![roland juno roland juno](https://static.roland.com/products/rc_juno-60/images/juno-60_1.png)
Its ease of workflow and tactile interface made it popular with recording artists and live performers. The Juno-106 offered the best of both the analog and digital worlds, and was one of the last great synthesizers to include a dedicated control for every parameter on the faceplate, for immediate access to all programming. The simple up/down arpeggiator included on the earlier Juno models was replaced by a portamento feature.
ROLAND JUNO PATCH
MIDI was introduced and patch memory was improved from 56 patches to 128, allowing for more expansive control.
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These additions made it favorable with live musicians and bands, who benefited greatly from the patch memory and connectivity.įebruary 1984 saw the release of the Juno-106, a direct descendant of the Juno-60 synthesizer. It also featured the Roland Digital Control Bus (DCB) interface, which allowed the Juno-60 to be connected to other external instruments and sequencers.
![roland juno roland juno](https://static.roland.com/products/juno-ds/specifications/images/gallery_juno-ds88_stand.jpg)
Patch storage memory was introduced, enabling the user to save up to 54 patches. Similar in appearance, sound and internal architecture to the Juno-6, the Juno-60 was released in September 1982, offering new features that improved upon its predecessor. The Juno-6 did not feature any external control inputs or outputs, though did offer a VCF control input for sweeping the filter cutoff. Although it featured no MIDI and provided no patch memory storage, the Juno-6 is still coveted for its warm analog oscillators, distinctive chorus effect and superb filters. Continuing the polyphonic capability that Roland first utilised in 1979’s Jupiter-4, the Juno-6 offered six voices of polyphony and an array of onboard controls.
ROLAND JUNO SERIES
The Juno series were the first synthesizers to use digitally controlled oscillators (DCOs) and the core part of this setup was the NEC μPD8253 chip (first used in an early electric piano called the EP-09). The first synthesizer in the Juno family, the Juno-6, was released in May 1982, marking the start of an incredible legacy that still continues today. Our focus here, the Juno-106, was the third release in the Juno series of analog synthesizers which were manufactured and released during the early 1980s. With the release of the Juno series in 1982, Roland continued to innovate with a new line of synthesizers that not only defined the sound of that decade, but provided a source of inspiration for musicians from all backgrounds. These included the aforementioned SH, System, MRS and Jupiter series. This article looks at the famed Roland Juno-106.Ĭontributed by Hannah Lockwood for Roland Resource Centreīy the early 1980s, Roland had pioneered synth design with a now legendary range of monophonic, modular and polyphonic analog synthesizers. Previous articles in the Roland Icon Series revisited the classic Roland Jupiter-8, the SH-101, the MRS-2 ProMars, the SH-2 Monophonic Synthesizer and the SYSTEM-100 Synthesizer. In over four decades, Roland has designed many world-first instruments like the first touch-sensitive keyboard and first guitar synthesizer. The Roland Icon Series is a collection of articles looking back at the most popular and recognised Roland instruments.