Fantom-0

Fantom 06 vs Juno D

13 Feb 2025, 20:24

I am moving away from worstation type of keyboards simply because I do not need a ton of complexity nor do i need layers parts & scenes. I also dont need a sequencer. I am mostly playing live. I have a bottom board Yamaha YC61 that im good with Organs and basic pianos and EPs but am looking to replace my top board Korg Kross with someing that has more synths and leads. I have a Roland FA06 but the Juno D looks a bit more straight forward and has Z Core sounds. That said I can get a used Fantom 06 for around $1000 which is only $100 more than the Juno D new at $899.

Your thoughts? Comments?

Re: Fantom 06 vs Juno D

15 Feb 2025, 04:36

The Fantom-06 and the Juno-D6 have a lot in common. There are some features that only exist on the Juno-D6 (see https://forums.rolandclan.com/viewtopic.php?p=347038#p347038), and there are other features that only exist on the Fantom-06.

An important difference is the price. At Sweetwater the Fantom-06 costs 67% more than the Juno-D6, and at Thomann it is +30%.

Another important difference is the UI. The Juno-D6 is similar to the FA-06. It has a non-touch display, and editing happens via cursor buttons and the jog dial. The Fantom-06 has a touch screen with 6 encoders below it. The UI is optimized for that, which makes the Fantom-06 a lot faster and easier to operate.

However, it only matters if you edit sounds and create them from scratch. If you care about synths and leads, then editing should be essential. Given how quickly you go through keyboards (FA-06, Nautilus, MODX, Kross), I don't have the impression that you have spent a lot of time doing that. Based on that, I wonder if something entirely different might work better. Something like a Sequential Prophet-6, Novation Summit, or ASM Hydrasynth.

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