Find out how you can control your Roland Juno-6 with MIDI using Kenton MIDI Retrofit Kits or MIDI to CV converters
The Juno-6 does not have MIDI or CV/Gate. It does however have an Apeggio Clock In 1/4″ jack socket. Kenton offer a variety of options for your Juno-6.
- Fit a MIDI Retrofit Kit
- Clock the Arpeggiator
Fitting a MIDI retrofit or socket upgrade kit is a skilled job which should be undertaken only by a competent synth service engineer or fitted by us at our premises in Epsom, near London (UK customers only).
1. Fit a MIDI Retrofit Kit to the Juno-6
You can fit a MIDI Retrofit Kit which will allow you to control the Roland Juno-6 directly using MIDI from your DAW, MIDI Sequencer or other MIDI controller. Our MIDI Retrofit Kit adds MIDI IN and THRU sockets.
With the Retrofit Kit you’ll have MIDI control of Notes, Pitchbend, Modulation, Filter cutoff, Portamento / Glide, Sustain. You will also be able to clock the arpeggiator using the MIDI clock. Note that the retrofit is MIDI IN and THRU only, there is no MIDI Out.
Roland Juno-6 MIDI Retrofit Kit
2. Clock the Arpeggiator
You can use one of our MIDI converters to clock the Juno-6’s arpeggiator using MIDI clock.
Which products do I need?
The following MIDI converters all have clock outputs, so can be used to clock the Juno-6’s arpeggiator:
You will need 1 x 3.5mm to 1/4″ jack cable to connect the converter to the Arpeggio Clock In socket on the Juno-6.
Connecting the MIDI converter
Use the following output on each MIDI converter:
| MIDI Converter | Output |
|---|---|
| Pro Solo Mk3 | Aux2 or Aux3 |
| USB Solo | Aux3 |
| Modular Solo | Clock 1 or Clock 2 |
| Pro-2000 MkII | Clock Out |
| Pro-DCB Mk3 | Clock Out |
| Pro-KADI MkII | Clock Out |
MIDI Converter settings
You will need to set the Clock Divide Ratio, Clock Polarity and Continue = Start parameters on the MIDI Converter.
The MIDI Clock runs at 24ppqn (pulses per quarter note). The Juno-6 will play one note per pulse, so you will need to set the Clock Divide Ratio to play notes at your desired speed.
Clock Polarity should be set to positive. Some of our converters have a dedicated polarity setting, others use Maximum and Minimum Values to set the polarity.
Continue = Start should be set based on how your sequencer. Some sequencers, rather than sending a MIDI Clock Start message, send a Song Position Pointer = 0 message followed by Continue. When turned off, Continue messages will only be treated as Start if immediately preceded by a Song Position Pointer = 0 message.
The table below explains which parameters to set on your MIDI Converter:
| MIDI Converter | Parameter | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Solo Mk3 using Aux2 | P30 – Aux 2 Controller | [CL1] Clock Divider 1 or [CL2] Clock Divider 2 |
| P31 – Aux 2 Minimum Value | 0 (default) | |
| P32 – Aux 2 Maximum Value | 50 | |
| P60 – Clock 1 Divide Ratio or P70 – Clock 1 Divide Ratio | Set to appropriate ratio – see table below | |
| P92 – Continue = Start | On (default) or Off | |
| Pro Solo Mk3 using Aux3 | P30 – Aux 3 Controller | [CL1] Clock Divider 1 or [CL2] Clock Divider 2 |
| P31 – Aux 3 Minimum Value | 0 (default) | |
| P32 – Aux 3 Maximum Value | 50 | |
| P60 – Clock 1 Divide Ratio or P70 – Clock 2 Divide Ratio | Set to appropriate ratio – see table below | |
| P92 – Continue = Start | On (default) or Off | |
| USB Solo | P44 – Aux 3 Controller | [CLK] Timing Clock or [CL i] Timing Clock (inverted) |
| P41 – Clock Divide Ratio | Set to appropriate ratio – see table below | |
| P92 – Continue = Start | On (default on later verions) or Off | |
| Modular Solo | P70 – Clock1 type or P80 – Clock2 type | [cLn] Clock normal |
| P71 – Clock 1 Divide Ratio or P81 – Clock 2 Divide Ratio | Set to appropriate ratio – see table below | |
| P73 – Clock1 voltage or P83 – Clock2 voltage | [ 05] +5v output | |
| Pro-2000 MkII | H – Clock Pulse Divide Ratio | Set to appropriate ratio – see table above |
| I – Clock Polarity | +ve (default) | |
| J – Continue = start | On or Off (default) | |
| Pro-DCB Mk3 | b – Clock Divide Ratio | Set to appropriate ratio – see table below |
| C – Positive / Negative edge clock pulse | Positive (default) | |
| D – Continue = start | On (default) or Off | |
| Pro-KADI MkII | b – Clock Divide Ratio | Set to appropriate ratio – see table below |
| C – Positive / Negative edge clock pulse | Positive (default) | |
| D – Continue = start | On (default) or Off |
The following table describes how to set the clock divide ratio to achieve your desired note length:
| Note Length | Divide Ratio | PPQN |
|---|---|---|
| Crotchets (quarter note) | 24 | 1 |
| Crotchet triplets | 16 | |
| Quavers (8th note) | 12 | 2 |
| Quaver triplet | 8 | |
| Semiquaver (16th note) | 6 | 4 |
| Semiquaver triplets | 4 | 6 |
| Demisemiquavers (32nd note) | 3 | 8 |
| Demisemiquaver triplets | 2 | 12 |
Solving MIDI Clock Problems
If you have issues with clocking the arpeggiator, please refer the troubleshooting guide here: Solving MIDI clock problems.