Roland sh101 tuning issues...

[winnebago]

Had my sh101 around 2 weeks now and im not sure why but sometimes its out of tune and sometimes it isnt. I know obviously its old and analog but no matter how much I try move the tuning knob I cant seem to get it right.

Some other times one octave may seem in tune but as I go up the keyboard it drifts further out of tune.

If anybody has any suggestions that would be great.

Cheers
Joe

[Yekuku]

Hi Joe,
Let the synth warm up for a few minutes and then adjust the tuning knob.

sometimes its out of tune and sometimes it isnt

Unstable capacitor performance can lead to tuning issues. Could it be that some caps are going bad ?

Some other times one octave may seem in tune but as I go up the keyboard it drifts further out of tune.

This is a scaling problem, I can provide you with info about how to calibrate it but I am afraid that u can make things worst since the synth is behaving erratically. You got to have a stable operation before proceeding with the calibration procedure.

[Solderman]

The first issue is often caused by corrosion on the CV IN input. Wiggle a 1/8th inch cable around in it to verify. The second issue means someone needs to do the calibration procedure outlined in the service manual. If you are not comfortable opening up the unit and doing this yourself, you need to have a tech do it. Might as well have them look at the CV input as well.

And btw, the SH101 has practically zero warm up time for its VCO. The LFO, on the other hand, needs a short amount of time to stabilize.

[winnebago]

First of all thanks for the replys. I have got home tonight and put the tune knob to it centre position before i turned it on, then turned it on and left it a few minutes, and when I played a few notes it was perfectly in tune even as I made my way up the keyboard it stayed in tune all the way, maybe in future I just have to be more patient with it.

[Pro5]

First of all thanks for the replys. I have got home tonight and put the tune knob to it centre position before i turned it on, then turned it on and left it a few minutes, and when I played a few notes it was perfectly in tune even as I made my way up the keyboard it stayed in tune all the way, maybe in future I just have to be more patient with it.

Also it can depend on how you turn it on if you have a dodgy on/off switch! turn it on hold a note and gently tap the power button, a lot of SH-101s will alter their tune sometimes momentarily sometimes it will stick. This isn't connected to scaling though (AFAIK) but can affect the default tune (and thus the position needed on the tuning nob) if the switch has not been cleaned/fixed.

[KB Crockett]

My SH-101 developed similar issues. Spraying contact cleaner on the power switch helped enormously, but I still couldn't calibrate the scaling correctly. I finally had the power switch replaced and all was good. Seems to be a common problem with these.

In the days when we always got to try a second-hand synth before buying it this was the kind of fault we could look out for, but with so much vintage gear now sold online we have to be reliant on the seller being upfront. That's progress! Hope you get it sorted out.