Newbie needs advise: Roland Juno G, Korg M50 or Yanaha MO6?

[tdweis]

Hi everyone: I am getting back into playing after several years & am trying to decide which is the best keyboard for me of these 3. I searched the entire forum for posts on the subject but didn't find anything on point. I'm aware that these are so-called "budget workstations" & I've read all the reviews but am not getting a clear idea of which may be the best, partly because they've been released at different times. Aside from the possible brand bias since this is a Roland forum, I'm primarily concerned about the following (no order of importance):

1. I'm interested in good acoustic voices (guitar, bass, strings) [I've heard Yamaha is good];
2. Maximum flexibility in recording different instruments to form my own "background band" in case I want to play for family, friends or one-man gigs (Note: I am NOT interested in arranger boards - I don't mind laying down a bass track, drums, guitar, etc. verbatim. I've heard that the Juno G has a serious sequencer/recorder)
3. I'm interested in eventually interfacing with PC & also really learning synth - wanted to know which is the most enlightened choice (Korg's KARMA sounds interesting).

Would love to hear what you knowledgeable people have to say, especially if you recently had to make the same decision & what may have swayed you. Thanks very much!

[lawndart]

I can't really comment on the Korg or the Yamaha other than to say that when I tried out the MO6 in the store I didn't think the user interface was very intuitive, whereas with the Juno-G's interface just made sense to me. YMMV

Most of this stuff is pretty subjective. It all depends on what you want and what sounds good to your ear. For example, with the exception of the Solo Tp patch on the Juno-G, I've never heard an acoustic brass patch on any synth that didn't sound cheesy as hell to me, but this is probably because I've played trumpet for many years. Use your own ears to decide. Watching YouTube videos of people showing off what their synth can do is helpful, but there is really no substitute for physically going to a music store and spending some time playing different keyboards. I think the reality is that you don't choose a synth; it chooses you.

I can tell you that the Juno-G's built-in sequencer is quite usable. It's not quite as sophisticated as some of the better PC-based sequencers, but it is perfectly adequate for capturing your musical ideas. I've had my Juno-G for several months and have been using it solely as a stand-alone workstation and this has worked pretty well for me. Sonar LE software comes packaged with the Juno-G, but someone else will have to comment on that because I've never bothered to hook up my Juno to the PC. My primary use of the Juno-G is for composing my own music.

[dbijoux]

I'm in complete agreement with Lawndart, you really need to go check these boards out in person to make a real judgement of the sounds.

On that note, KARMA may sound interesting, but FM, AP and Additive Synthesis probably sounds interesting too. The difficulty is that can easily turn into frustration if you haven't worked with them before. IMO, Juno(Fantom) sound engine is not only top-class but relatively easy to create with. Again, this is something you should look at for yourself.

As for sequencing, the Juno is only workstation in this class to offer 4 track audio recorder. With version 2.0 you also have streamlined resampling capability which add some more options to sequencing and sound design.

On the PC side, Sonar LE is quite capable DAW minus the full featured audio goodies, VSTi's, and Drum Sequencers. Recording on PC is going to be mostly the same with any of the instruments. That said, I'm not completely familiar with the M06 integration and transport controls, but it's also the least of my concerns since my PC is only an arm's length away.

PS. There hasn't been a good Juno vs Korg debate in a few months, but I'm pretty sure if you look harder it's in here a few times. Here is one: http://forums.rolandclan.com/index.php?action=show_thre...

[TonyC]

I am not sure this helps but if you want a workstation, then for me the Juno-G is the one you want with its extra polyphony and audio tracks.
For live playing I would lean towards the M-50 particularly if you need to change sounds a lot. One finger touch of the LCD screen is a lot easier than multiple button presses.
Juno-G new: ~£750
M-50 new: ~£870
Weight about the same.
After that it comes down to which sounds you prefer.

[jpq]

I think what i heared (i mean youtube and factory videos) is timbraly unsuitable for me and i to me polyphony is also hugely limiting. and Korg have poorerst piano available today but current models have acceptable piano sounds if you dont use them solo piano work.

[Mystic38]

well
i went through all this last year and i ended up with the Juno G, though if you can buy used a fantom x6 is about same price

rationale:
* All are decent sound engines ..with some + and some - for each.. so for me the sound was a wash
* the sequencer in the juno is streets ahead of the others
* audio recording
* audio input effects (eg for guitar)

So to me the Juno seemed clearly the best/most capable home studio workstation.. and certainly does what you wish with the most flexibility..

[I AM]

i did't used korg or yamaha, so i can only talk about juno....
juno has a good sound engine, filled most with synthetic samples, but you can add your own samples.... sequencer is not that super... just basic linear seq with copy/paste and microscope editor where you can edit events one by one... you can't, say shift your phrase by small amount of time, only by measures, can't change velocity of your phrase... only one note at a time, but Sonar le is pretty good and has all these functions if you're using PC ( there's no mac version as far as i know).... you have 4 audio tracks, but it is not possible to record there something processed with internal effects ( you can import audio tracks there and layer them in 4 tracks and you can process audio with int. effects there via resampling )... you can sample with effects, but you'll need a mixer for this... loading long samples is pretty slow... v2 sampling option adds close to nothing functionality, besides a new and good looking dedicated screen

the display is a different story, they're often faulty....

to sum all juno has a good ( i love it ) and capable synth engine, full patch editing, but limited sequencer ... fantom X or Xa is better from my point, but i think ( not sure) also cannot sample with effects w\o mixer... fantom G is said has lots of bugs and roland do't bother themselves to fix them most of the time... if you have a PC and a mixer, then Juno is pretty good if you're lucky with display...

[dbijoux]

you can't, say shift your phrase by small amount of time, only by measures

That's not true. The Juno Sequencer has 480PPQ resolution. You can move a single note or phrase anywhere you want in Micro Edit.

can't change velocity of your phrase... only one note at a time

Why would you want to change the velocity of a whole phrase? Actually, that's a rhetorical question.

the display is a different story, they're often faulty....

Again this is just conjecture. Often? So far, what we've seen here is that two batches of screens had problems. There are still questions we probably won't have answers to, like how many units were produced in those lots, but almost every serious report here has confirmed the problem is in fact limited.

[lawndart]

"You can move a single note or phrase anywhere you want in Micro Edit."

I know you can move an individual note in the microscope screen, but I didn't know you could select more than one note and move them together in the microscope. How do you do that?

[dbijoux]

How do you do that?

Edit - Song - Micro - View - Shift - Up/Down

[Artemiy]

In the microscope editor, you can use the shift button with up/down cursor or value dial, and this will select a region of notes. Then you can use the move command to move it where you want, be it 1 clock or 10 measures. Very cool feature.

[KRE8A]

tdweis,
Not only is the Juno - G a great workstation for midi and audio; it also has a powerful sound shape control system, inside of the envelope parameter window settings, for creating on-board sounds. You can also use the modifier knobs as a start off, to get the idea of tweaking and mangling sounds. There are also sound expansion kits, which you'll find inside of the sinevibes sector, from this forum. Never the less, it's a great instrument to start off with, with the on-board sounds that are with in the Juno-G.
I've been playing and making music from it for around about three years now, and I can't believe what this machine can do. It's extraordinary !

Here's a link... http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?Pro...

[I AM]

didn't know it's possible to timeshift multiple notes, sorry for bad info... really sorry

dbijoux:
“the display is a different story, they're often faulty.... ”
Again this is just conjecture. "

conjecture???? look at the styky topic " Serial No's and LCD issues. " .... when i called local roland service they said that they have many issues with Juno displays.... so, conjecture.... till the time roland will officially declare that they produced units with faulty displays, but looks like they will not ever do this... sad but true (c)

[KRE8A]

I feel sorry for all you blokes, with this LCD issue thing. I must be very lucky, mines in perfect order, Crystal vision in other words.
Far out I'm happy that my LCD is working properly. d:?)

EDITING:

SORRY IF THIS POST OF MINE LOOKS SARCASTIC. I WAS JUST READING OVER WHAT I WROTE, AND IT LOOKS LIKE AS IF I WAS BEING A SMART ALLEC ABOUT THE JUNO - G LCD ISSUE.
I SHOULD OF PUT IN CONTEXT THAT " I MUST BE LUCKY, NOT TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM "
SORRY IF I HURT ANYONE'S FEELINGS. I NEVER MEANT THE POST TO LOOK SARCASTIC, NOR PUT ANYONE'S FEELINGS DOWN.

[dbijoux]

No need for apologies mate. I was just a bit confused by what you wrote, "moving only by measures." I'm guessing you meant using the copy function to move whole bars and you're absolutely correct on that.

As for the screen, yes conjecture, do you recall the post that sparked the idea to check serial numbers? There was a report from Roland that specifically brought attention to two lots of serial #'s that had problems. IIRC, it was ZU5-9.