Back in 1980, this little beast from Roland's SH series kicked off a wave of affordable analog monosynths that let bedroom producers and live performers dial in raw, organic tones without breaking the bank.
At its heart sits a single analog oscillator serving up sawtooth (ramp), square, pulse width modulation (PWM), and noise waveforms, with octave switching from 32' to 2' and a sub-oscillator for extra low-end punch—one or two octaves down. You've got a resonant low-pass filter, a full ADSR envelope that modulates amplitude, filter cutoff, or even PWM for twangy bites, plus a simple LFO with sine or square waves for vibrato, PWM thickening, or filter sweeps—complete with delay and speed LED. The 32-key synth-action keyboard tracks pitch accurately, VCA toggles between gate and envelope modes, sample-and-hold adds random flair, and external input lets you process guitars or vocals through that classic filter. Housed in a sturdy plastic-and-steel chassis measuring 605 x 305 x 100 mm and weighing 6.1 kg, it's got sliders galore for hands-on tweaking and a mono audio out for straightforward integration.
Over the decades, players like Orbital, Vince Clarke, and 808 State have praised its "organic" warmth and self-oscillating filter for bell tones or acid lines, though some note age-related quirks like sticky keys or noisy pots on unrestored units. It's a stripped-down gem that punches above its weight in the vintage monosynth world.
