Roland JUNO-X vs JUNO-106 - Do They Sound The Same?

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⏰ Timestamps ⏰
» 0:00 What Are We Comparing
» 2:01 JUNO-X Brass
» 2:11 JUNO-106 Patch 11 (Brass)
» 2:21 What Is That Noise?
» 3:15 JUNO-X Moving Strings
» 3:26 JUNO-106 Patch 15 (Moving Strings)
» 3:35 JUNO-X Celeste
» 4:00 JUNO-106 Patch 26 (Celeste)
» 4:26 JUNO-X Funky 1
» 4:38 JUNO-106 Patch 4 (Funky 1)
» 4:49 JUNO-X Lead 2
» 4:59 JUNO-106 Patch 52 (Lead 2)
» 5:08 Digitally Aging the JUNO-X to Match this JUNO-106
» 5:51 JUNO-X Brass Ensemble
» 6:10 JUNO-106 Patch 43 (Brass Ensemble)
» 6:44 JUNO-X Piano 1
» 6:53 JUNO-106 Patch 18 (Piano 1)
» 7:00 JUNO-X Synth Bass 1
» 7:09 JUNO-106 Patch 48 (Synth Bass 1)
» 7:17 JUNO-X Dark Pluck
» 7:50 JUNO-106 Patch 46 (Dark Pluck)
» 8:23 JUNO-X Xylophone
» 8:35 JUNO-106 Patch 33 (Xylophone)
» 8:47 Jack's Conclusion

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#Andertons #Roland #JUNO

[smokey]

This made me want a vintage 106 even more.

[digitaldiezel]

The Juno-X sound better for modern music application. It sounds the way I expected it to sound in 2022! Glad Roland step the sound up a notch! Great Job!

[TonyAndersonMusic]

Hats off to a beautiful comparison. Great work man!

[chandeleerjet]

Juno 106 has always been one of the most musical synths in the context of a song. I used to run a synth studio and the two synths I always went back to for writing songs is the 106 and the Ob8 out of 80+ vintage synths.

[eldemasiadotoda]

Besides the frequency drift, the 106's tuning consistently sounded just a little bit above 440 Hz

[PaulLMF]

What an awesome machine the X is! I remember getting a Juno-106 new when they came out. It was DEFINITELY thinner sounding than a Juno-60, but it had MIDI which seemed like a good idea and a great editing interface, so we worked with it.
The Juno-X patches sound richer and fatter just like i'd imagine they should. If you really wanted to simplify them i'm sure you could.
I've had lots of Roland keyboards over the years, would get the X over 106/60 in a heartbeat.

[donaldpriola]

The tuning on the 106 is pretty off, beyond slop, even. In the end, I don't think anyone would notice any difference beyond that. Digital is so good these days, it's not worth being a purist, especially with the dodgy condition/cost of most 106s. Seems like an excellent synth.

[revelationsoundstudio]

In a mix of a song (after they use Eq and reverb) or in a live gig, no one could hear any difference. The Juno X has so many more features, XLR outs, decent speakers and a quieter chorus.

If your favorite songs were done with the Juno X and the analog sound came out years later, I doubt 99 percent of the people would choose the analog unit as having a preferred sound.

[synthartist]

The X sounds great but the 106 sounds much more ALIVE on many of the patches. Falcon's brass ensemble for one. I own a 106 and an X. The difference is even more noticable in person.

[QuantizStudioRecords]

Hello guys. I just bought Juno-X but I see that my keyboard does not work and responds to After Touch. But I don't see anything related to this in the settings either. Isn't aftertouch the keyboard? as it says in the specifications!

[QuantizStudioRecords]

It is possible with JunoX that after you put a few notes in a pattern in the Step sequencer, instead of the pattern remaining with the fixed notes, it will work in another scale as well. like an arpeggiator? That is, to move up and down the scale? Because I can't find any function related to Pitch shift or something

[christianthompson]

It all sounds great, obv. The real question is how does it handle as a synth. Implementation and mapping of functions matters most to me, especially when it comes to loading up other models eg Jupiter. Woopti doo it really sounds like a Jupiter patch! but where are the jupiter controls mapped to when it comes to editing or sound design.? Are they labelled correctly? Thats what makes the difference for a synth getting used to the full.

[Lofyne]

Nice comparison. Apart from the Chaka Khan patch and the brass, I did actually prefer the sound of the Juno X here. There was clearly a lot more noise from the chorus on the old one, and it didn’t quite sound as punchy either.

[DNGMaestro]

Great video! You should have used the chorus noise on the Juno-X (which has that option) just for a funny comparison!

[TrentonF]

The Juno X is at least 95% accurate, less noisy, and will require less maintenance. I think unless you’re a vintage synth collector, the answer is clear.

[fiscaldisco]

As far as looks go, it's a shame that I feel like it looks almost like the 106 except they took out my favorite little details about the 106 design. The candy buttons are now your standard light up transparent plastic buttons, the simple digital clock screen is now an ugly LED menu, the slider only aesthetic was broken by introducing tons of knobs, the loud and balanced accent color scheme has been toned down or mostly removed. I know these are small things, but small things are what make a design great. This is close, and I'm not saying it's not very similar, but to me it misses the mark on some of the most beloved aesthetic details about it.

[leenitv]

Love this back to back comparison. I don’t have a 106 on hand to compare with my Juno X, so this is cool to hear. Also the chorus options on the X add that noise back in if you want it.

[darrickkeels]

Over YouTube they pretty much sound identical to me. If I close my eyes and listen they are super close. If Jack had two 106's they wouldn't sound completely identical either, that's the reality of analog. Great video!

[alexbowers]

The drift and slop is a brand new feature that definitely improves things on the JunoX - why on earth people are talking about drifting oscillators on a 106 is beyond me. 106s are DCOs - rock solid tuning. It's one of the things that makes unison so rubbish on a 106.

[ewwitsantonio]

There is a slight quality to the 106 that I like more. (Although the chorus noise is pretty awful) Patches where the envelope is a bit longer and you can hear the filter doing it's work, I find the individual notes of the 106 to be slightly more distinct form one another, and creating a more interesting overall sound. On some other patches, I could not detect a difference.
I think the Juno X is a great piece of gear, although BOTH are overpriced in my opinion. Without a care about money, I would get a 106 for studio use. For live shows, I'd go with the Juno X hands downs because it will be reliable for years to come.