Back in 1978, this synth kicked off Roland's legendary SH series, delivering raw analog power in a compact package that powered Vince Clarke's iconic lead line on Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough."
A single analog VCO spans five octaves with sawtooth, square, pulse, and PWM options, plus a sub-oscillator offering one- or two-octave-down square and pulse waves for thick, rumbling basses. The filter section shines with a resonant 24dB/octave lowpass and a non-resonant highpass, both controllable via a shared ADSR envelope, while a separate AR envelope handles VCA duties. One LFO with sine, square, and random waves modulates pitch, filter, or amp, and pink/white noise adds texture; CV/gate in/out, trigger input, and external signal input make it modular-friendly. Housed in a sturdy metal chassis with 32 mini keys and straightforward front-panel knobs—no menus, just immediate tweakability.
Owners cherish its fat, aggressive bass and screaming leads, calling it a rarer, more robust alternative to the plastic-bodied SH-101, though its scarcity drives up collector prices.
