Athox
04-01-2008, 06:14 PM
Now, I know it's starting to get a bit old (oh my, 2 years!!), but at the same time, it's an amazing instrument that hasn't really got the attention that it deserves (maybe because of the marketing profile). I've had it for about 5 weeks now, and I dig it.
Roland SH-201
First some facts...
It has:
- 49 keys, no aftertouch, but velocity sensitive
- a 3-way joystick (standard Roland)
- a D-beam controller (now also standard Roland)
- 2 oscillators which include the Roland super saw waveform (think thick phat saw-wave). These can work alone or together in many ways, which are explained later.
- 32 preset patches and 32 user editable patches. One of the preset patches (last one) is an empty patch, for easy access. Brilliant. Also you can download various patch packs, including one by Jordan (http://www.roland.com/SH-201/index.html). Oh that reminds me, gotta test that one soon.
- MIDI IN/OUT (can be changed to IN/THRU or to work as MIDI IN/USB-MIDI OUT, etc.)
- pedal input to be used either for expression or switch (couldn't get my korg exp-2 to work, but that may have to do with the fact that it's korg and the synth is roland).
- audio input, RCA jacks, for cd player, etc.
- 10 voice polyphony (5 per oscillator or 10 if only one is used).
It also has an arpeggiator and a sequencer, but that's definately not the main reason to buy it, seeing as they are both limited.
The SH201 is marketed as a synth for learning sound synthesis, and it does that job very good. I already knew how to make sounds, considering I have to press thousands of buttons on my Yamaha MO8 just to produce a sine wave. Imagine my delight when getting to play with this little piece of genius and endless fun!
I'm using it on my right hand for leads, and sometimes as a layer in a bigger combination on my Triton. Makes a difference with its unique sounding... sounds.
Sounds
I'll say a bit about the presets that come with it.
Most of them are bass sounds, which are nice, but not really what I use. It's ok though, it's not filled with them, plus I can still overwrite half of them.
Then next up there are a lot of leads. Those are mainly techno-based (I'm using the term techno widely here, I'm "not into" that part of the music world), but that can be explained by the target audience for this product - people with no skills at all :biggrin:.
THE PADS! Oh my, they're just brilliant. I'll leave it at that. What else can I say?
There are a couple of string patches as well (synth strings of course), including an attempt at some mellotron-like sound. That one is nice, but the limited polyphony makes for limited use. I really wonder why they couldn't make room for more voices (polyphony) in such a simple instrument like this. It's a virtual analog, sure, but it's VIRTUAL!
Other sounds include some noise based ones, like wind or whistling, as well as some bell patches. There is a limited amount of sounds you can make with only 8 different waveforms. It's not a workstation or a rompler, after all.
Ok, off to the technical bits...
Oscillators
Waveforms: Saw, Square, Pulse (with accompanying pulse width knob), Triangle, Sine, Noise (white, but can of course be filtered), Feedback (pulse width knob here works as a brightness control) and Super Saw (pulse width knob here works as pitch spread of the 7 different saw waves in this single wave).
I love the super saw. Enough about that.
It also has an EXT IN setting, to use the input (1/4" jacks) through the signal chain. Besides that the EXT IN can also be used as a separate signal chain with only a filter applied to it, in addition to the two oscillators doing whatever they do.
I said that the oscillators can work in many ways. Well. Basically like any other synth with two oscillators, really. :tongue: But, the ease of use is the key here. With the push of a (5th) button you can make one oscillator the 5th harmonic of the other oscillator. Cool, huh? Also works for making it an octave lower (-OCT key). So much for programming the buttons above the pitch wheel on the Kurz, huh?
You can of course also specify this through the use of the pitch knob if you need any other harmonic within three octaves up or down. There is a "wide"-button which changes the range of the pitch knob from 1 octave up/down to 3 octaves up/down.
The oscillators can be split or layered and be played separately.
The pitch envelope consists of three sliders of attack time, decay time and depth (+/- amount). So easy to use that you'll probably change it live just for the heck of it.
Mix/mod
Next up is the first "effects" section, which combines the two waves to create the one sound. There are three choices:
- MIX: just adds them on top of each other, each doing their own bit.
- SYNC: forces oscillator 1 to restart its cycle every time oscillator 2 completes one.
- RING: ring modulator.
It also has a choice of boosting or cutting the low frequencies. You can't choose the cut frequency, probably for ease of use. This is one thing that I would have liked to be able to do, or even just have a few choices.
Filters
The filters are few but simple. You choose high/low/band pass filter.. or bypass (get it? :tongue: ). Choose slope (12db or 24db) and cutoff/resonance, as on other synths.
Then there is a key follow knob, which changes where the cutoff frequencies are (the "knees" of the filter) depending on which keys you are pressing. Moving the knob up or down changes the cutoff frequency up or down, etc. It can also reverse (minus) so that when you move up the keyboard, the cutoff frequency goes down, which makes for some interesting results.
The filter envelope is the same as the pitch envelope, except it also has sliders for sustain depth (relative to overall depth) and release time.
Amp
The amp section has an overdrive button which - surprise surprise - creates an overdrive effect on the sound. The depth of the distortion can be changed by holding down the button and moving the amp level knob. Very useful.
The amp envelope is the same as the filter envelope except it doesn't have an overall depth slider.
LFOs
Then we have the LFOs, of which there are two. They work like every other LFO, and on this synth, you tell the LFO what to control, not the thing to be controlled by the LFO. See the difference?
So again, very easy to use, since you can set the LFO and then tell it where to go, instead of having to go there and telling it to read the signal of the LFO. Saves time and it's more fun, as you can edit sounds faster.
Each LFO can have 2 destinations.
Effects
There are two effects, reverb and delay. We all know how those work. You can also load some reverb or delay effect templates by holding down and pressing wildly around.
More?
In general there are many things you can do by holding down this and that button and pressing wildly anywhere, but there's just too much for me to write about. There are 6 pages in the manual listing that bit. Most of them are settings, like the midi thing I mentioned in the beginning.
There are also DOZENS of possibilities in the sound making department that I haven't even gotten into myself, I just know that they're there. Holding buttons and pressing wildly, etc.
I won't talk about the audio filter bit because I haven't used it at all.
All patches can also be edited through the pc/mac software (not compatible with vista, by the way.. there was a nice notice that came with it which said "NOT COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS VISTA!").
So... how would I rate this one...
For being a tutorial instrument that it is, I'd say it does the job to full score.
But more interestingly:
For use in composing, 3/6 - lacking a bit, mainly in polyphony
For use in sound synthesis, 4/6 - it's simple, but that's what makes it great, too
For use in your rig, 6/6 - If you're looking for a VA or if you just have room in your rig and can afford it, get this one (it's one of the cheapest synths from "the big three", and the price has dropped about 1/3 since the beginning). You won't regret it. Even if you're always looking for the special stuff, in which case you've got GAS; therefore you should still get this one, as it will become a classic. :biggrin:
No, I'm not hired by Roland, I'm just smitten.
Roland SH-201
First some facts...
It has:
- 49 keys, no aftertouch, but velocity sensitive
- a 3-way joystick (standard Roland)
- a D-beam controller (now also standard Roland)
- 2 oscillators which include the Roland super saw waveform (think thick phat saw-wave). These can work alone or together in many ways, which are explained later.
- 32 preset patches and 32 user editable patches. One of the preset patches (last one) is an empty patch, for easy access. Brilliant. Also you can download various patch packs, including one by Jordan (http://www.roland.com/SH-201/index.html). Oh that reminds me, gotta test that one soon.
- MIDI IN/OUT (can be changed to IN/THRU or to work as MIDI IN/USB-MIDI OUT, etc.)
- pedal input to be used either for expression or switch (couldn't get my korg exp-2 to work, but that may have to do with the fact that it's korg and the synth is roland).
- audio input, RCA jacks, for cd player, etc.
- 10 voice polyphony (5 per oscillator or 10 if only one is used).
It also has an arpeggiator and a sequencer, but that's definately not the main reason to buy it, seeing as they are both limited.
The SH201 is marketed as a synth for learning sound synthesis, and it does that job very good. I already knew how to make sounds, considering I have to press thousands of buttons on my Yamaha MO8 just to produce a sine wave. Imagine my delight when getting to play with this little piece of genius and endless fun!
I'm using it on my right hand for leads, and sometimes as a layer in a bigger combination on my Triton. Makes a difference with its unique sounding... sounds.
Sounds
I'll say a bit about the presets that come with it.
Most of them are bass sounds, which are nice, but not really what I use. It's ok though, it's not filled with them, plus I can still overwrite half of them.
Then next up there are a lot of leads. Those are mainly techno-based (I'm using the term techno widely here, I'm "not into" that part of the music world), but that can be explained by the target audience for this product - people with no skills at all :biggrin:.
THE PADS! Oh my, they're just brilliant. I'll leave it at that. What else can I say?
There are a couple of string patches as well (synth strings of course), including an attempt at some mellotron-like sound. That one is nice, but the limited polyphony makes for limited use. I really wonder why they couldn't make room for more voices (polyphony) in such a simple instrument like this. It's a virtual analog, sure, but it's VIRTUAL!
Other sounds include some noise based ones, like wind or whistling, as well as some bell patches. There is a limited amount of sounds you can make with only 8 different waveforms. It's not a workstation or a rompler, after all.
Ok, off to the technical bits...
Oscillators
Waveforms: Saw, Square, Pulse (with accompanying pulse width knob), Triangle, Sine, Noise (white, but can of course be filtered), Feedback (pulse width knob here works as a brightness control) and Super Saw (pulse width knob here works as pitch spread of the 7 different saw waves in this single wave).
I love the super saw. Enough about that.
It also has an EXT IN setting, to use the input (1/4" jacks) through the signal chain. Besides that the EXT IN can also be used as a separate signal chain with only a filter applied to it, in addition to the two oscillators doing whatever they do.
I said that the oscillators can work in many ways. Well. Basically like any other synth with two oscillators, really. :tongue: But, the ease of use is the key here. With the push of a (5th) button you can make one oscillator the 5th harmonic of the other oscillator. Cool, huh? Also works for making it an octave lower (-OCT key). So much for programming the buttons above the pitch wheel on the Kurz, huh?
You can of course also specify this through the use of the pitch knob if you need any other harmonic within three octaves up or down. There is a "wide"-button which changes the range of the pitch knob from 1 octave up/down to 3 octaves up/down.
The oscillators can be split or layered and be played separately.
The pitch envelope consists of three sliders of attack time, decay time and depth (+/- amount). So easy to use that you'll probably change it live just for the heck of it.
Mix/mod
Next up is the first "effects" section, which combines the two waves to create the one sound. There are three choices:
- MIX: just adds them on top of each other, each doing their own bit.
- SYNC: forces oscillator 1 to restart its cycle every time oscillator 2 completes one.
- RING: ring modulator.
It also has a choice of boosting or cutting the low frequencies. You can't choose the cut frequency, probably for ease of use. This is one thing that I would have liked to be able to do, or even just have a few choices.
Filters
The filters are few but simple. You choose high/low/band pass filter.. or bypass (get it? :tongue: ). Choose slope (12db or 24db) and cutoff/resonance, as on other synths.
Then there is a key follow knob, which changes where the cutoff frequencies are (the "knees" of the filter) depending on which keys you are pressing. Moving the knob up or down changes the cutoff frequency up or down, etc. It can also reverse (minus) so that when you move up the keyboard, the cutoff frequency goes down, which makes for some interesting results.
The filter envelope is the same as the pitch envelope, except it also has sliders for sustain depth (relative to overall depth) and release time.
Amp
The amp section has an overdrive button which - surprise surprise - creates an overdrive effect on the sound. The depth of the distortion can be changed by holding down the button and moving the amp level knob. Very useful.
The amp envelope is the same as the filter envelope except it doesn't have an overall depth slider.
LFOs
Then we have the LFOs, of which there are two. They work like every other LFO, and on this synth, you tell the LFO what to control, not the thing to be controlled by the LFO. See the difference?
So again, very easy to use, since you can set the LFO and then tell it where to go, instead of having to go there and telling it to read the signal of the LFO. Saves time and it's more fun, as you can edit sounds faster.
Each LFO can have 2 destinations.
Effects
There are two effects, reverb and delay. We all know how those work. You can also load some reverb or delay effect templates by holding down and pressing wildly around.
More?
In general there are many things you can do by holding down this and that button and pressing wildly anywhere, but there's just too much for me to write about. There are 6 pages in the manual listing that bit. Most of them are settings, like the midi thing I mentioned in the beginning.
There are also DOZENS of possibilities in the sound making department that I haven't even gotten into myself, I just know that they're there. Holding buttons and pressing wildly, etc.
I won't talk about the audio filter bit because I haven't used it at all.
All patches can also be edited through the pc/mac software (not compatible with vista, by the way.. there was a nice notice that came with it which said "NOT COMPATIBLE WITH WINDOWS VISTA!").
So... how would I rate this one...
For being a tutorial instrument that it is, I'd say it does the job to full score.
But more interestingly:
For use in composing, 3/6 - lacking a bit, mainly in polyphony
For use in sound synthesis, 4/6 - it's simple, but that's what makes it great, too
For use in your rig, 6/6 - If you're looking for a VA or if you just have room in your rig and can afford it, get this one (it's one of the cheapest synths from "the big three", and the price has dropped about 1/3 since the beginning). You won't regret it. Even if you're always looking for the special stuff, in which case you've got GAS; therefore you should still get this one, as it will become a classic. :biggrin:
No, I'm not hired by Roland, I'm just smitten.