Weighted key Jupiter?

[Bruce Lychee]

Anyone else think that corner pic on roland connect looks like a weighted key Jupiter? I was about to grab an A88 but if NAMM produces some iteration of the Jupiter in a weighted key package I may hold off and just get that. Any completely unsubstantiated pre NAMM rumors out there?

[Tom_1970]

I just see a JP80 in the corner. Only a small part of the keybed is visible and the part that can be seen look no different than a JP80. It's just a fragment of this image (credits to JunoJohn).

http://cms.rolandus.com/assets/images/p ... _3_gal.jpg

[synthguy99]

I think waiting on NAMM is a good idea, as long as you understand that you likely won't see anything until April or so. I have to hold off anyhow, as I won't have money for squat until spring.

[Dewdman42]

The JP-80 manual that I downloaded and read described the JP-80 as having weighted keys. I think its possible that at some point they considered making it a weighted keyboard, then changed their mind, probably to keep the price down a bit.

I must admit I am a bit disappointed about it not being weighted keys also, or semi-weighted would be my preference. The only time I wish I had some semi weighted keys is when I'm playing piano or even Wurley. The rest of the time for everything else, the key action is just fine.

[anotherscott]

The Jupiter 80 keys fall into the semi-weighted category.

[Bruce Lychee]

I guess we will know in a few days. If nothing new in the way of a weighted Jupiter or workstation comes out, I suppose the A88 will be in my future.

[Devnor]

Have you seen the new Kawai VPC?

[anotherscott]

I guess we will know in a few days. If nothing new in the way of a weighted Jupiter or workstation comes out, I suppose the A88 will be in my future.

I'd look at the Casio PX-150/PX-350. Cheaper and lighter than the A88, and I think the action feels better. They also make the PX3 which has more MIDI control functionality, but I"m not as much of a fan of the feel of its action.

[Bruce Lychee]

Have you seen the new Kawai VPC?

No, but looked it up and am very interested. Kawai makes killer actions.

[BillySynth]

Oh good, i'll go buy a VPC and pull out the keybed and stick up the Kronos' arrse maybe that will help with my Kronos keybed issue!

Billy the kid

[Dewdman42]

The Jupiter 80 keys fall into the semi-weighted category.

Yea I dunno that's kind of debatable. how do you figure that?

[anotherscott]

The Jupiter 80 keys fall into the semi-weighted category.

Yea I dunno that's kind of debatable. how do you figure that?

That's what Roland calls it.

http://cms.rolandus.com/assets/media/pd ... ochure.pdf

and

http://www.rolandce.com/mediafiles/docu ... ochure.pdf

and

http://www.rolandus.com/products/details/1165/457

They also have called it weighted, i.e. in the owner's manual. A semi-weighted keyboard is still, in some sense, weighted, so it's not entirely a contradiction, though I suspect it may have been more of a typo/oversight as that is not the usual use of the term. Though I've always gotten the sense that their marketing materials, like those I referenced above, are actually written by native English speakers, while their manuals are not, so that could be part of the confusion as well.

At any rate, even by just playing it, it feels more like Roland's past semi-weighted actions than it does their unweighted actions. (I also thinks it is one of the best semi-weighted actions available, I like it much better than any of the Kurzweil or Nord semi-weighted models, or the Kronos, for example.)

[Dewdman42]

The keybad has a great feel for what it is, no doubt. I think I was expecting something a little more weighted then this, based on the "semi-weighted" description. Unfortunately I was not able to try one for real first. I have owned Nords and Kurz's and preferred them both for piano and epiano playing. But I would take this JP-80 over those others for organ and synth playing. It is definitely hard to find a happy medium. But I don't know why they insist on using verbage like semi-weighted, to me this keybed is not weighted at all.

[anotherscott]

I have owned Nords and Kurz's and preferred them both for piano and epiano playing.

I find those companies' "semi-weighted" actions to be to stiffly sprung, there's too much "push back" for comfort.

I don't know why they insist on using verbage like semi-weighted

I assume they call it that because there is indeed some weight mechanism built into the keys.

to me this keybed is not weighted at all.

Well, that's subjective, as opposed to whether or not there there is physical weight added to the design. There is no standard definition of what a semi-weighted action is... Any design that has any weights built in but does not simulate a hammer mechanism seems to qualify as semi-weighted, but there is an enormous difference in implementations and how they feel.

But even subjectively, if you compare a Jupiter 80 to the bottom of the line Juno, you should be able to sense some difference in the keys that could be associated to some amount of weight somewhere in the design.

[Dewdman42]

Could be. LIke I said, I think the keybed plays very well for non-weighted, but the pushback you are referencing in the other keyboards is exactly what makes them a bit better for playing piano parts and that is more or less what I was expecting in the JP when I read "semi-weighted". But as i said already, that pushback on the other keybeds also makes them less ideal for organ and synth. So whatever.