I still love my Juno-G!

[tompabes]

More than 5 years have passed since I bought my Juno-G, and I just want to say how much I still love it.
During these years, I've had the chance to use all of its advanced features that you usually find only in high-end instruments. The powerful 16 voice performance mode allowed me unbelievalbly complex midi setups, and I've found myself in gigs where I blessed the Juno-G for allowing me to trigger samples or midi songs. Many times I've been praised for how well I had been able to render a given song, and every time I thanked the Juno-G for allowing me to do it.
Plus, it's so easy to program that I've always been able to program the sounds, setups or songs I needed with minimum effort.
The Live Settings mode is another blessing for the gigging musicians, with its ability to select patches, performances or songs seamlessly during a live performance.
Yes, I had the "crazy LCD" problem, but it has been repaired well by my service center after the first year and I've had no problems ever since.
All this in a board that had the price of an entry level keyboard and is still one of the most light and portable keyboards you can find.
It's a real pity that Roland choose to go a different way for its latest products, and I think that we will never see a real Juno-G replacement. Right now, I'm just praying that it will last forever, because I cannot find anything that can match its features, unless of course you move to instruments that have a much higher price, size and weight, or decide to use a laptop.
Long live the J-G! :-)
And you? Do you still have the J-G after many years? Did you find a worthwhile replacement? Share your feelings! :-)

[nickez]

And i still love him to.
For the same reasons.
The g is fantastic instrument.

[Tarkov72]

I still haven't reached a point where I gel my Juno-G yet. I never could grasp programming it (it was my first programmable synthesizer). However, that was years ago (I've had mine since '08) and I got into analogue synthesis over the past couple years which I grasped pretty well. Maybe if I return to the G I'll find it easier to program now. It would be a wonderful thing if after years of love and hate that the Juno-G and I could finally be friends.

[tompabes]

I still haven't reached a point where I gel my Juno-G yet. I never could grasp programming it (it was my first programmable synthesizer). However, that was years ago (I've had mine since '08) and I got into analogue synthesis over the past couple years which I grasped pretty well. Maybe if I return to the G I'll find it easier to program now. It would be a wonderful thing if after years of love and hate that the Juno-G and I could finally be friends.

Surely it would be easier now... my first synth was a D-50 in 1988, and I remember it had a very detailed manual, but to understand it fully I had to buy an additional book called "The D-50 and the Linear Arithmetic Synthesis" that explained all the basic concepts from the start and experiment a lot. Understanding analogue synthesis makes digital synth programming much easier because you already know some basic concepts that are "simulated" in digital synths... I learned how analogue synths worked much later, but I think that knowing the analogue synthesis basics would have saved me much time trying to understand concepts like filters and oscillators that I had never heard of.

[mb]

My first keyboard was a casio that had 4 sample pads (yeh the real cheapo casio). Then I moved on to the Ensoniq EPS 16+ and then the ASR-10. When I bought my Juno-G I was looking for a modern version of the ASR-10. Something that wouldn't crash on me like the ASR-10 did. The Juno-G although very different than the ASR-10 has many of the same features that I needed. And the price was right. I love it!

[Blues4dog]

Still enjoying my G. I use my laptop and a 76 note controller board for the bread and butter sounds,(piano, hammond, rhodes) as I still don't think Roland does a great job with these but for brass, synth, pad etc. sounds it kicks ass. Not in love with the keybed but it is built to a price and I have learned to live with it. I use an EV-5 pedal for aftertouch which solves that particular problem and allows a bit more freedom to experiment. It took a while to understand the programming but well worth the effort. I have looked at lots of other boards over the years and have not found anything yet that has had the equivalent "bang for bucks" value to make me want to change. (That includes the top end stuff too). I think it will be a sought after board in years to come.

B4D

[RKfan]

Mine sits above my Kronos on the two teir stand - still use it most days (especially when I only have a little time and want something that boots quickly). I sometimes use it to build sounds which I will later recreate on the Kronos. I have found some sounds still sound better on the Juno-G. For example I cant quite get the V-synth patch (think its from the XV collection) working on the new keyboard yet - much easier to boot up the G and play a drone (e.g. low D) and notes higher up while pushing forward on the mod lever - sounds great.

So its staying put

[synthobob]

I'm new to the Juno G (got it used) I really want to love it, I can see the great potential that's there-- but I'm having trouble. (I explain this better on my other post) It's a very complex, counter-intuitive operating system thus far. Things are NOT obvious to me on this synth, nor self-explanatory: I can't navigate my way thru on my own even with the DVD tutorial.


If I can get over this hurdle I could see using it for years to come...I hope "future me" will post something much happier on this thread, but for now I'm lost with it.

[Ricoche]

I just recently picked up the Juno G myself and have had kind of the opposite reaction to that of synthobob. I find the Juno G to be quite easy and fun to get around. There's a lot of stuff packed into this thing and I think it's just great for "jack of all trades" stage use.

[Tarkov72]

I did revisit the Juno-G (as mentioned above) after spending a year or two focused on analogue synthesis and it is very much easier to program. I've sold a lot of my gear over the past couple months but I still hang on to the Juno-G! I am not even sure why since I still find its sound somewhat thin and weak. Maybe because it can do everything? I still hold out that one day I'll figure out how add punch to this thing and finally all will be well!

[cl]

Had some problems with mine.. (screen of course) and the volume pot... SO, needed to replace (in a hurry) and bought the Gi.... (fine board by the way).... Got out the soldering iron out & (finally) fixed it.... Its now my "bar-board" (jams and thrown in the trunk).. Its holding up really well for the abuse it now takes... (I find I'm playing it more now than when I used it on paying gigs). For the money.. I don't think you can beat the Juno series (I still have my old Juno2 somewhere in the garage)..... My biggest complaint.. was no one made a decent case for it (or my Korg PS60). All too big & bulky (With all the little Casio's around.. one would think)... But ... Cabelas... Tactical gun case... just (barely) fits... and cheap to boot....

[donutninja]

I just bought my third Juno G, after selling the previous two to help pay for more expensive gear. Love it!

[huggles]

I just bought my third Juno G, after selling the previous two to help pay for more expensive gear. Love it!

So ... What other gear did you buy?

[donutninja]

A Jupiter 80. :-) Right now I've got the Jupiter, a Nord Stage compact, a Privia PX3 stage piano, a Lucina, a Sonic Cell, and a Juno G!

[i008580]

Indeed, I have been able to find NOTHING that could replace my JunoG. I would do almost anything for a soundmodule/rack version of this board. Has anyone heard of such a thing? I live in fear for the day when I get to a gig and it does not boot up.