Roland Super Jupiter MKS-80 Rev 4 Versus Rev 5

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There’s quite a debate out there on the internets about the sound of the Roland Super Jupiter MKS-80 rev 4 versus rev 5. The one I’m testing at the moment is a rev 5. So I decided to see if I could match one of the rev 4 comparison sounds that I found posted on Gearslutz.com in this thread about the topic. I knew that I couldn’t match it exactly because on the unit I’m testing the tune knob isn’t functional and it does not respond to velocity. However, I thought it would be interesting to see how close I could come.

I tuned the instrument, awkwardly, with the pitch wheel in lieu of a functional tune knob. The main difference I hear is that in the rev 4 example the velocity is routed to the VCF, where in my example the VCF is re-triggered with the same intensity on each note since the velocity is not functional. Here are the examples so that you can be the judge. Compare the first phrase in “Rev 4 versus Rev 5” to “Rev 5 Reprogrammed”.

Rev 4 versus Rev 5 example from Gearslutz.com moderator Don Solaris:
Rev 4 versus Rev 5

My attempt to match the Rev 4 example above:
Rev 5 Reprogrammed

6 thoughts on “Roland Super Jupiter MKS-80 Rev 4 Versus Rev 5”

  1. Hi,

    I owned both Rev4 and Rev5 during a period of time, and decided to record the same patch with each of them. I could do this because they were programmed through the same MPG80 programmer.

    PLease find here my two files. You can setup those files in 2 tracks of your sequencer, in order to mute one or the other and make the Rev4/Rev5 comparaison easier.

    Regards,

    http://9giga.sfr.fr/n/50-17/share/LNK36004ad38a04170b6/

  3. Hello there… On the second set of audio files you have not said which is the rev. 4 and which is rev. 5. I assume the top file is the 4 and bottom is the 5 but I’d rather not assume.

  4. LOL…. Nevermind. When downloading the files, they say which is which! Still a rough comparison. Upon listening to both, I can’t really be certain which one I like better as the differences are very minimal… almost un-noticeable.

  5. Personally, I think the rev 4 sounds fuller and seems to have a nicer bottom than the rev 5. IMHO.

  6. I think it’s a matter of how the patches are programmed. However, from all the examples I’ve heard it does seem like the filter on the Rev 5 is a little bit more tame than it is on the Rev 4.

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