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Roland JX-3P
Posted: 04 January 2006 05:23 AM   [ Ignore ]  
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Just picked this up about a month ago and really can’t get any good sounds out of it.  It can do some decent bass and pads, but I need it for leads.  Anything I create just sounds like an effected accordian.

Anyone have one of these and can offer some patching advice?

 
Posted: 04 January 2006 01:03 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 1 ]  
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try crossmodulation, buried in there someplace.  I’ve seen a JX3P in some live (or possibly ‘live’ in the case of an appearnce on Formel Eins) Fad Gadget videos: sheep look up, collapsing new people, others.

ah, here it is, the “metal” setting:

http://www.retrosynth.com/gear/jx3p/info.html

and the manual:

http://www.synthmania.com/images/Roland/Roland JX-3P/Roland JX-3P manual.pdf

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b l e a k

 
Posted: 05 January 2006 05:12 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 2 ]  
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Ollie, do you have the PG-200 programming unit?

It sure makes it much more intuitive when trying to coax sounds out of this thing.

It’s been about 9 years since I messed with that synth, but I recall it being very bright and metallic most of the time. I think it had a chorus or ensemble setting that always made it a little thicker.

I believe I’ve got the programmer in my house, I’ll take a peak later.

 
Posted: 05 January 2006 06:12 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 3 ]  
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Thanks for the input!

I do have the programmer for it.  After sitting down with it for a few hours I’ve been able to get a few usable sounds, so it might not be as hopeless as I first thought.  It IS a very bright, thin machine, and the filters seem to be a bit on the weak side, but for a live synth i think I can make it work.

 
Posted: 27 January 2006 04:55 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 4 ]  
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[quote author=“Ollie_Stench”]It IS a very bright, thin machine, and the filters seem to be a bit on the weak side.

yes i agree - VERY thin and very poor filtering - that awkward time between analog and digital :(

 
Posted: 20 February 2006 10:59 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 5 ]  
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Primarily a light string synth, however, if you don’t have the PG-200 controller, you need it, or there’s very little to do with the 3P.

 
Posted: 05 March 2006 06:22 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 6 ]  
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even without the pg-200 it’s still a fun basic synth. the on board sequencer is super easy to use and midi’ing it up to a rhythm machine is super simple, so it’s a perfect first synth kind of thing. the sounds are def. weak. i think it was known for it’s decent organ sounds.

 
Posted: 06 March 2006 04:25 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 7 ]  
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I screwed around with it again this weekend and I think I’ve decided to get rid of it.  Great synth, just not what I’m looking for.

 
Posted: 26 June 2006 12:51 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 8 ]  
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Well, I’ve still got the JX-3P and PG200, it’s sitting on a stand on top of my Prophet 600.  But here’s a little toy I found online, when I get some free time I’m going to A/B the 2 and see how the VST compares.

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/1592.html 
 
Posted: 12 August 2006 12:52 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 9 ]  
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hey!!!
i got verrry lucky. few weeks ago i bought jx3p with pg200 in perfect working order for about 60 euros from a local gipsy [in serbia]. it’s from the first series i think, withouth midi thru. at first i didn’t want to buy it because i have juno 60 which is considered to be big brother of jx3p, so i bought it anyway for singer of my band. for a few days i played with it and when finally singer came to me to give me money and pick his new synth, aaargh! - i wanted to keep it! well, at least, it’s not far from me - it’s still within my band smile

and here are some tricks my friend found on internet:

1 Ok, I’ve stolen my musicians copy of Sound On Sound, and here are the ‘features’
that are hidden inside a Roland JX3P.
Have fun with it,
Anthony.
-8<- Snip -8<-
—Hidden Bank Access.
16 extra slots for user tones.
Hit Tape Memory.
Hit key 5 and hold it.
While still holding key 5, hit Tape Memory again.
To reset to normal operation, hit Tape Memory twice.

—Hidden Bank Tape Interface.
For saving/loading tones in the hidden bank.
Before hitting Save, Verify, or Load, go through the
Hidden Bank access steps described above.

—Poly II Mode.
This differs from standard Poly I mode in that only the
last note or notes played receive their natural release
length, and is much more suitable where certain types of
staccato playing to slow fade effects are required.
For use with original 32 presets:
Hit Tape Memory.
Hit key 3 and hold.
While holding key 3, hit Tape Memory again.
For use with the hidden bank:
Hit Tape Memory.
Hit key 6 and hold.
While holding key 6, hit Tape Memory again.

—Sequencer Lights.
The LEDs light up as sequences play - cute.
Hit and hold Rest button.
While holding Rest, hit Start/Stop.

—Manual Sequencer Play.
While in overdub mode, hit Tape Memory to advance
sequences manually.

—Modulating With Noise.
Hit Group B button and key 10.
Hit Group D button.

The following two modes were part of an EPROM update - if they
work you’ve got it…
—Dynamics When Played From A Touch-Sensitive Module.
With JX3P off, hit and hold key 5.
Turn on power.
Keyboard will cease to function (Local operation off).
Synth will now act as a touch sensitive keyboard.
Alternatively:
Hit Tape Memory.
Hit and hold key 7.
Hit Tape Memory again.
To reset the JX3P, turn it off, then on…

—For MIDI Channel 3 Operation When In Dynamics Mode.
Turn on dynamics operation as detailed above - via
either method.
Hit Tape Memory.

—To Turn Your JX3P Into A Tekkno Rave Machine.
With JX3P off, hit and hold *T*ape Memory.
Turn on power, then hit *R*est.
Then press keys 3, 0, and 3 in sequence in a squelchy manner.
Now kill yourself.
2 >How do you set the MIDI channel on the JX-3P? Or… how do I get it out
>of OMNI mode?
connect Midi in to Midi out and play more than 6 voices (or six). This trick
is mentioned a couple of times on this list.
I noticed a curious (and useful) occurence last night, due to
reconfiguring Cubase when I rearranged my room yesterday…the local
off/poly on commands I was sending to my CZ1000 were sent to my JX3P
and it stopped responding as Omni! So to set a JX3P to Omni-Off just
send a Poly-On (controller 127, data >= 1) message. At least it ends
the need to play around with MIDI cables to get the same effect wink

3 The sequencer is a standard step sequencer, except that the 16th note you
are on within the bar is displayed by a led on the 1-16 buttons.  So, as
you add notes, you see it advance one.  The sequencer functions are
exactly as they look: 16th rest, hold-previous-note-16th(you use these
successively of course).  I remember that one key let’s you go backwards
in the steps but I can’t remember which key ‘cause I’m not in front of my
jx3p now…  I can’t remember the max notes either.  You can use the
Roland CV to trigger the clock (each gate sets off the next 16th note in
the sequence, like the SH101’s clock in from the same cv voltage).  For
arpeggiations where you want to tweak sounds as you play, this is the way
to go.  For more melody-specific sequencing, you eventually have to give
up real-time tweakability for the midi-in.  bummer, but it is sort of a
challenge that helps me compose between simple/complex chord prog and
melodies.  Of course, you can manually switch from internal seq to
midi-in while playing.  wink
“Thin”-sounding the jx3p is—in the sense of sort of sheering metal.  Sort
of weak on the mid-range frequencies for some reason probably best
explained by Mr. Smartypants808.  He once said something about the
filter…  It is thin in a cold-analog way, like the Akai AK80/AK60, not
like the Korg Poly 800.  That Korg can be ‘wimpy-thin’ if you don’t
really get in there and tweak everything a little off-sync/tune.  If you
tweak that guy right, it sounds like the badass little ‘Commode’-64 ‘puter.
4 JX-3P test Modes:
If you hold down the 1 button while powering up you are actually entering a
test mode. The first 6 LEDs come on to show which of the 6 voices you are
playing. If 1 voice was bad the service person could quickly determine
which voice needs repair. Also, there was a way to enter test mode with
rotating (hold down 1) or numbered (hold down 2, I think) voice assignment.

 
Posted: 16 August 2006 05:10 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 10 ]  
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Thanks for the info.  I still have the JX-3P, I’ve decided to hold on to it until I find another synth that I want.  One of these days I will have enough free time to sit down and see what sounds I can coax out of it.

 
Posted: 23 May 2007 03:27 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 11 ]  
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I recently got a Jx-3p. I like the sound.. I think the ‘thin sounding’ label owns alot to the limited resonance of the filter, but if you can live with that (or recalibrate it) it’s a great synth. It can do more than a Juno 60 can with it’s two oscillators and crossmod capabilities. How come this is supposed to sound thin if it uses the same custom filter chips as rest of rolands polysynth line..?

 
Posted: 16 June 2007 04:51 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 12 ]  
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Well I sold the synth last week for $300 to a friend.  He’s got the matching GR-70 guitar synth so he’s happy.  Now I can afford to get my Prophet 600 out of the shop.

 
Posted: 04 September 2007 10:33 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 13 ]  
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I’ve had a JX-3P for some time now… and I still love it to death.

Sure, it’s no Jupiter 8 or Korg MS-20, but it has a very distinctive and useable sound. It has its qualities, but you have to be work on it a little sometimes… A friend of my husband has managed to make some very cool patches in the user banks. Now it’s mega easy to play with sounds in the vein of Sleeper in Metropolis (Anne Clark), Hands in the dark (Dark Day), U-men (Front 242), A.G.N.E.S. (1000 Ohm), Verschwende deine Jugend (DAF), Pocket calculator (Kraftwerk), etc…

But of course: just don’t judge it by standards of synths that cost 5 or 6 times as much rolleyes  :D

cheers from Belgium!
C.

 
Posted: 25 March 2008 07:43 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 14 ]  
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the resonance of my jx3p is recalibrated by some previous owner, so it can go really high. so yeah you can make some pretty juicy sounds with it.
but the “thin” sounds are good too for chords with many notes for example.

my only complaint is that the lfo is rediculously slow… does anyone know if there is a way to recalibrate that too?

 
Posted: 17 April 2008 06:03 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 15 ]  
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[quote author=“swedish_moose”]the resonance of my jx3p is recalibrated by some previous owner, so it can go really high. so yeah you can make some pretty juicy sounds with it.
but the “thin” sounds are good too for chords with many notes for example.

my only complaint is that the lfo is rediculously slow… does anyone know if there is a way to recalibrate that too?

rub some cocaine on your fingers and give the knob a whirl..
works for me.  :wink:

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