Roland Juno-G, A Retro Look With Space Age Sounds

!±8± Roland Juno-G, A Retro Look With Space Age Sounds

True to its JUNO heritage, the new Roland JUNO-G is both affordable and user-friendly. But that's where the comparisons to previous versions of the famous Juno range end. It combines the 'retro' look of the Juno range but is a modern marvel packing a studio's worth of sounds, sequencing, and audio recording into one astounding instrument.

Sharing the same high-powered processor as Roland's famous Fantom-X series keyboards, the Roland JUNO-G places a world of top class sounds and performance features under any musicians' fingertips, and allows more sounds to be added via Roland's SRX expansion boards. Songs can be created and edited with the onboard audio/MIDI sequencer.

The Roland JUNO-G shares the same processor as the Fantom-X, and as such provides the finest sound quality in the keyboard / workstaion market. It includes a multisampled grand piano along with a wide range of fabulous sounds from classical instruments to cutting-edge synths.

For both songwriters and performers alike, the Roland JUNO-G's 16-part MIDI sequencer is unique with the addition of 4 companion stereo audio tracks which is a delightful surprise for an instrument in it's price range. It allows players to lay down the perfect backing tracks plus the addition of vocals, live guitar parts, and other instruments. The Roland JUNO-G's revolutionary front panel transport controls, 5 audio sliders and dynamic sound modification knobs make for a new and exciting recording experience.

For an instrument packed with so many features the Roland JUNO-G offers complete ease of use. The mixer and transport controls are only one part of the "hands-on" work surface. It has clearly labeled and easy to reach buttons, six knobs to further modify sounds, five sliders for the audio section, a data wheel for fast access to all it's features, a D Beam controller and a pitch/mod lever. In the center of the keyboard is the largest backlit LCD of any synth / workstation in it's price range.

Some of it's other features are :-

Fantom-X quality sound engine with 128-voice polyphony.

A SRX slot to further expand the internal sounds.

A PC Card slot (which will accept CompactFlash or SmartMedia cards).

An Arpeggiator, Chord Memory and multi-effects built-in.

I've had my Juno-G for around 18 months now and I am only just scratching the surface of it's features.

One of the best features of the Roland Juno-G is that it can be used by itself to create complete songs from scratch or for those who want to take it one step further and incorporate a computer into the setup, the JUNO-G can be linked to a PC or Mac via its USB port. All MIDI communications can be handled with it's USB connection which can also be used to send and receive WAV/AIF files and patch data. As an extra bonus, Roland ships every new JUNO-G with a copy of Cakewalk's Sonar LE software.

The Juno-G workstation just got recharged with the introduction of Version 2.0 software adding Fantom-series audio sampling functionality that you can use along side all the other powerful Juno-G features.

I have several other keyboards but after playing the Juno-G they feel cheap and tinny. Although they are great musical instruments in their own rights they just can't compare to the Juno-G. The Juno-G is a solid, professional well made keyboard and you feel it as soon as you start playing. I always have a thrill run through me when playing it which is more than I can say for my other Yamaha Keyboards. Don't think about buying a Roland Juno-G, just buy one. You won't regret your purchase!