I'm not sure who Roland is actually marketing this thing to. Yes, it has synth and acoustic sounds but so does the Fantom G and the FG is a lot less expensive and in addition the FG has a Sequencer and a Sampler and expansion capability which the Jupiter-80 has none of those. That's three strikes against the Jupiter-80 right there if you ask me. ;) Many of Roland's synth customers have already gobbled up the V-Synth/GT, in droves, and will probably be apprehensive to spend an additional $4,000-plus on the Jupiter-80 because their synth needs are basically already met with the V-Synth/GT, no doubt, and therefore sales of the Jupiter-80 will likely suffer because of it.
On the acoustic side of things, I'm pretty sure the Jupiter-80 will have many excellent acoustic sounds, although that has yet to be determined as of today. The only acoustic sound I've heard so far on the Jupiter-80 is the ac Grand Piano which sounded great by the way. Only time will tell if the clone-wheel B3 organs and other acoustic sounds are as good or better than those on the Fantom G. But even if the Jupiter-80 exceeds the acoustic sound quality of the Fantom G, would it exceed them to such a degree that people would be willing to fork over $4,000-plus dollars when their Fantom G most likely has a greater multitude of unique acoustic sounds on it and that perhaps won't be available on the Jupiter-80, such as accordion or flute or tuba? What is the exact full palette of acoustic sounds on the Jupiter-80 anyway? Will there be "thousands" of them like there are on the Fantom G? If the Jupiter-80 lacks a certain acoustic instrument e.g. accordion, mandolin, oboe, clarinet, harmonica etc., etc., etc... there won't be a way to import or add those excluded instruments to the Jupiter-80, correct? NO expansion capability, correct? NO Sampling capability, correct? That will diminish the Jupiter-80 as a live performance instrument, needless to say, because if a keyboardist requires a certain acoustic sound e.g. accordion, harmonica, oboe, or whatever, and the Jupiter-80 doesn't already have it (or them) on it... you're out of luck... right? So in reality, if there isn't a full and substantial pallet of acoustic sounds contained within the Jupiter-80 a "two-tiered" keyboard set-up will likely be a performer's only option if indeed it holds true that the Jupiter-80's acoustic prowess and/or sound palette are less than stellar and/or less than abundant. If a keyboardist's only option is lugging two keyboards to a gig he would most likely skip buying a Jupiter-80 because of those limitations, in my opinion, and would instead choose a keyboard = that does it all in "one" package... like the Kronos or Motif XF, or indeed, like the Fantom G. :) Now if the Jupiter-80 actually has a "full" palette of acoustic sounds on it then a "two-tiered" keyboard scenario perhaps wouldn't be required. But like I said, if the Jupiter-80 doesn't run the "full" gamut of acoustic sounds people will probably hesitate forking over $4,000-plus dollars so they can lug 'two' keyboards around to their gigs... instead of one. Maybe it's just me I dunno...
So I think Roland has possibly painted themselves into a corner regarding the Jupiter-80 if you ask me. If people already own the quite competent V-Synth/GT, etc.. why would they fork over $4,000-plus in additional dollars on a Jupiter-80? What does the Jupiter-80 bring to the table (in the way of synth sounds) that the V-Snyth/GT doesn't already have? Besides the Jupiter-80 having a touchscreen that is? ;) Hmmm?? On the other end of the spectrum why would traditional keyboardists fork over $4,000-plus bucks on the Jupiter-80 when they already have the quite competent Fantom G, etc. - which also have expansion capabilities, a Sequencer and a Sampler - when the Jupiter-80 lacks all three? Hmmm???? A pretty "iffy" proposition if you ask me. ;) Sorry for being so negative but I'm just trying to look at it objectively.
I think Roland will probably sell quite a few Jupiter-80's though. To people who don't need or want a Sequencer, a Sampler, or Expansion capability... and who don't already own a V-Synth/GT etc., and/or a capable Workstation that is.
I do think the Jupiter-80's synth sounds (those I've heard so far) are very phat and superb to my ears. If it turns out that the acoustic sounds are also the bee's knees then a lot of people will perhaps spring for a Jupiter-80 for the excellent bread n' butter sounds on it too. If the B3's are extraordinarily good then organists might take the plunge as well. I think Roland has also improved the arpeggiator/arpeggiations too. 256 note polyphony is also a bonus. :) Ultimately, the market for this beast will be limited though in my opinion. Which Roland could have ultimately averted if they had actually given the Jupiter-80 a Sequencer, a Sampler, and expansion capability... then it would have sold like hot-cakes in my opinion. As it stands now, Roland has inadvertently narrowed the market down to a restricted and 'niched few' if you ask me. And as such, I can't fully comprehend why they did it that way. Unless they actually want people to "lug" two keyboards around to gigs perhaps?? :D
Definitely not a win/win for them in my opinion. But I think they'll sell enough of them to make a tidy sum and will add a reasonable profit to their bottom line no doubt. Time will tell though. In the meantime, when will Roland release their next "Workstation?" Or will they release any more Workstations at all?? Apparently the Jupiter-80 is Roland's... *new* Flagship. New flagship Synth??... or new Flagship keyboard?? Which is it?? Uh... oh! :O The demise of the workstation may be already upon us folks. :( Pity if true.
Last edited by keysme on 7 Apr 2011, 10:32, edited 1 time in total.
