Roland JD-800
Encyclopedia
The JD-800 was a digital synthesizer
released by Roland
in 1991. The synthesizer featured many knobs and sliders for patch editing and performance control - features which some manufacturers, including Roland, had been omitting in the name of 'streamlining' since the inception of Yamaha's DX-7. The JD-800 became very popular with musicians who wished to take a 'hands on' approach to patch programming.
In the introduction to the manual, it is stated that with this synthesizer, Roland intended to 'return to the roots of synthesis':
with digital synthesis
, a process that Roland calls Linear Arithmetic synthesis
, a technique Roland had been using to great effect in the Roland D-50
. The JD-800 has 108 waveforms built-in, but these can be expanded via PCM-cards. There are waveforms in a variety of categories, like; analog synth, acoustic instruments, like guitars, woodwind, brass and voices. Most of these waveforms are very short and are designed to give character to the attack portion of a sound, while some longer ones are designed for creating pads, or the sustained part of a patch. The JD-800 was the first instrument from Roland to have its core sound set of waveforms developed entirely in the United States, under a short-lived branch of Roland's R&D-LA office in Culver City, California. The core sampled waveforms and Factory presets of the JD-800 were created by Eric Persing
.
A patch, or single sound, in the JD-800 consists of up to 4 tones. As every tone consists of an almost completely independent synthesizer voice a patch could be considered a layer of up to 4 different synthesizers. In single mode the JD-800 plays one patch at a time, but in multi mode it is possible to play 5 different patches, over MIDI, plus an extra "special" patch. The special patch has different waveforms assigned to the 61 different key on the keyboard, so is used for drums and percussion sounds. The JD-800 has one effects section. In single mode 7 effects can be used simultaniously, in series, so all tones in a patch go through the same effects. In multi mode 3 effects can be used at the same time, all patches sharing the same effects, though a patch can be routed to bypass the effects.
PCM add on cards:
Roland
later released 8 add on cards for the JD 800:
In 1993, Roland produced the JD-990
(or Super-JD), an expandable rackmountable version of the JD-800 with enhanced capabilities.
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...
released by Roland
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 1991. The synthesizer featured many knobs and sliders for patch editing and performance control - features which some manufacturers, including Roland, had been omitting in the name of 'streamlining' since the inception of Yamaha's DX-7. The JD-800 became very popular with musicians who wished to take a 'hands on' approach to patch programming.
In the introduction to the manual, it is stated that with this synthesizer, Roland intended to 'return to the roots of synthesis':
Today, fewer and fewer people actually create their own sounds, and simply play presets or sounds created by programmers.
However, the original purpose of the synthesizer was to "create sound". It's easy to simply select a preset you like, but that sound will always be "someone else's sound". We at Roland asked, "Why don't we return to the roots of synthesis; the enjoyment of creating original sounds?" We considered many different ways in which we could bring back the fun of creating sounds, and the result is the JD-800 before you.
"Creating sounds" may seem like a highly technical process, but it's actually just a matter of moving a slider to make the sound change! This is easy for anyone, and the sounds that you get will always be your very own.
The JD-800 is designed to make it fun to create sounds. So please go ahead and move those sliders! We hope you will make lots of different sounds; original sounds with which to play your original music.
—From the introduction to the JD-800 manual
Technology
The JD-800 combines sample playbackSample-based synthesis
Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments instead of fundamental waveforms such as the saw waves...
with digital synthesis
Digital synthesizer
A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing techniques to make musical sounds.Electronic keyboards make music through sound waves.-History:...
, a process that Roland calls Linear Arithmetic synthesis
Linear Arithmetic synthesis
Linear Arithmetic synthesis, or LA synthesis, is a term that was invented by the Roland Corporation when they released their ground-breaking D-50 synthesizer in 1987.- Overview :...
, a technique Roland had been using to great effect in the Roland D-50
Roland D-50
The Roland D-50 is a polyphonic 61-key synthesizer produced by Roland. It was released in 1987. Its features include Linear Arithmetic synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analog synthesis-styled layout design. The external Roland PG-1000 Programmer could also be...
. The JD-800 has 108 waveforms built-in, but these can be expanded via PCM-cards. There are waveforms in a variety of categories, like; analog synth, acoustic instruments, like guitars, woodwind, brass and voices. Most of these waveforms are very short and are designed to give character to the attack portion of a sound, while some longer ones are designed for creating pads, or the sustained part of a patch. The JD-800 was the first instrument from Roland to have its core sound set of waveforms developed entirely in the United States, under a short-lived branch of Roland's R&D-LA office in Culver City, California. The core sampled waveforms and Factory presets of the JD-800 were created by Eric Persing
Eric Persing
Eric Persing is a professional synthesist and producer in Los Angeles, California. He is best known as the Founder and Creative Director of the leading music software and virtual instrument company Spectrasonics...
.
A patch, or single sound, in the JD-800 consists of up to 4 tones. As every tone consists of an almost completely independent synthesizer voice a patch could be considered a layer of up to 4 different synthesizers. In single mode the JD-800 plays one patch at a time, but in multi mode it is possible to play 5 different patches, over MIDI, plus an extra "special" patch. The special patch has different waveforms assigned to the 61 different key on the keyboard, so is used for drums and percussion sounds. The JD-800 has one effects section. In single mode 7 effects can be used simultaniously, in series, so all tones in a patch go through the same effects. In multi mode 3 effects can be used at the same time, all patches sharing the same effects, though a patch can be routed to bypass the effects.
Editing and Playing
Using the "layer" buttons, the player can switch the 4 tones in a patch on and off, while playing. When in "edit" mode, the layer buttons are used to choose which tones' parameters are changed using the sliders on the front panel. The "palette" sliders allow the player to edit the last active parameter of all 4 tones individually at the same time. While playing, the palette sliders can easily be used like a little mixing board to set the balance between the 4 tones in a patch. However, due to the limited accuracy of the sliders, and because edited parameters jump from the value in memory to the value corresponding to the position of the slider, when the slider is moved, it is hard to edit sounds while playing, without creating sudden "jumps" in the sound.Expandability
The synth was expandable by the inclusion of slots for PCM and RAM cards. The former increased the number of waveforms available to the user, the latter increased the number of patches that could be used. Roland produced a number of expansion kits for the synth (and other compatible models) comprising a pair of cards - a PCM card containing new samples, and a RAM card containing a bank of new presets.PCM add on cards:
Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
later released 8 add on cards for the JD 800:
- SL-JD80-01 Drums & Percussion STANDARD
- SL-JD80-02 Drums & Percussion DANCE
- SL-JD80-03 Rock Drums
- SL-JD80-04 Strings Ensemble
- SL-JD80-05 Brass Section
- SL-JD80-06 Grand Piano
- SL-JD80-07 Guitar Collection
- SL-JD80-08 Accordion
In 1993, Roland produced the JD-990
Roland JD-990
The Roland JD-990 is a module version of Roland JD-800 synthesizer with expanded capabilities. JD-990 is a multitimbral synthesizer utilizing wave-table synthesis technology. It is equipped with 6 Mb of ROM containing wave-table, four sets of stereo outputs that are assignable to individual,...
(or Super-JD), an expandable rackmountable version of the JD-800 with enhanced capabilities.
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