The GAIA SH-01 sounds fantastic

[Artemiy]

speedtribe, to my personal view (I have worked with SH-01 for about a month), the build quality of it is better than the SH-01. It is actually somewhere in between SH-01 and Fantom-X.

[Ricoche]

I bought the SH-01 a week ago here in Japan and am enjoying it very much. The three tone layers are great along with the effects for all sorts of variations. It really does sound very good. I also have the SH-201 and I can say there are a few things missing on the SH-01 that would've been nice to have carried over.

1. Split Keyboard
2. User Arpeggios
3. Software Editor ( Although this may be around the corner )

I was also hoping the phrase recorder would be a bit better with the ability to record something and then change a patch to play something different. Instead when the patch changes, the phrase plays the new patch.

The effects are also global which might bother some people. You obviously can't apply effects to each of the separate tone layers.

With that said, there are quite a few things I feel that are better than the SH-201 for me.

- Better Sound
- More Variations with the 3 tone layers
- Battery Powered
- Light weight and portable
- D-Beam and Bender Stick are closer to access
- USB Memory Stick
- Very nice effects

It was also cool to hook up the SH-01 to a mini KO1 Kaossilator through the audio in which allowed me to have a battery powered drum machine. I could also use the Korg sounds and layer a bassline. Then I could jam on the SH-01 over the groove. The mini Kaossilator worked well for that I thought.

All in all, I've been really enjoying the GAIA.

Jim

[speedtribe]

ive played it for over a month. i live near roland headquarters in hamamatsu, shizuoka.
i do not intend to buy it regardless of roland's marketing campaign, because i think it is overpriced for what it is. its not bad, its playable and fun, i think its what the sh201 should have been in the first place, and overall better than sh201.. but i would rather get a used virus in good condition for lower price in auction.. i am neutral about it, so i dont care about roland debates. i simply do not need it, i already have sh32.

sh01 gaia is made in china plastic synth, better than microkorg xl, but still not good enough for me to pay 68500 yen for a synth made in china. maybe when its available cheaper in auction a year from now i will consider it.. but im happy just playing at the store for free anytime.. so if you already have something similar you are happy with, sh01 gaia is really not necessary, unless have lots of money on a whim.

[IgorCristo]

Roland.com posted the Interactive Tour for the GAIA SH-01... it shows some sounds and 4 song demos made with it.
See what you guys think about it!
http://www.roland.com/products/en/IT/SH-01_IT/

[Atziluth]

@ Ricoche

1. Split keyboard: Well it will be difficult to play a splitted 37-key keyboard. I think it makes sense to have no splitting function.

2. Well, there are 64 variation of them in there. The SH-201 has only 32 (without software). But maybe there will be an editor soon.

3. Software editor: Yeah, hope there will be one soon, too.

The effects: I think there is no problem to have a global effect.

Cheers

[IgorCristo]

@Ricoche
Can't you record us a demo, with the preset patches?? It doesn't need to show us all of them, but at least the best ones. I know it won't show all the power within the SH-01, but would kill a little of our curiosity!

[Rieg]

Speedtribe:

Overprized? It costs the half of a Moog Little Phatty (I have one) and Gaia does WAY more it seems to me. It also sounds better than the Moog as a solo instrument and is polyphonic in addition (swearing in the church now. Hope the Moog clan does not see this. LOL)

There are always those who wants a free synth, but to my knowledge they don't exists yet.

Altought you didn't said this, I think it's unfair to compare Gaia's sounds (and price) with the cheap beginner instrument from Yamaha which also are kind of plastic instruments. This synth is way more sonically, so it is actually cheap if we compare it to the Moog Little Phatty, which I think is a relevant instrument to compare Gaia with.

I have not bought or tried Gaia yet myself, but I will soon. The sound demos I have heard have convinced me.

Rieg

[PauloF]

Are you looking for a cheap Solo synth?

Try the NI Pro-53

I know... I know... It's a soft synth, but it is awesome and stable on any computer platform (Mac or PC)!!

P.S: did you see the order? Mac and PC, not PC and Mac. I wonder why...

[pjblues]

Guitar Center and Sweetwater have them in stock.

[Rieg]

Ok, I have now gotten a Gaia here. Altought it is made of white plastic, I don't agree with those calling it "cheap". The case is very solid and of high quality plastic.

The sounds are fantastic too, very lush and even better than on my Moog Little Phatty. I have in fact owned the original analog Roland SH-1 back in the end of the 70's and a few years later also a SH-7. The knob layout in Gaia is very like these old synths, logical and easy to learn, but the manual is needed for a few hidden things like adjusting the effects sweep rate etc. But most is straight forward right from the knobs.

I don't uses computer Daws at all. I uses my Fantom G for that. But for those using Qubase, Ableton etc. The Gaia may very well be used as the only (and primary) hardware synth as it covers pretty much most of the synth sounds one would want, except of course realistic accoustic sounds like (sampled) pianos and choirs etc. But this is a virtual analogue synth, producing just that...synth sounds. Those (synth) sounds you miss from the presets, you can relatively easily make yourself.

For the price, you get a lot of a synth by spending little money. In my oppinion, it is worth it's price. As I already have A HP-307 Piano, Fantom G, V-Synth GT + XT, and the Moog too, this synth will not be my primary one, but a nice add on to the rest of my gear.

- Rieg -

[vox]

Why did you add the SH-01 to your setup if you already have a V-Synth ?

[Rieg]

Because, I needed some extra sounds simultaneously when doing live gigs. The Gaia is also easier to make noise and effects with on the fly than the menu based systems which nevertheless often will be be occupied already in the setup or they must be ready setup and waiting to be used for other tasks in the music in the right parts. (Improvisational) tweaking with these are not what I want, when I will be absolute sure they are set up as they are dedicated in a complicated.setup/midi arrangement. I am not talking about studio works here. In studio I could do all with what I already have. But on stage, it's different. I needed some more loosely hooked up gear. The Gaia is perfect for this.

-Rieg-

[Artemiy]

vox, the SH-01 is not based on the V's virtual analog engine, so it has it's own, totally different sound.

[vox]

Hmmm, that's very interesting. I'm currently pondering for another VA sound source in the studio and of course looking after the SH-01 to fulfill this place.

Of course the easy hand-on approach is very appealing, but the 3-octaves keyboard is quite a limitation to me. I sure could use the Fantom G as a controller, but I'll loose a bit of control here I think (going back and forth between the two for knob-tweaking and actual playing.)

Art, how would you describe the sound of the SH-01 to people like me who are (very) used to the V-Synth (and Virus TI) character ?

[Artemiy]

I'd say it's somewhere in between the SH-201 and Fantom-G. Much warmer than the SH-201 but a bit more edgy than the Fantom-G.

You can check out the demos I posted a while ago, they were actually recorded via the line output, so you get the flavor of the output stage as well:
http://forums.rolandclan.com/?action=show_thread&thread...

As of the amount of keys, you have to get the purpose of it, it's a take-me-anywhere synth, with which you can escape somewhere and have some fun (it's battery powered if you want). And you can easily move it within your home - something I started to appreciate with all these years spent on the same desk.

But yeah I think Roland would be wise if they offered two versions of it, this one and a 61-key version. Who knows?