Topic: Weird Juno-106 behavior

So my Juno-106 is acting strangely.  sad 

I don't think this is the usual "dead voice chip" issue, so I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the following:

All voices work, but it seems like every 5th or 6th note is playing two pitches simultaneously.  This doesn't seem to happen when the synth is in manual mode, but it does occur when I'm using saved patches. When I start up the 106 in the diagnostic mode to cycle through each voice, all voices work fine and the problem isn't there. 

This just started happening last night so it could be an early sign of a dying voice chip for all I know, but the symptoms up to now seem to suggest something else.  There are no missing voices, no hanging voices, just these "ghost pitches" at every 5th or 6th note.   

Any robots out there have any idea?

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Dunno, but if it's really only on saved patches that used to be fine, it might be the first sign of a dying battery. Most of the time dying batteries cause patches to first act slightly weird, then act absolutely weird, with strange modulations and lots of noise, and finally act erm... empty.

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Thanks for the suggestion, but after playing around some more I think it *is* a voice chip issue.  I noticed that some of the patches didn't seem to have a problem...then I realized that those patches that were acting up were using the sawtooth wave (and switching to manual from power-up leaves the sawtooth disabled which is why I was confused).  Trying again in diagnostic mode with the sawtooth wave enabled tells me that voice 3 is sick.  Crap!

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

If it is the common voice chip problem u can buy new ones here:
http://www.analoguerenaissance.com/D80017/

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Hmm, that really sucks. Luckily the link Stentec posted is a way out of the mess...

Does anybody know what exactly makes the voices die like this? It would be nice if you can protect the 106 from dying, rather then having to spend 240 euro on it's rise from the flames.

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

i like this guy "stupid question fee: 10 euro" smile

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

HOLY CRAP!

My amazing brother-in-law helped me out of this mess for the short term by selling me his 106 for extremely cheap - I had no idea but apparently he was planning on selling his soon. 

So I'm back to 6 voices for the time being, with an extra 5 voice chips in reserve.  I'm still going to keep an eye on those clones though (thanks S.T.E.N.T.E.C.!) as I'm sure that each and every one of these 80017s will die eventually. 

I wish these things were more reliable.  Even though it seems like a boring humble synth, I find I use the 106 all the time.  Less is more I guess.

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

whatcha talking about
juno 106 is THE synth

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

I think I'm talking about the same thing you're talking about.   wink

I'm saying that on the surface it seems like a relatively simple synth (one DCO with two waveforms and a sub, one envelope, one LFO waveform, etc).  Synthesis-wise my JP-6 has twice the facilities of the 106, but I still use the 106 more.  I love it!

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Unicity : the problem was on the filter/Vca chip or the waveforms chip?

Please check also the new topic still about juno 106

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Rproductions - I'm not entirely sure to be honest.  Now that you mention it, it could be just be an issue with the waveforms chip.  I imagine that if it was a problem with the filter/vca then the voice would have problems with either waveform, but the last I checked it was only acting up with the sawtooth wave.  I should take another look and confirm this.

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Brian Chinetti wrote:

Does anybody know what exactly makes the voices die like this? It would be nice if you can protect the 106 from dying, rather then having to spend 240 euro on it's rise from the flames.

A guy that was involved in making the 106 wrote somewhere there's nothing you can do...
There is something about the voicechips that makes them not last for ever ,
and i believe his judgement was they would last for 20-25 years.
I'm not sure but i think it was something about the material the chips are made out of that isn't resistant
to heating and cooling.

I was hoping my 106 was special,  but yesterday it started to make weird crackling noises and some
notes were less loud than others. They still work now, but i think this is the beginning of the end  sad

How much of a techie do you have to be to replace the voice chips ?
Is there soldering involved ?

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

just read this on Matrixsynth :

"The problem with the 800017A is apparently a fabrication problem that allows metal migration and shorting between leads on the micro circuit board embedded in the IC."

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

@ mr pauli,

Yes there is some soldering involved.
First you have to release the voice chips from the board and then solder the new ones in.
From this site: http://www.analoguerenaissance.com/D80017/

Installation

-Installation is straightforward: remove the defective 80017A , replace it with my clone and re-adjust your juno as described in the service manual.
-My clones not only sound exactly as the original ones, they also behave exactly the same. No adjusting of the other voices, no adjustments to the main pcb. Just do as is told in the ROLAND JUNO-106 SERVICE MANUAL. Nothing less, nothing more.
-Although it is straightforward and perfectly described in the juno-106 service manual this requires electronics knowledge and the proper tools: digital multimeter, oscilloscope and frequency counter (frequency adjustment can also be done with a musical instrument tuner or soundcard + frequency measurement program).
-Do not believe people who are selling originals or clones who say this is just a remove-replace-play operation. They are lying. Even if you do replace it with an original chip, this adjustment procedure is necessary. Without doing so it won't sound right.
-The new version's adjustment is now easier. Due to the closer tolerance, only slight trimming is necessary. Trimpots should all be close to the center position after adjustment. One being way out center is a good indication of something wrong.
-One thing you have to be careful about: When doing the adjustment procedure, do not short TP8-TP13! This will fry the output buffer of my clone (the same happens with an original chip).'

15 (edited by basscakes 2008-10-07 21:10:26)

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

I have used 2 of the D'naab voice chip replacements in my Juno, and they certainly are pretty close to the originals. The hardest thing about the installation is getting the old chips out of the boards cleanly. I would recommend cutting the leads on the old chips to make it easier to remove the pins with a solder sucker or some good wick (a desoldering machine if you are fancy).
There is defiantly a difference in sound with the new chips, especially in regards to the filter resonance. D'naab claims you do need to calibrate the voices after installing, but only if you want the voices to be matched. I left mine uncalibrated, as the discrepancies seem to have had a positive effect on the sound. it has given it a bit of unpredictability.
By the way, he is not very helpful as you may have guessed from the $10 stupid question thing on his page.

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

"the $10 stupid question thing "

that's why i ask here wink
if only you'd live around here in The Hague basscakes...
i can never pull that off myself
smartest thing will be waiting for the one voice to really die,  just to be sure
then get 6 new chips and have someone replace all six right away
to save myself from having to live trough this stuff five more times

does anyone know a good synthdoctor in or around The Hague ?

17 (edited by INTERFUNK 2008-10-08 11:02:31)

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

hej pauli sainteric.nl is not only good for ARP....

@ unicity......i

Orgel!

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

thanks
sainteric ... the name does ring a bell.
must have heard good stuff about him.

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Thanks for the diagnosis Interfunk.  I'll recheck my sick 106 tonight and make sure it's just a waveform issue.  I think you're right about that because it doesn't seem to exhibit the usual dead voice chip symptoms.  I'd definitely need a tech from the sounds of it, and that's not so good as there's not a lot of synth techs here in the Canadian prairies.  The only one I knew has moved away.  hmm

I'm glad I managed to dig up a spare 106 for the time being, but I know I'll face another problem sooner or later.  Such is life for a 106 owner I guess.

20 (edited by INTERFUNK 2008-10-08 15:41:26)

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

if you just have the problem on each 5 or 6 note/voice - it

Orgel!

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

It's been a while since I've checked, but I'm pretty sure it's the 3rd voice that has the issue. 

Thinking about what you've said...with regards to POLYMODE 1, would it be possible to latch the bum voice so it isn't triggered again?  As in, power up the 106 in POLYMODE 1, play two notes, and then hit high C and keep that key held down (wedge some paper between the keys or something) so the stinky voice is never re-triggered.  I guess that would leave me with a Juno 105.  I'll have to try that when I get home.  Obviously it would be no good for patches with any sustain.

Failing that, the easiest solution I can think of for now is just to turn the sawtooth wave off.  This wouldn't be the end of the world as I tend to favor the pulse and sub waves in most of my 106 patches anyways.  Hrmmm.....

22 (edited by INTERFUNK 2008-10-08 18:01:14)

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

have checkked - you are RIGHT - just get the bad note fixxed by something (tape or paper) and you are able to use all 5 VOICES over the complete keyboard.....JUNO-105 thats it...you will maybe never use all 5 oktaves in a track so this is a good idea when you have a dead voice..

sometimes the voices begin tu humm before they die....so in this case you can forget it...

.a

Orgel!

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

I'm right?!?  Well that's good news.  Now I really want to get home and try it out. 

Thanks again for the suggestion.

24 (edited by basscakes 2008-10-08 19:04:42)

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

The voices sometimes start to crackle, get stuck on, or get quieter/louder than the other voices when they fail. I also noticed that in mine and in a friends 106, both of which had failed voices that the failing voices usually worked for the first 5-10 minutes the synth was on before stopping.

This may have already been mentioned, but if you want to see which voices are causing the problems you can use the diagnostic mode.

1. with the synth off, hold the "Key Transpose" button and turn the synth on
2. release the key transpose button and you should see 2 staggered dashes on the display
3. hit both Poly buttons as if you were putting the Juno in Mono mode
4. Press any key repeatedly and you will now see the screen cycle through 1 to 6, this is playing each voice individually and you should be able to tell which chip is bad, or tell which pair of chips is associated with a bad waveshaper

looking inside the Juno
1. When you open the Juno, the voice chips are on the modulation board to the far left.
2. There are 9 chips staggered, the odd number chips are the voice chips.
3. Don't quote me on this, but I think the chips go from right to left with the furthest right being voice 1.

I did not have a very hard time removing the chips once I had cut the chip away from the leads. Just be careful not to overheat the traces and lift them off the board. This shit is old, and may be a bit sensitive
. I would highly recommend getting your hand on a solder sucking tool like this at the very least for this project ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solder_sucker

Re: Weird Juno-106 behavior

Hi,

I was browsing the forum for Juno-106 related threads and found this, so let me bring it back to life.

My Juno-106 just started to act weird. It seems that it's the famous voice chip problem, but how can I be sure that the problem is only in the voice chip? I'm afraid it might be something else.

Here's what happens to my Juno: Sometimes, there's a kind of hum that keeps sounding constantly, even when i'm not touching anything. There's also some crackling noises. But these crackling noises just come up when I play a note. After I stop playing the note, the crackling noise continues. Sometimes it stops.

I ran the Juno on diagnostic mode and found out that the faulty chip is number 3. But could it be just it? If I replace this chip, will it go back to normal?

And one last question. Is there a way to bypass this faulty chip? Maybe mute it or turn it off?

Thanks