October 1984, Hamamatsu (Japan): Roland ships the Juno-106 - the last and most successful of the Juno line of analogue polysynths. Price: US$1,295 (around US$3,800 in 2024). 6-voice polyphonic, 61-key, 128 patches, built-in MIDI. Nobody in 1984 expected Juno-106 to become the second best-selling analogue synthesizer of all time (after the Yamaha DX7): over four years of production (1984-1988), 66,000 units were shipped to 40+ countries. By 2024 a working Juno-106 on Reverb goes for US$1,500-2,500 - one and a half to two times the original retail. This is the machine that defined the synthpop sound of 1985-1990: Madonna, Sting, Human League, a-ha, New Order - all used the Juno-106.
Why Juno-106, not DX7
1983 was the pivot year. Yamaha released the DX7, a 16-voice digital FM synthesizer at US$1,995. The DX7 shipped 160,000 units in its first year and became the dominant instrument of the era. Analogue machines (Prophet-5, Jupiter-8, Memorymoog) were cast into its shadow: the DX7 produced sounds the analogues couldn't, was cheaper, lighter, and easier to tour.
Roland made a strategic move: instead of competing with the DX7 in FM territory, they released an affordable analogue for the middle-tier professional. Juno-106 cost US$1,295 (one-third less than DX7) but had what a standard studio needed: polyphony, patches, MIDI, reliable build. Target audience - not the top studios (they bought DX7 and Fairlight) but regional studios, rhythm bands, touring groups, bedroom setups.
Specs
- Voices: 6 polyphonic
- Oscillators: 1 per voice (DCO - digitally controlled)
- Filter: 1 LPF 24 dB/oct per voice
- Envelope: ADSR (standard)
- Chorus: built-in two-mode (the famous Juno chorus)
- Arpeggiator: built-in, 4 modes
- Keyboard: 61 keys, velocity-sensitive
- MIDI: IN/OUT/THRU (one of the first production MIDI instruments)
- Patches: 128 user, 64 factory
- Weight: 13 kg
- Price: US$1,295 in the US, £895 in the UK, ¥198,000 in Japan
The main technical feature - DCOs (digitally controlled oscillators): the oscillators are controlled by a digital signal, which eliminated the “drift” tuning typical of purely analogue Jupiter-8 and Prophet-5. The Juno-106 always sat in tune, without warm-up, without calibration.
The chorus effect - the calling card
The Juno-106 had a built-in two-mode chorus based on bucket-brigade-delay (BBD) chips. It was an analogue chorus using short delay lines - the signature “wide, floating” sound that became the hallmark of synth-pop 1985-1990.
The problem: the Juno-106 had a notorious vulnerability - the BBD chips overheated and burned out after 3-5 years of active use. By the 2000s about 40% of Juno-106s in circulation had dead chorus chips. In the 2010s a third-party replacement (Analogue Renaissance) appeared - a full BBD replacement. Juno-106 chorus-repair became a whole industry in the 2020s: average repair cost US$400-600.
Who used the Juno-106
A list of “signature” Juno-106 tracks:
- Madonna - “La Isla Bonita” (1986) - verse string pad
- Sting - “Russians” (1985) - lead solo
- a-ha - “Take On Me” (1985) - background pads (alongside the DX7)
- Human League - “Human” (1986) - all keyboard parts
- New Order - “True Faith” (1987) - bass and lead
- Eurythmics - “There Must Be an Angel” (1985) - pads
- Pet Shop Boys - “West End Girls” (1985) - second synth next to the Prophet-5
- Depeche Mode - early patches on the Alpha Juno-1, same base as Juno-106
Vintage Synth Explorer estimates the Juno-106 appears on over 3,500 commercial records 1985-1995. That makes it one of the best-documented synthesizers in history.
Why Juno-106 became the second DX7
Three factors:
- Price. US$1,295 vs US$1,995 for the DX7 - 35% cheaper. For an entry-level studio that matters
- Programming simplicity. The Juno-106 had every parameter on the front panel (ADSR sliders, VCA, VCF). The DX7 had six FM operators programmed through menus. DX7 was hard, Juno was easy
- A characteristic sound. The Juno-106 chorus created a sound that couldn't be obtained on any other device. It was “that” 80s synth-pop pad
“The Juno-106 isn't the most expressive synth or the most powerful. But it's one of the most pleasurable to use. Press a key - it sounds good. Move a slider - it changes beautifully. It's an instrument you want to turn on every day”, - Andy McCluskey of OMD in Sound on Sound, 2001.
Production numbers
- 1984 (October-December): 4,500 units
- 1985: 28,000 units - peak year
- 1986: 20,000 units
- 1987: 9,000 units
- 1988 (January-March): 4,500 units (final press)
- Total: 66,000 units over 42 months of production
For comparison: Jupiter-8 sold 3,800 units across 5 years, Prophet-5 - 6,500 across 10 years, DX7 - 200,000 across 8 years. Juno-106 occupies third position in 80s synthesizer sales.
Emulations and clones
In 2024 the Juno-106 is available in forms:
- 1984 original - US$1,500-2,500 in working condition, usually with repaired chorus
- Roland Boutique JU-06A (2019) - digital reissue, US$399
- Roland JX-01 (2019) - rack variant
- Behringer Deepmind 12 (2017) - Juno-106-inspired clone, US$699
- Arturia Jun-6 V - plugin US$99
- Roland Cloud Juno-106 - subscription
No emulation is considered an exact substitute for the original - the BBD chorus gives nuances digital can't fully reproduce. For 95% of home productions emulations are enough.
Place in synthesizer history
The Juno-106 is the machine that made synth-pop affordable. Before it, a professional polyphonic synthesizer cost US$4,000-6,000 (Jupiter-8, Prophet-5, OB-8). The Juno-106 demolished the price barrier: for US$1,295 you got a machine that sounded just as good. That opened the door to thousands of beginner musicians who in 1985-1988 could afford home studios.
Without the Juno-106 there would have been no bedroom producer phenomenon of the 80s, no acid house (many Chicago producers started with the Juno-106 as their only keyboard), no synthpop-lipsynced British MTV of 1986-1989.
Related: Roland Jupiter-8, Yamaha DX7, Roland TR-909, Roland TB-303. Juno-106 is “an everyday instrument” of its era. Not the most expensive, not the most exclusive, not the most expressive. But the most common, the most audible, and possibly the most influential. When 2024 TikTok producers make “synthwave” 80s remakes, they open Arturia Jun-6 V and hit the same preset that played on “La Isla Bonita” 38 years ago.
Two DCOs, aftertouch and the PG-800 are covered in the Roland JX-8P profile.