Back in 1982, this little monosynth burst onto the scene as one of the first affordable analog boxes from Roland, packing a punchy Curtis CEM3340 oscillator that became a secret weapon for basslines in early techno and acid house tracks.
Its single analog VCO dishes out mixable sawtooth, square/pulse with PWM, a sub-oscillator (-1 or -2 octave square/pulse), and noise, all dialed in via the source mixer with dedicated level knobs. The resonant low-pass VCF sweeps from 10Hz to 20kHz, with cutoff, resonance up to self-oscillation, ENV depth, key follow, and LFO mod, paired to a single ADSR envelope that shapes both filter and VCA (switchable to gate mode). Hands-on controls abound: 32 full-size F-scale keys, octave range switch (16', 8', 4', 2'), LFO with rate (0.1-30Hz), sine/square/noise/random waves, arpeggiator (up/down/up-down), 100-step sequencer, portamento (0-5s), transpose, and a bender lever with pitch/filter/LFO sensitivity knobs. Battery-powered (6x UM2) or AC adaptor, it's slim at about 30x10 inches, available in gray, blue, or red, with an optional handgrip for keytar-style play and CV/gate I/O for integration.
Over four decades, players still chase its razor-sharp bass, squelchy leads, and theremin-like filter screams—community favorites highlight the huge mix presence and sequencer simplicity, though some note tuning stability needs occasional tweaks on vintage units.
