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Roland Juno software synths worth it?
I have Zenbeats and the Core subscription. But I'm jonesing for the best Juno sound without having to buy hardware.
So I see Roland Cloud has Juno-60 and Juno-106. AFAIK, they are separate VSTs -- not in Zenbeats -- and I have to buck up to Ultimate subscription for $150. (BTW, it's too darn hard to tell from Roland how to get stuff. You have to scroll through a dozen puff pages for the software you want and still not get the basic answers you need.)
Anyway, how good are these Roland software packages for Juno?
Thx.
P.S. I have stuff from TAL and Cherry Audio as well.
Comments
Years ago I owned two Juno 106, unfortunately sold them (too) early. I’m pretty satisfied with the Model 84 from Softube which is i.m.h.o the best 106 emulation available. It ticks all the boxes and genuinely sounds like an old 106. Check out Starsky Carr’s review/comparison on it (with a hardware 106).
Ha! I just flipped through Mr. Carr's Roland Cloud vs hardware comparison. https://youtu.be/UYGdVjSr4rI
At the Conclusion, he says they nailed it for sound. But he was uncharacteristically dismissive of why anyone would get it via the Roland Cloud subscription. And he recommends the TAL software.
It also looks like Roland has updated both the UI and their purchase subscriptions significantly since that video.
That’s a review from 2017? Check this one:
Yep. I’ve got most of them. Model 84 is a real Juno 106 somehow stuffed into your DAW. It’s amazing. Makes me want to build a hardware controller for it.
The synths do not make the sound legendary. There is no magical formula in each oscillator that will change the characteristics of a sine wave. How do I know? Send a pure sine wave from the original synth, and the digital and aside from the noise that comes from capturing it live, it's the same thing.
If you're getting the Roland synth, it's only for the subscription, and for the presets that are stored there. The presets are saved instances of the time taken for a sound engineer to program diverse sounds in a synth. Once you think about it that way, you can reask the question and see if it is worth for your needs.
Arturia has a pretty good Juno emulation, and it’s a one time price of $150. Personally I bought the whole V-collection, I caught it on sale and it made more sense buying 28 instruments for what essentially was like $30 per instrument.
https://www.arturia.com/products/software-instruments/jun-6-v/overview
Those little Roland Juno boutique synths look enticing too, not really analog but still
https://www.roland.com/global/products/ju-06a/
Nothing beats TAL. Others are fine but not necessary or better.
TAL-U-NO-LX is the worst named, but best sounding version of the synth available, IMO.
LOL yeah. I hate typing its name but it's worth more than what they charge for it.
But TAL's version is based on the Juno 60 while Softube's version is based on the 106.
Just tried the Softube Model 84 for the first time now. Also first Softube sound. AWESOME.
Won't swear it's the best Juno-ish sound I heard, but it just sounds super impressive.
Regarding the comment about you pay for the presets of the people who know how to make those waves dance just right, logically that make sense. And generally I like Roland software stuff.
Again, that Model 84 sounds great.
I had a free 6-month sub to pro when I bought my sp404. You can only have two instruments and this is a hobby for me, so I couldn't justify having just two instruments installed on my machine when they have a whole host of them available for use and for the price I would be paying after it ended.
I uninstalled when I realized I just didn't wanna pay that and learn instruments I won't have in a few months. Sounds are nice if you can afford it though.
Well, what is the “Juno” sound ? (not discussing the Alpha’s because those are totally different). When I played the Model 84, without a doubt I did hear the two 106’s I owned in the past. That’s based upon my own experience with these synths 10+ years ago. The comparison of Starsky Carr confirmed that for me. And what makes the Juno special….I think it’s the Roland filter, the small steps in the filter, the noisy chorus effect and the structure/limitations of the synth that makes it easy to program. The only thing I miss in the Model 84 is the ability to activate both chorus options together, you could do that with the hardware one. And if remember correctly there was also a combination or option for some sort of unison mode (without retuning/spreading) but I could be wrong on that.
To be completely transparent -- I have never been in a room to directly hear and feel an authentic vintage Juno sound. And I didn't even know what a "Roland" synth sound meant until a few months ago. So I'm learning what that means from the various soft synths I'm checking out. And, really, my Juno soft synth feedback is about what feels inspiring and impressive. Can't speak to comparisons to the OG experiences.
Side story - as a guitarist, I went through a lot of amps. The Roland JC 120 was one of them. Words can't express and audio can't communicate how good it felt to be in front of that clean amp and that wonderful chorus with a clean guitar sound. The amp, the chorus, the cabinet, the room, the responsiveness to the fingers ALL matter in that best experience of a great piece of gear.
But that doesn't mean you keep the gear forever. I tried mightily to make the JC 120 do more than great solid-state clean. Fergetaboutit. The Fender Deluxe Reverb is a much, much better base amp for pedals and all kinds of guitar.
End of side story. The point is authentic vintage gear experience can't be completely replaced. But you can get software that sounds and feels as good as possible, and maybe does a few things better.
I had a few JC 120’s and a JC77.
I have a Deluxe Reverb & a Twin Reverb now and I have zero regrets about getting rid of the JC’s. The chorus, though lovely is hard to capture with mic’s. I also don’t miss the noise floor or the ugliness with any kind of drive.
I owned a Juno 6 for years (it was my first synth I bought.)
TAL is amazing, I don’t need the real thing anymore. Plus having multiple instances you can detune/layer against each other, sample accurate sync of the arpeggiator is a big advantage over the original.
the softube one- model 84
This looks like a great controller for TAL
https://sound-force.nl/?page_id=3728
But, expensive, 349 (EU) or 288 euro, that is a lot. I have a Roland/Edirol PCR-200 midi keyboard and I could allocate almost all buttons & sliders of TAL and label them with stickers. It works ok, but the layout is not the same.
If they use the same engine as the Ju6 hardware then it’s pretty much spot on - based on having owned a 106 for 25 years.