Roland Juno 106 questions

I recently bought a Roland Juno 106 and I'm trying to get some sounds out of it. The problem is, most of the patches are either empty or they just make the same (white noisey) sound. I'm thinking maybe the original voices or patches need to be reloaded.

Does anyone know the procedure for doing this? I know there's a link somewhere to download the factory patches. From what I remember the factory patches is just a short sample of white noise.. how can that be enough information to reload all the factory patches? How does the 106 know what to do with this little bit of info? Do I have to record them to a cassette tape to reload them into the synth? It's all a mystery to me.

I also bought the correct battery for it and plan on changing it out. I think this will wipe out any presets.. So I should change the battery first as soon as I figure out where it goes? It looks like I have to take the entire keybaord apart.

Once I get the factory patches back, will it be possible to do bass synth notes kind of like "Urgent" by Foreigner or Baba Oriley by the Who?

I tried but just couldn't get the bass synth sound I wanted.

If not, should I sell it and buy a synth like the Alesis Ion or something to cover all my basic synth sounds?

Yes to all of your questions.

Do a bit of Google searching. That is what I did to restock an older Juno I had. There are several sites dedicated to the Juno. You can find .wav files of the original patchs, burn them to a CD and then port them over to your Juno. Websites should also have a downloadable manual to tell you the steps.

Grab the factory patches and they are a great starting point. You can also go to Kid Nepro or some other patch seller for additional sounds.

Once you have some starter templates there in terms of presets, it is very easy to roll your own sounds.

Regards,

Eric

I searched and found the factory patches and loaded them into my Juno 106. It's amazing how 3 seconds of white noise can supply the keyboard with all these new sounds. It's like a brand new synth.. you're right, the factory presets are a good starting point for making my own patches. This synth is definitely a keeper!

Thanks.

essentially, its the same 'white noise' that a modem would use back in the 56k days...

what you call white noise actually just seems that way. it is actually a very deliberatly structured data signal.

Tony

Tony,

Thanks for the explanation. I knew there was something more to it. Now that you say it, when I accidently call a fax number it has the same white noise or sound as you said "data signal".