Roland SH-32

I just picked one up yesterday...second hand...ofcourse at first I couldn,t get around it....but after a couple of hours I was making patches....the presets to me are rubbish! the manual...so so.

the FX are good...especially the Distortin for basses...arpegio like any other...everything is layed out pretty logically....back up via midi...which I have never done yet....if only it had a card slot it would be perfect..

the Sounds???like I said the presets are rubbish but when you start programming it's killer....
Bass,Leads,Pads and FX.....Excellent!

Looks amazingly tough....very sturdy metal chassis...mine looks a bit rough around the edges but very good for a unit that's 6 years old....I would use it live.....no problemo...!

never ever had a problem with Roland gear....have owned a JX3P,Juno G,Sp-404....

if it were stolen i would buy it again....I wish it had a proper back=up system....

This review is for Roland SH-32 analog modeling synth. The unit is made in Japan. It has the latest software edition. I downloaded from the Roland web site along with the owners manual. The factory presets include SH-101, TB 303, GR 300 sounds. As well, as many analog lush juno sounding strings. It includes 3 sampled drum kits: TR 808 (excellent!) TR 909, and CR 78. About half the factory presets duplicate vintage analog the other half showcase all the sonic possibilities of the units. I am more a patch person than special effects, but this unit definitely out of the box does all sorts of "blips" "bleeps" and "gurgles" any analog unit will do with the added advantage of no worries about capacitors or ICs failing. I have about a dozen analog units. I've owned/own Rolands, korgs, yamaha, moogs, oberheims...so first hand I know what I am talking about. I would describe myself as advanced in editing programing. This unit has all the knobs that my juno 106 or Yamaha cs 10 does. They respond EXACTLY as an analog synth would in real time. I would say editing on this is easier than on my Yamaha cs 10 which is an unbelievably user friendly vintage synth. This one is as easy to program and tweak the knobs in real time. The manual is massive and like a text book. I found it very confusing and relied more on my experience with vintage synths. This works very much in the same way and if you are comfortable with old junos, sh units and others. This one will be a breeze. I use the manual mostly for exploring all the features this unit has: Vintage analog modeling synth, vintage Roland drum machine, arpeggiator, analog modeled effects unit. I love the effects on this. OUTSTANDING. I think these originally listed for $595. It's worth twice that and I would put it at the top of the food chain for virtual analogs. It's sad people are just now catching on to these after they discontinued. There awesome

let's discuss what this is and what it isn't. First off, the wave forms are sampled. The analog filters are modeled. The effects are analog modeling. You may think that using samples instead of analog modeling for the waveforms would work against it but actually I think wave synthesis is a plus. The samples are actually from a Roland SH 101 and others. The drum samples are actually from TR analog drum units. The analog modeled filter section is one of the best I've hard so far as VA are concerned. Smokes Nord, I know I ditched mine after I got this. Sometimes paying more means getting less. I think a lot of people that would say Nord and a few other high end units are superior probably haven't used a Roland SH 32. This little desktop module seemed to fly in under the radar and was gone before anyone knew it. Really a shame. This has more of that old classic early 80s Roland MIJ feel than anything they've made in years. They should put this back in production. I love the effects unit on this. It's really hard to do analog modeling of flange/chorus/phase effects. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference on this one between it and vintage boss pedals. Has tremolo built in (I believe you can do two LFOs at once) built in analog modeled compressor or limiter where can add the amount to each patch. Even analog drift. The delay is awesome! If you can dream it up you can do it with this unit and it's half the size of a cereal box. Hehe. I love it

Sounds? Honest, when I first got this for the first month or so I struggled even with my analog synth background mainly because just testing all the features and sounds on the unit is a several week job. A fun one. I've never seen any synth that has more stuff and knobs. It's like they took a Roland Juno 106, a Yamaha CS mono synth, a TR drum unit and bunch of old MIJ boss pedals and put them all together in a tiny box. The sh 32 really does sound like them! Why they stopped making this unit and how know one knows about it is so amazing. Really superior to the JP-8000. I like the filter better in this. The analog modeled filter gives you a choice of 12 or 24 low pass. So, what that translates into is that you can do Roland analog sounds and you can also create patches that perfectly duplicate Yamaha CS or mini korg sounds. Plus, you get knobs! YAY! Within seconds of getting the sh 32 I felt so at home. When I put it in the 12 db low pass mode it sounded exactly the same and responded the same as my Yamaha CS 10 and it's a roland! Put it in 24 db can do all those juno 106 or sh 101 sounds. It has band pass, high pass and a peaking filter that allows you to do auto wah effects-or can go with no filter at all. Endless combinations. I don't care what vintage synth sound your going for-this unit can do it. I think where Roland screwed up was in the marketing. Yes, it does look like a piece of hospital equipment because of the coloring. Yes, people think it's a groove box-it's not. It's a vintage analog modeling type synth with real time knobs and controls. In some ways the sh 32 sounds more classic juno than my 106. Not an overstatement. Get one and try it

I think this unit is going to be around a long time. All metal contstruction. Old school big red LED instead of yucky quartz you can't read. It's made in japan. The thing I love about this unit is it sounds analog and has knobs like my analog units-zero worry about chip failure (which I had an experience with a oberheim unit) If something ever goes out on this guy no big deal I have my patches all backed up on computer. Just buy another off ebay and reload and I am back in business no big deal. Great unit

roland is the best and there equipment is indestructible. I own tons of roland gear for this reason it's really professional stuff

well deserved 10. I would buy the roland sh 32 again. I paid $300 for mine I notice these are really starting to go us so there must be some kind of buzz about them. I am hoping to pickup a second one if I find a deal on one. I would pay $300 for another one. Like I said, I had a voice chip fail in an analog unit (oberheim) This unit sounds as warm and organic as the matrix 1000 that went out on me and I never have to worry that happening with this. What do I own? Everything. God, the whole Roland Juno series, a few MKS, an SH unit, what else? Oh, RS 09. Put it this way. I own so many analog units right now I can't remember the all. I love the SH 32 because when I sit down with it sounds and responds like my vintage analog units but it's new and I never have that worry about it going out on me. In addition, you have the TR/CR drum machine, analog modeled effects and arpeggiator. I think the Roland SH 32 is a perfect synth if there is such a thing. Shame they discontinued. I think the thing I love most about the SH 32 is it has everything I need and more. If you are on a limited budget by this. You get analog modeling, analog modeled effects, TR/CR drum section, real time knobs and controls for tweaking in performance and easy editing, and arpeggiator. The unit reminds me a lot of a juno 106. Right now SH 32 are avg. about $250-350 on ebay. They are worth it. I just hope the price stays there so I can scoop up another. My friend with his Nord borrows this all the time to play out with

I am using the latest software version for the Roland SH 32. There is no "zipper noise." I own and collect vintage analog synths. In addition, I own several VAs and softsynths. This is a totally bogus remark in my mind. Just reinforces the belief in my mind most of what you read on HC and sonic state is not very accurate. I will keep my Roland SH 32 forever for 4 reasons: 1.) does great TR 808 and 909 sounds. 2.) Does good SH 101/tb 303 sounds. 3.) made in japan. 4.) just a swiss army knife full of more uses and applications that I can ever unravel. Persets sound great. No real bad ones. I've tried so many VAs and also own a Alesis Micron. Of all the VAs out there I would say Micron and SH 32 are the best and plan to keep them indefinitely. Really cover all my VA needs. The manual I believe is longer than the great gatsby and not very readable. I have a college graduate and background with analog synths. Most of what I know about the SH 32 comes from my backroung using analog synths and experimentation. It's probably the most difficult synth I've ever used and if I didn't have experience with old Junos, JX and poly 800s I would struggle with it. I am still going to give it a 10 though because this unit is awesome

I am real picky about analog effects but actually the digital ones built into this are pretty good and if you don't have a collection of analog pedals/rack gear lying around you will be okay. I especially like the analog button where you can vary the amount of drift I think. The first thing I do before I use any of the presets is turn off the effects and run the unit through analog pedals. Sounds very analog to my ears then. Close enough that it would be hard to tell it from the real thing recorded or live. Software upgrade was very easy. Just downloaded it and the applicator from roland. It doesn't have an onboard sequencer which in a way I am glad because it probably would have been impossible to use. I am still learning this unit. I also own a Roland Juno 60 and the arpeggiator on there is magical. So far, I have not achieved the same results on the SH 32. I wish they would have did without the arpeggiator on this and put in single analog filter or analog chorus like on my juno or JX-8p.

Well, I have a Roland Juno 60, a juno 106 module and a JX-8p. Even without editing any of the presets I hear a lot of familar patches in this. The SH 101, tr 808, tr 909 sounds are dead on. Enough so I am not buying those now as the SH 32 covers them. One of these days I am going to through all the patches on the SH 32 and tweak them to mimic my Juno 60 and use it for playing out if I need too. Whoever was behind the design of the SH 32 really loved early 80s Roland analog synths. Juno 60s, jx-3 and 8p, SH 101, TR 808 and 909. This is a good permanent addition to anyone's set up and I totally echo so many of the comments allready here

Roland made in japan. This has the same build quality as a Roland MT 32 I used to have. I expect it to be around at least as long Roland has awesome support

Roland has awesome support

Definite 10. I can't think of anything I am really dissatisfied and I think if I could only keep one VA it would be a toss up between this and the micron. The micron has slightly fatter/smoother sounds. But God, I love those TR 808 and 909 drums on this things. The knobs are great too. Those two things really make this unit worth owning. I've heard that the filters/emulations in this are actually superior to the Roland Jupiter VA model they made. I would take this over any Korg VA. I think the reason the SH 32 did not sell when it came out was several reasons: It was pushed as a groove box and it's definitely not. It's damn good Juno 60/106 type synth and as close as you will come to one except for the real thing. The demo and presets in this are sort of "trance" and "dance" type stuff. I hate the flashing lights. I like the LED versus quartz display. Real old school and will last longer. The build quality on this is better than my made in china Micron. Another reason this didn't do so hot is the color scheme. It does look like a piece of hospital equipment. No one except those who are looking for one know what the they are. The only things I wished it had was a usb out and a arpeggiator like my juno 60 but maybe it does on the last one. I am still learning the arpeggiator. I notice these are starting to shoot up so people are catching on I would get one as soon you can afford too

Firmware v. 1.00

All presets for the Roland SH-32 sound excellent. The user bank has 128 pre-configured patches, including a basic beginning patch for starting from scratch. there is no way to fully initialize an existing patch other then an overwrite with the template patch [B or D 88].

Patch editing is very fluid and intuitive. nearly all basic parameters- Osc tune, filter cut and Q, filter and amp EGs and EG sensitivity, LFO rate and depth- are accessible in real-time via sliders and knobs. Osc and LFO waveform, filter type and slope, LFO destination, and a handful of others, are button-toggled and indicated by LEDs.

Arpeggiator, chord, and effects editing are slightly more complex, but the manual is very thorough and easy to reference. Anyone can figure out the interface and the finer points of editing everything within an hour or two.

My main attraction to this synth is a very respectable polyphony for a VA. Up to 32 audio oscs can be used at once. Normal polyphony for a two-osc patch is 16 notes. there are also solo, unison, and oscillator sync modes that make the synth monophonic. There is no proper keyboard, so you'd better have a controller if you want to do more then just drone with the one-octave "preview" display.

The SH-32 has a TON of built-in effects. in the insertion section are 35 types of effects including phasing, flanging, distortion, downsampling, panning, filters, pitch-shifters... Only drawback is that there may only be one used at a time. There is an independent reverb/delay section with ten very flexible algorithms, again, only one active at a time. parameters are set using a selector knob, an intensity knob, and value keys.

I'm not an expansion-happy kind of guy, so i'm not about to try messing with the firmware, although i believe the Roland site has upgrades for it.

As for MIDI, it's very capable. it accepts system and editing messages like a dream, has velocity, modulation, and aftertouch sensitivity, and a goodly array of routable actions. As i said before, it hasn't got its own keyboard, but it responds gloriously to the controller i'm using.

It has, rather than a sequencer, a built-in arpeggiator which is very flexible and programmable. There are 64 editable styles and it can be programmed step-by-step or in real-time. Also included are rhythm styles with 808 and 909 sounds and a chord generator.

The SH-32 is... LUSH. It's phat. It's creamy. It's every over-used synth rave and more. This is probably the most expressive instrument in my studio because it offers such flexibility and precision in velocity and aftertouch programming. It'll probably be "only as good as your controller," but with proper tweaking, you can make this baby sing like nobody's business. Once you get into editing for yourself, you'll be amazed at the palette available to you.

The oscillators on the SH-32 are based on digital samples. BUT-- do NOT make the mistake of thinking it'll sound thin. each oscillator is tunable up or down three octaves, detunable by up to 50 cents, AND- here's where it gets sweet- each oscillator has two sub-modes, a regular octave-down square wave OR a lower, smoother wave that thickens without sharpening.
There are 66 different waveforms to choose per oscillator, organized into groups. Sawtooth, square, pulse, PWM [via LFO 2, disables subs], tri/sine, spectrum, and noise, all but PWM with variations. Oscs are mixable, ring-moddable, syncable in mono mode, and each have an independent AD envelope with intensity.

The filter section has four filter types [Low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, and peaking] and a bypass. The filters are switchable between -12 and -24 dB/oct slopes. Controls include cutoff, resonance [no self-oscillation here], ADSR, envelope depth, and cutoff key follow. Cutoff and resonance have aliasing when edited on the board, but are very smooth with external editing or modulation.
Yes, it crunches. No, not like a 303 or a System 100. But it's definitely Roland. Rawr. Only disadvantage is you can't use it with osc sync.

Amp EG's good and can be assigned key-following too. The two LFOs are basic and routable to osc pitch, cutoff, amp, and panning. They can be tempo-synced and key-synced as well. The LFO section contains a few juicy tidbits too. there's a basic compliment of waves and S&H, but there's also a smoothed S&H called "random" and a funky trapezoid wave. there's also a depth/rate fade-in control with settable value.

Effects are FABULOUS. the reverbs and delays are beautiful, every effect is clear and pristine with an occasional golden morsel of sonic nirvana. Notable nuggets of goodness are the rotary speker simulator, the step-flanger, a gloriously smooth hexa-chorus, a crunchy lo-fi decimator, and an outrageously messed-up feedback pitch-shifter.

As for reactivity, i've said before that the SH-32 is my most expressive instrument, and i'm not kidding about this. Just the pads i've made are so rich and lush and so dyanmic, i wonder why i've even tried to call settings on my other synths "pads." These take the cake. For acidic performances, i can only proclaim glory again as i blow out the monitors with cutoff-to-velocity routing. you'll be amazed.

I bet i could turn it on and just let it do the playing. it's absolutely glorious. It can have up to four patches going at a time, chords, arpeggiators, rhythm.... Glorious. Its sounds can stand alone or just back up, but it certainly is a very performance-friendly instrument, and i'd not be surprised if it takes center stage in most cases. My only gripes are that there can be noticeable aliasing without a controller and you DEFINITELY need to sound-check because it can easily distort both internally and externally.

Never had any dealings with Roland directly.

Whoo. What to say...

Get it. It's worth every penny of the $250-300 USD you'll pay for it, especially if you've got a keyboard you can use as a controller already. It's almost a studio in a box.

The only things, in all honesty, i would like to see in it are a multi-timbral sequencer, accent controls independent of velocity/aftertouch, and maybe an audio input and/or independent sample memory for processing and mixing external signals/samples. Enabling some polyphony in unison and sync modes would be sweet too, especially if you could actually use the filter for sync mode.

However, the pros MASSIVELY outweigh the cons. Get it, you'll love it.

Software version: Present is as it was new. I've just downloaded the update to version 1.06 from the RolandUS website, but it's not installed yet.

Presets: The sounds are unique. Don't expect GM MIDI on this synth. You can use the existing 128 preset patches and 2 rhythm sets or design your own using any of the 63 waveforms that are onboard into the user locations.

Editing patches:
There are 128 user patches, 2 user rhythm sets, and 64 user performances.
Editing is a delight, with knobs, sliders, buttons etc., and akin to exploring a familiar land with lots of hidden corners. I am not aware of a computer tool that will do the job, but maybe Unisyn will bring out a module if it's not already available. As I say below, though, the manual is essential if you intend to be serious about editing. There is information that only the manual will tell you.


Manual: Comprehensive. The manual is an absolute must for serious users. If you didn't get one with a used model, there's a PDF version of the manual on the Roland website, and additional info is easy to find there too. I have both versions; the PDF file is searchable and a good supplementary aid.

I've given this a rating of 9, only because many people seem to not want to get into the manual. But if you are prepared to, the rewards you will reap will justify a 10.

Polyphony: maximum 32 voices.

Keyboard: You can use some of the onboard buttons to simulate a limited keyboard. An external keyboard is essential, preferably one that's designed as a controller rather than one with its own sounds. That way you can alter the settings as you play.

Built-in effects: Insertion effects: 35. Reverb/Delay: 10. There will always be some that I want but don't find. But this has oodles to play with, some you don't find on other synths, and they are well controllable.
There are also Arpeggio Style, Rhythm Style, Chord Forms, Patch parameters, and Rhythm/Performance settings that can be changed.

Expansion capabilities: Nope. What you buy is what you get. Software upgrades are available at Roland's website: current version in October 2005 is 1.06.

MIDI capabilities: MIDI IN, OUT. As this is not a "usual" GM type synth don't expect the usual patch changes from an external keyboard or sequencer to have the same effect as it otherwise would.
There is a comprehensive list of the MIDI Tx/Rx settings in the manual. Although the usual Portamento, etc. control changes are included, most of the commands are related to the bespoke "analog knobtwiddle" style of this synth.

On-board sequencer: None, but there is enough to do with what it's got. Leave the sequencer to the computer.

The only "standard" kinds of sounds that this synth produces are in the Rhythm Sets, which include some TR808/TR909 drum/percussion sounds.

This isn't a synth to produce imitations of other sounds, although it's possible to do that to some extent. It's more like an analog synth.

Types of music: Anything. Really. Pop, through to avantgarde electronic via Rock, techno, and the rest. Very versatile as you would expect.

Onboard effects: I think they are good, as an additional way of producing the sounds. External effects post-FX are always useful no matter what your synth is capable of, though.

I use an external keyboard to play this synth. Works fine. Reacts the way I want it to. No problems at all.

Velocity and aftertouch: It reacts. As you aren't using it to produce traditional styles of instruments, it's open to you to use how you wish.

Some of the sounds that you can produce might include low frequencies that tend to be a little bottom heavy or highs that are top heavy. But that's not the synth's fault. Read the manual, and use your ears.
It will do what I want, within those limitations LOL.

I have never gigged it. It is in a good strong metal case, robust and rigid, just the way I like them Hahahaaa. I only use it for recording, so this is academic.

I have never had any problems with it. The connectors on the back of the box are very good quality, better than some modules that are several times the price.

Never had to deal with Roland other than downloading the software upgrade and the electronic version of the manual. A breeze.

Never had to have it repaired.

SO this is academic again. I'll give it a ten based on that.

I would seriously consider buying another one to run alongside this, to give me more flexibility.

If it was lost or stolen, I would definitely buy it again. It is worth more than I paid, and I have a feeling that in years to come it will appreciate in value.

What do I love about it? The sounds, and what it can do. BIG BIG Bang for the buck.

Anything I wish it had? Just one: a vocoder.

It has helped me realize a few musical dreams I had for ages and fought the urge to spend many more dollars to get. So I'm a happy chappy LOL.

Anything else? I love this synth. If it was a woman, it would almost be Six (Tripping the Rift), and all mine mwahahahahaaaaaa!.

Last software version I know of..not got any "zipper",but not at all sure what people think that is?? (enlighten me)
some of these presets are fantastic,some are shite..BUT..with a synth of this age (i.e..last ten years)some some are simply fantastic,while others sound crap,but the beauty of the sh32 means that shite sounds can be tweaked into great sounds in no more than ten seconds,then saved..
at first (if you don't know analog,It can be daunting)
but if you have ANY previous knowledge,you will be tweaking to the high heavens...boy, does this kit tweak!!
never got a manual,but not really needed..this type of synth was never a groovebox,etc..it wa a simple powerful standalone synth.
which is why its the heart of my setup..and will continue to be..
long gone are my old Jupiters and Junos...this is the same or better engine in a box!

try it..it kicks this really is the power of (and more) a jupiter 8 in a box (believe me,I had one,fantastic at the time but this box sounds BETTER and is easy to control,unlike the JP8!!

nostalgia says..old analog
common sense says..virtual analog
I pray you never had to suffer "tuning" or various "synth" issues when you play live ;)

Does it all..and then some..faultless kit

will and can sound like ANY synth it wants to (if you know anything about progranmming)

can whinny,can roar..FFS..Its a ROLAND!!

faultless..Roland synths NEVER die

Roland..only thing you may need are new keys..Rolands live forever

Don't know what software. I got this for bass sounds....let me tell you right now...BIG HAIRY BALLS...I could not believe the fatness of some of the bass presets. Editing them is a breeze. Manual is killer.

Great Polyphony, the preview buttons are great to use without a keyboard. The effects are hard to get to but after a while it's easy.
Midi is solid. The sequencer is very good.

Instruments are not to organic but not the point with this.
It's for sure a prog rock thang.

It's Roland it's made well. Heck yeah I'd use it without back-up.

I've called Roland, they are helpful.

My only gripe is the massive wall-wart you have to deal with. Overall it really is a great piece. It will tear your speakers apart if you are not carefull.

I'm not sure what the software version is, but the presets are more usuable than most synths i've played with, they kick the ms2000 presets out the window. Editing the patches is no problem, just twiddle the gliders which is also helpful in visualizing especially with ADSR. The manual is crazy, it has 50000 different section, the first half is an over view and the rest is really in depth, its pretty confusing sometimes, especially the parts with the arpegiator functions. But if you have questions you can get them answered in the manual, you just have to look and take the time. But i still love it!

32 note polyphony, which is good for programming sequences i guess but to tell you the truth, i really don't see the point, because i only have 10 fingers and usually only play with 8 or less, but its always fun to play an arpegio with all the keys and then mock the people that cant. The preview function is a nice thing, basically it makes an octave keyboard on the function buttons, its a good feature. I use that sometimes if i dont want to hook up my keyboard to make sounds, no velocity but its all good.

The effects! wow. most of them are crappy but there are some that are great, i'm digging the resonant feedback delay it reminds me of the delay on the Korg EA-1, so if you know what i'm talking about, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! The distortions are crappy,(wheres the fuzzzzz?) not sure why there is an auto wah but there is, the reverbs are ok. delays are nice, phasers are cool too.

There are some cool midi capabilities, suchas you can set the mod wheel to do different functions and i think that is a great help since my controller doesnt have a plethora of knobs. It's velocity sensitive and all that good stuff, you can also set functions for the velocity like cutoff and amp attack and some other neat things.

The arpegiator is insane, its very difficult i think, but you can sorta use it at a sequencer i guess, there are preset drums sounds from classic roland drum machines that can be programmed which is an awesome feature. It's very flexible but not very easy to use. That section in the manual is crazy weird and i dread that part of the manual.

The sound are veryyy cool, there are plenty of waveforms, i think like 57 or something like that. You can use 2 oscillators, a filter, an amp, effects, and 2 lfos to create sounds. You've also got sync and ring mod in the osc. section. You can really use this for almost any genre of music, i've used it for spacerock/noise/hiphop/post rock. you can make some weird ass sounds with it but you can make some classic synthesizer sounds too because everything can be turned off, if you want just a gated saw wave, you can do it, if you want a fifth string-section, you can do that too, the possibilities are pretty endless.

I dropped it once when i was first setting it up. i dont think it did anything, its made of metal, not like STEEL but its pretty solid. I'd gig without a backup!

If it were lost or stolen, i dont know what i would do, i like it alot, but i might cut my losses and buy like a korg ms-10, i know the functions are nothing alike but ms-10's are really cool! But if i found another one for this price when it got stolen, i'd pick it up in a heart beat. I havent seen one for this price in a while, but i'm glad i have it.

I've been playing synths for about 2-3 years and have been playing other instruments (guitar mostly) for about 5. I'm 17 and this is my second synth (my first is a cheesetastic fb-01) I also own: Ibanez HD-1500 delay/harm.,Ross Time machine delay, and a pedalboard filled with lots of pedals (15 or so) i'm into weird effects/synths/music and this fits well into both my homestudio and my live rig. (my studio is based around a Teac Model 10; the original homestudio module recording console!)

I love how you can make a wide spectrum of sound with this synth, but i hate that using the 24 pole filter sometime makes it crack and that pisses me off.

I compared this to a lot of synths in the same price, from the ea-1 to the poly800(and ex800) the ms2000, the micron, the microkorg, not so much the ion, but out of all of them minus maybe the micron, i thought the sh-32 was better. But all those synths are really cool, and if anyone is selling any of them for less than 100 hit me up!

I wish it had a keyboard. and an easier arp interface.

it definately helps make music.

Very easy. It's all there in front of you, if you can remember the LED acronyms. Effects, ADSR's, LFO's, Bank navigation, everything. This is the perfect Virtual Analog for the beginner. Presets aren't bad at all. No matter what style you like, you'll find at least 18 presets to fall in love with.

I'd like to find a patch editor for it but there's no worry. The Manual is very in-depth and makes it seem more complex than it needs to be. If you trust your ear and your instincts, you won't need it.

32 note polyphony supplies all my needs. Too many synth musicians like to flood the audio and fill every last octave past the brim. If that's your bag, this beauty will help you substantially. If on the other hand you have common sense and don't want to torture your audience, each note is rich and powerful.

Effects are a dream. The delay is not quite as clean and precise as the Korg EA-1 Mk 2, but just as tweakable, and better yet, BPM syncable. If the onboard arp isn't enough, there's a Slicer (and 2 LFO's besides) for more groovin'. You can even double your delay, or rotary pan it. There's a Limiter, Wah, Distorion, EQ, Isolator, Chorus, Flange, extra Filter, Resonator, LoFi... what more can you want? The effects are the one thing that keep me from trading it in for the Roland JP-8000, where the SH-32 got its engine.

Expansion? None. Midi? The customability for your keyboard (I use an Edirol PCR-50 with this) is gorgeous; several features for pitch and mod controls, and full response to aftertouch as well as velocity. Sequencer? no, just rhythm patterns (for the drums) and arpeggiators. I still haven't grokked the arps, which don't respond to live programming enough for me. The only disappointment there. Also, the "Performance" mode does not allow splitting or assigning, simply stacking. I didn't know about it when I bought it, so I wasn't really upset.

This is a VA tabletop, created to get the tranceheads and newbies into analog synthesis. It works for any form of electronic music. You can go the full range from Industrial to Pop strings to Avant Garde weirdness a la Radiohead, Air or Depeche Mode. I adore it. The waveforms plus double oscillators plus variations allow for a lot of choices, and sorting through them will open up many avenues you never knew.

The effects are very rich, and while lacking a certain sonic resolution have wonderful colour and thickness. Almost "warm", really.

Again, velocity and aftertouch are very customizable and have a very extensive sensitivity range. Be your fingers weak or strong, you can make this sing through your hands with power and subtlety.

The drum sounds... enh. Usable, but nothing to sample. You can effect them and create your own patterns, but not really practical for much except noiz, or a quiet spare breakdown pattern. The sound engine is so sweet that I'll only allow that to take off one point.

You could fight your way out of Baghdad using this as a club and it would still play like a dream. No backup needed here. Just make sure you take off the bass boost, or you'll shake the club's PA apart.

Dealt with Roland once for my D2. Friendly enough, and very servicable.

I would have to buy it again. Worth every penny I paid.
I've been playing for almost 5 years. I also own a Roland D2, a Korg EM-1, and a Korg KP2. Once had a Yamaha CS2x, for my sins. And a Yamaha AN1X, for whatever sins the first one didn't cover.
My only complaint is not being able to do split patches. It would make composing a lot easier. But in every other way, it's an integral part of my studio.

My SH32 is using rev 1.06 software which is the latest (final?) version. Ease of use is a mixed bag. Basic synth voice programming is bone simple, grab the sliders and knobs and tweak away. It is a little tricky switching back and forth between the two oscillators or two LFOs since they share the same controls, but it's still miles beyond any menu-oriented synth, I'd give it a 9 for this, BUT...programming effects, arpeggiator, even setting up in multitimbral "performance" mode is messy because the only display is a two digit LED. I'd give it only a 3 for that part.

Polyphony is 32 notes max but that assumes you use only single oscillator patches and don't use sync mode which makes the patch monophonic; use all dual oscillator patches and you're down to 16 notes, stack up sounds in performances and you reduce it further although with four parts stacked for insanely fat sounds you still can play 4 notes. The sync and ring mod features are a real disappointment because using them limits use of other features (like you can't use the filter when using sync). The built in effects are very good especially since all the delays, flangers, phasers, etc. can be synched to the clock (tap tempo is also a plus for live use). Unfortunately there is only one effects processor which can be a real drag when using performance mode. The arpeggiator is insanely powerful but it will take you a while to figure out how to actually program it. It can be used in fixed pitch mode (for creating drum patterns or pseudo-sequencing of melodies) which is very cool. Another nice touch is that when using drum kits in performance mode, they can use a different arpeggiator pattern than the other parts use. The MIDI implmentation is excellent, most of the control settings are sent over MIDI so you can record real time knob and slider tweaks to your sequencer or tweak them from a master controller. The external modulation routings are also quite versatile.

With all the real time control possible from the front panel as well as via MIDI this synth is a tweaker's delight. Many other posts have complained about "zipper" noise in the filters, I have to report that my unit with SW rev 1.06 I don't hear noise even with radical knob tweaks of cutoff and resonance. I'm old enough to have actually used many of the fabled analog synths like the MiniMoog, Odyssey, etc. and the SH32 comes close enough in sound shaping to those but adds polyphony, patch storage, MIDI...what's not to like at this price????

The weakest link is the wall wart supply; at least Roland saw fit to put a strain relief on the case. It's not the stnadrd Roland/Boss AC-120, though so if you lose or break it good luck getting another one. I would worry a bit about bashing the front panel with all those sliders, after all how many times have you seen old electronics gear with snapped off silders? On the plus side, the metal case is far superior to the plastic found on most low-end modules. The inability to rackmount it is a real minus for giggers.

Roland's online support is fair; they only recently started posting manuals but other things like OS updates have been available all along. I have never needed to get this or any other Roland product repaired, so cannot comment at all about that aspect of support. I suppose that says something about reliability too, eh?

If lost or stolen, I don't feel it's irreplaceable; a nice second synth but not essential for me. I've been playing synths for almost 20 years now and have been doing various types of electronic music (tape and effect box manipulations, etc.) for 30 years. The other synths I own today are a Yamaha Motif ES and an Ensoniq SQ-80. What I love most about the SH32 is the ability to manipulate EVERYTHING in real-time; my other synths are limited as far as real time modulation (both mappings and number of simultaneous controllers). I looked at other "virtual analog" modules in the SH32's price range like the Korg EA-1, Yamaha AN200 and Red Sound Darkstar; none had as much polyphony, some weren't multitimbral, some lacked onboard effects, etc. I wish the SH32's ring mod and oscillator sync features worked better, I wish it could process external audio signals (like the EA-1), I wish it sounded more like a MiniMoog (ha ha).

I just got this thing, I really like it, all I can say right now is that if you don't like the zipper effects of the filter, you can try hooking it up to a good external midi controller and that should hopefully give you much smoother control. On my Evolution MKC461, the problem almost takes care of itself.

The preset sounds are great! I didnt expect to get such fat synth sounds out of this machine. It was easy to use, within like 10 min i was making...sounds. I got hung up on how to make songs with the paterns for awile.

First of all the arpegiator on this is great. The reason i gave it a 9 is because the drum machine in it is lacking, but the arpegiator makes up for it.

You can do alot with the sounds on this synth. It has everything from a trance lead to a organ (is that a big jump between sounds?)
It has a great aprgegiator with alot of patches.

It feels like i could drop it and it would survive. It scared me how solid it felt, manly because the thing is incased in thick metal for such a low price.

I havent had a problem with it

O this was worth it... i only paid 185 for it new so that was a steal. it wasnt even on ebay.

Don't know what the sofware revision is, but this does the (very simple) job I require from it, i.e. replicationg the Moog Taurus sound. I put a set of Roland's PK-5 pedals through this on pre-set D49 and can replicate flawlessly the same sound I obtained from my long-lost Moog Taurus pedals. I've cycled through the rest of teh sounds and they're convicingly analog-ish. The manual is very (and I mean VERY) comprehensive - must be a new boy at Roland who is out to impress.

The polyphony (so far as I can tell - I don't really use it) is good. On-board effects are adequate for my use - I'm a simple soul and easily pleased. I bought this for a very specific purpose and it performs perfectly.

I haven't played with the arpeggiator as yet, but its operation looks fairly straightforward (according to the manual).

This unit attempts to emulate analog sounds and, for my use, does so perfectly. I bought it to emulate the Moog Taurus sound and it does exactly that.

Looks and feels solid.

No dealing s with Roland as of yet.

A steal at #140 - the guy I bought it from had only used it three times. I put a set of Roland's PK-5 pedals through it and the SH-32 performs effortlessly. I'd definitely buy another if it were lost or stolen - it's intrinsic to the sound I need.

I cannot recommend this unit highly enough, hence the 10/10 rating.

This synthesizer is my third synth ever so I have limited experience with editing but this thing is pretty easy. If you have a solid understanding of ADSR you're already halfway there. Good effects, limited arpeggiator. Nice preset sounds that give you useable ideas.

32 voice polyphony. There is no keyboard but the unit can have one octave played from the front panel in preview mode. The effects are pretty standard distortion, chorus, reverb, a nice selection of delays. Full midi.

This is basically Roland taking all of the best of their classic analog synths and approximating them into one. You can really put a lot of feeling and expressiveness into the sounds. It has the classic analog "dirty" filters for fat basses and squealing leads but it also has quite a few atmospheric sounds.

White sheet metal case, seems as sturdy as it needs to be. I don't usually abuse my equiptment. I'd imagine it could take a punch better than I could.

I haven't had to deal with Roland, but it seems as if their customer service is barely available. They have no 800 number, there are toll numbers for phone and fax. No email support.

I really love this thing. I think I wouldn't hesitate purchasing another one if something happened to this one. I have been playing keyboards for around 3-4 years but have played guitar for over 10. This synth fits well for the type of music I like to write but I think would be good for any setup. My other main synthesizer is a Moog Source. It's been easy to mix the two and get good sounds. The only thing I don't like about it is I can't find out how to change between a single trigger and auto trigger on notes. Aside from that, which is probably based on my stupidity, I think it's a great synth that hasn't had it's ass kissed enough.

Overall, it's very easy to use. Knobs, buttons, and faders all over the place. I was a bit daunted at first by having only a 3-character LED for feedback, but even that won't stop you from getting a good sound out of this thing. The perks on this machine are a lack of complex submenus and real-time, instant-gratification changes in sound, from oscillators to filters to effects. The downers on this machine are cryptic effect names and an unbelievably complex arpeggiator, although I must admit that its complexity allows it to achieve complex patterns. However, effect names like StU and TRL are somewhat beyond redemtion, but with a manual, who cares?

It doesn't have a sequencer, and I wish the best of luck to anyone who tries to use the arpeggiator as one, like the sales pitch recommends. Other than that, you get tons of waveforms, two oscillators, two ADSR filters, two LFO's, and an arpeggiator that's as easy or hard as you make it. It's got portamento, onboard effects, and interfaces ridiculously easy with any MIDI controller. For $200, what more could I ask for? Well... that's somewhat of a loaded question. While I suffer little on account of the small LED display, I find the arpeggiator just a tad cumbersome... But I'm a whiner. Oh, and it can be either mono- or polyphonic, which is cool.

Good stuff, the whole lot of it. Some are too snobby to use sampled waveforms, but not me. It does sound digital, but it sounds good. For all you who hate the digital sound, you're probabably too good for this one. However, it's a fat digital sound, and you could shake some walls with it. Nice, fat, basses, soft-sounding pads, and some freaky-deaky leads. I like it a lot.

As for the beats, the 808/909 sets sound PRO-BOSS. It's nearly worth the price for the drum sounds alone, if you've got a good sampler... and I've got a good sampler... so it was nearly worth the price for the drum sounds alone... Where else can you score sounds like this for that price!?

Now for the not-so-good... The infamous "zip". Anyone who isn't familiar with this, imagine turning up volume with a regular knob, then imagine turning up volume with a step-knob, where each step makes an audible, not-so-smooth transition from one step to another. You will find this step-up on filters and pitch bends. However, using portamento, or other effects that are set-and-forget, this effect is non-existant. Basically, if you tweak a lot, this thing will drive you mad, but then, that's why I keep my Juno. It's my mad tweak box.

It should be noted that this is not an analog-sounding synth. It makes a reasonable facsimile, but it still sounds digital... If you can get over that, you'll really enjoy this synth. It sounds great.

Well, it's Roland, and I trust Roland gear.

Never dealt with them, but I've never HAD to deal with them, which says something...

I love this unit. It's a bit limited, and it's not perferct, but it's definitely worth owning and it's got great potential. I would buy it again in a heartbeat, despite that notorious zip everyone keeps bitching about. If you can look over a few shortcomings, you'll find a great unit.

Anyway, it was certainly refreshing to hear Roland producing their drum sounds again. They're absolutely tops, no two ways about it. It's fun to muck about with the synth part until you've gotten wrapped up in it, then turn around and say "Oh wait, this thing makes drum sounds too!!" If you're reading this, you're obviously interested... Go to your local dealer and try one on for size! They're great!

Pretty easy to use if you've used most of the newer GROOVE Gear by Roland. I bought it for $125 with no manual but about an hour of fiddling about and I've got the overall idea. easy straight foward analog style editing, lots of klnobs and sliders, if its like the other Toland gear I'm sure they probably tramsmit midi controller dat also, Some Presets are usuable some are Naff, anyone with a limited analog programming background should be able to get some nice analog like sounds out of these beasts

32 note polyphony, should be fine for the average songwriter, decent effects, your typical Roland delays, reverbs, distortion, cool isolator. No expansions but for under $200 I wouldn't expect much. MIDI stuff seems decent similar to most Roland gear. No sequencer but sweet appegiator, you can program and save your own styles COOL, you can also you it to make drum lines

Decent analog style sounds. sounds as good as my JP-8080, and I paid a quarter of the price for it. I prefer the bass sounds to my K-station. Great for anybody who needs more analog style sounds. The Filters are typical roland Groove wackyness, most of the time you should set the resonance at half way or else you'll get a super dramatic change in sound, but still sounds decent overall and for the price I wouldn't complain

I own a Roland JP-8080,JUNO-106, MC-303, D2, MC-09, Ef-303, and now this, havent had a problem with any of them, I've gigged everything else mentioned and haven't had a single issue. unlike my Novation K-station which is a piece of junk. So I would Recommend ROLAND anytime

never had an issue, bought manuals from ROLAND and they seemed happy to help

I JUST ORDERED A 2ND SH-32 FROM MUSICIAN'S FRIEND THEY ARE SELLING THESE NEW FOR $199 WITH FREE SHIPPING, FOR UNDER $200 I RECCOMMEND THAT YOU BUY ONE. I LIKE THE SOUND, I LIKE THE PRICE, I WISH IT HAD A MC-303/505 LIKE SEQUENCER BUT FOR $200 I'M NOT GOING TO PISS AND MOAN, IF YOU GET A CHANCE CHECK ONE OUT. I BE THAT YOU'LL BE SUPRISED

Easy to use. Lots of sliders and knobs that are intuitive to use if you have at least the basic understanding of LFO's, Envelopes and the like. Each preset can be previewed and tweaked easily. The 16 step keys are not set up like the TR-808 or Korg Electribes but, it is easy to use because it uses a piano/keyboard layout.

Tons of features that you would expect from a top notch groove box synth. The SH-32 has the TR-808 and 909 sounds in it as well as 303 and SH-1000 style synth patches.

Supreme! This is a mean box. I own the Korg Electribes, a maxed out Emu Turbo Phatt, an Oberheim Matrix 6R, an Access Virus, and most of the soft synths out there and this box beats them all. The TR-808 drums are true blue and the synth presets are heavy. Best box I have ever heard. Did I mention the 808? If you want an 808, I highly recommend this box!

Built tough. I have owned it for about a week so I don't have a long relationship with it yet. I haven't heard any unwanted noise and it's a $600 unit new so I don't expect I'll encounter any problems.

Just sent in the registration.

Like I said earlier, this is the best sounding box I own.

Well, here goes... my first product review! No idea on the software version... let's call it 1.0; just brought the unit home from the local music store. Many of the presets are lame in my opinion, but are good starting points for dialing in your own sounds. Patch editing is very easy due to all of the dedicated controls. Only some functions require some "menu-diving". On the whole, very straightforward. No patch editor required. I think the manual is good... no reason to read it cover-to-cover due to the design of the unit. A handy reference manual for MIDI setup, etc.

32-voice polyphonly, 4-part multitimbral with a rhythm part. Built in effects are very good, IMO... a good selection of good effects, nice and clean. No expansion options. All I can comment on in regards to MIDI capabilities is that I went right in and set it to a corresponding channel to my XP-80, which I'm using as the controller. Next I have to assign parts per MIDI channel for seqencing with the XP-80. Given what I've seen so far, I'm sure it's easy enough. No actual sequencer on-board, but a flexible programmable arpeggiator and chord memory. I can't comment too much on either, as I very seldom use them. An audio input/vocoder would have been great... I imagine that omitting them helped to keep the price down.

Sounds are the main reason I buy any instrument. As stated earlier, most of the presets are weak, but I was creating and storing my own within minutes. There's a lot of synth power in this little box. I've always been a big Roland fan, having previously owned the Juno-106, SH-101, Jupiter-6 and JX-8P. What's great about this thing is, when I feel like adding Juno/Jupiter-type sounds, I can just bring it along and slap it on top of the XP-80's panel, all the way over to the right. I think the SH-32 excels at leads, pads and basses, and the on-board TR-909-style drum kits are great. A lot of 80s Phil Collins tunes waiting to happen! I don't get into the trance/hip-hop/house/acid stuff... I will mainly use this module for 70s and 80s synth textures, leads and pads. The velocity and aftertouch nuances are nice.

As with most Roland gear, it appears very sturdy, although I wouldn't throw it out the window or drive over it in a car. I always take really good care of my gear so I expect that it will last for a couple of decades at least. Will definately use it without a backup.

I've only contacted Roland tech support once, a long time ago. Service was OK. No problems ever using my local Roland authorized service center.

If lost or stolen, I'd replace it. I think it's WELL worth the price I paid for it, and I think if Nord or Novation made this thing it would have cost $800. It's a nice compliment to my live rig... currently a Roland XP-80 and Korg Triton classic. I love the sounds and how it gets warm, fat analog textures. Compared it with the Novation K-Station before buying, and although the SH-32 has no input/vocoder (I wish!), I think it offered more bang-for-the-buck to me personally. Have to give it a 10 for value!

Latest software version. Presets are pretty good and show off some of the variations in sound that the unit can provide. However, you can EASILY make MUCH better sounds on your own with little effort and the results are great!

Editing pateches is VERY easy and a LOT of fun though you do need to keep track of which oscillator/LFO you are on. Some of the functions are a little obtuse but surprisingly the LED display though cryptic is big and bright and can communicate "farily" well what you are doing. It is really easy to come up with all sorts of sounds; leads, basses, pads, blips, squeaks, etc, etc. You can get GREAT sounds FAST!

Manual is pretty good as well and covers a lot of ground without getting too long winded. Easy to find the sections I want info on. Better then most, not as good as some but for sure a VERT hand reference for some of the deeper functions (arp patterns, etc).

This is a synth module without any sequencer but with a VERY powerful arrpegiator that allows you to make a lot of noize in one easy to use package. 32 voice polyphony (quite a bit!) makes for note-rich pad playing without hearing the voice stealing. Also allows for complex 4-Layer Performance set ups whcih are a lot of fun with drums and multiple arpeggio patterns running simultaneously. Velocity and key tracking are available to various filter and Amp functions and it responds very well to both velocity and modulation functions etc.

Effects are standard Roland quality (which is excellent!) providing both a single Insert and global Reverb/Delay. The effects add a lot of sonic power and allow for some very professional, polished sounds of all types. Lots of types of effects from distrotions, LoFi to chorus, flange, phase, delays etc. Many allow for BPM sync. All in all a responsive little critter.

Th range of sounds the unit is capable is truly amazing. It covers them all; pads, leads, basses, blips, etc and the selection of waveforms is really extensive. This IS a synthesizer and is made to make SYNTH sounds; no piano, guitar, breass etc. Everything is centered around a flexible pallate of synth tonalities. It CAN sound CLOSE to analog (not totally) as well as quite digital in the Waldorf vein. The filters have a bit if a sharper quality than some and really cut when you trun up the resonance. With the resonance truned DOWN they get quite smooth and "round" sounding. Ring Mod is a really nice addition of a-tonal sounds, sync is nice but make everything MONO(!) and having pulse width mod on both oscilltors alllows for some VERY thick sounds. A great paint box for synth sounds; perfect for techno, house, ambient, garage and really any other music that calls for SYNTH sounds.

Steel casing, standard Roladn plastic knobs (not the best) sliders have a pretty strong feel and are "stubby" so they should not snap off even when slid fast. Would for sure use w/ out a bcak up as I don't mistrast my dog or my gear.

Never needed to contact them. Roland site is pretty easy to manage and this is where a lot of support is located these days.

This is a very inexpensive, higly vesitile tool with a few unique tricks up it's musical sleeve. It is quick and easy to program and to get new sounds that are inspiring and musically useful. There are the issues that other have discussed with "zipper" nose when you CHANGE some of the parameters, BUT, the actual envelopes and LFOS's don't appeart to do this. Even with some of the inherent technical "glitches" and quirks as an "instrument" it provides me with lots of inspirational sounds and adds a new and unique voice to my music. It is ABSOLUTELY a synth and can be considered a poor-man's Virus. I like it a LOT and if stolen, lost (who DOES something this stupid?) I would absolutely purchase again. I don't know of ANY synth near this price that offers SO much bang for the buck, is as versitile, fun and sounds as good. Highly recommended IMHO!

The unit is pretty logically layed out. A few little things to learn to find the few more remote parameters but I had everything figured out with just a couple hours playing around while checking out the presets. I haven't mastered the arppegiator, but I'm not sure I'm interested for my particular applications.

Great feature set, especially at this price. It doesn't do everything, but it offers a lot of nicely related stuff. This is a satisfying combination of basic subtractive synthesis with enough editing control, cool effects, and some drum sounds thrown in to round it all out. I would like a keyboard version, but I like keyboard versions of everything.

I bought this primarily for the sounds. I have 17 other synths, some digital, sampler, lots of analog. This is definitely a subtractive synthesis sound, similar to analog, but not exactly like anything else in my setup. It really compliments my other synths. Of course, the natural comparison is to analog synths.

In particular, it doesn't have the lush and smooth sound of my JP-8 and yet I think it is probably more flexible. I am surprised to find how wide a range of sounds it has. The voice architecture is not very different from typical analogs, but I find it has t ability for a wider range of sounds than those. Maybe it's the number of variations of the waveforms?

Or maybe it's the effects. I'm comparing against analogs that have no built in effects. Sure, I could run those through a processor, but it's not the same as having effects dedicated to each patch.

There is something about the overall tonality, maybe mid range push, or mid treble, that makes this unique. It doesn't have a bank of fixed frequency filters but it does often sound like it does. It is easy to come up with sounds that have a centered frequency presence or defined range. I think it sits well in a mix, leaving lots room for other sounds around it.

The filter doesn't sound like any other synth. It's not very analog, but that's not bad. I really like it. I guess that is probably responsible for the focused tonal character.

Whether it is the effects, or the filter characteristic, or waveform variations, the sound is complete. My analogs all have a great raw base, but often need post processing, for EQ, compression, reverb, and other effects.

I haven't had this long enough to really nail down what makes the sound of this synth. Whatever it is, it is easy to get very usable sounds out of the SH-32. It's just always ready to go.

In my experience Roland stuff usually is among the most reliable. I'm guessing this will be the same. It seems really solidly built.

I rarely use tech support. Never needed it for SH-32.

Overall, this is great value for the price. Easy to use, fast access to usable sounds. High polyphony and multitimbral are often useful. I've owned about 70 synths in the past 25 years. I currently own Moog Modular, Prodigy, Pro-One, P-600, SEM, and JP-8 analogs. I have JV-1080, DX-100, and K5000s digitals. I also use Reactor and Reason. SH-32 fits very well in my setup.

This is supposed to be a retro-style interface. It might remind many users of the old Arp Odyssey's perhaps. So one advantage of this style of non-menu driven interface is the realtime tactile tweaking that it affords the user. That being said, I do not find this module to be intuitive in the least. A huge problem when combining retro interface gizmos like dials and sliders with digital memory is the fact that old parameter settings on the dials and levers become obsolete as soon as they've been recalled. Ideally, there needs to be diode settings to reflect the memorized parameters (eg. see the Behringer V-Amp 2). Of course, this would have added considerably to the cost, which is quite reasonable given the features of the unit.

Lots of polyphony, lots of sound editing. See other reviews for details. I don't like its minimalist LED display. A small LCD menu would have been much nicer. I wish Roland had added a "randomize" function, to create random settings (although there is the UI feedback problem mentioned above). Note that this is NOT a groovebox. There's no sequencing abilities, other than its substantial arpeggiator (which I find difficult to use, given the user interface).

This is a pseudo-analog emulating synth module. I say "pseudo" because it really doesn't sound analog whatsoever. However, that is not to say that it doesn't have a character of its own. It can produce some noisy, nasty sounds, albeit on the thin side.

Haven't had it too long. Metal case looks solid. Plastic dials seem flimsy.

I use this as an additional sound source in my home studio. It cannot be considered a central module to a music setup, but rather, it is a fun source of sonic inspiration. Hopefully a Windows-based editor will appear for it in the near future.

The Software version I'm using is whatever it came with out of the box - I suppose that would be version 1 or whatever. The presets sound good, if not kind of stereotypical, but this is easily fixed because the front panel layout is very easy to use for anyone who has ever used an analouge synthesiser before. The manual is typical Roland fare, that is to say poorly translated from Japanese. I feel you would be better off just digging in.

The sh-32 is 32 voice polyphonic. There is no real "keyboard" per se, but a one octave keypad set up like a keyboard that is not velocity sensitive or aftertouch capable. I use it with a Midi guitar however, so this is no issue for me. There are a lot of useful built in effects which are as easy to use as the synthesizer section, and all applicable can be synced to MIDI. As far as I know the only "expansion" is to upgrade the operating system so far. It will accept any MIDI you send it. Very extensive. There is no sequencer, but a very flexible arpeggiator which is programmable.

This box does not try to duplicate existing instruments, but instead is used to create your own unique sounds. At this it excels. Any type of music that can utilize a synthesizer will benefit from this little guy. The onboard effects are great, and the synth and effects react well to my guitar playing (I use guitar to trigger) It responds well to Velocity and aftertouch and both of these can be adjusted by a know on the front panel.

Seems to be a solid piece of gear, I intend to take it on the road with me. My experience with Roland gear is that it is usually sturdy, and this is know exception.

I have never had to deal with Roland for any reason.

If lost, I would replace this thing right away. It makes a wonderful guitar synthesizer. I have been playing for 22+ years, and my other devices are too numerous to mention. The only thing I don't LOVE about it is that it seems like you can only latch an arpeggio that you started with the built-in keypad and not the guitar. This may be fixable with new OS, however. The only thing in the price range that I feel is simular is the korg ms-2000 which is left in the dust by this thing in terms of polyphony, effects, and pdrice. I find it to be a very inspiring tool in the studio and live.

I am using OS 1.06.

The presets do not show anything about this synth full capability. It seems Roland try to keep the presets the most simple so that they can serve as sound template rather than ready-to-use deluxe sounds. (That's what bread-and-butter or samplers are for anyway.)

The presets serve well as templates. The editing is very fast and easy for people familiar with subtractive synthesis. There is no menu diving. Patch editor will not make editing easier, but a patch librarian might turn out very helpful because it's so easy to create sounds on the SH-32 and you will run out of the 128 user writtable sound memory pretty quickly.

Manual is average at the least. They should have included the MIDI implementation. ($10 per from Roland.)

SH-32 sports 32 oscillators. A voice can use up to 2 oscillators. There are parameter buttons that also serve as keyboard. They are just note on and off, but they are useful enough for programming the arpeggiators, trigger sounds, playing chord memory and it can transpose over 8 octaves.

The built in effects are just like those in BOSS multi effects. They are minimal but very versatile and useful in sound shaping (think Swiss Army Knife). All effects sound like they should sound. They are all surprisingly distinctive and expressive to say the least.

No expansion for this board that I know of.

I dont' have the MIDI implementation manual so I have no idea what it can do. But all knobs will send MIDI controller Message (super nice!) and/or Sysex. Very configurable.

The onboard arpeggiator is full programmable and it can made polyphonic. Different from the traditional ones that are usually monophonic. Very cool. The arpegiator will work for the drum sets also. In performance mode the arpeggiator has extensive use. We will talk about that.

SH-32 is set to Bass Boost Mode from the factory. It's not recommended for big loud speakers which is what I use. At first I thought this box sounds horrible. Too muddy and distorting. But once I turn off the bass boost function. It sounds GREAT! I reckon the Base Boost Mode is useful in case you need to play in a small party with no real PA system. Kudos to Roland for being thoughtful. Sometimes these silly situations come up for us who play music that people can enjoy at parties.

Back to the sounds. They sounds better than my JV-2080's "analog" sounds, that's for sure. The variations of waveforms skyrocket this machine's versatility. For example, I was trying to emulate this bass sounds from a record the other day. It's a very simple dull bass sound. It wasn't until I realized I should try other waveforms, that full usefullness of wave variation prevailed. You can't imagine until you hear how 10 types of saw waves can make a bass sound sounds so much different through the same filter and envelop settings. This is another edge that the SH-32 has over all "analog" modeling machines that only have one type of saw, square, sine waves.

The type of music it works well for? Any type. It's a synthesizer, not Band in the Box program. YOU program it to sound what you like.

Does it react to playing? There are velocity modulations routed to cutoff, loudness, attack envelope, etc, just like all other Roland synths that I have owned. So yes it can be programmed to react to your playing. If you want it static, just turn these modulations off.

SH-32 has settings for Aftertouch -> cutoff and loudness as well.

In performance mode, you can layer all 4 parts of the SH-32 and play with one MIDI channel. The arpeggiator will also work dependently for each sound in each part. You can even make very complex evolving one-finger FX sound with this thing. Big plus!!!

Like other Roland products I would guess. One thing I like about buying from big companies is that their quality control of the product is good. (I still have nightmares about my Waldorf Q used to fail all the time in the first few OS versions.)

I have no idea.

I will probably get a new one if it was stolen. I don't see any other machines as flexible, versatile and self sufficient (polyphony, sample drumsets, arp, etc.) at this price range in the market.

I have been playing it for 2 weeks and I haven't touched my Waldord Q and Novation Nova since then. It's just so much more fun and easier to get cool grooves and sounds going with this thing.


I compared this box with MS2000r. The MS2000r filter is obviously much better than the SH-32's because the SH-32's has zipper noise. SH-32's filter will not self-oscillate in the sense that when only the resonance is turned up, but you aren't playing the keys, you won't hear the sine wave as in the case with real analog filters. However, if you play the keys, you will hear the self oscillation. After this is not a real analog synth. Anyway, back to MS2000r. The synth only has 2 parts and 4 voices and it's a little more expensive than the SH-32. The decision is obvious.

The only thing I wish is that they fix the cut off filter zipper noise.

The presets sounds are a mix of melodic and noisy patches.
Editing is very easy (supposing you have used analog synths before and know what ADSR and Cutoff mean).
Manual is ok, but some features are a little tricky to catch at first glance. (note: english is not my native language and the manual came only in english)

Polyphony is GREAT! Much better than other analog modeling synths. 32 notes in all!
The effects are very configurable and very useful.
There is an arpeggiator that is relatively easy to use and does the job.

The sound quality is overall, great. I own a Moog Rogue and the sound quality is near impossible to distinguish on a similar patch. Good job of Digital Modeling from the engineers at Roland.

Had it only 2 weeks, but I feel this could last a lifetime (metal casing and LED display)

Don't know yet...

Yes I would buy another one right away if it was stolen.
I've been playing synths for about 15 years.
I like the "hands-on" editing.
My only complaints are, as others have pointed out, the audible steppiness of the filter cutoff knob AND the fact that the highest cutoff frequency is not high enough (compared with real analog synths) and the resonnance cannot self oscillate. Also, the sound of the waveforms is somewhat filtered out at ultra low frequency witch makes a sawtooth wave sound more like a dulled pulse, but this is compared to a real analog synth remember... All in all, considering the low price ($700 CDN) it is a SUPERB instrument. I was also considering a MS2000-R before buying the SH-32, but better polyphony and better effects and a slightly lower price did it for me.

Very user friendly

Lots of bang for the buck. Aside from the steppy filter, I think it sounds better overall than my ms2000r. The dist. on this is WAY more usable. the dist. on the MS2k gets muddy. Sounded warmer than my Korg as well, I was convinced ultimately that this sounded more analog. Warm lowend. I REALLY have had a strong dislike for Roland for a while, and I am shocked by how much I liked this thing. I really felt that for a while Roland was really going right for marketing, and minimal features with alot of "hype" advertising. BUT, I really feel they crammed alot into this box for the price, and it actually has MORE polyphony than the MS2k, and more timbres!!! WAY better effects, more punch, etc.....

WARM! Great fx, 32 note ployphony, 4 timbres! Very good at a really good price. Clearly better than the A station.

Only demo'd it.

Overall I like it (so far) more than my MS2000r. The real test will be when I buy it. So far though it seems like it will fit in well with my setup.

I think the presets sound great.It sounds kind of metalic and definitly diferent from all other roland stuff and I just got it yesterday so I havent played with it enough to rate it deaper.I also think it is very intuative to use

I dont feal like explaining all that and if u go to www.rolandus.com I am surre u'll get the hints u nead.But what I can tell u is those knobs and sliders have a very deep and flexible inpact on the sound and u can get some very,very interesting resolts if u make cutting edge music.

expressive????hell yes.By the way I dont understand Why is it so cheap i mean Thanks ROLAND

I have only had it for a day but when u see how some things look u get that gut fealing that its gonna last forever,well I got that fealing.In this rating categorry I am gonna put no opinion,but I am gonna rate it in my own words,"gut fealing:9"

I have dealt with this company before and they are very helpfull

I am just gonna say that the outlook on my set up has changed its color to a brighter so I am raitn' it

Software version: default. I note there is already an update on www.roland.co.uk but not downloadable yet, no info on what's changed or fixed or improved.

Presets: 128 good, basically vanilla examples of the range of sound types you can work out from with the available architecture. Tweak any of them a little and they can change dramatically (for the better!)

Editing patches: Quite easy -- if you're familiar either with the Roland JV/XV architecture or with the JP-8000/8080, you'll immediately understand 90% of the architecture. Interface has that same intuitive, performative quality that made the JP-8000 such a huge success.

LFO capabilities quite good, understanding how to apply them takes a little practice (for example the LFO _depth_ setting can be set independently for each Destination -- OSC1, OSC2, Filter, Amp, Pan -- but the LFO _rate_ applies across all destinations for each LFO -- you can set LFO1 & LFO2 rates simultaneously or independently from each other, though). Classic Roland LFO waveforms, same as on JV architecture.

OSCS: the heart of the synth. All the classic synth waveforms, with interesting and distinctive variations upon saw, pulse, tri as well as spectrum (providing a kind of physical-modeled tonality -- e.piano, guitar, bell, etc. -- for the OSC). Plenty of variation here, editing is extremely easy, mixing OSCs simple.

Envelopes: Again, very clear-headed interface, much like the JP8K. AD for pitch, ADSR for filter, amp, with time key following (i.e. amp env. can be adjusted for increasing/decreasing rates up/down keyboard). Simple but very flexible. Env amount is positive/negative for all 3 envelopes.

Filter: 12db and 24db slopes, classic Roland LPF, BPF, HPF and PKG. PKG as always particularly good for extreme resonance-based sound. Filter self-oscillates like a banshee. No major changes immediately apparent compared with previous Roland JV and JP filter designs. Filter Cutoff knob only has 0-127 steps so, while filter itself modulates smoothly, doing smooth, analog-style classic filter sweeps generates that "stepped" sound some people hate. I'm used to it so don't mind it but be aware if that sort of thing bothers you. LFO best used for filter sweep modulation. Why couldn't they have done a better job with these controls, use 16-bit rather than 8-bit variables to handle cutoff and resonance? Any chance for improvement in an update here?

Four banks of patches, A and B are User and C and D are Preset, 256 patches total. A and B banks are replicas of C and D banks default from the factory. Easy to bulk-dump patches, banks, arpeggio styles, patterns individually or as a group to a sequencer, so really endless no. of patches possible.

Noise OSC: like the JP- line, the ability to use the 10 Noise variations for OSC1 or OSC2 widens the sound palette considerably. Even better variety for noise-based sound (including filtered noise for whistles, space music, etc.) than the JP, in my opinion.

Ring Mod, Hard Sync: Ring Mod keeps filter on, sounds wonderful, esp. with noisier waveforms; hard sync disables main filter but see below re: efx section filter. Hard sync sound is _very_ hard, definitely acid sounding.

Seems like the filter, envelope settings are applied across both OSCs simultaneously, as with JP, so use multi-timbrally (up to 4) for wider variety of sound-sculpting.

Manual is just fine except for lack of inclusion of usual full MIDI instrument memory architecture documentation. No info on Sysex, etc. Manual follows combination of JP and MC-505 style presentation (i.e. structured well for beginners, not a lot of meaty in-depth info though, unlike say XP-80 manual).

Polyphony: 32-voice polyphony, traditional Roland Patch/Performance architecture with 4 parts multitimbral (as opposed to JP 2, JV 16). Plenty of polyphony, including combination of 3 OSC voices with 4th rhythm-track part. Best considered, though, as a solo lead/bass-line synth in main strength, consistent with SH line. Solo and Unison modes as well as sub-osc for each of OSC1 and OSC2 provide incredible flexibility in terms of producing thick or complex melodic/bass lines. Nice little built-in, sample-based drum machine as well, integrates effectively into overall architecture without weighing down main synth engine performance.
Keyboard action: it's a box without keyboard, but definitely worth mentioning is the ability to adjust settings for modulation control, aftertouch and keyboard velocity, as well as key following, so the SH32 is very much oriented towards keyboard hook-up, and responsive with same.

Knob and slider action: as with JP synths, nice, smooth and solid/rugged feel to the knobs. Knobs are current Roland instrument-standard, i.e. with nice wide base, very easy to do subtle adjustments (which makes the 0-127 i.e. 8-bit values for the filter and cutoff ranges all the more maddening! <g>). Sliders if anything feel even more rugged than JP8K, as their new design is less likely to encourage accidental slamming at either extreme of the slider's action.

Effects: For the most part a replication of the excellent range of multi-effects Roland is shipping with their SP-808ex, XV line, EF-303, etc. Notable is the new addition of a number of "Sync" versions of chorus, delay, flanger to exploit the BPM Sync option on the LFO panel. Wide range of beat-synchronized efx thus possible, and ability included as well to link efx section with reverb/delay section in series or in parallel, for even more variety. Great slicer, sync-slicer, Lo-fi and noise efx, plus "EZ Filter" for use of LPF, BPF, HPF, PKG filter at _end_ of architecture routing, particularly useful when using the osc hard-sync feature (which disables main filter). Ring delay effect is a new one, really unusual, sounds like revving a motorcycle engine, great for scaring the neighbors. Tricky at first to control, just like a Harley. <g>

Expansion: none, just good bulk-dump control. Software control over MIDI Thru, only MIDI In/Out. Full 1/4" outputs, though.

MIDI capabilities: responds to velocity, aftertouch, mod and pitch-bend controls (all adjustable on the SH32 in detail).

Arpeggiator: more like a mini-sequencer and/or step modulator. Lots of included styles, following, again, classic Roland design tradition, with addition however of lots more editability than in the past, less reliance upon stock style/motif/etc. collection. Bunch of patterns for drum section in addition, much like substantial subset of MC-505/D2 pattern sequencing (again, with editing). Very intuitive design, easy to real-time or step edit using keyboard or onboard bank/patch select buttons. Aside from the pattern sequencers on the MC- line and D2, this is the best arpeggiator/sequencer implementation Roland currently has on the market (aside from the traditional MC-80), and is as intuitive to use as those on the MC- 505 and D2. Less memory for saving but again, easily rectified with bulk-dump to an external sequencer.

Sound Quality: Very expressive. Quite distinctive sound (this coming from someone who's intimately familiar with current state of VA and multi-sample synth technology, Europe and Japan both). Truly worth it for unique capabilities. Really, honestly something new in the area of synth sound design. Can copy a wide range of what VA and multi-sample does, but in a different category. Not as feature-rich as higher-end offerings in either area might be, but nevertheless unique. Much easier to use for newcomers to synthesizers, more likely to encourage active sculpting. Good and interesting and _fresh_ results come quickly working with this instrument.

Note that the emphasis in the sound generators (all 67 of 'em) for the SH32 is on providing excellent fodder for the rest of the architecture. Each separate sound generator has subtle details to it that call for close study and effective use. The integration of these sound generators with the filter, efx and modulation capabilities is quite tight, so you know there's nothing on this score that is "throw-away" in the design of the instrument's sound. This is a very carefully thought-through instrument, not just a re-hash of existing concepts.

Works best for almost any type of music, particularly good for music where an expressive, electronic voice is added to other elements. Not a workstation, not an instrument to do full orchestral scoring, certainly sufficient for any DJ setup, excellent supplement if you already have a good VA or multi-sample synth.

Onboard efx: excellent sounds. Really interesting results. Wide range of experimental sounds possible.

How does it react to my playing? Very easy to use the sound-sculpting interface in real-time, so you get immediate feedback on what you're doing _while you're making the music_. I really think this has been the fundamental effort at Roland for the past five years: with both this and the D2, Roland have really emphasized the ability to take all the components that have been available for years in sound design and make them very easy to use as part of your musical performing, or improvising. Instead of the traditional scoring, detailed note-taking approach here you tweak and use your ears to discover results. Kind of at the opposite end of the spectrum than, say, Csound. <g> Takes sound design out of the lab/studio and makes real-time sound design part of your performance practice. Jeff Pressing would approve.

Metal case, which some would say emphasizes ruggedness, but I'm of two minds about that -- plastic is lighter and more flexible! <g>

Absence of back-lit LCD means that 20 years from now the SH32 will still be going strong, and you'll still be able to see everything you're doing. Nice, rugged knobs and sliders design, LED interface is retro-simple but really cool once you get used to it. This synth's built to live forever.

Wall-wart power supply. Some hate this but it makes the box smaller, lighter, cooler, extends the instrument's life and as long as the world makes 9v, 1000 milliamp transformers you'll never have to spend a fortune to send your synth in to have the power supply replaced. Also makes for easy replacement when (not if, when) the power cord is tromped on, cut, pulled, etc.

This thing's actually probably solid enough to use without backup. Only thing I'd do is make sure any custom patches are saved elsewhere, equipment (sequencer, computer etc.) is available for quick re-load if needed and, since this is just out, use it plenty before going live to make sure it doesn't do something mysterious to you in front of a crowd of 30,000. :)

If you're patient, professional, logical and objective in your approach to problem solving, you will get help. If you come in screaming, with a chip on your shoulder, ready to take your current frustrations out on the nearest tech support person whether they're responsible for them or not, you'll get predictable results.

Upgrades are easy, as with all current Roland gear. For whatever reason, Roland rarely releases info on fixes/updates. Repair is easy as Roland has worldwide service.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd pick another one up tomorrow. Well worth the money.

Been playing music for 35 years, playing synths for 5. Own a wide range of other gear, from Nord Modular to Waldorf Q (rack) to XP-80 to Microwave XT to Cakewalk Sonar.

I love the SH32 for its sound, simply. That's what matters. I love it for the fact that I can dig into it quickly and get unique results I can't get with any of my other instruments. It's not "better" or "worse" than any of them, just definitely different. It's a very musical instrument, if your definition of musical extends well beyond the conventional.

The only thing I "hate" is the filter cutoff "stepping" sound, due to the 8-bit value used to provide the range for the filter cutoff knob. This amazes me, as the filter itself is perfectly smooth when modulated by the LFO, so the "stepping" sound is not due to any limitation of the filter, merely to the fact that the cutoff knob basically goes from 0-127. Change that to a 16-bit number and miracle of miracles, you have 0-16384, sufficient for a nice, smooth sweep sound. PLEASE, Roland, if there's any chance you can re-code the software to change the filter cutoff range from 0-127 to 0-16384, DO IT. That would be a HUGE selling point particularly for those who don't understand why the filter cutoff has this "stepped" sound. You're shooting yourselves in both feet by handling it with an 8-bit value. There has to be a good reason for your having done so.

Compared this very specifically, over time, to an MS2000. There are lots of nice things about the MS2000, and price is identical, but the unfixable mod-sequencer timing issue unfortunately knocked the MS2000 out of my consideration. Otherwise, lots of nice things to say about the MS2K. SH32 is more slicing/metallic/screaming in sound, which I like better; MS2K is more traditionally "analogue-ish," with a softer, rounder overall tendency. I chose the SH32 for its ability to complement the very weird stuff I do with the Nord Mod, Waldorf Q and Microwave XT. It's perfect in a mix with any or all of those.

Do I wish it had anything else? Hmm, there's always something.... well, yes: I wish the EQ efx had been included in the Reverb/Delay efx unit instead of in the Insert efx unit, so could use EQ _alongside_ the other Insert efx, instead of just EQ with Reverb/Delay. Independent EQ from all the efx would've been even better (as with, for example, VS-1680/2480 and VM-3100). Ability to adjust independent LFO rates for each modulation destination, instead of having LFO rate for LFO1 or LFO2 apply across all destinations (and efx) equally. Something to make it easy to fit the SH32 into a standard rack (it's GREAT that it's so tiny, but inconvenient when you want to rack it). Nothing else I can think of right now.

The SH32 is really an exciting little instrument with a huge sound palette. It's the kind of instrument I know I will continue to enjoy for many, many years to come. Hats off to the Roland engineers who managed to pack so much, into such a small box, for so little; in that way, the SH32 is an aesthetic masterpiece. I also, for one, have to say that I appreciate Roland's evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach to interface design; as someone who's been familiar with the Roland way of doing things for awhile now, I find it's a real relief not to have to "reinvent the wheel" when I approach a new Roland synth. Basically, I can take skills and practices built over time and continue to apply them, which -- as a musician -- helps me spend more of my time making music, instead of learning interfaces. So in that way, the SH32 is a real musician's instrument, not an engineer's perfectionist dream.

Editing voices is quite easy and doable w/o the manual. Some more
advanced features are less obvious (and that's where some kind of menu would actually be
of help!). Again, the voices have really simple architecture
and ADSR sliders and all that make work easy. Deserves credit for
small footprint.

I suppose it's 4 times multitimbral (not sure yet). Effects are
passable.

Sounds are ok, sort of meat and potatoes VA fare. In general,
left me unimpressed. Almost about any piece of gear can
sound more interesting. There are some nice Sci-Fi patches with
lots of S/H LFO modulation and effects, but that has limited
applicability.

N/A

I tried it a few times in the store, and I'm not buying it.
Same amount of money can be spent on things infinitely more
interesting.

Most presets sound pretty good out of the box.
Editing is where the SH-32 shines. This thing
is very tweakable so that can be easy for some or
hard for other people. I find it medium hard but
love the results!
Manual is ok with average step by step instructions.

a 32-voice polyphonic, 4-part multitimbral analog modeling synth with built-in effects designed to recreate classic sounds of it's predecessors as well as new and unique sounds.

I got this for unrealistic sounds since that is what I am into.
As far as the effects, heres the ripped off list from this web site
The SH-32 also provides an insertion effect and reverb/delay, available to all four parts. Available insertion effects include:

Stereo EQ
EZ Filter
Isolation
Auto Wah
Overdrive
Distortion 1
Distortion 2
Stereo Compressor
Stereo Limiter
Phaser
Rotary
Hexa-Chorus
Tremolo Chorus
Space-D
Stereo Flanger
Step Flanger
Sync Step Flanger
Ring Modulator
Lo-Fi
Lo-Fi with noise
Slicer
Sync Slicer
Tremolo
Sync Tremolo
Auto Pan
Sync Auto Pan
2-voice pitch shifter
Feedback pitch shifter
Stereo Delay
Sync Stereo Delay
Resonance Delay
Reverb
Gated Reverb
The Reverb/Delay effects section includes:

Reverb - Room
Reverb - Stage
Reverb - Hall
Stereo Delay
Sync Stereo Delay
Long Delay
Sync Long Delay
Panning Delay
Modulation Delay
Stereo Chorus

Metal case a plus, the sliders seem a tab fragile to me but
this is being kept in my studio so not an issue.

Have dealt with Roland on some other issues with other equipment
and found them to be ok to deal with.

Right now I'm loving the Sh -32.. so of course if it was stolen
I would replace it. I play/create experimental and techno.
Currently own Roland Juno 106, EG 101 (dont buy) XP-10. Emu Proteus
2000 with Xlead rom pak, Proteus 2. Korg Electribe ER-1. Also use
most all VSTi and Cubase VST 5 ,Orion Pro and Acid Pro 3.0

I had wanted to get the Korg MS2000 rack mount but glad I waited
and Roland released the SH-32.. I have no need to get the MS2000
now and this is cheaper . Another plus is its footprint is about
the size of the Korg Electribes so it doesnt take up a lot of
room in my cramped studio.