Roland SH-101

The SH-101 resides in a place which is a world away from the American synth models. While the Moog and ARP machines offered a colour which has become synonymous with America, the Roland machines seem to have become linked with Europe, obviously via Japan, from where the 101 originated.

Just like any other hardware, getting a vintage SH-101 will require a degree of accompanying setup, such as an audio interface. It is also pre MIDI, but very reliably works under CV & Gate control; in fact it is a very good performer in this setting. Kenton Electronics will supply all the shapes and sizes of MIDI to CV/Gate boxes that you can possibly require, which include the USB Solo, which will plug directly into your computer and provide CV/Gate signals simply and reliably.

Listen and you decide…

The 101 can sound deep, characterful and crisp, and in searching out hardware (there’s very little else out there in software) the Roland SH-01A, in boutique form, is a great place to begin. If you yearn for something bigger and more flexible, the Roland System series machines will be worth seeking out, offering a fully formed interface which reacts according to the Plug-out model that you wish to work with; the System 8 is something of an underestimated workhouse, in our view.

The Roland SH-01A, offers all that is vintage and retro in a convenient and modern box, which will interface beautifully with your DAW via USB. Better still, the USB connection carries both MIDI and Audio, making it exceptionally easy to get your 101- style signal directly into your DAW.

〉During the early 80s, microchip technology was touching every aspect of human life. We were not quite at the stage where our fridge-freezers could order our shopping for us, but the switch to chip circuitry was having a very positive effect on the price of music technology.

Meanwhile, those clever folks at Studio Electronics have ripped the filter chip from the 101 (and others) to form a desktop synth with huge character and amazing bang for buck. The all-analogue Boomstar 8106 is an incredible sounding box, re-imagining the 101 in an altogether more flexible form. Equipped with two ADSR envelopes and syncable LFO, the only difference occurs at the front of the signal chain, where two oscillators and a sub can be tuned like a 101, or detuned for a thicker texture. It’s not cheap, but it will give cheaper clones one hell of a roast, while also being built to last.

Again we’ve attempted to play the same thing to compare like with like. The audio is as follows (from each of our three Rolands).

Just a few years previous, you couldn’t buy a synthesiser for less than several hundred quid, but the Japanese giants of music technology world would have a thing or two to say about that in this decade. The original Roland Jupiter series once commanded four-figure price tags, but Roland then found a way of shrinking the tech into a form that would make it much cheaper, and used that knowledge in the more modestly-priced Juno series. Even so, it was still several hundred pounds a pop, so when the SH-101 appeared with a street price of around £199, it was something of a revolution. Here was a monosynth that you could really get on board with. It boasted an immediacy in sound, and that sound was huge considering its size.

1. SAW – raw with wide open filter

The SH-101 adopted the SH pedigree from previous Roland monosynths, such as the SH-2 and SH-09, while shifting to the adoption of a number which aligned itself with other machines in their range, such as the TR-808, TR-606 and TB-303. The 303 has acquired cult status, and while there are considerable differences between the 303 and the 101, they can often have a fairly similar sound, depending on the musical context.

2. SQUARE – raw with wide open filter

“Batteries allowed keyboard players to wander free, turning the 101 into a keytar”