This is an upgraded version of the Alpha Juno 1. It adds an extended 61 note keyboard with velocity and aftertouch and an external memory cartridge slot. Other than that it has the same great sound and features as the Juno 1. Sliders and buttons were replaced by membrane buttons and the Alpha Dial which is used to edit and browse through the extensive selection of parameters: DCO digitally controlled oscillators, LFO, bend, ENV, pulse, waveforms, noise, PW/PWM, high pass filter, VCF (filter) with freq/env/res/lfo/kybd, VCA envelope, chorus, and more.

Adequate in the studio or on the stage, the Juno 2 has 64 presets and 64 user memory patches, a nice LCD display, an LFO capable of a very slow rate for some cool sweeping effects, and a great bass sound (especially nice for acid basslines) and noise effects! It also has chord memory which is perfect for rave & techno, portamento and keyboard transposing. The PG-300 Synthesizer Programmer gives you traditional slider control of each parameter for much easier and faster editing.

The HS-80 is an Alpha Juno 2 for the casual home user, with a slightly less appealing cosmetic appearance. The Alpha Junos have been used by Mundo Muzique, Vince Clarke, Matt Megaton Haines, Paul Hardcastle, Fatboy Slim, Massive Attack, Bomb the Bass, The Prodigy, Faithless, Youth, Joey Beltram and Human Resource.

Geir Helgi Birgisson / hageir (on the forum)

July 20, 2009 @ 1:04 am

Wow "il", that's not true!
The Alpha Junos are one the most underrated synths out there!

JX vs. Juno = apples & oranges really..

Most people think this synth is totally Digital because it looks that way and doesn't have the typical wooden ends and knobs :)

It was the fad of the times; futuristic membrane buttons and little LCD's!

It's awesome, I love mine to the max!

Tom

December 18, 2008 @ 9:03 am

The Juno-2 was my first keyboard back in the late 1980's. I paid $980 for it. Still have the receipt and still have it today. I did a lot of tweaking of sounds. Back then, the Roland magazine gave out a free patch (instructions) in the Mag. I always looked forward to that. I still have a bass sound that I can't find anywhere else. My displayed goes weird when you try to edit a patch now, so I really can't do any more programming with it. Characters start to overlay themselved in the display. It happended about 15 years ago. I should have tried to see if I could have gotten it fixed. Fun keyboard.

Box

November 24, 2008 @ 11:19 am

Very nice synth. Good for bass, pads, leads, strings, efx, etc... Sounds cleaner than previous Rolands. Only thing I didn't like about it was the 7 stage envelopes. Has attack time, attack level, decay time, decay level, sustatin time, sustain level, and release time. Good for evolving pads or efx but makes programming a little tedious. Aplha dial is an improvement over the single data sliders of the JX series. But the JX series makes for a better synth having the extra oscillator and "dirtier" sound. Good buy for under $200.

Ed Solo

November 18, 2008 @ 10:08 pm

Nice synth, i just found a good mac editor for it here
http://xmidi.com/juno.html

Krztian

November 3, 2008 @ 10:04 am

I own an Alpha Juno 2 and I will never part with it. They are dirt cheap to pick up second hand. I'd say the Alpha 1's are slightly more reliable as there is no aftertouch. Key vel related problems are less common on the 1's than the 2's. It's is great for bass, leads, and some weird sounds. If you have a mac get the Alpha Juno control program, and you have total slider control over all papameters via midi. It's a must own! Very fat synth!

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