World's Greatest Mono Synth: Roland SH-101
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- Опубліковано 28 чер 2024
- Today we've got our man Chris Cline in the studio to talk about, in his opinion, the greatest monophonic synthesizer of all time: the SH-101. So much has been said about this legendary synthesizer, but lets get into some specifics and some awesome sounds-- let us know what you think!
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Thank you for an awesome, well explained and enthusiatic presentation! The SH-101a has been on my radar for ages and this video finally sold me on picking one up :)
Did you get one? How much did you pay and how do you like it ?
Just bought one a few weeks ago. It finally got shipped to me, then I had to take it to the shop to fix the resonance slider and tuning, and the bender was adjusted too. Just got it fully working four days ago, and I feel like it's brought so much to my life.
Still have it in blue. My 1st synth and still a true versatile beast despite being monophonic and pre-MIDI.
Roland has always been my favourite synth manufacturer. I own or have owned an SH-1000, SH-2000, SH3 and all of the JUNOs, but I've never owned and SH-101. (It's still on the wish list.) Something about the Roland oscillator/filter combination on their early synths appeals to me more than other manufacturers from the same era.
Same here. I have tried to like the Prophet more than the Roland synths so many times, but I can instantly get the sounds I want with Roland stuff. I mainly use the Juno 60, xv5080 and Jupiter 8 but I'm working on a song and used my sh-101. Tried to replace it with my Minimoog and reverted to the sh 101. Roland is undefeated in my studio
i had one for many years , its a beast
Great demo!
It is one of the best, bases especially in the mix! Can't afford the real one and am pretty happy with my MS-1 though...
I was a kid living in the UK when the SH-101 came out. I wanted one, but could only afford a Yamaha CS01. Wish I had kept all my synth purchases over the years.
Totally! My collection would be nuts if I had held on to everything in my past. I'm pretty happy right now, so I totally have zero complaints!
The YAMAHA CS01 MK2 is easily as good as this. Go and check the demos that have been done on one on youtube. Some guy recreated Depeche Mode classics on one. Simply amazing
Great Job Chris!
Haha! The man, the myth! Thanks, Craig! Hope you're well!
Dave Stewart said he used all this for basslines on his early hits of the eurythmics
I agree, I have owned like 40 analogues and the sh is my fav.
I picked up a mint 101 about an hour ago. Serviced, calibrated & tuned with new power board capacitors & power supply socket, cleaned key contacts, audio sockets, sliders & pots. Noise reduction mod. It sounds so good - instant gratification! Owned one years ago and always regretted selling. Boutique is the BEST emulation but doesn't have all the nuances of the original if that's what gets you going. It’s bemusing to read people disparaging the 101, its place in synth hall of fame is academic at this point.
Cool vid, cooler Seefeel shirt. 😁👌
Damnit! Now I want one.
Get the behringer. Way cheaper and has additional stuff in it
Everybody's enthusiastic about SH-101 playing bass or acid type of sounds, and I guess it does a good job there, but what about using this synth for playing some nice pure analogue leed voices? I don't play acid/dance music, and I don't use my SH-101 for basses or special effects...but I love the soft flavour of saw type sounds that this synth is capable of playing (I mean the leed sound of "Oxygene 4", or moog played "Shine on you crazy diamond"). Of course, it needs a touch of reverb and/or delay, but the effects are fantastic (to my taste). The only disappointing thing is no memories to store these patches for calling them instantly back.
Maybe it is. I've got the sh-2 as well and as much as I love it and how amazing it sounds I have a sneaky love for the sh-101 more I think. Action is just so fast on it.
Mine has almost the same crack near the bender. It has a similar shape and also touches the N of BENDER. I was thinking does this guy have my sh101?
10:55 that low end! 🔥🔥
Thank God I already own one, or I would be hunting right now to buy one.🎹
I have a sh01a definitely a great piece of gear. Can agree it being the best mono.
That unit looks fresh outta the box and sounds fresh as well, completely refurbished insides?
I don't got alotta cash, but the behringer ms-1 is fun at least!
tough to find currently
The SH-01a can't be beat imho... not even by the original.
@@sheateeley1 Please let me just copy / paste something I've written before -
The Roland Boutique SH-01a sounds EXACTLY like this but adds a ton of additional features: polyphony of up to four voices, polyphonic sequencer, unison mode, chord mode, 64 patch- and 64 sequence memory slots, alternative noise generator, two additional LFO waveshapes, extended LFO range for FM, audio input, MIDI, LFO sync mode... add a chorus pedal and you've got yourself a great Juno-like four voice poly that can be transformed back into a 101 at the push of a button. One of the best if not the best Boutique without a doubt!
Nice Seefeel t-shirt dude. I got the box set.
Haha! Thanks! And same here. Really couldn't resist when the Warp email landed in my inbox.
@@midichlorian73 yeah there's a lot of good unreleased stuff in there. I used to own a second hand 101 years ago. The previous owner had spray painted it completely black and I didn't have manual.
Don't buy an OG! They are so expensive these days and the Roland Boutique SH-01a sounds EXACTLY like this but adds a ton of additional features: polyphony of up to four voices, polyphonic sequencer, unison mode, chord mode, 64 patch- and 64 sequence memory slots, alternative noise generator, two additional LFO waveshapes, extended LFO range for FM, audio input, MIDI, LFO sync mode... add a chorus pedal and you've got yourself a great Juno-like four voice poly that can be transformed back into a 101 at the push of a button. One of the best if not the best Boutique without a doubt!
The SH-01A is a great synthesizer indeed. It's one of the rare cases where the boutique exceeds the quality of the original.
It fully covers the sound palette of the original and can also be programmed to sound quicker and punchier. It gets rid of the analog instability weirdness (I don't appreciate these for my music). In addition, it's a polysynth! It's got a metal casing! It's Roland!
@@midimoog But it's so freakin' small.
@@lo-firobotboy7112 The sliders are actually not even much smaller than on the original as Nick Batt pointed out in his review for Sonicstate.
ua-cam.com/video/r0Ns96rEybU/v-deo.html
@@LousyFacelift It's the whole form factor of the boutiques that I don't care for. I'm a hardware synth collector. I love big, chunky keyboards. The two or three boutiques that I've played were so small and fiddly the the interface was actually a distraction. At this point, I'd rather go with the Behringer clone, or wait 'till a vintage model falls into my lap.
@@lo-firobotboy7112 I can totally understand your point, it's what kept me from buying the JX-03, SE-02... in fact all of them besides the SH-01a and JU-06a. These two are really not as crammed, in the JU they also got rid of the two (ugly) touch strips to give it a much better look and make room for the controls. It really works out ok for these two imho, I was quite sceptical towards both of them at first but they're great and I enjoy them a lot...
I remember it back in the day. It had some nice sounds, but the single VCO made it limiting if it was your only mono. I don't think it held a candle to the Sequential Pro One.
Sorry, the SH101 is definitely a top drawer mono, but the best mono? that would be subjective.
As far as Roland mono synths go, the SH5 is probably the best . And then you start to compare Moogs, Sequential's Oberheiem's , ARP's, etc. It's an exercise in futility.
Even my statement about the SH5 is subjective.
As soon as I saw the title I thought "a lot of Roland heads would not agree". The 101 is the most flexible per-pound but also the most 'vanilla'-sounding (for all vanilla can be, mind you) Roland analog mono.
I'm partial to the System-100 and TB-303 (ha!) , many others to the SH-5 or SH-2. ProMars, SH-7 and SH-3a are also beastly. It really comes down to what sound you're out to nail, or how special you find the synth's breadth or character of voicing.
Why not do a comparison between an original SH101 and boutique/clones, even VST versions.
You can find such videos already if you’re interested in comparing.
Worlds greatest mono synth has got to be the Roland SH5, but just try to find one !
Also check out these amazing tips and tricks videos of Matthew Jonson demoing the SH-101 (he uses an SH-01a, too...)-
ua-cam.com/video/OC_g_hDGTcM/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/7bWr9Tkid44/v-deo.html
c'mon guys, no one bothered to check if what he said actually maded any sense? his VCA explanation was really weird and he kept mistakingly calling the VCA a gate, then he proceeds to say "if you turn the attack all the way down all you hear is a click" and can somebody PLEASE explain to me what is a Voltage Controlled FREQUENCY? I'm pretty sure he must be very competent guy, but we gotta always be pretty clear is explaining the basic (or 101, if you will) of synthesis.
Yeah, he fluffed quite a few synthesis 101s.
I think this a retail/reseller's channel.
Fairly casual and not academic.
@@shaft9000 yeah my dude, but if you're going to sell a PC or a car, you better know how it works.
The Roland SH01 isn't comparable to the likes of the Mini moog or Sequential circuits pro one. Great little synth BUT COME ON. Try recreating John Carpemters Precinct 49 on this or Yazoos DONT GO. And I might change my mind.
🤷🏿♀️ That sounds rather doable. I’ll get back to you once I’ve spent more time learning my MS-1…
And the Oberheim SEM! In a totally different league.
Or the VCS 3.
Even Octave Cat, Wasp and Oscar.
And I don't get the "more flexible" thing about the SH-101 compared to the Pro One for example. How in the world is not having a poly-mod section, only one oscillator instead of two (differfent) with only two waveforms instead of three to choose from "more flexible"?
To me the SH-101 is just generic sounding (boring) and quite inflexible when it comes to mono synth duties!
Techno 80s :-)
Pretty easy to mod and add many patch points.
the greatest Roland mono is a juno-60 ; )
The Juno 60 is a six voice poly.
@@LousyFacelift ; ) yeah I know, but it works so great as a mono using the arpeggiator.
@@nilsvanderplancken It's a rather simple one oscillator synth and it sounds gorgeous.
@@LousyFacelift Unless you play with only one finger!)
Really don’t get why Roland made the Boutique rendition a virtual analog. The Korg Monologue costs the same but with a keyboard, so they clearly could have sold it at the same price point. The polyphony isn’t a selling point as the market is already full of affordable VA poly synths.
No other VA sounds so close to an SH-101 and adds so much to the concept. I have absolutely no wish for the OG ever since I got my SH-01a.
@@LousyFacelift VA is okay, but not like the original analog sound.
@@HenritheHorse The sound may not be exactly the same in every single (measurable) aspect but to say that it is "not like the original analog sound" is simply not true. Of course it is EXACTLY LIKE the original sound despite being digital. There is absolutely no difference that matters to me personally and I'm convinced the majority of listeners, even professional musicians, could not tell the SH-01a apart from an original unless this original sounds rather different from the norm, which can be the case with analog gear. Could you please try to put a little more effort in making a point by trying to describe the difference you're hearing and explain why you feel that it's relevant?
@@LousyFacelift VA has come a long way, but it's never gonna be the real thing analog. In good and in bad.
@@HenritheHorse There are very many completely different types of VA technology out there and I think they should all be evaluated individually, not in such a generalized way. Talking about a difference in sound between an SH-101 and the SH-01A without even trying to describe it doesn't seem convincing, it doesn't make sense to me. What is the difference you're hearing and why does it matter to you?
you'd be wrong. Great, but surpassed by Moog D, ProONE, Korg, OB - SEM, etc...
Arp 2600 is the best mono synth of all time, by a lot.
Yeah. But I guess both the 2600 and the Odyssey are duophonic?
But even if so, I still think the Prophet Pro One is way more powerful. It both sounds better and have much more flexibility.
I can't understand why he thinks the SH-101 is more flexible? It doesn't have the very powerful polymod that the Pro One has (that has even more options than the Prophet 5). The Pro One also has two oscillators and additional waveforms.
It simply is in another league when it comes to producing more variations in sound compared to the SH-101.
There are also many other options in Synths that sound way more unique than the 101. Like Octave Cat, Wasp, Oscar.
Or what about the extremely creamy Oberheim SEM? Or the VCS3?
To me the 101 is ok for basses, but I think it just sounds like a generic Roland early 80:s synth. Nothing that stands out and quite neutral. Simply boring and not very versatile!
It is far from the best mono ever made. It is however a piece of hystory embeded in countless great albums. It was one of those budget synths that upcoming electronic artists could affort to get second hand, so it is no wonder SH was pivotal on early works of RDJ, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, all the way to Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method... and high end production too. But to label it the best mono next to say, Pro 1, Minimoog, EMS Synthi.... hardly.
I'd say all these are the best for what they do!
Well, he qualifies the statement pretty effectively: Flexibility.
Odd to put the 101 over Roland's own System-100 or SH-5.
Video is more about his sentimental opinion.
Well said. It's earned its place in synth history for exactly those reasons. It matters not what other synths can do better.
@@jamesmarsden2172 And compared to the Pro One the SH-101 is WAY less flexible. No Poly-mod section. Only one oscillator. Only two different waveforms etc.
much better than the minimoog the korg dv800 the kobol the cat ems vcs3 moog modular roland system 700 roland system 100 syrinx the eml 101 eml model 500.. :/
??
when it comes to versatility and price point, yuh!
@@crnkmnky I'll give you that. I will say, the Minimoog is a beautiful instrument, not only in sound but also physical design.
@@crnkmnky For that the Pro One wins hands down. Much, much more flexible and versatile with its poly-mod section, it's two oscillators and its three waveforms to choose from (And not just sawtooth and pulse).
Just way better in every department!
@@Magnus_Loov fair enough
Good mono but not the best. Minimoog and Oberheim SEM
The best mono of all time ? You didn't say the best compromise mono...You didn't say the best cheap plastic mono ...you said the GOAT.... never played a system 700 have you ? Moog 55? Arp 2600 .... lol... don't say stupid clickbaity shit like that .... and that's coming from someone who owns a SH-101..... what it's world class in is being a great "bounce" bass synth ...but frankly so is a Bass Station II ....so is a Minibrute .... and the 101 sounds like a Jupiter 6 anyway .... its great but not GOAT
Chris did qualify his statement a couple times. Put down the pitchfork, Padre. 🧊