I find it extraordinary that you picked up a guitar after all those years of playing keys.I never knew anyone who has done that and I admire that quite a bit.
I can relate to being comfortable with a particular brand for programming,as I've always stuck with Korg,but I wanted to branch out and learn something new,by trying out a another brand,just as you took the plunge by learning guitar.
My sales rep at Sweetwater told me that Kurzweil's are very complex & a major learning curve & he did not reccomend one for me,but this did not phase me & I eventually plan on owning one in the future.
If you're Roland completes your studio,then that's cool,but if you ever decide to venture beyond Roland,there is some mind blowing stuff out there.
In recent years,I have done more product research than any other time in my life and I must say,it's been a very pragmatic experience and it has really paid off.
I never really cared much for Yamaha or Alesis myself,but I was always very selective about Roland boards & my general rule of thumb,is that if the program presets don't impress me-then the other features don't matter to me.
This is why I am so utterly taken with the Clavia Nord Lead 2X...despite the fact that it has no on-board effects,it's still sounds amazing and speaking of getting amazing things out of a keyboard..holy hell..that is what the Nord was made to do!
For the most part,a person gets what the pay for and not to put down your board,but it's pretty clear that the bass line in "The Smell Of Freedom" is a Juno-G bass.
I used to own a Korg M1 and it was a fantastic workstation to program & record with,but I could always pick out the M1's sounds when a commercial on tv came on,because there was always a distinctive thiness to the sound.
I'm not doubting that the Juno-G can produce some decent sounds,but my Korg Triton has more convincing bass sounds(for example) & if you want everything in your song to sound convincing,you'll have to spend more money,or just go for a keyboard for the sounds,rather than paying into a workstation.
In most cases,there is a compromise with the quality of factory presets in workstations,as you are paying more for the recording aspect of it,rather than sound quality of the patches.
Even my Korg has limitations,obviously.While my Triton does have natural sounding piano,bass,percussion & orchestral sounds,it's still lacking the warmth & flexibility of a analogue synth.
The Kurzweil K2-series seems to have the best of both worlds,but only in recent years,have they finally done away with floppy drives & I don't understand why thier keyboards only have 48 voice polyphony,which is one of the reasons why I decided to postpone buying one.
I still want the K2661 model,but I want to see what they will come up with next,before I make move on one.
Roland has always had a good reputation for synth sounds which is why I like Roland,but in today's vast consortium of exceptional synths,I don't feel that Roland is being competitve enough.
Like I had said,the Juno-G stands out in the bang for the buck category,but as for the Fantom X,well,I personally do not want to make a major additional investment in expansions,along with tweaking,just to get the Fantom to sound as good as my Korg.
Some people swear by thier Roland Fantoms',stating that thier piano sounds are better than the competition & some people love thier Yamaha Motif's to death and I say-to each his own,whatever blows your hair back.
It's clear that your having alot of fun with your Juno-G and that's all that matters.
