Roland JUNO-DS88 Synthesizer

Model Overview

There are just so many things you can do with the Roland DS-88 – it really is a synth that meets a lot of the musician’s needs!

Although it is light and portable, it is a full 88 note digital piano action using the Roland Ivory Feel G Keyboard. So easy and quick to set-up, it is a musician’s dream when you are moving from your studio to bedroom, to stage and back.

With 9 categories of tones and over 1,000 sounds onboard, there is something there for you when different genres and styles are needed. It is also so cool that patches from the previous-generation JUNO-Di synth are fully compatible as well; your favorite new sound is just a button-push away.

And when you are by yourself and just want to have fun, you can create your very own virtual jam session. There are 8 phrase pads where you can instantly add a drum pattern to your piano part, copy audio data (MP3/WAV) to the USB memory, and play along with lifelike full-band backing. The phrase pads can even be used as a live sampler where you can have them trigger any audio sound your imagination can think of such as vocals, sound effects, special tones – anything you can record!

A convenient wave expansions slot allows you to access other sounds from Roland’s Axial website, where over 1000 EXP patches are available for free download.

Magnify your creativity and performance with more top-quality acoustic piano collections, world instruments, go-to studio standards, percussion, and loops — or load in WAV files from your own sound library and play them from the keyboard. And the free JUNO-DS librarian software lets you manage all these sound patches using your computer. What an incredible instrument!

The integrated USB interface provides a solid front end for a mobile or studio recording setup, letting you record MIDI and audio data, including sounds from the mic input. There’s even a dedicated DAW Control mode for controlling your music software from the JUNO DS88’s front panel. It’s the fastest way to get your masterpiece finished and out there.

Action

The action is Roland’s Ivory Feel-G Keyboard weighted-action feel in a lightweight design that’s easy to transport.

The progressive hammer action alongside the amazingly expressive new piano sounds will satisfy the requirements of any player that wants a synth engine but a piano feels that is weighted and velocity-sensitive.

Sound Engine / Tone Generator

Choose your favorite pro-quality sound from nine categories, with over 1,000 sounds including acoustic and electric pianos, organs, and synth – enough choice to cover any musical genre or performance style. And the patches from the previous-generation JUNO-Di synth are fully compatible too; your favorite new sound is just a button-push away.

Connectivity

The Roland DS88 offers a 1/4″ L/Mono, R audio output jacks so you can connect to an external sound system. There is a mini Stereo input jack to hook up a device and play it back through the speakers on the FP60.

A convenient USB audio/MIDI and DAW Control mode ensure that you can use this portable digital piano in any environment with midi files and audio files.

There is also the standard 5 pin midi in and out jack in addition to a ¼” mic jack and dedicated Reverb, Vocoder, and Auto Pitch effects for impressive vocal performances.

A Wave expansion slot enables users to download new sound waveforms, available for free at Roland Digital Pianos Axial website

Accessories

• Owner’s manual
• Leaflet “USING THE UNIT SAFELY”
• AC adaptor
• Power cord

Notable Features

• Gig-ready instrument with pro sounds, enhanced performance features, and battery-powered operation
• 88-note Ivory Feel-G Keyboard provides weighted-action feel in a lightweight design that’s easy to transport
• Includes all the sounds from the popular JUNO-Di, plus newly updated acoustic and electric pianos, additional organs, and other stage essentials
• Wave expansion slot enables users to download new sound waveforms, available for free at Roland’s Axial website
• Sample import function for playing user WAV files on the JUNO-DS88’s keyboard
• Easy sound manipulation and editing with hands-on knobs and sliders
• Eight Phrase Pads for triggering samples and audio songs stored on USB memory
• Mic input and dedicated Reverb, Vocoder, and Auto Pitch effects for impressive vocal performances
• Intuitive eight-track pattern sequencer with non-stop recording for quickly developing song ideas
• USB audio/MIDI and DAW Control mode

Sound Generator

 Maximum Polyphony

• 128 voices

Parts

• 16 parts

Preset Memory

• Patches: Over 1200
• Drum kits: Over 30
• Performances: 64
  * GM2 compatible sounds are included.

User Memory

• Patches: 256
• Drum kits: 8
• Performances: 128
• Favorites: 100

Wave Expansion Slots

• 1 slot

* The wave expansion slot is rewritable internal waveform memory. You can download data from the Axial sound library site and write it via a USB flash drive into the JUNO-DS’s internal wave memory (slot).

Roland JUNO-DS88 Owner’s Manual

• [English] JUNO-DS88 Owner’s Manual

Roland JUNO DS88 Related Resources

• Roland Juno DS88 Synthesizer Review & Demo – Portable, 1000+ Sounds, Phrase Pads
• Roland Juno DS88 vs Roland FA-08 Synthesizer/Workstation Comparison & Demo