Roland JU-06A

The Roland JU-06A is the manufacturer's authentic and compact replica of its own legendary boutique synthesizers: The Juno-106 and its predecessor, the Juno-60. The Juno-106 dates back to the 80s and has been used by countless well-known artists, among them Fatboy Slim, Depeche Mode, and Vangelis. The Roland JU-06A has digitally controlled oscillators, but the analogue signal path has been retained – a wise decision, seeing that the analogue signal path was crucial to the original's popularity, giving it warm pad sounds and flexible sound modulation options. The JU-06A does little to change this tried and tested concept, and much care has been taken in its design to retain the feel of the Juno-106. The JU-06A is a four-voice polyphonic synth, and in addition to replicating the classic modules, it also includes some new features, including a faster LFO and a stepless high-pass filter.

The new Roland JU-06A synthesizer is operated using faders instead of knobs, which are also illuminated, another minor alteration from the previous model. When the synth is switched on, users must first activate one of the sound programmes by operating the bank and patch keys simultaneously. Sounds are also saved by pressing a simple combination of keys (there are 64 memory locations available for each sound mode). The Roland JU-6A is equipped with a DCO that can convert sawtooth and pulse waveforms, and is also capable of producing white noise and sub-octaves. The range of the oscillator can be set to 4, 8, and 16. Of course, this synth's toolkit wouldn't be complete without an LFO; this one has a rate fader as well as a delay fader. In addition to classic filter modulation functions such as frequency and resonance, the polarity of the filter envelope can also be reversed. To operate the sixteen-step sequencer, the chorus and manual buttons must be pressed simultaneously. An arpeggiator - independent of the tempo of the LFO and with adjustable range and direction - is also included.

The Roland JU-06A is entirely portable thanks to its small size and multiple power sources: It can be powered via USB from a computer or socket, but also via four AA batteries. With its rear-panel headphone output, including volume potentiometer, musicians can play without disturbing others. In studio and live situations, the synth can receive MIDI data from other devices and be operated by an external clock. The trigger output from an external synth can be used as a clock signal, for example. Its 64 patches make the sound of the Roland JU-06A immediately reminiscent of many of the 1980s' greatest hits, and for added nostalgia, musicians can also switch back and forth between the sound characteristics of the Juno-60 and the Juno-106. Roland's ACB technology, which was also used in the AIRA series, is used for sound generation here, delivering remarkably faithful reproductions of analogue circuits from the 80s.