Roland Juno-106

Infobox_synthesizer

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image_caption =
synth_name = Roland Juno-106
synth_manufacturer = Roland
synthesis_type = Analog Subtractive
polyphony = 6 voices
timbrality = Monotimbral
oscillator = 1 DCO per voice
(pulse, saw, square and noise)
filter = Analog 24dB/oct resonant
low-pass, non-resonant high-pass
attenuator = ADSR envelope generator
lfo = triangle
ext_control = MIDI
memory = 128 patches
fx = Chorus
dates = 1984-1988
price =
keys = 61
velocity = No
aftertouch = No
split = No

The Roland Juno-106 was a hybrid digital/analogue polyphonic synth manufactured by Roland Corporation in 1984. It featured digitally-controlled oscillators (DCOs) for tuning stability and digital envelope generation along with analog filters, for their (subjectively) better sound quality.

Features and Architecture

ound Generation

The Roland Juno-106 was relatively simple in terms of its synthesis architecture.

The central tone-generating component of the instrument was 3 digitally-controlled oscillators (one for each couple of voices) capable of producing sawtooth and square/pulse waveforms. The 'hybrid' feature of the Juno was a -24dB/octave analog lowpass filter with adjustable resonance, which has been said to provide the Juno 106 with its rather distinctive sound, when combined with the tone of the MC5534 wave generation modules.

The 80017A VCF/VCA (voltage controlled filter, voltage controlled amplifier) module contains circuits common to other Roland machines (IR3109 and BA662). They appear to be set up somewhat differently from the JX3P for instance to give a little different response. They are known to be prone to failure, leading to lost notes, and are no longer manufactured. Substitute parts have been designed and are available from a small number of sellers.

A single invertible ADSR envelope (attack, decay, sustain, release) can be assigned to the filter's cutoff frequency and can be selected to control the VCA rather than key gating by a switch. Also filter cutoff can be proportioned to note number (ie. so higher notes have higher harmonics)

Due to the simple features of the Juno-106, the synthesizer lacked the range of capabilities found in other instruments of its time that have multiple oscillators, complex envelopes, and more diverse modulation choices. Despite this fact the Juno-106 was quite popular and was able to produce rich basses, pads, and other tones.

Other Features

The Juno-106 featured an onboard stereo chorus effect which, while rather noisy, was also a fairly distinctive aspect of the instrument's sound. The Juno-106 also contained 128 internal memory slots for patch storage as well as surprisingly complete MIDI implementation - a rarity for any synthesizers of the time, let alone analogue ones. All control surfaces on the synthesizer were capable of transmitting and receiving MIDI SysEx commands, allowing complete control of the instrument via a sequencer or computer.

Furthermore, this synthesizer featured polyphonic portamento, also rather rare for a 1984 analog instrument.

History

The Juno-106 was the third in the Juno series of digital/analog synthesizers. Its predecessors, the Roland Juno-6 and Roland Juno-60, were somewhat different in appearance than their later sibling, but shared most of the internal components and features in common with the exception of a tradeoff between a simple up/down arpeggiator on the earlier models and a portamento feature on the Juno-106. The Juno-106 also featured MIDI for inter-instrument communication rather than the proprietary Roland Digital Control Bus (DCB) found on earlier models.In addition to the standard Juno-106, Roland produced a synthesizer called the HS-60. This synth was simply a Juno-106 with integrated speakers and a slightly redesigned enclosure, aimed specifically at consumers rather than professional users.

The Juno-106 today

Despite being over 20 years old, the Juno-106 and its predecessors are traded among synthesizer aficionados with relative frequency and thus are more easily obtainable and less expensive than a number of other synthesizers. Furthermore, the instrument has proven generally reliable and long-lived if well cared for. Despite this, a common problem with surviving Juno 106s is a dead voice chip, which manifests itself as every sixth note played not sounding. One can get around this by playing the synth monophonically using its unison mode, but this is only a workaround rather than a permanent solution.

To test for dead voices perform the following procedure. Enter diagnostic mode by holding thetranspose key down upon power-up. Then, to see which voice paks are bad,push poly 2 key and press keys one by one (any keys), making sure to holddown every key previously pressed. The display will read from 1-6. Whenyou do not hear anything from a key, look at the number on the display. The numberdisplayed is the number of the voice chip that has failed.

According to a former Roland technician, some of the voice chips may die naturally but the majority were traced to a couple of bad chip lots (with lot #41 being the worse). The lot number was stamped onto the side of the chips. According to the technician not every 106 is destined to fail.

Another helpful site: JUNO-106 CONNECTION offers workaround for dead voice chips replacingold chips for a new ones. http://www.hinzen.de/midi/juno-106/

Due to their enduring popularity and despite their overall simplicity and limited range of sonic possibilities, Juno-series synthesizers still make appearances with a number of bands, including Franz Ferdinand, Daft Punk, Dosh, Moby, The Chemical Brothers, Justice, Sigur Rós, Mundo Lego, Islands, the Unicorns, Pet Shop Boys, Mansun, a-ha, Laserdance, Architecture in Helsinki, Late of the Pier, the Automatic, Pivot, the New Deal (band), Howlermonkey, and likely scores of other electronic and dance music projects.

Trivia

* Juno-106's vintage style was used in the modern Roland Juno-G workstation. But there is nothing in common with Juno-106except its colors.

External links

* [http://www.retrosynth.com/gear/juno106/juno106b.jpgPhoto of a Juno-106 in its natural environment]
* [http://www.jarvik7.net/juno-106 Juno-106 Librarian for all platforms supporting Java]
* [http://www.retrosound.de/juno-106.html Juno-106 pics and more]
* [http://www.analoguerenaissance.com/D80017/ 100% clone of the 80017A voice IC]