Music

Roland combines vintage and modern for 3-in-1 Juno-X synth

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The synth voice of 80s pop is relaunched and supercharged in the mighty Juno-X
Roland
The synth voice of 80s pop is relaunched and supercharged in the mighty Juno-X
Roland
As well as modern synth tones from the Juno-X, Roland has captured the essence of its Juno-60 and Juno-106 models too
Roland
The Juno-X features an I-Apeggio module first seen in Roland's Jupiter-X synth
Roland
The Juno-X benefits from a "hands-on panel inspired by the original 1980s synths"
Roland
The Juno-X synth features a 61-key keyboard with aftertouch
Roland
Everything a player needs to create is within reach
Roland
A busy rear panel offers XLR balanced and 0.25-in unbalanced audio outputs, MIDI in and out, combo mic input and pedal inputs, as well as USB connectivity
Roland
Roland says that the Juno-X reimagines "the vintage JUNO experience with vastly expanded sound possibilities and free-flowing tools tuned for today’s music"
Roland
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Roland has announced the Juno-X programmable polyphonic synthesizer, which combines the power of the company's Zen-Core synth engine with authentic recreations of the legacy Juno-60 and Juno-106 models for three powerful synthesizers in one.

Synthesized sounds and electronic beats were at the heart of numerous 80s pop music hits, and Roland's Juno-60 and Juno-106 six-voice analog synths with digitally controlled oscillators were the weapon of choice for many artists throughout that decade and beyond.

The digital essences of both these now classic models have been loaded into the Juno-X's Model sound generators, along with others from the company's legacy lineup – including a Vocoder, a bunch of acoustic piano emulations from the RD series and more than 900 PCM-based presets from the XV-5080 module. Even more historic models can be loaded in from the Roland Cloud, together with samples, sounds and creative tools.

As well as modern synth tones from the Juno-X, Roland has captured the essence of its Juno-60 and Juno-106 models too
Roland

The Juno-X has its own sonic tricks too, courtesy of the ZEN-Core synth engine and boasts a Super Saw waveform, velocity sensitivity, pitch envelope control and much, much more. Players have access to 4,000+ preset tones, 256 user tones and more than 90 drum kits. A bunch of effects can also be called upon to enrich the tones, including two chorus modes from the 80s originals, eight types of reverb, four delay modes and overdrive.

Possibly the most pleasing aspect of the new Juno is that it wears a very similar overall aesthetic to the Junos of old, putting everything needed to create sounds and textures within the player's reach.

There's a 61-key keyboard with channel aftertouch and a pitch/modulation lever, assignable sliders and switches to the left, a multi-part arpeggiator of the kind introduced in the Jupiter-X makes traditional arpeggio sounds available along with algorithm-driven creations, synth model banks and effects banks flank a 128 x 64-dot LCD graphical display and there are faders galore to control oscillators and filters.

The Juno-X benefits from a "hands-on panel inspired by the original 1980s synths"
Roland

Connectivity shapes up with balanced and unbalanced outputs, a combo microphone input to add vocals to performances or for vocoder possibilities, a stereo aux input, MIDI in/out ports and USB. Bluetooth 4.2 is cooked in to wirelessly feed in backing tracks from a mobile device, and Bluetooth MIDI is supported too. And data can be saved to USB flash drive, which needs to be purchased separately. Sounds can also be output locally via two built-in 4-W speakers or headphone jacks.

The 1,072 x 33 x 118-mm (42 x 1.2 x 4.6-in), 11.6 kg (25.5-lb) Juno-X sonic powerhouse is due to go on sale in May for US$1,999.99. The video below has more.

Product page: Juno-X

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