The Jupiter-8 is an eight-voice polyphonic

Polyphony (instrument)

Polyphony Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic.-Synthesizer:Most of early synthesizers were monophonic musical instruments which can play only one note at a time, and are often called monosynth as opposed to polysynth...

 analog

Analog synthesizer

An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...

 subtractive

Subtractive synthesis

Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which partials of an audio signal are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre of the sound...

 synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 introduced by Roland Corporation

Roland Corporation

is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...

 in 1981.

The Jupiter-8, or JP-8, was Roland's flagship synthesizer for the first half of the 1980's. Although it lacked the soon-to-be standard of MIDI control, later model Jupiter-8s did include Roland's proprietary DCB

Digital Control Bus

DCB was a proprietary data interchange interface by Roland Corporation, developed in 1981 and introduced in 1982 in their Roland Juno-60 and Roland Jupiter-8 products...

 interface, and all of them sported advanced features such as "Four on Four" and the ability to split the keyboard into two zones, with a separate patch active on each zone.

Features and architecture

The Jupiter-8 is an 8-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer. Each voice features two VCO

Voltage-controlled oscillator

A voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO is an electronic oscillator designed to be controlled in oscillation frequency by a voltage input. The frequency of oscillation is varied by the applied DC voltage, while modulating signals may also be fed into the VCO to cause frequency modulation or phase...

s with cross-modulation and sync, pulse-width modulation

Pulse-width modulation

Pulse-width modulation , or pulse-duration modulation , is a commonly used technique for controlling power to inertial electrical devices, made practical by modern electronic power switches....

, a non-resonant high-pass filter

High-pass filter

A high-pass filter is a device that passes high frequencies and attenuates frequencies lower than its cutoff frequency. A high-pass filter is usually modeled as a linear time-invariant system...

, a resonant Low-pass filter

Low-pass filter

A low-pass filter is an electronic filter that passes low-frequency signals but attenuates signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. The actual amount of attenuation for each frequency varies from filter to filter. It is sometimes called a high-cut filter, or treble cut filter...

 with 2-pole (12 dB

Decibel

The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...

/octave

Octave

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

) and 4-pole (24 dB

Decibel

The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...

/octave

Octave

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

) settings, an LFO

Low frequency oscillation

Low-frequency oscillation is an electronic signal, which is usually below 20 Hz and creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep. This pulse or sweep is often used to modulate synthesizers, delay lines and other audio equipment in order to create effects used in the production of electronic music. Audio...

 with variable waveforms and routings, and two envelope generators (one invertible).

Features include adjustable polyphonic portamento

Portamento

Portamento is a musical term originated from the Italian expression "portamento della voce" , denoting from the beginning of the 17th century a vocal slide between two pitches and its emulation by members of the violin family and certain wind instruments, and is sometimes used...

 and a Hold function for infinite sustain of notes and arpeggios. A versatile arpeggiator can be synchronized with external equipment by using the proprietary Roland DCB interface, clock input via CV jacks on the rear panel, or one of the aftermarket MIDI kits from Encore or Kenton. An assignable bender can be used to control pitch or filter frequency.

From the factory, the JP-8 could store 64 patches. Patches could be stored to, or loaded from, a standard analog tape/cassette. The Encore JP8MK MIDI kit doubles the patch memory to 128 and enables the JP-8 to store and recall patches over a MIDI connection, using a computer with sysex utility software.

The Jupiter-8 incudes balanced stereo XLR outputs as well as unbalanced 1/4" outputs. In addition to monophonic and polyphonic modes, the Jupiter-8 includes a unison mode, in which all 16 oscillators can be stacked into a single monophonic patch.

A Zilog

Zilog

Zilog, Inc., previously known as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit and 24-bit microcontrollers, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Z80 series.-History:...

 Z80 CPU was used for managing storage of patches; scanning the keyboard and front-panel controls for changes; displaying the current patch number and other information on the display; and taking care of the auto-tune function, among other things. The VCOs were discrete. The VCF was based on the custom Roland IR3109 IC (also used in the filter circuits of the Jupiter-6, later Jupiter-4

Roland Jupiter-4

The Roland Jupiter 4 was an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation of Japan between 1978 and 1981. It was notable as the company's first self-contained polyphonic synthesizer, and for containing digital control of analog circuits , allowing for such features as programmable...

 units, MKS-80 rev 4, Juno-6/Juno-60

Roland Juno-60

The Roland Juno-60 is a popular analogue 61-key polyphonic synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation in the early 1980s and a successor to the slightly earlier Juno-6. Like its predecessor, the Juno-60 has some digital enhancements, used only for clocking the oscillators and for saving and loading...

, SH-101

Roland SH-101

Roland SH-101 is a synthesizer from the early 1980s, manufactured by Roland. It is a small, 32 key, monophonic analog synthesizer. It features one oscillator with 3 simultaneous waveforms, an 'octave-divided' square sub-oscillator, triangle and square/pwm waveform. It has a low-pass filter/VCF...

, MC-202

Roland MC-202

-External links:* * * * *...

, JX-3P and packaged in the 80017a chip used in the Juno-106 and MKS-30 among others). The VCA was the BA662, used also in Juno-6/60/106, JX-3P

Roland JX-3P

The Roland JX-3P is a synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation of Japan in 1983. It is notable as the one of the company's first products to incorporate a MIDI interface, limited to note-on/note-off data only.-Features:...

 and TB-303. The envelopes were generated in hardware by the Roland IR3R01 chip (also in the Juno 6/60), and are much faster (1ms attack) than the software-generated envelopes used in the later Jupiter-6

Roland Jupiter-6

The Roland Jupiter-6 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation introduced in 1983 as a less expensive alternative to the Roland Jupiter-8. The Jupiter-6 is widely considered a workhorse among polyphonic analog synthesizers, capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, such as...

, Juno-106

Roland Juno-106

The Roland Juno-106 was a hybrid digital/analogue polyphonic synth manufactured by Roland Corporation in 1984. It featured Digitally controlled oscillators for tuning stability and digital envelope generation along with analog filters and signal path....

 and MKS-80 "Super Jupiter".

Reliability

There are claims that early models had unstable tuning, mainly due to their panel slider encoding resolution and main control voltage generation. However, this may be limited to the first 500 JP-8s that were manufactured . Beginning with serial number 171700, the 12-bit DAC was upgraded to a 14-bit DAC. This increased the resolution of the controls but had little to no effect on the overall sound quality. The soldered-in battery typically lasts ten years or more, ranking these boards among the lowest-maintenance of their generation.

In the present day

The wide range of sounds that the Jupiter-8 can produce, the efficient front panel layout (each synthesizer sound parameter adjustment had its own dedicated controller), and its sturdy construction, make the Jupiter-8 a venerable and desirable instrument even 30 years after it was first produced. Units in good condition still fetch more at auction than most new synthesizers, suggesting that the Jupiter-8 will continue to be heard for years to come. While the characteristic sound of the Jupiter-8 can be heard on many songs from the early 1980s onward, its still being recorded to this day. For example, Alicia Keys can be seen playing one in the video for the number one hit "No One."

Jupiter changes and successors

Throughout the production of the JP-8 there were several changes. Starting at serial #171700 the D/A converter on the Interface board was changed from 12-bit to 14-bit. This change was made mainly to improve tuning stability. The problem with the 12-bit digital-to-analog converter on the original JP-8 is that it could cause the autotune to be inaccurate in some instances. Some say to avoid these early JP-8's while others say they haven't experienced tuning problems. Starting at serial #242750 the LEDs of the display were changed to brighter ones. Starting at serial #282880 the JP-8 came standard with a DCB port. These newer JP-8's may be referred to as JP-8A's. DCB, or Digital Control Bus, was Roland's pre-MIDI interface that allowed the JP-8 to talk to other DCB enabled hardware, such as the Roland MC4 and MC8 microcomposers. Previous JP-8's had the option of having the OC-8 retrofit installed to give it DCB capability.

The Jupiter-6

Roland Jupiter-6

The Roland Jupiter-6 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation introduced in 1983 as a less expensive alternative to the Roland Jupiter-8. The Jupiter-6 is widely considered a workhorse among polyphonic analog synthesizers, capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, such as...

 was released 2 years after the JP-8 and was an attempt at more affordable version of Roland's flagship. It features a similar voice architecture and appearance. It stored fewer patches, and had six voices. In order to make it cheaper to manufacture, a move towards integrated circuits (Curtis) was made, to replace discrete circuits used in JP-8's oscillators and amplifiers. The JP-6 is built using CEM3340 chip for its oscillators, and CEM3360 for its voltage controlled amplifiers. These changes imparted a change in sonic character, meaning that the JP-6 is not simply a less-expensive version of the JP-8, but an instrument with its own distinct sound. Additionally, the Jupiter-6 features a true multimode resonant filter, built-in MIDI, unison detune function and the ability to activate multiple waveforms on a single oscillator.

The Roland MKS-80 "Super Jupiter" is a MIDI-controlled, rack-mountable sound module

Sound module

A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a keyboard, for example. Sound modules have to be "played" using an externally connected device...

 with a similar voice architecture to the Jupiter-8. However, its first released incarnation in 1984 (revision 3 and 4) used hardware identical to its predecessor, the Jupiter-6 (which had a combination of Curtis VCO and VCA chips combined with Roland's own proprietary filters). In 1985, Roland released another revision of the MKS-80, known as "Rev 5," which used different VCO, VCA, and filter circuits. As a result, the MKS-80 Rev 5 can sound quite different from its predecessors. The Rev 5 filter was also used in the JX-8P, JX-10 and MKS-70 synthesizers.

At the 2007 NAMM show, French music software manufacturer Arturia

Arturia

Arturia is a software company located in Grenoble, France and founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers. The company's focus is on the development of electronic music software and tools - primarily emulation of vintage analog synthesizers...

 announced, and subsequently released a software Jupiter-8 called Jupiter-8V. A 2007 review in Sound on Sound stated, "8V sounds much like Jupiter 8, but does a zillion things that the original could not." The JP-8V is available in VST

Virtual Studio Technology

Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software...

, AU

Audio Units

Audio Units are a system-level plug-in architecture provided by Core Audio in Mac OS X developed by Apple Computer. Audio Units are a set of application programming interface services provided by the operating system to generate, process, receive, or otherwise manipulate streams of audio in...

, and RTAS plugin formats.

The Roland VariOS

Roland VariOS

- Overview :The Roland VariOS is a rack-mounted open-ended variable system module, released by Roland in 2003. It is essentially a production environment with audio editing and sample playback, based on the technology from the oft-overlooked VP-9000 VariPhrase Processor...

 provides a mildly successful digital approximation of the Jupiter-8 using its "Varios-8" software.

In 2011, Roland released the JUPITER-80, which integrates Roland's SuperNATURAL synthesis engine.

Notable users

• Steve Adey
  Steve Adey
  Steve Adey is a musician and singer-songwriter. His music is characterised by slow tempos, minimalist arrangements, underpinned by a rich baritone vocal and chordal piano playing...
  
   - He uses a JP-8 on his soon to be released album and latest These Resurrections ep.
• Kevin Barnes
  Kevin Barnes
  Kevin L. Barnes is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group Of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band on his own and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance...
  
   - From Of Montreal
  Of Montreal
  Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
  
  
• The Blue Nile
  The Blue Nile
  The Blue Nile is an adult alternative/pop band from Glasgow. The music of The Blue Nile is built heavily on synthesizers and electronic instrumentation and percussion, although later works featured acoustic guitar more prominently.-Early years:...
  
   - A loaned Jupiter-8 is all over their 1989 album Hats.
• Rob Mounsey
  Rob Mounsey
  Rob Mounsey is an award-winning composer, music producer, and musician. He was born in Berea, Ohio and grew up in Seattle, Washington and several Ohio towns. At the age of 17, he was awarded a BMI Student Composer's Award in New York. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1971 to 1975...
  
   - Almost all sounds on Madonna
  Madonna (entertainer)
  Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
  
  's number one hit "Crazy for You
  Crazy for You
  Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well...
  
  ," Phil Collins
  Phil Collins
  Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
  
  's number one hit "Against All Odds
  Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)
  "Against All Odds " is a song by British singer Phil Collins recorded for soundtrack to the 1984 film of the same name. It is a power ballad in which its protagonist implores an ex-lover to "take a look at me now", knowing that reconciliation is "against all odds" while considering it worth trying...
  
  ," many overdubs on Paul Simon
  Paul Simon
  Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
  
  's "Graceland
  Graceland
  Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about 9 miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as...
  
  ," Steely Dan
  Steely Dan
  Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
  
  's "Gaucho
  Gaucho
  Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
  
  ," Donald Fagen
  Donald Fagen
  Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....
  
  's "Nightfly
  The Nightfly
  The Nightfly is the first solo album by Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, released in 1982. It was one of the first fully digital recordings of popular music...
  
  "
• a-ha
  A-ha
  A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
  
   with the song The Sun Always Shines On Tv.
• ABBA
  ABBA
  ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
  
   - 1982 last recording sessions in studio "You Owe Me One", "Just Like That", "I Am the City", "Cassandra
  Cassandra
  In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy...
  
  ", "Under Attack
  Under Attack
  "Under Attack" is the latest widely-released single by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured as a track on the 1982 compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years, but was released as a single the following year in most countries. In the United Kingdom however, it was released on...
  
  ", "The Day Before You Came
  The Day Before You Came
  "The Day Before You Came" is a song recorded and released by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released in October 1982, as the first new song from ABBA's double compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years...
  
  " & ABBA
  ABBA
  ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
  
   last performances in Sweden 19 November 1982 on the TV programme "Nöjesmaskinen" and on 11 December 1982 UK Noel Edmonds "The Late, Late Breakfast Show".
• Enya
  Enya
  Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
  
   - The Celts
  The Celts (album)
  The Celts is an album by Irish musician Enya, released in 1992. It is a remastered re-release of her 1987 debut album Enya.In addition to having enhanced sound, this new release also contains a different version of the song "Portrait"; extended from 1:23 to 3:11, this version first appeared in 1988...
  
  . She also plays a Jupiter 8 in the BBC documentary about the making of the album.
• Duran Duran
  Duran Duran
  Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
  
   - "Hungry Like the Wolf
  Hungry Like the Wolf
  "Hungry Like the Wolf" is a song by the British New Wave band Duran Duran. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album Rio . The song was released in May 1982 as the band's fifth single in the United Kingdom...
  
  ", "Save A Prayer
  Save A Prayer
  "Save a Prayer" is the sixth single by Duran Duran, released on 9 August 1982.The song was the third single from the band's second album Rio...
  
  "
  • "Rio
    Rio (song)
    "Rio" is the seventh single by Duran Duran, released on 1 November 1982.The song was the fourth, final, and title single lifted from the band's album of the same name, and was edited for its release...
    
    " is also said to feature the Jupiter-8, but it was actually the Jupiter-4
    Roland Jupiter-4
    The Roland Jupiter 4 was an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation of Japan between 1978 and 1981. It was notable as the company's first self-contained polyphonic synthesizer, and for containing digital control of analog circuits , allowing for such features as programmable...
    
    .
• Limahl
  Limahl
  Christopher Hamill better known by his stage name Limahl is an English pop singer. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the 1980s pop group Kajagoogoo, before embarking on a briefly successful solo career, which reached its peak with the 1984 hit "The NeverEnding Story", taken from the film of...
  
   - in the Never Ending Story video clip.
• Harold Faltermeyer
  Harold Faltermeyer
  Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, keyboardist, composer and record producer.He is recognized as one of the composers/producers who best captured the zeitgeist of 1980s synth-pop in film scores...
  
   - "Axel F
  Axel F
  "Axel F" is the electronic instrumental theme from the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop performed by Harold Faltermeyer. The title comes from the main character's name, Axel Foley , in the film. It topped musical charts in 1985 and remains a popular remix track. Mixes of "Axel F" topped European pop...
  
  ". Soundtrack for "Beverly Hills Cop".
• Michael Jackson
  Michael Jackson
  Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
  
   - Thriller
  Thriller (album)
  Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
  
  
• Jean Michel Jarre
  Jean Michel Jarre
  Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...
  
   - Chronologie
  Chronologie
  Chronologie is an album by French electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre, and was released on Disques Dreyfus in 1993. It is his eighth overall studio album. It is inspired by Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time...
  
  - Oxygene Live in your living room (2007)
• Howard Jones
  Howard Jones (musician)
  Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
  
   - esp. Human's Lib
• Human League - was used since their 1981 album Dare
  Dare
  -Arts and entertainment:* Dan Dare, a classic British science fiction comics hero* Dare , a 1965 novel by Philip José Farmer* Dare, a 2007 novel by BET host Abiola Abrams* Dare , a 2009 film- Music :...
  
  and on many of their later albums
• No Doubt
  No Doubt
  No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
  
   - "Just a Girl
  Just a Girl
  "Just a Girl" is a song written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont for No Doubt's third album Tragic Kingdom. The song was released in 1995 as the album's lead single and helped the band break into mainstream music, peaking at number 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.Upon release in the UK in 1996 the...
  
  " and most songs on Return of Saturn
  Return of Saturn
  Return of Saturn is the fourth studio album by the American rock band No Doubt, released on April 11, 2000 by Interscope Records. After touring for two and a half years to promote their breakthrough third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt wrote several dozen songs for its follow-up and...
  
  
• Giorgio Moroder
  Giorgio Moroder
  Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
  
   - Scarface OST
  Scarface (soundtrack)
  Scarface is the soundtrack to the 1983 film of the same name. Released the same year as the film, the album featured music created exclusively for the film by Giorgio Moroder, who produced all of the tracks...
  
   (Jupiter-8 sounds in many songs as bass and leads).
• Savage
  Roberto Zanetti
  Roberto Zanetti is an Italian singer, music producer, composer and businessman from Massa, Tuscany. As a singer he is known under the stage name Savage, and as a music producer he uses the alias Robyx....
  
   - "Don't Cry Tonight"
• Mr. Mister
  Mr. Mister
  Mr. Mister is an American pop rock band most popular in the 1980s. The band's name came from an inside joke about a Weather Report album called Mr. Gone where they referred to each other as "Mister This" or "Mister That", and eventually selected "Mr. Mister." Mr. Mister may be considered as...
  
   - Bass Arpeggiator on "Kyrie"
• The Prodigy
  The Prodigy
  The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
  
   - "Wind It Up (Rewound)
  Wind It Up (Rewound)
  "Wind It Up " was the fifth single released by the British electronica/rave act The Prodigy on 29 March 1993. This song, a remix of "Wind It Up", makes extreme use of distortion and noise, and is significantly different than the version featured on Experience. The B-side "We Are the Ruffest"...
  
  "
• Journey
  Journey (band)
  Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
  
   on the album Frontiers. It is shown in the music videos for "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Chain Reaction".
• Lady GaGa
  Lady GaGa
  Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
  
   used on her hit album The Fame Monster
  The Fame Monster
  The Fame Monster is the third EP by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on November 18, 2009 through Interscope Records. Initially planned to be included on a re-release of Gaga's debut studio album, The Fame, she announced that the eight tracks would be included on a standalone...
  
  
• Queen
  Queen (band)
  Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
  
   - Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl
  Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl
  Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl is a double compact disc live album by English band Queen released on October 25, 2004 in Europe and on November 9, 2004 in the US....
  
  (1982/2004), The Works
  The Works (Queen album)
  -Radio Ga Ga:"Radio Ga Ga" was composed on keyboards, after Roger Taylor heard his son Felix saying "radio ca ca". He wrote it in Los Angeles and locked himself in the studio with a Roland Jupiter 8 and a drum machine. Afterwards John Deacon came up with a suitable bass line. Mercury reconstructed...
  
  (1984), A Kind of Magic
  A Kind of Magic
  A Kind of Magic is a 1986 album by British rock band Queen. It was the band's twelfth studio album and their first to be recorded digitally, and is based on the soundtrack to the film Highlander, the first in a series directed by Russell Mulcahy....
  
  (1986)
  • Radio Ga Ga
    Radio Ga Ga
    "Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor‎. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May on the original B-side and was included on the album The Works...
    
    's recognisable bassline was created using the Jupiter-8's arpeggiator, and the solo on I Want to Break Free
    I Want to Break Free
    "I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, which was written by its bassist John Deacon. The song was featured on the Queen's 1984 album The Works and distributed as a single on 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl records and 3-inch and 5-inch CDs. The song had three versions: album,...
    
     was performed on Jupiter-8 as well
• The Cars
  The Cars
  The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
  
   - Heartbeat City
  Heartbeat City
  Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Cars, released in 1984.Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles, two of which were Top 10 as well, reaching #3 and #7, respectively...
  
  , Door To Door
• Toyah
  Toyah (band)
  Toyah is the name of the band fronted by Toyah Willcox between 1977 and 1983. The only other consistent band member throughout this period was Joel Bogen, Willcox's principal co-writer and guitarist.-Background :...
  
   - Anthem
  Anthem (Toyah album)
  Anthem was Toyah's most successful album to date, propelling them into both the UK Album Charts as well as the singles charts with releases of "It's a Mystery" and "I Want To Be Free"...
  
  
• Devo
  Devo
  Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
  
   - Oh, No! It's Devo
  Oh, No! It's Devo
  Oh, No! It's Devo is the fifth studio album by Devo. By the time of its 1982 release, Devo were a full-fledged synth-pop act, with New Wave pushed more towards the background...
  
  
• Spliff
  Spliff (band)
  Spliff was a Neue Deutsche Welle rock band, active in the 1980s. The members were already playing together before they were 'adopted' by Nina Hagen when she came to West Germany in 1977. They recorded two albums with her as the Nina Hagen Band before continuing under the name Spliff when Hagen...
  
   - "Heut' Nacht"
• Freur
  Freur
  Freur was a band featuring Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who went on to found the successful electronic act Underworld. It was their second band, following their art school collaboration, The Screen Gemz.-History:...
  
   - "Doot Doot"
• Foreigner
  Foreigner (band)
  Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
  
   - "That Was Yesterday" on Agent Provocateur
• Go West
  Go West (band)
  Go West is an English pop duo, formed in 1982 by lead vocalist and drummer Peter Cox ; and guitarist and vocalist Richard Drummie...
  
   - "We Close Our Eyes
  We Close Our Eyes
  "We Close Our Eyes" is a song by British pop band Go West, composed by both members Peter Cox and Richard Drummie. It was the first single from their debut album Go West...
  
  "
• Rush
  Rush (band)
  Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
  
   - Signals, Grace Under Pressure
  Grace Under Pressure (Rush album)
  Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1984 . A symbol for the album is the letter "p" above a line with the letter "g" below ....
  
  Notably, the bass line for "Red Sector A"
• Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation
  Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation
  The Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation is a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church and a shrine to the Virgin Mary, operated by the Conventual Franciscan Friars. It is located in Carey, a village in Northwest Ohio. It was made a national shrine by the U.S...
  
  
• Tears for Fears
  Tears for Fears
  Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
  
   - "Head over Heels
  Head over Heels (Tears for Fears song)
  "Head over Heels" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.It was the band's tenth single release in the United Kingdom and eighth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at #12 in July 1985...
  
  " and "Shout
  Shout (Tears for Fears song)
  "Shout" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears.Written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal , it was the band's eighth single release and sixth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at #4 in January 1985...
  
  " on Songs from the Big Chair
  Songs from the Big Chair
  Songs from the Big Chair is the second album by the British rock band Tears for Fears. It was released in 1985 on Phonogram Records, and remains their highest selling album to date. The album peaked at no.2 in the UK and reached no.1 in the US...
  
  
• Peter Oxendale with John Foxx
  John Foxx
  John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
  
   - "The Hidden Man"
• Simple Minds
  Simple Minds
  Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
  
   - New Gold Dream and Don't You Forget About Me and most of their Once Upon a Time album
• Paul Davis
  Paul Davis (singer)
  Paul Lavon Davis was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his radio hits and solo career which started worldwide in 1970. His career encompassed soul, country and pop music...
  
   - Singer/Songwriter Used A Roland Jupiter 8, It Was Used Extensively On 1981's Cool Night Album
• Wintersun Project (all recordings 2001-2004)

missing credit information

• Blancmange
  Blancmange (band)
  Blancmange are a British synthpop band who came to prominence with a string of hits in the early to mid 1980s.-Biography:Blancmange was formed in Harrow, Middlesex in 1979 by singer Neil Arthur and instrumentalists Stephen Luscombe and Laurence Stevens...
  
  
• Depeche Mode
  Depeche Mode
  Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
  
  
• James Ting
• Legowelt
  Legowelt
  Legowelt is a Dutch electronic musician who describes his musical style as "a hybrid form of slam jack combined with deep Chicago house, romantic ghetto technofunk and EuroHorror Soundtrack."...
  
  
• Meat Beat Manifesto
  Meat Beat Manifesto
  Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened to Meat Beat or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens formed in 1987 in Swindon, UK...
  
  
• Moby
  Moby
  Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
  
  
• Richard Daniel Roman
  Richard Daniel Roman
  Richard Daniel Roman is a British songwriter, composer, singer, record producer, photographer, mystic and poet best known for his work with pop musicians.-Biography:...
  
  
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
  Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
  Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. is an American keyboard player and founding member of bands Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, The Moog Cookbook, and TV Eyes. He has also spent several years as an integral member of Beck's backing band, and made contributions to several recordings by the band Air. He is...
  
  
• Shriekback
  Shriekback
  Shriekback are an English rock band, formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and League of Gentlemen , and Dave Allen, formerly of the Gang of Four , with Carl Marsh, formerly of Out On Blue Six soon added to the line-up. They were joined by Martyn Barker on drums in 1983...
  
  
• Überzone
  Uberzone
  Überzone is Anaheim, California native Timothy Wiles, is an electronic musician. He has also been known as Q, named after the popular character in the James Bond series....
  
  
• Underworld
  Underworld (band)
  Underworld are a British electronic group, and principal name under which duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have recorded together since 1980.- Early years: 1979–1986 :...
  
  
• Vince Clarke
  Vince Clarke
  Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....
  
  
• Visekongene
  Visekongene
  Visekongene is a band from Bergen, Norway. Their music can generally be defined as progressive rock, but they also mix in elements from metal, jazz, rock, pop, Children's music, old school Video game music and many other musical styles...
  
  
• William Orbit
  William Orbit
  William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
  
  
• Frank Farian
  Frank Farian
  Frank Farian , is a German record producer and songwriter. He started out as a trained cook before moving into the music industry...
  
   used the Roland Jupiter 8 On Milli Vanili 1988's Girl You Know It's True
• NOVA (electronic music Dutch group from the eighties) used it in the 'Quo Vadis' album.

keyboardists

• Gabrial McNair
  Gabrial McNair
  Gabrial "Gabe" McNair is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, most famous for his work in No Doubt since 1993 as a trombonist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist. He recorded and toured with Green Day during the Nimrod and Warning tours, playing trombone and tenor saxophone...
  
   Keyboard player for No Doubt
  No Doubt
  No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
  
  
• Alicia Keys
  Alicia Keys
  Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
  
   on "No One
  No One (Alicia Keys song)
  "No One" is a song by American recording artist Alicia Keys from her third studio album, As I Am. Written and produced by Keys, Kerry Brothers, Jr., and George M. Harry, and released as the album's lead single in September 2007...
  
  "
• John Foxx
  John Foxx
  John Foxx is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox before being replaced by Midge Ure, when he left to embark on a solo career in 1979...
  
   on The Garden
  The Garden (John Foxx album)
  The Garden is a 1981 album by John Foxx, the follow-up to his debut solo album Metamatic, released the previous year. However its instrumentation and highly romantic style is more comparable to Systems of Romance, his last album with former band Ultravox, released in 1978.-Production and style:The...
  
  

Non-keyboardists

• David Bowie
  David Bowie
  David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
  
    - vocalist/performer
• Prince
  Prince (musician)
  Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
  
    - guitarist/vocalist

Endorsers of other manufacturers, etc..

• Jan Hammer
  Jan Hammer
  Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...
  
   - "hitlist  - known to use Fairlight CMI
  Fairlight CMI
  The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
  
  
• Scritti Politti
  Scritti Politti
  Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Although there have been various changes to the line-up, Cardiff-born singer-songwriter Green Gartside was the founding member of the band and the only member to have remained throughout the group's...
  
    - known to use Fairlight CMI
  Fairlight CMI
  The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
  
  
• Tangerine Dream
  Tangerine Dream
  Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
  
    - known to use PPG
  Palm Products GmbH
  Palm Products GmbH was a highly-regarded manufacturer of audio synthesizers. Founded and owned by Wolfgang Palm, PPG was located in Hamburg, Germany and, for 12 years from around 1975 to 1987, manufactured an acclaimed and eclectic range of electronic musical instruments, all designed by Palm.-...
  
  
• Toto
  Toto (band)
  Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
  
   - "Africa
  Africa (Toto song)
  "Africa" is a song by rock band Toto, and one of the band's most recognizable songs. It was included on their 1982 album Toto IV, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1983 and number three on the UK Singles Chart the same month...
  
  " and "Rosanna
  Rosanna (song)
  "Rosanna" is a song by the American rock band Toto, the opening track from their 1982 album Toto IV. This song won the Record of the Year Grammy Award in the 1983 presentations. Rosanna was also nominated for the Song of the Year award...
  
  " on Toto IV
  Toto IV
  Toto IV is the fourth studio album by American band Toto released in 1982 .The album received six Grammy Awards including Record of the Year for "Rosanna", Album of the Year for Toto IV and Producer of the Year for the band. It reached number four on the Billboard Pop Albums chart shortly after its...
  
  

External links

• [ftp://ftp.roland.co.uk/ProductSupport/JP-8/01_JP-8_OM.pdf Owner's manual]
• Sound on Sound retrospective
• Vintage Synth entry
• Synth Museum entry
• Arturia Jupiter V8 software plug-in clone
• MP3 demo of the JP-8 and its arpeggiator, by Tomislav Babic