KVR Audio

BDeep · Post by **BDeep** » Wed May 15, 2013 8:04 pm

Just had a listen to your audio demos (was at work earlier) and man, yes that ballsy sound is so typical of the 101. The soft comes incredibly close too. If its not TAL's new synth, I'd still like to know which it is, if you don't mind

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Wed May 15, 2013 8:07 pm

Ahh. The synth in my audio demos...that's Strobe. I think it's the best SH101 emu at the moment. Actually, let me rephrase it, it's the closest to the 101 sound but as an exact emulation it's not accurate as the parameter ranges are very different, if that makes sense. But then, Strobe is not meant to be a strict emulation of the SH101. It's got other influences under the hood as well.

BDeep · Post by **BDeep** » Wed May 15, 2013 8:31 pm

Thanks! I maybe should've guessed that, but you managed to get incredibly close. I see what you're saying about the parameters ranges, it will probably take a little more effort to find the 101 sweetspots so to speak.

I liked Strobe best of Synthsquad, but I couldn't for the life of me gel with the interface. I probably should demo it again sometime.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Wed May 15, 2013 9:08 pm

Yeah, matching an SH101 needs to be done by ear. It also requires some tricks like: the main oscillator square wave does not sound like the one in the Sh101. To get that same square I needed to use the sub oscillator square - transposed up. So in this regard it's not a good emu. But it does have that authentic SH analog sound.

Speaking of interface, Strobe's is much easier (clearer) to use than Cypher's.

BDeep · Post by **BDeep** » Wed May 15, 2013 10:17 pm

I agree on the sound, it has that upfront Rolandish mono synth sound although I found it a bit too dirty at times. Most likely operator error though, as with the interface which I'm sure just takes time to get used to.
Very few synths have that specific character though. Oddly, I found my Virus b can get in the ballpark (I'm likely the only one who believes that

)

Hearing these sounds wants me to get my real 101 fixed, and have a play with it. Good fun. Thanks for sharing.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu May 16, 2013 9:40 am

BDeep wrote:I agree on the sound, it has that upfront Rolandish mono synth sound although I found it a bit too dirty at times.

Reduce the filter drive in Strobe. Although I really like the full tone it can add to the sound. Over the years I've found that the way drive sounds in all DCAM synth scan help to emulate a variety of analog synths. At higher setting it's not good for resonant sweeps as it affects the resonance too much, but otherwise it's very helpful.

Anyway, sorry for OT.

Back to SH-101.

Studio Electronic Boomstar 3003 may be able to get that 1-osc-dual-wave sound which is possible on the SH-101 as its oscillator 1 is capable of producing two waves at the same time. Then, the filter is based on TB-303 so it can get that squelchy character which both the SH-101 and TB can do with ease.

Kriminal · Post by **Kriminal** » Thu May 16, 2013 4:34 pm

the 101 has gone back to its owner

..but i have a shit load of samples

(that need editing...

)

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Thu May 16, 2013 7:20 pm

...editing...are you going to loop some files?

Did you make sure your SH-101 was in tune?

Kriminal · Post by **Kriminal** » Fri May 17, 2013 10:28 am

himalaya wrote:...editing...are you going to loop some files?

Did you make sure your SH-101 was in tune?

no loops, all short(ish) bass samples and percussion hits that need editing for start/length etc.

i tuned the synth before every recording...it was a pain. it wouldnt tune to the correct note (was very slightly sharp) so had to tune the note down, up to the correct pitch

i recorded C/D#/F#/A in three octaves for each sound (40 bass sets in total)

Chad@PA · Post by **Chad@PA** » Fri May 17, 2013 2:34 pm

Kriminal wrote:
himalaya wrote:...editing...are you going to loop some files?

Did you make sure your SH-101 was in tune?
no loops, all short(ish) bass samples and percussion hits that need editing for start/length etc.

i tuned the synth before every recording...it was a pain. it wouldnt tune to the correct note (was very slightly sharp) so had to tune the note down, up to the correct pitch

i recorded C/D#/F#/A in three octaves for each sound (40 bass sets in total)

Awesome! Looking forward to hearing these.

No one asked the important question of what color your friends 101 was?

There is a SH-101 for a good deal on my local craigslist... resist... must resist.

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Fri May 17, 2013 3:40 pm

Do not resist one if the price is right. SH-101s sound like nothing else...

grimleyj · Post by **grimleyj** » Mon May 20, 2013 10:57 pm

himalaya wrote:Do not resist one if the price is right. SH-101s sound like nothing else...

I "loaned" mine to a DJ friend back in the early 90's when I moved to the States for an internship. When I asked him for it back he replied that he gave it away because it sounded like shit! He thought it was a toy because of the small keyboard. I'm still fuming about it!!

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Tue May 21, 2013 6:19 am

A DJ...in the States...in the 90s...explains all

(only kiddin')

SH-101 looks and feels like a toy, true. But that sound...

Sorry about your loss.

mztk · Post by **mztk** » Tue May 21, 2013 5:59 pm

funny, in some quarters, the SH-101 will get poo-pooed
'because it isn't 'true' analogue' - some reference to?
not sure actually...just shows how purist some purists are.
probably being compared to the SH-09/01, but the 101 has more.

a friend of mine was keyboard tech for thomas dolby, and
apparently the SH-101 got flung across the stage everynight,
and didn't always get as far as the person meant to catch it.

but: in a side by side with a Moog Rogue, it sounds tons
better: much tighter and springier. 2 different things, of
course, but both monosynths with saw/pulse/pwm. was the
2nd thing i bought, just about 20yrs ago. it now has an
mc-202 to keep it company. and these sound quite different
to the 303 sound when filtered; even if a 202 had loads of
patterns, it still doesn't quite do the 303 thing. it does
the 202 thing instead(better for doing fattest bass etc.)

himalaya · Post by **himalaya** » Tue May 21, 2013 6:56 pm

mztk wrote:funny, in some quarters, the SH-101 will get poo-pooed
'because it isn't 'true' analogue' - some reference to?
not sure actually...just shows how purist some purists are.
probably being compared to the SH-09/01, but the 101 has more.

Well, when people compare the 101 to SH-09 they will just find out that they sound different. Equally as good in their own right - but different. For example, the way 101 can mix the square + saw makes for a very punchy sound. Just perect for punchy, full basses where oscillator drift does not spoil the 'attack' (since there is no drift). I tried to make my SH-2 sound like the 101 and on some settings - with low resonance single waves, it sounds very similar, but once the second oscillator is added with it's natural detune effect, plus the filter, the two depart and sound nothing alike.

For a creamy vintage bass line I'd pick SH-2, for a techno/house bass line that punches holes in walls of every nightclub, SH-101. For liquid resonant sweeps, SH-2, for acid lines SH-101. And so on.

woohoo 101