Roland has announced the Jupiter-80, a new synthesizer presented at MusikMesse 2011.

Roland Jupiter-80

In 1981, Roland created the JUPITER-8, with the goal of creating the most expressive synthesizer possible. Equipped with the leading technology of its day, the legendary synth’s unique character and rich sound has remained iconic in the popular musical landscape ever since. Today, Roland is extremely proud to introduce the JUPITER-80 Synthesizer, a keyboard that represents an unprecedented leap in the pursuit of the most realistic and authentically expressive electronic musical instrument, just as its namesake did when it was launched 30 years ago.

With a sleek industrial design that pays homage to the original JUPITER-8, the 76-key touchscreen-driven JUPITER-80 integrates the highest caliber of analog modeling, digital synthesis, and SuperNATURAL® expressiveness available in a live performance synthesizer. This combination of Roland’s most advanced synthesis technologies gives keyboardists not only an amazingly realistic and organic sound, but a truly authentic performance.

The JUPITER-80 Synthesizer also features a complete suite of SuperNATURAL sounds—piano, brass, strings, guitar, and more—resulting in the most realistic array of acoustic instruments ever assembled in a keyboard. The SuperNATURAL sound engine constantly analyzes the player’s natural keyboard performance to continuously produce the authentic performance behavior of the selected sound – all without altering the player’s normal keyboard technique. These meticulously crafted SuperNATURAL instruments, now under control of behavior modeling, provide the most authentic acoustic playing experience for live performances and studio recordings.

Jupiter-80 features

  • Powerful integrated SuperNATURAL synthesis engines designed for legendary vintage synth sounds to realistic organic acoustic sounds and more.
  • Single Tone is equivalent to the performance of powerful single synthesizer—stack four of these to create a mind-blowing “Live Set”.
  • Tone Blender tweaks multiple parameters of tones in realtime for complex, emotive sonic movement during performance.
  • Fast, friendly operation with intuitive front panel and color touchscreen optimized for live performance.
  • 76-note semi-weighted synth keyboard, and 256 polyphonic voices (varies according to sound-generator load).
  • USB-memory Song Player/Recorder for backing tracks or quick idea capture.
  • Easy integration with computers via built-in USB-MIDI/Audio interface.

More information: Roland / Jupiter-80