Roland Boutique Modules

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MarkN
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Re: Roland Boutique Modules

Post by MarkN » Thu Jan 28, 2016 1:43 pm

Played a JP-08 at a music store today and it sounded really good, but the interface is so tiny. I hate when people refer to cheap synths as a toy, but it felt like a toy. I've got a Microbrute and some Volcas and it never bothered me at all, but this felt so incrediably tiny . I'm not going to pretend I know Roland's price economics, but how much would the price have gone up for a 1/3 size increase or even Boss sized knobs; you don't even need bigger potentiometers, just bigger knobs.

I'd still pick on up if I found it really cheap on Craigslist, but I think they dropped the ball on this.

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OffYourFace
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Re: Roland Boutique Modules

Post by OffYourFace » Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:23 pm

Yeah most people complain about the JP-08 and how tiny everything is. I'm not a synth player/performer so I just go for one sound and leave it.
I don't find the JU-06 sliders to be too small. It works great for me. I don't know if I need the JP-08... especialy since it's only 4 voice. You need to buy 2 of them to get the 8 voice sound.

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planningtojazz
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Re: Roland Boutique Modules

Post by planningtojazz » Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:05 am

i have the jp08 but i do find the 4 voices to not be enough so im considering buying another one. so, is the ju06 or the jx3p the way to go?

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Sir Simon Milligan
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Re: Roland Boutique Modules

Post by Sir Simon Milligan » Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:05 pm

planningtojazz wrote:i have the jp08 but i do find the 4 voices to not be enough so im considering buying another one. so, is the ju06 or the jx3p the way to go?
I've had a JX-3P and a Juno-106 in the past. The JX has two oscillators so you can get more complex sounds but it lacks pulse width modulation, which the JU has and allows some of my favorite pad sounds. I've always leaned towards the Juno-106 over the JX-3P, but it's just a matter of personal preference. People have always said that the 106 (and the 60) sound sort of same-y no matter what, but that's because those people use the onboard chorus all the time. I would suggest checking out demos of the 3p and 106 on YouTube if you can't try them out locally.

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planningtojazz
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Re: Roland Boutique Modules

Post by planningtojazz » Sun Feb 21, 2016 7:57 am

Sir Simon Milligan wrote:
planningtojazz wrote:i have the jp08 but i do find the 4 voices to not be enough so im considering buying another one. so, is the ju06 or the jx3p the way to go?
I've had a JX-3P and a Juno-106 in the past. The JX has two oscillators so you can get more complex sounds but it lacks pulse width modulation, which the JU has and allows some of my favorite pad sounds. I've always leaned towards the Juno-106 over the JX-3P, but it's just a matter of personal preference. People have always said that the 106 (and the 60) sound sort of same-y no matter what, but that's because those people use the onboard chorus all the time. I would suggest checking out demos of the 3p and 106 on YouTube if you can't try them out locally.
i love my JP-08 but i have other missions in life and simply cannot afford to keep it. if you want an awesome synth for your band. these modules are really the way to go, cant beat the price.

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Re: Roland Boutique Modules

Post by Coldwave » Thu Apr 14, 2016 9:08 am

They're pretty incredible for the price. Not perfect, but definitely usable and very close to the originals in terms of sound.

My favorite is the JX-03, despite the Jupiter 8 being my favorite synth. Maybe I would like the JP-08 more if I had two of them so I could get closer to the real thing as far as number of voices goes. I wasn't too keen on the slider throw length on any of them and was bummed they took away the arp on the JP-08. Other than that, no real complaints.

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Re: Roland Boutique Modules

Post by leppie » Sun Jun 12, 2016 7:45 am

I have had not long after the series came out the JU-06 but while I was on the fence a little about it, last month I ended up buying a the JP-08 as well. It was a bit of an impulse buy but one I'm glad I made. In a way I kinda didn't want to like it because maybe it's being an indie snob or something, but I wanted to dislike it because of how the Jupiter 8 is so out of reach of most people and also how hopeless some software versions have been at getting it's sound, but the JP-08 is a lovely little synth and like with the Ju-06 even if they are half as good as a real Juno and Jupiter, they are still doubly good compared to some synths out there.

One thing that still surprises me though is how good the keyboard attachment is. With it's metal sides and the boutique series metal fronts, it makes them feel like a very solid little keyboard even with the plastic undersides but also the key action is pretty good. I've never had a problem with the size of mini keys but will agree the action is often lacking. I had a Mininova and the keyboard on that was very floppy and horrible. But their is a stiffness to the keys that make it much more comfortable to play I feel.

Having a Roland Boutique on my PC desk with a DAW loaded up and a guitar by the side, it's like having almost instant inspiration to write and record songs.

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