The Roland Juno-106S is the built-in-speaker version of the Juno-106, a six-voice programmable analog polysynth whose core identity comes from digitally controlled analog oscillators, a resonant analog low-pass filter, 128 memories, MIDI, and the stereo chorus that became central to the Juno sound. Roland’s own history places the Juno-106 after the Juno-6 and Juno-60, with the 106 released in February 1984; the Juno-106S followed shortly afterward as a Japan-market version with stereo speakers and a music rest, while the closely related HS-60 Synth Plus 60 took the same concept worldwide.
Sound and character
The Juno-106S sounds, in practical terms, like a Juno-106: direct, clean, warm, slightly restrained, and unusually mix-friendly. Its tone is not built from complex oscillator layering, wavetable movement, FM depth, or a large modulation matrix. Instead, it relies on one digitally controlled oscillator per voice, simultaneous saw and pulse waveforms, a sub-oscillator, noise, a 24 dB/octave analog low-pass filter, a simple envelope, and a stereo analog chorus that expands the single-oscillator architecture into something wider and more emotionally immediate.
Its most characteristic sounds are pads, strings, smooth brass, rounded basses, synth pianos, plucks, and simple leads. Roland describes the Juno-106 as capable of basslines, strings, pads, pianos, leads, percussive sounds, and luscious soundscapes, while also emphasizing the role of DCO stability, the analog filter, and the chorus in shaping the instrument’s identity. The musical consequence is important: the Juno-106S is not a maximalist synthesizer, but a synthesizer whose limitations help sounds arrive quickly, sit well in arrangements, and retain a recognizable 1980s analog character.
The speakers do not create a new synthesis engine, but they change the cultural framing of the instrument. The 106S turns the Juno-106 voice into something closer to a domestic, self-contained keyboard: less a studio module of professional mystique, more a playable object for the home musician. Roland’s own account explicitly says the 106S kept the same front-panel control and voice architecture while adding built-in stereo speakers and a music stand.
Features and architecture
- Manufacturer: Roland Corporation.
- Year: The Juno-106 was released in February 1984; the Juno-106S appeared shortly afterward, with HS-60/Juno-106S service notes dated July 1985.
- Production years: A distinct, independently verified production span for the Juno-106S is not confidently documented in the sources checked. The standard Juno-106 is cited by MusicRadar as selling between 1984 and 1988, while the 106S-specific service documentation is dated July 1985.
- Synthesis type: Analog subtractive synthesis with digitally controlled oscillators and analog filtering.
- Category: Six-voice programmable analog polysynth with built-in speakers.
- Polyphony: Six voices.
- Original price and current market price: A confidently verified original Juno-106S-specific list price was not found. MusicRadar cites the standard Juno-106 at £799 between 1984 and 1988. Current Reverb signals show the Juno-106S as a used/vintage instrument, with Reverb listing “Compare 11 from R$7,652.69” and individual examples ranging from around R$7,652.69 to above R$10,000 depending on condition and servicing.
- Oscillators: One DCO per voice, with sawtooth, pulse, sub-oscillator, and noise; pitch range settings include 16′, 8′, and 4′.
- Filter: Analog 24 dB/octave resonant low-pass VCF with cutoff, resonance, envelope modulation, LFO modulation, and keyboard tracking, plus a non-resonant high-pass filter.
- LFOs: One triangle-wave LFO with rate and delay; the HS-60/Juno-106S service notes specify a rate range of 0.1 Hz to 30 Hz and delay time from 0 to 3 seconds.
- Envelopes: One invertible ADSR envelope assignable to filter cutoff and selectable for VCA control; the service notes specify attack from 1.5 ms to 3 seconds, decay from 1.5 ms to 12 seconds, sustain from 0 to 100%, and release from 1.5 ms to 12 seconds.
- Modulation system: PWM can be set manually or controlled by the LFO; the VCF can be modulated by envelope, LFO, and keyboard tracking.
- Sequencer / arpeggiator: No onboard sequencer; the earlier Juno arpeggiator was replaced by portamento on the Juno-106 generation.
- Effects: Built-in stereo analog chorus with two depth modes; Roland describes the chorus as an analog BBD-based unit and a defining part of the Juno sound.
- Memory: 128 patch memories, with patch data savable by tape interface and MIDI SysEx.
- Keyboard: 61 full-size keys, five octaves, C scale; the MIDI implementation chart indicates fixed velocity and no aftertouch transmission/recognition.
- Inputs / outputs: The Juno-106 architecture includes 1/4-inch audio outputs, stereo headphone output, pedal hold and patch shift jacks, and tape save/load connections; the 106S/HS-60 documentation also shows speaker and power-amp hardware added to the chassis.
- MIDI / USB: MIDI In, Out, and Thru are present; USB is not part of the vintage hardware design. Roland states that the Juno-106 supports 16 MIDI channels and SysEx transmission/receiving from sliders and buttons.
- Display: Basic LED/numeric display for patch and parameter-related information.
- Dimensions / weight: 992 mm wide, 340 mm deep, 130 mm high; 15 kg / 33 lb 2 oz.
- Power: Service notes specify 50 W power consumption, with a 30 W figure for 100 V operation; power hardware appears in 100/117 V and 220/240 V versions.
Strengths
- It preserves the essential Juno-106 sound in a more self-contained form. Roland states that the 106S has the same front-panel control and voice architecture as the Juno-106, while Syntaur describes the 106S as an identical synthesizer with built-in speakers and amplifier.
- Its interface is unusually direct. Roland describes the Juno-106 as one of the last major synths with a dedicated control for every parameter on the faceplate, and this matters musically because the player can move from idea to sound without menu navigation.
- The DCO design gives it pitch stability without removing the analog signal path. Roland explains that the DCOs are digitally controlled for tuning stability but still produce true analog outputs, which is why the instrument feels more stable than earlier VCO polysynths while still retaining analog behavior.
- The chorus compensates for the one-oscillator-per-voice architecture. Roland explicitly connects the Juno chorus to the need to thicken the single-oscillator design, which explains why the chorus is not an accessory effect but a structural part of the Juno identity.
- Its MIDI implementation is historically important. The Juno-106 was the first Juno with MIDI, and Roland notes that SysEx could be transmitted and received from the sliders and buttons, giving the instrument unusually strong external control for its period.
- The repair ecosystem remains unusually strong for a vintage polysynth. Syntaur lists modern replacement voice chips, panel parts, jacks, sliders, buttons, keyboard parts, and a Juno-106S-only power amp board, which makes long-term ownership more realistic than with many obscure vintage instruments.
Limitations
- It is still a simple one-DCO-per-voice synth. MusicRadar notes that the Juno-106 offers only a single DCO per voice, one four-stage envelope shared between filter and amplitude duties, and one LFO with a single waveshape, which limits deep sound design compared with more elaborate polysynths.
- There is no velocity or aftertouch response. MusicRadar identifies the lack of velocity and aftertouch as a performance limitation, and the MIDI implementation chart confirms fixed note-on velocity and no aftertouch handling.
- The arpeggiator is gone. Roland states that the earlier Juno up/down arpeggiator was replaced by portamento on the Juno-106 generation, so the 106S is less immediate for classic self-running arpeggio patterns than a Juno-60 or Juno-6.
- The speaker system adds size and weight. The 106S/HS-60 service notes list dimensions of 992 x 340 x 130 mm and a weight of 15 kg / 33 lb 2 oz, making it heavier and deeper than the standard keyboard-style expectation for a simple six-voice polysynth.
- Original voice chips are a known maintenance concern. Syntaur calls the self-contained voice chips the Juno-106’s “Achilles Heel” because they can fail after decades of aging, although replacement clone chips are available.
- It is rarer and less standardized in the market than the regular Juno-106. Reverb shows fewer Juno-106S product references and listings than the standard Juno-106, and some market examples are Japanese 100 V units, which creates practical considerations for buyers outside Japan.
Historical context
The Juno-106S sits at a revealing point in Roland history. The Juno-6 arrived in 1982 without patch memory, the Juno-60 added memory and DCB connectivity, and the Juno-106 brought the line into the MIDI era with 128 patch memories and a more externally controllable architecture. The 106S did not reinvent that platform; it domesticated it.
That timing matters because the mid-1980s synthesizer market was splitting in two directions. Professional musicians wanted memory, MIDI, and stage reliability, while home users increasingly wanted self-contained electronic keyboards that could be played without a full studio or amplification setup. Roland’s account of the 106S is explicit: same control surface, same voice architecture, added speakers and music stand, suitable for home musicians.
The worldwide HS-60 Synth Plus 60 carried the same concept under a more domestic visual identity. Roland notes that the HS-60 had a more subdued front panel, likely to market it more clearly for home use, and the 1985 Electronic Soundmaker advertisement emphasized 61 full-size keys, stereo chorus, and built-in 2 x 10 W monitor amplification.
Legacy and significance
The Juno-106S matters because it reveals that the Juno-106 was not only a studio classic but also a flexible platform Roland could reframe for different users. The standard 106 became famous as an accessible professional analog polysynth; the 106S shows the same engine crossing into the home-keyboard world without losing the sound architecture that later made the Juno-106 historically important.
Its significance is therefore partly sonic and partly cultural. Sonically, it carries the DCO, analog filter, sub-oscillator, and chorus formula that shaped countless 1980s and post-1980s productions. Culturally, it shows how Roland understood the Juno not as a luxury flagship but as a practical musical machine: programmable, stable, hands-on, and approachable enough to live in homes as well as studios.
The irony is that the feature that made the 106S more domestic also made it more unusual. Built-in speakers were not what later collectors celebrated about the Juno line; they became a historical marker of a period when manufacturers still imagined analog polysynths as household instruments, not just studio trophies. That makes the 106S more than a Juno-106 with speakers. It is evidence of a transitional moment before digital workstations, sample-based keyboards, and later software instruments changed what “home synthesis” meant.
Artists, users, and curiosities
Most artist references are documented for the Juno-106 family rather than the 106S specifically, so the safest interpretation is to treat the 106S as part of the same sonic lineage rather than claim separate famous 106S usage. Roland Cloud cites the Juno-106’s presence across recordings and names Black Eyed Peas, Daft Punk, Sigur Rós, and Tame Impala as examples of the instrument’s broad stylistic reach.
Other sources connect the Juno-106 to Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk’s Discovery, Metronomy, Tame Impala, Underworld’s “Born Slippy,” and 808 State’s “Pacific State.” Those references help explain why the Juno-106S matters indirectly: even if the speaker-equipped model is not the version usually named in studio credits, it carries the same essential voice associated with that broader musical history.
A useful curiosity is the Bruno Mars connection. MusicRadar notes that a video from the 24K Magic sessions shows Mars playing synth brass chords on a Roland Juno-106, and the article connects that sound to the single-oscillator-per-voice architecture and chorus that define the 106 family. This is a later, post-vintage example of the Juno voice being used not as nostalgia alone, but as a functional shorthand for tight, glossy, 1980s-informed pop-funk harmony.
Another curiosity is geographical: some Juno-106S examples appear on the market as Japanese non-export 100 V units, while Roland describes the 106S as the Japan version and the HS-60 Synth Plus 60 as the worldwide launch of the same idea. That detail makes the 106S feel less like a simple variant and more like a regional branch of the Juno-106 story.
Market value
- Current market position: The Juno-106S is a vintage, niche variant of the Juno-106 family: desirable because it shares the classic 106 architecture, but less common and less universally recognized than the standard Juno-106.
- New price signal: There is no new retail price because the instrument is long discontinued; modern “new” Juno-106 options are software or digital recreations, not new Juno-106S hardware. Roland’s current Juno-106 software product is an ACB-based recreation for Roland Cloud/SYSTEM-8 rather than a reissue of the 106S.
- Used market signal: Reverb currently shows the Juno-106S product category with “Compare 11 from R$7,652.69,” while individual used listings include Good and Excellent examples around R$7,652.69, R$10,169.29, R$10,272.01, and R$12,814.40 at the time of research.
- Availability: It is findable, but not abundant. Reverb’s Juno category shows many more standard Juno-106 references than Juno-106S references, which supports the view that the 106S is a thinner-market variant.
- Buyer notes: Condition, voice-chip status, calibration, speaker condition, voltage, and service history matter more than cosmetics alone. Syntaur specifically identifies the Juno-106 voice chips as a common long-term failure point and lists clone replacements and many other parts.
- Support ecosystem: Support is comparatively strong for a vintage synth because parts suppliers list voice chips, panel controls, jacks, buttons, keybed components, MIDI-related parts, power parts, and even a 106S-only power amp board.
- Ease or difficulty of finding: The standard Juno-106 is easier to find; the 106S appears less frequently and may require more careful verification because some units are Japan-market 100 V examples.
- Long-term position: The 106S appears stable as a collectible sub-variant rather than a separate flagship. Its value is tied to the Juno-106 legacy, with the added rarity and practical charm of speakers, but also with the extra maintenance variables of a larger, amplified chassis.
Conclusion
The Roland Juno-106S represents a fascinating sideways move in the Juno story. It does not add a new engine, deeper modulation, more voices, or a radically different interface. Its importance lies in how it relocates the Juno-106 sound: the same stable DCOs, analog filter, simple envelope, MIDI control, and chorus, placed inside a more domestic, self-contained instrument.
That makes the 106S historically valuable in a specific way. It is not the most powerful Juno, nor the cleanest collector target, nor the most common version. It matters because it shows the Juno-106 voice at the crossing point between professional analog polysynth and home musical object, preserving one of Roland’s most recognizable 1980s architectures in a form that still feels unusual today.