A mixer section provides blend between the two, as well as envelope control over output levels.īoth modules offer an awful lot for their price. Two digitally-controlled oscillators get the ball rolling, each with waveform selection options, LFO amount, Range and Tuning dials, as well as cross-modulation between the sound sources. Fortunately, the JX-08 Boutique module offers a combination of both in one instrument, easily allowing you to program sounds from the front panel. Whereas the JD-800 was a slider-laden behemoth, 1985’s JX-8P was the opposite – a sleek, button-heavy powerhouse that required the PG-800 Programmer to offer its fullest capabilities via a tactile control surface. It’s easy to forget just how diverse an instrument the JD-800 was and to be reminded, via the JD-08, is rather wonderful. But the sound is crisp, open, bright, rich and detailed. As the two Layers of a sequence can play separate patterns, toggling between them then choosing which steps of a sequence are active, and then assigning notes and data lanes is quite taxing on both brain and digits until you understand how Roland have organised things. The JD-08 lets you run two layers of sound at once with independent sequences, although you’ll need to read the manual extensively to understand the JD-08’s capabilities in this area. The Palette sliders at the top let you control a whole range of functions on the fly, such as the level between tones, thereby acting as a kind of miniature mixer. Two LFOs are similarly selectable before the JD–08’s key Boutique features not just an arpeggiator, but a clock-able step sequencer that can be programmed note-by-note or in real-time. Most space is saved by offering a sole set of envelope controls in the top-right portion, with a toggle switch below dictating whether you’re adjusting settings for the pitch, filter or amp sections. Beyond that, there are new presets within a total of 256 memory locations for your sounds, alongside Boutique standard features such as External Clock In to sync the JD-08 to other modules in the series.Įach Patch has a four-voice structure with Layers selected on the left-hand side, before a Waveform dial in the Wave Generator (WG) section lets you assign sounds per tone. The four-voice architecture of the JD-800 is ported to the JD-08, including 64 of the original’s presets, 108 waveforms and the two-part multi-effects capabilities. Roland’s decision to turn the JD-800’s user interface into a Boutique modules is bold – how to fit all of the features into a panel measuring six by 12 inches? More importantly, has Roland successfully brought an early 90s classic into the 21st Century? Synth manufacturers have never really gone back to the ‘soft key’ days of burying parameters under the weight of menus. Its huge, deep front panel put synth programmers back in touch with the controls they needed to make original sounds. But without the JD-800, the return to tactile, slider-heavy synth programming might have been postponed for several more years. Ask a synth enthusiast for Roland’s most notable synths of all time and only devotees of this early 90s monster would mention it before Roland’s Juno, Jupiter, SH models. Roland’s JD-800 doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. READ MORE: Roland’s JD-08 and JX-08 Sound Modules pay homage to the brand’s synth history.Roland’s two newest releases, the JD-08 and JX–08, are compact re-issues of an early 1990s classic, the JD-800, and a mid-1980s analogue/digital hybrid, the JX-8P. Offering the sound engines of some of Roland’s most iconic synths along with arpeggiators, powerful sequencers, incredible portability and low-cost, the Boutiques are turning heads. Roland’s Boutique series shows no signs of fatigue.
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