Sounds and Presets: Juno What? The Roland Classic That Still Commands An Audience
Plus more great sounds from Fluffy Audio and GForce Software
4,0 / 5,0 | 
The Roland Juno range of synthesizers still pleases many an ear to this day, and now they receive the Samples from Mars treatment.
We’ve got a broad selection of bangers for you this week, covering ethnic sounds, samples of classic analog synths and patches for brilliant software plugins. Let’s crack on…
Table of Contents
Junos From Mars by Samples From Mars – A Juno for your Sampler
You’d find it hard to argue against the fact that the range of synthesizers produced by Roland under the Juno moniker during the 1980s are some of the nicest, easiest and best-sounding synths of the era. It’s often said that you just can’t make a Juno sound bad. I’m sure you can, but it takes a lot of effort!
The key to the Juno’s success is the fact it can work across the board. It makes amazing pads, chonky basses, searing leads and fat brass sounds. It’s also dead easy to use with its simple user interface. And then there’s the classic Juno Chorus, an effects section so revered, it has been emulated on its own by any number of admirers.
Samples from Mars, who themselves can be more than trusted with coming up with eminently useable sample packs, have decided to create a Juno library using the second and third iterations of the family, the Juno 60 and 106.
Every single note of each patch created on the hardware was captured through their API console using a selection of tube DI’s and even recording some to tape for that extra dollop of 80s authenticity.. They even created drum sounds, an area where most Junos don’t even venture.
Junos from Mars contains 32 multi-sampled instruments, along with a collection of chord stabs, FX and drums that come from 3,307 individual samples recorded at 24/44.1. They’re all arranged into type folders and are supplied in a variety of formats including WAV for loading anywhere to Ableton, Logic EXS, Kontakt, Reason NN-XT, FL Studio and SFZ.
Normally priced at $39 USD, you can grab this pack right now for just $19!
Don’t forget, Roland still maintain the Juno brand with the excellent Juno-X and their Roland Cloud service!
Echoes of the Earth by Fluffy Audio
Fluffy Audio fly under most people’s radars when it comes to detailed and exquisite sound libraries. They are very popular in scoring circles and have an enormous amount of respect within the industry. As such, they may not always be the cheapest, but they are certainly some of the best.
Their latest offering is Echoes of the Earth, a 62GB library containing over 73,000 samples across a diverse and authentic range of rare, global instruments. The focus of this library is very much rooted in our more primal instruments, originating from regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, pre-Columbian Americas and the Middle East.
There’s a huge wealth of content here for anyone looking for earthly, human sounds categorised into sections such as Winds, Strings, Vocals, Pads, Soundscapes, Reeds and Percussion. The samples are all 24/48 stereo and have been captured with a variety of mic positions.
You will need the full version of Kontakt as the Player isn’t supported and Echoes of the Earth is available now with €40 off at just €149.00 direct from Fluffy Audio.
Unmasked for Kodamo MASK1 by Pulsophonic
Anyone that knows me knows that I champion the Kodamo MASK1 at any given opportunity. It’s a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnating world of synthesizer innovation and blends a unique method of sound generation with an equally unique method of keyboard expression.
The latest bank of sounds by Pulsophonic (who have been regulars in this column) is just another collection of sounds that very much supports my ongoing campaign to get everyone to buy one of these excellent synths!
This particular bank draws inspiration from some classic analog synths but also contains many sounds useful for drones and effects. What these sounds do is make this unashamedly digital synth sound more analog than I’ve ever experienced before. Take a listen to the demo above if you don’t believe me!
Yet again, Pulsophonic have made this bank of sounds completely free of charge and they can be downloaded direct from Kodamo’s website.
80s Cinematic Sequences for GForce Software’s Oberheim SEM
GForce Software has been focusing on preset packs of late, all tied in with artists and sound designers, the latest of which includes this superb pack for their SEM plugin. This pack really pushes all my buttons as it leans heavily into those classic electronic synth soundtracks of the day.
K/V have used SEM’s range of features to their fullest extent, especially the sequencers, to deliver those signature arpeggios widely used in the genre. This is the sound of a future created in the past.
There’s also a new pack entitled Session Synthesist Toolkit (try saying that quickly!) which focuses on the Oddity3 and created by PolyData. Inspired by how synths like the ARP Odyssey were used in their heyday, this pack features sounds that would fit any recording session, hence the name!
Mammoth for Cherry Audio Memorymode by Octo8r
Drawing this week’s column to a close, we have a brand new bank of sounds for Cherry Audio’s superb Moog Memorymoog emulation, the Memorymode. Mammoth contains a broad range of sounds for this excellent synthesizer plugin, 68 in total to be precise.
I would say that this sound bank doesn’t contain your range of common synth tones and that is no bad thing at all! It’s great to hear someone pushing the boundaries of what is expected and especially on an incredibly affordable synth plugin.
Best of all, Mammoth is available for as low as $1, although it’s actually a ‘Pay What You Can’ offer, so definitely consider sending Octo8r a few extra bucks/quid for their efforts. And while you’re there, check out the wealth of sound content on their site.
There’s stuff for Traktion’s F’em, Vital, Cherry Audio’s CA2600, u-He’s Zebra and more! Buy Mammoth for Memorymode for a minimum of $1 over at Octo8r’s website.
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