Roland MKS-80

MKS-80 Super Jupiter
MKS-80
Manufacturer	Roland
Dates	1984–1987
Price	US$2,495 UK£2,200 JP¥348,000
Technical specifications
Polyphony	8-voice
Timbrality	2 part
Oscillator	2 VCOs per voice
LFO	1 triangle/square/sawtooth/random
Synthesis type	Analog Subtractive
Filter	24dB/Oct resonant lowpass, non-resonant highpass
Attenuator	2 ADSR, (VCA & VCF)
Aftertouch expression	yes
Velocity expression	yes
Storage memory	64 patches
Effects	no
Input/output
Keyboard	no
External control	MIDI

The Roland MKS-80 Super Jupiter is a rack version of Roland Jupiter-8 and Roland Jupiter-6 and an 8-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Roland between 1984 and 1987. It is the only of MKS series of synthesizers to have fully analog voltage-controlled oscillators. Contrary to popular belief, the voice architecture is more closely related to the Jupiter-6 synthesizer than the Jupiter-8, the service manual states that "The module board of MKS-80 features the following in addition to that of JP-6, its brother module. 1) HPF. 2) Low boost circuit in the 2nd VCA. 3) DC supply current boost circuit (IC50)." The unit is fully capable of producing most of the Jupiter-8's signature sounds, in addition to many sounds unique to the MKS-80. In February 1985, Roland started producing a new revision of MKS-80, known as "Rev 5", that had no ties with any previous Jupiter's hardware, as it used a new generation of both Roland VCO's, VCA's and filter. The Rev 5 filter was also used in JX-8P, JX-10 and MKS-70 synthesizers.

Features

The voice architecture of the MKS-80 is fully analog with 8 polyphonic voices with 2 voltage controlled oscillators (VCO) per voice, using the Curtis CEM3340 VCO integrated circuit. The unit also includes one voltage controlled filter (VCF) and one voltage controlled amplifier (VCA) per voice.

The MKS-80 has a 64 patch internal memory (8 banks of 8 patches each) along with an optional memory cartridge called the M-64C with room for another 128 (2 banks of 64 each). A full MIDI implementation is built into the MKS-80, with MIDI IN, OUT and THRU jacks positioned at the rear of the unit.

External Programmer

The MPG-80 is the optional programmer designed specifically for the MKS-80, providing direct access to the majority of the MKS-80's features. The MPG-80 connects to the MKS-80 via the Controller port using a special cable. When used with an MPG-80, the MKS-80's MIDI IN port is not used in favor of the MIDI IN on the MPG-80.

Factory Presets

The Factory Presets were created by Eric Persing and Dan Desousa

Notable users

• Andy Whitmore (Record Producer / Keyboard Player, London UK)
• Walter Afanasieff
• Blancmange
• John Carpenter
• Hans Zimmer
• Harold Faltermeyer
• Herbie Hancock
• Klaus Schulze
• Madonna – bass in "Into The Groove", "La Isla Bonita", "Open Your Heart", "Who's That Girl"
• Vince Clarke
• Snap! (Luca Anzilotti a.k.a. John VIRGO Garrett III)
• Pet Shop Boys
• Enigma
• Michael Cretu
• Aphex Twin
• Talk Talk
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• Ulf Langheinrich
• Vangelis
• Ray Lynch

External links

• MKS-80's factory presets demo
• MKS-80 MP3s at www.babic.com
• Owner's manual
• Vintage Synth Explorer MKS-80 page
• MKS-80 Owner's site with numerous images
• VST-AU MKS-80 Editor (Mac and Win) from reKon audio