Roland SH-01A

Description

The Roland SH-01A is the Roland Boutique line recreation of the Roland SH-101. In this virtual analog recreation to the classic SH-101, Roland adds 4-voice polyphony, patch memory, and more.

True to the original, the Roland SH-01A is full of sliders and just a few knobs. Voice mode can be selected between mono, unison, polyphonic, or chord trigger modes, already a vast improvement compared to the original monophonic SH-101. The remaining main parameters mirror the original, with a mixer section blending triangle, wave, or pulse waveforms with a noise and 1-2 octave sub oscillator. The familiar VCF, VCA, LFO, and envelope controls follow.

The ACB (Analog Circuit Behavior) modeling of the Roland Boutique line recreates a satisfying sound characteristic here, while also adding a 64 patch-memory feature and 4 voice polyphony. The sequencer is limited to 64 steps from the hardware’s original 100, but the usefulness of the SH-01A is not minimized; the presence of MIDI programmability offers another welcome improvement to the original. The arpeggiator is still present as well.

As will all Roland Boutique modules, the SH-01A can be mated to the K-25m keyboard dock and has its appeal boosted by its portability and affordability compared to its classic counterpart. This update on a true classic offers an incredibly similar sound, plus additional modern features and polyphonic capabilities, all at a fraction of a cost.

Technical Specifications

Roland SH-01A