Roland Juno-106

A truly nice DCO analog orientated synth with only 1 oscillator and a sub-oscillator a la Juno-6 and Juno-60. Quite revered among a lot of synth users, with all the sliders for creating your sounds there and then and not having to trawl through menu after menu, ah! the days of analog versatility.

Although I downloaded and put the original factory patches back into this synth, they do sound rather weak, but once you start tweaking those sliders and shaping your own sound then it becomes better. It's good for rock-bottom speaker shaking Bass sounds, sound effects and the odd-lead either with portamento or in Unison mode for extra power. There is no aftertouch or velocity, nice keyboard feel, keys are very tight and not loose.

Well after owning this little gem, she is beginning to exhibit the signs of old age, especially with custom IC VCA/VCF filter chips, with this fault esp. in Poly Mode-1 use lose a note (every 6th note) when u play the IC's cycle through and one drops out, hence the dead note, a lot of Juno-106's have this problem, and it's a shame too, a lot of them are now being sold or bought up for spare parts to keep other Juno-106's alive. How many of you Juno-106 owners are experiencing the same problems out there.

Roland were quick to put me onto a specialist engineer outside the company who knows all about the problems with the custom IC's Roland used for the Juno-106. If you open up your Juno-106, you will see on the left-hand side of the main module board just behind the bender/keys, six black resin encapsulated cases, these are the custom IC's put into the Juno-106 (these are the cause of these problems) but did not put them in the Juno-6, 60, 3P, 8P or 10P (odd)

The Juno-106 is a nice synth to have, to use and to own, but with these custom IC filter chip problems, and there is no more available from Roland, cause they don't have any left in the company, soon a lot of 106's will be sold for spare parts etc. What a waste for such a much liked synth such as this. If you are not aware of these problems, try searching the net on the subject, try Delatronics, they have information on this subject. My Juno-106 has done me a great service, and is getting old, so it's time for it go, sadly...

I'm a guitar player that loves to dabble with anything that makes weird nosies. Compared to the other toys I own or have owned int he past this is the easiest piece of synth gear I have ever owned. Compared to some other keyboards I own (Yamaha DX-21, Akai K-1, Korg EA-1, Roland MC-303 and a few Roland and Zoom drum machines) this is far and waya the easiest. I easily found the manual online. Compared to current Roland manuals, or should I say "phone books" this manual is easy to understand. Recent Roland manuals are ridiculously cryptic and confusing. If you need to watch a 3 DVD set to use a piece of gear I'm not interested.

This has been covered ad nausem. I give it a 7 for features. It is by no means Mini Moog or Nord Lead but for the price it can't be beat. Compared to the plastiky boards of today in the same price range its very well made. The only thing on mine that disspoints is the chorus. Mine is much to noisy to use. Instead I am running it through an old Mutronics Phasor and while not the same as a chorus it ads a nice leslie type effect similar enough to make up for it and mimicks a leslie quite well for the organ type patches.

Ok. I have lusted over an analouge synth for many, many years. The only analog type synth I have owned is an Korg EA-1 and a Nord Micro Modular. Nothing quite has the dirt and phatness of a true analog synth. The bassses on the 106 can truly rumble the fillings out of your teeth. Organ sounds are passible as are the leads. Pads are not its strong point. This thing squishes, bubbles, spirts and oscilates like I dreamed it would. If you want strings and pads get a DX-7. If you want thunderous basses, windy noises, portamento sweeps and other strange noises unique to this machine you can't go wrong.

I got mine a few days ago. Other than the super oisy chorus everything seems to work fine. Be careful with it and I bet it will work at least another 20 years. If I gigged with It I might throw the electribe in the bag as a backup but I don't so I won't!

Never dealt with them, but they seem to be cool. I've ordered a few video manuals and the all arrived correctly and fast. I will add that I have had great experiences with both Yamamha and Korg in terms of getting manuals before the days of the interenet. Most recently I called Korg to get a manual for a Vetax product that was made before Korg owned Vestax. The manual was not availabe online and a CS rep hunted one down and Fed Exed me the manual free of charge. That's great service!!!

I don't understand all of the poor ratings this synth gets from some people calling it overhyped, thin and boring. Try a Yamaha DX-21 then call this boring!!! To me overhyped would infer that there are BETTER products available for less money. I will not argue that there are better analog synths out there, of course there are. This was a BUDGET synth at the time, not a flagship. What else can you compare this synth to that is as easy to use, sounds as good, has MIDI, looks cool, is built well, easily supported with spare parts and service AND costs less than $500.00 in mint condition. Get yer hands dirty and tweak those presets!! This synth is anything but boring and thin. I feel a lot of the negative reviews are from people wishing to justify their exspensive and rare synth collections. This happens a lot in the vintage guitar effects market in which I have a lot of experience. If I had $10,000+ in gear I would dis this board too, its too cheap. Remeber what this synth costs and compare it accordingly and you will find it to be an overall great value and phat sounding tool.

If it were lost or stolen I would find another. They are not rare.
Again I am not a synth player by trade but love the sound of analog basses and synths in general. This has helped me vreate some new songs and ideas immediately with the shorted learning curve of just about any piece of gear I have ever owned. That's all one can ask for from any piece of gear!!

An absolute doddle to use

All the necessary features.

Fabulous sound.

A unique feature - the stable DCOs goig through a VFC mean that
very stable metallic sounds can be made when the filter self oscillates.
Makes incredible Rhodes type sounds.

Own it 16 years - never one issue

never needed

Perfect! Only 1 oscillator and sine wave LFO, yet I'm still
discovering new sounds on it 16 years later - it invites
innovation. Get one!

The presets really didn't impress me, I went through every single one and none struck me at all. It wasn't until I started making my own sounds that this thing came alive. The manual for this is long and detailed, but I honestly haven't looked at it at all. Making your own patches is super simple, you just hold down write, and then hold down the new preset number and voila!

This is my first synth, I really know nothing at all about synthesis, I'm a guitar and piano player that wanted some ambient textures and synth sounds. There is built in chorus, and I guess everyone says it's kind of noisy, but the noise is very very subtle. I believe it's MIDI compatible, but I have not used it. No on board sequencer.

I couldn't get good sounds that would mimic strings, rhodes, piano, but I was able to get some very warm, crazy ambient tones out of it. It works well for me, and I play atmospheric instrumental music in the vein of Stars of the Lid, Windy and Carl, The Album Leaf. There really isn't any velocity or aftertouch, but I haven't found that to be a problem with this synth. For the price, this thing is a 10.

It honestly doesn't feel very solid, it's plastic and from the 80's, so I'm afraid that a drop onto hard ground will shatter this thing. However, it hasn't given me any problems whatsoever yet, so I think that as long as I take care of it, it will serve me well in the long run.

If this were lost or stolen, I'd probably do more research before buying another synth. I feel it is definitely worth the price I paid. I was looking for a synth to add texture to my sound, and this thing did that and more. I love the sounds and versatility, I don't like the fact that it doesn't have weighted keys or aftertouch or better string/rhodes/piano sounds. But this is a synth, and that's not what it's made to do. It definitely has inspired me to write more music and expanded on my sound. If you are looking for a great first synth, this is it!

Easy as it gets. Fiddle with the sliders, hit the keys and listen to what happens

A synth that needs a host of onboard effects can't be much of a synth. The Juno has a basic chorus and half the time you don't even need this - subtlety being part and parcel of the programming

OK. i have heard so many times that the 106 is overrated or only does a few sounds well. Sure, it is great for pads, strings and bass. BUT...you can get a hell of a lot more from this synth. The slightest movement of a slider can transform a sound. Try programming your sounds in the mix and you will see just how powerful this thing is. You can fit it into any musical mix. It may lack the character of older analogues but as a workhorse it is unbeatable and always useable. You can get some fantastically subtle sounds too - something often overlooked.

Built in the early 80's . I have bought technology in the last year that is more unreliable.

Don't need it

It's great. I also own a Jupiter 4 and an Arp Axxe. The Jupiter is capable of some inspiring sounds and on occasion aural madness. The Axxe is much more limited but just as quirky. The Juno however is always there. There is always something to be gained from this synth and even if there wasn't it still provides rock solid goodness that can't be replaced by virtual analogues. Too many people have done too many good things with it for it to be denied. Believe the hype.

Very easy to use interface, without a doubt!
Editing is extremely easy--no need for a manual!

6 voices, but only ONE friggin oscillator!!!!
Good MIDI for it's time....

May I have everyone's attention please????
THE JUNO IS A NICE SOUNDING SYNTH, BUT EXTREMELY OVERRATED OVERALL!!!!
OVERHYPED 1,000%..

Guess what folks, Akai produced a synth the same year, in competition with Roland's Juno-106, called the AX-60...

THE AX-60 BLOWS AWAY THE JUNO..
FIRST OFF, IT ALSO HAS ONLY ONE OSCILLATOR, BUT IT'S A VCO (NOT A DCO)

It is much more punchy and aggressive than the Juno.
And, since not many people know about the Ax-60, the price is right: $250 - $300

You can't go wrong..
Forget about the overhyped Juno, go for the AKAI AX60

(if anyone want's to offer some response regarding this synth, you can email me at: SPAZZOID@KIMBAKAT.COM

GOOD

OK

OVERRATED!!!!!!!

I used a Juno for 5 months to record an album a couple of years ago.
It served it's purpose, but looking back, I could have used something more punchy and Agressive, like a PROPHET-5 (which is my current synth)

A two Oscillator synth like a Prophet-5, Oberheim OB8, or the 3 oscillator memorymoog will easily knock a juno INTO FUCKING OBLIVION---Don't beieve me, then go to my mp3.com page to hear some of my trax: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/360/quadrant_77.html

In conclusion, if you're pressed for cash, get an AKAI AX-60...

Or, if you have the $$$$, and want the BEST, and want your music to sound extremely warm, fat, punchy, exciting--then buy a PROPHET-5

Its a warm and wide analouge sound

Its a classic example of programming a synth - the easist ever, but not the most simple. With all the controls and buttoms on the panel, in order, its a true joy to program it. The bets ever!!

6 voices, its ok. And MIDI!!!

had a Juno60 before - maby a little bit fater but just a hair's-breadth from. And Juno60 lacks MIDI

Its a analouge synth and sounds good. With only one DO per voice its fantastic. The chorus can be set on two modes or off, and is noicy but warm.

Some times the tones can flip a little bit when pressed. My modulationwheel is ragged, but can use it with another MIDI-keyboard (A-80)if needed

As ever with Roland: Pay and be happy.

I recently asked Roland about how to do when Im soon move from Sweden (220V) to USA (110V) with the Voltage. They gave me solutions for every Roland unit I have, including the Juno106 - worthy of imitation Roland!

I need this synth - so let it be!

Please visit my Juno106 page at www.soundofmusic.se

As easy as they come, if you know anything about programming analogue synths.

It is surprisingly versatile for a 1 OSC + Sub.polysynth. The chorus is not clean sounding, but still great for fattening things up when needed. 1 env, compared to the jupiters 2 env, but a faster attack, giving a punchier bass than the jupiters! Some claim it sounds thin, I say this is not at all the case. It's all in the programming. I've programmed a sound in unison that sounds very much like the bass in Pet shop boys'original, first version of "West End Girls". Nuff said.

Some claim it sounds thin, I say this is not at all the case. It's all in the programming. I've programmed a sound in unison-mode that sounds very much like the bass in Pet shop boys'original, first version of "West End Girls". Also great sweeps, beautiful tremelo-like sounds & lfo stuff+ all kinds of analogue blips, and, even gritty stuff(heres where the chorus comes in handy). The Donald Duck of synthesizers. The world just wouldn't be the same without it.
I have a couple ofsynthesizers
and I've messed around with quite a few(incl. Jupiter 8, Prophet VS & other both rare and common stuff) but none of these could
ever replace my 106. This is one of my all time favourites, I quite frankly couldn't live without it. Add some good reverb to the sound, and you will love it.

Weighs about 10 kilos, very well built. No problems with mine so far.

Never needed it.

If you're making music, what you should be looking at is not the original price orhow rare the synth is, but go for the thingsthat matters; sound, programmability and reliability. This is IMHO one of
the best synth ever produced.
I do recommend you try before you by,though.
Like all champs it has it's own special sound.

The 106 is extremely easy to use, you turn the synth on and within seconds are making great trancy/atmospheric sounds. Presets suck but they are meant to. The also easy to understand althoiugh I doubt one would have to refer to it much.

Ok this synth soesn't have velocity or aftertouch but who cares when synths sound this good it really doesn't matter. Six note poly is the minimum you would need for electronic music(YOUR NOT MEANT TO PLAY IT LIKE A PIANO). Midi is nice and straightforward. Nice. Oh by the way the synth looks shit hot also.

The Juno's are the best sounding synths out there, I also have the Juno 60 and both sound different, but just as nice. Use these synths to create warm sweeping pads or funky bass lines. These synths are the Kings of trance.

As the 106 is so simplistic theres little that goes wrong with them, the junos are built like tanks.

Crap customer support but then again if you look after your Juno hopefully nothing will go wrong.

If someone stole it I would break the fuckers legs, If i sold it I would break my own legs!

I Was the proud owner of the all-time classic Juno-106 Polyphonic Synthesizer from june 1985 up until 1999. And the only reason why I had to give it up is because I needed a powerful multitimbral Synth. I'm Still nostalgic. It was my first keyboard, a dream machine Synthesis Rookies just getting started on the road of Modern Music. It was so easy to use that it became the basis of my synthesis knowledge. I can work and edit almost any Synth machine thanks the 106's logic, simplicity and beautiful texture.

One of the first Analog Synths with MIDI interface. In their time and context keys were great, only six voices in polyphony but very suitable for that particular board. Don't forget we're are talking about an excellent although basic keyboard. Of course no sequencer (not with six voices anyway), no expansions possible other than tape-memory-dumping (very slow and poor) but also one of the few available things at the time. It had 128 patch memories divided in two groups A/B. No built in effects other than a preset Chorus I and II for wave enhancement. Very well built, it lasted me 14 years without a scracth. When I think about it I gets me real sad. Although I was paid a very good price. With that money I was able to buy a JV-1080!

The 106 is a Quintessencial Analog Synth therefor one can only expect analog sounds. I turned upside down searching its every parameter and frequency. Like I've said before It's real beauty. I made soounds that I never would have thought possible in that synth. I suppose that's the reason why it's still very much appreciated and it's worth so much.

Absolutely, in 14 years of use I never Had a glitch. It's an instrument that was ment to last.

N/A. Never needed it

absolutely. I'd try to get another one. There many available, specially in the pristine conditions mine was in