Roland Juno X Single Tones (Juno X Model) 

Where did you get it from? most all retailers are saying they aren't coming in for another week or so?

Unless you definitely want the interface of the Juno X, and the specific Juno X model… they are identical otherwise, so sure go for it if that’s what you need, but just be aware that you gain only two specific things over the Jupiter. The Action is also better on the Jupiter X, and is NOT the same.

Well, that’s a complicated question. The Hardware Juno X runs a Juno X custom model (called the Juno X) that is exclusive to that keyboard, just as the Jupiter X has a Jupiter X exclusive model, which cannot be found in the cloud or elsewhere. In addition to this, the Jupiter X, as well as the Juno X, and many other ZenCore based machines, can run other model expansions, which are all based on ZenCore. These include the Jupiter 60 (currently exclusive to the Juno X, but not likely to stay that way) the Juno 106, JX-8P, Jupiter 8, and JD800, among others. Now, if you are using Zenology Pro, you can access these exact models from within Zenology Pro as plugins. These, are identical in hardware and software, and assuming you have even a moderately good signal path, should sound identical. However, Roland has not just ZenCore (which is termed ABM, or Analog Behavior Modeling) but also, ACB, or Analog Circuit Behavior) and they are not the same. The older ACB technology, is arguably more accurate to the original hardware, and does sound noticeably different, though not drastically so. This is technology that is found in, for example, the System 8, which I also have. Like the ZenCore options, the ACB tech ALSO have plugins (Roland calls them Plug-Outs when used in hardware) that can be loaded in both Roland Cloud, as well as ACB hardware, like the System 8. Here is where it gets interesting. You can have a maximum of 8 voices in the system 8, and the ACB technology is by Roland’s own admission, very CPU intensive. This is likely why they have chosen to go to ZenCore for their future path. However, you still have ACB enthusiastic players who swear ACB sounds 99% like the original and ZenCore sounds like plastic. Judge for yourself! Does the Scenes video and the single tones video I made sound like plastic to you? I have to say that is not the case to my ears. Now, does the system 8 Juno 60 sound identical to the ZenCore version? No. But it’s very very close. Though I admit to being one of the cork sniffing headphone loving audiophiles….through even the best live sound system, it would be really really hard to tell the ACB and ABM sounds apart, furthermore, if you ever compared two Juno 106s side by side, even they don’t sound like one another in every respect. Roland went ZenCore to allow us the massive amount of polyphony and ability to layer in huge sections. You can layer on the System 8 as well, but again, you are limited to 8 voices total. You could try letting several System 8 plug outs in Logic as well, but even a new M1 MBP will struggle. Do either of these two types of tech sound EXACTLY like the original? No, and thank God for that…. Have you ever tried layering 4 sounds from a Juno with it’s horrible hissing swirling chorus? It’s rough. Bottom line? The Juno X is really rather wonderful if you want a Roland history without the cost and headache of the vintage hardware. Juno voice chips replacement anyone? Not here.

@@benallen5967 Damn bra….😅, bet he won’t ask no more questions. Lol. I need to mark off time on my schedule to read this. 😂

@@digitaldiezel5870 your reply made me laugh! I try to be thorough, what can I say!? 😉

Hey Ben - I really appreciate your thorough and extremely helpful response. It’s refreshing to see a RU-vidr provide this level of support and information. I’ve subscribed and eagerly awaiting your new uploads.

@@chrisspeegle74 Thanks, Chris! As you can see, I'm not a "pro" reviewer. I buy all my own gear, and though I would steer anyone in the US towards Sweetwater for gear - I don't work for them anymore (had to move back home for family reasons) and my "camera" is just an iPhone 12 Pro. What I think I can offer however, is what I've observed from playing, using, and researching all this kind of gear over the years. What started out as a an idea to just share a keyboard I was excited about, turned into a little more over the years. Here are some further observations are playing the System 8 and Juno X alongside my Novation Summit last night. So… this Juno X is FUN, but I’ve gotta admit… the Summit is way more Synth like, and sounds more gritty and powerful for sure. The Juno X sounds like a very very clean Juno 60 (or whatever expansions You’ve loaded…) and the system 8 sounds even more like the older Roland stuff, and has attitude that the Juno X doesn’t quite get to. The Summit…is in a different league honestly. It’s really easy to make them all sound identical if you just initialize each of them and set them to the same wave type- other than some minor overall tone differences, they sound IDENTICAL. Except that the Summit has more of a dark, and powerful tone that just sounds like something that’s all it’s own. It’s got both distortion and overdrive options, and it’s chorus and reverb sections are ridiculously good. They are all awesome to play, but the System 8 definitely acts and feels like Roland history with attitude… the Juno X sounds amazing, but brighter and cleaner, and the Summit…if any of them sound like an analog synth, it’s the Summit. It just has a character and a feel that makes it breathe and purr. It’s just special. I can easily makes them all sound 99% the same, recreating classic Juno strings for example, but the Summit does them in a more alive and enjoyable way than the other two. The Juno X has Bluetooth, so I can play along with anything on my phone through its headphone or main outs, and that’s fantastic. It also has access to more sounds than the other two, though that can be kinda distracting. The system 8 doesn’t pretend it’s anything but a synth, and yes it can load a Juno 60, 106, Jupiter, and JX-3P, as well as its own internal engine, and these sound AMAZING. I tried out a Prologue 16 and a DSI Prophet Rev2 and I think the System 8 beats them both for pure enjoyment and sound. If you forced me to choose just ONE, it would be the Summit, easily. At this price it sells for, it has no right to be this good, or this well made. Roland is doing Roland sounds in both the Juno X and the System 8, and doing them very well… but Novation has created a synth in the Summit that can do all that, as well as Oberheim, CS-80, DX-7, Prophets, and just about every other synth you could think of. I really wanted to love the Prologue 16, and it sounds fantastic, is really well made, all analog, great effects…nice action…but the Summit kicks it’s butt too. I’ll do a video eventually, but those are my thoughts so far! As far as the Juno X goes, its a keeper, no doubt about it.. but it is by far the most well-behaved of the three mentioned above. And I definitely do like the Prologue, it just kinda shocked me that a digital oscillator synth with analog effects (Novation Summit) beat out an Analog synth with digital effects. Part of me wrote this long response just to mess with Digital Diezel ;)

Stay tuned. That’s the next video- both of them together. I haven’t been able to get it uploaded yet, but I already made it. I also think you’ll be surprised how much like the 60 the X is.

@@benallen5967 that’s really interesting to hear! I suppose it’s silly but I do wish roland would have incorporated a visual option for buyers to get a Juno x with a Juno 60 color overlay. The 60 was truly my favorite sounding as well. I’m not really one of those “analog only” type people, I believe digits stuff can easily be way better, but I want to see the detailed sounds before making a purchase on one. I’d also hope that there’s a flexible drum sound arrangement in the x, but I haven’t seen anyone do any finger drumming yet lol.

@@benallen5967 maybe somewhere down the line we’ll see a really in depth demonstration of the “aging” functions too, oscillator drifts and noise and crisp and distortion have so much to do with the vibe.

No. This is just the Juno X model. Through ZenCore, you can load many additional models, most of which have hundreds of single tones. There is an overwhelming number of single tones available, not even including the custom ones you can get from Roland Cloud.

I do not. I am totally opposed to the “rent our expansions” cloud model Roland has adopted and don’t understand why they think people will continue to buy their hardware which is essentially running the same software as your computer.

@@benallen5967 Do you recommend something to take its place? I was excited to get a remake of a classic but when I got it I guess I should’ve waited and researched more because I hate the premade scenes and also agree with it being software downloaded into the synth.