JX-08 The Missing Manual
Here is the missing manual for the Roland Boutique JX-08!
I started making these PDF versions for us back when the first three were released (JP-08, JU-06, and JX-03) because the leaflets that came with them weren’t enough to inspire me, I wanted more. So I illustrated them with my own line art (rapidographs, tape, rulers, and x-acto knives) and created printable documents which I could use beside my little traveling companions to make the most of them as I learned to use them.
A few years later I am still making manuals for us. I think they’re improved, and hopefully are of real use to people. I love manuals, of course that doesn’t mean I always read them, but using them as a companion to any piece of gear has really helped me learn, and grow as a musician. Making these manuals had done that even more so.
THE MISSING MANUAL
DOWNLOAD
PDF FORMAT – Version 0.01A – Feb/March 2022
This is version 1.0A so chances are there are typos, or revisions will be needed assuming firmware updates come along and things are sorted out or added, but I wanted to say that I really like this boutique. The Roland Boutique line have become essential synths for me on the road. I will never travel with my analog gear, I love it too much to do that to it, and it’s been really nice to play 100% live and to be able to bring so much gear with me, and not have to risk the health and well being of my beloved synth collection.
This manual is an assemblage of the completely missing manual from Roland (there is an online reference guide) the quick start PDF, and various other sources of information, but mostly it is a collection of my own discoveries as I went through every single menu, function, and option for this synth. I learned a lot, and discovered some things.
It’s my pleasure to do this for my community, but I don’t do this for money, I don’t take requests, and I currently don’t have any plans to score any more Boutiques. So if I’ve happened to produced a manual, then it will be in my non-fiction section here. If I haven’t, and you really need one, I encourage you to make your own.
I’ve really enjoyed this adventure so far.
With Love,
Sunshine
38 Comments
Thank you!
Sweet
What an incredible labor of love.
Thank you SO MUCH for putting this together!!
This is devotion to the craft of electronic music
Absolutely Brilliant work again – Thank you !!!!
Congratulations on completing this latest labour of love! I have all your user guides and they’re a superb body of work. Thank you.
I think this commentary just made me consider buying one ♥
Your manuals are their own little works of art!
Thank you so much for devoting your time to this, it’s greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
All your work are brilliant. Thanks
You fucking rock ♥
Great Job!! Thank you indeed for your support. I’m sure many musicians will appreciate !!
Thanks hopefully good Karma comes your way!
You’re a legend for making these. Thank you so much!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
You will go down in history for your time and contribution to the synth universe.
Thank you so much for your work – this is a piece of art of its own!
Thankyou ♥
Thank you indeed for your support. Really Appreciated !!
Wonderful – thanks so much!
Been waiting patiently for this – many thanks
Amazing
I don’t own one, but what an amazing labor of love! ♥ Thanks for being such a good person!
Nice man! Great work
Your manuals are fire. They’ve been so helpful!
You Sir, are a Gentleman. I salute you.
thank u champ
Once again, thank you sir!
invaluable… thanks for sharing! they’ve saved me much time and alleviated lots of frustrations. cheers
thanking you from down under… cheers mate!
Great manuals as always Sunshine Jones, was surprized at the features on the JX-08, double 8 voice polyphony on the sequencers. Do you know if MIDI thru (or soft thru) has or will be added? nice synth, thanks again
@Joe- It is curious that Roland don’t document this isn’t it? There’s actually a lot of incomplete data in most modern Roland equipment. One example is how baffling it is to try to use any boutique as a mini midi controller when it’s seated into the K25M keyboard. No documentation or support for this at all (and it doesn’t seem to work either). Lots of oversight in an era of the computer I think. It’s a shame.
But to answer your question: Yes.
Midi thru works fine with all of the boutiques I have and use. I regularly daisy chain them together in performance.
The midi out of my sequencer goes to the midi input of the first boutique, and it’s midi out goes to the input of the second boutique, and it’s out goes to the input of the third boutique and so on.
As long as each of the synths are set to their own midi channel (and bear in mind that the JX-08 and the JD-08 are dual voice synths, and so to properly control them remotely you want to use the “master” midi channel. Regardless of these voice 1 or voice 2 have their channels set to, you need to send midi to it on the master channel, and then put it into split mode. Now you can send your midi data to the upper and lower voices on one midi channel.)
But so far, in my pretty elaborate experience, midi data just goes trough the first synth and into the second, or off to wherever it’s going without any hassles.
One thing to check if there are problems is if you’re transmitting CC data (a different setting from a later firmware update) which actually sends the values from the faders, and in a chain situation (as described above) this will mysteriously change your patches are you’re playing and it’s confusing. So I turn this off at all times (unless I want to create layers and have the faders from boutique #1 control filter and envelope etc on boutique #2 and/or #3 – which is fun, but it can all get messy really fast, so I just use the controls on the panel and forget all about “midi control”).
Hope this is helpful.
Thank you!!!
bravo beau travail!
j’ai fait une traduction en Français
veux tu la mettre en ligne?
eric
thank you so much for all your work, so appreciated
@Eric – Si vous pensez qu’une version française serait utile, oui. Pourquoi pas?