Roland JU-06A

The JU-06A is compact, yet comfortable for long studio sessions and epic live performances. It runs on batteries and has a handy built-in speaker, so JUNO goes where you go. The tough metal panels and smooth sliders with metal shafts feel great and stand up to the rigors of life on the road (even if it's just your daily commute). And it totally looks the part, with the authentic vintage styling we all know and love.

The JU-06A is the best of the JUNO-60 and JUNO-106 in one synth. It has the continuous high-pass filter of the 106, the envelope-controllable pulse-width-modulation of the 60, and the unique filter behavior of both, instantly switchable from the front panel. The sound is indistinguishable from its vintage counterparts, even while tweaking controls or using extreme settings. And no vintage JUNO would be complete without the swirling sound of its legendary chorus, faithfully recreated, right down to the lovable (and thankfully adjustable) noise.

While you may prefer the filter of the JUNO-106, you might miss the arpeggio function on the JUNO-60. The JU-06A has both—and throws in chord memory and an onboard sequencer to boot. Creating sequenced lines with chord memory results in polyphonic phrases so thick they have no business coming from something that fits in your backpack.

With USB audio/MIDI and full-sized MIDI jacks, you play and synchronize with just about any piece of gear. There’s also an external clock input, so you can sync to vintage analog instruments or modern Eurorack systems. Not only is this convenient, but using external clock to drive the onboard sequencer can result in unexpected phrases, rhythmic variations, and other happy accidents.

Its compact size means the JU-06A fits just about anywhere, easily controlled from a master keyboard or DAW. Add a DK-01 Boutique Dock for a polished look and three convenient tilt positions. Or add a K-25m Keyboard Unit and you have a totally self-contained, portable instrument offering an unleashed experience free of wires and other complications.