I went from a Juno 6, to a JX-3P, then the JX-8P and then D-50. I also had an ESQ1 plus others! The JX-3P is the one I regret selling the most. A great underrated 80’s synth!
I used to have a big studio with many classic synths. I did sell a lot for my eurorack adventure but kept my Jx3p and Jx8p and programmers. They sound so good.
(23:50) This is pretty much how I spent the entirety of my life from 1983-1985 when I got one of these things in high school...my friends and family got so sick of me playing this kind of riff all day and all night in my quest to become Giorgio Moroder XD...thanks for the great demo, brings back memories.
The JX-3P is the first, and only poly I have ever owned. Bought early 80s, I remember trying out a Juno at the same time, but the thing that swayed me was the metallic tones it offered. A good few years ago I bought a programmer clone DT 200 I think, and it was like having a new synth! Still use it extensively, and use the midi out to add a VST Juno 106 as an extra layer, bloomin’ glorious!
would you say the jx3p’s recognizable sound is identical to the juno? while only doing what the juno is capable of, ofcourse the jx3p can make sounds the juno cant. but setting the jx3p up like a juno, how different are they?
@@bobzmuda3940 I actually never owned a juno, so i cant compare it too much. I would love to though :D Maybe I will report back on this comment someday :D
Brilliant. I LOVED the Blade Runner reference when you demoed the Unicorn Brass patch. That sound sent shivers down my spine. What a beautiful sounding synth
One of my favorite things about the JX3P and MKS-30 was the way the bender inflected the notes. I could never get any other analog synth to quite match that modulation shape. You captured some of that character at top of the second just before 1:20.
Funny fact - I had my JX-3P with me when I auditioned for Pretty Maids in '91 - When I arrived at their town I was mugged, the JX-3p suffered 3 or 4 keys destroyed but I made it to the rehearsals 🙂
We had one of these in our house in the early 90s. Then we moved country and the synth didn't come with us - gifted away to a family friend. Just about to buy one with a PG200 and a hardcase that accommodates both bits of kit. Even has the original music stand that slots into the holes on the top of the case. Looking forward to getting my hands of it. It will also be a surprise for my old man... he also loved the synth.
This is one of my all-time favorite synthesizers my favorite electronic music producers; Satin Jackets use it all the time. I really wish I could afford one.
I remember seeing the 3P for the first time in a popular 80s synth shop in the UK called Future Music (you’ll see some of their adverts in your magazines) it blew me away, it looked so futuristic and still does in a way....Thanks for sharing Espen😀
Wow!!. I miss my 3P. I don't play much now but I used to have one way back. Also had the PG 200. Such an awesome looking keyboard. I now own an M1. Your's looks in great condition. Classic.
One of the most popular synths of the mid 80s - not so expensive but powerful for live performance and studio work. 19:15 - Such a wonderful harmony pad sound and chords ! The rest sounds are very cool of course. Thanks for another excellent, informative and really interesting video, Espen! Have a good day!
Ah, Easter 1984 when I got the polyphonic JX-3P home after a series of Moog, Yamaha and SCI monosynths. New Order on the radio, me diligently programming the JX one parameter at a time. A great time to be alive.
Hi I like your videos very very much I had most of the roland in my career of music and I love them I think they are 1 of the best, but thanks like to watch your videos it reminds me in the old time thanks 👍🎼
Wow!!!! I've just got myself from an online resource two high-resolution files of original brochure for JX-3P and PG-200 dated 1983 !!! 1983-2020. Still actual !!!
Oh it is a lovely synth. Especially for sitting in a mix. The poly sequencer with trigger in was great for live jams. The midi was terrible and it had some other short comings, but those can be forgiven. Just before I sold it I recorded one final track with it to mix some other time for old times sake. Anyway, very thorough video and really nice programming.
@ghost mall There is no CC control of any parameters whatsoever, so you think "Well, that's annoying, but I can just use the controller to change the settings manually as it plays". Then you realise you have to use the rear switch to deactivate the controller in order to use midi! This leaves you with the ability to change only one parameter at a time via menu diving whilst it's playing over midi. Its only use is if you want to load a static preset and have a sequencer or your DAW play the notes because you're unable. Better than nothing, but compared to pretty much every synth that followed, it's terrible.
This was my first synth and I have had 3 over the years. I have one now with a PG 200 and a DT-200 and an MKS-30 Planet S. This little synth is unique and sounds like nothing Roland has ever produced. It and Filter Flow is coming with me to the after life if there is one.
Great video! I watched otherJX3P videos and never got a real appreciation for it until this video. If I ever buy this synth though, I would definitely need the PG 200, as I am now spoiled by having synths with a lot of knobs and faders. That was a pretty cool track you were working on also. Thanks Espen, for another great video. :)
I love this synth as well. I have the MKS-30, the rackmount version. Some say they sound different but I think they are equivalent. Having the PG-200 is awesome with the MKS, because you can tweak sounds as they are being sequenced, working all those beautiful silver knobs.
An underrated awesome classic done proper justice here 👌 - about time our JX3P recieved a midi upgrade so we can use both midi and the pg200 at the same time.
i mean aesthetically i can see that, the juno 60 is the best looking synth ever next to the cs80, but the jx3p is the juno 60 with an actual second oscillator. i see no competition.
Thanks for the video, imo the best on net!!! I had a Jx3p+pg and sold it to collect money for a CP70 (which I bought)... But later I had to rebuy it.. I was missing it too much ✌️🙂
Thanks in small part to this video, I bought a JX-3P with the programmer yesterday. It sounds even better than I expected and the internal sequencer is great fun for a musically talentless hack such as myself :)
It's very easy to edit! Once you make a few patches you will remember which numbers correspond to what parameter. This synth has a very emotional quality (maybe it's just the dust from 1983) but I still feel the basic tone is much more satisfying than the Rev2 and other modern polys.
It’s a well known face that the dust found from 1983 contains the raw uncut devils dandruff, not like the cut garbage worm dewormer inasitol caffeine fetty we now are plauged with.
I didn't know this synth from Roland and it has remarkable sounds. Seems to be easily programmable. Thanks! And I think it's approved by Alex Ball too! :-D
The JX3P was the first commercial synthesizer I owned (I built my first synth). Roland released an updated firmware for it which made it velocity sensitive through MIDI. The hardware was capable of velocity sensitivity but the keyboard wasn't. PS Love the Bladerunner brass
@@alan93 Roland might be able to supply it. I don't actually remember installing it, but it probably meant physically replacing the eprom. I think you had to turn the synth on while holding down a button to put it in velocity sensitivity mode. That mode disabled the keyboard so it could only be played via MIDI. I think I fitted the eprom myself actually. Sorry my reply is vague, but it was in about 1990.
I had one when it was new, but not the programmer for it. That extra was so expensive! I bought the boutique version for 200$ last year, for nostalgia value. They messed up a few things but it's nice to finally have the knobs
Beautiful Espen! The JX3P was my first ever synth in 1985. I had saved up all summer to buy a Juno 106... I went to the music store and they informed me the Juno's were back ordered for 6 months "But hey, we just got this new one here in from Roland" I bought it instantly. Sadly later in the 80s I sold it to buy a Alpha Juno2 simply because I was dying for a portable piano solution and needed a velocity sensitive synth to run my Roland U-110 module that I used for piano.
Aw yeah! Alex Ball cameo. Great video as always Espen! I'm looking into something for the 80s Roland DCO synth sound. Probably gonna save for an Alpha Juno. Although I have heard some of the Korg hybrids have a nice sound.
Great vid :) I love the sequencer!! It's a little quirky, but I thought the visual feedback of the beats and bars via the buttons in TR drum machine fashion was genius! I was given the choice of either a JX-3P or JX-8P a while back and went for the 8P in the end. I wish I'd got both now :-D Cheers!
I've long regretted not buying this back in the early 90's, it was in a second hand music shop I used to go in all the time in Manchester, had the programmer with it too. I forget how much it was but it was cheap compared to today. Thanks for reminding me I'm stupid! ;)
I got offered a JX3p once, ± 450Euro. And I did not do it.. grrrr.. It has such a distinct Juno sound though. It sounds like a Juno60 with more balls (I own a Juno60). Although of course, they are completely different.
We actually had a JX-3P plus the PG 200 at school. They lived in a tiny studio room, played by me and some other kid at lunchtime. There was an old Roland modular synth in there as well. How I ended up playing guitar is a mystery.
That JX-3P sounds great. You got it sounding like a JX8P. That SC 6 Trak looks brand new. Haven't seen one look that good since I seen them in the stores.
I went from a Juno 6, to a JX-3P, then the JX-8P and then D-50. I also had an ESQ1 plus others! The JX-3P is the one I regret selling the most. A great underrated 80’s synth!
19:14 is an extraordinarily beautiful pad!
I like it. ;-) Thanks
@@EspenKraft Fabulous!
The fox oh that tickled my nostalgic nicely done
Yay! I picked one of these up a few years ago for pocket change. Good to see that they’re getting some love these days. Amazing synth for its day.
I used to have a big studio with many classic synths. I did sell a lot for my eurorack adventure but kept my Jx3p and Jx8p and programmers. They sound so good.
Having never even seen one in person, I had no idea it had so many features.. especially the sequencer and its abilities! Thanks for the video!
My pleasure! So many are unaware of all things this synth can do. ;-)
(23:50) This is pretty much how I spent the entirety of my life from 1983-1985 when I got one of these things in high school...my friends and family got so sick of me playing this kind of riff all day and all night in my quest to become Giorgio Moroder XD...thanks for the great demo, brings back memories.
Cheers! :D
My first synth from my teenage high school days. Great memories....
My first synth! I bought it used in 1986 and I still have it. I had no idea it was so powerful with the sequencer!
This is one of the best JX3P demos I have seen and heard. Great sounds that really show off what this synth does best.
Cheers!
The JX-3P is the first, and only poly I have ever owned. Bought early 80s, I remember trying out a Juno at the same time, but the thing that swayed me was the metallic tones it offered. A good few years ago I bought a programmer clone DT 200 I think, and it was like having a new synth! Still use it extensively, and use the midi out to add a VST Juno 106 as an extra layer, bloomin’ glorious!
Oh my gosh... I'm in love with this synth now!!
Such rich and fat lovely string sounds! Amazing synth indeed, what a pearl!
Proud owner here, along with a pg-200. One of my favorite synths of all time. Very recognizable sound and phenomenal on stage.
would you say the jx3p’s recognizable sound is identical to the juno? while only doing what the juno is capable of, ofcourse the jx3p can make sounds the juno cant. but setting the jx3p up like a juno, how different are they?
@@bobzmuda3940 I actually never owned a juno, so i cant compare it too much. I would love to though :D Maybe I will report back on this comment someday :D
Brilliant. I LOVED the Blade Runner reference when you demoed the Unicorn Brass patch. That sound sent shivers down my spine. What a beautiful sounding synth
Many thanks Matthew! :)
I had this synth in the 80's!
One of my favorite things about the JX3P and MKS-30 was the way the bender inflected the notes. I could never get any other analog synth to quite match that modulation shape. You captured some of that character at top of the second just before 1:20.
Oh my word
that sounds INCREDIBLE!
I had one back in the late 90s, easily one of the best sounding synths ever made. One of my favorites.
Funny fact - I had my JX-3P with me when I auditioned for Pretty Maids in '91 - When I arrived at their town I was mugged, the JX-3p suffered 3 or 4 keys destroyed but I made it to the rehearsals 🙂
Mit diesem Synth hat in der Schule alles angefangen... Bekomme immer noch ne Gänsehaut wenn ich daran zurück denke... 😍😍😍👏👏😂
We had one of these in our house in the early 90s. Then we moved country and the synth didn't come with us - gifted away to a family friend. Just about to buy one with a PG200 and a hardcase that accommodates both bits of kit. Even has the original music stand that slots into the holes on the top of the case. Looking forward to getting my hands of it. It will also be a surprise for my old man... he also loved the synth.
This is one of my all-time favorite synthesizers my favorite electronic music producers; Satin Jackets use it all the time. I really wish I could afford one.
Beautiful machine.
Love your live jam session.
Cheers!
Great review as always! One of my favorite channels on UA-cam! Keep up the good work!
Many thanks! :D
ahhh! this chanel is an amazing museum, pure fresh air during pandemia!
Fantastic how you so gracefully demonstrate and resuscitate these instruments. 🎹👏👍📺🔙☎️📼
Thanks for saying Fredrik! :)
Fantastic demo! Interesting synth! Thanks a lot!
I remember seeing the 3P for the first time in a popular 80s synth shop in the UK called Future Music (you’ll see some of their adverts in your magazines) it blew me away, it looked so futuristic and still does in a way....Thanks for sharing Espen😀
Thanks! Yes, I've seen these ads. ;-)
My first synth was a JX3P, I wish I'd kept it now, its a classic
i got mine for 40 bucks ! in high school n used it as amidi controller for a while until i gave it away
I can imagine that it was a really big milestone when introducing the JX-3P in 1983. The programming was really awesome at this time.
Incredible how well that sequencer worked way back when! Lovely layering!
Thanks! :)
Wow! Great review! I used to have that amazing synthesiser and I’ve sold it five years ago and now I’m crying.. so HUGE sound! Have to buy it again!!)
Cheers!
I used Jx-3p - 1993. LOVE JX-3P. An organ created out of passion
Got mine some time ago and then got the programmer. Love it!
Wow!!. I miss my 3P. I don't play much now but I used to have one way back. Also had the PG 200. Such an awesome looking keyboard. I now own an M1.
Your's looks in great condition. Classic.
Thank you so much for making an Episode for the JX3p 🥰
My pleasure Thomas! :)
This video was great. Great track. I need one of these in my arsenal. Thanks for the video.
Happy you liked it. Cheers! :D
Loaded the patches into my JX3P. Guys, are amazing. Thank you Aspen.
The load went alright then? Happy to hear it! Many thanks man. Cheers! :-)
Espen Kraft absolutely, not the first rodeo.
Excellent stuff as usual Espen. Thanks.
great video explaining the features and functions
Thanks! :D
Damn, those are some absolute *tones* right there....
You don't see these used very often, even though it's such a great synth.
What a lovely sound! Thanks!
My pleasure man! :)
best demonstration of the JX-3P out there! great video man
Many thanks! :)
Love that little catchy riff section in the middle!
19:12?
I remember when these came out. We had one on our band.
One of the most popular synths of the mid 80s - not so expensive but powerful for live performance and studio work.
19:15 - Such a wonderful harmony pad sound and chords ! The rest sounds are very cool of course.
Thanks for another excellent, informative and really interesting video, Espen! Have a good day!
Many thanks! :)
Ah, Easter 1984 when I got the polyphonic JX-3P home after a series of Moog, Yamaha and SCI monosynths. New Order on the radio, me diligently programming the JX one parameter at a time. A great time to be alive.
Hi I like your videos very very much I had most of the roland in my career of music and I love them I think they are 1 of the best, but thanks like to watch your videos it reminds me in the old time thanks 👍🎼
Loved it! Awesome content as usual buddy!
Many thanks! Cheers :D
Nice Video. Haven’t used my JX3P for a while. Will download the patches and try them out.
Cheers!
This is actually really insightful. Thank you!
Thanks!
Wow!!!!
I've just got myself from an online resource two high-resolution files of original brochure for JX-3P and PG-200 dated 1983 !!!
1983-2020.
Still actual !!!
Flippin' fantastic overview of the 3P. Extra cool tune EK!
Sweet, thanks!
You dont even own this machine yet you made it sound like you play it everyday ! Spectacular!
I've used the Roland synths for so many years, and I've owned most of them too so this is no biggie. Thanks! :)
We need this in modern music too!
Oh it is a lovely synth. Especially for sitting in a mix.
The poly sequencer with trigger in was great for live jams. The midi was terrible and it had some other short comings, but those can be forgiven.
Just before I sold it I recorded one final track with it to mix some other time for old times sake.
Anyway, very thorough video and really nice programming.
Thanks my friend! Thanks for contributing too, made the video so much better. :)
"Just before I sold it "
You sold it? Alex! ...Are you mad? Lol
@ghost mall There is no CC control of any parameters whatsoever, so you think "Well, that's annoying, but I can just use the controller to change the settings manually as it plays".
Then you realise you have to use the rear switch to deactivate the controller in order to use midi!
This leaves you with the ability to change only one parameter at a time via menu diving whilst it's playing over midi.
Its only use is if you want to load a static preset and have a sequencer or your DAW play the notes because you're unable.
Better than nothing, but compared to pretty much every synth that followed, it's terrible.
This was my first synth and I have had 3 over the years. I have one now with a PG 200 and a DT-200 and an MKS-30 Planet S. This little synth is unique and sounds like nothing Roland has ever produced. It and Filter Flow is coming with me to the after life if there is one.
Great video! I watched otherJX3P videos and never got a real appreciation for it until this video. If I ever buy this synth though, I would definitely need the PG 200, as I am now spoiled by having synths with a lot of knobs and faders. That was a pretty cool track you were working on also. Thanks Espen, for another great video. :)
Thanks Sean! :)
Have one. Love it.
I love this synth as well. I have the MKS-30, the rackmount version. Some say they sound different but I think they are equivalent. Having the PG-200 is awesome with the MKS, because you can tweak sounds as they are being sequenced, working all those beautiful silver knobs.
Great demo/Dreamy tunes, Espen!
Cheers! :)
An underrated awesome classic done proper justice here 👌 - about time our JX3P recieved a midi upgrade so we can use both midi and the pg200 at the same time.
Thanks! Yes, that's a little annoying.
The JX3P is the true forgetted gem of roland, far more interesting then a 1osc juno ... I love it !
absolutely not :) great great synth though!
sounds warmer than the juno-106, but doesn't come close to the 6 or 60
They compliment each other nicely imo ;-)
I agree, they really compliment each other nicely.
@@nilsvanderplancken
I disagree THE JX3P is extraordinary. Very underatted. Can do an entire track on its own.
Sounds amazing. Thanks for this great walkthrough. Love 18:53
Sweet, thanks! :)
Wonderful sound
Brilliant cameo
My favourite synth is the Juno 60. The JX-3P is close behind. Great team
i mean aesthetically i can see that, the juno 60 is the best looking synth ever next to the cs80, but the jx3p is the juno 60 with an actual second oscillator. i see no competition.
That track is fire!
Awesome and informative video! Thank you, Espen
My pleasure!
Also, excellent music examples!
Love the Sixtrak!
Fabolous! Thanks!
Thanks for the video, imo the best on net!!! I had a Jx3p+pg and sold it to collect money for a CP70 (which I bought)... But later I had to rebuy it.. I was missing it too much ✌️🙂
Can't blame you for getting it back. Thanks! :)
Thanks in small part to this video, I bought a JX-3P with the programmer yesterday. It sounds even better than I expected and the internal sequencer is great fun for a musically talentless hack such as myself :)
Congrats! :)
what did you pay for yours ?
Your polyphonic sequence has such a strong Stranger Things vibe, especially before the drums kick in. Amazing!
Happy you liked it! I think... ;-)
@@EspenKraft Finally have to repair the volume slider on my 3P now ;-)
brilliant fun as always
Cheers!
It's very easy to edit! Once you make a few patches you will remember which numbers correspond to what parameter. This synth has a very emotional quality (maybe it's just the dust from 1983) but I still feel the basic tone is much more satisfying than the Rev2 and other modern polys.
It’s a well known face that the dust found from 1983 contains the raw uncut devils dandruff, not like the cut garbage worm dewormer inasitol caffeine fetty we now are plauged with.
WOW! I've been using this synth especially the sequencer for years, but never knew you could overdub!?!? My mind is blown.
It pays off to read the manual. ;-)
R.T.F.M mate!
I love my JX3P. Had it from new. I was going to buy a Sequential Take 5 but now I think l’ll just get the Roland refurbed.
Great demonstration of the sequencer, I can see why some people would have preferred this over the other (similarly priced) synths at the time.
Thanks!
I didn't know this synth from Roland and it has remarkable sounds. Seems to be easily programmable.
Thanks!
And I think it's approved by Alex Ball too! :-D
Superb, you motivated me to buy it
Excellent! :)
Got a JX8P which I love. The iPad iPG editor is superb if you don’t have PG200 money
Got the 106 first, then the 3P then to round it out, got the 8P. Love them like my children.
NICE family!
The JX3P was the first commercial synthesizer I owned (I built my first synth). Roland released an updated firmware for it which made it velocity sensitive through MIDI. The hardware was capable of velocity sensitivity but the keyboard wasn't.
PS Love the Bladerunner brass
Cheers!
I got the JX-3P brand new as well. Is that firmware update available somewhere now? I never heard of that. How is it installed?
@@alan93 Roland might be able to supply it. I don't actually remember installing it, but it probably meant physically replacing the eprom. I think you had to turn the synth on while holding down a button to put it in velocity sensitivity mode. That mode disabled the keyboard so it could only be played via MIDI. I think I fitted the eprom myself actually. Sorry my reply is vague, but it was in about 1990.
Love it! Might have to get one. 🤔
Do it!
Wow. This is the first time I think I've seen a Six-Trak make its way into a video not specifically about the Six-Trak ;) My first synth!
I will have a dedicated SC video later. ;-)
I had one when it was new, but not the programmer for it. That extra was so expensive! I bought the boutique version for 200$ last year, for nostalgia value. They messed up a few things but it's nice to finally have the knobs
Beautiful Espen! The JX3P was my first ever synth in 1985. I had saved up all summer to buy a Juno 106... I went to the music store and they informed me the Juno's were back ordered for 6 months "But hey, we just got this new one here in from Roland" I bought it instantly. Sadly later in the 80s I sold it to buy a Alpha Juno2 simply because I was dying for a portable piano solution and needed a velocity sensitive synth to run my Roland U-110 module that I used for piano.
Thanks! The Alpha Juno is great though.
Nice shirt. "I heard that you were feeling ill, headaches, fever and a chill, I came to help restore your pluck, cause I'm the nurse who likes to ..."
Aw yeah! Alex Ball cameo. Great video as always Espen! I'm looking into something for the 80s Roland DCO synth sound. Probably gonna save for an Alpha Juno. Although I have heard some of the Korg hybrids have a nice sound.
Great vid :) I love the sequencer!! It's a little quirky, but I thought the visual feedback of the beats and bars via the buttons in TR drum machine fashion was genius! I was given the choice of either a JX-3P or JX-8P a while back and went for the 8P in the end. I wish I'd got both now :-D Cheers!
Thanks! Yes, to have both is the ultimate duo! :)
It seems fairly hard to believe how relatively un-famous this synth is. It sounds so nice.
I've long regretted not buying this back in the early 90's, it was in a second hand music shop I used to go in all the time in Manchester, had the programmer with it too. I forget how much it was but it was cheap compared to today.
Thanks for reminding me I'm stupid! ;)
From the comments during the weekend it seems this synth has left many people feel stupid... ;-)
I got offered a JX3p once, ± 450Euro. And I did not do it.. grrrr..
It has such a distinct Juno sound though. It sounds like a Juno60 with more balls (I own a Juno60). Although of course, they are completely different.
Thanks a lot, 1983 rules👍
It sure does ;-)
Just the mood I needed!
We actually had a JX-3P plus the PG 200 at school. They lived in a tiny studio room, played by me and some other kid at lunchtime. There was an old Roland modular synth in there as well. How I ended up playing guitar is a mystery.
Cool story, thanks for sharing! :)
QUITE AMAZING!! AND WONDERFUL VIDEO...!!!
Thanks!
That JX-3P sounds great. You got it sounding like a JX8P. That SC 6 Trak looks brand new. Haven't seen one look that good since I seen them in the stores.
THe SC is in great shape, as you will see in a future video. ;-)
Very nice review and nice sounds
Thanks!