Budget powerhouse that punches way above its price point

I always wanted a JD-800, but could never find one within a thousand miles of me. Plus, the sheer size of the OG JD wouldn't have worked in my tiny studio. When Roland released the JD-08, I was thrilled

As soon as it arrived, I plugged it in, was baffled by a weird bug in the MIDI, which I was able to quickly solve, and then I got to work making all kinds of classic Trance and Psytrance sounds. And this thing just oozes 90s vibes, which was a fun treat. It does modern sounds super well too, don't get me wrong. But when I sat down to do some old Euro style tunes, the sounds just leaped out of this synth right away.

The interface is also a lot easier to get the hang of than I expected, and I've managed to make all kinds of diverse and exciting presets on it quickly. The controls are tiny, but not hard to use, and a little delicate work goes a long way on this instrument.

If you can, get your hands on one. This thing can be as glossy or as gritty as you need, and it can store a lot of patches, which is super nice.

From Gear Setup

The ROMpler to make a soundtrack for that 1992 Buddy Cop Move With A Dolphin

Face it. You hate the JD-800, the "real synth" the JD-08 emulates. Digital. Icy. Evolving pads. The last gasp of Genesis. The end of the Cold War. You only like analog. You hate Roland. You hate Boutiques. You hate "synths for ants". You have tweezer jokes for the sliders and magnifying glass quips about the knobs. You hate ROMplers. You hate buddy cop movies. You hate dolphins, their problematic ways, and the music made for them. I give it four stars. One less than a perfect score because there is no current sysex support so the extensive JD-800 patch libraries are not usable with the JD-08 (unlike how the D-05 could take D-50 sysex files).

Update (1/30/22) : Some users are currently working on some hardware/software that will allow transferring JD-800 patches to the JD-08. If it works, I may give this critter its coveted 5th star.

The great shit? Finally. Enough polyphony. The controls look busy, but the JD-800 looked busy. I don't want a synth with a few buttons and a little joystick to menu dive into oblivion. I have delusions that I will actually be able to program this lil' bastard using just the hardware controls; no software. Once you start hooking up iPads or computers to program a hardware synth, it feels like why? Why just not use a VST and a midi controller? IMHO.

The ok shit. This little monster sounds like the 1990s.

That is going to turn a lot of people off.

But for those who like the challenge to warping nostalgic cheese into the sounds of the future, this is your palette. Or you just want to make music with a heavy tip of the hat from that era.

Love this Boutique for what it is. Hope they will find work arounds to add what is missing. It sounds amazing and/or unbearable, depending on the preset and your ability to program it.

The word on the street is, some like the lo fi quality of the discontinued D-05 better because the JD-08 sounds too clean. I can respect that. Hell, those people with those opinions are heroes. They live for the grit. I could probably hook up the JD-08 to my MS-70CDR and bit crush that mother, but I digress.

///RANT WARNING///

Some prefer the JX-08 because it emulates the old analog JX-8P synth and virtual analog is better than ...is there such thing as virtual digital? Me, I like the trouble of actual analog synths. Having to simulate oscillator drift on a digital synth reminds me of the simulated old buildings we have in Los Angeles. The actual cool old buildings were torn down years ago and replaced with a strip mall which is also being torn down for "affordable" (read under $2,000,000) condos. Just give me a real old nasty analog adobe and not the drywall façade of one. "But, Gary, you can't tell the difference between a real analog and a virtual analog and a DAW in the mix." OMG. Just hook me up to META right now. Put my brain in a jar and simulate everything. Ironic twist: Maybe that already happened. We continue to review gear in a virtual world.

Update (1/30/22). Hey. if you have a computer, just get the PG-8X VST, which emulates the JX-8P "better than the JX-08". Now, I had issues getting it to run on Ableton. It works on the free Cakewalk DAW. Sounds amazing. But. Limited analog amazing. If there is that thick bass sound you need, come to the PG-8X altar and get our your knees. This is your god. But. I can't believe I'm saying this. I think I am getting over the entire analog sound. It's chocolate ice cream. Lucious. But. Sometimes I want other flavors. Nothing to do with chocolate. I am just like your favorite bands, who in 1983ish, RUINED THEIR SOUND, tempted by the shiny digital sparkle of the DX-7, throwing their Minimoogs into the trash. I. Think. I. Am. Warming (More like Chilling). Up. To. Digital.

///RANT COMPLETE///

Still here? Impressive. I am going to say, this may be my favorite Boutique. Before you get too excited, I've sold or returned every other Boutique I've had in my possession. I liked the SH-01A, but that felt like a redundancy when I got a JD-Xi. I wanted to keep the D-05 but the pandemic demand for that was so high, I couldn't pass up the cash. Also, I had iM1 emulator on my iPad and that seemed to fulfill the role of "late 80's/early 90's presets" at the time. The need for hands on manipulation opened the window for the JD-08. I will update this journey in the near future.

Update (1/30/22). And this goes without saying for ALL Boutiques.. If you play the JD-08 using its built in speaker, it sounds like ass. Every time I do that, I want to dump this thing onto Reverb. There are a couple there as I write this. However, with a garden variety set of speakers or junior audiophile level headphones, I want to get on the JD-08 Mothership. And swim with the dolphins dressed like a cop.