The Roland SH-201 is a discontinued 49 key,
10-voice
polyphonic
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
virtual analogue synthesizer
An analog modeling synthesizer is a synthesizer that generates the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers using digital signal processing, DSP components and software algorithms. Analog modeling synthesizers simulate the behavior of the original ...
introduced in 2006 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 ...
. The SH-201 was discontinued in 2010. Roland introduced its successor, the
Roland SH-01 Gaia
The SH-01 Gaia, is a sixty four voice polyphonic virtual analogue synthesizer introduced by Roland Corporation in 2010.
Architecture
The SH-01 Gaia is a follow-up to the popular SH-201. The lightweight unit is designed with a simple layout a ...
, at the 2010
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
.
Features
The SH-201 is equipped with two analogue modeling
oscillators
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
(four when in Dual or Split mode), a multi-mode filter, ring modulator, and it allows routing an external audio signal into its own dedicated filter. Real-time controls feature 29 front panel knobs and sliders, assignable pitch/mod stick and Roland's
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
D-Beam The D-Beam was originally manufactured by Interactive Light, as a stand-alone unit, around 1996. It was then soon purchased by Roland Corporation, becoming trademarked and rebranded as D-Beam Controller for their own music equipment.
Background
Aft ...
controller. The synthesizer also acts as a USB audio interface for
digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...
recording.
The layout of filters, envelopes, oscillator types, and mix options are similar to the
JP-8000. Notable differences are that the SH-201 uses different adsr envelope and filter modeling, offers more polyphony, oscillator choices, LFO routings and comes with computer software for more in-depth sound editing, patch librarian storage and DAW integration. The name SH-201 is derived from Roland's classic SH line of analog synthesizers, all of which were designed to be portable and simple to program, while the number 201 was chosen to reference the popular
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 1990s ...
which was also cased in plastic. It is also fully
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Mac compatible, connecting through a
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...
cable.
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
and audio can be sent through the USB port.
Notable users
*
Hadouken!
*
Abandon All Ships
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Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
(notable for the main synth hook in "I'm Not Alone")
*
Disclosure
Disclosure may refer to:
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*Disclosure (The Gathering album), ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012
*Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo
*Disclosure (novel), ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael ...
*
Scissor Sisters
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*
Richard Barbieri
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*
Noisia
Noisia (stylised as NOISIΛ; "VISION" turned upside down) was a Dutch electronic music trio consisting of members Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger from Groningen, Netherlands. They produce a wide variety of music including dr ...
*
Front 242
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History Formation
Fr ...
*
The Neon Judgement
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*
Suicide Commando
Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial music act formed by Johan Van Roy in 1986. For live shows, it consists of Van Roy himself on vocals, Torben Schmidt on keyboards, and Mario Vaerewijck on drums.
History
Van Roy began experime ...
*
Marcus Brown
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(
Madonna
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)
*
Printz Board
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*
Scooter (Just on stage)
*
Joker
*
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...
[ Téo & Téa CD booklet]
*
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesize ...
*
Asia (band)
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*
Geoff Downes
Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia.
Born in Stockport, Downes moved to London ...
*
Milk Inc.
*
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...
*
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...
*
Kaiser Chiefs
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*
Walk the Moon
Walk the Moon (stylized as WALK THE MOON) is an American Rock music, rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca started the band in 2006, while a student at Kenyon College, deriving the band's name from the song "Walki ...
*
Grimes
Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has in ...
*
Alan Walker
Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a British-born Norwegian music producer and DJ primarily known for the critically acclaimed single " Faded" (2015), which was certified platinum in 14 countries. He has also made several songs including ...
(used for live performances)
References
Further reading
*
External links
SH-201 details- VintageSynth.com
Roland US- official site
Musicradar reviewEMusician review
Products introduced in 2006
SH-201
D-Beam
Virtual analog synthesizers
Polyphonic synthesizers
Digital synthesizers
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