Did you know this compact powerhouse packs 11 different synth engines, including emulations of classics like the SH-101 and Juno-106, all squeezed into a desktop unit that's small enough to run on AA batteries?
At its core, it's a five-part groovebox with four polyphonic synth tracks sharing up to 60 voices of polyphony, plus a dedicated rhythm section offering 49 preset kits and 64 user slots—each kit holding up to 26 instruments with dual layered waveforms, per-instrument EQ, FM, and synthesis tweaks. The SH-4d engine delivers four-oscillator virtual analog action with selectable waveshapes, supersaw stacks, and a mixer via four sliders, while modes like PCM let you layer samples and Sync adds dedicated envelope sweeps. Hands-on control comes from 32 knobs, dedicated Filter with multi-mode ladder design, Drive, Resonance, and HPF, plus ADSR envelopes, a versatile LFO with fade-in and routing to pitch/filter/amp, and a mod matrix for deeper patching. It's got a 25-key button-style keyboard, D-Motion sensors for performance gestures, a 64-step sequencer per part with probability, flam, and visual arpeggiator, plus massive effects including 93-type MFX per part, global sends for reverb/chorus/delay, and master EQ/compressor—all in a sleek 14 x 8 x 2.5-inch metal chassis with stereo I/O, headphones, and clock input.
Since launch, it's earned praise for its intuitive interface and boundless creativity in live jamming or studio sketching, though some note the button keyboard takes a session to master for melodic playing.
