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Roland JD-990 Resource Centre

990

JD-990 Software / Patches:
Patch Organizer
Patch Converter JD-800 -> JD-990
Free Patches (61 bank total)
JD-800 Factory Patches (converted to JD-990 format)
SR-JV-04 Vintage Expansion JV patches*
SR-JV-04 Vintage Expansion JD patches

*can be used in any Super JV, XP and XV synthesizer, and in JD990 of course.

Vintage Expansion Patches “Hack”
Well not a hack, more like a work around. If you own JD-990 and a Vintage Expansion then by now you probably know you can not load its patches directly as you do regular presets. Instead you have to initialize the sound, then go to the card selection, etc. To simplify this a bit, in above SYX file titled SR-JV-04 Vintage Expansion JD patches you will find 4 SYX dumps. These originate from the Vintage Card. So now you can simply send them to your JD and have them in normal access mode, since they will occupy User RAM area. Downside is, the hack works for only 64 patches at a time. But, as they say: better something than nothing. Simply write down the patches you like / favour, repeat the same step for other three banks. Then use Patch Organizer (included on this page) to build your own compilation of 64 favourite Vintage Expansion patches.

JD-990 DAC Calibration
A noise can occur during long release times. If this is the case, you will need to calibrate the unit. Noise itself is the result of improperly trimmed DAC (digital / analog converter). Type of the noise we discuss here sounds somehow like a bitcrusher or a bad working noisegate – it’s not the hiss we talk about here. Here’s the procedure:

  1. Open the top cover of JD-990.
  2. With the JD turned off, hold down INC + DEC buttons then turn power on.
  3. This should get you into the test mode.
  4. Then press UTILTY + F3. This gets you into the MSB Adjustment page.
  5. Make sure the volume control is at maximum. (Watch out you speakers!)
  6. Press the value knob, a 440hz sine-wave is produced.
  7. Use an instrument such as an oscilloscope to observe the output waveform. If you don’t have oscilloscope, you can use headphones and listen carefully with your ears.
  8. Adjust VR1 to obtain a smooth sine wave.
  9. The VR1 is located on the main board, top right side of it (if JD is placed with its front side facing you). In fact it is the only trimmer potentiometer there.

 

JD-990 Factory Reset
Warning: this will delete all of your presets. Please dump them via sys-ex before doing this procedure

  1. Hold Exit and press Utility.
  2. Screen says Internal ALL = Factory Preset.
  3. Press Execute (F6).
  4. Press YES (F5).
  5. Done!

 

 

Comments (22)

  1. Mike L.

    Hey Don,

    Thanks for the JD-990 patches. Sorry to observe that I am the first to thank you for them. I didn’t realize you have a “reply” section until yesterday. I’ve seen you around different gear/sound forums but never realized you have your own site.

    I downloaded your banks a while ago then imported them into Sounddiver 3.0. I’ll be frequenting it from now on.

    Nice site btw – great info.

    Mike

    • Jon

      Just downloaded the free patches and I’ll thank you in advance. When I heard the previews of your paid patches, I bought a 990 instantly and now own another synth I’ll never part with. In love with the 990 and now to buy your paid patches!!

  2. Tom

    Thank you so much for the Vintage Expansion patches. I’m a new JD-990 owner and I was shocked finding out how to access the expansion patches. So thank you again for this workaround. I really appreciate it.

  3. Michael Ahearn

    Hi, new 990 owner. I remember seeing somewhere a JD 990 DVD tutorial published by someone. Could you point me in that direction, I’ve lost the URL. Thanks.

  4. Alex

    I have a trouble with the JD990 patch organizer.
    When pressing RECEIVE button. nothing happens. WHY? The dialog does not open, the sysex is not sent out.

    THe JD800 organizer with my JD800 works at the same time.So I just press the “Receive” and it gets the complete dump.

    • Don Solaris

      I guess you will have to contact the developer of this software. Small tip: Keep in mind this software is very old and requires an older computer and OS.

  5. Dylan Krell

    hey don I just downloaded the SR-JV patches and it seems like only a couple of the patches work while the rest make no sound. Any insight why this might happen?

  6. Bluffmunkey

    Thanks for the JD990 noise fix!!

    I just bought one and thought it was broken, you’ve saved me a headache!

  7. Eric Dahlberg

    Hi Don,

    I discovered today that the MIDI Bank Select numbers for the JD-990 are 10367 (for Internal and Card) and 10368 (for Presets A and B). This is probably something you knew already but I could not find it anywhere so you might want to post it in your excellent Resource Centre.

  8. Sam

    Hello,

    I have a JD-990 in great shape, and I’m considering getting a SR-JV80-04 Vintage Synth card. I’ve seen several ads that show a difference on the chip side of the card. Most seems to have 4 ICs of the same size, but I’ve seen a couple that have a large IC followed by two smaller ICs …among other differences. I don’t see where I can post pics, so I hope my descriptions are adequate.

    Is there any info on the difference? Is one “better” than the other, or more reliable, etc.?

    Thanks,
    -Sam

  9. Kevin Nolan

    Hi Don,

    Thanks so much for all of these resources. As a JD800 and JD990 owner – these resources are hugely appreciated and valuable.

    As a minor other comment – the first page scan of the JD990 brochure is missing from this web page and wonder if it can be made available?

    thanks,
    Kevin Nolan,
    Dublin.

  10. Ralph

    Hey Don, a new and somewhat still perplexed JD-990 and Vintage Synth board owner here. Thanks for all your help in getting this wonderful synth to work for me. Your website is very informative and you are very helpful. Also wanted to mention I just purchased your sounds.

  11. Parker

    Thanks so much for solving the bitrate distortion problem! You are the MAN!

  12. Adamski A

    Best Roland JD resource on the net easily.

  13. Pob

    When listening through headphones, direct from the 990, or through the outputs from the rear of the unit, from around 50% volume to full volume I hear an audible hum, like mains hum) coming from the unit. Any idea? Unit works 100% apart from this

  14. Alex

    Hello,
    I have a Roland JD 990 and its encoder is very loose. I found that the model of the original Roland is 13289196 (aka Alps RK09710W). Allegedly, exactly the same encoder model was installed on a number of Roland devices in the 90s: JV 880, 1010, 1080, 2080, as well as SC 880, Boss SE 70. Roland and Alps companies do not give any comments to my requests about encoders that could be would replace the original. I decided to write here, in case you know how to solve this puzzle.
    Thank you.

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