engines for the different synthesis methods (virtual analog, fm, sample-based...) and they only tweak those engines ever so slightly and provide the original content (samples, patches) for those engines.

[@XavierRadix]

Damnit Floyd, now my G.A.S. levels are rising again...

[@mr_floydst]

There's only one correct video to respond with: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2qsaIhqo9qFlas ;-)

[@kimdiez2681]

Good video but one thing, your terminology about what you called "layers" is not Roland terminology. Roland has called the oscilators in digital synths (from way back) "tones". It takes 4 tones to make up a patch/program etc etc.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks for pointing that out, you're correct.

[@kimdiez2681]

@@mr_floydst YW and I say it very humbly because I respect your knowledge and videos !!

[@M3urs]

How to start the patch from scratch

[@mr_floydst]

There's a function for that, see static.roland.com/manuals/jd-08_reference/eng/17812034.html?&k=init

[@enmodevrai2vrai91]

@@mr_floydst Thanks bro!!

[@CR-sj7xd]

Great explanation Floyd, but not my taste.

[@harpmanmachine]

Nice tutorial …just unclear how to arpeggiate one tone without affecting another tone in a preset

[@mr_floydst]

Hi, thank you! Just tried it: Press the arpeggio button on part a. Then press "common", "part", "b" and turn on or off the arpeggio as needed.

[@jimmybuffet4970]

Eww a nano key! 🤮

[@mr_floydst]

I can see where you're coming from ;-) But it's the smallest MIDI keyboard so there is a place for it. I replaced it with a Donner N25 recently, which has a much better keyboard and a joystick and is only slightly bigger.

[@martinjf467]

Does it have any facility for uploading the partial sound samples the extra JD external cards could add to the original instrument? Our JD is suffering big time now with the infamous key weight red goo problem but we can't replace it with any other instrument if we are unable to use our external card library sounds.

[@mr_floydst]

Unfortunately, that's not the case. It's really a missed opportunity on Roland's behalf.

[@onemaxlight]

bought, tested, bought the only terrible-private-editor on the market, sold immediatly.

[@mr_floydst]

It's hard to argue when I did the same (but not quite as quickly ;-) The JD-08 is great, but my ROMpler needs are covered by other keyboards (and I try to keep my collection as small as possible)

[@onemaxlight]

@@mr_floydst well i wrote a quick summary , i bought it on amazon. I adored it immediately (first impression) and it sounds great. But 1) i connected to my Mac by usb-c and it started to produce terrible buzz noise 2) i do not understand Roland to do NOT create a sysex implementation. It not respond seriously to midi channel. With all partial OFF something still sound in some channels. 3) for similar price of a korg wavestate mk1 or opsix mk1, no librarian? No editor? No oled micro display to read initial parameter of every voice before modify it? 4) is unacceptable this synth sound amazing and with great poliphony but work in a so closed system like a toy for that price 5) it do not read the JD-800 libraries !! Can you imagine? There are tons of amazing sounds and patches but to convert them you have take a degree in programming with coding software (no graphic windows, just editing) handmade by some passionate people. Compliments but NO! 6) i do not want to comment the only editor on the market. Because it is cheap but useless. When you connect it, it not shows the initial parameter due lack of sysex comunication. 7) the master volume knob? Absurde little and put in a position in back impossible to manage Do i forget something? Unbelievable delusion, after 15 day i sent it back in perfect condition. Thank to amazon service to let me try it .. but.. a huge waste of time

[@MrFunktone]

English android talk 🦜 Why not do this video in your native language to avoid this robotic chatter. Great video btw

[@mr_floydst]

Oh, you think my speech delivery is different in my native language? That's cute. :)

[@CR-sj7xd]

Great explanation Floyd, but not my taste.

[@mr_floydst]

Thanks! Fair enough. ;-) I have a knack for 90s gear and ROMplers in particular. Mostly nostalgia, I suppose, but then again, this is a very specific sound that has it's place... somewhere. ;-)