Although introduced as a less expensive ($2,500-$3,000 market price) alternative to the Roland Jupiter-8, its features include some capabilities not present in the JP-8, which makes the JP-6 a successor.

The Jupiter-6 is widely considered a workhorse among polyphonic analog synthesizers, capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, such as ambient drones, pads, lead synthesizer lines, unison basses and techy blips and buzzes.

The JP-6 was among the first electronic instruments (alongside the Roland JX-3P and the Sequential Circuits Prophet-600) to feature MIDI, then a brand new technology.

Sequential CEO Dave Smith demonstrated MIDI by connecting the Prophet to a Jupiter-6 during the January, 1983 Winter NAMM Show.

[1] Europa, a popular firmware upgrade available from Synthcom Systems, adds a wide array of modern enhancements to the instrument's MIDI implementation, user interface, patch memory, and most especially its arpeggiator, turning the Jupiter-6 into a contemporaneously adaptable instrument and unique composition tool.