I stayed to the end...and it was worth it. Its the first time in the History of youtube-audio-daw videos, thzat my little white ass was grooving to the awesome Song you Did. All I say is: THATS WHAT I CALL AN 80ies CHORUS!! I bow!
I like to think of the Juno as the anti-DX7. It is the warm, squishy, analog yin to the DX7’s bright, glassy, digital yang. There’s something very soothing about its timbre.
It always irks me when people describe the DX7 as bright, glassy and digital, because it can be incredibly warm and organic. I know that it's known for those rougher, digital sounds but it takes a bit of learning how to program it to realize it can have a more soft approach to it.
@@gasolineandwine this is true, but I'd argue it's more well known for its brighter bell/e piano patches. with enough effort you can make almost anything you want with FM synthesis, but if you wanted a rich warmer sound and had a choice in a synth it'd probably make more sense to use the one that's easier to get from point a to point b with
@@gasolineandwine No.... no it REALLY can't. Compare a DX7 to a juno and you'll realize you never knew what "warm" was. There. Is. Nothing. Warm. About. The. Dx7
not trying to be facetious, but ua-cam.com/video/0-AS5GZGLR4/v-deo.html ; couldn't you say the same thing about any analog (1osc or mono) synth? What do you think?
Juno 6 was my first ever synth. I bought it in 93 I think it was, paid 250 quid for in London, from a second hand place just down the street from Turnkey. I carried it home on the tube, that was a nightmare as they are very heavy but I was extremely determined. I spent every waking moment playing that synth, it taught me so much.
I love how Roland just kind of threw out the Juno-6 and the TR-808 to “keep up with the market” even though they thought they were kinda crap… And they both become, like, massive pillars of their respective genres. Throw in the TR-909 and the 303 and…you start to think Roland is at it’s best when they just kinda go, “eh…how about this?”
the 808 had a chip that stopped being made and they couldnt match the sound as well as it being a sales flop.. and seen as a bit comical by most... no one could use the 303 and was also a 'flop'
Irony is Junos, TB-303 and most of TR-X0X series were Roland at its worst because Roland thought they are doing hardware for the low budget segment. So of course Roland is incapable of competing with its "worst" for the past 3 decades because their modus operandi is making only the "best" things. So now they give us a VST with a keyboard for $2000.
The 808 and 909 were definitely not low budget turds- they were groundbreaking gamechangers. At least that's what they were meant to be. The ability to fully sequence the 808 was new, it just got shitted on techwise by the Linn and DMX etc that had "real" drum sounds. Everyone was chasing actual instrument emulation back then. The rest of the x0x's were budget pieces but the 808 and 909 were mid-high end. The Juno 6/60 were "budget", but they still cost the modern equivalent of 4500 or so. Roland build quality up until the mid 80's was absolutely top notch.
it's the same with SP series, especially the 404... they were meant to be live effects, they were meant to be groove boxes, they were meant to be a second performer when you were the only one. that's why the sequencers on all of them felt like an afterthought and it's why the new 404 mkii is so brilliant. they didn't try to make something "high end" or "new" but rather they revitalized the parts of the old that were lacking after a community they never meant to target decided it was theirs to use. say what you will about roland but you can't deny that they've made genre-defining gear in almost every style of music around
In 1984 my dad took me to Lightning Music to buy a Juno 6. I had just sold my Moog Prodigy and my Moog Opus 3. The Juno 6 was on sale for $699 if I remember correctly, but the Juno 60 had memory and it was $899, which I didn’t have the extra 200 bucks. My dad pitched in the extra and I left that night with the keyboard that would forever influence my musical development and creative style. That keyboard became a part of me, I was able to pull out any sound I could imagine quickly. Two years later bought a second Juno and a DCB cable thinking that I could layer the two keyboards. That never worked. I really liked your original song at the end there.
I have always had a soft spot for the Moog Opus 3. When I was playing in a band in the early 80's and couldn't afford my own poly synth, a friend back then who owned an Opus 3 but was rarely using it anymore was happy to lend it to me, I really enjoyed it and only stopped using it after I could afford my own Juno 60. I believe that friend never sold his Opus 3🤭
It's weird to be nostalgic for an era that I literally wasn't alive for, but there's just something about how they look and sound that sparks joy and Roland (finally?) realised that lol. I wonder how people would have reacted to that bigsky/supermassive reverb back when these were new it adds such a new, lush dimension to the sound and I'm somewhat addicted to using it.
I am a smidge older than the Junos, but really I knew the sound later and found out what the sound was coming from much later again. I guess the pre-internet world is alluring. The grass is always greener and all that. Reverb - I guess they had things like the Lexicon 224, but they weren't easily accessible or footpedal sized. Would have probably blown their minds.
@@AlexBallMusic Wow, what a wonderful track at the end. You really nailed the sound of the 80's "Synthie-Pop". I was a teenager when the Juno 6 came out and we loved the sounds and the music of that era. It's an interesting point, wether the grass was greener back in the day ;-) Tony Williams (Drummer) once said: remember the past and honor the past, but don't be stuck in the past. In german there's a (questionable) saying that goes like: back in the day everything was better. So, as someone who has grown up in the pre-internet world, I would answer: sure not everything. But quite a lot ;-) Cheers
Totally agree! Please Alex, tell us a bit more on how you treated your vocals. I can't believe it's only a vocoding effect in junction with the Juno. Great song btw :)
@@nicolaskavvadias8488 So it's a sample of my own vocals from a song I recorded in about 2015. I sampled it in mono into my Isla S2400 using the lofi settings and then re-pitched and chopped it. At 12:29 you can see it on the display. In the end choruses I added the on-board Juno-X vocoder which really does sound fantastic. Then it's just reverb and delay.
I wrote and produced my debut album global transmission mostly with a Juno 106 in the mid 90's. The sound the versatility and ease of use made me love it and I've still got it today :)
My secondary school had an unloved Juno 6 languishing in a dusty cupboard in the music department. When a mate and I wrote a score for a show in 1990, it was right on board. We had a rented Rhodes PCM760 (iirc) as well, and although the Rhodes was technically the better machine at the time, it was a nightmare to wrangle in a dark orchestra pit, and never really inspired me the way the Juno 6 did. Granted, the Juno 6 was monstrously heavy, and often temperamental with temperature variation, but...The big strip between 'Roland' and 'Juno 6' was perfect for a strip of masking tape with settings scribbled on! Sometimes it played me, it could be capricious, it could be unpredictable, but it always made me smile. Eventually. After some panicking and quiet swearing. For myself, I love it as the essence of synth. Just wish I'd bought one then...
"Just wish I'd bought one then..." is the constant lament of our generation, to be sure. When Yamaha's amazing-if-terrifying DX7 and Roland's D-50 counterthrust appeared and everyone started dumping analog gear like hot rocks was our window of opportunity, and none of us realized it at the time. Oh the humanity! :D
That one little minute snippet comparing the X to the 106 was the best demo of the X on UA-cam yet! We need a full demo of the X’s 106 and 60 engine from you. Awesome work.
The Juno (60) was my first love. I fell in love with it when I saw it in the window of one of my local music shops in my native France back in 82 or 83, sitting proudly atop a Yamaha CP70. I spent many hours playing it and other polysynths too but none produced that lush, oddly satisfying chorused sound. It wasn't until August 1985 that I was finally able to purchase one for about half its 1982 retail price, a second-hand Juno-60 in pristine condition. Those were the days when every musician wanted a DX7 and analogue synths were sold via local ads at bargain prices. The Juno-60 was soon joined by a JX3P which, as great as it was with its two-oscillator engine (in my eyes at the time, it was the poorman's Jupiter), never matched the Juno's grandiose sound. I regrettably had to let the Juno go for about FF3,500 (approx. £245-£350 depending on the time of year due to fluctuating exchange rates) when I moved to the UK in 1990. Having owned dozens of other synths since, if you asked me to rank them in order of how much I miss them, the Juno-60 would top the list. For some reason, at the time, the Juno-106 never sounded as good as the 60 to my young ears and I passed on a couple before settling for the 60. Besides, I couldn't see the point of MIDI (I know, I know...), it had no arpeggiator and portamento wasn't enough of a selling point in my opinion. Nowadays, as much as I love the Juno-106 engine in my Jupiter-X, it is no replacement for the 60 and I would love the Juno-X's Juno-60 engine to be ported over to the Jupiter. Amazing video, by the way; as always.
100% I owned a Juno 60 and than I bought an 106 to replace it. I played on both for 3 days and I kept the 60. A great synth and great memories. This days I am mostly on soft synths. But I would buy a Juno 60 if .... Great video.
@@panamaJ yes. Because I had a Juno 60 already. If you red my post you'll understand that I wanted to replace my Juno 60 with 106 but I liked the sound of Juno 60 better so I changed my mind and kept it, selling the newer synth in stead. I had no reason (or budget) too have both. Keep in mind this happened in the early 80's when those synths were both new and just a "compromise" for those who couldn't afford a Jupiter 6 or 8 for ex. Very affordable and far from the "cult" status of today! So no! No BS. But I guess you're too young to understand (and also use a better language). Good look with your music! By the way, Juno 106 is a great synth! But there are many others that prefer the sound of Juno 60 even if they are only slightly different!
Thats actually a really good way to describe its sound! Whenever i play mine i'm always feeling that too, maybe it's the melodies we know from old that give it that automatic feeling/memory though? I dunno, but somehow you hit the nail on the head with that!
What a great video!! I gotta share my story now. While parking my car, I saw part of a key bed in a bin. YES, I dug into the bin and it was a JUNO-106. It had seen much better days, BUT I was determined NOT to let it die. As a repair technician by trade, I spent a year going over every circuit board and cable. I stripped the hermetic off the chips and had to completely rebuild the broken pitch bender and every slide POT. The 106 has thus far provided hours and hours of fun. It has no serial tag and might explain why it was in a bin. I was able to date this unit based on circuit board architecture and keybed to an early sales release in 1984 (maybe Q1) as some of the test points do not have pin headers.
I first learned how to program synths on the freebie TAL-U-NO-62 plugin. It's just a Juno 6/60 emulation. It really was PERFECT to learn synthesis basics on. And years later being able to play an actual Juno 6 was just mind blowing how good it sounds still to this day. CLASSIC, I tell you, absolute CLASSIC!
I have a D-10 and D-50. I had the opportunity to pick up a J 106 back in the 90's but passed as I did not have the space for it. Absolutely kicking myself decades later. The X may just be my next new toy for myself. Your final track was (to quote my daughters) - bangin' Thanks for the nostalgia. Great channel.
I gigged full time/6 nighters & concerts on the road in the 70's & 80's & bought only what i proved to be the best sounding equipment that made my act and playing sound better. I loved my JUNO 60 !!! Yet, it had NO MiDi connections. So I sold it & in 1984 bought the Juno 106 as an UPgrade or so I thought. Juno 106 had no "balls" (sub-octave settings ect.)like the 60. The keys felt very different from my other boards I kicked myself every night until I finally sold it. After remaining quiet for oh so long, i feel the NEED to inform those of you who may end up wasting your hard-earned $.
I have owned my 106 for over 30 years and I still love it. It always seems to find a new sound easily and using midi you can record all the filter and slider movements. It really was a massive implementation of midi at the time. Many modern synths do not have the same level tweakability. Its a keeper 🥰
Having explored TAL's U-NO-LX soft synth emulation and wanting to know more about the Juno's significance and relevance, this video was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Very well done as usual, Alex!
3:43. Sounds like chimes. Vintage synthesizers are loved by people because of the thick, fat, big and full sounds. The analog synthesizers move people because the sounds that come out are smooth.
What sweet spot would that be, pads 1, 2 or 3 thru 88? These boards are the last bastion for vintage seller hopefuls (espec after dumping more $ for voice repairs).
Much like the SH-101, the Juno-6/60/106 are simple and straightforward, and pretty much all sweet spot. You can't make them sound bad. That legendary chorus is the icing on the cake.
Yeah, you nailed it. What a lot of gearheads don't realize is that actual musicians want to write music, so they only care about two things: how good it sounds and how easy it is to get good sounds out of it. And those two synths are kings in both categories.
Wow! Alex consistently knocks it out-of-the-park with the songs he writes for these videos. And man, the feel in this one's electric. Makes me want to up my game, too. As much as I love cerebral music that experiments with novel ideas, it's stuff like this - written from pure intuition - that speaks to the soul. And if done at a high enough level, the latter approach leads to new and interesting things in its own right - like how Alex kept the truncated breaths between phrases in the vocoded parts. I can't imagine that was planned. But the way he always seems to inject a bit of chaos into the process, and (more importantly) feel when it's both interesting and appropriate for the song - it produces magic. Love it!
This is so fantastic! I had Juno-106 from 90's to 200x and I agree with everything what is said on this video. I learned subtractive synthesis with Juno and what I learned back then still guides me with any analog or virtual analog gear. Big thanks for the video!
God I would so love to just spend a single hour in that studio,I’ve worked with synthesisers for 10 years,and got a couple of good ones like an ARP Odyssey and DX21,but you can’t beat an analog polysynth,You always have such amazing content,such an underrated content creator,Thank you Alex!
I think people overlook the Super 6 as a worthy Juno/Jupiter successor. You get the same hands-on immediacy (no display), a panel layout that will look and feel *very* familiar, the same buttery shimmery sweet-spot tone, Roland-esque chorus, and a gorgeous analog filter. but you also get modern features like digital waves, audio rate modulation, and a mod matrix. Plus a rock-solid build that will last for years. For me, it is the perfect combination of Juno-inspired and modern.
It does sound awesome. I had to send my super 6 back tho. It was a love/hate relationship lol.. it's not a perfect instrument by any means, but I'm sure one of these days udo will perfect their craft.
Yes, great synth. Definitely heavily inspired by the Juno line. The Behringer Deepmind also started as a Juno clone. There are a bunch of them out there but none will ever be as dear to me as my JUNO-6
@@lo-firobotboy7112 Someone should make a modern analog truly resembling the JUNO 6 in sound and simplicity with only MIDI, delay, reverb, and a sequencer added.
One of the (many!) regrets in my life is that I used to teach guitar at a college back in the 90's, and their music department had a Juno 60 which I enjoyed noodling around on. They were getting new synths for the department, so offered me the Juno for free and I didn't take it as I wasn't really too into keyboards at the time. Found out later they'd just thrown it out!
It is not just nostalgia. There is some kind of magic to the old analog synths... maybe the components aged like a fine wine or something esoterical ... dunno you can't really grab it by facts. But no matter how hard the manufacturers try, there's still some special edge to the old original that they cannot recreate I also don't know if you would replace every single component in a vintage analog with a new one that dose the same job, would the synth loose its magic and sound just like the other new analogs? That would be a costly experiment... FOR SINCE ! 🤓✊
Excellent presentation! The Juno X really is a beautiful instrument. The original Junos are gorgeous; so much music history with these. Glad they captured these in the new X; the simplicity and immediacy of the sound is stunning, still, and useful for countless applications. Right after I began selling keyboards the Alpha Junos arrived. They were nice, also, but the beginning of the little screens and less controllers. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Alex!!
before 2015 or so, because it was cheap and easy to find. Before 2010 because it was VERY, VERY cheap and easy to find. I used to know tons of people with them because they were the best analog poly that a broke hig school or college kid could afford, but in the mid 2000s the prices went up to $300-$400 for a well maintained one and everybody sold. When the Behringer Deepmind 12 was originally announced I started saving up to get one at the projected release price of $1000, but ended up getting a Juno 6 because it was a few hundred dollars cheaper (the total for the Juno, a couple replacement switch caps, and a Tubbutec JU-66 MIDI retrofit came in around $950 including all of the shipping. These days, mostly hype. As fun as it is and as nice as it sounds, modern prices for a 6 are about twice the most I would consider paying for one (and I'd pay LESS for a 60 - program memory isn't worth losing the continuous highpass control on the 6)
you seem to be implying ‘hype’ as meaning people trying to be cool. Indeed it is hype- just as any timeless, great sounding, well-designed instrument has hype. Deserved hype.
Lovely. Always preferred simple synths myself. We can often get lost with options, buttons and dials, but sometimes it pays to get out the old dusty single oscillator and fall in love with it again.
Great video Alex! I'm happy to kinda own a 106 in my System 8. Funny thing about the Juno X, it is more affordable than any working vintage Juno! And it has way more options.
Great video Alex. I've always thought that in addition to being a terrific synth, the junos are a masterclass in how to survive what economists call disruptive innovation. Roland faced the fear, looked past the hype and saw that the DX7, despite its awe inspiring qualities, was expensive and a bitch to program. If they made a synth that was cheap, easy to use, had the word DIGITAL written on it somewhere, and they got it on sale quickly, they could ride out the FM tidal wave. And everyone loves our chorus units so let's whack one of those on too. Smart move. Roland used the time it bought to develop the D50, which changed the game again and left Yamaha in the dust. Hats off to Roland 🎩
As always, I love all the points that were brought up and I would definitely agree. To add to the conversation, I think it's important to re-remember that it's not so much the tools as much as who is using them. After all, if you managed to have access to say Rembrandt's or Picasso's easel and paintbrushes, that doesn't instantly make you into a Rembrandt or a Picasso. Over time, I've learned not to get so overtly attached to particular tools, even if they generate some great and worthwhile sounds. Especially now, we are so spoiled for choice between direct emulations of past instruments and brand new instruments (and everything in between it seems) and thus you can those particular sonic colours and then some. I will say this too (and you hinted at this), I think the classic Juno (6/60/106) does have something of a timeless quality due to its design, layout and function. It will be great if the current instruments could tap into those qualities. And yes, I know they are out there like the UDO Super 6 (mentioned in another comment) or the Behringer DeepMind 12 or the Novation Summit (though technically, the Peak may be "closer" as it's one oscillator). Cheers as always =]
Great video, thank you! I still have my Juno 106, purchased new by me all the way back in 1985! Sadly, the box disintegrated after a few international moves, but the synth still plays great. Nice tune at the end also!
I owned one for year in the 2000's and sold it for around 4-500. They cover a lot of ground but I always wanted more out of mine. I think its all preference but to me nothing beats having 2 oscillators drifting in and out of one another. Had the Junos stayed around $1000 I think they would be more appealing but with current rates I could never justify it again.
The Juno - an accidental monster of an icon. It's the sound of darker synthpop. Here we have another future-classic video by Alex Ball which will go down in the UA-cam reference archives that people will be watching for decades, long after Alex has taken the celestial exit.
Fantastic, Alex. My first "real" (non Toys R Us) synth was a Roland HS-60 (Juno 106 with speakers) bought for cheap in the late 80s when everyone was moving to ROMplers and other digital. I had an Alpha Juno after that, so looking forward to a video on that line, should you decide to do it.
Ah yes, the quirky HS-60. Doesn't that have an external audio in that goes through the chorus? Very handy. I did an Alpha Juno video earlier this year. 😀
The synth is just one big sweet spot, but versatile enough. Absolute classic, a good example of the sum being greater than the parts! (Although they are great Roland parts!)
My high school had a 106 that got swiped a year or two after I had graduated. It had a slightly damaged chassis from being put in a wet storage room for 30 years and the voice chips began to fail after we found it and began using it for my school's Rock Ensemble. I first started learning synthesis on that beautiful, partially broken thing and one of the great sadnesses of my life that doesn't revolve around the deaths of friends and romantic regrets was that thing disappearing. This video made me really miss that thing, but man do you know how to synth, Alex, so I still got to enjoy it in spite of my own wistfulness. Cheers, mate
I'm not really interested in a hardware simulation of a 106, but from what I read this Juno X has an arpegiator, sequencer, other built-in sounds and other non-106-original things that might make it an interesting performance intsrument. I wonder about how it compares to the now older Jupiter X
Compares the same really, the difference is this is the Zen engine built into a Juno shell. Same for the Jup X as well. Remember since they are digital they can continue to update the firmware for all of it. They sound amazing, feel analog, and even have a very large amount of Dynamic Range which is something pretty much all VA synths fail at. So kudos to Roland on the X/Zen series!
The reason Juno mattered to me 20 years ago was because I could get an HS-60 (Juno 106) for around $400 shipped, it had MIDI, and non-vintage analog poysynths didn’t (or hardly) exist(ed). The sounds of the HS-60/106 turned out to be a little too “‘80s” (aka too in-tune?) to my ears, and the built-in, disintegrating speakers didn’t help matters. Also, maintenance became too costly. Sold it for parts. Had I been more experienced and well-equipped with proper software (no MIDI out on Reason 2.5, etc.) and outboard gear, I might’ve done a lot better job of utilizing the MIDI sequencing and effects treatment possibilities with my old Juno. Now that newly manufactured and affordable analog polysynths-and convincing-to-me virtual analog polys-exist, I’m more content with DeepMind “24” (two polychained), Minilogue XD, Softube Model 84, et al. Learning on and experiencing a Juno was fun and worthwhile, though! By the way, is anyone selling a Jupiter for $400 shipped🙃, in excellent condition? 😉
Hi Mr Bell. Greetings from Argentina. I’m a keyboard player myself and there’s so much I learn with every post you share with us. I’m grateful for it. Keep up the good work!!!! Thanks!!!!
So the 106, side by side, isn’t as fat as the 6/60, and yes I tried them. On the plus side, the 106 has twice the memories of the 60, @128 patches. Also on the 106, the faders transmit SysEx in realtime, so you can record your movements / edits into your sequencer. This REALLY makes a difference to your music ! (As for me, Juno60 owner for 32years, amongst others)
Roland keys have consistently been a favorite of mine. Where the chorus is concerned, keep in mind that Roland/Boss set the quality standard of a chorus (IMHO).
The Juno-6 in my life is wonderfully battered and wonky. It's come and gone over the years, and then come back again. It gets loaned and forgotten, and then remembered and wrestled back from whoever 'borrowed' it. I'm its 'shepherd' or 'guardian'! The actual owner is a bit meh about it!!! I bought a Nord Piano 5 recently and sampled the hell out of it for the umpteenth time. Aside from it sounding fabulous, I think part of the appeal is that it wasn't unobtainium for such a long stretch of the analogue revival. Unfortunately I think its "bang for its buck" is starting to look unfavourable now. That doesn't make it any less desirable, just a harder pill to swallow if one insists on having an original.
In the early 80's I was in a band, playing bass & keys, and two of the bands we were inspired by were Rush and Saga. In early '81 I had spent my last savings on a Sequential Pro One, and our gigs were never making us more than a few bucks and a few drinks ... so anything polyphonic seemed wildly out of budget. But then the Korg Mono/Poly, the PolySix, and the Juno 6 came around which made me start to believe in saving ... and in late 1982 I got my Juno 60. I still can't believe I actually sold both of them in 1997 to a Hip-Hop dude who (for some reason I didn't actually understand at the time) was willing to pay basically new-price for them. But then ... I was starting a family and a career and somehow didn't see myself doing much music anymore. I started 'repairing the damage' in 2006 by getting a Korg Triton Le61, more recently a Moog Grandmother, and since I have added a Roland System-8 Aira with Juno-60 and Jupiter-8 plug-outs ... I am enjoying those Juno sounds of old again, but I really like the Aira all on its own. I only use the set-up at home, and I love it.
Want to point out, that the 106 and MIDI wasn’t the birth of music with no keyboard playing.. Our typical setup was, that TR808 Cowbel was syncing Juno6 arpeggio and RimShot synced SH101’s sequencer. You could make many patterns to use Hold + arpeggio on Juno and make different patterns on TR808 with lopping SH101 seq. Over that we played guitars and Tama Techstar drums and somebody sung through Ibanez guitar delay. After MIDI came along, this set up was still used, now the 808 synced also 909, from which MIDI clock could be shared to Poly61 etc.
Indeed, and sequencers were around since the early modular days of the 60s, however.... In the specific case of the Junos, triggering an arpeggiator from a drum machine and having to manually change the chord or notes the arpeggiator cycles vs fully polyphonic, hands free midi sequencing with parameter sequencing and program changes etc is an entirely different kettle of fish. It expanded hugely upon the side of things. DCB was the intermediary of course, albeit very briefly.
Alex, everybody knows that every synth sounds good under your hands. But frankly, I still do *not* care about the Junos. I owned a Korg Polysix and occasionally borrowed a Juno-6 in the early 80s - and always preferred the Polysix due to its VCOs, filters and - albeit very basic - FX. However, the Roland chorus really sounds better.
@@group-music I also prefer the Poly 6 and 61 over a Juno. I used to layer my 61M with recorded samples from the Roland MKS-100 sampler when the sound needed to be thicker. You could also use the VP-330 samples in the Keys pack from Roland to really flesh out the strings into full stringer territory. I think running these through a flanger produces a better sound than a chorus. I think a lot of the Juno love (and Roland love in general) is from people that want to fight back against Moog love.
Lots of interesting and well thought out comments My road gear started with Hammond & Leslie, followed with Wurlitzer Piano and ARP Omni. Next were Minimoog and Odyssey - Odyssey has more sonic range, but a good useable, likeable, sound could be found a lot quicker on the Mini; Moog also cut through the mix competing with guitars. Added a Yamaha Electric Grand CP70B and Hohner Clavinet. Our band was doing a lot of Supertramp, Styx, and cover material. Replaced the Mini and Odyssey with an Oberheim 4 voice. Gradually down-sized since we were doing original stuff and opening for bigger acts. Got down to Electric Grand, Oberheim for some synth, and Korg Poly 6 which functionally replaced: a Korg CX3 Hammond clone, Omni Strings, Clavinet, plus the Korg adequately replicated a Prophet 5 used for our recording sessions. I loved being able to edit and revise Factory Settings and easily back-up sequenced patches for various song set lists. Three big regrets of the Poly 6: 1) It was pitched sharp on the extreme low notes and flat on the high end - manufacturing flaw, not possible to re-calibrate; 2) very cheap key contact component - piece that looks like a broken pencil lead mounted in a small rubber plunger contacts a circuit board point - extremely susceptible to dirt and tobacco smoke - no velocity sensitivity or aftertouch capability, plus 3) I actually wanted the MIDI feature. So, as much as I enjoyed the Poly 6, it was exchanged for the Juno 106. Sort of like with the Mini / Odyssey trade-off: I prefer the 2 octave overtone plus Unison mode of the Poly 6 over single octave split available, and the Unison mode of the Juno 106, but the re-trigger options and the choruses unit of the Roland are superior. I tried to substitute a Jupiter 6 which has fantastic subtle nuances but found it too thin and overwhelmed by guitars and drums and went back to the Juno. Eventually as I was doing club dates, I went with the Juno 106 MIDI-ed with a Yamaha DX7. My present go-to setup is an aged Korg SGproX. Features full 88 note board (made for Clavinova - I prefer it over Fatar) faster and a bit lighter touch than Yamaha M08 and Kronos. I was able to edit sounds (you delete stuff you don't like and replace it with another tweaked sound - for instance I morphed something into a usable reed organ, another to accordion. You can also set flexible split and layer fields. On occasions that call for some Funk or R & B material I may include a Roland VK7 and I if it's really greasy Soul, possibly run it through the Neo Ventilator. Interesting how it comes back down to Korg and Roland, but Yamaha and Kurzweil are still tempting. p.s. The Juno 106 works great as a 'lower organ manual' MIDI-ed to the VK7. I agree with Mr. Ed Straker considering the practical limitations that the asking price is ludicrous, nonetheless, I am quite happy that I still have a Juno 106 along with the Clavinet, and DX7.
@ghost mall The Juno is not stereo; it has neither stereo filters nor amps for Oberheim/Sequential-style pan spread. Only the chorus is stereo, and yes, as written above, it is better than the Polysix chorus. But you can always use an external chorus for the Polysix to make it sound "stereo” as well. Without the chorus the Junos sound thin and sterile compared to the Polysix. Hi-fi? I don’t think I want an analogue synth to sound hi-fi.
I’ve been playing with my Juno X for a few weeks now. Love it so far, there’s still that part of me that feels like I’m missing out on some sort of “analog magic” but I don’t think I really am. It’s so nice to have those Juno 60 and 106 starting point presets.
I always thought if you were skilled enough you could make any synth sound similar, even digital recreations, but since i bought a Jupiter 6 i'm starting to doubt that. Now obviously there isn't any JP-6 VST but the Jupiter 8 sounds the same, except maybe at high resonance levels, and I have a JP-8 emulator on my laptop. It's very very good sounding but it's maybe lacking warmth that i can't explain scientificly and that annoys me to an unreasonable amount. Maybe someone should do a video comparaison about it...
Purchased the Juno 106 in 2018 and replaced the voice & chorus chips, now it sounds and works like new. Its a beautiful synth. Having grown up in the 80s, the Juno sound was such a big part of my life in movies and music. Now my 106 sits with a Prophet 6 and several Moogs… analog bliss for sure. Enjoyed your video immensely and your song at the end was 🔥🔥🔥
Awesome Alex! I like your tune. Trying to decide between the Jupiter X and Juno X if I were to win the lottery. Ha I'd like to see an A/B of those two.
The keyboard player in my very first band had the Juno 60, and a Sequential Pro-One. Just hearing that sound takes me back to my freshman year in high school.
The track at the end: alexball.bandcamp.com/track/draw-a-line-juno-mix
Thanks for the kind words.
Sounds great.
I stayed to the end...and it was worth it. Its the first time in the History of youtube-audio-daw videos, thzat my little white ass was grooving to the awesome Song you Did. All I say is: THATS WHAT I CALL AN 80ies CHORUS!! I bow!
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LIFE IS FOR LIVING
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LIFE IS FOR LIVING
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I like to think of the Juno as the anti-DX7. It is the warm, squishy, analog yin to the DX7’s bright, glassy, digital yang. There’s something very soothing about its timbre.
Yes, anti-DX7 in terms of panel controls too!
I used to have a DX7 which paired with the Juno quite well as they do very different things.
Great description, very good way to describe it. Although cold and glassy would actually be yin and the warm/soft would be yang.
It always irks me when people describe the DX7 as bright, glassy and digital, because it can be incredibly warm and organic. I know that it's known for those rougher, digital sounds but it takes a bit of learning how to program it to realize it can have a more soft approach to it.
@@gasolineandwine this is true, but I'd argue it's more well known for its brighter bell/e piano patches. with enough effort you can make almost anything you want with FM synthesis, but if you wanted a rich warmer sound and had a choice in a synth it'd probably make more sense to use the one that's easier to get from point a to point b with
@@gasolineandwine No.... no it REALLY can't. Compare a DX7 to a juno and you'll realize you never knew what "warm" was. There. Is. Nothing. Warm. About. The. Dx7
Simplicity + timeless sound = endless inspiration. I think that’s why the Juno will never die :)
It will die one day, that is certain.
not trying to be facetious, but ua-cam.com/video/0-AS5GZGLR4/v-deo.html ;
couldn't you say the same thing about any analog (1osc or mono) synth?
What do you think?
Juno 6 was my first ever synth. I bought it in 93 I think it was, paid 250 quid for in London, from a second hand place just down the street from Turnkey. I carried it home on the tube, that was a nightmare as they are very heavy but I was extremely determined. I spent every waking moment playing that synth, it taught me so much.
I love how Roland just kind of threw out the Juno-6 and the TR-808 to “keep up with the market” even though they thought they were kinda crap… And they both become, like, massive pillars of their respective genres. Throw in the TR-909 and the 303 and…you start to think Roland is at it’s best when they just kinda go, “eh…how about this?”
the 808 had a chip that stopped being made and they couldnt match the sound as well as it being a sales flop.. and seen as a bit comical by most... no one could use the 303 and was also a 'flop'
@@jsaulkane5893 It WAS a flop. Remarketing and brand recognition is hugely powerful, and those synths kept them alive.
Irony is Junos, TB-303 and most of TR-X0X series were Roland at its worst because Roland thought they are doing hardware for the low budget segment. So of course Roland is incapable of competing with its "worst" for the past 3 decades because their modus operandi is making only the "best" things. So now they give us a VST with a keyboard for $2000.
The 808 and 909 were definitely not low budget turds- they were groundbreaking gamechangers. At least that's what they were meant to be. The ability to fully sequence the 808 was new, it just got shitted on techwise by the Linn and DMX etc that had "real" drum sounds. Everyone was chasing actual instrument emulation back then. The rest of the x0x's were budget pieces but the 808 and 909 were mid-high end. The Juno 6/60 were "budget", but they still cost the modern equivalent of 4500 or so. Roland build quality up until the mid 80's was absolutely top notch.
it's the same with SP series, especially the 404... they were meant to be live effects, they were meant to be groove boxes, they were meant to be a second performer when you were the only one. that's why the sequencers on all of them felt like an afterthought and it's why the new 404 mkii is so brilliant. they didn't try to make something "high end" or "new" but rather they revitalized the parts of the old that were lacking after a community they never meant to target decided it was theirs to use.
say what you will about roland but you can't deny that they've made genre-defining gear in almost every style of music around
In 1984 my dad took me to Lightning Music to buy a Juno 6. I had just sold my Moog Prodigy and my Moog Opus 3. The Juno 6 was on sale for $699 if I remember correctly, but the Juno 60 had memory and it was $899, which I didn’t have the extra 200 bucks. My dad pitched in the extra and I left that night with the keyboard that would forever influence my musical development and creative style. That keyboard became a part of me, I was able to pull out any sound I could imagine quickly. Two years later bought a second Juno and a DCB cable thinking that I could layer the two keyboards. That never worked. I really liked your original song at the end there.
I have always had a soft spot for the Moog Opus 3. When I was playing in a band in the early 80's and couldn't afford my own poly synth, a friend back then who owned an Opus 3 but was rarely using it anymore was happy to lend it to me, I really enjoyed it and only stopped using it after I could afford my own Juno 60. I believe that friend never sold his Opus 3🤭
It's weird to be nostalgic for an era that I literally wasn't alive for, but there's just something about how they look and sound that sparks joy and Roland (finally?) realised that lol. I wonder how people would have reacted to that bigsky/supermassive reverb back when these were new it adds such a new, lush dimension to the sound and I'm somewhat addicted to using it.
I am a smidge older than the Junos, but really I knew the sound later and found out what the sound was coming from much later again. I guess the pre-internet world is alluring. The grass is always greener and all that.
Reverb - I guess they had things like the Lexicon 224, but they weren't easily accessible or footpedal sized. Would have probably blown their minds.
@@AlexBallMusic information spread much much slower pre-internet
@@AlexBallMusic Wow, what a wonderful track at the end. You really nailed the sound of the 80's "Synthie-Pop". I was a teenager when the Juno 6 came out and we loved the sounds and the music of that era. It's an interesting point, wether the grass was greener back in the day ;-)
Tony Williams (Drummer) once said: remember the past and honor the past, but don't be stuck in the past. In german there's a (questionable) saying that goes like: back in the day everything was better. So, as someone who has grown up in the pre-internet world, I would answer: sure not everything. But quite a lot ;-) Cheers
@@michaelv.3655Dem kann ich nur zustimmen. Es hat was in einer Zeit aufgewachsen zu sein als es das Internet noch nicht gab.
Love what you did with the vocals in that end song. Very impressive.
Cheers!
Totally agree! Please Alex, tell us a bit more on how you treated your vocals. I can't believe it's only a vocoding effect in junction with the Juno. Great song btw :)
@@nicolaskavvadias8488 So it's a sample of my own vocals from a song I recorded in about 2015. I sampled it in mono into my Isla S2400 using the lofi settings and then re-pitched and chopped it. At 12:29 you can see it on the display.
In the end choruses I added the on-board Juno-X vocoder which really does sound fantastic.
Then it's just reverb and delay.
@@AlexBallMusic To quote some psychedelic/prog ensemble you might've heard of,
You've gotta get an album out you owe it to the people! :D
That song…. So good.
The Juno-06 is my only remaining vintage synthesizer in my set up. I've had it since 1992 . I absolutely adore it and I will be buried with it.
You mean the Juno-60
@@synthesizerhome2041 I have the 06 not the 60. Presets would be nice though.
@@Scottzilla1970 There is no Juno-06, I think you mean the Juno-6...
@@synthesizerhome2041 whatever
4:20
Good lord, at first I thought 'oh, man, that's a good tone for a horror stinger!' and then he detuned it, and made me feel horror.
Amazing. 11/10
I wrote and produced my debut album global transmission mostly with a Juno 106 in the mid 90's. The sound the versatility and ease of use made me love it and I've still got it today :)
My secondary school had an unloved Juno 6 languishing in a dusty cupboard in the music department. When a mate and I wrote a score for a show in 1990, it was right on board. We had a rented Rhodes PCM760 (iirc) as well, and although the Rhodes was technically the better machine at the time, it was a nightmare to wrangle in a dark orchestra pit, and never really inspired me the way the Juno 6 did. Granted, the Juno 6 was monstrously heavy, and often temperamental with temperature variation, but...The big strip between 'Roland' and 'Juno 6' was perfect for a strip of masking tape with settings scribbled on! Sometimes it played me, it could be capricious, it could be unpredictable, but it always made me smile. Eventually. After some panicking and quiet swearing.
For myself, I love it as the essence of synth. Just wish I'd bought one then...
Love stories like this.
"Just wish I'd bought one then..." is the constant lament of our generation, to be sure. When Yamaha's amazing-if-terrifying DX7 and Roland's D-50 counterthrust appeared and everyone started dumping analog gear like hot rocks was our window of opportunity, and none of us realized it at the time. Oh the humanity! :D
Yes, the tape strip!
That one little minute snippet comparing the X to the 106 was the best demo of the X on UA-cam yet! We need a full demo of the X’s 106 and 60 engine from you. Awesome work.
The Juno (60) was my first love. I fell in love with it when I saw it in the window of one of my local music shops in my native France back in 82 or 83, sitting proudly atop a Yamaha CP70. I spent many hours playing it and other polysynths too but none produced that lush, oddly satisfying chorused sound. It wasn't until August 1985 that I was finally able to purchase one for about half its 1982 retail price, a second-hand Juno-60 in pristine condition. Those were the days when every musician wanted a DX7 and analogue synths were sold via local ads at bargain prices. The Juno-60 was soon joined by a JX3P which, as great as it was with its two-oscillator engine (in my eyes at the time, it was the poorman's Jupiter), never matched the Juno's grandiose sound. I regrettably had to let the Juno go for about FF3,500 (approx. £245-£350 depending on the time of year due to fluctuating exchange rates) when I moved to the UK in 1990. Having owned dozens of other synths since, if you asked me to rank them in order of how much I miss them, the Juno-60 would top the list. For some reason, at the time, the Juno-106 never sounded as good as the 60 to my young ears and I passed on a couple before settling for the 60. Besides, I couldn't see the point of MIDI (I know, I know...), it had no arpeggiator and portamento wasn't enough of a selling point in my opinion. Nowadays, as much as I love the Juno-106 engine in my Jupiter-X, it is no replacement for the 60 and I would love the Juno-X's Juno-60 engine to be ported over to the Jupiter. Amazing video, by the way; as always.
100% I owned a Juno 60 and than I bought an 106 to replace it. I played on both for 3 days and I kept the 60. A great synth and great memories. This days I am mostly on soft synths. But I would buy a Juno 60 if .... Great video.
@@DrDAADyou bought a 106 and kept it for 3 days? BS
@@panamaJ yes. Because I had a Juno 60 already. If you red my post you'll understand that I wanted to replace my Juno 60 with 106 but I liked the sound of Juno 60 better so I changed my mind and kept it, selling the newer synth in stead. I had no reason (or budget) too have both. Keep in mind this happened in the early 80's when those synths were both new and just a "compromise" for those who couldn't afford a Jupiter 6 or 8 for ex. Very affordable and far from the "cult" status of today! So no! No BS. But I guess you're too young to understand (and also use a better language). Good look with your music! By the way, Juno 106 is a great synth! But there are many others that prefer the sound of Juno 60 even if they are only slightly different!
The melancholic sound of the Juno-60 touches me on a deep level, as only few instruments can.
Thats actually a really good way to describe its sound! Whenever i play mine i'm always feeling that too, maybe it's the melodies we know from old that give it that automatic feeling/memory though? I dunno, but somehow you hit the nail on the head with that!
I believe it is the dark synth on Taylor Swift's "Maroon", it really defines the mood of the song.
i woke up this morning and specifically pulled up this video just to hear the closing song again.
it’s unreal how catchy and well produced it is.
Cheers!
The rich tone and atmosphere, the nostalgic warmth...Junos rock
Excellent old vs. new comparison, I was looking for exactly that. Damn, now a have an itching for the Juno-X...
The Juno-X appears to be one good noise maker. The ending songs keep me coming back to your videos. Well done sir!
What a great video!! I gotta share my story now. While parking my car, I saw part of a key bed in a bin. YES, I dug into the bin and it was a JUNO-106. It had seen much better days, BUT I was determined NOT to let it die. As a repair technician by trade, I spent a year going over every circuit board and cable. I stripped the hermetic off the chips and had to completely rebuild the broken pitch bender and every slide POT. The 106 has thus far provided hours and hours of fun. It has no serial tag and might explain why it was in a bin. I was able to date this unit based on circuit board architecture and keybed to an early sales release in 1984 (maybe Q1) as some of the test points do not have pin headers.
Banger at the end!! 💖💖💖
Oh man, so joyful. Love love love.
I first learned how to program synths on the freebie TAL-U-NO-62 plugin.
It's just a Juno 6/60 emulation. It really was PERFECT to learn synthesis basics on.
And years later being able to play an actual Juno 6 was just mind blowing how good it sounds still to this day.
CLASSIC, I tell you, absolute CLASSIC!
Yep, totally leads you through the learning processes whilst getting rewarded along the way. It's like the first level of Super Mario.
I have a D-10 and D-50.
I had the opportunity to pick up a J 106 back in the 90's but passed as I did not have the space for it. Absolutely kicking myself decades later.
The X may just be my next new toy for myself.
Your final track was (to quote my daughters) - bangin'
Thanks for the nostalgia.
Great channel.
Even before watching, my response to the title of this video is.....we care because JUNOs are just simple, well made, beautiful sounding instruments.
absolutely.
Dude...as a Kid of the 80ies ... the track at the end melts my heart
I gigged full time/6 nighters & concerts on the road in the 70's & 80's & bought only what i proved to be the best sounding equipment that made my act and playing sound better. I loved my JUNO 60 !!! Yet, it had NO MiDi connections. So I sold it & in 1984 bought the Juno 106 as an UPgrade or so I thought. Juno 106 had no "balls" (sub-octave settings ect.)like the 60. The keys felt very different from my other boards I kicked myself every night until I finally sold it. After remaining quiet for oh so long, i feel the NEED to inform those of you who may end up wasting your hard-earned $.
I have owned my 106 for over 30 years and I still love it. It always seems to find a new sound easily and using midi you can record all the filter and slider movements. It really was a massive implementation of midi at the time. Many modern synths do not have the same level tweakability. Its a keeper 🥰
The Junos just have that simple yet gorgeous sound.
This has to be the best mpc 61 keys demo I seen! No effects just pure music!
Having explored TAL's U-NO-LX soft synth emulation and wanting to know more about the Juno's significance and relevance, this video was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Very well done as usual, Alex!
3:43. Sounds like chimes. Vintage synthesizers are loved by people because of the thick, fat, big and full sounds. The analog synthesizers move people because the sounds that come out are smooth.
Just echoing others, it just has an amazing sound to it, when you hit those sweet spots the sounds it makes, genuinely give me goosebumps.
What sweet spot would that be, pads 1, 2 or 3 thru 88? These boards are the last bastion for vintage seller hopefuls (espec after dumping more $ for voice repairs).
Much like the SH-101, the Juno-6/60/106 are simple and straightforward, and pretty much all sweet spot. You can't make them sound bad. That legendary chorus is the icing on the cake.
We really need a Juno or 101 of each type of synthesis, especially FM and granular
Yeah, you nailed it. What a lot of gearheads don't realize is that actual musicians want to write music, so they only care about two things: how good it sounds and how easy it is to get good sounds out of it. And those two synths are kings in both categories.
Wow! Alex consistently knocks it out-of-the-park with the songs he writes for these videos. And man, the feel in this one's electric. Makes me want to up my game, too.
As much as I love cerebral music that experiments with novel ideas, it's stuff like this - written from pure intuition - that speaks to the soul. And if done at a high enough level, the latter approach leads to new and interesting things in its own right - like how Alex kept the truncated breaths between phrases in the vocoded parts. I can't imagine that was planned. But the way he always seems to inject a bit of chaos into the process, and (more importantly) feel when it's both interesting and appropriate for the song - it produces magic. Love it!
I couldn't have said it betta.
Juno 60 was my first polyphonic synth. Bought it new and wrote a lot of songs with it
This is so fantastic! I had Juno-106 from 90's to 200x and I agree with everything what is said on this video. I learned subtractive synthesis with Juno and what I learned back then still guides me with any analog or virtual analog gear. Big thanks for the video!
The side by side examples were great.
Stands up pretty well in the flesh, yeah!
God I would so love to just spend a single hour in that studio,I’ve worked with synthesisers for 10 years,and got a couple of good ones like an ARP Odyssey and DX21,but you can’t beat an analog polysynth,You always have such amazing content,such an underrated content creator,Thank you Alex!
coz a yummi sounding synth with a great UI. ps: great mr Ball! always bringing lovely lovely stuff!!
Always loved the Juno :D Amazing warm rich sound
Like a synth pillow.
@@AlexBallMusic *drools over the keys and snores
I remember noodling on a Juno-6 back in the mid 80s and just marvelling at the warmth and versatility of it. Absolute dream instrument.
I think you nailed it...it's simplicity giving amazing results. You demo it very well too showing off it's versatility.
Thanks.
oh my the song at the end is absolutely wonderful well done
I think people overlook the Super 6 as a worthy Juno/Jupiter successor. You get the same hands-on immediacy (no display), a panel layout that will look and feel *very* familiar, the same buttery shimmery sweet-spot tone, Roland-esque chorus, and a gorgeous analog filter. but you also get modern features like digital waves, audio rate modulation, and a mod matrix. Plus a rock-solid build that will last for years. For me, it is the perfect combination of Juno-inspired and modern.
It does sound awesome. I had to send my super 6 back tho. It was a love/hate relationship lol.. it's not a perfect instrument by any means, but I'm sure one of these days udo will perfect their craft.
I have a Super 6, yep. Great synth.
Yes, great synth. Definitely heavily inspired by the Juno line. The Behringer Deepmind also started as a Juno clone. There are a bunch of them out there but none will ever be as dear to me as my JUNO-6
@@lo-firobotboy7112 Someone should make a modern analog truly resembling the JUNO 6 in sound and simplicity with only MIDI, delay, reverb, and a sequencer added.
@@electrosonicnebula
Soundforce makes the Juno 60 oscillator clones for eurorack. they're really expensive
though around £1.400 for 6
Oh yeah... great video, Alex! Thanks a lot! 👍
One of the (many!) regrets in my life is that I used to teach guitar at a college back in the 90's, and their music department had a Juno 60 which I enjoyed noodling around on. They were getting new synths for the department, so offered me the Juno for free and I didn't take it as I wasn't really too into keyboards at the time. Found out later they'd just thrown it out!
That hurt even me, as a synth lover, lol.
Keep coming back to this, so amazingly good!
the juno 6 is pure soul
It is indeed.
It is not just nostalgia. There is some kind of magic to the old analog synths... maybe the components aged like a fine wine or something esoterical ... dunno you can't really grab it by facts. But no matter how hard the manufacturers try, there's still some special edge to the old original that they cannot recreate
I also don't know if you would replace every single component in a vintage analog with a new one that dose the same job, would the synth loose its magic and sound just like the other new analogs? That would be a costly experiment... FOR SINCE ! 🤓✊
Had some good times with a Juno-6 back in the day.
Excellent presentation! The Juno X really is a beautiful instrument. The original Junos are gorgeous; so much music history with these. Glad they captured these in the new X; the simplicity and immediacy of the sound is stunning, still, and useful for countless applications. Right after I began selling keyboards the Alpha Junos arrived. They were nice, also, but the beginning of the little screens and less controllers. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Alex!!
The track at the end is SO GOOD
@8:00 How did you manage to select both chorus settings at once? That is not possible on my 106...
I didn't think it was possible, but I tried pressing and holding a few times and it worked, so I included it in the video.
That experimental Juno jam at six minutes! What a groove!
before 2015 or so, because it was cheap and easy to find. Before 2010 because it was VERY, VERY cheap and easy to find. I used to know tons of people with them because they were the best analog poly that a broke hig school or college kid could afford, but in the mid 2000s the prices went up to $300-$400 for a well maintained one and everybody sold. When the Behringer Deepmind 12 was originally announced I started saving up to get one at the projected release price of $1000, but ended up getting a Juno 6 because it was a few hundred dollars cheaper (the total for the Juno, a couple replacement switch caps, and a Tubbutec JU-66 MIDI retrofit came in around $950 including all of the shipping.
These days, mostly hype. As fun as it is and as nice as it sounds, modern prices for a 6 are about twice the most I would consider paying for one (and I'd pay LESS for a 60 - program memory isn't worth losing the continuous highpass control on the 6)
you seem to be implying ‘hype’ as meaning people trying to be cool. Indeed it is hype- just as any timeless, great sounding, well-designed instrument has hype. Deserved hype.
Alex, love the ways you twiddle things musically - it triggers musical ideas, too! Thanks and cheers. RIP Sensei Ikutaro Kakehashi San.
Badass vocoding - could we convince you to do a tutvid on this??!
Lovely.
Always preferred simple synths myself. We can often get lost with options, buttons and dials, but sometimes it pays to get out the old dusty single oscillator and fall in love with it again.
Great video Alex! I'm happy to kinda own a 106 in my System 8. Funny thing about the Juno X, it is more affordable than any working vintage Juno! And it has way more options.
@@group-music how is it more useful in your opinion?
@@group-music Thanks for the tip! I will look into that plug-out!
Nice surprise!! I love it. Thanks Alex!
Great video Alex. I've always thought that in addition to being a terrific synth, the junos are a masterclass in how to survive what economists call disruptive innovation. Roland faced the fear, looked past the hype and saw that the DX7, despite its awe inspiring qualities, was expensive and a bitch to program. If they made a synth that was cheap, easy to use, had the word DIGITAL written on it somewhere, and they got it on sale quickly, they could ride out the FM tidal wave. And everyone loves our chorus units so let's whack one of those on too. Smart move. Roland used the time it bought to develop the D50, which changed the game again and left Yamaha in the dust. Hats off to Roland 🎩
You can't be talking about a Juno 60 as it predated the DX7. 106? Alpha juno?
10:06 What an eargasm all the sudden.
It seems to be so much fun to sounddesign on an analog instrument instead of a vst :(
As always, I love all the points that were brought up and I would definitely agree.
To add to the conversation, I think it's important to re-remember that it's not so much the tools as much as who is using them. After all, if you managed to have access to say Rembrandt's or Picasso's easel and paintbrushes, that doesn't instantly make you into a Rembrandt or a Picasso. Over time, I've learned not to get so overtly attached to particular tools, even if they generate some great and worthwhile sounds. Especially now, we are so spoiled for choice between direct emulations of past instruments and brand new instruments (and everything in between it seems) and thus you can those particular sonic colours and then some.
I will say this too (and you hinted at this), I think the classic Juno (6/60/106) does have something of a timeless quality due to its design, layout and function. It will be great if the current instruments could tap into those qualities. And yes, I know they are out there like the UDO Super 6 (mentioned in another comment) or the Behringer DeepMind 12 or the Novation Summit (though technically, the Peak may be "closer" as it's one oscillator).
Cheers as always =]
P.S. According to Peter, Philip will be the only one who can generate a bad sound out of an OG Juno. Stupid t----
Peak isn't a 1 oscillator synth. It has fewer voices than Summit, though
@@GizzyDillespee I knew I was going to get the specs wrong. =]
Great video, thank you! I still have my Juno 106, purchased new by me all the way back in 1985! Sadly, the box disintegrated after a few international moves, but the synth still plays great. Nice tune at the end also!
I owned one for year in the 2000's and sold it for around 4-500. They cover a lot of ground but I always wanted more out of mine. I think its all preference but to me nothing beats having 2 oscillators drifting in and out of one another. Had the Junos stayed around $1000 I think they would be more appealing but with current rates I could never justify it again.
That said I do have a 3p and honestly like it more.
Such a joy to watch - Thanks, Alex! 😁👊
Cheers!
The Juno - an accidental monster of an icon. It's the sound of darker synthpop. Here we have another future-classic video by Alex Ball which will go down in the UA-cam reference archives that people will be watching for decades, long after Alex has taken the celestial exit.
I have juno-6, it's my youth sound!
Thank you for the wonderful video!
From Japan
Fantastic, Alex. My first "real" (non Toys R Us) synth was a Roland HS-60 (Juno 106 with speakers) bought for cheap in the late 80s when everyone was moving to ROMplers and other digital. I had an Alpha Juno after that, so looking forward to a video on that line, should you decide to do it.
Ah yes, the quirky HS-60. Doesn't that have an external audio in that goes through the chorus? Very handy.
I did an Alpha Juno video earlier this year. 😀
WOW ! What a superb explanation !!! Well done !! - AND I really liked the song at the end of the clip ! Very good !! Thank you !!
Catchy outro tune Alex! :)
Thank you, I had to borrow some of the 80s from you. I'll drop it back next Tuesday.
@@AlexBallMusic Plenty more of the 80s to go around around here. ;-)
Juno, this is probably the best Juno video on the internet.
(apart from the lack of Juno puns)
The synth is just one big sweet spot, but versatile enough. Absolute classic, a good example of the sum being greater than the parts! (Although they are great Roland parts!)
My high school had a 106 that got swiped a year or two after I had graduated. It had a slightly damaged chassis from being put in a wet storage room for 30 years and the voice chips began to fail after we found it and began using it for my school's Rock Ensemble. I first started learning synthesis on that beautiful, partially broken thing and one of the great sadnesses of my life that doesn't revolve around the deaths of friends and romantic regrets was that thing disappearing. This video made me really miss that thing, but man do you know how to synth, Alex, so I still got to enjoy it in spite of my own wistfulness. Cheers, mate
I'm not really interested in a hardware simulation of a 106, but from what I read this Juno X has an arpegiator, sequencer, other built-in sounds and other non-106-original things that might make it an interesting performance intsrument. I wonder about how it compares to the now older Jupiter X
Compares the same really, the difference is this is the Zen engine built into a Juno shell. Same for the Jup X as well. Remember since they are digital they can continue to update the firmware for all of it. They sound amazing, feel analog, and even have a very large amount of Dynamic Range which is something pretty much all VA synths fail at. So kudos to Roland on the X/Zen series!
i really like it how this video has colour grading, makes it a lot more enjoyable to watch
The reason Juno mattered to me 20 years ago was because I could get an HS-60 (Juno 106) for around $400 shipped, it had MIDI, and non-vintage analog poysynths didn’t (or hardly) exist(ed).
The sounds of the HS-60/106 turned out to be a little too “‘80s” (aka too in-tune?) to my ears, and the built-in, disintegrating speakers didn’t help matters. Also, maintenance became too costly. Sold it for parts.
Had I been more experienced and well-equipped with proper software (no MIDI out on Reason 2.5, etc.) and outboard gear, I might’ve done a lot better job of utilizing the MIDI sequencing and effects treatment possibilities with my old Juno. Now that newly manufactured and affordable analog polysynths-and convincing-to-me virtual analog polys-exist, I’m more content with DeepMind “24” (two polychained), Minilogue XD, Softube Model 84, et al.
Learning on and experiencing a Juno was fun and worthwhile, though! By the way, is anyone selling a Jupiter for $400 shipped🙃, in excellent condition? 😉
Hi Mr Bell. Greetings from Argentina. I’m a keyboard player myself and there’s so much I learn with every post you share with us. I’m grateful for it. Keep up the good work!!!! Thanks!!!!
So the 106, side by side, isn’t as fat as the 6/60, and yes I tried them. On the plus side, the 106 has twice the memories of the 60, @128 patches. Also on the 106, the faders transmit SysEx in realtime, so you can record your movements / edits into your sequencer. This REALLY makes a difference to your music ! (As for me, Juno60 owner for 32years, amongst others)
and the one downfall of the 106 is no arpeggiator
@@MrSneaksfulNot quite the loss you might think, because of the inclusion of midi.
Roland keys have consistently been a favorite of mine. Where the chorus is concerned, keep in mind that Roland/Boss set the quality standard of a chorus (IMHO).
The Juno-6 in my life is wonderfully battered and wonky. It's come and gone over the years, and then come back again. It gets loaned and forgotten, and then remembered and wrestled back from whoever 'borrowed' it. I'm its 'shepherd' or 'guardian'! The actual owner is a bit meh about it!!! I bought a Nord Piano 5 recently and sampled the hell out of it for the umpteenth time. Aside from it sounding fabulous, I think part of the appeal is that it wasn't unobtainium for such a long stretch of the analogue revival. Unfortunately I think its "bang for its buck" is starting to look unfavourable now. That doesn't make it any less desirable, just a harder pill to swallow if one insists on having an original.
In the early 80's I was in a band, playing bass & keys, and two of the bands we were inspired by were Rush and Saga. In early '81 I had spent my last savings on a Sequential Pro One, and our gigs were never making us more than a few bucks and a few drinks ... so anything polyphonic seemed wildly out of budget. But then the Korg Mono/Poly, the PolySix, and the Juno 6 came around which made me start to believe in saving ... and in late 1982 I got my Juno 60. I still can't believe I actually sold both of them in 1997 to a Hip-Hop dude who (for some reason I didn't actually understand at the time) was willing to pay basically new-price for them. But then ... I was starting a family and a career and somehow didn't see myself doing much music anymore.
I started 'repairing the damage' in 2006 by getting a Korg Triton Le61, more recently a Moog Grandmother, and since I have added a Roland System-8 Aira with Juno-60 and Jupiter-8 plug-outs ... I am enjoying those Juno sounds of old again, but I really like the Aira all on its own. I only use the set-up at home, and I love it.
Want to point out, that the 106 and MIDI wasn’t the birth of music with no keyboard playing..
Our typical setup was, that TR808 Cowbel was syncing Juno6 arpeggio and RimShot synced SH101’s sequencer. You could make many patterns to use Hold + arpeggio on Juno and make different patterns on TR808 with lopping SH101 seq. Over that we played guitars and Tama Techstar drums and somebody sung through Ibanez guitar delay.
After MIDI came along, this set up was still used, now the 808 synced also 909, from which MIDI clock could be shared to Poly61 etc.
Indeed, and sequencers were around since the early modular days of the 60s, however....
In the specific case of the Junos, triggering an arpeggiator from a drum machine and having to manually change the chord or notes the arpeggiator cycles vs fully polyphonic, hands free midi sequencing with parameter sequencing and program changes etc is an entirely different kettle of fish.
It expanded hugely upon the side of things. DCB was the intermediary of course, albeit very briefly.
These are the best synth demos I've ever seen.
Love to see you with a Jupiter 6
Alex, everybody knows that every synth sounds good under your hands. But frankly, I still do *not* care about the Junos.
I owned a Korg Polysix and occasionally borrowed a Juno-6 in the early 80s - and always preferred the Polysix due to its VCOs, filters and - albeit very basic - FX. However, the Roland chorus really sounds better.
@@group-music I also prefer the Poly 6 and 61 over a Juno. I used to layer my 61M with recorded samples from the Roland MKS-100 sampler when the sound needed to be thicker. You could also use the VP-330 samples in the Keys pack from Roland to really flesh out the strings into full stringer territory.
I think running these through a flanger produces a better sound than a chorus.
I think a lot of the Juno love (and Roland love in general) is from people that want to fight back against Moog love.
Lots of interesting and well thought out comments My road gear started with Hammond & Leslie, followed with Wurlitzer Piano and ARP Omni. Next were Minimoog and Odyssey - Odyssey has more sonic range, but a good useable, likeable, sound could be found a lot quicker on the Mini; Moog also cut through the mix competing with guitars. Added a Yamaha Electric Grand CP70B and Hohner Clavinet. Our band was doing a lot of Supertramp, Styx, and cover material. Replaced the Mini and Odyssey with an Oberheim 4 voice. Gradually down-sized since we were doing original stuff and opening for bigger acts. Got down to Electric Grand, Oberheim for some synth, and Korg Poly 6 which functionally replaced: a Korg CX3 Hammond clone, Omni Strings, Clavinet, plus the Korg adequately replicated a Prophet 5 used for our recording sessions. I loved being able to edit and revise Factory Settings and easily back-up sequenced patches for various song set lists.
Three big regrets of the Poly 6: 1) It was pitched sharp on the extreme low notes and flat on the high end - manufacturing flaw, not possible to re-calibrate;
2) very cheap key contact component - piece that looks like a broken pencil lead mounted in a small rubber plunger contacts a circuit board point - extremely susceptible to dirt and tobacco smoke - no velocity sensitivity or aftertouch capability, plus 3) I actually wanted the MIDI feature. So, as much as I enjoyed the Poly 6, it was exchanged for the Juno 106. Sort of like with the Mini / Odyssey trade-off: I prefer the 2 octave overtone plus Unison mode of the Poly 6 over single octave split available, and the Unison mode of the Juno 106, but the re-trigger options and the choruses unit of the Roland are superior. I tried to substitute a Jupiter 6 which has fantastic subtle nuances but found it too thin and overwhelmed by guitars and drums and went back to the Juno. Eventually as I was doing club dates, I went with the Juno 106 MIDI-ed with a Yamaha DX7. My present go-to setup is an aged Korg SGproX. Features full 88 note board (made for Clavinova - I prefer it over Fatar) faster and a bit lighter touch than Yamaha M08 and Kronos. I was able to edit sounds (you delete stuff you don't like and replace it with another tweaked sound - for instance I morphed something into a usable reed organ, another to accordion. You can also set flexible split and layer fields. On occasions that call for some Funk or R & B material I may include a Roland VK7 and I if it's really greasy Soul, possibly run it through the Neo Ventilator. Interesting how it comes back down to Korg and Roland, but Yamaha and Kurzweil are still tempting. p.s. The Juno 106 works great as a 'lower organ manual' MIDI-ed to the VK7.
I agree with Mr. Ed Straker considering the practical limitations that the asking price is ludicrous, nonetheless, I am quite happy that I still have a Juno 106 along with the Clavinet, and DX7.
Same here. Always preferred, and loved Polysix!
@ghost mall The Juno is not stereo; it has neither stereo filters nor amps for Oberheim/Sequential-style pan spread. Only the chorus is stereo, and yes, as written above, it is better than the Polysix chorus. But you can always use an external chorus for the Polysix to make it sound "stereo” as well.
Without the chorus the Junos sound thin and sterile compared to the Polysix.
Hi-fi? I don’t think I want an analogue synth to sound hi-fi.
Modded my Juno 60 with an external input through the chorus and put the Jupiter 6 through that.
Flock of A. Balls✌️
If only I could grow the hair.
I’ve been playing with my Juno X for a few weeks now. Love it so far, there’s still that part of me that feels like I’m missing out on some sort of “analog magic” but I don’t think I really am. It’s so nice to have those Juno 60 and 106 starting point presets.
I always thought if you were skilled enough you could make any synth sound similar, even digital recreations, but since i bought a Jupiter 6 i'm starting to doubt that. Now obviously there isn't any JP-6 VST but the Jupiter 8 sounds the same, except maybe at high resonance levels, and I have a JP-8 emulator on my laptop. It's very very good sounding but it's maybe lacking warmth that i can't explain scientificly and that annoys me to an unreasonable amount. Maybe someone should do a video comparaison about it...
I wonder when Roland will read the room and give everyone what they want: a true analog juno reissue. Wouldnt even be that much to make.
I think the juno-x underlines their lack of interest in reviving true analogue. They're happy to leave it to other manufacturers.
Purchased the Juno 106 in 2018 and replaced the voice & chorus chips, now it sounds and works like new. Its a beautiful synth. Having grown up in the 80s, the Juno sound was such a big part of my life in movies and music. Now my 106 sits with a Prophet 6 and several Moogs… analog bliss for sure.
Enjoyed your video immensely and your song at the end was 🔥🔥🔥
What a fabulous video! Great sounds!
Thank you sir.
(PS - hopefully helped bump the value of your Juno stash)
As always, wonderful
Wow, the song at the end was fantastic! Great sounding synth, too.
You sir, are a legend. How many times I've thought to myself, I wish AB would do a video on x, and then you do. Legend.
Alex, excellent review, and excellent song at the end. Absolutely love the vocal.
Awesome Alex! I like your tune. Trying to decide between the Jupiter X and Juno X if I were to win the lottery. Ha I'd like to see an A/B of those two.
Been waiting for your take on this! Very excited to watch!
Get Your Love Through The Radio was the reason I fell in love with the Juno sound! Great video as always, Alex.
Loved this video. It was the perfect length and the history I needed to know. I also really liked your outro track.
The keyboard player in my very first band had the Juno 60, and a Sequential Pro-One. Just hearing that sound takes me back to my freshman year in high school.