Why Do We Still Care About the Juno?

In 1982 the Roland Corporation released a budget polyphonic synthesizer. On paper you'd expect it to have been forgotten about within a couple of years, but the opposite is true.
In this video we explore why that happened and look at the modern successor, the Juno-X.
Thank you to Roland for sponsoring this video.
www.roland.com/uk/products/ju...
0:00 Intro
1:10 Juno-6/60
5:23 Juno-106
8:48 Juno-X
11:47 Outro Performance: Draw A Line

[@AlexBallMusic]

The track at the end: alexball.bandcamp.com/track/draw-a-line-juno-mix Thanks for the kind words.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

Sounds great.

[@chillwalker]

I stayed to the end...and it was worth it. Its the first time in the History of youtube-audio-daw videos, thzat my little white ass was grooving to the awesome Song you Did. All I say is: THATS WHAT I CALL AN 80ies CHORUS!! I bow!

[@lifeisforliving947]

,>>

[@lifeisforliving947]

LIFE IS FOR LIVING 1 second ago ,>>

[@lifeisforliving947]

LIFE IS FOR LIVING 1 second ago ,>>

[@NegativeReferral]

I like to think of the Juno as the anti-DX7. It is the warm, squishy, analog yin to the DX7’s bright, glassy, digital yang. There’s something very soothing about its timbre.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yes, anti-DX7 in terms of panel controls too! I used to have a DX7 which paired with the Juno quite well as they do very different things.

[@tsuobachi]

Great description, very good way to describe it. Although cold and glassy would actually be yin and the warm/soft would be yang.

[@gasolineandwine]

It always irks me when people describe the DX7 as bright, glassy and digital, because it can be incredibly warm and organic. I know that it's known for those rougher, digital sounds but it takes a bit of learning how to program it to realize it can have a more soft approach to it.

[@itsDeej.]

@@gasolineandwine this is true, but I'd argue it's more well known for its brighter bell/e piano patches. with enough effort you can make almost anything you want with FM synthesis, but if you wanted a rich warmer sound and had a choice in a synth it'd probably make more sense to use the one that's easier to get from point a to point b with

[@ZapAndersson]

@@gasolineandwine No.... no it REALLY can't. Compare a DX7 to a juno and you'll realize you never knew what "warm" was. There. Is. Nothing. Warm. About. The. Dx7

[@TheActualJae]

I love how Roland just kind of threw out the Juno-6 and the TR-808 to “keep up with the market” even though they thought they were kinda crap… And they both become, like, massive pillars of their respective genres. Throw in the TR-909 and the 303 and…you start to think Roland is at it’s best when they just kinda go, “eh…how about this?”

[@jsaulkane5893]

the 808 had a chip that stopped being made and they couldnt match the sound as well as it being a sales flop.. and seen as a bit comical by most... no one could use the 303 and was also a 'flop'

[@Erliortmejurur]

@@jsaulkane5893 It WAS a flop. Remarketing and brand recognition is hugely powerful, and those synths kept them alive.

[@wrmusic8736]

Irony is Junos, TB-303 and most of TR-X0X series were Roland at its worst because Roland thought they are doing hardware for the low budget segment. So of course Roland is incapable of competing with its "worst" for the past 3 decades because their modus operandi is making only the "best" things. So now they give us a VST with a keyboard for $2000.

[@shane864]

The 808 and 909 were definitely not low budget turds- they were groundbreaking gamechangers. At least that's what they were meant to be. The ability to fully sequence the 808 was new, it just got shitted on techwise by the Linn and DMX etc that had "real" drum sounds. Everyone was chasing actual instrument emulation back then. The rest of the x0x's were budget pieces but the 808 and 909 were mid-high end. The Juno 6/60 were "budget", but they still cost the modern equivalent of 4500 or so. Roland build quality up until the mid 80's was absolutely top notch.

[@tennisgenius]

it's the same with SP series, especially the 404... they were meant to be live effects, they were meant to be groove boxes, they were meant to be a second performer when you were the only one. that's why the sequencers on all of them felt like an afterthought and it's why the new 404 mkii is so brilliant. they didn't try to make something "high end" or "new" but rather they revitalized the parts of the old that were lacking after a community they never meant to target decided it was theirs to use. say what you will about roland but you can't deny that they've made genre-defining gear in almost every style of music around

[@fiddlestickzmuzik]

Juno 6 was my first ever synth. I bought it in 93 I think it was, paid 250 quid for in London, from a second hand place just down the street from Turnkey. I carried it home on the tube, that was a nightmare as they are very heavy but I was extremely determined. I spent every waking moment playing that synth, it taught me so much.

[@MilesAwayOfficial]

Simplicity + timeless sound = endless inspiration. I think that’s why the Juno will never die :)

[@ZenMountain]

It will die one day, that is certain.

[@brmbkl]

not trying to be facetious, but kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zl6khGh9j6x_iJY ; couldn't you say the same thing about any analog (1osc or mono) synth? What do you think?

[@Pichuscute]

Love what you did with the vocals in that end song. Very impressive.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers!

[@nicolaskavvadias8488]

Totally agree! Please Alex, tell us a bit more on how you treated your vocals. I can't believe it's only a vocoding effect in junction with the Juno. Great song btw :)

[@AlexBallMusic]

@@nicolaskavvadias8488 So it's a sample of my own vocals from a song I recorded in about 2015. I sampled it in mono into my Isla S2400 using the lofi settings and then re-pitched and chopped it. At 12:29 you can see it on the display. In the end choruses I added the on-board Juno-X vocoder which really does sound fantastic. Then it's just reverb and delay.

[@mrz80]

@@AlexBallMusic To quote some psychedelic/prog ensemble you might've heard of, You've gotta get an album out you owe it to the people! :D

[@sdarcher3964]

That song…. So good.

[@MakersMuse]

It's weird to be nostalgic for an era that I literally wasn't alive for, but there's just something about how they look and sound that sparks joy and Roland (finally?) realised that lol. I wonder how people would have reacted to that bigsky/supermassive reverb back when these were new it adds such a new, lush dimension to the sound and I'm somewhat addicted to using it.

[@AlexBallMusic]

I am a smidge older than the Junos, but really I knew the sound later and found out what the sound was coming from much later again. I guess the pre-internet world is alluring. The grass is always greener and all that. Reverb - I guess they had things like the Lexicon 224, but they weren't easily accessible or footpedal sized. Would have probably blown their minds.

[@neonvoid]

@@AlexBallMusic information spread much much slower pre-internet

[@michaelv.3655]

@@AlexBallMusic Wow, what a wonderful track at the end. You really nailed the sound of the 80's "Synthie-Pop". I was a teenager when the Juno 6 came out and we loved the sounds and the music of that era. It's an interesting point, wether the grass was greener back in the day ;-) Tony Williams (Drummer) once said: remember the past and honor the past, but don't be stuck in the past. In german there's a (questionable) saying that goes like: back in the day everything was better. So, as someone who has grown up in the pre-internet world, I would answer: sure not everything. But quite a lot ;-) Cheers

[@yongamusic]

@@michaelv.3655Dem kann ich nur zustimmen. Es hat was in einer Zeit aufgewachsen zu sein als es das Internet noch nicht gab.

[@creepingjesus5106]

My secondary school had an unloved Juno 6 languishing in a dusty cupboard in the music department. When a mate and I wrote a score for a show in 1990, it was right on board. We had a rented Rhodes PCM760 (iirc) as well, and although the Rhodes was technically the better machine at the time, it was a nightmare to wrangle in a dark orchestra pit, and never really inspired me the way the Juno 6 did. Granted, the Juno 6 was monstrously heavy, and often temperamental with temperature variation, but...The big strip between 'Roland' and 'Juno 6' was perfect for a strip of masking tape with settings scribbled on! Sometimes it played me, it could be capricious, it could be unpredictable, but it always made me smile. Eventually. After some panicking and quiet swearing. For myself, I love it as the essence of synth. Just wish I'd bought one then...

[@AlexBallMusic]

Love stories like this.

[@mrz80]

"Just wish I'd bought one then..." is the constant lament of our generation, to be sure. When Yamaha's amazing-if-terrifying DX7 and Roland's D-50 counterthrust appeared and everyone started dumping analog gear like hot rocks was our window of opportunity, and none of us realized it at the time. Oh the humanity! :D

[@nofahz]

Yes, the tape strip!

[@jessicaedwin9240]

I gigged full time/6 nighters & concerts on the road in the 70's & 80's & bought only what i proved to be the best sounding equipment that made my act and playing sound better. I loved my JUNO 60 !!! Yet, it had NO MiDi connections. So I sold it & in 1984 bought the Juno 106 as an UPgrade or so I thought. Juno 106 had no "balls" (sub-octave settings ect.)like the 60. The keys felt very different from my other boards I kicked myself every night until I finally sold it. After remaining quiet for oh so long, i feel the NEED to inform those of you who may end up wasting your hard-earned $.

[@ScytheDevTeam]

The rich tone and atmosphere, the nostalgic warmth...Junos rock

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

Even before watching, my response to the title of this video is.....we care because JUNOs are just simple, well made, beautiful sounding instruments.

[@toddpipes9679]

absolutely.

[@gcoudert]

The Juno (60) was my first love. I fell in love with it when I saw it in the window of one of my local music shops in my native France back in 82 or 83, sitting proudly atop a Yamaha CP70. I spent many hours playing it and other polysynths too but none produced that lush, oddly satisfying chorused sound. It wasn't until August 1985 that I was finally able to purchase one for about half its 1982 retail price, a second-hand Juno-60 in pristine condition. Those were the days when every musician wanted a DX7 and analogue synths were sold via local ads at bargain prices. The Juno-60 was soon joined by a JX3P which, as great as it was with its two-oscillator engine (in my eyes at the time, it was the poorman's Jupiter), never matched the Juno's grandiose sound. I regrettably had to let the Juno go for about FF3,500 (approx. £245-£350 depending on the time of year due to fluctuating exchange rates) when I moved to the UK in 1990. Having owned dozens of other synths since, if you asked me to rank them in order of how much I miss them, the Juno-60 would top the list. For some reason, at the time, the Juno-106 never sounded as good as the 60 to my young ears and I passed on a couple before settling for the 60. Besides, I couldn't see the point of MIDI (I know, I know...), it had no arpeggiator and portamento wasn't enough of a selling point in my opinion. Nowadays, as much as I love the Juno-106 engine in my Jupiter-X, it is no replacement for the 60 and I would love the Juno-X's Juno-60 engine to be ported over to the Jupiter. Amazing video, by the way; as always.

[@DrDAAD]

100% I owned a Juno 60 and than I bought an 106 to replace it. I played on both for 3 days and I kept the 60. A great synth and great memories. This days I am mostly on soft synths. But I would buy a Juno 60 if .... Great video.

[@panamaJ]

@@DrDAADyou bought a 106 and kept it for 3 days? BS

[@DrDAAD]

@@panamaJ yes. Because I had a Juno 60 already. If you red my post you'll understand that I wanted to replace my Juno 60 with 106 but I liked the sound of Juno 60 better so I changed my mind and kept it, selling the newer synth in stead. I had no reason (or budget) too have both. Keep in mind this happened in the early 80's when those synths were both new and just a "compromise" for those who couldn't afford a Jupiter 6 or 8 for ex. Very affordable and far from the "cult" status of today! So no! No BS. But I guess you're too young to understand (and also use a better language). Good look with your music! By the way, Juno 106 is a great synth! But there are many others that prefer the sound of Juno 60 even if they are only slightly different!

[@XanderEwald]

The melancholic sound of the Juno-60 touches me on a deep level, as only few instruments can.

[@ComposerMichaelDow]

Thats actually a really good way to describe its sound! Whenever i play mine i'm always feeling that too, maybe it's the melodies we know from old that give it that automatic feeling/memory though? I dunno, but somehow you hit the nail on the head with that!

[@rollerskater]

I believe it is the dark synth on Taylor Swift's "Maroon", it really defines the mood of the song.

[@Scottzilla1970]

The Juno-06 is my only remaining vintage synthesizer in my set up. I've had it since 1992 . I absolutely adore it and I will be buried with it.

[@synthesizerhome2041]

You mean the Juno-60

[@Scottzilla1970]

@@synthesizerhome2041 I have the 06 not the 60. Presets would be nice though.

[@synthesizerhome2041]

@@Scottzilla1970 There is no Juno-06, I think you mean the Juno-6...

[@Scottzilla1970]

@@synthesizerhome2041 whatever

[@natejohnson6269]

4:20 Good lord, at first I thought 'oh, man, that's a good tone for a horror stinger!' and then he detuned it, and made me feel horror. Amazing. 11/10

[@ikondance]

I wrote and produced my debut album global transmission mostly with a Juno 106 in the mid 90's. The sound the versatility and ease of use made me love it and I've still got it today :)

[@Tarinankertoja]

Want to point out, that the 106 and MIDI wasn’t the birth of music with no keyboard playing.. Our typical setup was, that TR808 Cowbel was syncing Juno6 arpeggio and RimShot synced SH101’s sequencer. You could make many patterns to use Hold + arpeggio on Juno and make different patterns on TR808 with lopping SH101 seq. Over that we played guitars and Tama Techstar drums and somebody sung through Ibanez guitar delay. After MIDI came along, this set up was still used, now the 808 synced also 909, from which MIDI clock could be shared to Poly61 etc.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Indeed, and sequencers were around since the early modular days of the 60s, however.... In the specific case of the Junos, triggering an arpeggiator from a drum machine and having to manually change the chord or notes the arpeggiator cycles vs fully polyphonic, hands free midi sequencing with parameter sequencing and program changes etc is an entirely different kettle of fish. It expanded hugely upon the side of things. DCB was the intermediary of course, albeit very briefly.

[@st0rmchild]

Much like the SH-101, the Juno-6/60/106 are simple and straightforward, and pretty much all sweet spot. You can't make them sound bad. That legendary chorus is the icing on the cake.

[@trannusaran6164]

We really need a Juno or 101 of each type of synthesis, especially FM and granular

[@tsuobachi]

Yeah, you nailed it. What a lot of gearheads don't realize is that actual musicians want to write music, so they only care about two things: how good it sounds and how easy it is to get good sounds out of it. And those two synths are kings in both categories.

[@user-kv2cl6rd4q]

Hi Mr Bell. Greetings from Argentina. I’m a keyboard player myself and there’s so much I learn with every post you share with us. I’m grateful for it. Keep up the good work!!!! Thanks!!!!

[@b2zap665]

The Junos just have that simple yet gorgeous sound.

[@b2zap665]

That one little minute snippet comparing the X to the 106 was the best demo of the X on KZbin yet! We need a full demo of the X’s 106 and 60 engine from you. Awesome work.

[@Md2802]

Wow! Alex consistently knocks it out-of-the-park with the songs he writes for these videos. And man, the feel in this one's electric. Makes me want to up my game, too. As much as I love cerebral music that experiments with novel ideas, it's stuff like this - written from pure intuition - that speaks to the soul. And if done at a high enough level, the latter approach leads to new and interesting things in its own right - like how Alex kept the truncated breaths between phrases in the vocoded parts. I can't imagine that was planned. But the way he always seems to inject a bit of chaos into the process, and (more importantly) feel when it's both interesting and appropriate for the song - it produces magic. Love it!

[@slimyelow]

I couldn't have said it betta.

[@XavierRadix]

I first learned how to program synths on the freebie TAL-U-NO-62 plugin. It's just a Juno 6/60 emulation. It really was PERFECT to learn synthesis basics on. And years later being able to play an actual Juno 6 was just mind blowing how good it sounds still to this day. CLASSIC, I tell you, absolute CLASSIC!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Yep, totally leads you through the learning processes whilst getting rewarded along the way. It's like the first level of Super Mario.

[@FuzzWoof]

One of the (many!) regrets in my life is that I used to teach guitar at a college back in the 90's, and their music department had a Juno 60 which I enjoyed noodling around on. They were getting new synths for the department, so offered me the Juno for free and I didn't take it as I wasn't really too into keyboards at the time. Found out later they'd just thrown it out!

[@station2station544]

The Juno - an accidental monster of an icon. It's the sound of darker synthpop. Here we have another future-classic video by Alex Ball which will go down in the KZbin reference archives that people will be watching for decades, long after Alex has taken the celestial exit.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Banger at the end!! 💖💖💖

[@ianflurrance8438]

Been waiting for your take on this! Very excited to watch!

[@gadgeroonie]

I have owned my 106 for over 30 years and I still love it. It always seems to find a new sound easily and using midi you can record all the filter and slider movements. It really was a massive implementation of midi at the time. Many modern synths do not have the same level tweakability. Its a keeper 🥰

[@MD_Builds]

Always loved the Juno :D Amazing warm rich sound

[@AlexBallMusic]

Like a synth pillow.

[@MD_Builds]

@@AlexBallMusic *drools over the keys and snores

[@RyanKirk99]

The Juno-X appears to be one good noise maker. The ending songs keep me coming back to your videos. Well done sir!

[@BackToFE_OnlyTruth]

Just beautiful❤️ Thank you for that🙏🏻

[@aeiouxs]

Amazing stuff as always Alex ~ your closing jam really lifted my Friday!

[@russellyoung6498]

Keep coming back to this, so amazingly good!

[@garybatch4102]

Always insightful, interesting, and WOW!

[@dantootill]

I owned a Juno-106 for 20 years, sold it last year as I needed the space. I knew I would regret it, but the Arturia JUN-6V plugin is pretty good to be fair.

[@musicbykarma]

Super cool video man, thanks!

[@jimbotron70]

Excellent old vs. new comparison, I was looking for exactly that. Damn, now a have an itching for the Juno-X...

[@BackToFE_OnlyTruth]

Beautiful, loved it again:)❤️

[@IndependantMind168]

Loved this video. It was the perfect length and the history I needed to know. I also really liked your outro track.

[@Morinaka25]

Just echoing others, it just has an amazing sound to it, when you hit those sweet spots the sounds it makes, genuinely give me goosebumps.

[@Joedoriamusic]

What sweet spot would that be, pads 1, 2 or 3 thru 88? These boards are the last bastion for vintage seller hopefuls (espec after dumping more $ for voice repairs).

[@davidsharp3110]

Great video, well shot, well written on a subject close to my heart, thanks Alex!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks David!

[@KidMrRemixes]

Great video. Love the tune at the end. Fantastic vocal line.

[@ko83na]

the juno 6 is pure soul

[@AlexBallMusic]

It is indeed.

[@ko83na]

It is not just nostalgia. There is some kind of magic to the old analog synths... maybe the components aged like a fine wine or something esoterical ... dunno you can't really grab it by facts. But no matter how hard the manufacturers try, there's still some special edge to the old original that they cannot recreate I also don't know if you would replace every single component in a vintage analog with a new one that dose the same job, would the synth loose its magic and sound just like the other new analogs? That would be a costly experiment... FOR SINCE ! 🤓✊

[@glensubtorq]

I never get tired of the sound, it is timeless and endless. 🙏😎

[@cgpokoy]

Your videos are truly amongst the best - great synths and playing, great info and musical genius. Each one is a gem. Thank you!!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks!

[@VibeXplorer]

Having explored TAL's U-NO-LX soft synth emulation and wanting to know more about the Juno's significance and relevance, this video was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Very well done as usual, Alex!

[@sawsquaresinetube]

Nice surprise!! I love it. Thanks Alex!

[@timoappelmann9518]

Mega Video! Toll erklärt und grandiose Jam-Session am Schluss. Danke dafür!

[@seazenbones6945]

Thanks for the information and I appreciate your honesty

[@hankheegaye4490]

Such good vibes on this channel, this is priceless. : )

[@DuckTronic]

Oh yeah... great video, Alex! Thanks a lot! 👍

[@adijames]

Oh man, so joyful. Love love love.

[@Ursabomb]

awesome as always.... and the end tune is fricken killer!!!

[@scottvogel8477]

I love how for each of these kinds of videos you make a song. Really inspiring.

[@SamiJumppanen]

This is so fantastic! I had Juno-106 from 90's to 200x and I agree with everything what is said on this video. I learned subtractive synthesis with Juno and what I learned back then still guides me with any analog or virtual analog gear. Big thanks for the video!

[@alexrusso401]

Awesome vid as always! Hope you release Draw A Line, that track is kickin’

[@thesurgon3142]

Love the videos, keep them coming ;)

[@sapienalien]

i woke up this morning and specifically pulled up this video just to hear the closing song again. it’s unreal how catchy and well produced it is.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers!

[@ElectronisoundsAudio]

Such a joy to watch - Thanks, Alex! 😁👊

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers!

[@JeffPalmer83]

That outro track is just an absolute bop. Well done!!

[@cruncherx86]

Very very very nice! It’s a pleasure to look at your video! You are a fantastic keyboardist’

[@iamgeorgesears]

Alex, excellent review, and excellent song at the end. Absolutely love the vocal.

[@j8577798yt]

WOW ! What a superb explanation !!! Well done !! - AND I really liked the song at the end of the clip ! Very good !! Thank you !!

[@digitaldiezel5870]

Outstanding! Thank you!

[@modeswitching]

I think people overlook the Super 6 as a worthy Juno/Jupiter successor. You get the same hands-on immediacy (no display), a panel layout that will look and feel *very* familiar, the same buttery shimmery sweet-spot tone, Roland-esque chorus, and a gorgeous analog filter. but you also get modern features like digital waves, audio rate modulation, and a mod matrix. Plus a rock-solid build that will last for years. For me, it is the perfect combination of Juno-inspired and modern.

[@masonjahncke7844]

It does sound awesome. I had to send my super 6 back tho. It was a love/hate relationship lol.. it's not a perfect instrument by any means, but I'm sure one of these days udo will perfect their craft.

[@AlexBallMusic]

I have a Super 6, yep. Great synth.

[@lo-firobotboy7112]

Yes, great synth. Definitely heavily inspired by the Juno line. The Behringer Deepmind also started as a Juno clone. There are a bunch of them out there but none will ever be as dear to me as my JUNO-6

[@electrosonicnebula]

@@lo-firobotboy7112 Someone should make a modern analog truly resembling the JUNO 6 in sound and simplicity with only MIDI, delay, reverb, and a sequencer added.

[@subconscious.com_usa6691]

@@electrosonicnebula Soundforce makes the Juno 60 oscillator clones for eurorack. they're really expensive though around £1.400 for 6

[@MattJohnsonJamiroquai]

What a fabulous video! Great sounds!

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thank you sir.

[@AlexBallMusic]

(PS - hopefully helped bump the value of your Juno stash)

[@zzhoward]

Juno-X looks awesome! Thanks for the side by side comparison! Great video!

[@NelsonClick]

Glamor, purity and possibility. It's why I loved the Roland Juno's from the early 80s.

[@NelsonClick]

Also, I never cared about synths till the DCO.

[@jeremyveverka146]

Great video! The Juno 6 holds a very special place in my heart. And the jam at the end is dope! Such a good Juno jam!!

[@callummcdougall7995]

God I would so love to just spend a single hour in that studio,I’ve worked with synthesisers for 10 years,and got a couple of good ones like an ARP Odyssey and DX21,but you can’t beat an analog polysynth,You always have such amazing content,such an underrated content creator,Thank you Alex!

[@oscar_charlie]

Amazing! You are the best at talking about synths while letting the synths do most of the talking. Great video, awesome attention to detail (even the choice of font and angle on the title card, matching the actual font on the synth) and unmatched musical education skills. A++. I would actually buy a ticket to see you do a live demonstration of your favorite synths.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thank you Oscar, nice of you to say. I'm always striving for that balance, so it's great to know it's coming across.

[@AShreddedFate]

The music is absolutely amazing! Truly inspirational to see you work with the legendary Juno

[@mastercylinder1939]

Outstanding video, and you’ve also started to melt my cold, hard, heart, towards the Juno X.

[@rogerioterenciano1157]

Nice video. Congrats. Greetings from Brazil.

[@proudsnowtiger]

You bring the joy ro Juno. Thank you.

[@markcrowley65]

As always, wonderful

[@chedhead3278]

Great video, swoonsome mix of Draw A Line.

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

You knocked it out of the park again, Alex! :)

[@StevePietras]

What a great video!! I gotta share my story now. While parking my car, I saw part of a key bed in a bin. YES, I dug into the bin and it was a JUNO-106. It had seen much better days, BUT I was determined NOT to let it die. As a repair technician by trade, I spent a year going over every circuit board and cable. I stripped the hermetic off the chips and had to completely rebuild the broken pitch bender and every slide POT. The 106 has thus far provided hours and hours of fun. It has no serial tag and might explain why it was in a bin. I was able to date this unit based on circuit board architecture and keybed to an early sales release in 1984 (maybe Q1) as some of the test points do not have pin headers.

[@Soundgas]

Juno, this is probably the best Juno video on the internet.

[@Soundgas]

(apart from the lack of Juno puns)

[@richardballinger517]

Great video as always. I bought a 106 to fix with what sounds like one of the voices is bleeding through the amp but even with this fault you can hear its just got that sound to it that's made it great.

[@DaveG207]

Bloody hell, that was a great video from beginning to end.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thank you sir.

[@jonasaras]

I have a soft spot for it as it was my first keyboard. I recently downloaded the manual which had many patches diagrammed and put them into the Cherry Audio DCO-106. It’s now my favorite softsynth by a country mile.

[@horizontalblanking]

The keyboard player in my very first band had the Juno 60, and a Sequential Pro-One. Just hearing that sound takes me back to my freshman year in high school.

[@paulussantosociwidjaja4781]

Alex, love the ways you twiddle things musically - it triggers musical ideas, too! Thanks and cheers. RIP Sensei Ikutaro Kakehashi San.

[@henninghoefer]

11:40 Thanks to _you_ Alex! I wish all sponsored YT would be as interesting and perfectly presented as this - I only realized it when you said it… You once again make me wish I had learned to play keys - if anyone really can show off what a synth can do, it's always you! (Also, your description of nostalgia was 100% spot-on for me)

[@acidwashmusic]

Get Your Love Through The Radio was the reason I fell in love with the Juno sound! Great video as always, Alex.

[@nicklymberis5371]

You sir, are a legend. How many times I've thought to myself, I wish AB would do a video on x, and then you do. Legend.

[@brianbobyoung3266]

oh my the song at the end is absolutely wonderful well done

[@comfysynth]

Superb video Alex.

[@RicoDerks]

Damn! Your KZbin channel is not only informative and fun to watch, but you are a killer producer as well! That song on the end was epic

[@AlexBallMusic]

Cheers Rico.

[@supahfly_uk]

This was really well done, I learned sound design years ago on a Juno and other hardware. ♥

[@TonyDrake1960]

Great video, thank you!

[@johnvcougar]

Loving your setup. Still reckon a vid taking us through your studio would be most kule! Great stuff, as always, lovely sounds. I want another Juno. One day, when I have space.

[@kikkirow]

Juno is one of my favorite and most coveted synths. I love what you did with the vocals in the song!

[@TheSynthnut]

Superb as ever Alex! Never owned any of the Roland analog polys back in the day, but this really does sound good in the right hands! I've an MKS70 as a token offering, but that's a whole different road. The outro track is really joyfull, love it.

[@OlaOla-so3il]

This has to be the best mpc 61 keys demo I seen! No effects just pure music!

[@rodmorrison47]

I remember noodling on a Juno-6 back in the mid 80s and just marvelling at the warmth and versatility of it. Absolute dream instrument.

[@555atU]

I think you nailed it...it's simplicity giving amazing results. You demo it very well too showing off it's versatility.

[@AlexBallMusic]

Thanks.

[@ClJNT]

Top stuff! The end jam was so jammy 🤟