The Roland SH-101 is an

analog synthesizer An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...

manufactured by the

Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has fact ...

between 1982 and 1986. Though it was something of a commercial failure during the time of its manufacture, it later became a staple of electronic music in the 1990s, particularly

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

Sound and features

The SH-101 is

monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

, meaning it can only play one note at a time. It has a single oscillator (the

Curtis Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French ''curteis'' ( Modern French ''courtois'') which derived from the Spanish Cortés (of which Cortez is a variation) and the Portuguese and Ga ...

CEM3340) and a sub-oscillator, a

low-pass filter A low-pass filter is a filter that passes signals with a frequency lower than a selected cutoff frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. The exact frequency response of the filter depends on the filter des ...

, a mixer allowing users to blend different

waveforms In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time.David Crecraft, David Gorham, ''Electron ...

plus a noise generator, and an arpeggiator and

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...

. An

ADSR envelope generator In sound and music, an envelope describes how a sound changes over time. It may relate to elements such as amplitude (volume), frequencies (with the use of filters) or pitch. For example, a piano key, when struck and held, creates a near-immedi ...

controls the filter and VCA, and the filter, VCA, pitch and pulse width can be controlled with an LFO. Users can attach an optional handgrip with modulation controls and shoulder strap to play the SH-101 as a keytar, and it could also be powered via battery. According to

MusicRadar MusicRadar is a music website that offers information pertaining to artists and their music. The site features music gear news and reviews, artist interviews and online music and production tutorials. It is owned by British media company Future ...

, the SH-101 has "snappy and razor-sharp" bass, "squelchy and expressive" leads, and a "piercing yet smooth" filter.

Release

The SH-101 launched in the US at $495 and in UK at £249, making it much more affordable than the popular digital synthesisers of the time. Roland marketed the SH-101 to the emerging keytar market, with magazine slogans such as "freedom for expression" and “ he 101takes you where you want to go". However, it was outsold by the digital

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980 ...

and was discontinued in 1986.

Legacy

During the 1990s resurgence of analogue synthesisers, the 101 became a staple in dance music studios. It was used by many famous electronic musicians. In 2014, MusicRadar wrote: "Some inexpensive synths were brilliant 'for the price'. The Roland SH-101 was brilliant, period. Never a rock star's instrument like the

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

or Prophet-5, the 101 was a synthesiser for the rest of us, and a damned fine one, too." In 2016, '' Fact'' named the SH-101 one of the 14 most important synthesisers in history.

Famous users

Famous musicians that have used the SH-101 include: Nitzer Ebb,

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

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, Paul Frick from

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, Orbital,

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, 808 State,

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, Cirrus,

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Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

, MSTRKRFT,

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, Astral Projection,

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, Sense Datum,

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, Lab-4, Jimmy Dickinson

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, Boards of Canada, The Knife and many others.

Hardware re-issues and recreations

In 2018, Roland introduced the Boutique SH-01A, a

virtual analog An analog modeling synthesizer is a synthesizer that generates the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers using DSP components and software algorithms. Analog modeling synthesizers simulate the behavior of the original electronic circuitry in o ...

synth, based on their Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) technology. It is available with or without a keyboard. In 2019,

Behringer Behringer is an audio equipment company founded by the Swiss engineer Uli Behringer on 25 January 1989, in Willich, Germany. Behringer was the 14th largest manufacturer of music products in 2007. Behringer is a worldwide, multinational grou ...

started producing a clone of SH-101 called MS-101, since the Roland patent had expired. The layout and sound is very close to the original, with the addition of enhancements such as MIDI and USB. In 2019, Superlative Instruments launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to produce the SB-1 Space Bee, very similar in layout to the SH-101 with a unique keyboard design and all keys and keyboard in dark gray.

Software emulations

In June 2020, Roland released Zenology plugins for Roland synths, which includes an SH-101 emulator. Roland claims it is an ultra-detailed replica. Other software emulators include ''Togu Audio Line TAL-Bassline-101'', ''D16 Group LuSH-101'', and ''Togu Audio Line TAL-Bassline'' (a free limited version of the other Togu app).

References

External links

Roland SH-101 / SH-01A Facebook User Group

Vintage Synth Explorer's SH-101 entry
* tp://ftp.roland.co.uk/ProductSupport/SH-101/01_SH-101_OM.pdf SH-101 owner's manual
Din Sync's SH-101 entry
{{Roland

SH-101 The Roland SH-101 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1982 and 1986. Though it was something of a commercial failure during the time of its manufacture, it later became a staple of electronic music in the 1990 ...

Analog synthesizers Monophonic synthesizers