Roland JUNO-DS 88-Key Lightweight Weighted-Action Keyboard with Pro Sounds

I am a former Yamaha Motif owner and I loved how Yamaha had a powerful onboard sequencer within there workstations. No need for a computer or DAW. Then I purchased the Korg Kross 2. (still trying to figure it out).I now purchased my first ever Roland Workstation and this baby is lit! It not only has some of the best sounds ever but to have an onboard pattern sequencer that loops and you can "chain" patterns together to make a complete song without the use of a Computer, DAW.I though I would never find another synth with so many features since the Motif. I was wrong. The Roland Juno DS61 is as simple as I could have ever wanted. It is so easy to lay down a track, mix it and save it via internal memory or USB card.The best features are how the entire Keyboard is laid out. It is easy to understand and navigate and the owners manual is pretty detailed on how to make the best use of your new toy.You can "cue" up a pattern that you created, name it and then simply chain it to another pattern and thus having a complete song. EXAMPLE: Intro, Main, Chorus, Middle, Ending and so on.You can save everything in real time in a matter of seconds. reload it and simply assign a setup to a pattern as well. The vocoder is a good as it gets. Puts the Korg to shame. Sampling features are a blast and easy to use and assign a sample to a pad or into a pattern.The LCD display is extremely well organized and easy to view. What I noticed about this Synth that is is very similar to the Old Ensoniq VFX-SD. The case and layout with the buttons and screen remind me of Ensoniq. If you forget to turn of the Synth, it will let you know and then you can set it to auto off as well.If you are into making music and don't want to struggle using a DAW or laptop and need to jam right out of the box, then this is the workstation for you.PROS:Runs on batteriesWIRELESS (ready) YES!!!Has a heavy duty power ON/OFF buttonSimple sequencing with all the bells & whistles like Quantize, step, pattern, punch in out, loop etc.Well organized LCD screen & layout of the keyboardAssigning a sequence or pattern to a performance (A+)CONS:Only has an 8 track sequencerIf you can compose with 8 tracks you will be fine! If not, you can then hook it to a PC, or do what I did...MAKE IT 16 TRACKS: HERE IS HOW!Record your first 8 tracks to USB card. then load it back in and have it play while you record 8 new tracks.You can mix all your tracks prior to saving to USB or internal memory.Pan, Fad, Volume, tuning, bass, etc.Then save your patterns in MP3, WAV... reload it into memory and hit play on the pattern sequencer while you record 8 new tracks of a total of 16. (first 8 are now combined into 1 pattern).EXCELLENT BUY!You gotta get this!

The Juno DS 61 is a great synthesizer, now understand it’s actually a rompler not a actual synthesizer that you tweak sound waves and do sound design, if you want that get a actual synthesizer , this is a performance keyboard with amazing sound samples of over 1200 instruments and synth sounds of the highest quality, with a fun 8 track sequencer for playing around with composition ideas , for 799$ it is the best sounding keyboard for that price range and has a limited but very cool and simple sequencer and loop abilities, I highly recommend this keyboard to anyone starting out looking for a good instrument for a good price, yes there are synths that do more and have way crazier sequencers but they are 4x the money, this is a great, light keyboard good for traveling and playing gigs and just writing songs with

Roland has always made quality instruments and the Roland Juno DS is another fine example of a Top notch keyboard at a decent price. When I first got the keyboard, all i had was studio quality pair of headphones and it sounded terrific.When I finally attached it to a sound system, I was some what disappointed. Then I went into the Master EQ settings under the System Settings Edit and played with the settings until I got a very warm, rich sound for my external sound system.I do like the fact that you can combine patches to create multi layered patches that sound absolutely amazing! The keys feel perfect, and the whole board feels like a well made instrument that will last for many years to come. For $850 on Amazon, it's a fantastic buy for the money!My only minor complaints would be the lack of a "local" switch on the board itself, and the drum patches are subpar as far as quality. If you are looking for the highest quality drum patches available I would highly recommend Superior Drummer 3 by Toontrack...Best VST I have ever used. Expensive but well worth it!If anyone would like to know what settings I used on the Master EQ switch feel free to contact me.

Where do I begin. I started playing piano at 5. Moved to bass at 14. I'm 62 now. Arthritis has stopped my bass playing days but I've now come back to the piano as I'm able to play without too much pain. This DS88 is fantastic. From the very sturdy construction to the weighted keys to the amazing library of pianos and synthesizers. For the beginner, you're up and running in 60 seconds. For the pro, I would imagine that this keyboard has more of both worlds (i.e., piano and synth) than very expensive stage pianos and very expensive synthesizers have.I'm completely 'stoked' at 62 to relearn the piano/keyboard and I'm already having a blast.

Overall this is a great keyboard. Sound quality is very good.Only negative , is that this unit is sorely lacking any real sequencing, and can't even play back midi files that my $100 Casio unit will. They need to seriously rework the current firmware, and add midi file playback capabilities.

There’s so much you can do with this it’s easier to list what it can’t do:-walk your dog-cook you dinner-go grocery shoppingHere’s what you can do with enough practice:-Make awesome music-make a fafillion bucks-get someone to do all the things it can’tIt’s really easy to use and there are many many guides online for new techniques and tools as it’s constantly being improved upon. This keyboard will be a growing tool for you and your music. From tradition synth voicing to dope piano and string vibes to a drumpad that can loop it’s got it all. Well worth the price.