This video, via synthjunk, is a celebration of all that is good – with an emphasis on the pure analog electronica power, using classic synths, sequencers and drum machines.

via synthjunk:

Influenced by electronic music of the 70’s 80’s & 90’s.

Recorded using Ableton live with minimal overdubbing.

Robot featured is home made.

In this rather awesome video, the guys from Blorp Corp help you get to know the Roland Juno 106 keyboard synthesizer.

Synthesizer Day in Portland Oregon

via MrKnesh

Sonic State takes a look at the new Juno DI Mobile Synthesizer, Roland’s new inexpensive portable synth.

via sonicstate

Sunday Synth Jam: This is an awesomely atmospheric synth jam, in the style of Desolation Path, from Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack.

via mik300z:

Uploaded this a couple of weeks back, and removed it, apologies!! Anyway , here it is, the feedback from my other vangelis covers prompted me to take another view…

mik300z is back, with another synth jam, channelling Vangelis’ orchestral electronica sound palette.

This synthprovisation is inspired by Vangelis’ Chariots of Fire soundtrack album, “side two”.

That’s the ‘make out” side, in case you didn’t know. None of that tch-tch-tch-tch-tch–tch.

Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Sunday Synth Jam: Desolation Path-Bladerunner Atmosphere Part II is a luscious bit of symphonic electronica improvisation, via mik300z:

You guys seemed to like my other BR video so thought I would share this. Far as i am concerned I should have called it “Demolition path” for what I have done to this beautiful Vangelis piece! It was quite difficult , way beyond my ability, but enjoyable.

ESQ 1 comes in here again as a Yamaha CP-80 electric piano, did quite a good job for the chords at the beginning. A lot of this is nonsense, but fun all the same:)

In this video, like Bladerunner Atmosphere Part 1, mik300z really channels Vangelis’ sound palette. Check out his other Vangelis covers on YouTube.

Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Update: Removed on account of synthtoxication. : (

Here it is – the Vangelis Blade Runner cover that will make you weep.

This is the first time I’ve seen someone really nail the lushness and quirkiness of Vangelis’ soundtrack for Blade Runner. It’s not an exact sonic match, but it’s extremely close, it’s live, it sounds great and and it’s a very musical performance, too.

Give it a listen, crank it up and let me know what you think!

Gear-geek details below.

via mik300z:

The Stars of this video are the ESQ 1 for the Cs80 brass leads and the Juno 6 for it’s authentic sounding electronic beeps. The bells and percussion from the Korg x5 and Juno G. Microkorg on strings.

Really enjoyed this and amazing how a few affordable synths can re-create the unique bladerunner sound.

The entries are in for Roland’s How Do You JUNO? contest. Dilettante’s entry, is the swankiest, but there are several other fun videos.

See the How Do You JUNO? YouTube page for all the entries.

Roland has introduced a new entry-level synth, the Roland Juno-Di.

Features:

• Professional synthesizer with over 1,000 instruments onboard
• Friendly, intuitive user interface
• Battery operation for mobile use (supports Ni-MH AA-size rechargeable batteries)
• MP3, WAV, AIFF, and SMF playback capability via optional USB memory — perfect for backing tracks when performing live
• Microphone input with dedicated reverb and vocoder effects for sing-along
• PC/Mac Editor software included

Pricing and availability have not been announced yet. Details below.

Here’s Roland’s marketing info for the new Juno-Di synthesizer:

Over 1,000 Great Sounds!

At the heart of this exciting new synth is a top-of-the-line voice engine that delivers world-class sounds — including grand and electric pianos, lush strings, beautiful guitars, powerful brass, percussion, plus banks of exotic instruments, modern synth sounds, and much more. The sound-bank is so diverse, it can compliment any style of music! And if you want to customise the sounds, the dedicated “Sound Modify” knobs on the front panel let you instantly cater each sound to your specifications, even while you’re playing. A software editor is also provided if you prefer more advanced editing via PC.

Simple Navigation

With so many sounds onboard, it could be a daunting task to find what you need. But fear not — the JUNO-Di simplifies the process of finding sounds with its dedicated category buttons. If you want a piano, for example, just press the Piano button. You can even assign your most-used sounds to the Favourite buttons for instant access. Editing is easy too. If you want to create layers or splits, dedicated buttons and the large LCD make the process fast and friendly. And don’t forget the onboard rhythm patterns, which can be easily adjusted on the fly with a dedicated tempo control. It’s a great tool for practice and performance.

Let’s Go!

The JUNO-Di was born to travel. It’s strong yet amazingly lightweight (only 5.2kg) making it easy to lift and carry. The battery compatibility lets you play for up to five hours without plugging in (uses Ni-MH AA-size rechargeable batteries). When used in conjunction with a battery-powered amp such as Roland’s famous CUBE Street or MOBILE CUBE, the JUNO-Di can be played and heard anywhere. A battery-life indicator on the front panel ensures that you won’t lose power unexpectedly.

Sing Along!

More than meets the eye, the JUNO-Di lets you plug a microphone into its external input and process your voice through the built-in vocoder. A dedicated reverb is assigned to the input, so you can add lush ambience to your voice without taking away from the main onboard effects. Sing along with your performances and transform your voice in colourful and creative ways, from silky smooth to sci-fi robotic.

Built-In Song Player

With its USB MEMORY port and Song Player function, the JUNO-Di enables direct playback and control of backing tracks from a USB key. You can play MP3, WAV, AIFF, and SMF files, and control them from the dedicated buttons on the front panel. Impress your audiences with full-band performances from a single keyboard! Additionally, the Centre Cancel feature lets you sing along karaoke-style with audio files in the Song Player for a complete entertainment experience. You can also connect MP3 players directly to the JUNO-Di through its external input.

The Chase, club version, from Midnight Express.

via mik300z:

I made this track on a 22 year old 8 track sequencer, 4 synths and recorded directly onto a cd. No software used.Instruments/equipment used: (all Hardware) Ensoniq ESQ 1-Midi controller, sequencer (8 tracks )JUNO G- strings and drums JUNO 106-bassline (run through zoom effects unit for delay) JUNO 6 – melody Microkorg – melody

Roland has announced the How Do You Juno synth contest.

Here are the details:

1. Join the “How Do You JUNO” YouTube group and upload a short video to the group page. Your video must include a Roland JUNO product and the phrase “This is how I JUNO…”
2. Fill out the registration form below. Be sure to include your YouTube username and a link to the video.
3. Promote your video. Tell all your friends to watch it. Don’t forget to come back in July and vote for the finalists.

For complete contest rules, click here.

This short synth jam demos the Roland Juno 106.

via Sketchboxx:

lovely synth

This is a cover version (fairly loose) of Vangelis’ Memories of Green.

via mik300z:

Short excerpt from Bladerunners atmospheric piece.

I used a little flange effect on the Juno G’s piano as Vangelis did for the original. (I think he used a guitar flange pedal)

Roland Juno G-piano

Roland juno 6- whoopy sound

Roland Juno 106- beeps

Korg X5- random computer sound

This is a sort of cheesetastic – an 80s Synth Medley (3 guys, 6 keyboards).

via EnvelopeGenerator:

Three guys, six keyboards, fifteen hits of the 1980s. All played live!

Keyboards:ARP Axxe, KORG MicroKORG, KORG Triton Extreme 61, M-Audio Axiom 61, Roland Juno 6, Yamaha SHS-10 Keytar

via PeterC on Twitter

This is a nice space music synth jam, via Michael Daniels:

Another demo of various synth sounds made live, using the Juno 6 arpeggiator as a platform.

I’ve also improved the MicroKorg strings to sound more like the vp-330.

I also got a nice effect from the juno 106 using it’s portamento switch and LFO.

This improvisation recalls a lot of classic 70’s synth music.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

This is an overview of the luscious vintage synth, the Roland Juno-60:

The Roland Juno-60 is a classic six voice polyphonic analog synthesizer with RAM memories for 56 sounds. The sound architecture is rather basic, but it has an excellent sound and was used by many professionals like Eurythmics, Howard Jones, the Madonna producers, Paul Van Dyk and many more… it has the DCB interface – the predecessor of MIDI. With a DCB to MIDI interface it is very easy to integrate the instrument in a midi setup.

To my ears the JUNO-60 sounds far better than the very similar JUNO-106 (I had both). It has snappier envelopes and a fater chorus. However, sound is a matter of taste…

Description:

The Roland Juno-60 is an analog synthesizer produced by Roland Corporation in the early 1980s and a successor to the slightly earlier Juno-6.

Like its predecessor, the Juno-60 has some digital enhancements, used for clocking the oscillators and for saving/loading patches. This instrument was succeeded by the Roland Juno-106 in 1984.

Details on the Roland Juno-60 below.

If you’ve used the Juno-60, leave a comment!

Specifications:

• 6 voice polyphony
• DCO: pulse, saw, and square
• LFO – rate and delay
• Non-resonant high pass and resonant low pass filter
• VCA – level, ADSR and gate
• 61 note keyboard (no velocity or aftertouch)
• DCB Roland to Roland sync/interface (Roland MD-8 converts DCB to MIDI for MIDI control)

Resources:

• Roland Juno-60 on WikiPedia
• Retrosound’s Juno-60 goodies
• VintageSynth’s coverage of the Juno-60
• Juno-60 pages at WebFrontier

via AnalogAudio1

via mik300z

Just a little track which demonstrates the wonderful sequencer from the Esq 1, I was able to put this together in about 4 hours. Bass from the Microkorg and Theremin sample from the Juno .

RetroSound demos the Roland Juno-60 Analog Synthesizer, including demos of various filter and envelope settings, PWM, VCF and DCO Modulation and more;  Juno-60 arpeggiator triggered by the Roland TR-606;  drums: Roland TR-606.

Alpha Juno Control is a free, open source Mac OS X patch editor for the Alpha Juno.

It will let owners of Roland’s Alpha Juno keyboard control patch parameters via MIDI from their Mac.

via Moogulator