It looks plastic, it feels plastic, well it's plastic. A very good piece of it. You don't feel like playing a toy. I usually do a small test: pick up the keyboard from the side panels and then try to twist it (no, I never tried this on my G8
). Most of the times you get a sense of how rough the construction is. You can hardly twist the Gaia chassis. My XP-50 doesn't handle this so well,if l may say so . The Gaia will handle time well. I'm not a fan of the black and white finish. I know it's fashioned look but if Roland made it in plain black with wood imitation side panels like the MicroKorg, it would be a killer for me. It definitely deserves a mod.
The overall feeling is enhanced by the quality of the keyboard, similar to the Juno-Di and also the new Lucina. Let me mention that "Keyboard Velocity" is set to OFF from factory. You can also set it to REAL. I thought this first unit was broken until I ... read the manual. Obviously this is not a professional keyboard but it is fare enough for regular use. On the other hand, I'll never get used to the size of it. 3 octaves is OK for a small solo sound but I just can't stand it for any other type of performance. This is not a flaw. I know that the SH-01 target is for beginners or to be used as second or third keyboard. But personally I would pay for at least another octave. I'll have to connect it to one of my other keyboards if I'll ever get one, which I eventually will. Also you can't split it. Well, after whining over the keyboard size this may seem ridiculous. I can't see my self playing one octave on the left and 2 on the right. But this would bring the SH-01 to another level although it probably would also bring issues with operation, assigning the 3 oscillators, EFX routing, probably needed more buttons, etc and most important probably a diferent price so I rather keep this way.
By the way, this is one of the few issues I've got with it. Although the panel layout is completely straightforward to any synth programming beginner, some of the functions are hidden behind button combinations. For example if you want to set TX Program Change On/Off you have to :
1. Hold down the [CANCEL/SHIFT] button and press the [V-LINK] button
2. Hold down the [PLAY/STOP] button and press the [PRESET PATCH] button for On (Button lit) or OFF (Button unlit).
3. Press the [CANCEL/SHIFT] button.
I think it's a little to much and I know you won't use these functions often but it will take a lot of time to memorize the steps to get there or at least you have to keep the user manual close.
On the other hand I find curious that there is no "global" Write Protection. This is handled per Patch so you can prevent from overwriting the patches you like most and discard the others. Protecting is as simple as pressing the [CANCEL/SHIFT] button and the number button of the patch. You'll lit the Write Protect locker.
The faders and knobs are also similar to the latest keyboards from Roland. No surprises there. Sometimes I got some difficulty to get the right value cause they're not smooth enough and the course is a little rough. We're not supposed to expect high end quality hardware although they are comfortable in use. A PC Editor would provide some help here (although you would loose the tweaking pleasure) but there is none. Just like there is no Librarian. So you're stucked with the 64 Preset, 64 Users (that, as usual are replicas of the Presets) and the 64 USB Memory patches. Unfortunately you are also stucked with just one Group of 64 Patches in the USB Memory and no way of adding more Groups so yes you'll waste a LOT of space in the drive.
Strangely enough , when you check the file on the USB drive you'll get F:\ROLAND\SH01:"SH01_PAT Fantom-G Librarian Document". Yes, it says "Fantom-G Librarian Document" and no, It does not work with the Fantom-G Librarian. It seems someone forgot to rename something.
. I'll correct my initial post about it. 