Zoë Blade's notebook

Juno-6

Juno-6 tech specs

The Juno-6 (JU-6 for short) was a polyphonic synthesiser released by Roland in 1982. Continuing their Roman-god-based naming scheme, the Juno range was a more affordable alternative to the Jupiter range.

Whereas the Jupiter-6 and Jupiter-8 have two VCOs per voice (the Jupiter-4 only has one, but we love it all the same), all the Junos have a single DCO per voice, which is both more economic and better at staying in tune. To compensate for the thinner sound, they all have a built-in chorus effect. After all, Roland are no strangers to effects, having been making guitar pedals under the brand name Boss for quite some time.

While the later Juno-106 has MIDI, its older siblings both have a built-in arpeggiator. In theory it may not sound like much, but in practice it's certainly fun to use.

Juno-60

Juno-60 tech specs

  • Released: 1983
  • Initial price: £999[3]
  • Company: Roland
  • Type: Polyphonic synthesiser
  • Control: DCB
  • Synchronisation: 1 PPS V-trig clock for arpeggiator
  • RAM: 1 KB with battery backup
  • Features: Arpeggiator
  • User programs: 8 × 7 banks
  • Preset programs: 8 × 7 banks[4]

The Juno-60 arrived the next year. It added 1 KB of memory with battery backup, which could store up to 56 of your patches (over the top of its 56 presets), and DCB control.

DCB would later evolve into the far more popular MIDI, which the subsequent Juno-106 was equipped with. While DCB only controls turning notes on and off, changing the program, and a CC equivalent for the VCF and VCA, you can at least use an appropriate MIDI to DCB converter such as Roland's own MD-8 to control an unmodified Juno-60 over MIDI. In contrast, the Juno-6 can only be controlled by the more fleshy kind of digits.

Quotes

My first proper synth was the Juno-6, and I loved it and loved it and loved it.

— Andrew Meecham, Bizarre Inc, 1991[5]

I had the clock out, I think, from the Roland 707 and hooked the wire into the arpeggiator clock in on the Juno-6, and it just happened. I just hit a chord with two hands on the keyboard and the Juno-6 arpeggiated it. I never could recreate that, it was just something that happened in the midst of me experimenting, and I got it on tape.

The sound was one I programmed, and while it was playing I was messing with the envelope and the frequency and resonance, to get that kind of effect where it was sweeping and what have you. I was just fooling around with the knobs. All those knobs are so tempting, like on that Roland keyboard, the JD-800, you've just got to play with them!

— Larry Heard, 1992[6]

Notable users

Juno-6

Juno-60

References

  1. "Soho Soundhouse" Soho Soundhouse (Vendor), Electronics & Music Maker, Oct 1982, p. 27
  2. "Future Music" Future Music (Vendor), Electronics & Music Maker, Oct 1982, p. 29
  3. "Future Music" Future Music (Vendor), Electronics & Music Maker, Jan 1983, p. 15
  4. "Juno-60 manual" Roland, Apr 1983, p. 24
  5. "Strange Changes" Simon Trask, Music Technology, Dec 1991, pp. 30—36
  6. "Touching Bass" Simon Trask, Music Technology, May 1992, pp. 48—52
  7. "Deep Vibrations" Simon Trask, Music Technology, Aug 1991, pp. 60—65
  8. "Enya - Watermark" Mike Collins, Sound On Sound, Mar 1989, pp. 32—33

Reviews

Juno-6

Juno-60

Downloads

Documentation

Juno-6

Juno-60

Polyphonic synthesisers: Juno-6 | Juno-106

Roland: DCB | JV-1080 | Juno-6 | Juno-106 | MC-4 | MC-8 | MPU-101 | R-8 | SH-101 | System-100 | System-100M | TB-303 | TR-606 | TR-808 | TR-909 | U-110 | VP-330 | W-30