JUNO-DS88

A hands-on knob for tweaking the sound while you play. Most usefully it's the filter CUTOFF—turn it down to make a sound darker and more muffled, turn it up to make it brighter and more open. What it controls depends on which of the three banks you've picked with [SELECT].

tip: CUTOFF is the single most expressive knob on the synth—sweep it during a pad or bass note for instant movement. If a knob seems to do nothing, the current sound may not respond to that parameter, or you may need to select a different part.

Another tweak-while-you-play knob. In its most common role it's RESONANCE, which emphasizes the frequencies right around the filter's cutoff point—a little adds a vocal, nasal edge; a lot makes the sound whistle and sing as you move knob 1.

tip: Resonance and cutoff work as a team: nudge resonance up a bit, then sweep cutoff (knob 1) for that classic squelchy synth sweep. Too much resonance can get piercingly loud, so ride it carefully.

In its main role this is ATTACK, which sets how quickly a note fades in when you press a key. Turn it down and notes start instantly and sharply; turn it up and each note swells in gently, like a slow bow stroke on strings.

tip: Dial in a slower attack on pads and strings for a smooth, cinematic swell; keep it fast for punchy basses, plucks, and piano so notes speak immediately.

Its main job is RELEASE, which sets how long a note keeps sounding after you lift your finger off the key. Low settings cut the sound off abruptly; higher settings let notes ring out and trail away naturally.

tip: A longer release makes pads and ambient sounds bloom and overlap beautifully, but too much can turn fast passages into a muddy blur—shorten it for tight, rhythmic playing.

Your primary tool for browsing and dialing in — turn it to scroll through sounds or to nudge any setting up or down. It's the quickest way to audition patches one after another once you've picked a category.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] while turning to move through values much faster — great for jumping across a long list of patches instead of creeping one at a time. The [–] [+] buttons do the same job in single steps.

This is the main loudness control for the whole instrument. Turn it right to get louder, left to get quieter. It controls both what goes to your amp/speakers and what goes to your headphones at the same time.

tip: Always turn this all the way down before powering the JUNO-DS on or off, and before connecting anything — the manual notes you may hear a small pop at power on/off, which is normal. Note this knob does not affect the level going into a computer via USB audio.

If you have a microphone plugged in—for singing, talking, or feeding the vocoder—this slider sets how loud that mic sits in the overall mix compared to what you're playing on the keys. Push it up to hear more voice, pull it down to bury it under the music.

tip: Set the rear MIC [LEVEL] knob first so the mic isn't distorting, then use this front slider for the moment-to-moment balance. Note: the JUNO-DS only works with dynamic mics, not condenser mics.

The eight pads can play backing beats, recorded patterns, or audio tracks from a USB stick. This slider controls how loud all of that pad-based backing is compared to your live keyboard playing—handy for turning the accompaniment up or down while you perform on top.

tip: Use it live to duck the backing track or drum pattern down during a quieter section, then bring it back up for the chorus—no menu diving required.

When you've split the keyboard into two sounds (left hand vs. right hand) or stacked two sounds together, this slider controls how loud the second/lower sound is. Push it up to make that sound louder, pull it down to quiet it.

tip: When layering two sounds with DUAL, use this against the [UPPER] slider to blend them — for example, keep a bright piano dominant while the pad sits softly underneath instead of both fighting each other.

This controls the volume of your main sound — the right-hand sound in a split, the first sound in a layer, or the whole stacked sound when using Super Layer. It's the fader you'll reach for most when balancing your primary voice.

tip: In Super Layer mode this is the only level slider that does anything for the layered sound, so use it as your master volume for that thick, detuned patch.

This is how you get your own audio recordings—like a vocal snippet, a sound effect, or a loop—onto the keyboard so you can play them across the keys like any other instrument. It doesn't change the sound by itself; it's a doorway to the import, edit, and delete screens for those custom sounds.

tip: Your audio files must be WAV, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit, and dropped into an 'IMPORT' folder on a USB stick formatted by the JUNO-DS, or you'll get an 'Incorrect File!' message. Remember the combo trick: press this and [DAW CONTROL] together to jump straight into the deep sound-editing menu.

When your JUNO-DS is plugged into a computer running music software, this turns the keyboard's knobs and buttons into remote controls for that software—so you can start/stop recording or adjust things without reaching for the mouse. On its own it makes no sound change; it's purely about talking to your computer.

tip: If you want the keyboard to only control your computer software and stop making its own internal sounds, set the system 'Local Switch' to OFF (in the MIDI system settings). Press this with [SAMPLE IMPORT] to reach the sound-editing EDIT MENU.

The four knobs can only do four things at once, but there are three different sets of four to choose from. This button flips between those sets. Press it to move from filter/envelope controls, to effect-level controls, to your custom-assigned controls.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press [SELECT] to instantly turn all four knobs into a mini mixer for each part's volume; do it again to return the knobs to their normal function. Watch the SELECT indicators to know which set is live.

With a microphone plugged in, this turns your voice into a robot or synth-like sound. Vocoder makes your voice a robotic instrument whose pitch you control by playing keys; Auto Pitch snaps your singing to correct notes in that stair-stepped, hard-tuned style you hear in modern pop.

tip: For vocoder you must play the keyboard while talking/singing into the mic to give the voice its pitch; for auto-pitch you just sing and don't need to touch the keys. Hold [SHIFT] and press this button to jump to the MIC IN SETTINGS screen to shape the mic sound first.

This lets you play two different sounds with your two hands — for example bass in your left hand and piano in your right. The keyboard gets divided at a chosen key, with each side playing its own sound.

tip: Hold [SPLIT] and press a key to set exactly where the keyboard divides (that key becomes the highest note of the right-hand region). Hold [SPLIT] and press [DUAL] to swap which sound is on the left versus the right.

This stacks two sounds on top of each other so every key plays both at once — like combining a piano with strings for a fuller sound. Both sounds cover the entire keyboard.

tip: Use pad [1] and pad [2] to pick which of the two stacked sounds you're changing, then the value dial swaps it. Hold [SPLIT] and press [DUAL] to exchange the two layered sounds.

This takes one sound and stacks several slightly out-of-tune copies of itself to make it huge, wide, and lush — great for fat synth leads or dreamy pads. You choose how many copies (2 to 5) and how far apart their tuning drifts.

tip: Select your patch first, then turn on Super Layer. More Layers plus higher Detune equals a wider, thicker sound, but too much Detune can sound seasick — start around a Detune of 10 for a rich but musical spread.

Hold down a chord and instead of all the notes sounding at once, the keyboard plays them one after another in a repeating rhythmic pattern automatically. Great for instant riffs and pulsing sequences.

tip: Turn on 'Arp Hold' so the pattern keeps playing after you lift your fingers — the fastest way is to hold [SHIFT] and press [ARPEGGIO], which opens the screen with Hold already on.

This changes how hard you have to press the keys to get loud notes. LIGHT means gentle presses already sound loud (easier for lighter hands), HEAVY means you have to dig in for full volume (more control for dynamic playing), and MEDIUM is the normal in-between.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press this button to fix the key touch so every note plays at a constant volume regardless of how hard you hit — handy for organ or certain synth parts where dynamics aren't wanted.

This flips between two ways of using the instrument: one single sound at a time (Patch mode), or a richer setup with multiple sounds combined and configured (Performance mode). If the light is off you're on single sounds; if it's on you're on the multi-sound setups.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press this button to jump straight to adjusting the volume of each part. Note that any time you turn on Split, Dual, or Super Layer, this button lights automatically because those all live in Performance mode.

This lets you change the key of the whole keyboard without learning new fingerings — so you can play a song in an easier key but have it sound in the key a singer needs. It moves in half-steps, the smallest musical intervals.

tip: To reset back to normal pitch, hold [TRANSPOSE] and press both OCTAVE [DOWN] and [UP] at the same time. If the button is lit, you're transposed — a quick visual reminder before you start playing.

Shifts the whole keyboard down so the same keys play lower notes — useful when you need deep bass but don't want to reach the far left of the keyboard. On an 88-key model you rarely need it for range, but it's handy for quickly dropping a sound an octave. Press [DOWN] and [UP] together to snap back to normal (0).

tip: What it affects depends on mode: in Patch mode it shifts the current sound (and can't be saved); in Dual or Super Layer it shifts all parts; in Split or 16-part mode it shifts only the selected part — and there it CAN be saved with the performance.

Shifts the whole keyboard up so the same keys play higher notes — great for playing high leads, bell sounds, or piano sparkle without physically moving to the top of the keys. Press [UP] and [DOWN] together to reset to normal (0).

tip: To transpose by single semitones instead of full octaves (for example to match a singer's key), hold [TRANSPOSE] and tap [UP] or [DOWN]; that gives a range of -5 to +6 semitones and lights the [TRANSPOSE] button.

Turns the row of sound-category buttons into a number pad so you can punch in a patch or setting number directly instead of scrolling to it with the dial. Much faster when you already know the exact number you want.

tip: Type the number then press [ENTER] to lock it in. Turn [NUMERIC] off afterward so those buttons go back to selecting sound categories.

A set of one-button shortcuts to your go-to sounds so you don't have to hunt for them mid-gig. Press it to light it, then tap a number [0]–[9] to instantly jump to a saved sound. To store a new favorite, hold [FAVORITE] and press a number button.

tip: You must save any edited sound (including Split/Dual/Super Layer setups) before you can register it as a favorite. Hold [SHIFT] + [FAVORITE] to open the utility screen where [ENTER] removes the selected favorite.

Because there are 100 favorite slots grouped into ten sets of ten, this button lets you switch which set of ten you're pulling from. Press [BANK], watch for the blinking number showing your current set, then press a number to jump to a different set.

tip: Use it during registration too: press [BANK], choose the destination bank with [0]–[9], then hold [FAVORITE] and press a number to save your sound into that exact slot.

One-touch access to all the drum and percussion kits, where each key on the keyboard plays a different drum or percussion hit rather than a pitched note. Press it, then spin the dial to try different kits.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press this button ([0]) to jump straight into the DRUM KIT EDIT screen for the currently loaded kit. When [NUMERIC] is on, remember it's now the number 0.

One-touch access to all the acoustic and electric-flavored piano sounds. Press it, then turn the dial to move through the available pianos until you find the one you want.

tip: Look for patches whose category number is marked with an "S" (for example "Pf: S01") — these are Roland's specially recommended, higher-quality sounds. When [NUMERIC] is lit this button doubles as the number 1.

Instantly takes you to the electric piano, clav and organ sounds so you don't have to scroll past everything else. Tap it, then spin the dial to audition the Rhodes, Wurli, drawbar organ and similar sounds one by one.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press this button to jump straight into the chorus settings — handy for widening or thickening an organ or electric piano without digging through menus.

Jumps you to all the guitar and bass sounds — acoustic and electric guitars, finger and pick basses, synth basses grouped here. Press it, then turn the dial to hear each one.

tip: [SHIFT] + this button opens reverb editing — useful for adding room or hall ambience to a clean guitar patch quickly.

Takes you straight to orchestral sounds — string sections, solo strings, pizzicato and similar. Tap it and spin the dial to find the one you want.

tip: Sounds whose category number shows an "S" (for example a marked string patch) are Roland's specially recommended picks — worth auditioning first.

Groups all the folk and traditional instruments from around the globe — things like sitar, koto, kalimba, bagpipes and hand percussion. Press it, then dial through the options.

Jumps to horns and wind instruments — trumpets, trombones, sax, flute, clarinet and full brass sections all live here. Tap it and turn the dial to pick one.

Takes you to lush background sounds — voices, choirs, and soft sustained pads that fill out a track. Press it, then scroll the dial to audition them.

tip: Pads from here layer beautifully under a piano or lead using the [DUAL] button for instant depth.

Your gateway to the classic synth sounds the JUNO name is known for — fat leads, plucky sequences, buzzy basses and sweeping synth pads. Tap it and dial through them.

tip: After picking a synth patch, press [SUPER LAYER] to stack detuned copies of it for a much bigger, wider sound.

Lets you play back your own imported audio clips across the keyboard as if they were instrument sounds. Press it and turn the dial to choose which imported sample plays.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press this button to jump into SAMPLE EDIT, where you can change a sample's loop points and its original key (the note where it plays at its recorded pitch).

This is the door to all the behind-the-scenes settings — tuning, brightness, saving backups, editing sounds in detail, and playing the demo songs. You won't touch it while just playing, but everything configurable lives behind it.

tip: While typing a name (saving a patch or pattern), press [MENU] to get INSERT and DELETE options so you can fix a name without retyping the whole thing.

The save button. Any tweak you make — a sound edit, a split, a super-layer, a recorded pattern — disappears when you switch sounds or power off unless you write it here first.

tip: In Performance mode, if both the patch and the performance show an "*", save the patch first and then the performance — saving the performance first will discard your patch edits.

This nudges the highlighted setting down one step at a time — for example lowering a patch number, a volume level, or an effect amount. It does the same job as turning the value dial counter-clockwise, but in precise single clicks, which is handy when you want to move exactly one step.

tip: If you're a long way from the number you want, hold [–] and tap [+] at the same time to fast-scroll, or hold [SHIFT] to jump in bigger chunks.

This bumps the highlighted setting up one step — the up-counterpart to the [–] button. Use it to inch a patch number, level, or effect setting higher without overshooting, since each press moves exactly one increment.

tip: For quick jumps, hold [+] and tap [–] together to speed through values, or hold [SHIFT] while pressing [+] to move in larger steps.

This doesn't change any sound by itself — it just moves the little highlight box up to whatever setting you want to edit next. Once the box is sitting on a value, you then use the value dial or the [–]/[+] buttons to actually change it.

tip: To race across a long edit screen, hold [up] and briefly tap [down] — the cursor then jumps much faster.

Like the other cursor buttons, this only moves the highlight box — down to the setting below the one you're on. It selects what you'll edit; the actual value change happens with the dial or the [–]/[+] buttons afterward.

tip: Hold [down] and tap [up] to make the cursor travel faster when a menu has many rows.

This slides the highlight box left across the screen so you can pick a different setting to change. On the main play screens it's often how you move from, say, the sound name over to the bank field.

tip: Note that [SHIFT] + this button (and the right button) is instead used to flip between tabbed pages in system and edit menus, so it does double duty depending on the screen.

This slides the highlight box right so you can land on the next setting you want to adjust. Nothing about the sound changes until you turn the dial or press [–]/[+] on whatever the box is now sitting on.

tip: When entering a name (for saving), the left/right cursor buttons move between letters, while [up]/[down] switch between uppercase and lowercase.

Think of this as a 'second function' key, like Shift on a computer keyboard. By itself it does nothing, but held down while you press almost any other button it jumps you straight to a hidden settings page — saving you from digging through menus.

tip: Some of the most useful combos: [SHIFT] + [0] opens Patch Edit, [SHIFT] + [FAVORITE] lets you check or delete favorites, [SHIFT] + [EXIT] turns the screen backlight off, and [SHIFT] + [ENTER] turns it back on.

This is your 'back' or 'never mind' button. If you've wandered into a menu or started something like a delete or write and change your mind, press it to back out without making any change.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press [EXIT] to switch off the display backlight — handy for saving battery power when running on the eight AA rechargeable batteries.

This is the 'yes, do it' button. Whenever the screen is waiting for you to commit — opening a menu you've highlighted, finishing a save, or confirming a delete — pressing this makes it happen.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] and press [ENTER] to turn the display backlight on. Also, when a confirmation message asks 'Are you sure?', you usually move the cursor to 'OK' and then press [ENTER] to go ahead.

Instead of dialing in a number for the tempo, you just tap this button in time with the beat you want — like tapping your foot — and the JUNO-DS locks its playback speed to your taps. It affects the built-in rhythm patterns, the pattern sequencer, and arpeggios, not the pitch of your keyboard sounds.

tip: Tap at least three or four times evenly for the machine to read your intended speed accurately; a couple of taps isn't enough to nail it.

Think of a pattern as a stack of eight separate recorded layers (drums, bass, chords, etc.). This button lets you silence any of those layers on the fly so you can hear the song without them. Turn a layer off, turn it back on, mix and match — the actual recording isn't changed, you're just hiding parts.

tip: Muting stays in effect even after you press [MUTE] again to leave the setup mode, so you can mute a track and then keep working normally. Great for building live arrangements — drop the drums out for a breakdown, then bring them back.

This is your eraser for recorded patterns. While a pattern is playing or recording, hold it down and whatever is on the current track gets rubbed out in real time — let go when you've cleared the bit you wanted gone. Using the Shift version instead gives you a menu to clear a whole track or the entire pattern in one shot.

tip: Because it erases only while held, you can wipe out just a few bad notes by holding it exactly over the section you want to remove as the pattern loops past — a quick way to fix mistakes without re-recording the whole track.

This makes things repeat. For an audio track loaded on a pad, it keeps the song (or a chosen chunk of it) playing round and round instead of stopping at the end. For your own recorded patterns, it decides whether the pattern cycles endlessly or plays through once and halts.

tip: To loop just a section of an audio file: start the file playing, hold [SHIFT] + [LOOP] where you want the loop to begin, then [SHIFT] + [LOOP] again where you want it to end. Note that MP3 files can't be looped this way — convert them to WAV or AIFF first.

This is the first of eight trigger buttons along the bottom. Tap it to fire off a drum groove, a recorded phrase, or a backing track — whatever you've loaded onto it. It doubles as a selector: in split/layered sounds it picks your right-hand (upper) sound to swap, and when recording patterns it chooses track 1.

tip: In the Audio Player, hold [SHIFT] and tap Pad [1] to instantly rewind the current song back to its start — handy for restarting a backing track between takes.

The second trigger button. Tap it to launch its loaded groove, phrase, or track. It's also how you grab your left-hand (lower) sound when you're playing a split, and it selects track 2 when recording your own patterns.

tip: In the Audio Player, hold [SHIFT] together with Pad [2] and keep holding to scrub backwards through a song, like the rewind button on an old tape deck.

The third trigger button. Tap it to fire off whatever phrase or track lives on it. When you're recording your own multi-track patterns, it picks track 3 to record onto.

tip: In the Audio Player, hold [SHIFT] plus Pad [3] and keep holding to fast-forward through a backing track — the counterpart to the rewind on Pad [2].

The fourth trigger button. Tap it to launch its loaded groove, phrase, or song. When recording patterns it selects track 4 as the track you're recording to.

tip: When you load a song folder into the Audio Player, files are assigned to pads in alpha-numeric order, so naming your files 01, 02, 03… lets you predict exactly which pad plays which track.

The fifth trigger button. Tap to play the groove, phrase, or track sitting on it, and use it to pick track 5 when you're recording your own patterns.

tip: Remember only one audio file can play at a time in the Audio Player — pressing another pad switches songs rather than layering them, so use the pads like a setlist of songs to jump between.

The sixth trigger button. Tap it to fire its loaded phrase or track, and use it to select track 6 when building a multi-track pattern.

tip: To switch to another song only after the current one finishes, hold down the currently-playing pad and press the pad you want next — it queues up instead of cutting in immediately.

The seventh trigger button. Tap to launch whatever groove, phrase, or track is loaded on it, and use it to pick track 7 when recording your own patterns.

tip: The overall volume of the pads (rhythm patterns and audio player) is set with the [PHRASE PAD] LEVEL slider, so if a pad seems too quiet or loud against your keyboard playing, adjust that slider rather than the individual sound.

This is the eighth of the row of eight rubber buttons. What it does depends on which of the three pad modes you're in: it either fires off a drum groove, picks or silences the eighth recording track, or plays an audio clip. Press it and the assigned phrase starts; press it again to stop.

tip: In the Pattern Sequencer, track 8 is where a recorded rhythm pattern lands when you record with 'R. Ptn 1st Loop Rec' set to ON, so pad 8 is handy for muting the drums to hear your other parts alone.

Turns the row of pads into a built-in drummer. Pick a style and the pads become eight versions of that groove that you can trigger while you play along on the keys. It's an instant backing beat, no programming needed.

tip: Use the [TAP] button to set the beat's speed by tapping, then play chords over the loop to sketch song ideas quickly. Remember nothing here is saved, so record it into the Pattern Sequencer if you want to keep it.

This is the machine's own multitrack recorder for short looping sections. You can layer up to eight parts—drums, bass, chords—into a repeating phrase of up to eight bars, then play over the top. It even records your knob twists and pitch-bend moves.

tip: Recording layers onto whatever's already there rather than replacing it, so if you make a mistake, hold [ERASE] while it plays to wipe part of a track, or use [SHIFT]+[ERASE] to clear a whole track and start fresh.

Turns the pads into a clip player for songs or backing tracks on a USB stick. Load up to eight audio files and each pad plays one—great for playing along with backing tracks live, or triggering sound effects and intros.

tip: Only one audio file plays at a time and you can't change an audio file's tempo. To loop just a section, play the file and press [SHIFT]+[LOOP] to drop the start point, then again to set the end point—but note MP3s can't be looped, so convert to WAV or AIFF first.

Sets how long your looping section is—anywhere from one to eight bars. This is only used with the built-in recorder. Make it longer to give yourself room for a bigger arrangement, or shorter to tighten up a repeating riff.

tip: When lengthening, choose 'YES' to 'With Copying?' if you want your existing groove duplicated to fill the extra bars—a fast way to turn a two-bar loop into a four-bar one you can then vary.

Sets the speed of anything that plays in time—drum grooves, recorded patterns, and arpeggios. Open it and spin the dial to go faster or slower. You can also switch the click track on or off from here.

tip: Instead of dialing a number, tap the [TAP] button in rhythm to set the speed by feel. Hold [SHIFT] and press [TEMPO] as a shortcut to flip the metronome on or off.

This is the balance desk for the built-in recorder. Once you've layered several parts into a pattern, use it to make each track louder or quieter and to place them left or right in the stereo field, so nothing drowns anything else out.

tip: Set the volume balance here before you save the pattern, since a good mix baked into the pattern means it'll sound right every time you recall it.

The 'go back to the start' button. Whatever is loaded—a recorded pattern or an audio track—this jumps it straight back to the beginning so you can play it again from the top.

tip: For the Audio Player specifically, the manual's listed shortcut for moving an audio file to its start is [SHIFT]+Pad [1], with [SHIFT]+Pad [2] and Pad [3] to rewind and fast-forward.

The main play/stop button for anything that runs in time. Hit it to start a groove, a recorded loop, or an audio clip; hit it again to stop. When you're recording a pattern, this is also what kicks the recording into motion.

tip: In the SMF IMPORT screen you can press this button to preview a MIDI file before importing it, so you can check you've got the right one.

The record button for the built-in recorder. Press it to get ready to record, then start playing—your notes, knob moves and pitch-bends are all captured into the loop. It only works in Pattern Sequencer mode.

tip: Set 'Input Quantize' to ON before recording to automatically tidy up your timing—Resolution picks the note grid and Strength (0–100%) decides how hard it snaps, so 100% is dead-on and lower values keep some human feel.

Little lights that tell you what the four knobs are set to control right now, so you don't turn a knob expecting to change brightness and accidentally change reverb instead. When all three glow together, the knobs are temporarily acting as volume faders for your parts.

tip: Glance at these before grabbing a knob on stage—they're your only quick confirmation of which parameter set is active.

A fuel gauge for battery power when you're playing without the AC adaptor plugged in. Steady light means power is getting low; blinking means change the batteries soon. If you ignore it, the screen will eventually show "Battery Low!" and the instrument stops working.

tip: Only rechargeable Ni-MH AA batteries are supported — carbon-zinc and alkaline cells cannot be used. Continuous battery run time is roughly 5 hours (about 4 if a USB flash drive is connected). Plugging in the AC adaptor always takes priority over batteries.

Your main window into the instrument — it tells you which sound is loaded, what mode you're in, and what every knob and button is currently doing. Almost everything you set up gets confirmed here, so glance at it whenever you're unsure what's selected.

tip: Hold [SHIFT] + [EXIT] to turn the backlight off, and [SHIFT] + [ENTER] to turn it back on — handy for saving battery power or dimming a dark stage. An "*" next to a sound name means you've edited it but not yet saved.

Push the stick left or right while holding a note to slide the pitch down or up, like bending a guitar string; it springs back to normal pitch when you let go. Push it forward (away from you) to add a wavering vibrato effect to the sound.

tip: You can do both at once — bend sideways while pushing forward — for expressive lead lines. How far the pitch bends and how much modulation is applied depends on the individual patch's settings.

This is what you play. It's a full-size weighted keyboard that feels like a real piano, and it senses how hard you hit each key so louder or softer playing changes the sound. Some keys double as controls: hold [SPLIT] and press a key to set where the keyboard divides into two sounds, and hold [TRANSPOSE] with the octave buttons to shift pitch.

tip: If the feel is too heavy or too light for you, press [KEY TOUCH] and choose LIGHT, MEDIUM, or HEAVY — LIGHT lets you play loud with less effort, HEAVY needs a firmer touch. For finer control, the system menu's Curve Offset and a fixed-velocity option let you dial it in further.

This sets how strong the microphone signal is as it enters the instrument. Turn it up if the mic is too quiet, down if it's distorting. It's a gain stage, separate from the front-panel [MIC IN] slider that sets how loud the mic is in your final mix.

tip: Set this so the mic sound is clear and full but not distorting when you sing or speak loudly, then use the top-panel [MIC IN] LEVEL slider to balance the mic against your playing. This knob mirrors the "Mic In Level" found in the SYSTEM "MIC IN SETTINGS."

This is the on/off switch. Simple as that — but the order you use it in matters for protecting your speakers from pops.

tip: Always turn the volume down before switching on or off. Power on the JUNO-DS first, then your amp/speakers; when shutting down, turn off the amp/speakers first, then the JUNO-DS. Remember the Auto Off function switches the unit off automatically after a set idle time (default can be disabled in System > Auto Off), and any unsaved edits are lost when power turns off — so save your work first.

Plug in a rocker-style expression pedal here to sweep something continuously with your foot — like volume or filter brightness — while your hands keep playing. You can also plug in a footswitch to trigger a chosen function.

tip: Only use the Roland EV-5 expression pedal; the manual warns other expression pedals can damage the unit. Assign what it controls under the SYSTEM "PEDAL" settings (Control Pedal Assign), and if the pedal behaves backwards, switch Control Pedal Polarity to REVERSE.

This is where you plug in a sustain pedal — press it and notes keep ringing after you lift your fingers, just like a piano's damper pedal. It's dedicated to sustain, so you don't have to assign anything.

tip: If you have a continuous-type pedal, turn on "Continuous Hold Pedal" in the SYSTEM "PEDAL" settings to get half-pedal control for subtle sustain. If notes stop when you press the pedal and sustain when you release, set Hold Pedal Polarity to REVERSE.

This lets another keyboard, controller, or computer play and control the JUNO-DS's sounds. Notes and other performance data come in through this socket.

tip: You can have incoming program change/bank select messages switch performances by setting the Performance Control Channel in the SYSTEM "MIDI" settings. If MIDI data flow stops, the display shows "MIDI Offline!" — check that the cable is still connected.

This sends out what you play and adjust — notes, knob moves, and so on — to other MIDI gear so the JUNO-DS can control external synths or a hardware recorder.

tip: In the SYSTEM "MIDI" settings you can choose whether program change, bank select, active sensing, and edit data are actually sent out. Turn on "Soft Through" if you want messages arriving at MIDI IN to pass straight out again to chain devices. Demo song data is not output here.

Plug a microphone in here to sing or talk through the JUNO-DS. Your voice can be run through effects like the vocoder (robot-voice controlled by the keyboard) or auto-pitch, or just have reverb added.

tip: Use a dynamic microphone only — the manual states the JUNO-DS does not support condenser mics. It's a 1/4-inch jack, so you'll need a mic cable or adapter with the right plug. If you hear nothing, check both the rear MIC [LEVEL] knob and the front [MIC IN] slider aren't down.

Plug in a phone, music player, or other audio source here and its sound plays through the JUNO-DS's outputs alongside what you're playing. Handy for jamming along to a backing track.

tip: Set the playback level on the connected device itself, since this input feeds the mix directly. This is separate from the USB flash drive audio player — use EXT INPUT when the audio is coming from an outside device rather than a USB stick.

This is the main way the keyboard's sound gets out to your speakers, PA, or mixer. Think of it as the 'sound comes out here' cable jack. If you can only run one cable, use this one and you'll still hear everything — just not spread across left and right.

tip: Plug into just L/MONO for a single-cable mono setup (small gigs, one powered speaker). Use both L/MONO and R for true stereo, which matters for patches with wide stereo effects like chorus and reverb. The [MASTER VOLUME] knob controls the level here.

This is the second half of the stereo output — the right-hand side of the sound. You use it alongside the L/MONO jack when you want the full stereo picture, so effects and layered sounds spread out properly across two speakers.

tip: Only bother with this jack when you're running in stereo. If you're going mono into one speaker or one mixer channel, leave this empty and use L/MONO alone — plugging in only R will not give you the full sound.

Plug your headphones in here for private practice or to check your sound without disturbing anyone. It plays the same thing that comes out of the main outputs.

tip: Turn the [MASTER VOLUME] down before putting headphones on, then bring it up — the same knob drives both the outputs and the headphones, so it can be surprisingly loud. Using headphones is also the manual's suggested test: if you hear sound in the phones but not from your amp, the problem is your cables or mixer, not the JUNO-DS.

This is the single cable that connects the keyboard to your music software on a computer. It does two jobs at once: it sends your playing as data the software can record and edit, and it also pipes the keyboard's own sound straight into the computer to record as audio — no extra audio cables needed.

tip: For best audio performance, download and install Roland's VENDOR driver from Roland's website and set System > MIDI > USB Driver to VENDOR (this only takes effect after you power off and on again). If you want the keys to only control your software and NOT trigger the JUNO-DS's internal sounds, set Local Switch to OFF. The [DAW CONTROL] button turns the panel into a control surface for your software. On the 76-key model, you must attach the included ferrite core to the USB cable.

This is where you plug in a USB stick. It lets the keyboard play backing tracks and audio files, load your own sound samples onto the keys, and save a full backup of all your custom sounds and settings so nothing gets lost.

tip: Format the flash drive in the JUNO-DS first (Menu > UTILITY > FORMAT USB MEMORY) so it creates the right folders — put backing tracks in SONG LIST, samples to import in IMPORT. Get into the habit of backing up your user data here (UTILITY > BACKUP), since edited sounds are lost when you power off if not saved. Never insert or remove the drive while the power is on — the manual warns this can corrupt your data — and never pull it out while the screen says 'Processing....'

This is where the power adapter plugs in to run the keyboard from a wall outlet. It's simply how the instrument gets electricity when you're not using batteries.

tip: Loop the cord through the cord hook so a snagged cable can't yank the power out mid-performance. Note that pulling the adapter out — or unplugging it from the wall — while the power is on will cut the power even if batteries are installed, and any unsaved edits will be lost. Use only the supplied Roland adaptor; others may have the wrong voltage or polarity and can damage the unit.

This is a small metal screw you can wire to a proper ground point to get rid of that slight tingly, staticky feeling you sometimes get when touching the keyboard or a plugged-in microphone. It doesn't change your sound — it's about comfort and safety.

tip: Only connect it to a genuine electrical ground — never to a water pipe (shock risk), a gas pipe (fire/explosion risk), or a telephone-line ground or lightning rod (dangerous in a storm). Grounding can occasionally introduce a slight hum depending on your setup; if you're unsure how to wire it, ask a Roland service center. If you unscrew the terminal screw, put it back and keep it away from small children.