Roland Jupiter-8

The Roland Jupiter-8 is an eight-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer renowned for its rich and versatile sound. Introduced in 1981, it features dual oscillators per voice, offering waveforms such as triangle, sawtooth, pulse, and square, along with a noise generator. The synthesizer includes a flexible low-pass filter with 2-pole and 4-pole settings, a non-resonant high-pass filter, and two envelope generators. It also boasts an arpeggiator with modes like up, down, up + down, and random, which can be synchronized with external equipment via the DCB interface. The Jupiter-8 offers advanced keyboard modes such as Whole, Dual, and Split, allowing for layered or split sounds across the keyboard. Its Assign Modes include Solo, Unison, Poly 1, and Poly 2, providing flexibility in sound creation. The synthesizer's durability and sound quality have made it a favorite among musicians, appearing in iconic tracks like Michael Jackson's Thriller and Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf. Despite lacking MIDI at its release, later models incorporated the DCB interface for connectivity. The Jupiter-8 remains highly sought after for its iconic analog sound and robust build.