The Roland Juno-X promises faithful vintage recreations and more with its digital heart
Powered by Roland’s ZEN-Core engine, this digitally powered Juno has a vocoder, KV-5080 presets and more.
Image: Roland
The Roland Juno-X is the latest in the brand’s storied range of analogue polysynths, and this time, a digital heart helps power authentic vintage recreations and present modern music-making features.
Juno-X is powered by ZEN-Core, the digital sound engine Roland has implemented across virtual and hardware instruments in order to deliver iconic synth sounds and bridge the gap between instruments that live in the computer and the real world.
Carrying the torch in the Juno line-up, this latest model features a familiar interface that lets music-makers sculpt classic sounds – from luscious pads to ethereal plucked instruments and warm synth brass – the range is known for.
Along with classic models that recreate the sound of feel of the Juno-106 and Juno-60, there’s a newly developed Juno-X model that’s said to mark a “natural evolution of the historic Juno voice.”
This new Juno-X model delivers “fatter sounds” thanks to an improved version of the SuperSaw waveform and a new Chorus III mode.
Vintage Juno sounds might be well-expected, but new modern features give the synth a cutting edge: there are over 900 PCM-based presets from the XV-5080 module to explore; expressive acoustic pianos from the RD stage piano range, as well as a Vocoder.
And with the Roland Cloud, the brand says you can easily “transform” the Juno-X into wholly new instruments from classics such as the Jupiter-8 and JD-800, to others from the brand’s expanding sound and sample pack library.
That’s all wrapped up in an enclosure evocative of classic Juno spirit, with a 61-note keyboard with channel aftertouch and full-range speakers on the front and back of the instrument built in.
The synth supports five parts (four play parts and one rhythm); comes with 4,000 presets, 256 user tones and over 90 drum kit tones, and features four multi-effect systems with 93 different types, a five-part arpeggiator and loads more.
Connectivity includes both XLR and 1/4” outs, along with headphone outputs (mini and 1/4”) a microphone jack, auxiliary input, MIDI ins and out and USB.
The Roland Juno-X is priced at $1,999,99.
Learn more at roland.com
