The card slot is similar to that of previous instruments such as the V-Synth. In line with the current 'Juno' concept, there's no MIDI Thru or digital I/O, and an external adaptor supplies power. Also at the rear are the stereo outputs, plus two assignable outputs, a headphone socket, stereo audio inputs (the left input being selectable as a microphone input), and the MIDI In and Out ports. However, with a light action and no aftertouch, I can't say this is a synth I'd reach for as my main controller - but at least there is a D-Beam and Roland's standard stick bender to offer a degree of expression.įurther expression can be applied by utilising the rear-panel's control pedal inputs. So perhaps I'm unusually sensitive - contrary to everything my wife says - or just plain picky. The keyboard felt slightly smaller than usual but when I popped out my tape measure, it proved to be, over the five-octave range, a mere centimeter shorter than those of my other synths.
Many of these are somewhat wobbly, so I was glad that a different type (closer in style to those of Roland's JD800) was chosen for category selection and menu-related soft keys positioned beneath the display, these are far more substantial. If knobs and sliders are in short supply, there's no shortage of dedicated buttons - for mode selection, edit functions, sequencer transport control and more. The multi-purpose knobs are intelligently employed within various edit menus, reducing the need to tab around and use the alpha dial, whilst five silver-topped sliders are reserved exclusively for audio functionality, one for each (stereo) track level plus one for input level. Either way, it's not a feature you encounter every day.Ī quick glance shows there aren't too many controls to play with four multi-purpose knobs provide basic envelope and LFO tweaking, along with knobs devoted to filter cutoff and resonance. On either side of the display are two small mirrors, perhaps to check your mascara or pupil dilation. The Juno G's amber display casts a warm glow over proceedings it may not be as clear or informative as the colour screen of the Fantom X, but it's perfectly serviceable. Roland have decreed that the name Juno is interchangeable with 'affordable', and as I referred to this previously in the Juno D review, let's leave it at that and get down to business. If you recall, the previous Juno, the Juno D, was related to the RS range of keyboards the newest Juno is actually a cut-down Fantom X. The latest example is Roland's Juno G, styled rather like a Juno 106 - but that's where the similarities begin and end. With the continuing popularity of computer-based digital audio workstations, I always welcome evidence that their hardware equivalents are not extinct.
As Roland revisit the Juno name once again, we look at whether their latest offering is a serious contender, or merely a bantamweight Fantom.
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