A "Juno" ?

[call me stupid]

I was checking out the lyrics section of the sight, and after a few songs, it says John plays the "Juno".....I have no clue what this is, possibly a keyboard? or the capital of Alaska? or the wife of Jupiter, queen of heaven, and goddess of light, birth, women, and marriage? Hmmmmm

[Forrest]

http://www.vintagesynth.org/roland/juno60.shtml


Actual model may vary.

[John]

The Juno-60 is very cool indeed, but the one used by the Long Winters is the Juno-106, which is a later model popularized by Nick Rhoads of Duran Duran. My sister bought the Juno-106 new in '83, (to start an all-girl Duran Duran cover band that practiced once), and I glommed onto the thing immediately afterwards and I've had it ever since.

[call me stupid]

I finally saw a Juno in action(sorta)...in the video by Fountains of Wayne. This band is actually pretty good....I encourage all to give them a listen.

[omphale]

John is lying by ommission. In addition to the keyboard, John does, in fact, play with Jupiter's wife the Queen of Heaven, Goddess of light, birth, marriage and women. I've seen it.

(And also, occasionally, the capital of Alaska.)

[sean]

i think the juno in the stacy's mom video is a 60.

the juno has totally got it going on, as well.

[Harry Kellerman]

i have a juno 60. it's a lot of fun.

[LikeAFox]

I'm actually thinking about getting one of those. Please tell me more. I've read the specs and all that, but I want to know what you think personally, like, what it's good for, what it's not-so-good for and all that. Whatever you think is useful would be appreciated. Let me know if I'm being too vague. Many thanks.

[Harry Kellerman]

I'm actually thinking about getting one of those. Please tell me more. I've read the specs and all that, but I want to know what you think personally, like, what it's good for, what it's not-so-good for and all that. Whatever you think is useful would be appreciated. Let me know if I'm being too vague. Many thanks.

There are three types of Junos, a Juno-6 (which is just a synth, no memory, no midi), a Juno-60 (76 memory patches, no midi), and a Juno-106 (128 memory patches, with midi, but is said to not sound as nice as the 6 and 60). Of the three I reccomend the one I got, the 60, or the 106, assuming there's no difference in sound (I'm sure John or Sean can verify that, I'd be willing to wager they've played both).

So I'll talk about my Juno-60:

The Juno 60 is never going to sound like anything organic instrument, it's a fully analog synth. However, you CAN get some interesting patches that sound similar to organ. The Juno-60's signature tone is with the frequency all the way up, resonance down, all oscilators on, and the chorus on (if you want to hear what I'm talking about IM me and I'll send you an song with it or something).

If you know how to work an analog synth it's a lot of fun, but limiting. There are only three wave forms: a square (which you can modify the pwm speed of) a triangle (can't) and a square that's an octave below the other two (can't). So you have to get creative when writing patches.

It's pretty well suited for new-wave or indie rock and similar genres, unless you get the 106, which is midi and because of that it's more condusive to techno/electronica-ish stuff.

My one complaint about it is the fact that it has no portamento/glissando. This synth would be fantastic if it had that, but it's a small sacrifice for the great tone it gets.

But they're worth the money and I don't regret buying one. If you're smart you can get one for as low as $250 but they usually range is 300-400. The 6's and 106's are usually cheaper, I got mine off of ebay. But wait until after the holiday season if you want to buy one, demand is higher and supply is the same as it usually is.

So in summary, it's not a jack-of-all-trades synth, but the select things it can do it does with phenomenal tone and control.

What else did you want to know about specifically?

[John]

The 106 has portamento but, frustratingly, not arpeggiator, which is a nice feature of the 60. In short, although I think the difference in sound "quality" on these synths is negligable, I'd get the 60 because it has woodgrain sides.

[LikeAFox]

The wood grain is what got me looking at the Juno 60 in the first place. Just hang some yellow polyester curtains from it and you have one magnificent trailer of an analog synthesizer.

I've been looking at the 6, 60, and 106, and think the 60 is where I'm going. I don't really need MIDI control, and I can just buy a converter later if I need to. The lack of portamento is kind of a drag, but I can always cry on the shoulder of my arpeggio, or something. I think tone is what I'm really going for here. I guess the only other question I'd have (aside from whether HK used to sell Junos) would be regarding the learning curve. I've had experience with synthesizers before, but it's been limited - that is, it's not my main instrument, but I've been around them and like to fuck around and experiment to a crazy degree. With instruments. So, assuming I'm a non-idiot who does his research, would this be a good synth to pick up?

Thanks a lot for the help so far. It is very much appreciated.

...I'm writing a song about you right now.

[Harry Kellerman]

The wood grain is what got me looking at the Juno 60 in the first place. Just hang some yellow polyester curtains from it and you have one magnificent trailer of an analog synthesizer.

I've been looking at the 6, 60, and 106, and think the 60 is where I'm going. I don't really need MIDI control, and I can just buy a converter later if I need to. The lack of portamento is kind of a drag, but I can always cry on the shoulder of my arpeggio, or something. I think tone is what I'm really going for here. I guess the only other question I'd have (aside from whether HK used to sell Junos) would be regarding the learning curve. I've had experience with synthesizers before, but it's been limited - that is, it's not my main instrument, but I've been around them and like to fuck around and experiment to a crazy degree. With instruments. So, assuming I'm a non-idiot who does his research, would this be a good synth to pick up?

Thanks a lot for the help so far. It is very much appreciated.

...I'm writing a song about you right now.

Ha, I never sold Junos. I was doing a lot of research before I got mine and made the mistake of buying it during the holidays.

Learning to use analog isn't that difficult, and a synth like the juno is a good place to start since it's fairly simple. After a few days of messing with knobs you'll be able to get a pretty good idea of how everything works. I reccomend it.

[LikeAFox]

Dammit, I meant to add this question too: where did you get yours? Or where do recommend going to get them (vintage music shops, online sources of any kind, sans ebay)? That's all. Again, many thanks. And as long as they sound good in a live setting, I believe there's nothing to stop me from getting one, other than a couple months.

[LikeAFox]

Speaking of ebay, I just found a sexy, sexy Juno 60 on there:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=38090

[sean]

the 106 bender bar modulates the note a FULL OCTAVE, which the 60 does not. nor does any other keyboard bender bar i know of.

so there's that, too.

after using john's 106 for a long time and then borrowing a 60 from the band jettison the other night in munich, i prefer the former.

[Harry Kellerman]

Speaking of ebay, I just found a sexy, sexy Juno 60 on there:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=38090

the bender is broken, not worth it.

[LikeAFox]

Yeah, I saw that. I got a little while to look around. Luckily, I think my girlfriend along with my parents are going to collaborate to help me get it. Why not? If it gets it here faster, so be it.

Thanks for the advice, Harry, John and Sean. Your checks are in the mail.