Battle of the Roland Polys. Comparable price, one has a keyboard, one doesn't--which would you choose? Please only respond if you've used both.

i have both.....i like them both.....what do you want to know?

Lucky you!

You know the clicky sound on the beginning and end of sounds with sharp envelopes on the Jupiter 6? Does the MKS80 have the same problem?

Is the bass stronger on the MKS80 or the Jupiter 6?

I noticed that the MKS80 has 2 outputs one for upper and one for lower. If you have only one patch on all the keys can you send VCO1 and VCO2 to seperate outputs?

I've had both...not at the same time, but still.
Hmm...I don't know if I see that as a problem and as far as I know it's only there in the beginning of the envelopes. The envelopes in Jupiter-6 are very fast. Just raise the attack a small step and it will go away.

As far as I remember MKS-80 rev 4 has the same "problem", but not rev 5. I'm not sure about it though.
Yes. There is a bass boost circuit in MKS-80, but you can easily achieve the same thing by using an external EQ.
No, not automatically. But you can use dual mode and disable VCO2 on the first patch and VCO1 on the second patch. Unfortunately you'll lose four voices then.

well ...bass on the MKS is different, i wouldn't say stronger....maybe a bit softer and deeper.....while JP6 has some sort of punchiness that i can get from MKS with some Eqing and compression. I think that MKS needs more processing than JP6 to sit in the mix....but they both need some processing to get the best out of them....

It is really difficult to describe in words what are the diffs between them....

I think that the clicky sound is present on all Rolands of that era , don't know why....it doesn't bother me....

no you can not run VCOs through up/low outs, but you can do some interesting layers with different sounds instead ......

hope this helps a bit....

I'd go for the MKS80 rev4. I have a jupiter 8, but its almost identical, a little different, less attack maybe, but a pretty good rack model of it.

also the outs on the upper and lower are for dual mode. The upper and lower on those units refers to a keyboard split basically, or a like a two part mulitimbral function. You can out the two sounds out for seperate processing.

Thanks for all your helpful responses. I have a Jupiter 6 and I love the sound (except for the clicky envelopes) but I'm leaning towards trading it in for the MKS80 because it is a rackmount.

So Rev 4 uses Curtis chips (SN before 511800=curtis chips), Rev 5 uses custom Roland chips.

I've heard the rev 4 is preferrable. Is this true? amino you say that rev 5 may have less "clicky"sound. can anyone confirm this?

I just realized MKS80 doesnt have an arpeggiator. I guess I could use my sequencer's arpeggiator, but I really like the Jupiter 6 Europa apeggiator. Still leaning towards the MKS80...

Most people think the earlier revs sound a bit thicker, fatter, etc etc.

Maybe I can do it myself...check here:

Nabble - Mks80 rev5 vs rev 4

The MKS-80 is NOT a rack version of the Jupiter-8. They both have 8 voices, but that's about it. They are totally different synths if you look inside them. The Jupiter-6 and MKS-80 (rev 4) however, have interchangeable voice cards. Still they are all Rolands and they have more in common with each other soundwise than with any Oberheim or Sequential synthesizer.

The MKS-80 is arguably a rackmounted Jupiter 6 or 8, its never been thought of anything but that. Its not a true rackmounted version, so it is a bit different, but its got a pretty close sound to the Jupiter 6 or 8. I have played both. The jupiter 8 is better in my opinion.

Agreed; the many online comments suggesting they're about the same are great examples of the misinformation floating around.

After reading all the assessments here i'm dizzy. Too much opinion all over the place. Bottom line they all differ markedly; don't be lazy and expect a definitive answer here, instead go out and find a way to compare directly. They'll all have the same general Roland sound but are still quite different.


They have the same general Roland sound but aren't that similar in many ways actually. The 8 has more of the vintage fuller, slightly more powerful and rawer analog sound of that earlier era while the MKS-80 has your typical mid-80s analog-digital hybrid - tighter, faster envelopes, sharper, more refined sound as heard on other synths such as the VS, along with better midi control. If you consider the time in which a synth came out it's a pretty good clue as to the type of sound characteristic it has.

Short of direct comparisons, online samples or videos can render accurate representations. Regardless of whether the miking is perfect, the character of each synth is still apparent, IMO.


Various music videos that use certain synths. Madonna's mid-80s sound was largely MKS-80 for example, as was Information Society.
YouTube - Madonna Who's That Girl
YouTube - Madonna - Open Your Heart
YouTube - Information society walking away

Jupiter 8:
YouTube - Radio Ga Ga


http://youtube.com/watch?v=gWxYj1zj96I&mode=related&search=


YouTube - Yamaha AN1X Step Sequencer on a Jupiter 8

Take care for one small detail (if you got used to JP-6). On MKS-80's oscillators you can not select all waveforms at the same time. This is a big difference soundwise, specially if you applied PWM to one of them.

Second thing. You might find inspiring the "new" feature on MKS-80 called bass booster, however it will NOT cure the major problem - loss of level as you increase the resonance.

This is simply not true. Jupiter 8 and MKS-80 are COMPLETELY different synthesizers. In oscillator section they have absolutely NOTHING in common. Not a single chip! Although they share the same filter chip IR3109, its design is again different, with JP-8 offering the 12 dB mode - and that is from where majority of famous Jupiter 8 sounds come from.

I haven't seen many fans of the MKS80 on this board up to now.

I have one and use it a lot.
I'm not saying it is better than anything else, or better than the 6 or Jupiter 8.
But I don't think it has to sound 80's either.
It can sound 80's, as it saw widespread use in that era, especially for bass.
But it can produce warm pad sounds, some fab synth strings and some dark techno timbres.
It has a thick analogue sound to my ears.
Yes, it's just another synth.....but it's not bad........not at all bad!

Hey I used to have a MKS 80 and my friend had a jupiter 6 which I've played a bunch.

They aren't similar. Not in price. Not in sound. They do have a brand name in common

The MKS 80 is like a smooth 80s sounding analog synth similar to an Alesis Andromeda (or what I have been told it sounds like). It's definitely big sounding because all those oscillators. You can get lots of bass but not like nasty old synth bass more of a smoother sound. I sold mine last year for 2000. I needed a home studio boost.

The jupiter 6 has a weird sound. I think these are overpriced on ebay. They're over 1000 now and just a couple years ago they were around 600. I think the latter price would be a good one to pay. And then there's my favorite synth - the Juno 60 and it's always cheaper than the jupiter but way better sounding IMO.

I like the jupiter 6 and MKS 80 but they're way too expensive. I would recommend a Juno 60 as a cost effective alternative. I haven't tried the jupiter 8, but I desperately want one, probably just because I'll never be able to afford one.

Good luck

Interesting interpretations, 'cause i don't see many disparaging any of the synths much here. Discussing their differences isn't criticizing anything. I have an MKS, think it's great. In fact i picked it over a Jupiter 8 and a Memorymoog i had. Very different from my other vintage analogs.

No one said it had to sound 80s either, where did that come from LOL of course most synths are widely used & heard the first few years after initial release, so you'll hear it most notably and widely in 80s music, not the same thing at all as "sounding" 80s.

I said 'the board' which was meant to mean not much love for the MKS80 over several threads so far, not particularly this one.



No one has said otherwise and it's been painted as a typically 80's sounding synth:
and:
I'm not upset by these comments or anything, just trying to keep a balance in the debate. The MKS80 sounds much more analogue to my ears than the talk so far has implied. I've never needed outboard (eq and compression) to get the best out of it either and I don't think it sounds much at all like the Prophet VS (I've owned and played both).
I can't add much more to the debate as I've never owned a Jupiter 6. However, if the 6 has an arpeggiator, that would be a plus IMO. The Roland arpeggiators are great.

U just bought a Jupiter 6 and like it HEAPS more than my old MKS-80 which I sold a year ago. i find the sounds from The Jupiter much more useful and aren't as harsh/bright sounding as the MKS-80.

A friend of mine (Clusterchord) made some MKS-80 demos. You might check them before you decide to buy.

MKS-80 rev 4 demos

Enjoy!

I think it comes down to using the piece of gear you are interested in. Roland marketed the MKS-80 as a jupiter, and really took some designs and features of the jupiter 6's and 8's and tried to put them into one box. Obviously to me, it sounds different than jupiter 8 (have one) or a 6 but it still has a quality sound that most people will like, and can do alot of the types of sounds the jupiter can.

As far as the Juno 60, its not a jupiter, but it is the fattest sounding juno out there. In my opinion (and I used one for years) its much bigger sounding than the juno 106. With that being said, all Roland boards to me have that "mid bass character", so in some ways you can get those types of bass sounds on most of there boards. The jupiter series will shine for efx, and pads, stab type sounds, especially the Jupiter 8, its the best Roland I have ever heard, and I have owned most of them at one point. In the end it doesn't matter if you think it sounds like something, if it sounds good to you than you got something you like and can use.

Sounds quite analog, I don't see where that's not been acknowledged. Only in comparison with earlier synths would one notice the relative difference, a bit of an analog-digital flavor that some would prefer, or not.

VS i've also owned; synths in the mid-80s had a tighter digital-analog character to the envelopes, in relation to earlier analog cousins. I'm always referring to the sound relative to what came before, not the absolute sound.

I think Strobian pretty much sums up my opinion on this subject.
Good post. thumbsup

I've got both. I like both. They both sound different, yet similar. Words can't really describe them....but I'd say the JP6 sounds more "femine" and the MKS80 has a soft "orchestral" quality to it. For bass i would choose the MKS. Huge, fat, sweet bottom. For clicky, s***** short sequencery sounding lines - the JP6 all the way. Love both those synths! I haven't noticed a clicking on the attacks of the JP6. Not sure why. I once gave my JP6 away. Long time ago. Then I scored it back for nothing! This was long before analog synths became "vintage". Back then they were just old. I've got to say, that along with my P5, the JP6 is one of most beautiful synths I've ever owned - visually.

Doesn't the JP-4 have only 1 Osc (+sub)/voice - so no osc sync.

If there would be JP-4 with second osc, sync and cross mod, its price today would be close to 2k$.

(Inspired by insane prices that lately went on all Jupiter models on eBay: JP-8 for 2.7k, JP-6 for 1.5k, JP-4 for 1k etc... where will this end?)

I have both a Rev 4 MKS-80 and a Jupiter-6. They sound about 90% the same. The biggest difference being that the Jupiter-6 can select multiple simultaneous waveforms (big plus IMO) and has a configurable lp-hp-bp filter while the MKS-80 can respond to velocity and only has a lp filter. I don't notice the bass boost at 200Hz much. They have the same exact chips in them. I don't think they are exactly the same boards because the Jp6 has extra analog muxes around the filter to change the feedback paths for the different filter types. I can open mine up later to confirm.

I think the JP6 has a slightly wider sonic palette and I like that the front panel has direct feedback from the LFOs. I don't agree with the above poster that the JP6 has fast envelopes. I don't don't consider them overly slow but its not near as fast as a discrete EG like on the Sh-101. Although I don't have one, I would think that the hardware generated EGs in the Juno60/Jupiter8 would also be faster than the JP6/MKS80 software EGs also.

MKS80 != Jupiter 8. Check out the schematics. Even the Roland service notes compare the MKS80 to the JP6. The JP8 is entirely different. IMO the Jupiter-8s sound is 50% from the discrete oscillator, 30% from the filter, 20% from the hardware EGs. The JP-8 shares a similar filter configuration as the SH-101 and the Juno-60 except it has an extra-tap point for a 2-pole response.

I would think the a JP6 + Europa would be a cooler synth. The only negative I can think of is that you either don't have the space for a keyboard or you need velocity response. I don't have the Europa upgrade but all this talk about it has given me extreme GAS!

I've owned one...it just didn't have a warm and full sound to my ears.
I now own a JX-8P which although not built like a tank like the J6, trumps it in the warmth and fullness department. Plus it has osc sync and velocity senstivity which can even be applied to FILTER CUTOFF.

It's better than the juno series too...

Reeno
CDBaby : Discover Music

Cue ferocious response by peglegjoe...

I love this quote from just 3 years ago. heh