Occasionally an instrument or sound comes along that becomes so ubiquitous to a time and/or genre, that it begins to define it. Whether it be a Fender Tele/Strat/Jazz going through a Twin Reverb with delay being the sound that makes us think ‘Surf Rock’, or the gated reverb/Phil Collins drums that make you think 80’s, sounds can become as iconic as the songs they were in.
In this series, we'll explore some of those sounds.
If you read last week’s blog on the science of the drop, you may have gathered that it was very Trance-y, and while the genre has evolved, one synth that for better or worse came to define it in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was the Roland JP-8000 and JP-8080 (desktop version of the same synth).
The JP-8000 was supposed to be the updated digital successor to the analog Jupiter-8, and kind of failed at that, but did stumble into becoming THE sound of late 90’s rave culture. Its Supersaw oscillator with easy to operate filters, delay and reverb made it almost purpose built for club systems and buildups. Producers jumped all over it. I’ve had the privilege of playing a couple of the largest pipe organs in California, and playing a JP-8000 live on a big club system gives you a similar feeling. It became so ubiquitous that it crossed over into cliche.
A friend of mine who was a successful dance music producer in that era started to refer to it as the A$$ Trumpet (no dollar bills) in the mid 2000’s because it just got overused. I owned a JP-8080 and sold it in the late 2000’s for not much money, and regret doing so because they’re having a renaissance in both appreciation and price, which is rare for any digital synth, much less one that came out in 1997 (I still have my JV-1080, not holding my breath on that one.).
While they were just an early VA, that frankly kind epitomize digital cold to modern ears, and theoretically should be very easy to emulate in software, the user interface, knobs and faders are very good along with a unique quality that later VA’s like the Virus and software can’t quite nail. It may not be that they’re worse, they’re just slightly different, and since the JP-8000 is the OG that defined the sound, it’s the standard.
There are a lot of other sounds in the JP-8000 that you'll hear all over this genre, but the saws are what make this thing iconic.
If you’re into Trance, and want that late 90’s sound which cyclically seems due to become relevant again since digital house piano is once again a thing, the JP-8000 is basically plug and play for that.
Here's a playlist with some JP-8000's trumpeting. Hopefully the sound, dancing or fashion will bring a smile to your face. At the very least it will probably confuse you.
Svenson & Gielen - Beauty of Silence
Gouryella - Gouryella
The Logical Song - Scooter
System F - Out of the Blue
Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Sigmun Remix)
Neo & Farina - Retribution
Jay B - The Anthem
Paul Van Dyk - Crush
Above & Beyond - Ajunabeach
(This is heavily spiced with Virus, we just like the song)
For the last video, here's a very deep dive into the synth, with a lot more examples beyond just huge saws, which I'm sure you'll recognize from the previous tracks.
