# Roland Juno-6, Juno-60 and Juno-106, plus the SH-101

> The Roland Juno synths compared: Juno-6, Juno-60 and Juno-106, why their DCOs stay in tune, how the famous chorus works, plus the monophonic Roland SH-101.

Canonical: https://sstsynths.com/roland-juno
Updated: 2026-10-31

The Roland Juno synthesizers — the Juno-6 and Juno-60 of 1982 and the Juno-106 of 1984 — are six-voice analog polysynths whose digitally controlled oscillators stay in tune and whose chorus became their signature. The monophonic SH-101 shares their filter chip.

## Digitally controlled oscillators: analog sound, stable tuning

By the early 1980s the market was turning to digital synthesizers, but Roland had no commercially viable digital technology — and Yamaha had already secured exclusive rights to [FM synthesis](/yamaha-dx7). Roland's answer was a low-cost analog polysynth to compete with the [Prophet-5](/prophet-5) and its own [Jupiter-8](/roland-jupiter).

The key was the **digitally controlled oscillator (DCO)**: an analog oscillator whose frequency is set by digital circuits rather than a control voltage. Voltage-controlled oscillators frequently drifted out of tune; DCOs did not. One magazine called the Juno-6 the first analog polysynth you could carry onto a stage, switch on and play with complete confidence that it would be in tune. The trade-off was one oscillator per voice, which Roland compensated for with a sub-oscillator, a bass-boosting high-pass filter setting and a built-in chorus.

## Juno-6, Juno-60 and Juno-106 compared

**The three original Junos**

|  | Juno-6 | Juno-60 | Juno-106 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Released | May 1982 | September 1982 (made to February 1984) | February 1984 (made to 1988) |
| Patch memory | None | 56 | 128 |
| Arpeggiator | Yes | Yes | No (portamento instead) |
| Interface | None | Roland DCB | MIDI |

All three share the same voice: six voices, one DCO per voice with pulse, sawtooth and sub-oscillator waves plus noise, an analog 24 dB-per-octave resonant low-pass filter, a non-resonant high-pass filter, one ADSR envelope and one triangle LFO. The keyboards have 61 keys with no velocity, aftertouch or split. The Juno-6 listed at US$1,295 and the Juno-60 at US$1,795. The Juno-106 introduced Roland's left/right/push lever for pitch bend and modulation, later standard on Roland instruments, and was one of the first analog synthesizers whose parameter changes could be recorded and played back by a sequencer over MIDI.

## The Juno chorus

The chorus is engaged with two buttons: mode I modulates slowly at 0.4 Hz, mode II at 0.6 Hz, and pressing both together gives an even stronger effect. It uses two identical bucket-brigade delay circuits (MN3009 and MN3101 chips), descended from Roland's 1976 DC-50 Digital Chorus. It is famously noisy, and it is also the sound most people mean when they say "Juno". Software versions of the chorus alone have been released since 2007.

> **The hiss is normal** A little noise from the chorus is part of an original Juno, not a fault. Record the chorus on the instrument rather than adding it later if you want the authentic movement.

## Juno-106 and the later Junos

The Juno-106 was Roland's best-selling synthesizer until the D-50 later in the decade. Its filter is packaged in Roland's 80017 chip, a version of the IR3109 filter used across Roland's analog range; in 1985 Roland added the Juno-106S and the HS-60, versions with built-in speakers.

- **Alpha Juno 1 and 2 (1985–1986):** new programming and backlit displays, but seen as too expensive and hard to program.
- **Juno-D, Juno-G, Juno-Stage, Juno-Di, Juno-Gi (2004–2010):** affordable digital keyboards that share only the name.
- **JU-06 (2015) and JU-06A (2019):** compact four-voice digital models; the JU-06A switches between Juno-60 and Juno-106 behaviour.
- **Juno-X (2022):** a modern synthesizer with digital models of the Juno-60 and Juno-106.

## The SH-101: Roland's monosynth of the same era

Roland made the **SH-101** from November 1982 to 1986. It launched at US$495 (£249 in the UK), far cheaper than the digital synthesizers of the time, in grey and in limited red and blue editions. Roland marketed it as a keytar — an optional handgrip adds modulation controls and a shoulder strap, and it runs on batteries — but it was outsold by the Yamaha DX7 and only later became a staple of 1990s electronic music, particularly house.

**Roland SH-101 at a glance**

| Feature | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Voice | Monophonic: one VCO with pulse (with pulse-width modulation), sawtooth and sub-oscillator waves that can be mixed, plus noise |
| Filter and envelope | Resonant low-pass filter modulated by an ADSR, the LFO, keyboard tracking or the bender; the ADSR can be triggered by gate or by the LFO |
| LFO | Triangle, square, random and noise waves |
| Keyboard and extras | 32 keys; a 100-step sequencer and an arpeggiator (up, down, up/down) |
| Connections | CV/gate and clock input; no MIDI on the original |

Recreations include Roland's SH-01A Boutique (2018) and S-1 (2023), and a 2019 clone by another maker that adds MIDI and USB.

## Junos and the SH-101 on a session

- **Juno-6:** no memory and no external control; treat it like a classic analog, writing down settings.
- **Juno-60:** 56 memories; its DCB port links only to DCB-equipped Roland gear unless you add a converter.
- **Juno-106:** MIDI, 128 memories and a portamento control; the easiest of the three to sequence.
- **SH-101:** sync its sequencer or arpeggiator from an external clock, or play it over CV/gate; its sequencer holds 100 steps.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between the Juno-60 and the Juno-106?

Both are six-voice analog synths with one DCO per voice and a chorus. The Juno-60 (1982) stores 56 patches, has an arpeggiator and Roland's DCB interface; the Juno-106 (1984) stores 128, replaces the arpeggiator with portamento and adds MIDI and Roland's bender lever.

### Does the Roland Juno-60 have MIDI?

No. The Juno-60 has Roland's pre-MIDI DCB connector. The Juno-106 of 1984 was the first Juno with MIDI.

### Is the SH-101 part of the Juno series?

No. The SH-101 (1982–1986) is a separate monophonic Roland synthesizer, but it came out in the same years and uses a filter from the same family of Roland chips.