More cool stuff and free music at stretta.com A test of the functions of the Roland SH-101. Not a keyboard wankery video or musical statement. Created for an ebay auction.
That was my first synth back in '84. I had a grey one with a red modulation handle (no matching ones were in stock). Got it for $200. Weighed a ton hanging around my 12-year old neck!
My favourite synth ever! Portable, analog, arpeggiator, straps, filters, 2 1/2 octave which I like. Nothing more that I need! Only thing is i've yet to acquire one.
It's a simple,but great synth.Twangy basses,portamento leads and big kick drum noises are what it excels at.And it's great for learning with.Knobs and sliders,can't beat 'em.
Thank you! I am searching for anew synth and every time I look at demos to hear presets etc, all I see are videos of guys making noise and not actually playing anything. SO fucking annoying. Thank you for an actual insightful video!
You're right about the self oscillating filter, but that sound gets obliterated in those two moves. The first move is filter cutoff. So, now the filter is totally closed and there is nothing sourced from the mixer. The next move is simply bringing up the square wave in the mixer. However, the filter is closed down so much, it is going to sound more like a sine wave. The range switch was set to low, so you're just going to hear the fundamental of a very low note.
pulse width modulation of a square wave via the LFO can create a fat, unison-like sound of multiple oscs. This usually is more effective with real analog.
These were very popular in the mid 80s as i recall. They were affordable at well under $200. I know a lot of NON-keyboard/synth guys got them. It was often a "first synth" for folks. The key to getting really good sounds was to use effects pedals. I knew a guitarist who just put this through his guitar effects chain. It sounded quite awesome with Delay,Fuzz and Phaser or Flanger.
100 percent agree. thank you. they both are very nice. i am an analog fan also, but they are for the most part pricy. its no big deal to me. i like to know my facts, but if it sounds good to the player, thats all that matters.
The SH-101 also has a 100-event sequencer, which means it can store a melody or sequence of 100 notes and/or pauses. But from the 13 years i owned this synth, i do have to mention those stored notes will get lost if you don't put any batteries in the back or disconnect the powersupply. ;-) Nice synth and i had endless fun with mine, untill i sold it, 25 years after it was build. :-) How many synths made today, will last that long i wonder...
thank you.... you obviosly are a mature, well educated person. i don't se why people(beardsarecool) seem to think that people on the internet will respect them if they hate on others. and thinking that they are the king of some analog cult, and in some imaginary contest against anything digital... cause yes analog is a high quality sound and organic, but there are waveforms that just are NOT possible in analog synthesis.... i respect both digital and analog machines equally.
@djjessebase10 It's also way more flexible than it looks, small changes in slider position give varied but always 'sweet' sounding basses, leads and on top of that you can create some strange effects with it's (actually pretty unique) architecture, the way it all hooks up with the LFO and mod on VCF and VCO, it's not just an acid machine or a plain bass machine. It really does do way more than many think (esp in such a great portable size!) - again VCO + FILTER is what counts
I get what you're saying... The Arturia minibrute is single oscillator... and although a different beast, rains on the SH-101 from a great height. Feature-wise and sound-wise (subjectivity) it is in another league... for just over half the price too.
Nice classic analog gear videos, nothing like the old machines... all the new "analog" gear sounds sponge and tiny compared with old classics like SH and Pro-One. Thanks.
well it does seem to have 3 other sliders (attack, decay and sustain, respectively i would guess) near the release knob he was tweaking at the beginning so yes i would say so
@TheCunningAndFought It's a great synth to 'start out with', most who start out with one end up keeping it years later after buying more advanced synths because it's just immediate and has a great sound. The only thing it lacks that may be useful for starting out is patch memory. Polysix is also a good (fairly simple but nice sounding) synth WITH patch memory
Raver- Thanks for your comments. Sorry if I offended you! But just being realistic! My SH-101 cost, I think about £85! But, as I said the 'Frequency' slider went Pete Wrong! Luckily, at the same time I bought a Moog Prodigy which I got for a 'Handsome' price! ,,,,,& this won't be for sale for a long time.........until the British Museum want it! LOL!
@thedefog wouldn't quite put it up there with gen 1 minimoog..not the same filter at all...but it does have PWM that fattens it up nicely...but just too buzzy of oscs for me...btw Kudos on the SL Ultimate..nice mono synth...try the Vermona Perfourmer MK 2 II for a listen..smooth
I have one of these and this synth has a fantastic sound, don't be fooled, it kills the vast majority of soft synths stone cold dead even without effects, add effects and that includes pretty much all
If you had all keyboards referenced here, you could compare them. IDK if you're looking for a Canon, but you could ask people on flickr which keyboard they prefer.
@djjessebase10 So is a guitar? It's all about the music not the features. It's about the sound not the bullet points. I have some very advanced synths in my studio and I've sold some advanced ones (both analog and digital) and many times the SH-101 is the only synth you need to get the right sound for the job. Just like a guitar, and of course you can use outboard/effects with the 101 to add flavour but it's base sound is just right. It's why many pros swear by it! Have you had one??
@RaverAJ1988 Keeping my Moog until they are like 'rocking horse shit'! Miss my SH101 more than I miss my Dad!!! (He passed away 8 years ago!). My Moog ain't in TB303 status yet! But, I'll wait!!!
Yes of course you can record it in you DAW through an audio interface connected to your mac. But the sh-101 doesn't accept midi if it's your question ...
@jgk381 Actually, I'm going to college in 6 months and I really need to downsize. The rhodes is a 70 pound beast. I'm not going to rip myself off, so obviously it would be plus or minus some cash depending on the synthesizer and the condition.
the sh101 is the real deal, i suppose the moog prodigy is similar in the sense that its a baby monosynth thats good for bass and leads but in all honesty it sounds completely different
It's always nice to have the real thing, but the TAL plug in can do the same sounds with a little work. I use it a lot and it's very difficult to tell them both apart. (I know because I've done an A-B test with a real 101)
Ahaha, I was listening to this using the built in speakers in my laptop so come the 3 minute mark I was just hearing a series of pops cause it just couldn't handle such subby goodness. Thankfully I had a set of AKG headphone's near by to enjoy :P
Thanks a lot for this vid, i'm gonna buy one of these as soon as i find one... :) and this really encouraged me, i've heard too much of the bass-synth image of sh-101
UA-cam is the wrong forum, but the question itself is nonsensical. It is like you're asking to compare the features, specs and value of a Canon SLR to a Canon Speedlite. The only thing they have in common is the fact that they both are made by Canon.
I know the Sh101 has a massive following but I owned one and really didn't like the sounds. I guess I needed to spend more time with it but I lost interest quickly, unlike the Juno series which is far more useable and polyphonic. I guess I prefer smoother tones. For what they do they go for silly money like the 303, 202, 909 and 808.
@rcmeyerson your best bet is probably to put it up for sale, youll get the money alot sooner than trying to find a trade partner, then you can just order your new keyboard up at college and have it shipped there if nec. you can get like 700-1000 on ebay for the rhodes. good luck :)
would you mind telling me how you exactly constructed the subbass sound at 3:16? the basis is noise through a self oscillating tuned filter. but then you move two sliders and pow - there you go!!1 thx!!
yeah absolutely agree I had 1 for 25 years just sitting there as I bought a pro1 that wiped the floor with it. The youngsters tend to look towards Artists that happen to use these machines ( especially within the house / techno ) and overly praise them. As a cheap synth at the time it was great ( 1985 ) for £500 + today it is s**t , same goes for the 909 808 & 303
I think at the moment about every vintage synth is "overprized". Luckily there's still a bunch of companies (even big ones, lately) producing a wide variety of analogue synthesizers today.
I saw how much they were going for on ebay. I was amazed to say the least. I will let it go for less than what I saw on ebay. Dang even the sound bender attachment (that I also have) was selling for $300. Like I said I'll take any fair offer but I will let it go for way less than what I'm seeing on ebay.
bravo,bravo a realy good function demo. i heard many sounds i thought were quite usable. for me,its the right size,the right sort of control arrangement. now i hope i can afford it . damn you sir!! you almost make me wish i wasnt jewish so i could put the bite on a group pals to get me one for xmas
Just got one of these little jems off a friend who said he found it on the side of the road... Hard to beleive but it all works except 11 dead keys which are mostly together. I'm sure I can fix it up. SCORE!!!
hmmm well, I looked it up in the service manual...and it looks like I might need a freq. counter....but I gues I could use the tuner, as long as I know what note to tune to.
That was my first synth back in '84. I had a grey one with a red modulation handle (no matching ones were in stock). Got it for $200. Weighed a ton hanging around my 12-year old neck!
you should totally watch this video with the captions turned on.
hmmm
yeah
mmm mmm mmm
whoo!
4:10
I wasn't expecting that - *why*
wow that is wild!
They synth tells us not to make war at the end, wow.
Yeah
Woo
Always used to run mine through a stereo chorus and an old Boss Delay pedal, fantastic synth.
I use a studio series Stereo Chorus CH01 pedal I bought it new when the SH101 first came out
Listen to the sound. This is Boards of Canada's secret weapon. Amazing!
My favourite synth ever! Portable, analog, arpeggiator, straps, filters, 2 1/2 octave which I like. Nothing more that I need!
Only thing is i've yet to acquire one.
It's a simple,but great synth.Twangy basses,portamento leads and big kick drum noises are what it excels at.And it's great for learning with.Knobs and sliders,can't beat 'em.
As cool as all these old analog synths are, the prices of them are absolutely ridiculous.
Thank you! I am searching for anew synth and every time I look at demos to hear presets etc, all I see are videos of guys making noise and not actually playing anything. SO fucking annoying. Thank you for an actual insightful video!
This is one of the best synths ever made. Don't let the size fool ya. It has a tone to die for. :)
You're right about the self oscillating filter, but that sound gets obliterated in those two moves. The first move is filter cutoff. So, now the filter is totally closed and there is nothing sourced from the mixer. The next move is simply bringing up the square wave in the mixer. However, the filter is closed down so much, it is going to sound more like a sine wave. The range switch was set to low, so you're just going to hear the fundamental of a very low note.
all due respect you never need to let that sweet piece of beauty ever get dusty again my man!
pulse width modulation of a square wave via the LFO can create a fat, unison-like sound of multiple oscs. This usually is more effective with real analog.
plug an 808 with that and you have yourself one of the most god givenly beautiful pieces of audio a man could ever need-- long ling Roland!
Now I know what they make the soundtracks on for those cheesy 80s science programs they used to make us watch in school! :D You gotta love the SH101!
***** 50 quid?! What were you smoking?!
I have the Roland Plug Out of this hardware for my Roland System-1. Good to see/hear the original hardware.
These were very popular in the mid 80s as i recall. They were affordable at well under $200. I know a lot of NON-keyboard/synth guys got them. It was often a "first synth" for folks. The key to getting really good sounds was to use effects pedals.
I knew a guitarist who just put this through his guitar effects chain. It sounded quite awesome with Delay,Fuzz and Phaser or Flanger.
100 percent agree. thank you. they both are very nice. i am an analog fan also, but they are for the most part pricy. its no big deal to me. i like to know my facts, but if it sounds good to the player, thats all that matters.
If I had the money, I would have another SH101 tomorrow! Great fun!
The SH-101 also has a 100-event sequencer, which means it can store a melody or sequence of 100 notes and/or pauses. But from the 13 years i owned this synth, i do have to mention those stored notes will get lost if you don't put any batteries in the back or disconnect the powersupply. ;-) Nice synth and i had endless fun with mine, untill i sold it, 25 years after it was build. :-) How many synths made today, will last that long i wonder...
thank you.... you obviosly are a mature, well educated person. i don't se why people(beardsarecool) seem to think that people on the internet will respect them if they hate on others. and thinking that they are the king of some analog cult, and in some imaginary contest against anything digital... cause yes analog is a high quality sound and organic, but there are waveforms that just are NOT possible in analog synthesis.... i respect both digital and analog machines equally.
You have talented hands... Sound very cool indeed!
Mental sounding thing! LCD Soundsystem uses that model!
Great video showing off this classic synthesizer
@djjessebase10 It's also way more flexible than it looks, small changes in slider position give varied but always 'sweet' sounding basses, leads and on top of that you can create some strange effects with it's (actually pretty unique) architecture, the way it all hooks up with the LFO and mod on VCF and VCO, it's not just an acid machine or a plain bass machine. It really does do way more than many think (esp in such a great portable size!) - again VCO + FILTER is what counts
I get what you're saying... The Arturia minibrute is single oscillator... and although a different beast, rains on the SH-101 from a great height. Feature-wise and sound-wise (subjectivity) it is in another league... for just over half the price too.
Damn these things are pricey.
So sad you deleted all the other video you made from the SH101! Some were truly beautiful
Nice classic analog gear videos, nothing like the old machines... all the new "analog" gear sounds sponge and tiny compared with old classics like SH and Pro-One. Thanks.
well it does seem to have 3 other sliders (attack, decay and sustain, respectively i would guess) near the release knob he was tweaking at the beginning so yes i would say so
If you are looking for a soft version, I suggest the TAL-Bassline soft synth. Free and has the same look and sound.
that sounds awesome. very nice playing.
@TheCunningAndFought It's a great synth to 'start out with', most who start out with one end up keeping it years later after buying more advanced synths because it's just immediate and has a great sound. The only thing it lacks that may be useful for starting out is patch memory. Polysix is also a good (fairly simple but nice sounding) synth WITH patch memory
Raver- Thanks for your comments. Sorry if I offended you! But just being realistic! My SH-101 cost, I think about £85! But, as I said the 'Frequency' slider went Pete Wrong! Luckily, at the same time I bought a Moog Prodigy which I got for a 'Handsome' price! ,,,,,& this won't be for sale for a long time.........until the British Museum want it! LOL!
From the 80s but sounds like it's from the 90s. This thing was ahead.
@lewismerle09 you can get one for around $400, and yes, you can record to your mac book pro.
cool little performance and test of the SH101.
I got one myself.
You play very good. Thanks for the demo!
Very cool Synthesizer. I love the very good Filter of mine. Cool stuff ist the internal sequencer, which can store up to 100 Notes.
no, the SH-101 is monophonic. Sometimes I hold down multiple keys to feed the arp.
@thedefog wouldn't quite put it up there with gen 1 minimoog..not the same filter at all...but it does have PWM that fattens it up nicely...but just too buzzy of oscs for me...btw Kudos on the SL Ultimate..nice mono synth...try the Vermona Perfourmer MK 2 II for a listen..smooth
I have one of these and this synth has a fantastic sound, don't be fooled, it kills the vast majority of soft synths stone cold dead even without effects, add effects and that includes pretty much all
Did you even listen to it? He makes dozens of different sounds with it. It can make just about any sound you want.
If you had all keyboards referenced here, you could compare them. IDK if you're looking for a Canon, but you could ask people on flickr which keyboard they prefer.
lovely machines , ive just started on a n ambient track
@djjessebase10 So is a guitar? It's all about the music not the features. It's about the sound not the bullet points. I have some very advanced synths in my studio and I've sold some advanced ones (both analog and digital) and many times the SH-101 is the only synth you need to get the right sound for the job. Just like a guitar, and of course you can use outboard/effects with the 101 to add flavour but it's base sound is just right. It's why many pros swear by it! Have you had one??
@JeezoozeChrysler along with the squarepusher/aphex twin sound too
It's more than just the BoC sound !
@TheCunningAndFought
If you get one of these, it's all you'll ever need.
that arpeggio sounds like jeopardy for a second lol
@RaverAJ1988 Keeping my Moog until they are like 'rocking horse shit'! Miss my SH101 more than I miss my Dad!!! (He passed away 8 years ago!). My Moog ain't in TB303 status yet! But, I'll wait!!!
Yes of course you can record it in you DAW through an audio interface connected to your mac. But the sh-101 doesn't accept midi if it's your question ...
You're asking to compare an analog monosynth to a digital arranger... in the forum of a youtube comment?
@jgk381 Actually, I'm going to college in 6 months and I really need to downsize. The rhodes is a 70 pound beast. I'm not going to rip myself off, so obviously it would be plus or minus some cash depending on the synthesizer and the condition.
Just by curiosity, how much did you sell it for back then in 2007 ?
@LIGHTRONIX I do indeed.
Thanks for the VST recommendation
Many thanks for the demo stretta :-)
the sh101 is the real deal, i suppose the moog prodigy is similar in the sense that its a baby monosynth thats good for bass and leads but in all honesty it sounds completely different
At around 1:16 it starts sounding a bit like Boards of Canada.
well, you can do chorus effects by synthesis process... as well, you could just buy a chorus FX pedal...
Inspired, gotta spend more time on mine, Awesome sounds!
D16 Lush 101 VST overemulates this nice synth to prefection.
great demo.
It's always nice to have the real thing, but the TAL plug in can do the same sounds with a little work. I use it a lot and it's very difficult to tell them both apart. (I know because I've done an A-B test with a real 101)
Ahaha, I was listening to this using the built in speakers in my laptop so come the 3 minute mark I was just hearing a series of pops cause it just couldn't handle such subby goodness. Thankfully I had a set of AKG headphone's near by to enjoy :P
Thanks a lot for this vid, i'm gonna buy one of these as soon as i find one... :) and this really encouraged me, i've heard too much of the bass-synth image of sh-101
Yeah, totally Roybgiv. God I want one of these.
UA-cam is the wrong forum, but the question itself is nonsensical. It is like you're asking to compare the features, specs and value of a Canon SLR to a Canon Speedlite. The only thing they have in common is the fact that they both are made by Canon.
the sound reminds me of the music from Phantasy Star Online! nice job!
I know the Sh101 has a massive following but I owned one and really didn't like the sounds. I guess I needed to spend more time with it but I lost interest quickly, unlike the Juno series which is far more useable and polyphonic. I guess I prefer smoother tones. For what they do they go for silly money like the 303, 202, 909 and 808.
I'd fucking love to find one of these in my grandma's loft.
I can't believe people are still watching this video.
it can make some very cool sounds
I know lustmord uses this and martin gore of depeche mode rates this as one of his alltime faves
@jgk381 I'm thinking about it. Luckily I have some time, but if I don't find a trade in a couple months, I'll probably do that.
thom yorke ingenue for sure.
Dr. H I think they used the MS-20 for that intro!
Augusto Guerrero i think you might be right :) this sure sounds a lot like it though at 0:17.
Yeah! those sounds are similar. Nice synth though! :)
yeh man, it's awesome. shame it's so expensive.
***** Personally I doubt that
@rcmeyerson your best bet is probably to put it up for sale, youll get the money alot sooner than trying to find a trade partner, then you can just order your new keyboard up at college and have it shipped there if nec. you can get like 700-1000 on ebay for the rhodes. good luck :)
@foreignerpoland lol the instrument didnt exist back then (deserted palace is from 1972)
would you mind telling me how you exactly constructed the subbass sound at 3:16? the basis is noise through a self oscillating tuned filter. but then you move two sliders and pow - there you go!!1 thx!!
yeah absolutely agree
I had 1 for 25 years just sitting there as I bought a pro1 that wiped the floor with it.
The youngsters tend to look towards Artists that happen to use these machines ( especially within the house / techno ) and overly praise them. As a cheap synth at the time it was great ( 1985 ) for £500 + today it is s**t , same goes for the 909 808 & 303
Yeas, that would be appropriate. However, I wanted to feature the bare sound of the SH so potential bidders would know exactly what they're getting.
@ermollejuo SO TRUE! I remember hearing sounds like that in a chemistry video I saw in grade 10
the arpeggiator is RAD!!!
I think at the moment about every vintage synth is "overprized". Luckily there's still a bunch of companies (even big ones, lately) producing a wide variety of analogue synthesizers today.
Not a keyboard wankery video. brill
@pausebeforeviewtube you need midi interface though or the macbook will recognize it as a controller
I saw how much they were going for on ebay. I was amazed to say the least. I will let it go for less than what I saw on ebay. Dang even the sound bender attachment (that I also have) was selling for $300. Like I said I'll take any fair offer but I will let it go for way less than what I'm seeing on ebay.
yes at the raw oscillator level it still isn't as fat as the SH101, but it sounds pretty good, was just having a listen on headphones.
sounds great
Weird an old... It's still very good.
Wow amazing sounds. Where can I get one?
great sound!!! quick question.. does this store presets ? thanks
@Corvid haha yeah and now we have CDJ's too; I fear for vinyl and artist royalties!
bravo,bravo a realy good function demo. i heard many sounds i thought were quite usable. for me,its the right size,the right sort of control arrangement. now i hope i can afford it . damn you sir!! you almost make me wish i wasnt jewish so i could put the bite on a group pals to get me one for xmas
Just got one of these little jems off a friend who said he found it on the side of the road... Hard to beleive but it all works except 11 dead keys which are mostly together. I'm sure I can fix it up.
SCORE!!!
hmmm
well, I looked it up in the service manual...and it looks like I might need a freq. counter....but I gues I could use the tuner, as long as I know what note to tune to.
Dubstep @ 4:30 lol. sounds very nice.
I was hoping you'd add some echo to the aropegio... line?
Had one myself, but the 'Frequency' went down! :( Miss it! Still have my Moog Prodigy though. :)