ROLAND JUNO 106

Has anyone bought one second hand? What are the common problems that one might get from buying one? I have heard that there might be problems with the memory chips and stuff. I dont care if the presets dont work but would there still be normal funtionallity?

  David R James said:

Has anyone bought one second hand? What are the common problems that one might get from buying one? I have heard that there might be problems with the memory chips and stuff. I dont care if the presets dont work but would there still be normal funtionallity?

the common problem is that they all fail. all of them. design fault in the voice chips. don't get one. get a juno 60, or alpha juno

  analogue wings said:

  David R James said:

Has anyone bought one second hand? What are the common problems that one might get from buying one? I have heard that there might be problems with the memory chips and stuff. I dont care if the presets dont work but would there still be normal funtionallity?

 

the common problem is that they all fail. all of them. design fault in the voice chips. don't get one. get a juno 60, or alpha juno

  analogue wings said:

  David R James said:

Has anyone bought one second hand? What are the common problems that one might get from buying one? I have heard that there might be problems with the memory chips and stuff. I dont care if the presets dont work but would there still be normal funtionallity?

 

the common problem is that they all fail. all of them. design fault in the voice chips. don't get one. get a juno 60, or alpha juno

Ok thanks 4 the tip, i think i would prefer a juno 6 or 60.

remember that junos are fashionable with indie kinds at the moment, so you'll pay a considerable "juno tax" on one

consider a korg from the same era, or an oberheim matrix 6. better synths for less money.

Yeah im really looking for a poly. I havent really decided what one tho.

matrix6r if you don't have a lot of space is wonderful <333

I prefer the Juno-106 sound to the Matrix, but the Matrix wins overall due to the programming options. It's like a DCO polyphonic modular.

I got a Juno 106 years ago on eBay for under $200 shipped. However, the warnings proved true, as it now has 2 dead filters, 1 dead voice, and last but not least, the VCA has now gone dead. The fucker is now entirely useless. Don't get one.

EDIT: Also, the memory had become volatile a few months after having it. Fucking POS. Sounded great while it ran properly, but it wasn't flawless for long.

  scones to die for said:

I prefer the Juno-106 sound to the Matrix, but the Matrix wins overall due to the programming options. It's like a DCO polyphonic modular.

nah a matrix destroys a 106, in sound AND features. what it doesnt have is hands-on programming.

a matrix loaded up with some great presets will bring the win anytime

This thread makes me wonder how the fuck autechre were able to make an entire album with this thing lol

Since Matrix 6 was brought up, how the hell do you program it? I'm still completely new to synths and am used to seeing all the knobs and such. I see no such thing anywhere on that thing. How the hell

  Bramsworth said:

Since Matrix 6 was brought up, how the hell do you program it? I'm still completely new to synths and am used to seeing all the knobs and such. I see no such thing anywhere on that thing. How the hell

you hook it up to your computer and use on-screen knobs and sliders

I bought one off ebay a few years ago and have had no problems at all

Just be sure to interrogate the owner and you should be fine. I bought mine from the original owner, who kept it in a clean studio and had it recently serviced, and had it shipped from Ohio to Washington with no problems.

The awesome thing about the Juno 106 compared to other synths mentioned in this thread is that it is old enough to have the DCO's which sound awesome, AND is new enough to have MIDI (and sysex control fro CC's). At the time I was also considering an Akai AX-60 beacuse it had those same features as it came out around the same time (if i recall correctly)

  dugbert said:

The awesome thing about the Juno 106 compared to other synths mentioned in this thread is that it is old enough to have the DCO's which sound awesome,

I dont get this because DCOs havent really changed since then. Dave Smith uses the exact same DCOs in the Evolvers and the Prophet 08 that are in the Matrix series.

  dugbert said:

Just be sure to interrogate the owner and you should be fine.

Unfortunately, Juno 106 voice chips have a huge failure rate which is only climbing as they get older, and it costs $US100 per voice to get the new non-flawed replacements (plus whatever it costs to get the new chips installed). If you're really unlucky/stupid (like me) you got an MKS-7 which has SEVEN chips to replace instead of six. :(

It's got nothing to do with how well the synth has a whole has been looked after - if you got chips from one of the dud batches, the chips will simply blow after a certain amount of use.

  wikipedia said:

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.

So, please don't tell the dude he'll be fine. Just be happy you have been lucky so far!

juno 6 = greater than all other junos

  dugbert said:

I bought one off ebay a few years ago and have had no problems at all

Just be sure to interrogate the owner and you should be fine. I bought mine from the original owner, who kept it in a clean studio and had it recently serviced, and had it shipped from Ohio to Washington with no problems.

 

The awesome thing about the Juno 106 compared to other synths mentioned in this thread is that it is old enough to have the DCO's which sound awesome, AND is new enough to have MIDI (and sysex control fro CC's). At the time I was also considering an Akai AX-60 beacuse it had those same features as it came out around the same time (if i recall correctly)

AX-60 actually has VCOs and a few other differences in specs.

  LUDD said:

juno 6 = greater than all other junos

it's funny how in any given family of synths, it's always the least convenient one to use that is reputed to have the best sound...

  analogue wings said:

  LUDD said:

juno 6 = greater than all other junos

 

it's funny how in any given family of synths, it's always the least convenient one to use that is reputed to have the best sound...

its not funny

its a fucking pain in the arse

  analogue wings said:

  Bramsworth said:

Since Matrix 6 was brought up, how the hell do you program it? I'm still completely new to synths and am used to seeing all the knobs and such. I see no such thing anywhere on that thing. How the hell

 

you hook it up to your computer and use on-screen knobs and sliders

or you stare at that tiny LED screen and push buttons repeatedly for hours on end.

i loooooove the matrix6, but it's a BITCH to program. still, i wish i had one (or access to one). my high school had one and i rocked out on that thing almost everyday. *tear

A little like the Alpha Juno then. I still haven't properly dived into exploring mine as programming it is so lame.

That Matrix 6 sounds lovely, not a synth I'm familar with at all!

I dont think i want a matrix 6. I prefer to be able to adjust parameters at a moments notice rather than using a little screen, that is something that draws me to a juno, thats what i enjoy about a 101. Im sure the matrix is a top synth tho.

you can add "real" knobs to both the matrix and the alpha juno with a box like this:

though you can't get too excited with the matrix as changing lots of things all at once make it stop and think for a bit (slow cpu).

I'm not knocking your wish to have "hands on" - there's a reason people pay (a lot) extra for that. there is more than one way to skin that cat though.

I found that when i added knobs to my Alpha Juno, it kind of made it really clear just how simple and limited Junos are, which was a bit of a bummer. I almost preferred selecting presets and not really knowing how they were made.

I had a similar "let down" experience the first time I tried a Juno 106 (having owned an MKS-7)

what would be a sensible price on ebay at the mo for a juno 6? What might be the pro and cons in terms of problems? Im not overly worried about tuning as long as it plays from semi tone to semi tone, as u can genrally just tune the oscillators.