Roland Jupiter-6

Two unremarkable DIN jacks at the back are what secure this Roland Jupiter-6’s place of honor in the galaxy of electronic music: MIDI in and MIDI out (MIDI thru was only added later…).

Together with the Prophet 600 by Sequential Circuits, the Jupiter-6 triggered the age of non-denominational partnerships. MIDI was born, and with that, manufacturer-independent communication between electronic musical instruments. It seems obvious today, but in January 1983 it caused a huge sensation!

But this commonly cited event shouldn’t take away from the fact that, even aside from this historic milestone, this Jupiter-6 is further proof of the very special and superb sound aesthetics of Roland synthesizers. Attributes such as warm and creamy are perhaps not enough to describe the potential of the Jupiter-6, which also turns into an excellent lead synthesizer as needed thanks to cross modulation and a highly effective oscillator sync.

Twelve analog oscillators are divided across up to six voices and are—in line with the eight voices of the Jupiter-8—the reason behind its name. Jupiter-6: a giant in our solar system!

Its very subdued colored design—in comparison to the colorful Jupiter-8—is the only sign it was developed in the late ‘80s, when a ton of unremarkable black boxes came out on the synthesizer market.

Or, keeping up with the Jupiter-related lingo, a lot of black holes …