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segunda-feira, 16 de janeiro de 2012

One of The 10 greatest synthesizers of all time

I found this article at MusicRadar, very nice comments:

The 10 greatest synthesizers of all time

The machines that changed music
Scot Solida, Mon 26 Oct 2009, 12:14 pm UTC

9. Roland JD-800


It was a difficult decision, putting the JD-800 on the list in lieu of the massively popular D-50. The latter is arguably the classic between the two and represented a major shift in Roland's approach to instrument design and sales. Yet the JD-800 was, frankly, a far better instrument.
Like the D-50, the JD combined sample-based oscillators with a fairly typical signal path that included a resonant filter, envelope generators and the like. However, the JD-800 offered something not available on any other sample-based synthesizer: a bucket load of sliders. Yep, the JD harkened back to the analogue era, offering scads of real-time control (that, alas, could only be transmitted via SysEx). It was big, impressive and utterly sexy, even if it was made mostly of plastic.
More than that, it sounded out-of-this-world. At a time when manufacturers were doing their best to cram as many grainy 8-bit low-rate samples into an instruments' ROM as possible, Roland used only hi-res stuff, resulting in outstanding sound quality.
Alas, the JD-800 was released a decade too soon. The analogue revival was still years off and sales fizzled (at least by D-50 standards). However, Roland knew what it had, and the technology behind the JD-800 would pop up again and again in its best-selling series of rack-mountable MIDI modules.

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Thanks to MusicRadar nice people!


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quarta-feira, 14 de dezembro de 2011

An user review - control back to the player instead of the computer

I found this interesting review at ihavesynth.com

Original posted at: http://ihavesynth.com/review/roland-jd-800/roland-jd-800



Review: Roland JD-800
Posted by Synthattica on 10/10/2009

LA area prog-rock keyboardist. Oberheim MC-3000, Ensoniq SQ2, Kurzweil K2000, Roland VSynth v2.0, Roland D-550, Waldorf MW XT, Novation Supernova Rack, OpenLabs Soundslate, G-Force impOSCar, Arturia V-Collection, Waldorf Largo, OP-XProII, Korg Legacy, NI FM8, B4II, Sampletank 2.5xl, Superwave P8.


I'm going to go out on a limb and say the JD-800 is one of the greatest synthesizers Roland's ever produced.  Not because it is loaded with a ton of features, but because of it's sheer design that I wish Roland would take an opportunity to produce a new line of JD series synths.

Just the LOOK of the JD-800 gives many keyboardists a "synth boner".  While constructed of molded plastic (metal side panels would have helped keep more of these around!), it's build could be described as a bit flimsy, but they were durable enough to be road worthy.

It's the philosophy of this synth that I love so much.

When the JD-800 arrived in 1992, people have had enough of analog (can you actually believe that?!?!?), and digital synthesizers were now all programmed with the idea that users would edit sounds using a computer, so real-time control was sacrificed.  The JD-800 was the first one to step in and say (you know what?  alpha dials suck!  So do tiny little LCD screens and silkscreened menus and graphs to guide you through the synths parameters."

Before close examination, it looks like an 80's pop version of an analog synth, but it's anything but.

What you get is a 26 voice ROM-based digital synthesizer.  The is ONE DCO that controls the sound source of a multitude of sampled waveforms.  After that, the rest of the programming is very familiar to analog synths, with multiple filter choices, envelope sections, dual LFO's, etc.  While this may not sound all that interesting, each sound layers up to 4 of these individual signal paths.  In this sense, the JD-800 becomes something like a super-charged D-50, except the joystick on the D-50 would be replaced with a mixer section.  Personally, I think joystick mixing would have been a better choice when they designed this synth.  It's sound is actually based on the D-50, though updated with better wave ROM.  While 26 voices was certainly a lot for 1992, keep in mind one voice each is used for each partial, so using all 4 partials limits you to a 6 voice instrument, plus two spare voices for whatever. At the end of the signal chain is an assortment of effects that are entirely LCD-menu driven, which makes them a little complicated to edit.

The JD-800 is fully multi-timbral, and multi-mode is where you create your keyboard splits and complex layers.  I generally avoid multi use with this instrument since this synth is really created for thick pads and power-chords, and adding multi layers kills the polyphony.  Also in multi mode is where you'll find the drum section, an editable palatte of drum sounds, many of which became nearly as identifyable as the "digitalnativedance" patch from the D-50.

While the JD-800 was packed with a multitude of usable sounds, Roland created a set of ROM cards that added more waveforms to work with, and come with a memory card to save your specific sound sets using those waveforms.

If you're considering one of these boards, and I HIGHLY recommend them, you should know that there is NO sequencer or appegiator, this is strictly a performance synth.  I believe the panel controls transmit midi control parameters, though I've never used it in that fashion, so I'm not completely sure.

The best uses for the JD-800: brass pads, warm strings, percussive sounds, pan flute type sounds, FX pads.  Drum sounds are usable.NOT good for: pianos, organs, acoustic instruments like upright basses and guitars.

My personal recommendation: slave up a JP-8080, Wavestation, or D-50 to get some truly THICK Roland pads.

Again, this synth doesn't have every bell and whistle, but you can see Roland's intent to replace their two legendary synthesizers: The Jupiter 8 (mostly in appearance and physical analog-style control) and the D-50 (in terms of sound).  What they wound up creating was a synthesizer that took sound control back to the player instead of the computer, and paved the road for the JV series of instruments, that would evolve into the XV series, then ultimately the Fantom series.

.'.

quinta-feira, 14 de abril de 2011

An Collector Item

I found this Roland JD-800 at RolandClans:


Forum member, synth-owner say:

Hedegaard:

"I purchased it new in 1994 and have the brochure, card brochure, all manuals and all the cards except Accordion card. All cards bought from new back in the day, except strings card which I got off E-bay."

It´s really a nice synth collection.

.'.

terça-feira, 24 de agosto de 2010

An user Roland JD800 experience

Here a interesting testimony from a Roland JD-800 owner, posted recently at JD-800 Tech group relating some troubles and happiness with the JD:


Hi to the tech board. I have had the pleasure of owning a JD800 for several
months now and am totally obsessed over it. The JD800 is one gorgeous keyboard
all around.

Keys I have used extensively for projects in the past included: Korg Microkorg

(went through 2 of these before the tiny keys got to me this year), Korg Karma,
Korg Triton, Yamaha S03 (stolen one night), FM7 softsynth and Sampletank
softsynth.

I have moved on from my band days, and now only have the JD800. It can make up

for all of the prelisted synths, although these days a good VA like Korg's
MS2000b would be essential to have too with a digital. Honestly I like the
stable sound of digital oscillators as well, it's another kind of sound tool,
that gives your monophonic lines a "Synclavier"-like feel.

That brings me to the next point - the JD800 feels alive when you are playing

it. I can't describe it, it simply feels like no other synth I have played.
Sure, first thing I remember about the Korg Karma was it having an excellent
keyboard, but to me and the way I was using my tools back then, it was down to
being a killer preset machine. Whereas the JD800, you start playing on sounds
you normally would shun because they just sound like something from the outer
limits! I got the JD800 to finally own a "true synth". I have no regrets, the
JD800 is a very expressive and touching keyboard. The phaser reminds me of the
phaser from the ARP Quadra.

I really want to get deeper into it but I don't have that much time to practice

synth programming. I was always a preset hound but this board is making me want
to get that aspet of it together. I will be trying out the often mentioned
patches on the internet this week.

When I got it of course it needed some good TLC, it was kinda filthy. Contact

cleaner, compressed air and all that. One of the waveforms for the parts in
multi-mode, #4, was wildly going in and out of tune. Sometimes, some patches
using that waveform would sound horrible because of the detuning. A factory
reset was needed to fix that! Never read about this happening to anyone so I
thought I should mention it.
Next I saw the sliders start changing values on their own, though not full-on
possesed mode. Thanks to all the sources on the net I was able to get it open
and clean the entire thing well. It passed all the diag tests, and the
aftertouch is the only quirk on it now.

Otherwise it plays like a dream, and it probably is, as Roland's newer gear

after the JV and XV stuff IMHO does not have the same charm, uniqueness or power
that Roland gear of the past has. One things for sure, they all are unique and
sound unique. Of the newer stuff I liked the Juno Stage, though I have not
played a Fantom yet. The guys at YouTube in the comments are always going back
and forth on Fantom vs. JD800.
V-Synth is interesting in a way since you can use the sample feature to
literally create your own oscillators and voila its a ROMpler, a JD-8000 with no
sliders lol. We'll see how they respond to the newer competition.


By: gdanielak

sexta-feira, 13 de agosto de 2010

Roland JD-800 Custom Pseudo-module

Some interesting pictures at Flickr by Ran Kirlian.


A damaged Roland JD 800

It has the deadly keyboard glue problem that could be fixed by replacing the complete keyboard set.
Jd800-01



Roland JD-800 modded #1

Roland JD-800 with keyboard glue issue being cut and converted into a light pseudo-module version. Still needing cleaning and case closed but works wel..

Complete customization process (in spanish) at celiar.blogspot.com. This is a must see work!


Roland JD-800 modded #1



JD-801 Xpander prototype

Photoshoped prototype of my upcomming JD 800 mod project (how it should look like).

The lost bender & volume controls that uses to be placed at the left of the keyboard will be moved to a external control box.

This picture only meants to be a sketch of the mod. I will post real pictures when it's done.
JD-801 Xpander prototype


Interesting, uhm?

See also:
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    terça-feira, 18 de maio de 2010

    May, 18 - Happy Birthday Rick Wakeman!

    May, 18 is the birthday of Rick Wakeman.

    Master Rick used a JD800, sadly I´ve not yet found a picture using it.

    Thanks for the music Rick!

    (Edited):


    Reply received:

    Thank you for taking the trouble to email me with birthday wishes! I have been so inundated with such an astonishing amount of wonderful e-mails from people like yourself, that it is just not possible to reply to them all, but rest assured that I read each and every one. I hope you understand and thank you once again.

    Cheers
    Rick Wakeman


    terça-feira, 9 de março de 2010

    Roland JD-800 guitar solo with Wah-wah and Distortion pedals

    The Roland JD-800 have some famous distorted guitar sounds.

    Here another good video showing the Guitar patches of the Roland JD-800 with Wah-wah effect pedals.


    The videos was performed by Leonardo (Space4Keys)  with MXR pedals.

    The Nord Lead is used as controller for the JD-800 because the JD keys was broken.
    In this previous post of the same player this can be seen.






    Part II: In this part, at 1.09s the player show the pedals being added to the resulting efect.