Roland SH 101

The SH-101 is an excellent first synth for anybody who is interested
in learning how to program analog patches. The front panel is great,
and the lack of program memory means you won't be able to rely on
cheesy presets. It's all do-it-yourself.

The manual is a spotty translation, but still useful. There are quite
a few example patches in the back for those who choose to cop out and
not experiment, but knob twisting is really what this synth is great
for.

The SH-101 is monophonic, has a 2 1/2 octave keyboard with no velocity
or aftertouch. Remember, these date from the early 1980s when velocity
and aftertouch and built-in effects weren't available on keyboards.
The 101 is not expandable, but a modulation grip was available that
allows you to strap the 101 on like a guitar. Very cool.

No MIDI, but supports CV-Gate, if you have a MIDI converter or other
vintage CV-Gate synths.

The SH-101 has a single LFO, a single oscillator (pulse, saw, noise,
and sub osc) with a source mixer, a very nice filter, and a single
ADSR envelope. Great stock voice to learn on, and graduate to the
more complicated voice on a Jupiter, Oberheim, or Prophet, etc...

Remember, the SH-101 is all voltage controlled. Unlike digitally
controlled synths that were introduced later, the tuning of the 101
will drift a little, especially when you first turn it on. All
vintage stuff has this sort of trouble, and it's really not that big
a deal.

The SH-101 does feature a digital 100-step sequencer, and a simple
up/down/up-down arpeggiator. Pretty intuitive to use, and you can use
the "external clock in" jack in conjunction with the trigger out on
a drum machine to sync the sequencer or arpeggiator to the drum machine.
I've done this for years, and found it a cheap way to sync the 101
up with MIDI.

Vintage analog synths don't do a very good job imitating acoustic
instruments, but that's not what they're for. The 101 has a great
analog sound, especially for basslines. Because it doesn't have
a second oscillator to detune, it can't sound as fat as synths that
do (MiniMoog, etc...), but the source mixer gives you a lot of power
over the oscillator that you have.
I've had my SH-101 for over 15 years, and use it primarily for
basslines in classic rock type stuff, but they are also very popular
with the techno/house dance crowd. I've also done some experimental
multitrack work with it. It sounds great if you run it through the
right external effects (I recommend an analog delay).
Once again, there are no velocity, aftertouch, or effects built in.

I've had to open the thing and work on it once or twice in all the
time I've owned it. I had to repair one key that stopped working, and
I had to clean the bender when it got a little sticky. Otherwise,
it's been a very reliable piece. It's been dropped (eek) more than
once and still works fine (don't try this at home).

Never had to contact Roland about it.

I bought mine in 1984 from a bandmate (when we were still in high
school). He's told me on numerous occasions that he regrets ever
selling it to me, but I don't ever plan to part with it.

I used this synth as a way to really learn about programming, all the sliders are on the front panel. Small movements can make a big difference in some of the parameters. You can't store any of the sounds you make, but in the manual there are some templates of the keyboard. I made a bunch of copies and tape my sounds all over the place when I perform with this. That's just the way synthesizers are, like the mini-moog. Good manual, some funny typos in the translation, but a great resource. You need it to understand how to use the sequencer....at least I did....you gotta know your stuff when you're programming this board, when you buy it you know it's going to be a little heck, but you a bunch of cool sounds....

monophonic, keyboard action is springy, real nice. Not really any effects built in outside of all the parameters you can program, it does have a cv port, it might be fun to hook up a bunch of these, you could probably do some damage if you weren't careful...no midi, no pressure sensitive keys, but if you play with the adsr sliders you can kind of fake it...It does have a seqencer, but just like you can't store sounds you can't store sequences either. It's a weird sequencer, not intuitive at first. I don't like to use it just because you could put a lot of notes in it and as soon as you turn it off, it's gone. you have you program everything in 8th notes, and if you want long notes you have to tie them together. It plays back monophonically and you can't play over the sequences you create. Big deal, it's still a great keyboard....

It compares in my mind to the new boards that Yamaha and Roland are putting out that have real sliders for parameters. It sounds really sweet thru effects units, get creative there...no aftertouch, no touch sensitive, it does exactly what you program it to...would be cool for avant garde and rock which I've used it for. Classical?? Jazz?? Well, maybe for Wendy Carlos.... The sounds are great....through a big pa you can really make some noise, I set up a jet airplane that nearly knocked down the rehearsal space I was using. The manual gives you some ideas. Don't try to emulate instruments on this, try to get creative and use it for effects, that's my advice...I keyboard "Jimmy Hendrix" would be possible....

It's great. I have never used a back up (never thought about it actually!). I bought mine in new condition about 3 years ago and it's just real nice. Don't pass out when you read what I paid for it....The headphone jack is going out-Roland put it on the top, which seems like a bad idea, puts a lot of pressure on the jack...

I don't know, never had to do that....

For 25 dollars, it came in the original box, in the shipping bag with the manual and that current year's catalog!!! And let me not forget the optional grip that was also included! I haven't used it much recently, but I would be upset if it were gone. I have seen other 101s in worse condition for significantly more. I don't know if I'd replace it. I also have a jx 8p that I got a killer deal on, a Kurzweil 2000rs, a Korg 707, and a Roland HP 1500 digital piano. I guess it rounds out my collection real nice. I like it's compactness and it's power. I only bought it because it was a STEAL... You really need to know what you're going for before you use it, the band I used it in already had their songs down and so I came in and laid down background noise with it. I was really taken by how much they liked it. I wouldn't try to write a song with it...It would be really cool to do some multi-tracking with it though....come up with a really abstract kind of thing.
I use a suitcase and a big blanket to move it around....

It's analogue, and has a row of sliders and switches across the top, so any sound you want, you just push the sliders around until you get it.

It's monophonic, but can 'do' portamento which can add to its appeal. The thing predates MIDI by a good few years, but once you've hooked it up to a suitable MIDI->CV converter, it can be used alongside any other MIDI gear, no probs. You can drill holes in it and solder bits onto it if you wanted additional CV sockets, there are people who've done this, but I'm scared to until I get another one. The onboard sequencer is kind of fun, and can be synced to the Gate(?) input which would make it kinda useful if you didn't have any MIDI->CV stuff around.

Sounds like a SH-101, basically. It is IDEAL for basslines, and will quite happily melt both your amp and speakers. Goes from a 'hollow' kinda squelchy sound, to more full bodied dry synth sounds. In the oscillator, you get to choose between Saw, PWM and a Square suboscillator 1 or 2 octaves down. This feeds into a filter which gives the sound a damn good seeing to, and lo and behold, the thing goes "bleep", or "squelch", or your speaker cones start moving slowly in and out (I have seen this happen with my own eyes, honest). No onboard effects at all (unless you count PWM as chorus) , but sounds great through distortion or delay.

I've had it about 3 years, and 2 of the sliders have given up. Having said that, I guess the 15 years before that it worked perfectly.

I like it a lot - it's a lot of fun to play with, and is good for dub/techno bass stuff, can also do midrange arppegios without much bother. Not good for pads, acoustic modelling, won't do the ironing etc etc, but solid on the bass/bleeps/squelchy front. It's a synth, and it sounds like a synth. Oh yeah, the filter's wicked as well, but don't forget that a MIDI->CV converter could add about 100 to your outlay if you want to MIDI the thing up.

It's a classic 'lots of sliders' analogue monosynth, so you can just reach out and tweak the sounds in real-time. The small size means that some of the sliders can be very sensitive, which adds to the allure.

It's monophonic and monotimbral, and you can't make it sound like an acoustic instrument no matter what you do. No effects at all, no expansion capabilities (unless you modify it yourself with a soldering iron), no MIDI. It has CV/Gate inputs and outputs, an external clock in, audio and headphones out, and a Mod grip that (along with a strap kit) lets you wear it like a guitar. It has a one hundred step sequencer, an arpeggiator, a clock, lots of modulation possibilities, and in general it is a very capable beast. The small size and tiny keyboard (two and a bit octaves) make it quite handy, and you can run it with batteries. Available in a variety of colours, some rarer than others (mine is red).

With one oscillator it can't really do warm pads and lead lines (although you can fiddle with the pulse width modulation to simulate 'beating'), but it's not meant to do that anyway. It excels at bass noises, and, as the filter can self-oscillate, it can do massive kick drums. If you play around with the noise generator and the filter modulation (especially the random setting) you can make some off-the-wall warbles and pings.

Mine is second-hand and fifteen years old, and it still seems to be in good shape. Despite the plasticy case it seems to keep in one piece provided that you don't throw it about. The tuning, with the DCO, is stable, and it doesn't drift over time.

Apparently Roland are quite good when it comes to old manuals/add-ons and so on. I don't know this for myself so N/A.

It was worth the money, although I wouldn't pay anything more than about 200UKP (that's about 250 dollars) for it. The more common grey models (the only difference being the case colour) are worth about thirty pounds less, so buy one of those. In general then, it's great for basses and analogue sounds, you plug almost anything into the Cv input to make it squeal, and it makes a good introduction to analogue synthesis (and you can wear it). It's utterly rubbish at 'warm-sounding' analogue noises - it tends to be harsh and gritty, and it has a very identifiable sound. The Roland MC202 is essentially an SH101 without a keyboard, with a better sequencer.