The Secret Behind the Jupiter-4’s Magic | Alamo Music Oscillator Talk

[@odiroot]

I don't ever play any of the synths you talk about, Zach, but I love listening to the background stories on each device you feature.

[@retrosound72]

I like the Jupiter 4 more as the big brother JP-8. A lot more 😄👍

[@moogdome2562]

I paid £250 for mine in 1984. wish I still had it. Greatcemo as usual well done. Thanx.

[@vintagesynths]

Very nice. The Jupiter -4 is really magic. I am very happy that I own one and it will never part from me.

[@mima85]

Pulse waves (and hence square waves) normally _are_ created from sawtooth in analog synths. The sawtooth is being fed to a comparator that outputs a high level signal when the input voltage is above the threshold, and a low level when the input is below. Moving that threshold gives us the various pulse widths, so when the threshold is set at 50% of the amplitude of the input's sawtooth signal, the output of the comparator will be a pure square wave, when set at 75% the output will be a 75% pulse width wave, and so on. That threshold voltage is being driven by the PW control on the synth's panel, and modulating it with the LFO or the envelope gives us the classic analog synth's PWM.

[@asoundlab]

Make sense - I think the oddity here is that the core oscillator starts with a square converts it to a saw imperfectly and then the pulse is based on the odd square derived saw. Good point of clarification, thanks for sharing.

[@mima85]

@@asoundlab You're welcome :-) Yes, oscillators having at their core a 555 are not very common in analog synths, usually they employ other designs, with one of the most common being the Schmitt trigger oscillator, which is a sawtooth-core design. I don't own a Jupiter 4 but hearing the demos I also found that there's something special with its VCOs, they have that sort of "buzzy yet silky" character which is unique to the Jupiter 4.

[@MaxZorin8]

IMO, these oscillator are kind of proto-DCO but made out of analog components.

[@alexandarlfo]

You described my favorite synthesizer in a fresh and simple way I sincerely adore your presentation of the synthesizer

[@LousyFacelift]

Thank you for this great video! It makes perfect sense when trying to figure out what makes the JP-4 so special just by listening to it. I'm a lucky owner for about two weeks now and couldn't be happier!

[@Bananskuden]

It's a wonderful synth. Thanks!

[@Freakydile]

My Jupiter 4 is the one that I will never ever, never ever ever divorce from... Truly, when I play it, I make a trip into the early eighties, in every way possible... You can hear that the square is so special, and the DNA of it is unique. What adds to the experience for me, is that it's slightly detuned, that adds to the analogue feel. I have a JP-6, and that drifts too, but the JP-4 sounds ALWAYS good, where the JP-6 sounds wrong when detuned... The way you can make this thing whine, is incredible... I have no other description than that the VCO's sound like forged iron... I love it most, when the release of the ADSR is wide open, and the filter evelope makes it thin, trough a reduced filter. Right from 5:08 on, THAT is what it really sounds like, so good without the ensemble... 6:16... Please, give it a good clean, it's so dusty... I use patch sheets, but more than that, I use it like a Juno 6, just make it sound... It's sibling the MRS-2 is closely related, but absolutely not just a monophonic JP-4. It chunks basslines that make my intestants move. Nevertheless, the JP-4 is it all for me... I worry what will happen with it, when I siege to excist... It deserves a person that appreciates it fully.

[@kellimitchell4232]

I would love to take that Jupiter 4 off your hands when you cease to exist😭😭😭. I want one just to experience it. My father had one and he always went on and on about how he regretted selling it and could never get his hands on one before he passed away. So I’m on a journey to find one for sure💪🏽

[@Freakydile]

@@kellimitchell4232 you will succeed. Save money and just go for it, it's a great synth!!!

[@seanchristophersynthesizer6999]

Great video! The J4 is in my top 3 best analogs of all time. PLEASE clean those vintage beauties before they star on your channel. They deserve that respect. :)

[@LousyFacelift]

Please answer the question that must automatically come up after mentioning your three favorite synths...

[@seanchristophersynthesizer6999]

@@LousyFacelift Elka Synthex and the Oberheim OB-X.

[@LousyFacelift]

@@seanchristophersynthesizer6999 Thanks! Heard nothing but good things about and from them (on KZbin)!

[@retrosound72]

For more clean sound. 😄👍

[@eancurtis9333]

Amazing

[@MusicFed]

I absolutely love the Jupiter 4. It sounds is very “bouncy” and pops out to the listener. Very 3D sounding and can get wild. That LFO has to be the fastest and slowest Some of its magic got lost in the 8 but they are VERY different animals. Hard to compare a 4 voice single oscillator machine with an 8 voice dual oscillator one with layers and splits I always call the Jupiter 4 a 4 voice mono synth, as it’s got some of the rawness commonly associated to monosynths. It also doesn’t do chords too well as voice stealing is quite in your face but boy it’s got tons of character

[@marmite-land]

LFO-1 on the Jupiter-6 actually goes lower and higher, from 0,04Hz to 100Hz,or even to 400Hz in random mode while the Jupiter-4 goes from 0,1Hz to 80Hz according to the user manuals provided for both synths. Don't worry though, the Jupiter-8's LFO goes only to 40Hz.

[@MusicFed]

@@marmite-land ah ok. I stand corrected then. arigato gozaimasu

[@CDinkle]

Hi Zack, would love to have a link to the article you are referencing!

[@asoundlab]

amsynths.co.uk/home/products/oscillators/am8400-jupiter-4-vco/ - here you go!

[@russ254]

i was looking for that, thanks!

[@mastercylinder1939]

I’d love a Jupiter4, forget the 8, I’ll take a 4.

[@pizzagogo6151]

Great & informative demo thanks! Never had chance to play one, but on KZbin etc they do sound great! Does my head in that no one ( especially Roland themselves) have ever made some sort of hardware clone of what must be a very desirable classic.

[@LousyFacelift]

It may sound weird but the SH-01A with its four voices shares some similarities with the Jupiter 4. Not a real clone of course and not as powerful and organic sounding but it's a remarkable step outside of SH-101 territory towards the sound of a JP-4.

[@pizzagogo6151]

@@LousyFacelift I do actually have an sh01a- it’s pretty good , (especially as you can play chords)...but I don’t love it. Sometimes think of moving it on...& keep hoping Roland will make a damn Boutique JP4🤔

[@sturm9541]

Maybe Behringer will clone this one?

[@pizzagogo6151]

@@sturm9541 yes, given Roland arnt interested, i certainly have my fingered crossed for exactly that!

[@georgegeorgio1751]

Would have liked to hear more fast playing with percussive sounds like bass & funky solo’s there were some at least.

[@richardvanenteren2745]

Very nice video but maybe remove the dust from the magical synth more often 😉.

[@lundsweden]

Those 70s Rolands are so unstable too, which adds so much richness and life to the sound. IMO, the very early synths like the SH-1000/2000 are not that good, I think the golden age of the discrete component era Rolands is 1975 (System 100, SH-5) until the Jupiter 8 in '81. I also like Roland's DCO polys like the Juno series, but they sound so different!

[@falangistavaleroso9689]

I had the 8 in the late 90´s but the 4 is better.

[@infindebula]

In the context of a complete band, I like this beautiful 1981 Canadian new wave classic from The Spoons: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnS3ZIelmrRlgck You just couldn't make a song sound like this without a Jupiter-4. Especially check that soaring keyboard solo in the middle.

[@Jedson66]

People say its thin, is that true? i mean, compared to other ultra expesive analog synths

[@MusicFed]

Many things it is. Thin isn’t one of them

[@iammichaelcarr]

It’s not “thin” but but it’s not like a bass buster like a sh5 would be. I have both. The jp4 is a true poly synth in that it sits in the mix exactly how you’d want a poly to sit. Thin is a way to describe this but I think it’s more of a positive attribute then negative.

[@Bananskuden]

Yes and no. With only one oscillator it doesn't have the same richness as, say, the 8. But it can sound really thick in a different way with the sub oscillator and overdriven VCA (which has a dedicated overdrive led (which is never mentioned by any reviewers)).

[@marmite-land]

It's quite the opposite. The jupiter 6 is thin however, because of the way the filter was implemented

[@marcusholder495]

May Yahweh bless you thanks

[@analogsynthaficionado6027]

It seems many of the analog synthesizers you review are in need of service. Your Jupiter 4's tuning sounds off to me. It is nowhere near as bad as the OB-Xa you reviewed, but still off. You should connect with Switched On in Austin and get your synthesizers repaired. You'll have a much greater appreciation for your synths once they are working correctly. The Jupiter 4 definitely has a very unique character to it that the JP-6 and JP-8 can't recreate. The Jupiter 6 and 8 do have more performance features, but the Jupiter 4 easily holds its own against them when it comes to sound.

[@LousyFacelift]

Sounds fine to me... You can get quite obsessed with trying to tune the JP-4 and "clean up" the sound but these four oscillators will always drift quite a bit no matter what you do and that's part of its charme. I agree listening to the first few notes of this demo feels a little irritating but I think there is some pitch modulation going on, on top of its "natural wonkyness" but the more you listen you can even appreciate these imperfections. This thing is alive like a choir of bagpipes and I love it!

[@spurv]

"The arpeggiator is unique" ... How so?

[@MusicFed]

Pattern is different depending on where you play in the keyboard

[@infindebula]

No "range" function. Instead it plays the lesser of 3 octaves, or to the top of the keyboard. And ... not sure if there is one, but I can't think of an earlier professional synth with an arpeggiator.