The History of Behringer's Juno-60 Clone
Updated February 4 2026
Back in 2010, Behringer released a concept image of a possible Juno-106-based synth from Behringer. It was then called the Phat-108. This was Behringer's very first foray into the possibility of creating a commercially available and affordable analog Roland Juno clone.
Later, Uli Behringer decided to turn this into a reality, not just concept art. Uli talks about the synth's progress in an rare 2015 interview with Amazona.de (see interview link at the bottom of this article), stating "...we want to create someething extraordinary here". Indeed.
Under the guidance of project leads Pete Sadler and Rob Belcham, it changed course from a Juno clone into the popular DeepMind 12 synth — a vastly different synth both in circuits, tone and function compared to the Juno-106.
Many DeepMind 12 circuits ended up quite different from a real Juno, including different filters, oscillator design, amp circuit, etc and no Juno-60 analog chorus (a defining feature of the Juno-60's classic sound), and even though it retained the Juno-60-like appearance, its overall sound ended up not quite a Juno-60, but rather a unique sounding synth in it's own right. The synth has become one of the best selling synths of all time, covered in major magazines and websites.
Fast forward a few years later, and Uli decided to get back to basics and create an authentic Juno-60 clone that would faithfully capture the breathtaking Juno-60 magic sound that captivated the '80s and beyond. Utilizing cloned circuits including Juno-60 analog filters, the revered analog Juno-60 chorus, Amp, oscillators, and other authentic circuilts, their Juno-60 clone "Neptune-80" was revealed by Behringer on March 10, 2023:
Fast forward again a couple years later; and a May 15 2025 leak showed an updated product image with authentically colored buttons and the synth name changed from Neptune-80 to a more "Juno"-like name: The JN-80.
Behringer stole the show at NAMM 2026 with a fully functional JN-80 that wowed audiences and players with its authentic Juno-60 sound and looks, with a retail price of just $569 US.
On February 4 2026, the JN-80 was finally released, bringing a decade-long project of the Juno-60 revival to fruition, including a big surprise of the synth shipping with premium presets (JN-80 Ultimate Patches Volume 3) from popular preset gurus Ultimate Patches.
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