Roland JD-800 Model Expansion for ZENOLOGY, JUPITER-X and JUPITER-Xm

[BRIGGS]

It sounds nice!

[paulred67]

Playing with it a couple of hours now and I can say - wow! it sounds gorgeous. I already know, where my money goes after next payday. Can't wait to load it into my Jupiter Xm. Sorry RS Algoritm, you lose this time.

[BRIGGS]

Playing with it a couple of hours now and I can say - wow! it sounds gorgeous. I already know, where my money goes after next payday. Can't wait to load it into my Jupiter Xm. Sorry RS Algoritm, you lose this time.

lol

[Loque]

Hum...maybe i miss something, but i couldnt hear anything which couldnt been done since decades with a bunch of synths and i couldnt see or hear anything, which makes this unique or extraordinary in any way.

What did i miss?

[hurricane]

Hum...maybe i miss something, but i couldnt hear anything which couldnt been done since decades with a bunch of synths and i couldnt see or hear anything, which makes this unique or extraordinary in any way.

What did i miss?

You could say the same thing about the latest rack extensions - what's new about Algoritm (nothing), what's new about PCM2612 (nothing, it's just a bit crusher), what's new about Auto X Compressor (nothing), what's new about Omega DEQ (nothing). So maybe if you and others held rack extensions to the same standard you apparently hold VSTs to, maybe we'd all start getting better rack extensions.

[BRIGGS]

Hum...maybe i miss something, but i couldnt hear anything which couldnt been done since decades with a bunch of synths and i couldnt see or hear anything, which makes this unique or extraordinary in any way.

What did i miss?

"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun."

- some old book nobody reads anymore

[Loque]

Hum...maybe i miss something, but i couldnt hear anything which couldnt been done since decades with a bunch of synths and i couldnt see or hear anything, which makes this unique or extraordinary in any way.

What did i miss?

You could say the same thing about the latest rack extensions - what's new about Algoritm (nothing), what's new about PCM2612 (nothing, it's just a bit crusher), what's new about Auto X Compressor (nothing), what's new about Omega DEQ (nothing). So maybe if you and others held rack extensions to the same standard you apparently hold VSTs to, maybe we'd all start getting better rack extensions.

Yes, exactly. Thats my point. If it doesnt offer something that i do not already have or could achieve, why should i buy this?

Regarding Algoritm, i can do freaking FM with Phase Plant, but if i want to have a pure FM sound with 9 operators, it is a "little bit confusing/unclear" in Phase Plant. So do i need Algoritm? No, probably not and i already have a big bunch of other FM synths. Would i buy Algoritm? Yea, if the price is right or if something would be added, which would make it stand out more compared to other FM synths.

[danc]

The BIG USP for the JD800 was all of the knobs and controllers to edit your sounds, which most digital synths at the time completely lacked.

Now ... what can it do for you in the world of VST?? (other than ticking it off on your Roland A-Z catalogue list). Well... the JD800 is like a D50 on heat.. it has added bells and whistles. If you like the D50 (which I do... I used to own a D50 back in the 80's) then you'll do well with adding it to your collection.

Maybe it has more "attraction" for those that own a Jupiter X/Xm, as you'll have the knobs/controllers to get hands-on with it.

However... back to Loque's point... does it do something you can't do elsewhere - probably not (although it is a very distinct sound due to the hybrid sample/subtractive synth modelling). I have a hardware Jupiter 80 and it has a whole suite of D50 and JD800 sounds in it... along with Juno, SH, Jupiter, TB, TR etc etc. It was the pre-cursor to the X and Xm synths. I get completely lost in sound design on that beast... no it doesn't have all the knobs/controllers of the X/Xm, but it certainly has their sound quality. It has an iPad app, which gives me all the controls on a touch screen (or you can use the in-built touch screen - so it's not crazy menu diving like some old Rolands). The Jupiter 80's sound is nothing but stunning - super big and intricate - it's just a shame it didn't catch on. I am unlikely to buy into the Zenology world just yet, as I have my Roland fix covered in the J80.

You could say the same thing about the latest rack extensions - what's new about Algoritm (nothing), what's new about PCM2612 (nothing, it's just a bit crusher), what's new about Auto X Compressor (nothing), what's new about Omega DEQ (nothing). So maybe if you and others held rack extensions to the same standard you apparently hold VSTs to, maybe we'd all start getting better rack extensions.

Yes, exactly. Thats my point. If it doesnt offer something that i do not already have or could achieve, why should i buy this?

Regarding Algoritm, i can do freaking FM with Phase Plant, but if i want to have a pure FM sound with 9 operators, it is a "little bit confusing/unclear" in Phase Plant. So do i need Algoritm? No, probably not and i already have a big bunch of other FM synths. Would i buy Algoritm? Yea, if the price is right or if something would be added, which would make it stand out more compared to other FM synths.

[paulred67]

JD-800 Model Expansion for my Jupiter Xm is what expansion cards used to be for synths 10-20 years ago. As I am in transition from Reason world to hardware/VST instruments world and stopped investing my money into Propellerhead (Reason Studios) for now, I can afford to spend it somewhere else. Simple as this.

[avasopht]

What did i miss?

You can plonk this into Zenology Pro. Although I've not played with it, it did look like a pretty decent tool for creating new patches.

So while the JD-800 might not be doing anything new, you can modulate it with Zenology and combine it with other Roland sounds.

Kinda basic for us Reasonistas, as we've been able to do this for decades now, but if I ever get back on the Roland Cloud train I think I could have a bit of fun with this.