Working with Jupiter-8V reminded me of how impressed I was by Roland’s original panel design. Compared to other synths of the early ’80s, the layout of the Jupiter-8 (a.k.a. JP-8; I’ll also refer to Arturia’s synth as JP-8V from here on) is blissfully intuitive: a single row of sliders and toggle switches that follow the general signal flow of the synth as you look from left to right. It’s amazing how a little detail like this can simplify the sound design process.
SOUND ENGINE
Like in their previous software renderings of vintage analog synths, Arturia has extended the Jupiter in unique and extremely useful ways. First, though, let’s discuss how the JP-8V stays true to the hardware original — we’ll check out the new tricks in the Enhancements section, below.
Oscillators: Each of two oscillators can generate saw, variable pulse, and square waves. Oscillator one also does a triangle wave; oscillator two a sine wave and noise. A VCO modulator section controls the pitch and pulse width amounts. Either or both oscillators’ pitch can be modulated by the LFO and/or envelope 1, with independent amounts for each.
Like the real thing, the JP-8V includes hard sync and cross-modulation. The latter is essentially analog FM, with oscillator 2 modulating oscillator 1’s pitch. Since oscillator 2 also includes a low-frequency mode, the possibilities range from dual-LFO pitch modulation tricks to clangorous distortion effects.
Sonic sandpaper is great when you want it, but the bottom line for any virtual analog synth is overall warmth and texture. As with Arturia’s other models, the JP-8V does not disappoint. Roland’s analog design had a smoothness — vintage buffs often call it a “lush” or “wet” sound — that was less aggressive and brassy than a Moog, Oberheim, or Prophet, but still quite punchy. Arturia faithfully recreates that character, without any of the tuning instabilities that plagued the first generation of Jupiters. If you’re into that kind of analog sound, you can simply crank up the detune knob that Arturia added.
Filters: Another area where Arturia really got things right is the Jupiter’s filter section. Unlike most other synths of the ’80s, the JP-8 had a non-resonant highpass filter (HPF) before the resonant lowpass section. Then, the lowpass filter included a slope switch that toggled between 12dB- and 24dB-per-octave modes. Combined, these two features let you create fairly complex frequency curves, including those nasal bandpass effects, with minimum fuss. Cutoff modulation options include keyboard tracking, LFO, and either of the Jupiter’s two envelopes.
Does Arturia’s filter modeling really sound like a Jupiter, though? I whipped out my trusty Roland SH-101, which, like the JP-8, uses a Curtis filter chip, for a little A/B action. Tech editor Stephen Fortner got to compare his copy to a real, well-maintained JP-8 at a Los Angeles recording studio, and we agree: Arturia has produced a frighteningly accurate model of the Roland filter sound. Granted, there are subtle differences between real analog circuits and a software rendering of them, but the essential character is front and center. I did a bunch of sweeps with varying resonance on both synths and was thoroughly impressed.
Modulation: The original JP-8 employed a single LFO, with sine, saw, square and random waveforms, along with a slider for delaying when modulation began relative to when you struck a key. Accordingly, the JP-8V recreates this section, adding optional tempo sync. For classic Jupiter sounds, this is all you need. For more advanced modulations, there’s the Galaxy feature, which we’ll get to in just a bit.
Keyboard modes: As with the original, the JP-8V includes options for split and dual-layer patches. While the split function is well-suited to playing live in stand-alone mode, the layering function is rather handy as it lets you treat the two layers as a single preset, keeping everything nicely organized.
Arpeggiator: A syncable arpeggiator can be applied to either section of a split keyboard, one of the layers in a dual-layer patch, or the entire keyboard in a single-layer patch. Arturia’s implementation is identical to Roland’s, with four modes and a range of up to four octaves. Most arpeggiators from this era had up, down, and up/down modes, but the JP-8’s added a mode that randomly plays notes from the held chord over the selected range of octaves. Arpeggiating a simple square wave in this fashion was the basis for the percolating riffs in Duran Duran’s “Rio” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” singles. The synth that produced them? Yep — it was the Jupiter-8.
ENHANCEMENTS
Now for some cool stuff that the hardware JP-8 couldn’t do. Clicking on an icon at the top of the JP-8V’s instrument window reveals a display with three tabs: Presets, Effects, and Modulations.
Presets: The preset browser is nicely designed for quickly drilling down through the hundreds of sounds that ship with the JP-8V. There are two “metadata” filters that let you sort based on several tags such as whether a sound is factory- or user-created, keyboard mode (whole, split or dual), project (usually this refers to the sound designer), and instrument type. A filter called “characteristics” is especially useful, as the factory presets have descriptors like “aggressive,” “digital,” “soft,” and so on. Select two criteria, and you can hone in on the sound you’re after. Of course, you can also apply these tags to your own presets.
Effects: While most soft synths include integrated effects you can apply to a finished sound, every stage in the Jupiter’s signal path can have its own insert effect. For example, you could put distortion between the oscillator and filter modules, then add ring mod after the filter but before the volume envelope, then coat the results in stereo delay followed by reverb. With some thought, you can create really exotic textures that have a “How’d they do that?” quality that would be difficult to achieve by traditional means.
Only certain effects are available for each stage. For example, the oscillator and filter inserts offer chorus/flanger, distortion, parametric EQ, phaser, and ring modulation. In the global patch effects chain, you may choose from chorus/flanger, delay, reverb, and phaser in stereo implementations. While it would have been cool to have access to the delay and reverb in the oscillator/filter inserts, it’s easy to see how this could get confusing, since they need longer envelope release times in order to be heard. Arturia found a good balance of flexibility and ease of use in this structure.
Modulations: This tab is for adding modulations beyond what was possible using the original Jupiter’s sound engine. First up is the step sequencer, which resembles the Matrix module found in Propellerhead Reason. This 32-step sequencer (you can choose shorter lengths) can be routed to up to three simultaneous destinations, each of which has independent control over the amount, or intensity, of modulation. Destinations include individual pitch and pulse width for each oscillator, high- and lowpass cutoffs, lowpass resonance, and VCA (volume).
You can sync the sequencer to your host’s tempo in a variety of ways. It can reset every time you strike the keys, or free-run, either continuously or only when the host program is playing. A global step value lets you set note duration for the steps, from half-notes all the way to 128th-notes, for glitchy, stuttery effects.
For entering values for each step, the draw tool allows direct entry, a line tool creates perfect ramp shapes, and a randomizer is for those days when a little serendipity is needed to kick the muses into action. You can embellish your sequence with linking (i.e. ties for longer notes), glide, and accents by clicking on buttons under each step. Glide is great for Roland TB-303-style pitch swoops and hiccups. The accent option goes a step further in that it can also control the attack and decay of each accented event, which sounds awesome when the sequencer is varying the lowpass cutoff frequency.
If they stopped here, Arturia would merely have an incredible instrument on their hands. Instead, they blew the roof off the sucker with an LFO tool called “Galaxy.” If you’re a modulation fanatic, brace yourself.
Visualize two LFOs laid out on an X-Y graph, with multiple routing destinations for each axis. Now, apply a tempo-synced LFO to each axis, so that the modulation values shift rhythmically around the graph’s center. Getting confused? Galaxy provides a visual representation of the LFO movement, and among our audio examples at www.keyboardmag.com/0607121 is a demonstration of Galaxy in action.
But wait, there’s more. A third tempo-synced LFO controls the rotation of the X-Y structure as a whole (see “Galaxy” on page 59). Because each LFO can have its own note value and waveform, the combination can generate complex, undulating rhythmic patterns that pack a real wallop. After using Galaxy for a month, I’m finding it almost impossible to go back to conventional LFOs. It’s that cool.
IN USE
When JP-8V first arrived, I was about to start work on remixes for Gabriel and Dresden, Martin Ten Velden, and Hilary Duff. I figured this would be a great way to put this soft synth through its paces and gauge its usefulness in a real-world context. In a month’s time, I was utterly blown away.
Without applying any of the new enhancements, Arturia’s Jupiter quickly became my first choice for analog sounds of all kinds, including atmospheric pads, plucky staccato riffs, and sassy leads. It has such a flexible yet classic tone, combined with a super-intuitive interface that working with my other analog soft synths felt, well, somewhat laborious.
My infatuation became head-over-heels love when I applied the step sequencer and Galaxy to bass lines and rhythmic riffs. Almost effortlessly, I was able to create those mind-warping, twisted textures that form the basis for much of the luscious electro sound now emanating from overseas. Programming transformed from work to sheer play.
Even after a month, I can only take issue with a few minor details. For one thing, Arturia recently moved from serial number authorization to Syncrosoft dongles. While I respect the need for security, if your laptop has only two USB ports, and they’re in use by your MIDI controller and audio interface, the added clutter of a USB hub is the only way to make room for the dongle.
Another niggle is that in expanded mode, the JP-8V’s window height is greater than 768 pixels, so it easily extends beyond the range of screens on smaller laptops and older displays. A wrinkle when trying to use Ableton Live’s QWERTY note-entry function is that the JP-8V responds fine when first opened, but stops when you change presets. I’ve repeated this bug several times, and it doesn’t happen with any of my other soft synths.
CONCLUSIONS
After a solid month of living with the JP-8V, I can honestly say that it’s my favorite Arturia virtualization so far, perhaps even my favorite analog soft synth — ever. In my line of work, that’s saying a lot. It’s as if you went to your 20-year high school reunion and discovered that your now silicon-enhanced (that’s the kind in computer chips) cheerleader looks better than ever, got a Ph.D. in music synthesis, and only has eyes for you. More to the point, Arturia Jupiter-8V is a clear winner of our Key Buy award.