I got tired of touchscreens and wanted real knobs and sliders to make sounds. The Jupiter-X is the nicest synthesizer I have ever touched. Every control feels premium, and it is the fastest synth keyboard action I have ever played. It's got the pitch/mod joystick, two sliders, three switches, and then two more wheels above that which you can use to control the sounds you make, in addition to all the analog basics laid out across the top. The analog models sound great, and you have a huge library of current and past Roland sounds to use as a starting point and in layers. The iArpeggio feature is fun to play along with.

I'm deducting a star because a flagship shouldn't have so many half-baked features, even if they're not the most important ones. The vocoder has just two presets with nothing you can adjust, meaning it is less capable than an JD-Xi or a $GO:KEYS 5. Roland wants to sell you Roland Cloud and the vocal designer pack. I don't have a problem with synths being upgradable, but I do have a problem that the baseline functionality is below much less expensive devices. Even though iArpeggio is a heavily marketed feature, particularly in how it can create a drum part, the drum kits themselves cannot be adjusted, not even the volume or mute of each drum. Why even include drum kits if they are not fully implemented? The patch editor as it runs on my Mac works but looks sloppy and unprofessional. The text is overly large and no matter how you size the window, you have to scroll. It does not use shortcuts and modifier keys the way other music software does. These are not major features of why you would buy this synth, but a five-star product wouldn't have so many half-baked things bolted on.

The Jupiter-X is a flexible great sounding machine that shows real promise. This is especially true if you are on board with the Cloud and Zen-Core eco-system, which I am. This keyboard has the promise as part of a dynamic growing platform, as long as Roland continues to expand on it. So far they appear to have had a pretty good track record beyond their usual with this. I love my Jupiter, but can not give it a full perfect score, although it has the potential to be truly great. I believe this machine will keep me busy for many years. I could go on for pages, but will just mention a couple highlights.

Pro
The sound, functionality, and connectivity are outstanding. Hands on front panel accessibility for sound crafting is good. This is a beautiful machine that pays tribute to the classics wonderfully.

The software editor, which I would not want to do without

ZenCore and the ability to craft and transfer sounds from your PC and other systems. Expansion models (Roland, please add more like Jupiter 4 & 6 or others).

The ability to record multiple audio midi parts simultaneous

The keypad is outstanding. 61 keys is the minimum for a high end synth for me.

The Jupiter is built like a tank at very high quality. It is like the Boss Pedal of keyboards. The faders and knobs all feel great at high resolution.

Cons
Tiny strangely placed screen for where menu diving is needed

The aftertouch is a bit stiff and takes a good bit of pressure to kick in. It is still useful though.

The software editor is a great start, but need a little work. It can crash often when rearranging scenes and tones. I use this software constantly. Please add access to other system parameters.

I wish panel controls responded to midi and not sysex. It took me while a while to figure out how to manage external part automation and there was not a lot of help out there for guidance. Maybe this is typical and I am too much of a newbie on this subject.

Scenes and parts take getting use to. There is certainly a learning curve, but after you get certain core concepts, it is not too bad. This is not totally a con though. After you understand certain core concepts, this synth can be pretty easy to use. That being said, it is not just about what is in the box. The Jupiter is part of a very DEEP architecture that can keep you busy for a long time learning and tweaking. You could just turn on i-Arp pick a built in scene and just have fun though.

The WC-1 is a wholly different subject. I am still waiting for mine as availability has not been very good it seems. I feel that functionality will be terrific, but should be built in. I may comment more on that later when I have had it for a while.

Bottom line, the Jupiter-X is FUN!! But also a seriously useful instrument as well. I do not care one bit that it is digital. The sound is terrific and all the benefits of digital polyphony and features are well worth it. There are those who will talk down Roland Cloud and subscription models, but I enjoy all of its benefits.

I bought a Jupiter-X in June, 2021. The keyboard was never gigged, always has a cover on it, and is in a non-smoking studio. It is literally in brand new condition. I've always updated the firmware as updates were released by Roland, and I've added a couple of sound packs. It's also important to understand that my keyboard was not heavily used. That's the background.

In early 2024, the keyboard experienced occasional lock-ups while playing. Cycling the power always fixed the problem, but a keyboard that locks up never provides the user with confidence. Then, it started to just shut down on its own (yes, the auto shutdown was disabled). It should not have been doing this. On a few occasions, it would not restart, and could only be restarted by reloading the firmware. Sometimes, it would lock up and could not be shut down by the power button. I had to physically pull the power cord out.

I took the keyboard to a Roland certified repair shop and also recommended that the repairman discuss the problem with Sweetwater techs if Roland was not able to provide guidance. The keyboard was out of warranty, so I knew that I would be paying for the repairs either way. The repair shop tried to contact Roland on 2 occasions, and Roland never responded (TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE). To make matters worse, the Sweetwater tech refused to talk to him, claiming that they could only talk to the owner. ROLAND AND SWEETWATER, YOU'VE GOT TO DO BETTER THAN THIS. If a repair shop has my keyboard, they are acting on my behalf, period. After replacing the main board for $275, they keyboard is still running, but I have my doubts about the long-term viability of this thing.

Roland, listen up. I will NEVER be purchasing another product from you. I've owned 5 Roland keyboards and 2 sound modules, but I'm done with you after this.

Sweetwater, listen up. You've got to help solve problems for the customers that spend their hard-earned money. If Roland blows off the repairman, then, you need to exercise some muscle and get some action for YOUR customer.

Potential buyers of the Roland Jupiter-X, beware. It's a really cool keyboard and fun to play, but my experience has not been pleasant.

This is like the incarnation of the iconic jupiter8 with a modern digital spirit and incredible Zen-core sounds, I love the "I arpeggios" and playing this synth is really a joy with all those fat lead sounds!!
I also own 2 sets of Roland Fantom that I purchased from sweetwater and I should admit that "Jupiter-X" is completely a different beast, it might not be as comprehensive as Fantom but it's definitely one of the best synths on the current market!

Plug ins are great for forming ideas but when you record with this it is a big difference!

This keyboard has so much to it and plenty of depth but it's also extremely accessible and not overwhelming at the same time. The iArp is great when you want a jam partner and has plenty of options to help you get your creative juices flowing. There's so much value in this keyboard and so many features when you really want to learn it 100%. Honestly worth more than it goes for. This a 100% a lifetime keyboard.

This Jupiter is really good at what it does. The sounds are good and some better than the originals. If you can tell the difference then you must have some sort of pretentious, sonic ability built into your ear canals and or you're repeating what others have said who haven't even played it. It's built tough, bright, inspirational, intuitive in some sense, and creatively fun. The layering capabilities are phenomenal for creating tonal bliss. Something any Jupiter can't do. As I love my old Jupiter 6 since I was a kid, and it still works, this one is just quite different and special because I wouldn't want an instrument that mimics it. I would say the only thing I don't like about what Roland did with this one, is make it more complicated than it needs to be with saving patches. It's just not clear. Even with all the updates and video help there is, since I've had it for a few years, and ... please,... come on Roland...just let us save a patch, and if it's layered, let it save the patch in that set with one button push. Other than that engineering flaw, I'd say this is a beautiful instrument in more ways than one and it will be an inspirational instrument for years to come.

Solid workhorse synthesizer. It does all the vintage Roland sounds extremely well with none of the hassle of maintaining a 30+ year old machine. Be warned - this is an incredibly complex instrument with an extremely steep learning curve, but once you get past it sound design is practically effortless.

You could go with a few synthesizers today that produce their own unique sound. Ranging from the Moog One, and Moog Matriarch which are both unique, difference sounding Moog tones. You could go with Sequential's tone on the classic Prophet-5 line, or Yamaha's FM-X fm synthesis based Montage instruments. Or now the OB-X8 with Oberheim's current creation we have all the classic synthesizer tones available to purchase once again to make music and sound with. All great unique sounding tones. The rest of the industry is copying these designs at the moment. Then there is Roland's way. Their classic line of Jupiter synthesizers do not need any explanation. We can argue forever which of the synthesizer methods from all these manufacturers sounds best. But they are all different and rightly so. But I digress. Roland has reentered into the modern era with a product that represents their way of doing things. The Roland Jupiter-X is truly a modern synthesizer instrument with its own tone. If there was one feature that I will say is a negative for this product its the included 'three vintage filters' type. Just not necessary. I am buying the Jupiter-X for Roland's heritage, not Moog or Sequential. If i want their sound I will go buy one of their modern products. I am nit picking on the Jupiter-X because that is the only thing I found unnecessary with this whole synthesizer. The way Roland engineered this digital synthesizer to produce modeled analog subtractive synthesis is just amazing. It just sounds amazing. The controls are even amazing with the level of resolution to sweep and move through a digital parameter and make it sound completely seamless to the human ear like the tone was coming from a purely analog source. Amazing. I don't think people really understand how advanced this new Jupiter is over the previous generations. Let me say this Jupiter-8 was not a bad sounding synthesizer, just the contrary maybe the best poly-synthesizer ever. With that said. The Jupiter-X makes the Jupiter-8 sound bad. There was a previous review on this site that said 'the jupiter-x sounds great but its not a jupiter-8', or something to that. Well they really do not know what a Jupiter-8 sounds like or they just do not know what they are talking about. What is great about this being a digital Jupiter is that now features can be updated as well as functions on a constant basis. But in terms of pure instrument tone as an instrument it sounds better than any Roland product of the past.

I've had my ROLAND JUPITER-X for just over a year now and am still in complete awe of it. I've been a long time ROLAND user since around the mid-1980's and am extremely impressed by what they've been able to accomplish with this Instrument. It is truly a masterpiece of modern technology.

The Jupiter X is a monster synth. I have either owned, or still own, many of the vintage pieces of gear that the Jupiter X emulates and for 98% of what I do the X is what I'll end up using. It's less temperamental and fragile than my vintage Juno's and still nails the sounds. There are some quirks, but for the price I have absolutely no complaints!

PROS:

The sounds are the highlight of this synth. It can nail just about any kind of tone I'd ever want, especially Roland tones from any era. It can sound very warm and analog, and in a mix is is basically impossible to tell that it isn't one of the original instruments.

The Scenes are actually a surprisingly great way to organize sounds once you get used to them, especially for live performances. I didn't buy the Jupiter X for this, but after a few weeks of using it I've really grown to love how the sounds and parameters are organized and saved together.

It's made extremely well, I have absolutely no complaints at all regarding the quality of this instrument. It looks and feels incredible, and you can immediately tell it's a high end instrument.

CONS:

I will admit, I understand why some people just don't click with this synth. The organization of sounds is rather confusing at first, so reading the manual (a few times) is an absolute must. Once you understand the synth and get comfortable with editing, it is actually quite easy to navigate and make changes on the fly.

I do wish there was a "Panel Mode" button that would just open up a Jupiter 8 initialized tone and just let you use the knobs and faders to shape the tone. You can certainly do this (for any of the synth models), and it just takes a few clicks, but a single button would be great. The firmware updates have been excellent

Roland is also a bit of a conundrum when it comes to interfacing with a PC. Currently, you must use a flash drive to update the OS, load new sound packs and wave packs, etc. In early 2022 it seems they are selling a USB stick that will connect via bluetooth to an iOS/Android device and let you upddate directly from there - but it costs $ and just using a simple USB cable would be quite nice. The PC editor is also...mediocre. Yes, it can do just about anything, but it would be a lot easier if the menus were laid out in a way that was more like the original instruments. I generally don't use it as its actually quite easy to create directly from the synth itself.

I wasn't planing on buying one of these,had my sights on another limited run synth from korg but wasn't sure I would get one so I bought the Jupiter-X and been playing for 6 months now and I'm glad I did. Ive owned 2 Jupiter 8's over the years and sold it in the early 2000's do to it being always in the repair shop with issues.With that being said I'm pleased with it. it is a heavy beast but I don't gig with it, mainly studio use,it makes up for that with everything J-8 did and then some. All I have to say is the key-bed is satisfactory the only thing I would have added was a keypad for direct patch pull up instead of having to rotate a knob up to the patch I need through a little screen.Other than that I pleased with it.I added a couple of photos of the other stuff here and it is still a work in progress

Ok. I waited to write this review until I had enough time to play around with it and watch Roland's (and other's) instructional videos on this. Please understand that I am in my mid 60's (still darn good looking) and grew up with the Fender Rhodes/ Hammond B3 boards. I am currently heavily invested in Yamaha Motifs, Hammond, Nord C1 etc. I play in a easy listening DUO with my daughter/vocalist, and a 9 piece horn band for 18 years...well until this COVID crap.

This item was definitely a desire for something new for my "home studio" setup, and this COVID CRAP made me crazy enough to add another board to my collection. (Mot If you don't play well, at LEAST have plenty of good equipment!). The only Roland Keyboard I have ever had was the Axe, which I got rid of after some of the other 8 members in the band made fun of my dancing when I came out front to finally be seen!!! Said it looked like I had to use the restroom!

The build of the Jupiter X is excellent! HEAVY=solid in my book. The pots and sliders and buttons all feel solid too.

The sound is quite good in the combinations (scene type) settings. Overall, I have never been a big Roland-sound fan. But, having said that, this board has lots of opportunity to be useful and really thick. However, it WILL run out of polyphony using the big layered patches. There also is a BIG learning curve to navigate around the board. Be prepared to watch lots of videos. Still working on it. But remember I am OLD.

The AFTER TOUCH is definitely TOO STIFF to engage to be very useful (common online complaint that I concur with). Otherwise, the key bed feels good...though I like my Prophet Rev 2's bed and its aftertouch action better. An online complaint says it has a noisy/metallic clanking sound. I can see how the reviewer got that impression, but really it isn't that noticeable.

I wish they had a dedicated computer editor available as the built in screen is a little small (and being off to one side is a slight pain, but it is very readable...... erh....just as long as I have my cheaters on and don't mind a sore neck at bedtime! (Girlfriend doesn't do massage, sigh) One has to page through tons of menus to get much done. The information's overall presentation makes good sense, just not large enough characters, or enough screen real estate for me personally. Although I received a free one year to the online Roland Cloud, I am not sure it is usable as an editor. (I may be wrong)

The pre-programmed stuff (as in much of today's boards) seems to lean towards the hip hop/rap sound (IMHO) which is worthless for my use, but hey, to each his own style, right?

The ability to use it as an audio-interface for my DAW took some figuring out. Neat to be able to record the midi AND 5 stereo pairs of audio at once.

Intelligent arpeggiator is interesting, but only for me while drinking beer. And then it can be lots of fun! Helps me with ideas for the songs that I know I will never really write, but feel good thinking I will one day!

Onboard speakers? Well, I could take them or leave them. Would trade for a larger screen or an editor.

Overall, it's sounds will fill a niche in my "studio". Still learning it. Hoping for an editor.

I bought a demo and not a mark on the thing !
Three things that impressed me
1. The feel of the keys and controls
2. The features and there are so many
3. The sounds and hook to the Roland Cloud.

Having owned all the early Roland keyboards and Guitar synths the Jupiter X 61 reproduces and expands those finely made devices.
This is a modern day great synth !!!

I do play the Jupiter X 61 as a Keyboard and also triggered by my Roland GR 55 guitar synth. It's awesome
Triggering via USB to my iMac .. Jupiter X 61 responds very very well .. fun !

Three complaints
1. The funky 1/8 inch headphone jack that is just waiting to crack .
2. NO Mac or PC editing software, sure the bright controls are awesome to view and play with... but
3. Roland driver install was not groovy and I installed on (2) iMacs running Mac OS 10.15
Took three times to install correctly ( though the Install helper was a great tool ) and it corrupted my install of the Roland's GR 55 so I uninstalled
After I finally installed the Jupiter X 61 drivers and verified I re-instaled the GR55 driver and bingo I am off and running
Contacted Roland all through the process .. thanks Roland for tech support

Awesome instrument and sound designing device. It has all the classic sound of Roland's past technology if that is what you want, and all the cleanliness and stability of state-of-the-art digital of today. You say its too stable and sterile? Nope. This sucker has built-in routines and components to simulate deprecation due to age, temperature, and old circuits of those beloved yesteryear synthesizers. So if you want a drifting, out of tune drunk sounding relic, it can do it. Or if you prefer the more modern and phat sound of thick modeled oscillators, and smooth as butter filters, it does that all day! Built like a tank, looks that make you just want to touch it and sculpt noise, a great keyboard action, Jupiter-X is a lot of fun. It really is the best Roland synthesizer ever made. The past was great, Jupiter-8, Juno 106, etc., but this thing sounds amazing!

Once I had decided to go with this synthesizer, I put a call out to an online dealer I had previously done business with. Due to the Covid 19 restrictions and they're staffing, it made it difficult for them to express ship. Which is fine and understandable. I had only a couple days left of vacation. Yes, I had waited too long to decide. I put a call out to Sweetwater. And Ben Kelly answered the phone. Ben simply made my experience amazing. He wanted to get to know me and asked me questions about what I wanted to do. We exchanged our favorite band names, and types of music we enjoyed. And Ben was able to ship it overnight for me for arrival the next morning! The synth is VERY heavy in the packaging. Please get someone to help you if you feel you are struggling with it. I did. And instead of trying to lift it straight up out of the box, I turned the box standing straight up and slid the synth out from the inside. Much easier. On to the synth: For me this is an arrival synth. Never owned a Jupiter 8 or Jupiter 80. This was my time. I wanted those types of classic sounds. It doesn't disappoint. The keybed is wonderful for synth action. The internal speakers are ok for just monitoring your playing. You switch them on from the internal menu. Nice bonus. The I-Arp is a nice feature. Nice idea generator. Works well for the Scene Banks of sounds. Nicely inspirational. But it's not meant to be like an arranger keyboard that is used to play a complete song on the spot. However, you can choose a type of I-Arp pattern with a type of backbeat with the other button. Kick, Kick Snare, Kick High Hat, etc. And it can make these ideas feel like you are sometimes lost in song ideas. You can split and layer the keyboard sounds. Splitting is best done using an initial scene. Or a blank scene. So as to not overwrite an existing program. YouTube has some nice instructional videos on this with Scott Berry from Roland. The Model Bank sounds are Jupiter 8, Juno 106, JX-8P, SH, XV and RD. Meaning mono basses, synth basses, strings, pads, pianos, lead synths, etc. a lot on offer. 3,000 plus sounds. For me, I use it for 80's Synthwave composition and for Stranger Things type soundtrack ideas. Including John carpenter type stuff. Most importantly, you will hear sounds that take you on your own musical journey to where you wanna go. Used with a hardware looping pedal, you can create some serious live tracks. The vocoder is the best kept secret of this unit though. Very clean sounding and full. Check out those YouTube videos as well. Favorite sounds: Soundtrack from JX-8P. So smooth and warm. Good for a Laura Palmer type pad/string sound for Twin peaks. Tight Bass from Jupiter 8. Use this one with the I-Arp in an up and down pattern arpeggio and you have instant Italo Disco Bass. I hope this helps gives everyone some ideas to help everyone make up their own mind on whether this synth is right for them. For me, it started with Ben Kelly at Sweetwater. For I would not have such a fine instrument, if I did not make that phone call to Ben. Thank you, Ben!

The Jupiter X has great key action, proper sized key beds, all the popular sounds of the analog Jupiter, Juno, SH, JX, and digital XV and RD piano sounds. 7 scenes (banks) that have 16 sounds each, plus dedicated sounds of the keyboards mentioned above. There are over 1,000 sounds to choose from not even including the Scene selections. This keyboard uses the latest ABM modeling technology of Roland which offers higher poly vs the older ACB technology which sounds a little grainier and analog over ABM. However the ACB modeling only offers limited poly making it only good for single notes or limited poly. The ABM sounds slightly enhanced and in my opinion helps the older sounds from the Jupiter and Juno not sound as dated. Granted the difference is small, but the small enhancement makes it really nice. There are lots of tutorials from Roland on line on how to work the keyboard. Plus with Roland Cloud, you can add more sounds to the keyboard if you really need more specific sounds.

All the buttons and knobs feel very solid and smooth. The one complaint is the small menu screen on the left side, but it its still workable. The original setup has the stereo speakers off. So you need to go into the system settings and put it on auto. The speakers are ok to work with to get the sound, but using open back headphones (which reduce fatigue over closed back headphones) will allow you to hear all the reverb and delays in the their glory. This is a five octave keyboard and moving an octave up or down or transpose is done with a touch of one button. I recommend buying the Roland KS-20X stand which makes the keyboard very stable.

I've had this synthesizer for a couple days now and I have to say I'm really impressed. The keys feel amazing and the virtual analog engines sound incredible. Side-by-side with my actual Juno I think it honestly sounds better, and honestly it's sort of hard to beat the sound of 4 Jupiter 8's stacked together. It's got a ton of features so the learning curve is pretty steep, but once you get the hang of it you can easily switch through patches as well as build your own on the fly. The effects sound ok, not as good as I would've hoped for the price tag but they're for sure passable for fooling around or even live performances. Overall I really like this synthesizer and honestly feel like it's worth the money.

I have owned and own a number of synths over the last twenty five years and I am very happy with the Jupiter X. For space constraints in my studio I opted to use this as my main board and for now store my mood voyager, prophet ob-6 and Jupiter 80. Build quality is very solid. Keybed is comfortable and feels sturdy. The built in speakers are a great plus when I don't want to fire up my daw etc. The sound quality is fantastic and the VA sounds better than my Jupiter 80. The arpeggiator is fun and easy to use and programming is straightforward.
My wishlist — which I acknowledge will likely not occur - would be — ability to store a longer than 64 step sequence for longer preprogrammed arp sequences. A more complete sequencer. Finally it would be great to be able to load more than two expansion sets at a time. I have a tiny bit of hope that the sequencer might be upgraded in the future but obviously the memory is a static issue which can't really be fixed. But even with these minor quibbles I still couldn't be happier with the purchase.

If you're not looking right at them, you cannot hear the difference between any synth the JUPITER-X emulates and the original. Plenty of consensus on this out there.

I've been playing Roland synths since 1988. I've run the gamut of arguments of analog vs digital. That argument is a tired horse. The JUPITER-X is Roland's best synthesizer of all time. It emulates the quirky analog nuances very well and on purpose. Feel free to adjust these variables in its settings. It sounds perfect or perfectly flawed. Your choice. The build quality is 5 stars. It is a tank. It is heavy. It is metal. Don't wait to buy it. Once it is discontinued you will regret it and pay the price.

When I saw that this synth was getting a bunch of hate, I immediately had to come to its defense.

The bottom line up front is that this is an awesome synth with incredible sounds built into it. If that is what you're looking for, then look no further than the Jupiter-X. Now I fully admit that I did not have the luxury of growing up playing an original Jupiter 8. And it seems like a lot of people who try out the X are immediately comparing it to a JP 8. If you have that mindset, then yes, you might be disappointed. However, I've talked to several other synth players in my circle who have way more knowledge on synths than I do and the thing that they all seem to agree on is that it's not an 8, but it sounds great!

The physical quality of the synth is also top notch. I can tell that this is a keyboard that is built to last. And the action of the keys are perfect! I grew up as a classically trained pianist, so I'm extremely picky about the action on keys. And, this didn't disappoint.

In response to Ralph from Utah, when my unit arrived I had the same issues. I would get stuck/ringing notes when playing with the arpeggiator. After consulting with Sweetwater Support I came to find that my unit was loaded with operating system v1.00. I updated to system v1.21 and all of my problems seem to have resolved. Thank you Sweetwater Tech support. Shame on Roland for shipping out brand new synths with an inadequate OS, but I'm willing to forgive this given the present state of chaotic global affairs (Covid-19). Otherwise, the synth is exactly what I expected. Other reviewers have criticized the sound. I would suggest spending some time and digging deeper. The real potential of this synth is buried pretty deep. The vintage models are up front, so, by definition, the first set of sounds that you cycle through are from the 80's. I'm happy with the vintage models. I'm very happy with the the Zen-core sounds. It looks like it has a lot of potential. I give it four stars instead of five, only because of the OS blunder.

This is my first real synth and I couldn't be happier with my choice. Everything sounds massive, the build quality is amazing, and I love the retro look. The scene editing is a little complicated at first but I'm getting the hang of it. The ability to create a full "scene" or section made of multiple parts all on this keyboard without touching Ableton is so awesome. I-Arp is also very cool, still trying to figure out how to export the patterns it creates but I love playing with it. Incredibly satisfied with this synth.

I already own the Jupiter xm and this was another step up for me. They feel of the keys is amazing and just the overalls quality of everything at your fingertips is so nice. I'm using this along with ableton to produce music and it works wonders as a daw controller while also working as an audio interface for my entire setup. Don't forget you can back up everything to a usb and plug and play into any other Jupiter x/xm and load your entire setup you saved as well as share zen core sounds with fantom/rd 88/Mc users. I'm a big fan of omnisphere and think about this like owning a real hardware version of omnisphere rather than it being software. Plus you can take this to gig with and please turn on the speakers it has built in, gives such an amazing extra feel to the sound overall. I love this and my xm for trips and being able to create so many sounds is what sold me.

My first day, I ended up speaker hiss 3 times. Had to reboot. Now I have a new issue, a constant freeze up sound, power button had no affect. Had to unplug to reboot. My fantom doesn't do this or JDXA.

It definetly has some nice options with beats and some good sounds.

The headphones brings out the best.

But not as pretty as my Jupiter 50 with Juno 1,2,and 3. Layering was easier The 50 also had to be rebooted from time to time. Gee what a surprise.

The button layouts and 2 selector knobs are great to work with, also the 2 sliders. I do enjoy playing it, when its working. The keyboard is better than most.

The insides of my box were broken both sides and shipped to me.

I will have to exchange or repair this one.

After 6 months, mine arrived defective so I returned it. I fell in love with it at first sight but the butterflies wore off fast. Couple things to consider here is the price which is really expensive for what you get. Cons- it's pretty heavy for a 61 key with less than perfect key height and key action. I didn't like the arrangement of finding the sounds either and that screen on the left is really small. Pros- You're getting sounds from 6 synthesizers and most of the time, it's all you need. The RD 800 keyboard part, which is why I bought it, only has 5 sounds but that might be part of the defect. The arpeggiator part is outstanding with just about every tweak for perfection. It's really the best part of it. I ordered the Roland System 8 instead of buying another one of these. Happy buying.

It happened. I finally got my hands on a Roland Jupiter X. 6 long months of waiting on the pre-order list and it's finally mine. My love of the Jupiter 8 began before I ever knew what a synthesizer was, but I knew the sound. The Roland Jupiter X is the sound of the Jupiter 8 and more. A previous reviewer who left a 1 star review must be upset that his original cost him over five-figures, when this has the same sound for 1/6th of the price. I would be upset too - but that's also why this synth is so important - the affordable price.

Is it expensive? Slightly...but for what you get it is worth every penny. Original Jupiter 8's are selling for over five-figures right now. You'll probably never get to own an original. Then again do you also want to have to deal with aging electronic components?

Is the Roland Jupiter X perfect? No, it is not, but that's really not a negative, for reasons I will explain later.

Does the Jupiter X have the sound and soul of the Jupiter 8? Yes, it does, regardless of how much some synth purists may disagree.

When this synth arrives on your doorstep, in it's giant box, the first thing you notice is the font choice, colors and style of the exterior. It pays homage to the original Jupiter 8 with the packaging alone, before you even open the box. Once you cut open the box the excitement builds, and when you lift it out you realize how much of a tank this thing is. All metal build, heavy-duty aluminum end cheeks, high-quality faders and pots with metal shafts - everything feels like it's built to last. The front-panel is beautiful and the black powder coating and orange and white silk screened graphics immediately make you think of the Jupiter 8. It even has the same style fader caps as the Jupiter 8. I appreciate that attention to detail. In some ways it reminds you of the Fantom-X8 series, but with better build quality.

After you plug the synth in and power it up it doesn't take long at all to boot, which is a plus. You're also greeted by colorful buttons for selecting patches and things like that. The buttons are slightly similar to what was used on the Jupiter 80, except these can be assigned individual colors and can be modified to suit your taste. I feel this was a wise choice by Roland. Although the original buttons on the Jupiter 8 were injection molded, colored plastic, these ones feel modern in a world of RGB and LED everything.

The sound quality is top-notch, and even though the Roland System 8 may have slightly better modeling, you get massively increased power and polyphony using Roland's new ABM system. The trade-off is worth it. Bass notes can be held almost indefinitely while you noodle away in the higher registers. Want to stack 4 Jupiter 8's on top of one another? You can! Want to play a Jupiter 8, and 3 other synths at the same time? You can! The limited polyphony of a System 8, or an original Jupiter 8, will let you down in that respect. Sure, it's not "exactly" like a real Jupiter 8, but this isn't a Jupiter 8. Roland will never re-release a new Jupiter 8, as anything they would try to release would never live up to the expectations of the hardcore fans. The Jupiter 80 was a Fantom in Jupiter 8 clothing, while the Jupiter X is 10 times better in regard to the "true" external appearance and real-time control.

The one quirk I admire most of all is the temperature sensor inside of the Jupiter X, along with the synth "Age" parameter. Basically you can simulate the tuning irregularities that occur when an older, aged synth warms up, as well as simulate aged components in general. The unstable drift characteristics feel real and let you get a feel for what owning a real, vintage analog synth can be like.

So far I've only talked about the JP8 portion of this synth, but keep in mind you also get models of Roland's other legendary synths such as the Juno-106, SH-101, JX-8P, XV-5080, RD piano sounds and Roland's drum machines from the past 40 years. Having all of that onboard just adds to the value of this synth. The semi-weighted, and most importantly 61 KEY! (with aftertouch!) keybed feels amazing, and is the perfect in-betweener feel for a synth. Not cheap and plastic-y like synth-action, and not super heavy like the classic piano feel.

There are really only two things that the Jupiter X makes me feel shorted on - the small screen and the lack of a dedicated multi-part sequencer. First off that screen...it's tiny! But even that I feel Roland had no choice on, because of the backlash from the Jupiter 80. If the Jupiter X had a huge screen people would just scream that it's a Jupiter 80 all over again, plus it would detract from the original look of the Jupiter 8 that Roland was going for, so a small screen was the wise choice. The other thing that (as of OS v1.20 at least) has left me wanting is the sequencer. It seemed like Roland wanted their MC-707 and MC-101's to get some love, so they left out a fully featured sequencer. I mean, you do have access to a step sequencer, but it's integrated with the I-Arpeggio feature and doesn't really work as you would expect it to. If Roland could integrate a better sequencer in the Jupiter X, that would be the icing on the cake, because that's really all it doesn't have at this point.

To sum it all up, if you want a "new" Roland Jupiter 8, and don't want to have to rely on software VST synths, buy a Roland Jupiter X. If you really love the Jupiter 8, and want a synth that will last for decades, this is the one. A lot of synth manufacturers anymore are plopping in 49 keys, saying "that's all you need". Well...they're wrong. 61 keys is the sweet spot!!! This is your chance to own a piece of history. It's not a cheap POS, it's a high-quality instrument. A lot of people may hate the Jupiter X because it's not the type of "perfection" they were looking for, but for all of the synth models you get, and the amazing sounds that this synth produces, it's worth it. No, it's not a Moog, or an Oberheim, not a CS-80 or any of those other synths. In my opinion Roland hit a home run. Yes they had to make some compromises, but for good reasons. I feel they definitely paid respect to the original Jupiter 8 and can now finally move on to other sonic territories. There may never be another Jupiter 8, but the Jupiter X definitely gets you as close as ever to owning "a real one".

After dreaming of this beast since the announcement, I finally received it from Sweetwater last week. Initial impressions are off the charts. First of all, it's a metal behemoth with a very nice keybed. It's also deeper than any 61-key synth I own. Sound editing is simple and expressive and being able to layer patches can make for interesting soundscapes. Admittedly, I've only played with this for a handful of hours, however, after tinkering and coming up with some song ideas, I found myself reading Lawrence Ferlinghetti poems through the amazing vocoder for longer than I care to admit. There's a lot to uncover here and I haven't had this much fun exploring a synth since my very first... a Yamaha SY85 back in 1993. I'm glad I didn't hesitate because this fills my equipment holes perfectly.

I received my Jupiter a couple of days ago. not much to say about it. I have been around these things for a number of years and to say the least! It takes me back to the 80s. This is the 21st century and the sounds that come out of this is some what disappointing.I was expecting something along in the lines of WOW, but noway. I have in my arsenal many keyboards and adding this one was a complete let down. The Jupiter 80 is far more superior except for the midi which sucks. but the sounds are great. The Jupiter X might be a good keyboard for those who were not around in the 80s and 90s. It might have a few things I can get along with but over all! Roland is way out of the game with this. Good luck Roland.