Old Roland Jupiter 8 restoration

[DarrenGlen]

Hi all, just wanted to mention that I have been working on restoring an old knackered Jupiter 8 to new condition, taking pics and video every step of the way inside and describing what the parts are and where I am sourcing them from. A friend suggested I put the pics up on a blog, the address is :
http://www.jup8restoration.wordpress.com

Since i started this thing it seems to have turned up on Hackaday, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook and synthtopia to name a few. Quite amazing really how it’s taken off I hope the info helps someone out there!

Cheers!

[muzines]

I've been following your blog, and think it's fantastic!

I'm really enjoying your journey, I'm a huge JP8 fan, will never own one, and I'm rooting for you 100% to end up with an immaculate, beautiful looking and sounding instrument of your dreams!

Thanks for sharing!

[The Elf]

It's always good to see someone bringing one of these old beasts back to life. I sold my old JP-8 a couple of years back, because the stress of ownership was too much for me.

[Martin Walker]

Hi forumuser782540, and welcome to the SOS Forums!

A totally fascinating read, so thanks for posting.

And please don't be bashful - give yourself a more revealing forum name so we can get to know you a bit better (after all, we love what we've heard so far )

Martin

[Folderol]

That's some serious dedication that is. Impressive results.

[Sam Spoons]

Just reading it with interest (and I'm a guitarist not a keyboard player though I did sell keys and synths for a living back in the late '70s)

[Hugh Robjohns]

Impressive dedication, and an interesting read. I'm eagerly awaiting the new screen printing!

I can certainly appreciate the desire to own one of these glorious instruments. I still remember the excitement I felt when I read through Roland's brochures back in the 70s and 80s, dreaming of owning the Jupiter 8 flagship.. but at the time the best I could afford was an SH09 mono synth to which I later added a CSQ100 sequencer.

Later, after I got a decent job in the early 1980s and started playing in a band using the guitarist's Juno60, I spent many a sleepless night trying to decide between buying a new Jupiter 6 or a pre-loved CS80. The head said the JP6 but the heart said the CS80, and that's what I went with.
Inevitably, though, I soon discovered that it really wasn't an instrument to be gigging with, and I couldn't afford to buy the Jp6 as well... so I ended up leaving the band to make way for a keyboard player with a Korg Poly61!

But the CS80 was the most stunning instrument to play and I absolutely adored it. Sadly, I made the mistake of selling it in the mid 90s because of a lack of space... something I regret almost daily!

A decade later the opportunity arose to buy a 12bit Jupiter 8 which I seized upon to re-live those teenage fantasy days... but unfortunately I was completely underwhelmed with it --probably after being so spoiled with the CS80 -- and sold it on within a year. The Arturia version provides a good enough impression of it for me now, without all the maintenance worries.

Nevertheless, the Jupiter 8 is an iconic and beautiful thing. I hope you get great pleasure from yours when it is fully restored. Keep up the good work.

[resistorman]

Wow, pretty much the definition of the word restoration! Great read. May you have years of enjoyment.

[DarrenGlen]

Hi forumuser782540, and welcome to the SOS Forums!

A totally fascinating read, so thanks for posting.

And please don't be bashful - give yourself a more revealing forum name so we can get to know you a bit better (after all, we love what we've heard so far )

Martin

Thanks Martin! Wow ! Much respect I’ve read your articles for so long I’ve got a garage full of SOS issues proliferated with your fine work over the years. I’ve been a subscriber for over 10 years actually it’s a thrill to see you took a peek at my little blog!

(And I’ve applied for the user name change upon your advice.)

Thanks also to the other comments. Wow letting Both a CS80 AND a Jupiter 8 slip through your hands in the 90s I feel for you man

[DarrenGlen]

hi all ive just upped a new post on the first stages of putting Cora my Jupiter 8 back together, starting with the base panel. The voice boards, CPU board, Transformer etc back in place after the powder coating. Lots of pics here of the boards:

https://jup8restoration.wordpress.com/2 ... el-part-1/

(next post im working on is my journey through the twists and turns of getting new Jupiter 8 Aluminum cheeks made from scratch!!)

cheers,
Blackout

[The Elf]

Great to see this coming together!

[Folderol]

Lovely to see this, and kudos for the care and attention.

[Steve A]

That was an amazing read. I'm mightily impressed on all counts but not least that you were actually able to obtain one without mortgaging your soul (having been down a similar route coveting said beast only to give up as well once prices got silly). Will continue to follow with great interest!

[Martin Walker]

hi all ive just upped a new post on the first stages of putting Cora my Jupiter 8 back together, starting with the base panel. The voice boards, CPU board, Transformer etc back in place after the powder coating. Lots of pics here of the boards:

https://jup8restoration.wordpress.com/2 ... el-part-1/

(next post im working on is my journey through the twists and turns of getting new Jupiter 8 Aluminum cheeks made from scratch!!)

Wow - that's quite an undertaking - well done Darren!

Useful tip about cleaning up small brass parts with a dremel and a soft rubber tool head too. Must try that myself rather than getting smelly hands using a rag and brasso

Looking forward to seeing these aluminium side cheeks too - are we talking machined plates?

Martin

[DarrenGlen]

Looking forward to seeing these aluminium side cheeks too - are we talking machined plates?

Martin

exactly Martin...laser cut, polished, anodised. I supply the exact laser machine .dwg file for the Jupiter 8 cheeks as well in the post!

(on a side note its a shame that the editors of SOS dont feel the project is worthy of mention in the actual magazine maybe you can have a whisper in their ear??)

Kind Regards,
Darren.

[ken long]

That was an amazing read! Thank you for sharing.

Your attention to detail is amazing. I think the slider story is my favourite.

Looking forward to seeing it finished.

[zenguitar]

(on a side note its a shame that the editors of SOS dont feel the project is worthy of mention in the actual magazine maybe you can have a whisper in their ear??)

Kind Regards,
Darren.

The fact that it hasn't been mentioned in the magazine doesn't mean that the editors of SOS won't think it's worth mentioning.

If you are a regular reader of SOS you will spot that there are regularly articles about interesting projects, and you definitely have an interesting project. How about popping over to the SOS contacts page and emailing the features editor to have a discussion. Here's a link to the page you need...

https://www.soundonsound.com/contact

Whispering not required

Andy

[Hugh Robjohns]

Impressively obsessive though your work on the restoration is, it's too slow and sporadic to be worthy of a series of articles, not to mention being extremely niche and of limited value/interest to the wider SOS readership. However, some sort of item might be worth discussion when the work is complete.

Nevertheless, I have been following your progress and I expect some of my colleagues have too. I look forward to seeing the finished thing.

H

[DarrenGlen]

Impressively obsessive though your work on the restoration is, it's too slow and sporadic to be worthy of a series of articles, not to mention being extremely niche and of limited value/interest to the wider SOS readership. However, some sort of item might be worth discussion when the work is complete.

Nevertheless, I have been following your progress and I expect some of my colleagues have too. I look forward to seeing the finished thing.

H

Hi Hugh all I was thinking about was maybe a one liner in the magazines “news” and the link to the blog? The hits it is getting around the world is surely newsworthy..? Re-printing my blog as an article was never really a consideration...

[DarrenGlen]

Hi all... a new post on Cora’s progress is up... the process of remaking the Jupiter 8 aluminium cheeks! I’ve included the laser .dwg files necessary for the job as well. Hope you like it and get some useful info out of it:

https://jup8restoration.wordpress.com/2 ... r-cutting/

[Folderol]

Hi all... a new post on Cora’s progress is up... the process of remaking the Jupiter 8 aluminium cheeks! I’ve included the laser .dwg files necessary for the job as well. Hope you like it and get some useful info out of it:

https://jup8restoration.wordpress.com/2 ... r-cutting/

This part in itself is worth putting up in some highly visible place. Real craftsmen are an endangered species these days!

[Martin Walker]

Hi all... a new post on Cora’s progress is up... the process of remaking the Jupiter 8 aluminium cheeks! I’ve included the laser .dwg files necessary for the job as well. Hope you like it and get some useful info out of it:

https://jup8restoration.wordpress.com/2 ... r-cutting/

Well that was a read and a half, and very sobering! What a carry on DarrenGlen!

I suppose we've all been down that road at one time or another, and I'm only thankful that when I got some cherry side panels made for my Korg MS-20 Mini, they were made beautifully by Matthew Dolmage of Dolmage Designs in Canada (I chose him because everyone else seemed to be at least double the price - ring any bells? )

http://www.yewtreemagic.co.uk/soundworlds3.php

He sent me in-progress photos, even letting me choose which grain I preferred from photos of several blanks he'd cut, and the only delay was with delivery, which was largely out of his hands.



I am well pleased with the results, and would highly recommend him to anyone who's interested in synth side panels or hand-built guitars. Here's a link to his Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DolmageDesigns

Martin

[DarrenGlen]

Thanks for your comments Martin! Your MS20 looks like a beauty with those wooden cheeks. Amazing the difference it makes eh. Good craftsmanship is indeed hard to come by these days.

Does he also work with Aluminium?

Best regards,
Darren

[MarkOne]

What a brilliant blog!

And a real labour of love... I binge read the whole thing up to date yesterday evening. I take my hat off to you for your attention to detail and I'm looking forward to seeing future progress.

[Martin Walker]

Thanks for your comments Martin! Your MS20 looks like a beauty with those wooden cheeks. Amazing the difference it makes eh. Good craftsmanship is indeed hard to come by these days.

Does he also work with Aluminium?

Thanks for your kind words Darren

As far as I know, Matthew only works with a wide range of woods - I've never seen him display any aluminium creations.

Sorry!

Martin