How To Use A Synth: Can we recreate a preset? Roland JU-06A Boutique

I recently got a Roland JU-06A Boutique Synth, and decided to set myself the challenge of trying to re-create one of the pre-set sounds from scratch!
This is a really good way to put your skills into practice and it forces you to use your ears in synth design instead of looking at a screen.

[@justaustinmorris]

This is great! Please upload more with the ju-06A, as there’s not enough videos on KZbin that offer explanations on making sounds with it.

[@octaviusvanzandt3695]

Agree, please do more :)

[@jjlopez5764]

Bumping this up to the top - yes! More training videos for ju-06a. Would love a deep-dive video discussing the possibilities and limitations of ju-06a's MIDI capabilities.

[@djhighfly]

Yes, very good and helpful! I would also be very happy for more ju-06 tutorials :)

[@danmaduff8919]

30 years ago as young teenager I was introduced to synthesizers in music class on a 70's Moog. Somehow I got a Roland D-20 to play around with presets, sequencing and practice piano but I never really USED the thing. I barely got the concept then but as an adult today, I feel overwhelmed. Now wanting to get back into making sounds and music, THIS IS THE FIRST VIDEO that starts to make it all click! I'm thinking a JU-06, a decent 61-key controller and some software for my MacBook would be the perfect place start! If only I could fly you to the US to tutor me.

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

Thank you Dan I'm really glad you've found this tutorial useful. Check out my other videos for more basic synth tips too. Thank you.

[@alestrial]

Thank you so much for this. I just got a the JU-06A from a contest and had no idea where to start.

[@saintnicholas5507]

loved this, please do more on this synth. I'm disappointed Roland didn't allow a song mode to chain patterns together so I could have a two bar loop, or four bar loop. I love this little synth. I have a TR-09, JP-08, SE-02 and SH-01 and this is my favorite boutique. The chorus is just so lush sounding.

[@EddyM96TWO]

First video I've found that actually explains to beginners how the sounds are made, thanks!

[@yutaka_too_much]

This is one of those tutorials that merits multiple views. Thanks for doing this. I like the approach of recreating patches as a learning method. Stemming from that thought, how about recreating entire songs as a learning method? Imagine how much one could learn from doing that

[@kbdwiz51]

Good show...definitely a good idea to try and learn how patches are created by building from scratch! Thx for posting! I might actually buy one now lol....still remember first time I saw a Juno 106....love at first sight in 1984!

[@orchestralcinematiceducation]

Enjoyed this video. Nice clear explanation of how to create the preset.

[@anxiousmindmusic]

Wanted a Juno, this has to be a no brainer for the price. I imagine I'll be back to learn how to use it when it arrives :)

[@simonbaker4834]

Loved the deconstruction analysis of the sound. Brilliant man!

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

Thank you Simon! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@dj_timoy]

this is the best tutorial on the JU-06A 👍

[@MrHihowryou]

Great idea for the video. Recreating presets is an invaluable tool! 👍

[@lleevveell66]

The world needs more videos like this. thank you!

[@BobReidToronto]

Loved this! I am an 80s polysynth veteran but need some tutorial help around the functionality of the JU-06A and this is a huge help. More please!

[@thestever]

Thanks, this is super useful! I think that possibly the secret sauce your patch is still missing is a small amount of LFO applied to the filter frequency. The highest note in your sequence sounds different on step 5 than it does on step 13, so something must be modulating the filter.

[@Lesgo]

Great tutorial.... More please.

[@johnfiott]

Just a suggestion, but since this seems like a beginner's guide, a short glossary of the main controls and what they are doing to the sound also in terms of the waveform would be great. Also, is running the sequencer in this case the same thing as pressing the keys on the keyboard manually one after the other?

[@JonReynoldsESQ]

Great idea for a video.

[@MaximilianoSchneider]

These videos are great! Thanks Andy! After watching all the Juno X videos and deciding that I don't need it because I have the Jupiter X (and as much as I would love to have a Juno X I don't have a lot of space at home and sound wise is going to overlap with the Jupiter X a lot), but I would love to have the simplicity of the Juno 60 on my Jupiter X, and because we don't have that expansion, I decided to fall in love again with my JU-06a. I used this little synth a lot (and is one of my favorite boutiques) but after buying the Jupiter X I stop using it because of the limitation of polyphony, but I found that it can complement the X sounds a lot and I don't need to play a 4 notes chords and a bass at the same time. Yesterday I took it back from the closet and started replicating Juno 60 sounds, and this little one sounds huge and is so much fun to program, and after watching your videos, now I want to keep playing with this little synth a lot more. I'm trying to find a way to change the patch numbers on Cubase, but I found a pretty good VST editor that allows me to save the patches in my project. Thanks again Andy!

[@lundsweden]

Great tute, but how do you save sounds? I tried doing what the manual says but it doesn't work?

[@nigelrogers8690]

Brilliant and very useful, thanks for sharing

[@simonpalframan6534]

Awesome vid! Love to see more of these dude!!

[@SandroMassarani]

Great video!! Juno is a wonderful synth.

[@brutaldeluxe88]

you definitely found the most fantastic sound there. it really hits the spot :-)

[@octaviusvanzandt3695]

Thanks for this. Just got my unit (with keyboard) and am a complete beginner so your video(s) help and I just subscribed.

[@ebutuoytm7560]

Thanks for doing this, not enough vids yet on this little beast. Just got mine and love it.

[@shakerloops9424]

Terrific video. Super interesting approach to this synth. Gonna check yer other vids for sure!

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

Thank you! Glad you found it useful!

[@MorbidManoeuvres]

Great how to select UNISON MODE though !?

[@LanceJordan]

Great! But how do I save my manual patch ???

[@dashnitro]

Thanks so much, really helpful. Please keep them coming!

[@CASERIOS]

Hi, could you upload a video showing how to sequence? Thank you! Love your vids! Keep doing!

[@RobertJonEckhardt]

Super helpful! I think I might have heard a tiny bit of a quite slow LFO on the VCF? There just seem to be slight pitch variations of the resonance each time it hits that higher note. Either way loved this and am deffo going to try myself

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

Thanks glad you enjoyed it. Yes its not 100% the same, and as the faders are quite short on the JU-06A a small adjustment can have a big effect, but the vibe is there overall. And as I say its just a fun thing to do anyway!

[@Wil_Dsense]

Great vid man. I enjoyed. Just ordered me a JU-06A, I’m so excited to be playing it for making Pads and Arps and Sound Design. Great Idea to reverse engineer presets! I’ll try it also. I subb’d your channel. Peace

[@marcoagius6926]

Hi! Can you control this roland ju06 with the roland gaia sh01 via midi and use the roland gaia as the controller? Thanks

[@TheArtistisIrrelevant]

Very useful videos, love your channel!

[@mireiaromeroferrero115]

How did you connect it?? I was wondering how to set it up connecting it to a computer.

[@bendecker7342]

hey thanks for the video, was fun to watch

[@DJ-ALIXX]

very cool ! Thx for the info ! )

[@myhandlehasbeenmishandled]

For someone that wants to learn to play synth (well anything really) is it bad that I can't hear difference between the original and his? When you play it the first time you said close, but it sounded the same to me.

[@maccagrabme]

There is a difference, if you like this you would love the original which is why the prices are so high now. But this still sounds good and is handy to have on the desktop.

[@Nonono537]

Hey man. Love your vid on this. By far the best tutorials on this synth! Can you please do one on how the work the sequencer? I’m going midi from the tr-08 drum machine. But any help on the sequencer would be great. Cheers

[@angelfmusic]

When saving a patch- Does it overwrite the preset patch or can you store in user patch separately from the soundbank?

[@giblet1618]

How do the mini keys feel on that Roland controller?

[@lundsweden]

Shit!

[@saluddiaz]

great video, thanks! I'm buying my first Roland Boutique and was wondering which you would recommend for Hip Hop, Ambient, Lofi, weird music, Im on the face about the JU-06A or SE-02

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

Both are really good. The SE-02 probably has more options in terms of sound design so that might be best. But its also monophonic, so you can't play chords on it. The JU-06A maybe has less sound options, but you can do 4-note chords.

[@honkeyhoohaa9307]

Sandro de Souza If your using sounds purely from the synth its great for creative hip hop production which is why I have one. For the others tho its good if you know what your doing. But I would recommend using external effects to achieve ambient or lofi affects.

[@proyectosynth7593]

Great!!! Perfect lesson. I'm trying to re-create with my JU-06A the lead synth in the song YOU ARE DANGER ( Gary Low ) It is between a whistle and a synth-voice, so high. But it is really difficult for me. Can anybody help me? :( Thank you very much in advance.

[@markodonnell7839]

Great video!! Can you tell me how to turn off the chorus noise?

[@caljohnstone486]

Can you show us how to save presets? Iv tried the manual but its either me being an idiot or my unit is faulty

[@TomPolkampSound]

Can you set a bmp without the ext. clock?

[@markgiddings8382]

UK "beginner " here - your 'how 2 use a synth tutorials' are excellent; SO clear & well explained. But I'm struggling applying the 'simple' concepts to my SE02 though - would you recommend the JU-06a as a good 'boutique' alternative to help put theory into practice ??? ....... or ( apart from the Aira ) is there a better alternative ?. Thx for any advice

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

Thanks Mark glad the tutorials have helped you! I don't have an SE-02 but I think although most of the controls are very similar it is probably a bit more complicated in places, so could be more difficult for a beginner. The JU-06A is probably ideal for you as its not over complicated with fewer controls and a more traditional layout. Plus, I think its really easy to get great sounding results on it! Also, its a completely different sound to an SE-02, so even if you had both, they would give you lots of different sounds options and compliment each other well.

[@markgiddings8382]

Thank you SO much for your quick and helpful reply - REALLY appreciated !!! OK - just one 'last' question pls - as the JX-08 has now appeared & has 'similar' ADSR layout to the 06a, ( albeit with more functions and dual sequencer ) ............would you now think that would be preferable choice instead ??? Thanks in advance !!!!

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

@@markgiddings8382 I think looking at the JX controls you could probably create a wider variety of sounds with its envelopes and oscillators, and I think you can play more notes at once with it (JU-06A is only 4-note polyphony). But I don't necessarily think that the JX would be 'easier' to use as a beginner, probably to get the benefit of the extra functions you'd need more experience in sound design. Personally, I love the Juno sound and I find it nice and quick to get great results, so I'd prefer that to the JX. But if you would find yourself using the JX sequencers and its extra features then go for that. They're both good!

[@markgiddings8382]

Brill - how good to receive a knowledgeable response - thank you again !!!

[@danielfaraday8197]

I have a question. Would it be possible to recreate the SH-101 pattern from A Guy Called Gerald's "Voodoo Ray" on Ju-06A? Thanks in advance 🙂

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

You could probably get pretty close, but the SH-101 and Juno have a different character to the sound, so it probably would sound a bit different. You can get a similar boutique synth model called the Roland SH-01A, that would be a better synth to re-create the SH-101 sound :)

[@danielfaraday8197]

@@synthtipsandtricks522 Thank you very much 🕺🙂

[@bmarr668]

Can you go up more than the 3 octaves? I literally bought this thing for recreate a Juno patch for my band and I can’t get the sound right unless I go up one more octave. Any help would be super appreciated!

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

It responds to a much wider range over MIDI, I'd suggest using an external midi controller keyboard to play it, you'll be able to access many more notes that way.

[@bmarr668]

Synth Tips and Tricks that’s what I figured...are there any other keyboard holders like the m25k that the module can fit into?

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

@@bmarr668 No there aren't any others that it physically attaches to. But as I say it will work with literally any midi controller that can put out note information over a 5-pin midi connector, so I'm sure you could find something that would work for you.

[@TheWoodenZozimos]

Can you make a techno Hoover on this device?

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

No you can't make that kind of sound on the JU-06A, you need a synth with a pitch envelope, and the JU-06A doesn't have one unfortunately.

[@TheWoodenZozimos]

@@synthtipsandtricks522 But it has pulse width modulation yes? Couldn’t you at least approximate a Hoover by putting PWM on a saw with sub?

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

@@TheWoodenZozimos You could create the main part sound in that way, but the sound got the name 'hoover' because of the way it sweeps in, and without a pitch envelope this isn't possible to recreate in the same way.

[@TheWoodenZozimos]

@@synthtipsandtricks522 ahhhh I understand - thank you for the insight! I think a half-hoover is good enough for the gabber I wanna make, especially if I can fake the envelope with a keyboard pitch wheel

[@don1mega]

If i have the JU-06, Is this worth buying? I kind of want to get it just to add to the collection. I have 8 of the 11 boutiques so far. I'm thinking about getting the entire collection just for the hell of it. but I am running out of room.

[@museum1401]

As a Juno 60 owner, I'd say the 60 sound is definitely worth having. The boutique version is very close, too.

[@maccagrabme]

Yes it sound much better and the arp is nice.

[@ReasonedWhistle]

Do more videos please :)

[@themixclinic1120]

Why didn't you show us how to SAVE the preset?

[@synthtipsandtricks522]

Because that's explained in the manual. But if don't want to read that; to save just long press the preset button number that you want to save it on. Eg. if you want to save it on preset button 2, hold down button 2 for a few seconds.

[@themixclinic1120]

@@synthtipsandtricks522 Thanks, I have since purchased on of these and wow they are spot on to the classic. I have had 2 Juno60's and still have a 106 and these are spot on. So I got the TB03 and SH01 as well

[@captainsustain]

Just recreate it on my minilogue xd =)

[@ryananthony4840]

I thought yours was better off the rip