Roland SH-32

First of all, I love the shape and workout of this gear. It's like a capacity-building game for kids, or a funny lie-detector from a low-budget sci-fi movie. (Hyphen-words maxed out.) Look that "SYNTHESIZER" label on the right bottom! You can't say it's not a badass layout for a serious scam! Because the SH-32 is a smart rip-off. While all the printed labels and icons, all the manual suggests that it's a virtual analog, because you can switch traditional waveforms for OSC1 & 2 and then add a sub oscillator, in reality it is a rompler. It has some samples, I guess octaves for all basic waveforms, and for the sub oscillator variations. Yes, it's not a real VA, but don't click on the back button quickly, because this synthesizer has all the abilities what a good VA synthesizer can serve. In some cases it can do more. First, it's funny how the DSP works in this cutie. If you playing individual notes between octaves, you will hear correct sounds, because it releases different samples in different frequencies. But if you start to pitch up a continuous voice, you will notice how it works in realtime, because the DSP only replaces the sample in the starting frequency point. Then just patch an LFO to the pitch, and with extreme amplitude and frequency, the DSP suddenly drops any bending algorythm and oversampling (in hardware-era, this is the only fallback if you run out the DSP power, drop processes) and you get a typical chiptune vibration. Compared to real VA's, I felt this a lucky weakness, because try this with a Radias or Virus - the SH-32 sounds far authentic in this. Otherwise, the machine's processing power sometimes really bad. Polyphony is only 32 voice, and one oscillator rents one voice. Since it could be stack 4 parts, 2 osc in a part, if you use all, then one note holds 8 voice at once. This means you can create in full capacity a 4 note chord, but if you want to hear full releases and attacks, you can think in 2 note "chords", because SH-32 will cut the release of a note if run out of polyphony. Sadly, one oscillator voice is a bit wispy in my opinion, so I built great stacks when I designed new sounds. Thanks for the sample-based engine, the sub-oscillator doesn't cost you additional polyphonies, because the playing oscillator tone sample switching to a mixed or clear oscillator sound - hence this, you can't set the mixing rate. It has an outstanding analog-type filter with 12 dB and 24 dB slope and LPF or HPF type. I bet you will not be disappointed, this gear wears the SH and SYNTHESIZER labels because the filter I think. All 4 part has an independent TR-style sequencer, nothing exciting here. It has one insert MFX and one reverb/delay effect, and it can be order to series. Not a big ones, but for arpeggiators and simple leads are ok. I loved this gear, it was one of my first synths in my life. It can be used to quick polysynth lines and powerful leads generally. I don't recommend it for basses because it misses the subtle range, and can't be used for really deep pads because the polyphony restrictions.

this was not good. I got one for free when they were new and got rid of it within a month. I tried to like it. It had zippering on the filter. Who knows maybe I would like it now?

I bought a JP8000 thinking it would be better. It was not.

This synthesizer is a beast, the downfall is that the sound pallet is so rooted in Roland's past that it doesn't create its own identity.