Roland MKS-80


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." 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 per voice, using the Curtis CEM3340 VCO integrated circuit. The unit also includes one voltage controlled filter and one voltage controlled amplifier per voice.
The MKS-80 has a 64 patch internal memory along with an optional memory cartridge called the M-64C with room for another 128. 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