Roland Boutique SE-02 ... (actual analog. roland brand, studio electronics build)

[Uncle E]

The SE-02 was supposed to take the world by storm…and it didn’t. I imagine this is the reason we never saw a Boutique Omega.

How do you feel it stacks up against the SE-3X?

[solidtrax]

Aha, well, I don’t understand why it didn’t happen, since it’s such a marvelous piece of kit! The XMOD section and the integrated Feedback Loop alone make the SE-02 definitely worth considering if you ask me.

SE-02 <> SE-3X – Soundwise, I think the SE-3X is a bit more deluxe, so to speak, but performance-wise, the SE-02 wins it for me. I just love that it has dedicated controls for almost everything, which gives you so many sound design possibilities.

[Uncle E]

Thanks. btw, your Overcycler patches sound excellent.

[solidtrax]

Many thanks for your nice words and glad you like them Uncle E!

[Uncle E]

If I get an Overcycler, I'm definitely buying your patches.

[solidtrax]

If I get an Overcycler, I'm definitely buying your patches.

Many thanks for your nice words! You are probably aware already, but I've got a review available for the OverCycler as well.

[_leras]

Aha, well, I don’t understand why it didn’t happen, since it’s such a marvelous piece of kit! The XMOD section and the integrated Feedback Loop alone make the SE-02 definitely worth considering if you ask me.

SE-02 <> SE-3X – Soundwise, I think the SE-3X is a bit more deluxe, so to speak, but performance-wise, the SE-02 wins it for me. I just love that it has dedicated controls for almost everything, which gives you so many sound design possibilities.

I think the se-3x is a really special sounding synth.

If it was a better form factor with more hands on controls and some of those se-02 features it could be pretty amazing.

I think the se-02 also just needed a slightly larger form factor as well. Also has to be said a lot of it's demos didn't sound all that great. There were a few that got some really great sounds out of it, but it seems like it needs work to get there and isn't a large sweet spot.

Your patches seem very nice btw! Haven't heard them on headphones yet but seems to be a great selection of sounds.

[vitocorleone123]

Aha, well, I don’t understand why it didn’t happen, since it’s such a marvelous piece of kit! The XMOD section and the integrated Feedback Loop alone make the SE-02 definitely worth considering if you ask me.

SE-02 <> SE-3X – Soundwise, I think the SE-3X is a bit more deluxe, so to speak, but performance-wise, the SE-02 wins it for me. I just love that it has dedicated controls for almost everything, which gives you so many sound design possibilities.

I think the se-3x is a really special sounding synth.

If it was a better form factor with more hands on controls and some of those se-02 features it could be pretty amazing.

I think the se-02 also just needed a slightly larger form factor as well. Also has to be said a lot of it's demos didn't sound all that great. There were a few that got some really great sounds out of it, but it seems like it needs work to get there and isn't a large sweet spot.

Your patches seem very nice btw! Haven't heard them on headphones yet but seems to be a great selection of sounds.

As someone who’s had the SE-02 for going on 6 years, I can say it has a very large sweet spot - and a very large aggressive one. It’s easily one of the best analog mono synths under $500, and even on that list for under $1000. Still.

[solidtrax]

I think the se-3x is a really special sounding synth.

If it was a better form factor with more hands on controls and some of those se-02 features it could be pretty amazing.

I think the se-02 also just needed a slightly larger form factor as well. Also has to be said a lot of it's demos didn't sound all that great. There were a few that got some really great sounds out of it, but it seems like it needs work to get there and isn't a large sweet spot.

Your patches seem very nice btw! Haven't heard them on headphones yet but seems to be a great selection of sounds.

Yes, the SE-3X is indeed really special. In fact, I personally think that all the Studio Electronics synthesizers are just very good and special. That's why I was amazed to play with the SE-02 at one of the ADE fairs, and I thought at that time, two great brands working on this together, what a great move and masterpiece.

In the end, I got it a few years after the introduction, but other work got in the way before I could launch my pack for it.

Lastly, many thanks for your nice words, very much appreciated. I hope you will enjoy the demo with headphones. Especially the layered/stereo tracks, which I enjoy the most. (Stereo is just two takes of the same synth part but panned opposite.)

Aha, well, I don’t understand why it didn’t happen, since it’s such a marvelous piece of kit! The XMOD section and the integrated Feedback Loop alone make the SE-02 definitely worth considering if you ask me.

SE-02 <> SE-3X – Soundwise, I think the SE-3X is a bit more deluxe, so to speak, but performance-wise, the SE-02 wins it for me. I just love that it has dedicated controls for almost everything, which gives you so many sound design possibilities.

I think the se-3x is a really special sounding synth.

If it was a better form factor with more hands on controls and some of those se-02 features it could be pretty amazing.

I think the se-02 also just needed a slightly larger form factor as well. Also has to be said a lot of it's demos didn't sound all that great. There were a few that got some really great sounds out of it, but it seems like it needs work to get there and isn't a large sweet spot.

Your patches seem very nice btw! Haven't heard them on headphones yet but seems to be a great selection of sounds.

As someone who’s had the SE-02 for going on 6 years, I can say it has a very large sweet spot - and a very large aggressive one. It’s easily one of the best analog mono synths under $500, and even on that list for under $1000. Still.

I agree and also think that it has a wonderful and broad sweet spot. Often, it's also about what you do with it. For example, when you create a bass patch, you can just use a bit less resonance, or layer it with something that has more resonance and thus less low end. Just use the low-end drop-off to your advantage. I also agree that this punches way above its weight and it is an incredible bargain tbh.

[vitocorleone123]

And if anyone has a problem with the SE-02 form factor, you can use any MIDI controller out there to control 95%+ of what it can do. Renders that "issue" mostly moot for most use cases.

I think live performances is maybe the only one where a larger form factor would definitely be better but, again, MIDI controllers work live, too, as far as I know.

[vitocorleone123]

The SE-02 was supposed to take the world by storm…and it didn’t. I imagine this is the reason we never saw a Boutique Omega.

The boutique line was all about remaking Roland synths in a small form factor for less money. They needed to have pivoted that marketing, but didn't. Plus it's analog and more expensive, which I think a lot of the buyers in the market (price-wise) for the boutique line don't quite understand - or care about. The reason it maybe didn't take the world by storm is in large part due to Roland kneecapping it. But they're still selling it new, which means it's not a failure.

[Uncle E]

Yes, certainly not a failure, just not a resounding success like the JU-06 was. I always wanted to polychain a bunch of SE-02's but never got around to it.

[ere2learn]

Future classic, buy one now, keep it boxed, set location to japan and sell it, like printing monies

Bonus monies for the addon

[cryophonik]

I think the se-3x is a really special sounding synth.

If it was a better form factor with more hands on controls and some of those se-02 features it could be pretty amazing.

I have an SE-1X Nova/Angel Dust special edition upgraded to the 3X and it's an absolutely stellar mono/para-synth, one of my favorite synths I've ever owned. I also had an SE-02 for about a year so I had a lot of time to compare and contrast them. Soundwise, they were actually pretty similar and both great - the SE-02's sound and feature set for the price is pretty astounding. I agree that the dedicated controls on the SE-02 were a nice advantage, but the improvements in the 3X firmware pretty much leveled out the playing field IMO. The tradeoff is the smaller knobs and cramped interface of the SE-02 vs the need for using Shift to access some of the important parameters (e.g., VCO levels) from the front panel of the SE-3X. It's not ideal but it's still much better than the older SE-1 firmware versions that had many of those functions buried in the menu.

Yes, the SE-3X is indeed really special.

I was just checking out your SE-3X soundbank. Very nice! I may need to pick that up.

[Uncle E]

It's not ideal but it's still much better than the older SE-1 firmware versions that had many of those functions buried in the menu.

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