Nauts - dangerous times, if you are lurking on your local flea market portals and you suddenly spot a Juno 6 and 106 close by for a relatively good price.
Any opinions?
Cheers
flo
Juno 6
- Arp / - no midi/ no case
Juno 106
- refurbished / midi / case
@MikeAcid has two Junos and probably some opinions.
A 106 on which the blue buttons havn’t faded to green! How nice.
Mine definitely discoloured.
I have new voice and filter chips in mine. It’s needed a bit of work: the output level switch, and main outs are slightly modified to fix a problem. I’ve got an aftermarket HPF slider. I find it’s quite easy to clip the output with high signal/control levels. I don’t know if that’s the chips, the calibration, or the repair job. I notice that some of the presets are lower level than others, and there’s both a VCA slider and an output level control, so I intuit that it always clipped with some settings.
I have a Juno-60. It’s great and with the addition of a cheap DIY DIN MIDI to DCB adapter is pretty much like a 106. I love it and if you can get one then why not… if you have space for it.
Depends on what you want it for?
Quick answer:
If you need MIDI and don’t want to modify the Juno-6 then the Juno-106.
If you want to trigger an arp from your modular rig then Juno-6
Longer answer:
Juno-6 doesn’t have patch memory or MIDI
Juno-106 comes with the risk of faulty voice chips
Are you prepared to spend more either getting the Juno-6 MIDIfied or potential servicing for the 106?
If the 106 has been serviced then how good of a job was done? Was it done by a pro technician or by a blind kid with a blow torch? Were the chips soaked in acetone or replaced? If so which replacements?
The difference between a standard Juno-6 and a Juno-106 is quite big. A Juno-60 with MIDI>DCB and a Juno-106 is closer.
I have a Juno-106 with Analogue Renaissance voice chips, all new sliders and switches fully serviced and calibrated by a pro tech a couple of years ago. I also have a Juno-60 in a similar serviced state with Kenton Pro-DCB.
I use both sequenced via MIDI and don’t really use the arp on the 60
So for me it really boils down to sound…
They can sound very similar and very different. Similar types of sounds sound better on one than the other but there’s no rule as to which one.
The 106 has more bass. The 60 has a nicer filter. The 106 has a purer square wave. The 60 is more buzzy. The chorus sounds slightly different on each. The 60 has envelope PWM. The 60 doesn’t respond to pitch bend via MIDI. The 106 has sysex for all the sliders… etc…
The 106 sounds more modern and tighter? The 60 sounds more 70’s and slightly more gritty analog. even though it’s DCO? But it all depends on the patch you program…
Not much useful info there really… they both sound great.
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Thank you sooo much!
Are only voice chips an issue (or does also filter chips exist)?
And: are the replacements reliable?
Cheers
flo
Are there any liabilities to be considered on the 6 or the 60 (batteries? Chorus noise?).
Thanks
flo
So far so good. They’re beautifully designed. The designer is properly obsessed.
No batteries in the 6 
(no memory)
The chorus is a little noisy in all of them, but it’s part of the charm imo, and if it annoys you then just turn it off and use an external chorus.
I’ve had all three although it’s been a few years. They’re all very simple but very musical synths. I found the simplicity compelling, and I also like the 6 for NOT having memories. It’s so simple that you quickly learn your ways about it and find your way to your favourite sounds.
The 6 and 60 sounded mostly identical to my ears, the 106 quite close but has a slightly more glassy and 80s sheen to it. I think I preferred the 6/60 over the 106.
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I only know them from emulations, mostly JU 06a. I’m always surprised how drastically the sound changes when I flick the 106/60 switch. I agree that one of them sounds a lot brighter, I guess that’s the 106 then. Though my sense is that this is mostly because the envelopes are a lot different, or at least the range of the “send filter to envelope” slider. One you readjust these, things start to sound more alike again.
I also agree that presets are completely useless on such a simple, hands on and all sweet spot synth. The joy is that you don’t need them with this one, even if you’re not so good at synthesis.
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I don’t think I ever had any of them side by side, and iirc a few years passed between my ownership of all of them. It’s fully possible I would perceive the differences more if I did.
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I honestly don’t think it really matters, except you are one of the lucky few who one both. Otherwise , you’ll be used to how your envelopes behave and patch accordingly.
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I would tend to disagree - there’s some quite complex patches on my Juno-60 I really wouldn’t want to reprogramme every time I want that particular sound. If it was for a live gig too then being able to swap patches quickly would be useful – but since I’ve only ever lugged the Juno out on stage the once that isn’t always an immediate concern, it’s true.
There’s a panel button to just use it wysywig in any case.
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Fair enough, I don’t do tours or gigs and just love 101 and Juno because I don’t have to use presets with them. Everyone is different though.
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They’re both great for that !
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Ehm - a DCB port exists only on the 60?
So no DCB - Midi Interface for the Juno 6?
Tubbutec 66 as the only option to midify a Juno 6?
Thanks!
That’s right - DCB was a very short-lived protocol as MIDI arrived soon after it was introduced, and thus the 106 followed.
There’s a nice little history of the Junos here:
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I have an Alpha Juno… can I play?
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Okay - pulled the trigger for a completely overhauled Juno 6 plus already being equipped with the tubbutec upgrade here:
Looks really promising - also contact was really great.
Will be shipped on Tuesday 
Does anybody has a tip for a fitting bag?
Flightcases at Thomann is with 180 € cheaper than I expected - but they are really heavy - and I’d primarily use it for storage and not for traveling.
Cheers
flo
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From an eighties magazine.
Scan Mar 8, 2026 at 1.20 PM 1.pdf (724.3 KB)
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