Is the Roland JUNO-D ready for the gig!? First Impressions

[@jonv2911]

I’ve been waiting long long time for Roland to finally launch a keyboard such as this. Zen core engine, 88 hammer action key bed, simple controls without compromising too many features. The 8 parts simultaneous playing is notable and also the XLR mic input, it looks cool too! At this price point, this is the ONE.

[@dvamateur]

I agree. It's the same price range as the iPhone 16. Except that Roland won't make millions of of JUNO-D units like Apple will with the IPhone 16. I wonder how Roland can ever make any money on these keyboards.

[@victorespina]

@@dvamateur Because they sell it to you at 900$ but cost them waaaay less than that to manufacture it... and they won't sell millions of JunoD but they wil DO sell thousands of them.

[@dvamateur]

@victorespina Well, how much is an iPhone 16 to manufacture? At million of exact same units, the cost of production comes down to the cost of material, which would be a $5-$10 for a small thing like a cell phone. For a Roland keyboard, would it be $50-$100? Shipping is ore expensive though for Roland due to its big size. Producing and shipping iPhone is basically like printing money.

[@victorespina]

@@dvamateur Nobody is sayingthat producing musical keyboards is a better business than producing smartphones. What I am saying is that the Roland's profit margin is more than enough to keep a healthy business.

[@dvamateur]

@victorespina Well, without the hobbyist, enthusiasts, and gearheads, the electronic musical instruments business world have been even tougher, because the actual celebrities playing them expect the instruments for free.

[@thepatzer]

I think Ed could play just about any keyboard and it’d sound fantastic.

[@MonetaryGain]

To Sound Designers who dont rely on factory sounds, save $700 more to get the fantom 06. This doesn't include Roland vintage synths and lacks a synth section and knobs under the touchscreen. If you can't save $700 more, then get the MPC Plus One and a midi keyboard. Stay away from this contraption!

[@BobTrombone1]

Love the review, Chuck. I'm brand new to synthesizers, although I am a long-time professional trombonist and have played a lot of piano over the years and arranged for bands. But this is new to me. I Just purchased the Juno-D6 (61 keys) and love the sounds, but I don't know how to install a SUSTAIN pedal. I have tried plugging my Yamaha pedal into it (using the "HOLD" input), but it does not make any notes or chords sustain on any of the sounds (piano, guitar, etc.). Do you know how to do it? Do I need a different pedal? Or - is it even possible to use a sustain pedal on this product? I have other questions, but this one came up immediately, and you seem to be the expert! Keep up the good work! Bob

[@nsera9462]

I have a Juno DS and have been researching the Fantom 06 which I was thinking about purchasing, however now that the Juno D has come out I'm considering buying this as I am familiar with the work flow. I recognise the fact that it has some of the Fantom sounds but I have not been convinced by some of the Roland Juno DS sounds. Also, is this scene mode like the Fantom or have they just changed the word performance mode to scene mode. I need to research the features of the new Juno D. Any thoughts/ideas?

[@khaleefd]

Nice review. I own a Fantom 06 and a 07 and I'm still considering getting a Juno-D. Only thing I wish Ed mentioned in his review is what it doesn't have and I wish he mentioned if favorite tones could be saved for quick access while gigging without scrolling through numerous tones.

[@victorespina]

You have 8 banks of 16 favorites each for a total of 128 favorites you can save and recall later.

[@khaleefd]

@@victorespina Thanks for the info. It's appreciated.

[@FlorianBusi]

The Arturia Astrolab also have USB-C on the back, and it's a great contender (with a lot of Roland's best synths on board, and lots more) for stage musicians.

[@payt01]

'I was scrolling for days' - reaches the bottom of the list within a second :) Seems like a fun keyboard. Kind of a rehash of all the stuff they made previously. Same engine, same sounds, over and over again.

[@wolfunplugged]

excellent showcased, thank u man!

[@squeakD]

Great video.., I’m curious about something I couldn’t find in the manual. I see the Juno-D series now has a SCENE mode like the Fantom line. It’s 8 parts, but I’m not finding any info on whether the new Juno’s are 16 part multitimbral. Is there a dedicated mode for 16 part midi recording when using the new Juno line with a DAW, or is it limited to only 8 parts via SCENES?

[@ElektronicCricket]

@@squeakD hi, I’m not sure about this new model but I use the JunoDS and I have 16ch available. But you must work with pc for recording. (It’s not possible to use a standalone sequencer like the Roland MC50 in my experience … limited channel features) that looping system is also not very interesting , there’s no internal song mode … the reason that I use the JunoDS is the 88 touch of that keyboard.

[@wheatworkspro]

Good look Ed!!!!👍🏾💪🏾

[@fourthtunz]

Speaking of gigging, can you set up scenes like on the FA 07 and recall them quickly from the pads?

[@fourthtunz]

How do you recall scenes? Can you recall them easily while playing live like from favorites?

[@HoodHandyman]

They screwed us with the juno stage and the juno di the sounds were thin and tiny with no sequencer so i'm not gonna jump the gun and buy this i'm gonna wait till i get it second hand.

[@Whizzinby777]

The sequencer looks simple to use, but can you stack multiple sequences to build a full song to send to a DAW?

[@Jason75913]

Up to 8 parts per sequence. No export to Ableton or other DAWs of any kind. You probably want the Fantom instead.

[@evrencnar2078]

I am wondering this keyboard sound engine and juno x sound engine is the same ? Because juno x sounds killing me :) i want to play that kind of pads 80s songs if i buy this can i close to juno.x sounds ?

[@synthmanlim7152]

How about max splits and layer?

[@JohnHallberg-v4o]

Thats the way you play the piano ❤ from Dj John Sweden.

[@charlieplatnum82]

I see you Ed!

[@tigerboy4516]

Nice but Same sounds since the 90's Roland needs to update the orchestra and guitars

[@michaeltrenier]

Big time

[@evrencnar2078]

Also for nice review chuck thanks 🎉

[@plugdn1917]

I see you Ed

[@oljones31]

I have a RD88… but I’m still tempted to get one, maybe next year.

[@Jason75913]

This has no advantage over RD88 as far as sounds, unless you want to make your own custom patches. Then 8-part sequencer, more FX processing, and I do not remember if RD88 can play backing tracks and one shots and stuff from a USB flash drive like the Juno-D and Juno-DS.

[@oljones31]

@@Jason75913 the RD does have pre loading tracks, but I don’t think you can play them from a USB… I just play keys with it, so I wouldn’t need that.

[@Jason75913]

@@oljones31 RD88 has far better pianos and a few other sounds, then many of the same general Zen-core sounds. RD88 is sort of better suited to a keys player, too. If you'd like to layer on sounds from a more different keyboard, consider instead a Korg Krome EX, Modwave, or ASM Hydrasynth.

[@oljones31]

@@Jason75913 thank you

[@musacman57]

Thanks for your review

[@letMeSayThatInIrish]

This looks like a great keyboard for the price.

[@simbaking6338]

Nice review Chuck.....Question...why do they call it Juno D again...wasnt that what it was first named 15 years ago? then u had Juno Di,,then Juno DS..then some Juno G series before or in between...My problem with this is they are the same boring sounds..rehash some stuff then slap on a few minor stuff that the majority of keyboardists never really asked for...smh.

[@victorespina]

This JunoD uses the same sound engine that is used on the Fantom series... top notch sounds (with limitations, of course). They should sound a lot better thant the ones on the old JunoDS / JunoDi series.

[@daeone1514]

Its a throwback thing. They've revamped the fantom. Now they're revamping the Juno. Back then, Juno had fantom sound engine. They're at it again

[@Jason75913]

​@@victorespina this Juno-D doesn't beat the sound of Juno-DS and Juno-Di. Zen-core does have the potential to beat the engine in those older Junos, but that is a sound design matter, 99% of Juno-DS and eventual Juno-D users don't know anything about that or how to coax that, plus it depends on what kind of sounds you design from scratch. Ultimately, a niche feature that a tiny handful of "power users" will enjoy.

[@victorespina]

@@Jason75913 So what you are saying is that the stock patches on JunoD/Fantom are no significantly better than the ones on the JunoDS ?

[@Jason75913]

@@victorespina they are not. They are even using the very same 30-year-old samples from XP50 and whatever else. Every Zen-Core product + Juno-DS, Integra-7, and FA-08. RD88 and Juno-DS get a couple of unique patches using samples not included with other Zen-Core products, like the DS' and RD's main pianos, that's about one of the very few differences.

[@JackThomas-t4m]

I’m behind the times. Does it have classic Juno 60 and other Juno 80/90 sounds D50?

[@Jason75913]

It has some.

[@ElektronicCricket]

I’m wondering … has this one beside the Zen Core also the same engine like the JunoDS … 🤔 also the touch for the 88 is not the same.

[@Jason75913]

Zen-core replaces the "PCM engine" of the Juno-DS. Zen-core can reproduce most Juno-DS patches.

[@Marian1st.]

I can’t think of the song you’re playing, and I know it well. 😂 Something like “Do you know” …. Right? It’s 3AM. Some of my tools are shut off until 6 AM. 😂

[@leodelosreyes275]

Audio midi out? Via iPad? The fantom 0 doesn’t work that way? Still the same?

[@victorespina]

The internal audio interface on the JunoD is supposed to be class-complain.. .JunoDS was not class-complain so you needed a driver... not sure if is the same for the Fantom series.

[@ju34edwards]

Sounds good. Does it have a Super Natural piano

[@Jason75913]

Nope, but one of the free EXZ expansions for this has a "Premier Grand" preset that kills the Supernatural pianos from Fantom-0 and FA keyboards.

[@yiimingkai-8795]

Hi may I know, comparing this Roland juno D8 and junods88, which is better in terms of functionality and quality?

[@victorespina]

For what I've seem so far, JunoD keeps all the functiionality on the JunoDS but it solves many of the problems / shorcommings on thad model, for example, you now can have only 8 parts on a performance (scene) but each of those parts can have their own MFX (while in the JunoDS you were limited to 3 MFX). Also, now you save the arpegiator parameters ON THE SCENE (which was not possible on the JunoDS) and now the formance remain function (changing from one perfromance to another without audio drop) works ALL the time and not only some times like in the JunoDS. Also the JunoD can be powered using an external power bank using the new USB-C connector, which is waaaay more practical than the traditional batteries. So, we have the same things we had on the JunoDS and A LOT MORE in a very familiar package.

[@daeone1514]

Everything. It's basically a fantom. Nice screen. This is a Juno DS updated to today's standards

[@yiimingkai-8795]

@@daeone1514 thank u so much, may I know if this juno D8 can synthesise the own sound using the zenology or zencore whatever and save their own sound to be used as the new preset? As in synthesising new grandpiano now as close to those premium grandpiano vst like keyscape?Is the synthesizing ability same as fantom series? Sorry if my ques is dumb cuhz I'm new to this😅

[@yiimingkai-8795]

@@victorespina thank u so much

[@Jason75913]

​@@yiimingkai-8795 There is no multisampling right now. They will likely add it later. You can design new patches from scratch or edit factory patches, and either can be saved.

[@markom1976]

what is the boot time?

[@Marian1st.]

Got it. Do you know, by Diana Ross. It took a minute. 😂

[@OfficerFredPowell]

I wonder it's capable of at least 4 layers without polyphony cut off 🤔

[@victorespina]

My guess is that this would have the same polyphony problem of its big brother or even worse... but for this keyboard target audience, this should not be a problem, honestly.

[@akhtarshaikh8624]

Howmutch price on india?

[@RoshansundasOfficial]

With the price of keyboard not very convinced

[@akhtarshaikh8624]

Indian tone avelable?

[@LaloRaj13]

looks old

[@Tripwelleverday]

Great showcase but this is a pos the ui is horrible and it such crap that shills keep shilling this bs to the masses no wonder the Behringer bros groups keep getting bigger and bigger the sound is better pure analog and the builds are better too

[@_mickmccarthy]

Lol are you actively seeking out all the videos on this product to leave comments like this? Is it just this one or do you do it for a variety of other products too?

[@Tripwelleverday]

U reported my response weak af

[@Tripwelleverday]

This is literally the same as the ds 50 horrible crap compared to the real stuff analog for life !!!!!!

[@_mickmccarthy]

@Tripwelleverday It's clearly not literally the same, and I didn't report your response btw

[@victorespina]

So the only thing worth it and not crap is the things YOU consider to be good? I TOTALLY LOVE my JunoDS and it has served me well for the last couple of years, despite of what you consider "crap".