Roland

can stream music from a mobile
device via Bluetooth to jam along.
The Juno-X’s 61-key keyboard is a
high-quality synth action drafted over
from the Fantom-0 series and is
wonderful to play, with a premium
feel and just the right springiness to
facilitate accuracy on fast runs.
Channel aftertouch is present,
although you really have to lean in
hard to activate it. Anyone who’s ever
played an original Juno will enjoy the
fact that Roland’s combined pitch
bend and modulation lever has not
only survived, it’s actually an
improvement over the original, with
more depth of travel in the
modulation plane. More performance
control is offered by two adjacent
sliders and three switches that can
place access to any parameter you
like in easy reach of your left hand.
Elsewhere, there’s a brand new
Supersaw oscillator type and three
different fi lter types to choose from,
(labelled R for Roland, M for Moog
and S for Sequential we’re guessing),
As someone who used a JV-1080
extensively in the past and still owns
an XP-80, we can attest that these
are very faithful recreations. You also
get all the classic Roland TR-series
drum machine sounds to boot.
Plug a dynamic mic into the port
on the back (there’s no phantom
power support for condenser mics)
and activate the vocoder model and
you’ll be rewarded with a real treat for
the ears. The vocoder sounds
incredibly clear, full and wide,
although not as close to the tone of
the VP-330 as you might expect.
There are only two sounds available
– Vocoder 1 is the brighter, more
plus there’s an authentic stereo
chorus with a new third mode that
combines the effect of the fi rst two.
There’s also a copious selection of
modern multi-effects on tap, with
dedicated hardware controls for
reverb, drive and delay. Finally, the
I-Arpeggiator imbues your playing
with intelligent input based on the
pitch or rhythm of your playing.
There are apparently over 4,000
preset tones in the Juno-X, including
authentic digital recreations of the
original Juno-60 and 106 factory
patches, and sound banks from the
XV5080 module, Roland’s fl agship
synth module from the early 2000s,
EXPANDABILITY
The Juno-X is an extremely capable and versatile instrument. If you simply want an
updated version of the Juno-106, it can be just that, but there’s much more power under
the hood. For instance, as well as the numerous bundled synth engines, the Juno-X has
the ability to be expanded with extra classic synth models from the Roland Cloud stable,
such as the SH-101, JX-8P, or even Jupiter-8, among others. This makes the Juno-X a
kind of ‘several synths in a box’ solution, so much more than just a modern take on the
106 alone. Its wide gamut of preset tones make it capable of producing sounds from any
synth-based genre over the past four decades, with more than enough scope for hands-on
editing thanks to the
familiar controller layout.
Roland Cloud
subscribers can also
purchase the WC-1
wireless dongle that can
be used to purchase extra
sound banks, expansions
and other ZEN-Core-based
Roland synth models.
These can be transferred
permanently to the
Juno-X, with the only
caveat being that you’ll
then need to reconnect to
the server every 30 power
cycles in order to
reauthorise the licences.
THE ALTERNATIVES
Roland Jupiter-
Xm £1,279
Roland’s ZEN-Core-
based modern
derivation of their
legendary Jupiter
line squeezed into a
compact, portable
battery-powered
format. Throw in
another £800 if you
want the full-size
Jupiter X
roland.com
Roland
Fantom-06
£1,200
Another ZEN-Core-
based synth from
Roland, but with
more workstation
capabilities and a
large colour
touchscreen
roland.com
Roland System-8
£1,290
Roland’s fl agship
‘Plug-out’ synth is
built around its
Analogue Circuit
Behaviour tech
(found in most
Boutique synths),
arguably surpassed
by the newer
ZEN-Core engine
roland.com
Flicking through the list
readily brings a smile to the
face of any Juno afi cionado
Reviews | Roland Juno-X
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