the verdict one the roland sh-201

I've been looking into them. Has any one had any experience with them? Any concerns? It sounds like a really nice concept.

I'm living in Japan right now, and it's been out here for a while. I've messed around with it a little, but not really enough to form an opinion. I'd say it generally sounds pretty good, straightforward interface but seems a bit limited feature-wise (?) but like I said I don't know much about it.

It's a massively dumbed-down JP-8000 with the body of a Groovesynth.

Supposedly you can do more with the software interface but...sorry not interesting for me.

looks pretty gay to me...but then again so does pretty much everything Roland puts out.

isn't the jp-8000 a lot more expensive. I'm just looking for something kinda basic but not just a preset machine. The ability to control vsts seemed pretty intriguing to me. That's why I looked into it and it has some nice sounds.

Gay! I don't understand Roland. And no, the JP8000 is cheaper used than the SH201.

I could understand a updated JP8K, but a downgraded?

It's the V-synth analog synth section without any menus and VSTi interface. I would say it is a great starter synth for those individuals interested in beginner's analogue modeling board.

If you have a V-Synth or a JP-8000/8080 there is a lot of overlap. If you want access to the V-synth "synth" engine in an affordable package, this might be the board for you.

How do we know the sound has not been improved? Just wondering. Has a JP8k owner tried it out?

If they fixed the zippering and beefed up the filter, it might be attractive to me. Immediacy rules.

Jerry

I'm awaiting for its' US shipping date. It's currently July so we'll have to wait another month.

Thats over stating it a bit - actually a lot

Its the oscilators from a v-synth and I think (?) one miserable filter and a pair of envelopes and a couple of LFOs. I guess the relationship to the JP is via the supersaw mode on the oscs - otherwise, which IHMO dont exactly remind of a JP - maybe the filters are too different unless that has changed again on the SH201 (?)

You get none of the per block LFOs and envelopes and other useful sound shaping/modulation in the v-synth, nor obviously the FX, routing variation etc.

For a starter synth - I still think Ion/Novation KS series. I like my V-synth, but its VA alone wouldnt be my first choice. Its useful as a secondary/tertiary VA because of the rest of the V-Synth.

I was pretty disappointed with the VA side of the V-Synth also. From Marcus Brown's RUG article, it can be determined that the sound is a bit aggressive. Given that he uses a Lead 3 with it I would say that that may be a fair assumption.

i sold my virus c to get my vsynth, and i havnt looked back since in fact im begining to take pictures for ebay for my waldorf uQ as well... i love the VA section like no other VA i have ever used or owned, and i have been figuring out recently that it fits perfectly against a guitar, every preset ive made has been pretty much raw osc settings and i will pretty much never get another VA since now that i own this thing...

if the sh201 can do basic osc settings from the vsynth then i HIGHLY recomend it...

You are the first person I have heard say that they like the VA section of the V-Synth.

then that makes me fairly happy:)

i have tried almost all of the popular VAs that have come out over the past say about 10 years and i am most fufilled by the vsynth, and i have some patches that are pretty much simply raw osc that i have made and love, it has made me want to sell all of my hardware except my mono evolver desktop which i plan on polychaining to an MEK eventually... but that will cover all bases i plan on writting in (evo poly chain and vsynth that is)... i actually chose the vsynth over a virus Ti for VA...

this comming from a guy who basically creamed himself when he got to play with the prototype of the p0lar at the remix hotel nyc about a year ago and has been an avid listener to the industrial genres and sub genres which are entirely contaminated with the virus thanks to ronin harris and andy laplegua

+1 here!

Sold my Virusb when the TI was announced ... got pissed off waiting for it to be released and bought the V-Synth. When programming VA patches I go straight to it not only for the ease of programming but I love the sound. V2 added so much cool {censored} too ... the step sequencers are awesome as are the new oscs.

I keep reading about the "crappy" VA section on the V-Synth and don't get it!

i am starting to think its a good thing that people crap on the VA section of the vsynth...

gives us a unique advantage for the sonic pallate...

You're forgetting that for a lot of beginners something like an Ion would be overkil.

Why do you suppose synths like the SH-101 and TB-303 are so popular?

Hint: it's not because they are incredibly deep machines.

A simple synth means it's easier to get good sounds and harder to get bad ones.

Not to mention that almost noone has any hands-on time with the SH-210 yet so it's premature to call it a turd.

Same here. Only thing I don't like are not being able to pan the oscillators themselves, only two oscillators, a bit too much aliasing in the raw oscillators, and the zipper noise on radical pitch changes. Otherwise I don't bother with my other VA's unless they already have a patch created on them I need.

I love the idea of limited features. I'm kind of tired of having to do any sort of menu-diving and multiple button pushes to find a sound. That's what I like about the Polysix and the Pro One: you don't have to put on your engineer's hat to get at what you want.

I find these comparisons to the JP rather funny because not too long ago the few redeeming values of the JP were the one-knob-per-function UI and the super-saw waves. All of a sudden the JP is the {censored} and the SH-201 is junk (although no one has heard it or played with it in person)? Get real.

Most likely your "limited features" will be more than I will ever use.

the 201 will be the {censored}...

people just hate cause its roland

and agreably i am too falling in love with the ideas of limiting features...

and not spending all day lusting on what i dont have, just spending all day figuring out what i can do with what i do have...

my advice for someone looking for a new synth basically is... find a synth that inspires you and is easy to use and loose yourself in it... i wrote the most music ever when i took three months off of working and school when i was 18yo and had just saved up enough money for an mc303... learned that machine inside and out and was totally and completly inspired... looking back it sucked but there was something beautiful about the proccess of just using one or two machines...

simplicity is my new best friend

Maybe, but its relatively easy to get to grips with the basics, and not an expensive investment. Same with the KS series (more so actually).

I wouldnt dare suggest a micron tho. I agree from a simplicity perpective - SH201 is a good choice - and I assume that *was* the whole point from rolands perpective.

As for why I bought a TB303 back in its day (early 80s) - simplicity had nothing to do with it - *everything* was simple back then. Simplicity is what made it useful for quite a while - along with its companion TR606. Wish I hadnt sold the damn thing tho - grrrr!

That's part of the reason I'm interested in it and why I have a Nord Rack 2x, but it's the sound of the SH-201 that primarily concerns me. That's why I'm diligently awaiting some demo sounds to show up on the Roland websites.

With a PEK, I don't need another aggressive synth. I'm hoping that the SH-201 will be able to achieve those sultry JP-8000 sounds but has all those updated features to go a bit further with it than you could with a JP.