Roland JUNO-6

 Even though it only has a single Digital Controlled Oscillator per voice, the JUNO-6 is said to produce full and warm sound. The DCO has the capability of being switched between all or any of the following waveforms as per the user’s liking and the specific sound expected to generate. Pulse (with pulse-width modulation from either the ADSR or the LFO), a sub-oscillator (square wave), and sawtooth. The Oscillators can also be blended perfectly well with white noise to produce a different sound level.

Note that each of the voices has its own VCF with an incessantly variable control for keyboard follow, and there is also an input on the back panel that helps in voltage control. The JUNO-6 further features a separate highpass filter. The LFO has controls for delay and rate and a switch that helps the user toggle easily between two different modes – auto (where the modulation begins when the user passes the set delay time) and a manual mode (where the modulation begins when the user presses the LFO trigger button, which is located next to the mod wheels on the performance panel).  

There is only a single envelope generator (ADSR) available for both the VCOs and the DCOs. The unit further features an arpeggiator which has controls for mode, range, as well as rate with a handy clock input on the back panel. There is also a chorus which has two buttons, with each button bringing in more chorus. The back panel, in addition to the filter control inputs and the arpeggiator further has mono and stereo outputs, hold/sustain pedal input and a headphone jack.

As mentioned, the JUNO-6 was the foundation of all other Roland’s Analog synthesizers and with advancement in technology, the next generation JUNO-6 version was the JUNO-60, which featured 56 patches of memory storage. There is no difference between these two analog synths when it comes to their sound, and are both thought to sound much better than the JUNO-106 which followed later on in 1984.

As long as you can ignore the MIDI control, the JUNO-6 is a wonderful rich sounding analog synthesizer. Its originality hence its Vintage status is seen in the wooden side panel. It was not long before Roland Corporation retired the JUNO-6 and in came a programmable version of it -- the JUNO-60 which featured cassette interface, and a proprietary DCB interface. Even so, the JUNO-6 penetrated the market, and has been used by famous people the likes of Sneaker Pimps, Sean Lennon, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, Banco De Gaia, Vince Clarke of Erasure and Enya.

Roland JUNO-60

The JUNO-60 was released with a single digitally-controlled oscillator per voice which gave the unit a notably high degree of stability in maintaining the tune. The DCO gives pulse/square and sawtooth waveforms as the main sound source, as well as white noise and a square-wave sub-oscillator which is pitched an octave below the key played.

Just like its predecessor the JUNO-6, the JUNO-60 lacks MIDI control but still produces great unrivaled sound. Therefore, if you can ignore the fact that it lacks MIDI control, be guaranteed of a great analog synthesizer which is believed to have a punchier sound than its successor the JUNO-106. The JUNO-60 has the capability of attaching an external sequencer controller for a richer sound.

In other words, the JUNO-60 is controllable using sequencers that use proprietary DCB protocol that is somewhat like MIDI, although quite different. There are several DCB-enabled sequencers in the market, or you can better still use MIDI-to-DCB converters if you wish to drive a DCB-enabled synth.

The JUNO-60 features a fairly unique-sounding 24 dB/octave lowpass filter with resonance. Compared to some analog synthesizer low pass filters seen today in the market, this machine has the ability of self-resonance hence can be used to some extend as a tone generator on its own.

The envelope and filters on this machine rely basically on control voltages which are sent by way of depressing the keyboard keys. The filter section further has control for polarity and envelope amount, keyboard tracking, and LFO modulation. The ability to thin out low frequencies is made possible by the presence of a 3-point non-resonant highpass filter. The signal is then transmitted via a voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) and a simple 4-stage ADSR filter envelope.

Like all other JUNO analog synthesizers in the market, the JUNO-60 has an on-board stereo chorus effect which adds a fairly unique character to the sound of the machine, even though it is noticeably noisy. Further, it has an on-board up/down/up-down arpeggiator that has the ability to span 3 octaves. You can control the arpeggio speed using an external trigger source or the built-in slider. You can improvise a trigger for the instrument’s arpeggio by simply sending a short duration loud signal into the input. A perfect example of loud audio signal that you can send is a Roland TR-808 Rimshot sound.

Unlike its predecessor that lacks patch memory storage, the JUNO-60 has 56 memory slots to help keep and instantly recall patch settings. You can load its memory, or offload it on a magnetic cassette tape by simply plugging a tape recorder on the right jack located at the back of the instrument. The patch information will be transmitted in form of audio signal of the same quality as that you get from a computer modem.

Even though the JUNO-160 is based on the same built and architecture of its predecessor, its sound is so characteristic which carries you back to the 80s. If you listen keenly enough, you will realize the signature sounds in many songs of the 80s. It is also a polysnth that packs more features than the JUNO-60, such as increased patch memory storage of 128 up from 56 and extensive MIDI control. Actually, the JUNO-160 was the first Analog synthesizer from Roland to be MID-equipped.

Typically, a monophonic synth uses two or three oscillators to amplify the sound, but the JUNO-106 uses in-built Chorus to make the generated sound fatter creating theatrical effects. Its DCO is made in such a way that it is stable with a perfect tune while still being analog and warm. There is an outstanding 24dB/oct analog lowpass filter with an ample of resonance and self-oscillating potential and a non-resonant highpass filter. You can individually or collectively control the VCF cutoff, the DCO output, and LFO amount thanks to the programmable mod/pitch bender.

As mentioned, the JUNO-106 was the first Roland analog synthesizer to be MIDI equipped and has an excellent implementation meaning it can send and receive real-time MIDI sysEx information.  It comes equipped with 16 MIDI channels where MIDI sysEx data is transmittable from all buttons and sliders for sequencing capability and complete remote control. There is a switch strategically located behind the keyboard, just next to the MIDI ports, which allow one to switch between three different types of MIDI modes -- All data inclusive of sysEx, Keyboard, Hold, Bender, Patch selection data and Keyboard and Hold data only.

When you switch on the ‘MIDI function’, the unit is set to mode III and the instrument sends an exclusive MIDI system message for each movement of the buttons or patch control sliders. If you have with you a sequencer with the ability to record real-time sysEx, you can record the information and play it back as part of a sequence. Note also that you can link two JUNO-106s through the MIDI feature where the second unit imitates everything the first one does. To get a whole new level of fat bass sound, you can detune one unit slightly and then mix the two outputs together.

This analog synth is very powerful and straightforward, with an easy-to-understand and hands-on panel layout. You can generate filter sweeps, lush pads, and very funky and unique bass lines and leads using the Roland JUNO-106. If you are new to analog synthesis, this piece is a great learning tool.