How Do You Juno Contest is Closed - Time to Vote!

Cast your official vote at the official Roland "How do You Juno?" contest site. Then come back and vote here. I thought it would be interesting to see what people here vote for compared to there. Below are the vids and below that is a poll for MATRIXSYNTH ONLY. Be sure to vote at Roland otherwise your vote will not count in the official contest and your favorite will not have your support. The polls below have zero weight in the official contest. Just thought I'd put them up for fun. Note there are two polls below, one without Jexus so we can compare the official entries to Roland's official poll and another poll with Jexus for the heck of it. :)

This Is How I Juno!! Using the Sequencing Template 002!!!

YouTube via NOlivarria

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Interview with Hexfix93 of VAC

The following is an interview I just wrapped up with hexfix93 of Velvet Acid Christ. As you know, this site is about the gear, namely synths, and the gear that helps drive and enhance synths, but ultimately the focus is on synths.

I was chatting a bit with hexfix93 and asked him if he would be interested in a slightly different take on an interview, one focused on synths and their impact to his world. We all have our story regarding how our obsession with synths first started, how we see and approach synths and what they mean to us. I thought it would be interesting to hear his story. The following is the interview.

Before it begins, I want to thank hexfix93 for taking the time out for this. We all have a different approach and a different story when it comes to our synths. This is his. For more of his music check out VAC and don't miss Toxic Coma. Cheers, matrix.


1. What was your first synthesizer, how old were you when you picked it up, and why did you pick it up?

"It was some kind of old yamaha cheap thing. i got it for my atari st, so when i played games like leisure suit larry that the music wouldn't come from the wimpy fm built in sound, but a general midi synth instead. it really didn't sound all that great. i wasn’t really a keyboard player at this point.

The first synth i got as a keyboard player was a roland w30 sampler workstation. And we made like 3 records with that keyboard. i remember gary slaughter an x vac member, spilled orange vodka drink on it. and i had to take it apart and clean every part of it by hand slowly, it took weeks. it was a pure nightmare.

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Roland Juno 6 versus Roland System 8 Juno 60 plug out | In-depth comparison

video upload by MIDERA

"High-level take:
1) Sound: System 8 sounds VERY close to the Juno 6. Fairly equivalent, but differences can be heard.
2) Feel: No contest. The Juno 6 has the feel of a luxury synth, the sliders are lovely, the keys are lovely. The System 8 feels like an M-Audio midi controller from the mid 2000's.
3) Look: No contest. The Juno 6 looks incredible. The design is just up there. It is iconic. The System 8? It would not look out of place in a gamer's den with an Alienware computer and Mountain Dew strewn about.

Overall experience:
Based on the above, I can't help but just FEEL differently about the two instruments. Roland did an excellent job on the System 8, there's no doubt about it. It sounds very good and does a LOT more than the Juno 6, that is clear. The sound IS there. The problem isn't how it sounds, but how it is experienced.

Sure, I can 'play' a Juno 60, or Juno 106, or JX3P, Jupiter 8, System 8, or any number of other plug-outs. They sound very good (although my experience with the JX3P is that the Plug out is not quite there). I believe the Juno 60 plug out sounds better either because it is newer, or because it is simpler than the JX3P. This makes me suspect the Jupiter 8 plug out might not really get there either (as it is a 2 oscillator synth). There only exists one comparison out there on Reddit, and I don't think the person owned both.

The biggest difference in the sound to me was when I threw the resonance to max and the cutoff to zero with envelope amount and decay and sustain to max. The Juno 6 was much darker (i.e., more closed filter) than the System 8. I would have close down the envelope amount on the System 8 to match. You hear that in the demo. The chorus 1+2 is pretty different too.

Where the sound ends, you are met with a blast of the rest of the experience. The look could not be any further from the Juno 6. We go from classic to garrish. That is a hard pill to swallow. Some seem to like it - and that's great. There's nothing wrong with liking how it looks. I personally do not like how it looks (although if I change the green to mint green on my videos, it does look cooler).

I don't really like the fact that the upper chassis is made up of one plastic mould. I prefer the upper part of the panel to be separated from the mod wheel area. On the System 8, you just see this long panel reaching down from the top to the bottom by the mod wheel and I personally don't like how that looks. It looks cheap.

The FEEL or experience is so largely different. The System 8 just feels cheap to me. The keys don't have a nice feel, sometimes sort of sticking too. I want to open mine up and use white lithium grease on the keys, maybe that would help. The Juno 6 feels like playing a nice instrument. The metal panel, the sliders, the keys - oh the keys feel so nice. Apparently they're the same as the JX3P and D50 based on that "Ultimate Keybed Thread" but I have all three and the Juno 6 feels MUCH nicer.

Conclusion: I know I'm complaining a lot about the System 8. The truth is it does in fact sound very good. When I first got the Juno 6 I said to myself that it was a huge mistake because the System 8 sounds identical. The differences are not big enough for me to prefer the Juno (unlike the JX3P, which DOES sound better than the plug out). The Juno has a much better 'sweet spot' but only because it's range does not go as wide/far as the System 8. Is that a good thing that the Juno 6 has more sweet spots because it limits its ranges more? I don't know.

One intangible thing. I cannot explain this, but when I play a System 8, even if it sounds good, I wonder "Is this really how the real thing sounds/feels?" My brain just doesn't accept the System 8 as the proper surrogate. I think I'd have the same thought regarding the Jupiter X. Or with a VST for something that I care about. It's probably like chasing goblins in my head. There is no answer. If you want a Juno or a Jupiter, you will likely never be satisfied with the System 8 or Jupiter X...

The answer is likely something greater than your desires. It is probably related to mindfulness and acceptance that we can't have everything. I'm still working through these thoughts myself.

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Roland Interview with the Developers of the Original JUPITER-8, JUNO-106, and JX-3P

The interview is currently on Roland's site here. The text is captured below for the archives.

"WHAT ARE YOUR HONEST OPINIONS REGARDING THE ROLAND BOUTIQUE SERIES? AS DEVELOPERS OF THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTS, WHAT WERE YOUR IMPRESSIONS WHEN YOU HEARD ABOUT THE MODERN RECREATIONS?

Takahashi:I'd heard about this product series rather early on thanks to my position at the company, and my honest feeling about it was that I was excited. I was truly excited at the prospect of a simulation being released of a product that I was involved with decades ago. Synthesizers from those days have a unique feel that you can only get on analog, so I was interested in seeing how much of that could be reproduced in the digital realm. I knew that the Roland Boutique series development team was working on this very seriously. More than being intrigued, I was truly very excited.

Matsui:I'm no longer with the company, so I hadn't heard about this until very recently when someone mentioned, "We're working on this project relating to the JX-3P." Honestly, I was very happy to hear that. I was very happy to hear that Roland will be releasing a product that I had a part in developing in the past in a new form. That's because the JX-3P was a very special product for me.

DO YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING MEMORIES RELATING TO THE JX-3P?

Matsui:That synth was developed at Roland's Matsumoto factory. I was working at Matsumoto at the time and was involved in guitar synth development. Guitar synths up to the GR-300 and GR-100 were based on converting pitch into a CV (Control Voltage) signal, which would then trigger an analog synth. But for the next generation of guitar synths, we decided to use a design where pitch would be converted to MIDI, which would then control the sound engine digitally (though the sound engine itself would still be analog). We studied how guitarists were using the GR-300 and GR-100 and realized that they didn't do much sound creation on their own. (Laughs.) So if that was the case, we decided to go with an easy-to-use synth with presets. And this was the start of the GR-700 project.

The [GR-700] would feature a built-in pitch-to-MIDI converter and a sound engine with presets. But even if this was to be a preset synth, it would still be too difficult to create sounds without any knob controls. So we made a programmer—solely for development purposes—with which we could adjust the tones. Sometime later in the development process, one of our superiors remarked, "You can attach a keyboard to that and make a polyphonic synth out of it, can't you?" [Laughs.] So that's how the JX-3P came about. The reason it's a six-voice polyphonic synth is because it started out as a sound engine for guitar synths, guitar being a six-string instrument. (Laughs.)

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Old-School Synth-Pop Tutorial/workflow Videos by Espen Kraft

Espen Kraft
Published on Mar 27, 2017

Note: this completes the current run of Espen Kraft posts on the site. If you are coming in on the main site you can just scroll down for previous posts in order. If you are coming in directly to this post, click here for all Espen Kraft posts in reverse order. There have been a couple of updates, so be sure you haven't missed anything. These are some great synth videos with that classic 80s feel.

http://www.espenkraft.com
https://soundcloud.com/espenkraft
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1dMWi...

Playlist:
1. Old-school synth-pop tutorial/workflow - Retrowave/synthwave - Free patches Roland JX-8P download
2. Italo Disco - Old-school synth-pop tutorial/workflow - Free patches DX7
3. The Golden Boy - Old-school synth-pop Synthwave tutorial/workflow breakdown & multi track
4. 80s MIDI synthesizer setup explained - tutorial/workflow 2017

Details for each:

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Epic Prophet X Sample Bank Out Now

video upload by Espen Kraft

"A new patch bank for the Prophet X. Hundreds of samples from over 20 different classic vintage synths. Multi-samples, Velocity layered samples, one-shots and stretched (for authenticity).

The samples and patches I've created is originally meant for MY Prophet X, for my live needs. A way of having all my vintage synths in one keyboard when doing live gigs doing MY own songs as faithful as possible to my albums.
It means that all of these sounds are "ready to go" production pop synth sounds. If you're looking for experimental synth sounds or spiky industrial sounds etc, you won't find that here. I never set out to do that. Nor will I. Every sample in here has been recorded by me personally and sounds exactly how I want them to sound.
Many of the samples are velocity layered multi samples, some upwards of 30-50 samples per sound, while other sounds are just ONE sample, stretched over the entire keyboard. It all depends on how I want the sound to sound. 80s samplers always stretched the samples which gives it a characteristic sound and sometimes I want THAT sound to come through.

If you want to purchase this bank, please send me an email and I'll give you the download details.
The pack is about 1.5Gb in size.
My CONTACT email address is this: espenkraft69@gmail.com
Price is $35 USD. This price is a steal. PayPal only. * The above email is NOT the one to use for payment. That will be given upon ordering.

Included in the download is an instruction on how to install this bank, but I do assume you already know this if you have a Prophet X.
I will take no responsibility if you've accidentally deleted or erased any user samples on your own PX (that you had on from before) after installing my pack.
I will not engage in any "one to one" tutorial sessions on how to install the pack after purchase.
If you have a PX, you should know how to operate it. If not then this pack is not for you.

The installation, import and patch bank transfer has been tested out, and verified to work, by another PX user and owner.

If you want the pool of samples for another platform, I might be able to convert it for you. Send me an email and we'll see.

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This is How I Juno (with the Roland Alpha Juno 2) [reduced for contest edit]

YouTube via loneraver2
"This is my entry to the "This is How I Juno" contest where I explain the many unique features of my Roland Alpha Juno-2.

Producer, Editor, Sound Designer/Editor, Co-Writer, Lead Actor: Henry Borchers
Director, VFX Supervisor, Co-Writer, Actor, Associate Fight Coordinator, Stunt Double: Erik Kjonaas

Extra Special thanks to Alex Champion and the rest of the crew.

Alex Champion: Boom Operator, Voice Actor, Grip

Alex Rott: Fight Coordinator, Stunt Double, Voice Actor, Grip, Sound FX Assistant:

Ben Mayer: Key Grip

Brett Schilke: Sound FX Assistant


Thanks for the helpful participation of Jonathan Fung

For more music by Henry Borchers, please check out www.myspace.com/henryborchers"

via loneraver in the comments of this post. If you have a "How I Juno" vid that I haven't yet posted, comment or send it in. My contact info is on the bottom right of the site. ALL synth vids are welcome actually. :)

Juno 106 Replacement ICs

There is finally hope for the dreaded failed voice of the Roland Juno 106. Someone has cloned the chip.

Click here for the official page on the chips with more info and how to get them. They are also up for auction here.

Anyone else thinking what I'm thinking? These might be great for a DIY project or a new synth.

Details:
"The most common problem with juno-106's is one or more of the voices going dead or that keep hanging. The problem is the poorly manufactured A1QH800170 or A1QH80017A custom vcf and vca ic. Since these ic's are no longer manufactured and roland has no spares for them anymore, we are forced to scrap other 106's for spares. Which is not a good idea because every single one of these ic's will die. Therefore I did some research on those ic's.
First I designed a vca clone, that only took over the vca of the 80017A, but still used the vcf part (if that was still alive). This design was completed at the end of 2003. Numerous of these ones have been sold and installed to great succes in juno's worldwide.
After that I continued my research on this ic with the goal of designing a full clone of it. This was a particulary hard job because only little is known about the intestines of this ic: only the rough outlines which are displayed in the juno-106 service manuals and the little info that is available on the IR3109 and how it is used. It took no less then 6 restarts from scratch until I had a prototype of which I thought that it was on the right track. The bigest problem was the creation of an exponential current source that has the same error and temperature tracking as the one inside the IR3109 (of which no one knows how it was built). When this problem was solved (about nov 2004) I could start doing signal analysis on both an opened 80017A and my design to adjust gain levels so that the non-linearities (tanh) of each stage were the same(summer of 2005). After that I designed a smd prototype for further testing which surfaced more problems: strange behaviour with resonance at very high and low frequencies, which were all solved by the end of 2005. At this moment I was unable to measure nor hear any difference between the original and the clone. After that I built some more prototypes and installed these in 4 different juno's owned by different people. These have been in test for several months now and none of these people were able to tell which voice had the clone.
After that only minor changes (pcb-design)were done until the final design which is now (may 2006) for sale:

summary:
-Designed and built to the highest standard.
-No measurable nor audible difference with the original. I'm very serious about this and I'm well aware that my clone is the only one which sounds right.
-All integrated components are in mass-production by more than one manufacturer and have been available for over a decade. Thus have a proven reliability and are easy optainable(in the very unlikely event of failure).
-Used discretes are close tollerance and high quality (capacitors are the infamous panasonic stacked pps film ones)
-very high quality pcb.
-Installation is straightforward: remove the defective 80017A , replace it with my clone and re-adjust your juno as described in the service manual. (please do not ask me how to do this. I simply do not have the time to give electronics lessons. If you don't have the knowledge: consult your local synth-geek)"

Roland 106 Repair - Part 1

YouTube via spindizzyman | June 13, 2009

"Taking a voice chip out of a Roland Juno 106 and sticking it in acetone to strip the resin. I figured out that Chip 4 was bad in my unit. I've never done any kind of electronics before so this just shows you how easy it can be (with a healthy dose of patience and a steady hand).

First you should figure out what chip is bad. You can do this by powering on the unit while holding the key transpose button. Then hitting a key and watching the display cycle through numbers 1-6. If nothing plays on a number or the sound sustains on that number (hit different notes to hear it change pitch) then you know what chip it is.

There is a great video on youtube that shows you how to strip the resin off a chip and hopefully repair it. This is apparently due to overheating and conductivity due to the old resin.

Taking it out of the unit is pretty easy and you can search youtube for videos on how to open up the 106 and get the board out with the voice chips attached.

I have never done any electronics work before so I practiced on an old VCR for an hour. I learned how to take out components and solder them back in until I felt comfortable.

It helps if you have a few drinks before hand to steady your hand and nerves. Ok, probably not but it was Saturday and I'm all about the tequila on a Sat afternoon with nothing more to do than some trial electronics work.

In part 2 I'll figure out how to strip the resin and re-solder the chip back into the board and re-install into the 106 to test.

All credit where it's due just google 106 repair and you'll see the videos I watched to learn how to do this or look up

http://www.youtube.com/user/rolandsh1000

for the resin strip and...

http://www.youtube.com/user/ShakerCuda71

To see how to remove the board from the unit.

Cheers!"

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Exploring the Roland Jupiter 6

Exploring the Roland Jupiter 6 | What did I get myself into? video upload by MIDERA

"I spent too much money on this. I told myself I shouldn't get it. I knew I didn't need it. I knew it wouldn't add anything to my setup. I knew it would be a project... And yet, I bought it. The Jupiter 6.

The Jupiter 6 belonged to someone I know and have bought other things from. When we started our discussion, only 2 issues were known. The Master 2 knob and the ENV2 keytracking weren't working. I figured I could fix this. Then VCO MOD ENV-1 tracking wasn't working. Then, the unit wouldn't power on at all. They managed to get the power working again (the switch itself wasn't working). So I decided to go ahead with the purchase.

I drove an hour to pick it up.

I got it home and, yes, those issues persisted, but I tested it out and decided right then that this was indeed a mistake. My Prophet 10 is a better synth with less issues. Anyway, a few days passed and I decided it was time to open it up. I replaced the power switch. I tore out the 2 faders that weren't working. I cleaned them and fixed them. I cleaned out a few others that seemed to have intermittent issues.

All seemed well... until I made this video. It was at the very end of this video when I realized that Oscillator 2 has one voice that isn't working correctly. The Pulse wave is silent. Digging deeper into this, I've found that IC36C pins 4 and 5 are not receiving any voltage. This is voice C (or 3). Unfortunately, so far this is beyond my skillset to fix, but it seems something (hopefully common between these two pins, both related to Pulse wave and PWM) is not working. It's not a bad chip, because I swapped chips and the issue persists on the same location, i.e., it didn't follow the chip. One possibility is that this location is not soldered properly, and those two aren't receiving any information. I'm not sure. I'd have to delve deeper, but again, I'm just out of my depths here.

So what are my thoughts now? I'm frustrated that I put so much money into something that really needed more work than I originally thought... But then again, I've also learned a lot, like how to repair faders, how to do some basic IC chip testing.

I am shocked by people saying it's 'cold'. I don't know what that is about at all. Doesn't sound cold at all to me. It sounds like a proper Roland synth. But wow it has a ton of range. I didn't properly capture it here, but a few sounds I have made sounded like hitting a stringed instrument... it's like you can feel the electricity, where I don't often feel that way with the Prophet 10. It's really a great sounding synth. To me, it retains everything I liked about my Juno 6 and added a lot more. The only thing I really miss about the Juno 6 is the better feeling faders and the smoother cutoff when modulated.

All I can say is - I can't wait to have this thing back to 100%.

Happy New Year!"

Roland Alpha Juno Chorus Compared to the legends: JUNO-6, JX-3P, JX-10, JU-06A (60 and 106 models)

video upload by thesrabbit

"The Roland Alpha Juno 1, 2, and MKS-50 have the same legendary BBD chorus chips as the rest of the 80's Roland classics, with one major difference: variable chorus rate! I've gone through and mapped out the actual chorus rates of all possible values, from 0 to 127. I've also measured the chorus rates of every Roland synth I own, and found which chorus rate values on the Alpha Juno best align with each of them. This includes the JUNO-6, JX-3P, JX-10, and JU-06A, which has built-in JUNO-60 and JUNO-106 emulations.

Contents:
0:00 Intro
0:46 Baseline patch on the JUNO-6
1:58 Baseline patch on other synths
5:32 Overview of comparison
5:56 JUNO-6 vs Alpha Juno
13:30 JX-3P vs Alpha Juno
17:53 JU-06A Juno-60 model vs Alpha Juno
23:56 JU-06A Juno-106 model vs Alpha Juno
28:43 JX-10 vs Alpha Juno
32:58 JUNO-6 Chorus 1 vs JX-3P
33:58 JUNO-6 Chorus 2 vs JU-06A Chorus 1
35:22 JUNO-6 Chorus 2 vs JX-10 Chorus 1
36:26 Wrap-up
37:14 Measurement method

For a full rundown of my findings, look no further: https://eokuwwy.blogspot.com/2021/06/...

If you are interested in hearing how the chorus on the Alpha Juno compares to the other Roland giants, then this video is for you! There's a small section at the end that shows how I measured the chorus rates, so you can do the same.

This is not intended to see how the Alpha Juno stacks up overall sound wise against the others and there is no real patch matching. That would have taken way too long, and this video is already long enough. I'd suggest heading over to Starsky-Carr's channel if you're interested in that sort of thing (his Alpha Juno vs 106 video is definitely worth the watch)."

NYZ DRN4 DECLASSIFIED

Exclusive mix on SoundCloud:


And a track from the release on Bandcamp:


Tracklist:

1. NYZ_FMMGKSQ_43t
2. ISR_16x16_WCM
3. CSN [excerpt 2 mono]
4. SWI_r170_16x32x32_B
5. SWI_FM1#16
6. NYZ-1_1#08_A [finite downsized]
7.CSN1 [excerpt 1 mono]

Be sure to see the MATRIXSYNTH exclusive further below!

FM EXPLORATIONS AND MICROTONAL DRONES FROM NYZ (AKA DAVE NOYZE, DAVID BURRASTON, NOYZELAB, BRYEN TELKO)

This is the first release by NYZ and is a superb musical collection of research areas classified to internal Noyzelab operations. Not even .MEDS label were informed of the secret processes underlying its creation, excepting that we know it involved Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis! We have not been given any information regarding when this work was recorded, but we suspect the material spans at least a decade of David's FM algorithm research on numerous synthesizers, as well his own custom built ear deceiving gear...

According to one reviewer of David's previous musical output he "gleefully disrupts just about every standard convention of musical form you could think of, including those of so-called experimental musics."

Other reviewers have written that :
"His music is a bizarre, yet compelling journey investigating the outer realms of music generated on ancient & contemporary machines." "It's strikingly original audio that doesn't really sound like anything else I can think of." "Utterly sublime. So there you go, a life-affirming slab of mind-altering sound to reawaken you to the terrifying possibilities of creation."

"absolutely wreaks havoc" wrote Keith Fullerton Whitman on reviewing David's last release T. H. Cycle cassette on Important Records/Cassauna .

Cassette releases April 1, 2016

All Audio by David Burraston
Design Tom Knapp

----

MATRIXSYNTH recently asked NYZ why he put together this new album of FM synthesis based explorations, and whether he would discuss some of the process behind it. The declassified information below has been put together by NYZ especially for a MATRIXSYNTH exclusive.

***BEGIN NYZ DRN4 DECLASSIFICATION REPORT***

DC REPORT STATUS: PARTIAL DECLASSIFICATION ONLY
PARTIAL DC STATUS: INCOMPLETE CELLULAR BINARY SPACETIME
PARTIAL DC LEVEL: SEMI-PICTORIAL_TEXTUAL_HIGHLIGHTS
FUTURE DC STATUS: _PENDING

The main reasons for making this album were an interest in FM synthesis in both analogue modular and MIDI/digital mediums. I had worked with digital FM synthesis since getting a Yamaha TX81Z when they came out back in 1987 (which I still have, along with another backup machine with a very hummy mains transformer which bleeds onto the outs). How me and another synth friend used to cry with drunken laughter at preset D11 Hole in 1... :) But after initially wondering whether I had just wasted about 350 UK pounds on an utter piece of shit... I quickly warmed to its better presets, and its very different approach to synthesis yielded enough interesting results early on for it not to get outed.

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Roland JX-3P Filter Resonance Boost Mod DIY: Detailed Walkthrough and Sound Demonstration

video by thesrabbit

follow-up to this post.

"Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible if you try this out and break your gear or yourself. Please be careful! This mod requires the synth to be powered on with the panel open as you make adjustments to the trim pots. Please do not touch anything inside the synth other than the trim pots, and only touch the trim pots with your trim pot tool. I used a special tool for this, but I think it may be possible to use other tools as well.

This video is meant to show you how I accomplished my particular goal. It does not mean that this is THE correct way, if there is such a thing. I'm a total DIY noob and have never used an oscilloscope before. Please leave a comment if you know something important about safety or want to call me out for anything that I'm doing which is clearly wrong.

Contents:
0:00: Intro
1:35: Preparation and disassembly
3:00: Opening the top panel
4:07: Trim pots

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Korg Polysix: Second musings

MIDERA

First musings here

"I sat down with the Polysix again and just tried to come up with a few patches (well, just modifying the first patch I came up with). I don't really know how interesting this sort of thing is to people. I should be writing tracks, but I guess with new gear, it's sort of fun just figuring out what I think of it. The Polysix is so simple, 1 oscillator - really no manipulation of the sound through sync, ring mod, etc, but I find the breadth of things I can come up with are enough for me to enjoy it thoroughly.

I think part of what I like is just how quickly I can make changes. I get that this is what people like about the Juno's but I never warmed up to them on this level. I guess maybe after using the Roland SH-101 more, I'll be able to better decide if it's like a slider versus knob thing - but I've really enjoyed the SH-101 too... so I don't know if its that.

I think what I like (and maybe I could have done this on the Juno but just never did) is setting the Polysix in chord mode to get a mono mode - which sounds fantastic. As well as setting two notes in a chord and using that as my sound. It makes it pretty easy to get a 2-oscillator monosynth out of this and it sounds great. I don't really mind if my pads are single oscillator, but it's nice to get bass sounds or just lead parts with the chord mode. I think it comes out with this great sound. I know in the Polaris I can do a lot more, I can activate only one voice and have two oscillators, but that's a ton of work usually. You have to get into its settings to deactivate the other oscillators. If you decide to tune the oscillators (autotune) then it'll reactivate them. It doesn't save that information (actually, I don't think the Polysix saves chord mode data in the patch either, but it's still easy to set up).

I really like the FX section - I think they sound as good as the Roland Juno Chorus... but I guess I'm comparing it mostly to my JX-3P chorus, I don't know how similar they are.

Anyway, here you have it. Some sounds I made that may or may not be interesting to you..........."

Roland Interview with the Developers of the Boutique Line of Synthesizers

The interview is currently on Roland's site here. The text is captured below for the archives.

"WHAT WAS THE STARTING POINT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROLAND BOUTIQUE SERIES?

Tojo:Our starting point was that we wanted to create a full-fledged synth in a compact form factor; something that might look like a gadget at first glance, but was capable of producing amazing sounds. We wanted to create a synth that people could casually enjoy, came with a built-in speaker, and could also run on batteries. Since we had the ACB (Analog Circuit Behavior) modeling technology that was developed for AIRA and a mini keyboard that was first incorporated in the JD-Xi, we thought that we could make something interesting by combining these two. That was around the end of last year, and actual development began in around January this year.

WERE YOU PLAYING WITH THE IDEA OF BASING THIS SERIES ON SYNTH CLASSICS RIGHT FROM THE OUTSET?

Tojo:Yes, we were. We wanted to combine ACB and the mini keyboard to reproduce classics that everyone was familiar with. The JUPITER-8 and JUNO-106 were candidates right from the start, since these synths are still very popular today. We wanted to add another synth to the lineup, so we decided to go with the JX-3P, which produces different types of sounds from either the JUPITER or JUNO. We reached the decision to go with these three synths rather quickly, without much debate.

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This is how I JUNO

YouTube via burblebeep. prior "This is how I Juno" vids here.
"This is my entry in the How Do You JUNO? YouTube™ Video Contest. All audio was created and performed on my quarter-century-old, pre-MIDI, analog Juno-60 synth. Computer Museum Photo: Scott Beale/Laughing Squid" Update: note the LOL slider names of Tudor, Derbyshire, Subotnick and Babbit and the Bebe, Baron, Louis toggle switch.

JUPITER-Xpert - Roland Jupiter-X & Jupiter-Xm Tutorials

"Video Tutorials by Robert Saint John for the JUPITER-Xpert blog related to the Roland #JupiterX and #JupiterXm synthesizers"

Playlist:
Simple Arpeggios on JUPITER-X and Xm - New JUPITER-Xpert Back to Basics Series Synthesizer Tutorial
JUPITER-X/Xm Single Tone Preset, Dual, and Arp Demonstration
JUPITER-X / Xm Tutorial - Performance Tips & Tricks for Live + I-Arp Synthwave
UPDATE: JUPITER-Xm Step Edit Sequencer Tutorial: Chords
Roland Cloud ZEN Expansions and Sound Packs for JUPITER-X/Xm : Installation
JUPITER-Xm Tutorial : Working with ZEN-Core Partials (Stupid ZEN Tricks 1)
JUPITER-Xm ZEN-Core Demo - SH-5 and SH-7 Patch Tone
JUPITER-X | Xm : Split with Bass Arpeggio Tutorial (Updated)
JUPITER 1.30 Update - 5 Big Things | Special Preview for JUPITER-X and Xm from JUPITER-Xpert
JUPITER-X/Xm Tutorial: Step Edit Using Hold Pedal
Night Stalkers - #RolandScarySounds​ with JUPITER-Xm
Roland JUPITER-Xm Custom Drums experiment
JUPITER-Xm Hidden Parameters - Roland Boutique A-01 SysEx Control

Additional details on each:

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MATRIXSYNTH Lounge Studio Pics

Studio pics from readers of MATRIXSYNTH via the MATRIXSYNTH Lounge.

Facebook gallery where you can find follow-up comments for each here.  Also keep an eye out for new studio pics there.

Featured in order:

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Korg Polysix: The Dream Sounds

MIDERA

"korg Polysix with kiwi mod (and Eventide Blackhole).

Here are an array of sounds, many of which i built from scratch. This is a new synth to me. i have only owned it 1 week, so i can't really give a definitive sense of how well it stacks up to my other synthesizers... I never like the "this is the most amazing synth I've ever used!!! I just bought it today." because feelings change and time tells us a lot more than our initial impressions.

That said, I am finding this to be up there with my favorite synths. it has a tone that I never experienced with Juno's, JX series, Matrix 1000, or Polaris (in terms of pure analog synths). The Polaris is theoretically superior due to the two oscillators, but yet, I don't quite feel it has the same character.

The JX-3P is very sturdy, its character is mostly in the Chorus. I actually quite like the chorus in the Polysix, but it is mono so no stereo effect as in the Juno.

I've owned a Juno 106 but sold it because i felt the Matrix 1000 sounded superior (was a dumb move to sell it but I feared the osc chips were going to die and at the time there weren't replacements like there are today). i've borrowed a Juno 60 too... in all cases i prefered my JX, apart from the interface and some features. i still think the JX is a great synth and i appreciate the aesthetics of the thing. The Korg feels like its on another level. Knobs spaced apart just right. Not a lot of features, but they still feel right. I could get lost in the design without feeling like the UI was separate from the instrument... ie, the whole thing feels right.

When my Polaris is back from the shop, i plan to do a shootout between the Polaris and Polysix. I'm curious which one I can more easily create sounds I like with...."

aftertouch repair

The topic of aftertouch repair came up on the Analog Heaven email list. The following are a few links that came in. If you know of more feel free to comment or send me email directly.

Roland JX-8P / Juno-2 aftertouch repair
Roland JX-8P aftertouch repair
AKAI MX100 aftertouch repair

These came from Robert on the list with the following:
"What's the keyboard pressure circuit like?
On my JX-8P, I think it has a resistive pressure sensor, an op amp, and a few resistors to set the gain.

What's the most likely thing to fail?
I'd say the pressure sensor itself. On the JX-8P, you change out one resistor, to give the op amp circuit more gain. That's all you had to do to make the aftertouch usable again.

What if you don't have schematics?
Open the synth up, unscrew the keyboard bed. Take it apart enough to find the pressure sensor. It's most likely a long tape like thing going the length of the key bed. Each key will have a part that extends down to press on the pressure sensor. I can't remember if the JX sensor has two wires or three coming off of it. I think it's two. It was separate from the key switch wiring, different connector.

Use a volt/ohm meter to trace where those wires go. Most likely, they will lead you to some resistors and an op amp. Look at some op amp circuits, inverting and non-inverting. It's most likely an inverting op amp circuit. The two resistors set the gain. You need more gain. Once I found the right op amp, I experimented with the resistors. Seems like I cut one end of the resistor and soldered in a second one in series with it.

I have the schematics somewhere. I used to be a Roland warranty service tech (cough, cough, 25 years ago).

Wierd, new stuff on the net, a new way to fix it. It is the pressure sensor.

Here's another take on the pressure problem: the brass strip in the sensor has tarnished. http://analog.no/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=54
Your DSS-1 sensor may be like the Roland sensor.

Maybe I'm lazy. I just tweaked the resistor and it worked on stage for the next 10 years. I haven't played it for a while. I should. I also have a MKS-70. The JX-8P seems to have more punch, but the key contacts are flakey.

Here's another fix site: http://emptyworldart.com/pg800/aftertouch.html
Cool, here's an Akai one: http://www.lynxxx.nl/akaimx1000/

Here's a schematic for a Korg DW-8000. Might help... http://www.pallium.com/bryan/dw/DW-8000_Service_Manual.pdf

Anyway, looks like there is more than one way to fix the problem. Heh, learn new stuff everyday. :)"

Update:
via Dave on the AH list.

"Roland JX-8P / Juno-2 aftertouch repair

If you own an early Roland synth that has aftertouch you have probably experienced that the aftertouch function is not working as is should. You have to press very hard, and the response is not even over the whole keyboard length.

This is caused by oxidation of the aftertouch sensor. There were reports of this problem already when the JX-8P hit the streets so most probably the sensor was already oxidized at delivery...

However, by doing a fairly easy, but time consuming job, the aftertouch can be restored to better than new condition!

This diagram shows a cut through the sensor. When pressure is applied the two brass conductors will be electrically connected through the conductive rubber and the metal foil.
Problem is that the brass oxidize and the surface stops conducting. There is also a build-up of oxide on the conductive rubber strips.

PS: You might have heard that it is possible to get the aftertouch working by a modification to the sensor electronics. This only applies to the very first JX's and it is mostly unlikely that this is necessary on your instrument. Only way to get the aftertouch fully working is by following the procedure below.

How to repair:
* Remove keyboard assembly from synth. Placing them in correct order on the table makes assembly easier...
* Remove all key's: First remove the transparent plastic strip that that prevents the key's from being pulled towards the front. This strip is not needed. Then loosen all springs. The keys can then be removed by pulling towards the front and then lifted up.
* Carefully remove the upper rubber housing with felt-strip. (This is secured with glue at both ends.)
* Remove the metal foil and all bits of conductive rubber. Be very careful not to bend the foil.
* The two brass conductors surface must now be cleaned! Usually it's enough to clean it with q-tips wetted with metal polish. If severe oxidation has developed then use water-proof sanding paper and water to clean it. If you work carefully it's possible to re-use the double sided tape.
* Clean the brass-strips with q-tips wetted with acetone until no dis-coloration of the q-tips is visible.
* Clean both sides of the conductive rubber strips with q-tips wetted with alcohol until no dis-coloration of the q-tips is visible.
* Clean the metal foil with q-tips wetted with acetone until no dis-coloration of the q-tips is visible. (Careful not to bend it.)
* Then assemble in reverse order. Sometimes it is necessary to replace the double sided tapes. Also, secure the top housing with a very small amount of super glue at both ends.

After completing this procedure your JX-8P aftertouch should be working better than new!

Additionally, there are gain-setting resistors there, which can be changed to..." It cuts off at this point."