The Roland JP-8000 is a classic synth that rose to fame following its use on many 90s dance hits. It can be heard on countless trance classics from the likes of Paul Van Dyke, Ferry Corsten, Darude and their contemporaries.
The original capacitors installed by the Roland factory when these synths were first assembled have a limited lifespan of somewhere between 10 and 20 years depending on how the synths are used. When the capacitors reach the end of their natural lifespan then the main Left and Right audio outputs no longer produce any signal or the signal becomes weak and distorted.
Replacing capacitors is a straightforward job for a skilled electronics technician like Matt Intalekt. In October 2023 I took a JP-8000 suffering from the no-audio-output problem from one of my client’s studio in South London to visit Matt’s Logarhythm Workshop in North London.
After inspecting the synth and a quick test of the Matt started by removing the screws that hold the wooden base board in place.
Once inside the synth Matt removed the main board and took it to his soldering station.
Matt used his soldering equipment to remove and replace the capacitors on the main board. The positions of the capacitors are circled in the picture below:
He also replaced the CMOS battery seen at the top-right off the board. These batteries also have a limited lifespan and need replacing. If you have a problem with storing or accessing presets on a JP-8000 then the battery is the problem.
Once the capacitors were replaced Matt then tested the unit. The audio output problem was fixed and the synth sounded great. Matt reassembled the unit and I took it back to my client’s studio on my next visit.
About the Author
I’m the owner and lead technician for Audio Support, a small company based in London, UK that connects remotely with clients worldwide to help them with their music technology issues. I’ve run Audio Support since 2005 and in that time I’ve seen and solved thousands of recording studio problems.
Outside of Audio Support, I run music workshops at a local school, play bass in a 90s tribute function band and perform modular synth jams with friends on Twitch.