Back in 1983, Roland’s Ikutaro Kakehashi and Dave Smith of Sequential unveiled MIDI, a standard that motivated the cooperation of an entire industry and propelled music technology into a new and exciting era. An inescapable new technology was born when two electronic keyboards from different manufacturers were connected, enabling them to “talk” to one another using the new communication standard. The announcement revolutionized the music world and thirty years on MIDI is ubiquitous in the musical instruments industry, and is a standard feature on virtually every electronic music product.

Reflecting on the announcement, Mr. Kakehashi commented:

“It’s already been 30 years since the debut of MIDI protocol in 1983, but it seems to me that those years have passed so quickly. Electronic musical instruments have become very popular all over the world through this time, and it is my great pleasure that MIDI played a significant role in their prevalence. This year’s Technical GRAMMY Award is the result of the cooperation by the companies who worked towards the same dream – growth of electronic musical instruments. I would like to share this acknowledgement with Mr. Tadao Kikumoto, former R&D manager of Roland Corporation, the engineering staff and all who were involved in creating and designing the MIDI concept and system.”

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Roland’s new JUPITER-50 was unveiled at the Frankfurt Musikmesse last year, and though it sits at the cutting-edge of new technology, it’s a synth that sits firmly in line with Roland’s synth philosophy and history.

The JUPITER-50 is a streamlined version of the flagship JUPITER-80, and both instruments fit neatly into Roland’s 40-year story of pioneering synthesizer development. As the JUPITER name suggests, these new synths are related to one of the most iconic synth lines ever created – the genre-defining JUPITER-8.

Using the most innovative analog technologies of the time, the JUPITER-8 was released in 1981 and provided musicians with a rich palette of synth textures. Its reliability and ease of use on stage made it a go-to instrument for the electro crowd of the time. Its built-in arpeggiator and deep sonic potential satisfied the synth elite and awed countless Duran Duran fans.

The original desire for the JUPITER-8 was also to provide acoustic sounds, but the limited technology of the day meant that this goal remained out of reach.

This is where the JUPITER-80 and new JUPITER-50 come in. Building on Roland’s original philosophy, they both deliver unparalleled expressiveness and sound creation capabilities. Packing Roland’s SuperNATURAL technology, both models are equipped with the detail and nuance to reproduce acoustic sounds to near perfection as well as the most powerful synthesizer sounds in Roland’s history.

But to understand the future you need to look to the past. From its very first synth back in 1971, Roland has strived to deliver the best sounds and this musician-focussed philosophy has produced generations of classic synths and even inspired entire genres of music. Here are some of the best:

SH-1000 (1972)
Roland’s first synth was Japan’s first synth. The SH-1000 was strikingly different from contemporary modular Moog and ARP synths. Although it lacked the duophony, pressure sensitivity and the performance control of its rivals, it more than made up for it in sheer sonic character and personality.

System-100 (1976)
This beautiful semi-modular monophonic synth comprised five modular components, all built around the central Synthesizer 101 module – a self-contained mono-synth with tons of sliders and raw power. Looking more like a telephone exchange than a synth, the System-100 is an ultra-rare and much-coveted beast.

Photo linked via Vintage Synth Explorer: www.vintagesynth.com/roland/sys100.php

JUPITER-4 (1978)
The JUPITER-4 was Roland’s first true polysynth and showed how Roland wasn’t worried about following the competition. The JUPITER-4 had just a single Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) per voice, and it only had 10 presets. However, the trademark chorus and arpeggiator knocked spots off its rivals and acclaim quickly followed.

Photo linked via Retro Sound: http://www.retrosound.de/

JUPITER-8 (1981)
Unlike anything else, the JUPITER-8 had a split keyboard, oscillator sync, cross modulation and polyphonic portamento. Its broad sonic range meant the electro pop community quickly adopted it as their synth of choice, and it appeared on the roster of stadium-filling artists such as Duran Duran, Heaven 17 and Erasure. Its big, room-filling sounds defined the pop-music of a generation.

JUNO-6 (1982)
The Juno-6 was the first Roland synth to use Digitally Controlled Oscillators (DCOs). Traditional VCOs were prone to detuning at high temperatures, leaving musicians bereft onstage – but the new DCOs were completely reliable.

The SH-101 (1982)
Proving that Roland was as stylish as it was advanced, the SH-101 ran on batteries and you could wear it! In a decade dominated by outlandish fashion, the SH-101 was designed for posing on stage. Bizarre hairstyle and makeup optional – and that was just for the guys.

MIDI (1983)
The next innovation to come from the Roland camp was more substantial than a single synth. MIDI was the fruit of collaboration with Sequential Circuits, Yamaha and Korg. These manufacturers invented a uniform connectivity that would enable users to link synths made by any manufacturer.

JX-3P (1984)
Roland’s first polysynth to feature a sequencer, the JX-3P was named after the three Ps: Programmability, Polyphony and Presets. It was followed by the JX-10 (1986), which was by far the most programmable synth of the time.

JUNO-106 (1984)
The third of the Juno range, this six-voice subtractive analog synth cost £799 when launched, and even had a fairly comprehensive MIDI implementation (for the time anyway, and especially for an analog synth). Produced for four years, the JUNO-106 is still used today, and counts Moby, Chemical Brothers, Sigur Ros and Black Eyed Peas among its many users. Current JUNO models include the JUNO-D, JUNO-Di, JUNO-G, JUNO-Gi, and the JUNO-STAGE.

D-50 (1987)
You couldn’t turn the radio on in the late eighties without hearing the influence of the Roland D-50. Combining sample playback with digital synthesis (called Linear Arithmetic Synthesis), the D-50 was the forerunner of hybrid technology later found in the V-Synth and very much became the prototype for synth development for years to come.

JD-800 (1991)
The JD-800 combined digital precision with the look and feel of a top-of-the-range analog synth. Teeming with knobs and sliders, musicians could once again enjoy the tactile thrill of creating new sounds, but with the confidence and control of digital synthesis. The JD-800 was a dream for those who liked to get their hands dirty and was marketed as a return to the roots of synthesis and could be expanded via 8 PCM cards covering various genres. Users include Ken Ishii, Laurent Garnier, William Orbit, New Order and Pet Shop Boys.

XP series workstation (1995)
The XP-series were powerhouse keyboards capable of recreating hundreds of voices. With patches galore, they offered intricate sound creation. Six years later Roland would evolve the workstation range further still with the Fantom series. Essentially a mobile sample-based studio, the Fantom enables musicians to build and layer their own tracks on the fly.

JP-8000 (1997)
Opening the floodgates for a plethora of supersaw-inspired trance records, the JP-8000 aimed to recreate the sonic warmth and tonality of the fabled JUPITER-8 while adding new features for the production scene of the late nineties. With the ability to deliver haymaking lead lines or soothe the audience with soaring, constantly evolving pads, the JP-8000 is a modern classic in every sense: powerful, programmable and punchy. The classic detuned supersaw sound has become a staple of dance music, which is just as popular today as heard on tracks by LMFAO, Lady Gaga, Calvin Harris etc. Other users include Prodigy, David Bowie, Faithless, Muse, Goldie, Duran Duran, Underworld and Tangerine Dream.

V-Synth (2003)
Continuing to innovate, Roland assembled its most advanced technology and crammed it all into the V-Synth. It offered a multi-sampling keyboard, real-time looping and tempo-warping. Among other features were PCM oscillators, user sampling, multi-effects and COSM processing. The V-Synth remains a force to be reckoned with to this day, in the guise of the second-generation V-Synth GT, offering synth fanatics an unbelievable amount of sonic power and sheer experimentation potential.

SH-201 (2006)
The SH-201 was a great-value synthesizer, offering quick, fun sound creation through its array of knobs and sliders. However it is the forensic level of sound creation that really set this apart. The SH-201 was Roland’s first hardware synth to offer VSTi integration and came with comprehensive editor/librarian software giving users easy access to hidden parameters, fitting neatly into computer-based studios.

GAIA SH-01 (2010)
Blending digitally-perfect sound with the simplicity of analog controls, the GAIA SH-01 easily passes for retro, but the concept is radically different from contemporary big hitters. With generous polyphony and a versatile triple-core analog modelling engine, the GAIA is an authentic, super-affordable synth. It’s also a great way to stay connected with the past glories of Roland’s synth legacy.

JUPITER-80 (2011)
An absolute beast of a machine, combining monstrous analog-modelling power with pristine, beguilingly-realistic acoustic sounds underpinned by Roland’s SuperNATURAL technology and behaviour modelling. This is a Roland synth four decades in the making – play one and you’ll understand why.

So the JUPITER-50 might be the most recent Roland synthesizer, but it’s also part of a rich history of innovation. Always focussed on usability and value, Roland has consistently delivered cutting-edge performance and inspiring sounds at an affordable price.

In the early 1980s, Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi and Sequential Circuits founder Dave Smith had a dream—a simple interface that would allow all electronic musical instruments to communicate with each other and with computers. To make this dream a reality, these pioneers brought together an unprecedented coalition of manufacturers from the United States and Japan, and soon the Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or “MIDI,” was born. 30 years ago, the 1983 Winter NAMM Show hosted its landmark public unveiling, where Roland and Sequential Circuits demonstrated the first two MIDI-equipped synthesizers “talking” to each other via this new universal communication standard.

The immense promise of MIDI was immediately apparent, and soon dozens of devices began appearing on the market outfitted with this new interface. In the ensuing years, the capabilities of MIDI have grown along with the incredible advancements in electronics and computing, unleashing a universe of creative power that continues to influence the way artists make music three decades later. Today, nearly every type of electronic musical instrument and device incorporates MIDI in some way, and it’s an indispensable component in computer-based music composition and production, live performance, and beyond.

For their visionary efforts in the development of MIDI, Mr. Kakehashi and Mr. Smith were recently honored by The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY® Foundation with a 2013 Technical GRAMMY Award. “Each year, The Academy has the distinct privilege of honoring those who have greatly contributed to our industry and cultural heritage, and this year we have a gifted and brilliant group of honorees,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “Their exceptional accomplishments, contributions, and artistry will continue to influence and inspire generations to come.”

“It’s already been 30 years since the debut of MIDI protocol in 1983, but it seems to me that those years have passed so quickly,” said Mr. Kakehashi. “Electronic musical instruments have become very popular all over the world through this time, and it is my great pleasure that MIDI played a significant role in their prevalence. This year’s Technical GRAMMY Award is the result of the cooperation by the companies who worked towards the same dream—growth of electronic musical instruments.”

Throughout 2013, the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA)—the group that maintains and develops the evolving MIDI specification standard—is celebrating the 30th anniversary of this essential technology. In the first of many activities planned for the year, they’ve created an entertaining and informative video that explores the past, present, and future of MIDI.