You know I just had a listen to some juno stuff I did with those banks - which are worth going through - and then via a train of 'things to click and do ' happened upon some prophet 6 demo's.

To use a crass analogy - the 6 is one classy lady - but I dunno, that's a lot of money when my cute little juno 1 seams to be able to give out so much raw fun without as many admirers...

It's amazing how well the Alpha Juno stacks up against synths which cost many times more. I bought a Mopho X4 last month and my Alpha trumped it at pretty much everything except unison patches, even with its hands tied behind its back (re: chorus off).

Not sure about other SC/DSI stuff, but the MX4 sound falls way short for me when it comes to lush keys/unison/pads and basically everything except bass. Just didn't make sense to keep around a synth that did so poorly compared to others 3x cheaper, so I had to sell it ASAP.

Agreed! The MKS-50 / Alpha Juno-1 / Alpha Juno-2 is an outstanding value when matching sounds vs. price.
I think it's a real bargain when you can find one on eBay or elsewhere at the right amount.
The MKS-50 is one of my go-to synths when I want to add some layering. Rich sounding.

you rock mojo, right on man, much love dude!

Where might you find spares? Mine has a duff middle c, an ageing backlight and possibly the aftertouch may need improving. Nothing urgent, hopefully I can fix the C key next time I take it apart, but the spares would be handy.

shhh - don't push the price of the MKS50 up, I still might want one one day, take up less space than the AJ2 if I get a different 'large' keyboard.

Lots of Juno-1 and Juno-2 spare parts here;
Roland Juno Keyboard Parts

Yeah, mine was the same, took it to get fixed and it just needed the output sockets soldering back to the board, works a charm now and got the battery replaced. 10 minute job as the top just lifts off and is all easy to get to.

Awesome thanks so much, I'll be using it for sure. Love my Juno 2!


Yeah thats what I use mine as.
.

I'm assuming you're using the RemoteSL to tweak the MKS-50?

That's the idea. I am still in the process of selling my Alpha Juno-2 and buying an MKS-50, but I spent the whole weekend tweaking the Alpha Juno-2 using the Remote 37 SL's knobs and faders, and all tone parameters work 100% except for the portamento switch, which I believe is simply due to an incorrect sysex hex number.

Cool... I bought an Alpha Juno-1 & a ZeroSL months ago, but never got them hooked up together. I use one of the computer VSTs. But one day I'll hook up the Remote Zero.

Yeah, you should do it, it's so easy. All you gotta do is download the template here:

http://d19ulaff0trnck.cloudfront.net...stitute__0.zip

Then open it with the Remote Sl Editor and click the "upload" button.

The editor makes it really quick to rearrange and tweak anything you don't like about the existing template. I completely moved all the parameters to different places and renamed the labels in minutes.

Oh yeah, and you make sure you go into the MIDI menu of the Juno, set Midi Excl to on. Probably also a good idea to use Midi Channel = 2 and Midi Omni = On.

dont forget about the lovely Roland HS-80!!!

MKS-50 here. Is it true you can't change the LCD screen viewing angle/contrast setting on a stock 50? Seems like such an oversight!

mod procedure here, really necessary though?
http://analog.no/cms/index.php?optio...d=54&Itemid=53

Good info! Never saw that mod before.

I have a Juno-1 and I love it.

What the...

I've had two mods done to my MKS-50:

(1) had an internal MIDI CC > sysex translator installed so it can be automated in programs like Live which don't support sysex

(2) had an insert jack installed allowing use of the chorus and filter with external gear. I haven't found much use for the filter (which is not my favorite thing about the MKS) but I do use the chorus from time to time. It's noisy but still sounds great and has MIDI controllable speed/depth

ah excellent, thanks! I suspect I'll be giving it a full overhaul later in the year. Get it all sorted out and might as well do everything at once while its in bits.

Ah! That sounds like fun, mod number 2 that is.

Do you have any details on that? I suspect that's something I may do when I take it apart for servicing. Sounds like it's a cheap and useful addition.

For the backlight I'd replace the whole display with a modern equivalent. It's a lot easier than farting around with new foils. It is, however, not a trivial job since the power supply will need modifying to use the newer display and a internal contrast trimmer needs to be fitted. However, a new display looks lovely. I use a Powertip PC1601LRU-AWB-B-Q.

For aftertouch strips I create a new one from two of the 24" Interlink linear pressure sensitive resistors. I fit this in place of the old strip but reuse the felt padding. The circuitry on main board does need to be modded a little to get the new strip to work with a good response - it's way too sensitive otherwise..

For dying notes a simple clean of both contact surfaces with IPA will normally suffice.

Tony

Thanks for the information!

So sounds like my dead middle C might be easy to address then.
I think my aftertouch is ok at the moment, but I'll keep this in mind. I've never really looked at the construction of the keybed but next time it is apart I'll see how it is constructed.
As for changing the whole display, do you have any links or details about the associated mods that are needed to support a new display module?

Kudos on the site but the design and usability is kind of early 2000's vintage

The best (must do) Juno mod is to replace the almost Roland proprietary power inlet with a standard C14 inlet. No more fear of misplacing the rare, odd power cord!

is this non-standard then? as I'm sure that's what my AJ2 has on the back. Standard kettle lead socket.

Some Roland synths use a 2-prong rectangular power plug. These are incompatible with most other gear. I usually replace those with the kettle lead socket C14. The other, old, not quite standard (at least today) is called C10.

Lots of the MKS and Alpha-Junos have already been modified. It's totally worth it, just so you don't have to deal with the odd power cords.

Your C14 mod is a GREAT idea!
Selling the odd power cords for my MKS-70 and MKS-50 on eBay makes this mod less costly... and maybe even a profitable upgrade!

I'm stealing this idea and posting it on my JX-10 / MKS-70 Facebook page.

Absolutely. It's just a clone of my MKS-70 website from the early 1990's. I ain't no programmer. I just know how to cut and paste heh

I'm not a tech. So I didn't perform the mods myself. But I can give you the name of the guy who did them for me. He's based in The Netherlands. PM me if you'd like his contact info.