Great news everyone – D’Naab 136, the guy who designed the replacement for the Juno 106 chips, has just let me know he released a version two of his creation, which is smaller, better, and helps to keep your dog happy. Or your snake. And it’s still 40 euros. Awesome!
I bought a bunch of original chips off eBay last year, and one of them already died, plus there is one more that’s getting really noisy. Learn from my stupidity, and get the replacement chips.
Now, I’ve received quite a few comments to my original post with people asking how to fix their Juno. Most of those had to do with the same old VCF/VCA chips dying. I have put together a list of possible symptoms of a dead chip.
- A note is stuck. Also sticky note, or hanging note. Play 6 notes at a time, and if one of them never shuts up, one of the chips is dead. What happens is that when you normally play, all the notes you strike always sound. The job of the VCA chip is to bring the volume down depending on how you set your envelope (that’s how you hear the note fade away if you increase the Release of the envelope, even though you are not touching the key anymore). A bad one, however, will keep playing as if the Release is set to infinity.
- A note is too loud. This could be a few things. One is that one of the chips is actually louder, and that could just be an adjustment problem. More often though, one note plays with the filter fully open, whereas all the other ones don’t (“I have a soft pad sound with the low-pass filter set quite low, but one note always plays an open raw saw”). That’s the sign of the filter not closing properly. Bad chip.
- A note is noisy. Or sounds garbled like an encrypted transmission from Martians. Sounds as if you were to modulate the filter with a white or pink noise. Signs of the chip going crazy. I’ve sampled that sound, and you should too – it sounds pretty darn cool. It’s actually a good reason to have your Juno broken.
A way to test for all of these problems is to start the Juno up in test mode. Turn it off, press and hold the Transpose button, and start it up again. You should see two dashes on the LCD, with the second one being lower than the first. Now, press the Poly 1 and Poly 2 buttons at the same time, and start hitting the same note on the keyboard. Every time you do, you’ll see a number on the LCD indicating which chip the note is playing through (1 through 6). Take note of the number of the chip which acts up, you’ll need it when you open up the Juno later.
earpick archive 
Thanks Earpick. I’m so ignorant to this stuff, but I’m trying to learn. Hey, I’ve had this thing for what, 25 years now? Eventually I’ll learn how to drive it.
I’ll run through your diagnostic steps to see what comes up. The last problem I had was classified as a dead battery. So I had that replaced, but then it died on me again two years later. So, I tried to go in myself and replace the battery. But I have no soldering skills, so I think I made a mess of things.
Are you aware of batteries needing to be replaced frequently? Surely there’s a way to rig the unit to where battery replacement is made easier (vs. having to pull out the soldering iron every time).
Cheers!
Oh, my other question (on a semi-related note). Do you use your Juno as a MIDI controller? I’m looking at the Korg K49 for this purpose, but now I’m thinking it might be overkill if I can already do it with the Juno. My only concern is how I’d go about plugging the Juno into a laptop/PC, since the K49 has a USB port and software already designed to work with it. Again, ignorance plagues me here.
Unless you had a dying battery installed the first time around, I don’t see why you’d need to replace it this soon. It’s a lot like a BIOS battery in computers – it just keeps the Juno from forgetting its patches (or resetting the memory chips that hold them).
Now, as far as using it as a MIDI controller – it will work just fine assuming you have MIDI input or interface to plug it into. However, while Juno features a fairly sophisticated midi implementation, the keys are still NOT velocity sensitive. So if you want to move up from synth pop to Mozart, you’ll need yourself a good controller with heavy weighted keys. But if you’re just lazy when it comes to drawing notes onscreen, the Juno might do just fine.
Hawk,
All you’d have to do is get a coin battery socket, the kind with the clasps so that you can solder a sniped component lead to the negative side. That way, you can match the physical pins of a soldered battery.
I would also dab a bit of hot glue just in case you pull to hard on removing the battery or something.
hope that helps!
Thanks guys. Sounds like my issues are likely chip related and not battery related. For what it’s worth, here’s my process.
– I installed the new battery
– Re-loaded the sounds
– Everything seems to be working correctly
– Come back a few days later and some patches produce no sounds, while others produce incorrect sounds.
We focused on the battery because: a) it seemed like it wasn’t remembering the sounds; and b) I hadn’t been aware of the ability to test the chips through diagnostics.
Long story short, I still need to run the diagnostics to either confirm or rule it out.
Just a quick update … I’ve done some diagnostics, and it doesn’t appear to be a chip problem. I’m back to thinking it’s a battery thing. What I didn’t realize until now is that my original battery was NOT a 2032. But when I had the battery replace back in 2000, the tech used a 2032. This would explain why it died a few years later, since I’m told the 2032s don’t last long.
So, I’m going to start researching for the availability of original batteries, but perhaps you know of a source for these?
Again, I appreciate all the help.
Every time after i turn off my Juno, the moment i turn it back on again, my banks seem to be erased, and replaced with a sound of a driller, but only when i open the freq. or res. filter (otherwise there is no sound)
Before i will wreck my room (i’ll NEVER turn on my beloved Juno), HELP ME!!!
Hawk,
The 2032’s actually last a decent amount of time, depending on factors like how well the battery was made to begin with. In actuality, the 2325, the standard battery, has fewer mAh’s than a 2032.
The only issue in regards to battery life and the Juno would be that the service manual says only a certain number of Juno’s need specific points to be shorted in order for the battery to last a decent amount of time.
You can get 2325’s from anywhere really, they are quite common from part places. But honestly, they are not a better option, especially seeing as how a 2032 is available anywhere and doesn’t require a soldering iron everytime.
Thanks again Genaro. At this stage, I’m blaming the poor craftsmanship I demonstrated the last time I tried to change the battery. I’m now bringing it into the professionals and will ask them to install a coin battery socket per your suggestion.
Sounds like a dead battery Tony. Unless you’re handy with electronics (I’m discovering I’m not), then I recommend taking it into an authorized Roland tech to have them switch it out. Or, as I’m attempting to do (per Genaro’s suggestion), you might ask them to install a coin battery socket, so battery replacement in the future is simple.
Tnx Hawk, i will switch the battery first (it already has a coin battery socket).
If that doesn’t work i fear for the chips. (ALL original).
@Hawk and Tony— Typically, if a chip (or Chips) are going, you are not going to have the types of problems you guys are describing. You both have what sounf to be either Battery or other problems with your Junos. Have either of you tried the diagnostic that Earpick explained?
earpick, I have the bad chip that sounds just like your description.
And you’re right, despite this being a clear sign of a bad chip, the sound is really COOL! It just keeps warbling, fizzing and zapping. Doesn’t happen all the time. I notice it after the Juno has been on for an hour or so. Anyway, this is the next job. I am going to get the ones you recommended from Europe. Thanks!
Yeah, D’Naab’s chips are supposed to be really good. It’s my luck that I had yet another original chip fail on me.
I’ve toyed with the idea of getting another 106 as a parts supply, or buying the original chip on line from scalped machines, but if the original chips are going to die anyway (which they will) it’s not worth the hassle. I’ll let you know how it works out…
It’s not worth it unless you want to keep one around for parts other than chips or if you get it for dirt cheap. Then you can take awesome pictures of you with two Junos.
Hi guys, i just came across this site as am having these same problems…One thing i cannot understand is how cud the Juno while i was testing it at the guy who sold me was just fine,and when i brought it home it started crackling and hissing,then a voice started hanging in the air and than the same voice died completely away.But i can still hear the 6th voice(the dead one)on high volume and when i turn the resonance up or down and the cuttof it seems to work.Its just near silent.
So what is it,what do you think?And what is this crAckling and hisssing…sometimes its good for some time then it starts crackling again.Then i have the burbling problem too,and it happens after the juno is on an hour or two.I actually made a song with the effect and its pretty cool,but i rather get rid of it!What cud that be?Another chip?
But what i think is a god send is that they included the poly 2 thing so you can actually play the 5 voices without one key being dead!Its a life saver!
But still
HEELP!Am an electronic invalid!
It seems like it takes a little while for the chips to warm up before they start crackling, hissing, randomly opening the filter up and down, singing the national anthem or whatever. Mine always sounded right when you just turned it on but after 10 minutes or so it would get naughty.
As to solving the problem – same tactics as I’ve described. Start it up in the diagnostic mode (hold TRANSPOSE hard while powering it up), then press Poly 1 + Poly 2 as when going into the unison mode. What we wanna know is whether it hisses and crackles through certain voices only or all the time. If it’s the former, the chip replacement is fairly easy and I’ve described it in detail. If it’s the latter, then the Juno’s kind of sort of fucked, so you might want to go shoot the guy who sold it to you. Then rob him, but keep the Juno – makes for a cool prop.
Thanks for your replay!
I think i have two of them now,one completely and one nerly dead/I think its the 2nd voice that its doing the hissing/crackling/burbling thing as its a bit quiter than the others.In test mode,do you think if the hiss is coming from the 2nd chip it will continue hissing while am auditioning others?Coz when i audition the 1st it seems ok,then the 2nd seems to start the hissinhg ANd it then continues to crackle tru the othres the whole time.So i gues i will have to spent 88 euros to order 2 chips and something more to get it on repait for someone that understands whats hes doing to put them in and solve the crackling coz its got to come from somewhere – sometimes when i push the volume knob very strong it seems to stop (and start again) = or if i lower the level to a certain point…
Am so sad, but i thank roland they included the poly 2 mode,coz even if it crackles its unnoticable in the mix and you can play normally the 5 voices.
1 more question – the chips this guy is selling – are they all-purpose both for if the vcf chip is broke or the vca?Or they are the same 1 chip for both vcf/vca in the original as well as the clones?
1 – Seems like there is one dead chip which just doesn’t close the volume envelope and you continue to hear it hiss while the other ok chips are playing. That’s what it seems like.
2 – It’s quite easy to install the chips yourself. As long as you know how to solder you should be okay. It’s not that hard. As long as you’re not 99 years old and your hands don’t shake like crazy you’ll be okay.
3 – Those chips are VCF+VCA combo.
1 guy is offering me original ones by the price of 85aud one.He has 3.How much us$ is that do you know?And what do you think should i go 4 the clone or the original one?So you think the 6th one is doing the hissing,coz i can hear the oscilator but veery quite on loud volumes.So now should i order 1 0r 2 coz yesterday i did the test check again and the 2nd voice wasnt a bit quiter anymore from the others…
Thanx for your help, cheerz!
I’d go for the replacements and not the original chips. While more expensive, they’ll definitely last.
So i did the test again and the second chip is definitly on deadly path – its the one doing the alien transmision and burbling am sure of it now.
So what do you think,if they r both dead anyway – should i just plug them out of the Juno – will I in that way have my four voices in poly 2 without silent keys(as i have them 5 now)?I can live with four voices and a non-crackling/hissing juno and b happy with it untill i repair it.
Should i do it??
Well, using unison mode all the time would be last resort for me as I personally don’t like the way the Juno sounds in that mode. Still, I do suppose it’s a workaround until you replace the faulty chips.
Now my Jup4 4th voice seems b dead!Am gonna KILL my self!!!!
Am stuck with a Jupiter 3 and a juno 104!Admit am unique:):):)
Its a real luck i have a friend who have TWO half-functional jupos4 so i guess i will be able to take the missing part from there!But what wud it b?Another bad roland chip???
I got an original chip from eBay to replace my dead 4th chip, and now no luck.
Which means I’ve either got a bad chip or I soldered the wrong one. Or both.
By “right to left” do you mean from the perspective of the person playing the keyboard? If so then I soldered the right chip and it’s a dud.
If I got a bad chip I’ll try a new replacement.
Yes, right from the perspective of the player. When you take the board out and flip it over, it will be from left to right like it should be.
Easy way to tell – right to left is counting from the part of the board the chips are furthest from.
hello,
this site has been very informative… I just got a juno from craigslist (for a steal) but the chucklehead who sold me it didn’t bring the power cord with the unit so i couldn’t test it. I’ve since installed a standard IEC power receptacle, but i have 7 dead keys spanning from the lowest C to something in the upper octave… now this points to a dead chip, but i CAN trigger the notes via MIDI control! does this still mean i have a dead chip?
thanks,
chris.
Okay. If the keys that don’t work are the same ones every time (when you power on and off, it’s the exact same ones as before), and all is good when you trigger the synth via the MIDI in, then it seems you have dead keys. I don’t think they’re very hard to replace, I’d have to check.
Now, you should be able to get a hefty discount and just use the synth without the keyboard sequencing all your stuff in your DAW anyhow. But if you’re like me and like to sit down on the bed, plug in the Juno, hook up a pair of phones, and just program away for an hour building up banks and banks of weird sounds, then you might need the keyboard.
Let me know if the keys that are dead are the same every time. Would be interesting to replace those.
Oh, and thanks for the feedback. Good or bad, it does keep one going.
My problem with my Juno 106 is that it does hang a note here and there and goes into an LFO type arpeggio with some popping and grunting. Dead keys keep moving and if you play the dead key stacatto several times it will sound but the dead key has moved. Also when I go into the test mode holding down the transpose upon start up then pressing the poly 1 and poly 2 at the same time I recieve the 1,2,3,4,5,6 off of any key pressed but “NO” sound. So I can’t tell what is causing this. Any suggestions?
The wobbly arpeggio noise is a sign of a dead chip. However, you’re supposed to hear something when you switch to the Poly1+Poly2 mode in test mode. Sounds like a more complicated issue. What about the regular Poly 1 mode while in test mode? Get any sound then?
Also, do presets save fine? Are you able to store and retrieve any presets after disconnecting the Juno.
i had voice number 4 burbling and too much open filter.
got an original 80017A from australia and replaced the 4th voice.
no luck now. completely no sound from voice 4!
what is the most likely cause of that?
ita – either you soldered the chip improperly or you got an Australian lemon.
I get no sound in the regular poly mode while in the test mode also the programs load and save as normal
I’m probably reaching here but I’m wondering if anyone knows of a way to test these chips outside of a Juno.
My original beloved Juno-106 died of apparent power supply failure a while back. After a prolonged series of events, I purchased another mostly working 106 and an extra power supply. I swapped out the power supply in my old beloved and was finally able to power it on but… no sound. Furthermore, midi traffic coming out of this thing is bizarre (lots of fast random notes when playing) and the power supply heat sync runs burning hot to the touch.
Fortunately, I had the second 106 to compare… it just has some voice problems and the buttons stick but is otherwise fully operational. The heat sync only slightly warm, all of the test points come out like they should, etc.. At least the service manual finally made sense. (On the bad synth, I was getting .26 V where I should be getting -15… no amount of trim was going to fix that!)
Swapping boards back and forth I’ve narrowed it down to something on the module board of my original Juno. The thing is that since this board makes no sounds I can’t be sure that the voice chips are bad or good. The very high power supply drain and the erratic behavior from the MIDI and the panel lights make me cautiously optimistic that maybe some of the chips are still good. (Since the problem seems like something more fundamental.)
…at least, all but one voice worked perfectly before it died and even that one just occasionally sounded wimpier than the rest. I’d hate to just go randomly soldering chips in and out. I’m not an electronics guy by any stretch and each solder is risking ruining perfectly good components. :)
On that note: does anyone have any good part numbers for chip sockets that will fit these voice chips? Way easier to test them that way. I’m also wondering if Dnaab’s chips will still have enough clearance if plugged into a socket versus soldered in.
I have a working keyboard at this point with 1 dead voice and two that hang. I could buy a whole other Juno-106 for what it would cost me in chips if I can’t salvage some from the bad board.
Sorry for the long post… just had to dump to people who would understand my obsession. :)
Ron,
On my working synth I had the no-sound issue too when in test mode. I found that it is attempting to play whatever sound is currently manually configured. And for whatever reason, sometimes that wouldn’t take unless I wiggled a few of the sliders or the pitch bender.
If you hit the bank keys, some of them put it into test modes that just play sin and square waves, etc… it can be a more reliable way to test if you have similar flakiness.
On my Juno 106 random keys crap out (the sound is all crunchy and quite) but then when I play some other keys, the one that was craping out will be ok. Does this mean I need one of those ICC chips or can I just take it to my tech to fix without that chip? Thanks.
There are only 6 voice chips in the Juno. So yes, when you play some other notes, the chip assigned to the note that was crackling will be reassigned to some other note. Hence the shifting around.
It’s a dead chip.
Hello
I am looking to buy a juno 106. I actually just bought one but it had a bad chip and I just returned it I didn’t want to deal with replacing it. So now I am looking for another one. I found one on ebay and asked the person who is selling it to perform a diagnostic test and told them how to do it. They said they performed the test and said that each key had a sound, and displayed a number “1”.
Does this make sense that each key would show the number 1? Do you think they didnt do the test right?
Thanks very much
Chris
Hello
I have a problem with my Juno 106 (hanging drone etc)
I am not confident that I have the knowledge/ skills to replace the chips myself. If I brought my Juno to you would you be able to change the chipas for me? Pls let me know how much this would cost.
many thanks
Julius
HI
I’ve just replaced a dodgy chip but when I plug it in there’s no power at all!
could replacing the chip cause any permanent damage, got any ideas as to why thos could have heppened?
Thanks
:(
It’s ok I fond the problem, I opened the lid too far and one of the power supply cables broke.
Phew!
Hi,
Some friend of mine give me a JUNE-106, the problem is that it sounds very low, I did the chip test but since it sounds too low it is impossible to be sure, but it seems to be that all chips are working fine, its just it sounds very low, even in high level (in medium and low level it does not sound at all).
Does any body now what could be happening ?
Thanks.
Frank
HI,
I’ve replaced a the filter chip about 3 years ago Voice(6).
The symptoms were a dead voice and a lot constant of random noise.
Now these symptoms are back and voice 3 is dead.
I tried turning down the VCA trim to turn off the voice until I get a new chip but it did not work. I still have all the noise.
Is it ok to remove the dead chip so it does not make random noise? or another way to take it out of the loop?
If you take out a chip one out every 6 notes on the keyboard won’t sound, simple as that. I don’t think there is an easy way to just switch the Juno to a 5-note polyphony mode.
If poly 2 is used then only voice 1 will be use when playing a monophonic line. I use the Juno for my bass lines mainly.
I just want to know if it’s ok to use the Juno with a removed chip in order to get rid of the noise. Don’t want it to catch on fire or something. Is this ok to do?
Hmm. I wouldn’t think it should be a problem. But I’d have to check the service manual to be sure.
I’m trying to diagnose the dead chip on my Juno, (which has all the symptoms that you have described here), but my Transpose and Poly buttons all seem to be broken. What now? When the board is on, the Transpose / Poly buttons do nothing. The poly 1 stays lit, but there’s no functionality. So, holding the transpose button while I power up doesn’t do anything at all.
???
I am also trying to diagnose my problem on juno.
it seems that I have all the symptoms mentioned above. when I play on the keyboard. Sometimes, every sixth note skips, but not all the time. The keyboard bugs out often , producing weird noise.
In test mode I could notice that chip 4 sounds lower in volume and that was the only thing I could notice.
Also, the synth starts producing noise by itself after 2 minutes of being idle.
My diagnose is: both VCA and VCF
Anyone help please ??? I am ready to order the ships !!!
Please help, I have to get this machine to work, so i can produce my next Super Bombastik track that is truly fantastic
how many chips should I order ???
Please mail me back to djr34p@gmail.com
Did you run the synth in test mode to see which chip is dead? Also the fact that it starts making noise after warming up is suspicious. What kind of a noise is it, like a synth generator noise or a hum or what.
oh man… i forgot i posted here a while back, i still have the same 7 dead keys. Yes, earpick, it is the same keys every time. i even took the whole keyboard assembly out of the juno, took the dead keys and surrounding keys off of the board and cleaned underneath. they were really dusty. i thought that they worked when i had it all apart and tested it loosely, but i could be wrong. it was a while ago. my friend has the same problem with his roland jx-8p.
i also had a bender stick that was broken but i got a replacement off ebay for under $20… came from east asia with about $35 worth of postage on it. very strange.
so how would i go about replacing keys? or would i need a whole new key assy?
again, this blog is awesome. keep up the good work.
I’ve got it to a repairshop, he said noting was wrong with it.
But as soon as i plugged it in again, for recordings, it got a (very soft) note stuck.
Tested it myselve again, (by the way Earpick explained above), but now also pressed GROUP B!!!
A whole new HELL opened up for me, what a noise!
Stuck notes, a lot of noise, and a horrible sound.
Is it possible that my bank is somewhat funky, because in group A all’s well, but in B everything points to deceased chips.
Help please.
Anyone got suggestions on all the above symptoms when the transpose button does nothing? Can’t get a test to work ’cause pressing the transpose button makes no difference whatsoever.
Missing/dead keys, always the same keys. The Juno like many other CPU controlled instruments scans the keyboards in banks of 8. The first 8 keys (eg C to G) will have a common bus connection in the keyboard, the next 8 (G# to E) will have a different common bus, but the C in the first group and the G# will both have a diode connected to the key contact and the end of the diodes away from the contact will connect to a common point. This pattern of groups of 8 notes with the first note of each group going to a common point through a diode, (and the 2nd going to another common etc.)is repeated all the way along the keyboard.
If you find you have keys not working and there is always a count of 8 between non-working keys. You probably have a break in the key contact PCB or cable connecting the common point for all the dud keys.
Hey
This site is great. So glad I found it.
Does anyone know how to replace keys in the Juno-106? I have burn marks on a couple of keys an want to replace them with newer ones I bought off of Ebay. I’ve opened the synth and can’t really figure out how to get the old ones out.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Teevo
Ditto, I am about to replace some keys as well. Thoughts anyone?
Teevo, did you replace yours?
Graham.
I bought a Juno-106 on Ebay not long ago. I’m having problems with the sounds. I’ll play one (say patch ones on bank 1) and then somewhere while i’m playing the sound will change as if i changed a setting on it. Sometimes it will do this, sometimes it wont. There doesnt seem to be any pattern and it doesnt change itself always at the same time (sometimes right away, sometimes a few minutes to hour or so of playing). The “D” in the ADSR ENV section (delay slider as the guy i bought it from called it) isn’t working at all… not sure if this could be the reason. PLEASE HELP! :(
Also, it seems after it changes on its own it now is cutting the notes out, sometimes.
I got the same problem – did you ever find out what was causing this problem?
“Also, it seems after it changes on its own it now is cutting the notes out, sometimes.”
Spontaneous changes in the parameters are caused by faulty controller sliders which sends wrong aleatory data to the cpu.
Notes out are caused by damaged voice chips.
Here’s what I am planning to do with my 106 which needs all chips to be replaced. I am not replacing chips because new ones cost like 200 us. For that price I can get a korg or roland or that sort. I am going to link the juno with the korg by midi or internal wirings etc. Where I can play and edit sound from my juno without using the chips tone banks. Simply put I am going to take the tone banks from korg and wire to the juno. Do u think its possiable guys?
@Welsh Chris:
Dude. that makes so much sense. I can’t wait to go home and check it out. You’re the man. I’ll reply back and let you know what happens.
I FIXED IT!!!!! turns out there was a small break in the circuit board under the keys… which explains why the pattern stopped after 7 keys not working. i soldered a piece of wire in the circuit and it works like a charm now! i’m so happy!!!
I discovered a few years ago that my 106 had a dead voice. I just ignored it and didn;t end up using it much.
Now I recently went to turn it on and NO SOUND.
Any suggestions? I have plugged headphones in and still not a peep.
The patches look like they change stuff when i go through them but…
No Sound
:(
hello
i have had two problems with my 106 recently
today replaced chip 5 as this was shot to hell when i played it/tested it and that worked a treat for that
but i also have a problem where some but not all of my patches in either bank seem to hang/drone quietly in the background.
can this be resolved by replacing the rest of my chips?
any help or advice would be great
I recently bought my Juno 106, and there is no sound at all when i turn it on. I have tried to get some advise but nothing has seemed to work. I have tried to reload the patches back in and that seemed to work like it said in the manual, but still no sound what so ever. I dont know if i has ever had the battery changed in it? or i dont have a clue where to start by fixing it as it could be a number of things wrong. CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!!!
Cheers.
Ok so i tokk out the 6th chip and all the crakles and outer planet noises are gone but in the mean time it seems that i messed up the r5th chip by puling it gently – and now i have only four great sounding voices and i presume that for the 5th chip to get working it just a question of reattaching wityh heat-ource the 1/5 of the chip.Is my thinking right??
At least it sound mighty finer now and am ordering the clone chip t finally get my juno in fabric order.
its such geat sounding machine – no vst can ever get even near to ity…And some of you may consider this as heresy – but i also habe an Jupiter4 and i dont know why-even if the jup sounds extremely phat and good- i tend to love the sound of the juno much more…Dont know really why…
Cherz and i wish you all luck repairing one of the greatest polysynths evermade in urs po!!!
Just got a Juno 106 and within 2 days it seems like I have a dead voice chip, seems to have a little bit of a twist though. Did the test mode, and the only problem would come on chip 3 when only the Sub was on. Would replacing chip 3 solve this problem? or is the Sub its own deal?
I know this thread has been going for a while now, but I’ve just discovered it and am living in hope that someone will see this and poffer some advice!
My Juno is suffering from an old battery (which I feel happy enough to replace) but also chip issues. It worked fine but I didnt use it for a month or so and now there is a lot of crackle and static that is always changing and then the static dissapears but then it comes back again in a random fashion and so on.
I did the diagnostic check and it has the crackling static on every voice… does this mean I have to replace all chips…. or as I saw in an earlier post;
‘What we wanna know is whether it hisses and crackles through certain voices only or all the time. If it’s the former, the chip replacement is fairly easy and I’ve described it in detail. If it’s the latter, then the Juno’s kind of sort of fucked…..’
is there nothing I can do for it at all :(
any help would be much appreciated!
Mine does the same, did you ever find out what was the problem? I’d be interested to know.
Thanks.
Ahh. Thanks for this instructional blog piece. You just saved me a few hundred bucks. This was so f*cking easy. I did it in 30 minutes. Peace.
Hello,
I just picked up a Juno 6 for a very good price, the VCF section seems to be messed up, is there any hope for Juno 6 users being able to use the same chip for repair are they entirely different organisms all-together?
thanks!
@Patrick/Earpick
Did you ever figure out if removing voice 6 completely will cause problems? I downloaded the service manual, but wasn’t able to find the answer there. My voice 6 makes a crackly drone and I would love to just be able to take it out and play 5 note polyphony in poly 2 mode.
Thanks for the GREAT and helpful blog! I was able to test my wacky Juno and determine which chip was bad and now I’ll order a new one! Thanks!!
I have the noisy martian sounding business going on with my juno. it gets worse the longer i leave it on. thee is also a dead voice. when i go to transpose mode i dont get any sound. i do however hear a tiny little noise when i hit voice 4. this leads me to think that this is the one to be replaced. but what about the garbled up noisiness?
the martian business is likely a bad chip also, either 4 or another one i’d go through the voice testing scenario a few times and see if the martian stuff is worse when a specific voice is playing. if not, i’d just start by replacing 4 and that may solve your problems. alternatively, you could wait a while and the dead/dying voice(s) might get worse and therefore more obvious.
incidentally, to answer my question a while back. you can just remove voices and use what remains. i have one juno 105 where i removed a dead voice 6 chip. i just use it in poly 2 mode and revel in it’s 5 voice beauty. it sits next to my juno 104 which, somewhat less conveniently, has had voices 2 and 3 extracted. for that, each time i turn it on, i switch to poly 2, hold down a note and then tape down the two bottom keys – happily using voices 1, 4, 5, and 6 after that.
lastly, i busted the dead voices into pieces getting them out of there. kind of regretted it after seeing this:
if you’ve got the time and patience, seems you can fix the broken voices.
I tried this on a duff chip #1 which was producing the notorius ‘alien’ sounds and hanging note in the background. It worked like a dream. the old 106 back in the land of the living. Paul
wellll, the chip has been replaced. however, im getting no sound at all now! everything is in its place, soldered correctly. i dont understand. its pretty maddening!
Hey Tommy
Did you ever find the solution to your problem? I just installed two brand new replacement voice chips from Analogue Renaissance and am experiencing the exact same problem. They don’t work. They were soldered correctly, in fact by a Japanese Roland Tech person I hired. At least the previous chips made snap, crackle, and popping noises so I know there was some life before. The desoldering process went smoothly and board was test before the new chips were soldered in. Now it’s silent and the new Analogue Renaissance chips apparently are either not working or there is another issue. Currently I’m researching this and will update my post when a solution is found.
I saw your post and thought I would inquire about the status of your Juno 106. It is frustrating indeed especially since I purchased a $400 dollar package with nothing to show for it so far. Thanks in advance. – Jim
I followed the test procedure at analoguerenaissance these are the results:
———1——-2—-3—–4—–5—-6—-
noise—-ok,w/—ok—ok—-ok—-X—-ok—
———tone———————X———
square—ok——X—-ok—-ok—-X—-quiet
saw——ok——ok—ok—-ok—-X—-ok—
sub——ok——X—-ok—-ok—-X—-X—-
filter—Tone—-X—-v—–v—–X—-X—-
——–(slow——-quiet–quiet————
——–sweep)——————————
So 3+4 are definitely ok and 5 is definitely broken.
I assume that fact that sub is broken on 6 and square is quiet that’s probably broken too, and probably 2 as well even though the Saw is ok?
Is the noise on 1 meant to be different than others? I can clearly hear a tone as well as the noise?
Also, the filter test indicates that they’re all broken except 1? And there’s a slow filer sweep, what that all about?
I can’t decipher how many voice chips I need, and whether or not I need the MC5534A WAVE GENERATOR chips as well?
Any help much appreciated!
Heres that table again should make sense this time
———–1——2—-3——–4—––5—–6
noise–ok,w/—ok—ok—–ok——X—-ok
———tone————————————–
square–ok—–X—ok——ok——X—-quiet
saw—–ok—–ok—ok—–ok——X—-ok-
sub——ok—–X—ok—–ok——X—–X
filter—tone—-X—-v-–—-v-–—-X—–X
––—-(slow——–quiet–-quiet——
——–sweep)
X means no sound
@Pre
Did you ever find out what the issue was? I have a similar problem
it will play fine for a second then the sound changes (the lights next to patch no.even show that a change has occurred) Then the freq slider won’t work but the SUB will control what should be the freq. It is weird. I had the entire module board rebuilt with new chips so I’m pretty sure that isn’t the issue (all 6 voices work) it’s just this strange behavior. I cleaned the hell out of the sliders so I don’t think that’s it either. Any help?
Hey Guys, I’ve learned a lot on this site. Thanks to all. !!!
My Juno 106 has 4 dead chips, and I’ve learned that If I take off the resin coating,(completely) it will come alive again. Well, I did just that. I took the coating off,and presto !!!!
Now I have 3 dead chips now.( only 3 worked.)
I am to buy cloned chips, but in my currency, its really expensive.
like almost $1200.00 @ $300.00 per chip.
My question is…. Is there any way possible to bypass those chips, and still play my juno? for eg. midi
please help…. thanks.
re: hanging note – i just bought a 106 yesterday from a buddy for a good price compared to what i’ve seen on ebay and playing with it yesterday I noticed a “hanging note” happen sometimes, but not always- is that the sign of a chip that will soon die?
like i say, it’s not happening all the time, and varies in time..
Same symptoms like @Pre and Jrom here:
The voices are fine (test mode o.k.),but once i start to play the keyboard it enter on edit mode(dots next to patch number) and the sound changes randomly.
When i play the Juno from a remote MIDI controller everything works fine.No problem at all.
This is my second Juno and the first one used to to do the same.
Could it be a calibration issue?
Where can i find a detailed tutorial about this procedure?
Thanks
Update:
Now external midi controller don`t work cause the Juno start to modify it self even without touching the synth at all.
It even turn on on edit mode.
All patches start fine and then an LFO appears which can not be modify anywhere.
A thing that i have noticed is that all sliders works at 75% up only,i mean that cutoff for example opens the freq at 7 (1-10),or sustain start to work at same point 7 approx,below that point all the sliders doesn`t seem to work.
The test mode don`t reveal any missing note but now i have a strange noise and an lfo which disappear when i reset the patch.
On the symptoms brought up my Rokatansky, Jrom and Pre:
I got the same problems with my Juno and I have already went up and down all the possibilities. My best guess:
– worn out slider(s).
– dead MUX chip (IC1 and IC4 on the panel board).
I have replaced the MUX chips (simple 4052 IC’s) already, but that didn’t help, so I’m still blaming the sliders. But they might be the cause at your units.
My theory is: Juno has an analog microprocessor with inputs by sliders. If these pots are worn out (I can actually see the conductor strip broken/missing inside some sliders of my Juno) then they may go to infinite resistance instead of their nominal max value. This just makes the poor CPU act crazy.
I am about trying to replace some defective sliders, I’ll post here if I got some results either positive or negative…
Hey Froggy, any update on this problem mentioned by Rokatansky, Jrom and Pre??
My problem was solved replacing the slider controls,all of them.
They were faulty and i replaced them with standard potentiometers (and some panel adaptation to mount them).
The cost was around 90 dollars.
I choose this option cause original or similar sliders cost around 20 dollars each.
It works perfect now.
Cheers
None of mine seem to be faulty but it makes sense that this could be the problem, I’ll look into it.
Thanx for the reply
I gave all faders a serious clean and lube couple of days ago and so far it seems to have solved the problem. Will look out for replacements, sooner or later I’m going to have to replace them. Thanks Rokatansky!
Hi, ive a juno 106. I may have a dying chip. The problem is on certain notes I have the (res) sounding even when the res is turned down. The notes vary from time to time. I ran the transpose test and it appears on voice 1. Im wondering if you guys think this is a faulty chip?
Hey guys – awesome forum
My issue is whenever I play a note and hold it down, the other 5 I play after it sound different. I’ll pick a patch, play one note and it will sound like the patch I’ve chosen. However, when I keep holding that note down and play the other 5, they sound like a stock saw-string sample or something. I end up getting one cool voce and 5 saw strings making up my chord and it’s really frustrating! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Andrew
I should also note, test mode doesn’t seem to be working either. It was before I took out a chip and replaced it with a new one. Now all I get is the “- -” and when I play keys, I get only a thuddy clicking sound along with a very faint pitch in the background…. ugh.
I do trust all of the ideas you have presented on your post.
They are really convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are too quick for novices.
May just you please extend them a little from next time?
Thank you for the post.
I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this blog. I really hope to view the same high-grade content by you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my very own site now ;)
Good day,
I have recently bought JUNO 106 and had 2 problems 6 voices were dead and ALL sliders have strange working range. When i move a slider from bottom it has no effect at all, but then starting from the middle I get the effect (it’s like NO effect and all of the sudden I get it all maxed out).
I replased all voice chips. Ordered new ones from Analoguerenaissance and got it working.
Desoldered all sliders, replaced them with new ones, but with no effect, still get this problem with all the pots. I also noticed that the chorus 1 led has a dim light in chorus OFF position. Maybe it’s a shortcircuit somewhere? Can you plaese give me some advise on where to start looking.
Best regards,
Eduard
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first ..my english is not well..
but i have some problem with my juno106.
so i want to shooting this problem.
please anybody help me if you can.
i though my juno has problem
anybody reply to my question please
it’s about vca volume fade.
if i play any bank few minute..
and i change the bank.
than volume has going down little bit
so i have to refading vca volume fade for volume boost .
so..is my juno have problem?
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So, whenever I test the chips they all play smooth and I can create sound in the “manual” mode perfectly fine, but when I go into the presets all I hear is swirling LFOs and a ton of noise and a bunch of weirdness. Does anyone know why this is happening? I’m thinking maybe its a dead battery because its not remembering the patches? Thanks for your time.
Hello, thanks for this. Ive started the juno 106 in test mode. Every time I hit a key, the key will go from 1 through 6. The first time I hit it it will be 1 or 2 or 3, or 4…. the second time it will be the number after that number it showed before. So in any case, there is no way of knowing exactly what chip I should replace. The problem the keyboard has is that it has a stuck key, but it is always the same key. In test mode, that key won’t even show up in the display.
can u guess what the problem might be?
Thanks