The reason you were thinking the HPF was "doing something wrong" is because unlike all the other sliders, it is not a pot - it is a four-position switch. You have to put it solidly into one of the four positions for it to work. Dragging it slowly like you were doing means that when it is anywhere between one of the HPF positions, you get NO HPF filtering at all. This switch is dirty on a lot of older 106's, and it takes some wiggling to get it to settle and work correctly. I replaced mine when I restored my 106.

In Poly 1 mode, the voices are assigned round-robin. If you lift a key, then press it again, the next voice gets played. That way if you play the same note over and over again, it actually cycles through the six voices for each press. In Poly 2 mode, it starts from voice 1 each time. If you repeatedly press the same key, it just keeps playing voice 1. Voice 2 only plays if you hold down the first key and press a second key. That's why you're seeing this behavior. You can press Poly 1 and Poly 2 together, which will give you 6-voice unison (or in your case, 5-voice unison) mode. Time to give that 106 some love and replace those voice chips! It's not a job for the timid - I did a whole video series on this on my channel.

Model 84 is always when I reach four when I want that 106 sound over arturia and tal. And I can’t wait for all the other synths that softube releases

The old studio guys were happy when all the expensive high maintenance synth hardware stuff disappeared from the studios, and everything became possible with ITB in a computer: total recall, multiple vsti instances, perfect timing, automation everywhere.

The failing oscillator on your 106 may have saved some of your viewers quite a bit of money, since they now think twice before going down the hardware rabbit hole. As the years have passed, I’ve moved my music making more and more “into the box”. Even my beloved guitar dual tube amp setup is rarely seeing action anymore, because several software amp and speaker simulations are generally getting close enough for my ears, and the pedalboard has long been outcompeted by software fx. The hardware is increasingly just eye candy for the occasional visitor to my studio and it also makes the room with my music computer “feel” more like a studio - even for me. But I do miss the tactile dedicated hardware controls of vintage synths. Even with midi controllers, I’ve never gotten back that feeling of magic, that happens when interacting with a synth hardware surface.

Juno 105! Love it! 😆

The old ”hardware analog sounds warmer” debate is a really bad one now that VSTs are getting even better and the digital versions are easier to automate in projects. And even more importantly classic high end analog synths like Jupiter 8, Prophet 5 and others like it, sound so much better than cheaper classic analog synths people could afford today, so that you could even argue against VST options you can get for $500, people would at least have to own analog gear worth $100 000. (Not saying a Juno 106 or Juno 60 wouldn’t be enough as their only analog synth but they couldn’t compete against vst options that are much cheaper.)

I've owned probably over 25 hardware synths in my lifetime (1st in 1981), and I've gone completely over to softsynths. The one I do regret getting rid of was my juno 106. Mostly because of its ease of use and layout. A perfect synth to learn on - but let's get real - it's a thin sounding machine that needs outboard effects to reach its potential. Way easier to have it running in your DAW, IMO - with a full complement of FX plugins to help it along.

Great video! You're right, owning an original is like owning a piece of history or artwork. The same way my dad owns a vintage record player and juke box. You need to know what you're getting into and be prepared to service them. The 106 voice chips are a well known failure, something the 6/60 doesn't suffer. Like you say they hold value too. My pick is the Juno-6, the cheapest due to lack of memory, yet so easy to dial in - forces you to think about synthesis. I'm blown away by how good the model 84 VST sounds, I'd be more than happy with that in the software world.

Some argue the tactile twisting knobs and tweaking the hardware is more satisfying than tweaking a VST with your mouse - even though you could assign midi controller knobs, faders and buttons to the VST, most people don’t bother. Personally, I always prefer virtual synths in my compositions, even though I have a collection of old Roland and Yamaha synths in my studio. For years I’ve used DeXEd for DX7 presets in songs, even though I have an original DX7 sitting in the closet. I’m totally committed to “in-the-box” digital/virtual everything 😊

I am so over hardware had all of these classics in the past! Agreed they are nice but cost and hassle and also space required, now there is an alternative,

Where Did you find those wallpapers? xD

I wish people would get away from the idea that the old gear has some magic which cannot be reproduced, and that a VST is somehow inauthentic. It simply isn't true. The reason to own hardware is because you want physical gear. The reason to own vintage gear is probably because you drooled over it in the music store 40 yrs ago but couldn't afford it and it gives you an emotional/creative connection to that time and place. It's not about the sound. Software will get you the sound for cheap.

Completely off topic, what is the killer LoFi screensaver you have playing in the background? Totally dig it!

Those sounds remind me of New York 1997 movie tracks by John Carpenter himself 🙂

OMG, I think I still have my JX-8P somewhere in the attic

Great video as always, love that shirt , where did you get it ? Merry Christmas !

Jef apropos I think - would love to see you review some of the Cherry Audio emulations - and they also have bespoke synths (plus Voltage Modular).

Is that an 8K tv as a monitor? Very cool, tell me about it.

Just went through this for the second time in my life I would say no don't waste money on legacy hardware especially if you don't have money to repair it when it does break. Like a lot of people say there are VSTs and other emulations out there for fractions and fractions of the price no one is really going to know if something is a VST or if it's hardware and no one really cares as well there are many successful people that don't use hardware at all. It's all about scratching that edge that people get for hardware but it all depends on your income your needs your desires and your workflow.

Hey buddy! Nice vid as usual….where is that project with your kid coming up?! 👊🏻👍🏻

👍🏾

hey Jef,i still have a juno60 (no midi) its in the attic and i have'nt touched it in more than20 years,dont know if the thing will still work when i bought it in the eighties it was very expensive,it was also a new product then,now you have these hardware synths in software form,i have the V collection 8 where the juno is included,even the more expensive jupiter 8,so for me,no,we dont need a hardware synth wich takes up a lot of room anymore,cheers mate

More than happy to use V Collection and/or Cherry Audio synths…don’t ever have to faff around with them and they are near as makes no difference

I've said it a thousand times. 99.9% of people listening to your track would never know, or likely care, what synth you used, and definitely not care how old the synth is. Just make music, my friend

Regardless of what many youtubers says (not including you Jeff), when you hear the real Juno 106 in person vs the software (I have the Softube 84 and Roland Cloud), they really don't sound the same. Everyone on the Internet will tell you that you didn't compare them properly. Guess what? You CAN'T. And then, if you start stacking multiple analog sounds together (ie Juno bass with some Juno pads) on the same song, your ears will be able to tell a difference. It sounds distinctly better. There IS a difference. On the flip side as you mention, with software, you don't have to worry about maintenance. As well you can recall sessions perfect and automate easily, plus more presets. So, there's a tradeoff. Real analog vibe with hardware headaches vs less analog vibe and more convenience. There, I said it.

Maybe a Juno X better ?? I had a 106 in the 80s have a X just now. I can gig the Juno X it’s 100% reliable sounds like a 106, is a 106 and more. But yes your 106 is great didn’t you have a Juno 6??

I avoid vintage anything like the plague. Made good money offloading a bunch of my old stuff.

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Model 84 is no emulation. It’s the real thing.

OFC NOT! unreliable 40+yo electronics, irreplaceable parts, modern hardware is so much more reliable - you should leave them all for me XD

Model 84 is a CPU hog. I'll stick with Repro.