Moog Music Forum

Spitfire wrote:I ordered a JP-08 recently, to sequence and automate with my Elektron Monomachine. Turns out you're right - it doesn't respond to CC's, and with such a limited interface, it damn well should. I was hoping it would make me want to keep the MNM, but I cancelled my order for the Jupe and sold the MNM on Ebay recently.

Oh well, so much for Roland rolling out cool retro stuff. for the record, the TR8 is actually pretty awesome. I'm definitely a fan.

Yeah. That definitely stinks when you find out that the thing you want can't do things the way you want. Glad you found it before you had already purchased it. Sorry to hear about you giving up your MNM. Elektron is a great company that builds awesome (though menu divey) gear.

It is really a shame about the lack of CC or NRPN, because I would love to add some lfos to mine through midi.

Well, I hope you enjoy yours though. They seem to sound pretty good from what I've found online from reputable sources.

Yeah the MNM just wasnt for me. I once had an MD and that sounded too thin for me and again, just not my thing. Even the Analog 4 didn't work out for me. The latter was more about the requisite menu diving than anything else.

Post up a video or two with your JP08 at some point if you can. And who knows, maybe Roland will expand the OS someday and include midi CCs. Seriously, with an Elektron unit, those Rolands would be great in a portable setup. With all the automation and effects routing between the Elektrons and a few Roland boutique units, damn that would be nice. Oh well.

Thanks to them mapping the Sysex messages over at the Roland Clan forum -- I've mapped all the controls for the JP-08 to CC commands using the iOS app TB Midi Stuff. Now, I can automate anything on the Roland. It can be downloaded here.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f69q2s1smwrdt ... .tbms?dl=0

I really do not get what Roland is doing as of late except for the TR-8. I want to like the streamlined design of their synths but cannot get passed the sound quality of even the JD-X series or System 1. Too canned and predictable. The boutique series is like, 'Why?' I don't think the price is that great for how limited they are. Why not get a software synth for less money? I have classic Roland emulations in Reaktor 5 that sound as good imo.

Or maybe I'm just mad because I have sausage links for fingers and can't play mini keys worth a darn.

"That'll do Roland. That'll do."

Sorry you feel that way. Personally, I hate working with software -- takes the fun out of making music. As for the mini keys, they are optional. So you can use a full size controller with it if you want.

@dmodhotr, I'm not sure either. I haven't tried the boutique's, but the JDXi is one of the most dissatisfying keyboards I ever bought; that's alongside the KORG Odyssey, MS-20mini, MicroSTATION, Novation MicroNova, even the CS-101. I admit folks ability to play mini-keys, but they don't feel right to me. I considered getting some Refaces and building up a mini-keys collection... But images of accordions kept haunting my visions. It would have been a space saver, but the mini-key versions and almost all reduced functionality. I would prefer to expend extra space to get extra functionality.

The boutiques from Roland or the small ARP or MS20 from Korg are certainly not examples for any innovative claim. To make it smaller you simply have to adjust a slider on a CAD program. But I really like the portable handy products which makes it easy and convenient to travel with these companions.

Actually, there seem to be a few misconceptions here: the synths ARE velocity sensitive. See http://forum.moogmusic.com/ucp.php?mode ... A8S9FCFXC7