Roland SH01

[Don Solaris]

The answer is clearly written everywhere Don. It's a VA, just like the SH201 or the JP8000. Whether it's a good or bad one is another question...

Actually it appears to be a hybrid design.

Sound Generator Section:
Virtual analog synthesizer sound generator (Number of part: 1)
PCM sound generator (Number of parts: 15)
Source: Roland Gaia user manual

So, those who expected 16 parts of VA should know that of total 16 parts, just 1 is a VA.

As of the engine, you can't do anything with the spread of the supersaw - mostly because it's not even one, it's just a looped sample.

[balma]

Sorry if I hurt some feelings, but what a piece of s**t of "VA" we have here.

[Mr Knesh]

15 part pcm sound generator = gm2 sound bank. maybe?

sh32 was a cool piece of kit. I would like to own one so I could set it next to my jp8080.

[Villi]

Yes the pcm sounds are a GM bank, it's in the sonic state video. Now the questions is, how much of that 64 polyphony is the VA and how much of it is the GM bank? If the VA is 64 voices, why would you need 64 voices on a 37 key monotimbral VA? Even if each of those "synth parts" they mention takes a voice each it's pretty hefty, although I guess more understandable.

[Yoozer]

The answer is clearly written everywhere Don.

Repeating marketing speak is not "answering" anything.

Which people reported? From the AAA (Anti-Aliasing Agency)

I did, since I actually played one and specifically checked for the sync-turns-everything-mono-and-bypasses-filter behavior.

Roland didn't need to do this on the SH201 and the JP80X0. Why would it suddenly be necessary on the SH01 - especially if they're boasting that the DSP in there is on par with that of the V-Piano?

[Hybrid88]

Don't get why Roland and Music Reps say things in the vein of, "sounds great with the classic analog sound bla, blah".

Come on guys, would you expect an Jupiter-8 to sound like a digital - no, so why imply the oposite is possible? Only sounds good for trance supersaw IMO, not that that's a bad thing but it sure as h**l sounds nothin like any vintage poly I've ever heard.

Design looks puke-inducing too IMO, far cry from the beautiful Jupe designs. But I guess it has it's place - not in my studio though

[Don Solaris]

Speaking of GAIA's design...

This is what first what comes in my mind.
Appears the synth is made of the same plastic.

[sequentialsoftshock]

Sorry if I hurt some feelings, but what a piece of s**t of "VA" we have here.

This is about the only thing not questionable in terms of the gaia.

[zmd]

Roland didn't need to do this on the SH201 and the JP80X0. Why would it suddenly be necessary on the SH01 - especially if they're boasting that the DSP in there is on par with that of the V-Piano?

from all i've heard, they are saying same chips, not on par with v piano. the v piano has 3 or 4 of those chips running it

[Automatic Gainsay]

and occasionally giving AG a one hour ban just cause he looked at me funny.

It's that strange beauty you possess. I can't help myself.

[tyrannosaurus mark]

sysnthesiser based man love knows no national boundries

[Neonlights84]

Speaking of GAIA's design...

This is what first what comes in my mind.
Appears the synth is made of the same plastic.

I could not agree more. It seems like Roland is doubling down on the failure of the SH-201. The design is garbage, and I think it speaks volumes that the JP-8000 is still the pinnacle of Roland VA synths. It sounded good, was versatile, and added something new not only to synthesis, but to music in general (hello trance). The Gaia seems like another thin, flimsy, tinny gimmick meant to swindle people who desperately want Roland to put out something that doesn't pander to pop music studio producers. Why people desperately want the "Big Three" to do such things is beyond me. I gave up on them long ago, although I guess I must give Korg some credit for consistently bucking the trend.

Yamaha and Roland made synths because they could move units. Now they move workstation retreads, and in Roland's case, anemic third cousin VA synths. I say let them do so in isolation.

[Hybrid88]

Speaking of GAIA's design...

This is what first what comes in my mind.
Appears the synth is made of the same plastic.

Tell me about it, can't believe how s**t the plastic is on some gear these days. Crappy, cheap plastic seems to be worryingly making its way into a lot of the lower end stuff from Roland.

Gotta say, Roland is testing my loyalty with gear like this, and that's a shame cause I loved the V-Synth, looks more and more like the last truly good synth of a fantastic companies' product history

I hope I get proved wrong on this one of these days...

[realtrance]

I've always given Roland credit for offering a variety of options at a variety of pricepoints, and this is another one, where little things, like the battery operation, etc. fit it into a slot that will fill someone's needs that something else doesn't.

Having said that, however, it astonishes even me that Roland is so completely sitting on their laurels in terms of basic technology. How hard would it be for them to create oscillators that don't alias at higher frequencies at this point? I can get that on a $3 (US) App on my iPhone. How hard would it be for them to implement even 2 VA voices alongside the PCM synth they're selling? They did that in 1997, it's 14 years on now. I can see the reasons for a battery-powered synth not having an LCD, but how hard would it be for them to even provide an LED at this point, like the SH-32?

It's a synth built by the marketing department, basically, it's as if Roland engineering and music production have all gone on vacation. Maybe it's due to the fact that they have a high-end/low-end audience as well, but it's been a long time since Roland's created something for the market that exists somewhere between the expensive, Fantom/V-Synth etc. category and the SH-toy category. Like, 14 years.

Even I'm getting tired with that fact.

[Doooooooom]

Looks like a good beginners synth to me, why so negative? It's not as if you've actually heard the thing. Recorded into a camera microphone and coming from Youtube through your PC speakers is not an accurate impression.