Synth: Roland SH-101 Review by: Matt Haines Summary: Monophonic, pre-MIDI synth, originally designed as a strap-on synth and now currently popular with the techno crowd. Years Made: Polyphony: 1 Multitimbrality: no MIDI: no Other inputs/external control: CV/Gate: v/oct cv, voltage gate (in/out) Clock: ext clock in (for arp, sequencer) Other CV: hold pedal Audio: Proprietary (DCB, etc): snap-on guitar-neck-like mod-grip Programmer: Outputs: monophonic, headphone Patch storage: no Patch dumping (tape, MIDI, etc): Voice architecture: 1 VCO (independent levels for saw, square/pulse/pwm and sub-oscillator) LFO with triangle, square, random and noise waveforms pulse-width modulated by envelope or lfo, or static resonant, self-oscillating LPF, mod by EG, lfo and kbd tracking VCA, mod by EG or gate EG trigger mode: gate/gate+trigger/LFO portamento, auto-portamento Interface: sliders Sequencer/Arpeggiator: primitive sequencer, arpeggiator Keyboard/rack: 2.5 oct keyboard Known problems: ground hum when using sub-standard wallwarts. Roland does not have sliders available for some functions, so if they go bad they're hard or impossible to replace. Accessories: mod-grip Related synths/gear: related in sound to other SH products, such as the SH-09. Same architecture and sound as the MC202 sequencer/synth. Price range: medium (not a good value for the money, as unit commands higher- than-normal prices due to popularity) Availability: common as dirt (for an analogue) Comments: Strengths: second-best "official acid synth". Auto-porta is nice extra. Light and small. Runs on batteries or AC. Comes in a variety of colors. Weaknesses: AC usage requires wallwart, and wallwart can cause ground hum. Plastic and cheaply made. Overall: Good if found cheaply. Matt Haines haines@cloverleaf.com \co/ntrol-X \to /\abort / \transmission.