The JD-800 is Roland's answer to half a decade of hard-to-program synthesizers. Covered in sliders that act as dedicated editors just like a classic analog synth, the JD-800 is an extremely programmable and hands-on digital synthesizer. It is also an interesting and great sounding digital synth with incredible flexibility and control. Internal ROM based waveforms are combined to build your sounds. The sounds are based on Roland's D-50, but updated for the nineties with multimode filters - uncommon but welcome at the time.

The JD-800 came in a tough metal case capped off on the sides with large plastic covers. Programming may be a little too flexible for some users, but once you know what you're doing with it, almost any sound you can dream up can be dialed in and stored.

It has been used by William Ørbit, Emerson Lake & Palmer, 808 State, Ken Ishii, Astral Projection, Rabbit in the Moon, Depeche Mode, Underworld, Tangerine Dream, LTJ Bukem, Apollo 440, Jean Michel Jarre, ATB, Vangelis, Pet Shop Boys, Faithless, Luke Vibert, Mouse on Mars, Laurent Garnier, MC Hammer, Bushflange, Genesis, and Eat Static.

scott sleigh

June 7, 2013 @ 8:17 am

Mine has just arrived today and my god it is every bit as beautiful as it looks here, at first it throws you, but when you dig in the programming it is every bit worth the money! I promise you GET THIS SYNTH and you will be glad you did - utterly fantastic!

Why

April 19, 2013 @ 6:26 am

IMO, sound/editing wise, the JD-800 is kind of like a combined D-50 + PG1000 editor, only much cheaper. JD-800's can be found on Ebay for $500-$700, while D-50s start at around $400-500 & PG1000s start at around $400. I am seriously considering buying a JD-800. I also want a Kawai K5000 & Korg DW-8000, which I've dreamed of owning since it was 1st released. (back then I had (& still have) a Poly-800) I WILL have them ALL,....eventually. Right now it's just a matter of deciding which to buy 1st. *Sigh*. So many classic/vintage synths available, but so little money in my bank account. }:o{

AdamEvans

March 24, 2013 @ 12:39 am

OMG. I still remember hearing the sounds of this for the first time. The phrase "holy shiiiiit" best described the moment! A Roland masterpiece. A legend. And those controls...roland clearly had a hard time stuffing them all onto the limited panel realestate, even though the board was the size of a small car lol

ronnyG

February 3, 2013 @ 6:18 pm

I forced a band member to sell his (horrid) Yamaha SY85 and splash out on a JD-800 way back in 1994 when they were being slashed in price by music shop dealers. I'll never forget the feeling of unpacking this baby and hearing the lush strings. 20 years on and I still have a JD990!

Alex

January 26, 2013 @ 11:19 pm

I have one of these and let me tell you, it's one of my favorite synths. It is the best PCM sample based digital synth roland ever made. Dreamy thick evolving swirling lush sounds that take you away to another time and place and planet! It is a dream to edit and the built in FX are very good, they really add to the tonal quality of this synth. It also looks amazingly cool, you just want to reach out and play it... and I do, quite often. I have 7 other digital and analog Roland synths and this one sounds the most unique, like a D50 on steroids with a D70 thrown in for fun.

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