Donner Essential L1 Analogue Synth + KB-32M Controller

[BONES]

Mine arrived today and for the money it's a decent enough thing. As you can see from the videos below, it definitely sounds like an SH-101 but it has some useful extras that make it more versatile/useful. The big one for me is the detachable keyboard (which you buy separately). When I went to connect the keyboard to the synth, the magnets practically snatched it out of my hand and they thunked together very nicely. You can't pick both up by grabbing one but you can drag them around your desk and they'll stay attached.

The keyboard is not brilliant but it's not terrible, either. I'd put it around as good as an Arturia MiniLab but not ad nice feeling as a KeyStep. It has velocity sensitivity and you can adjust how sensitive it is. You can also add portamento via the keyboard if you need to.

The synth is monophonic but, via a digital menu with a small readout, you can adjust quite a few settings to make it work the way you want it to. e.g. velocity on/off for each envelope, merge to make both envelopes behave the same (like a real 101) and stuff like that. It's got a more extensive sequencer than a 101 but you can't use the keyboard to transpose the sequences on the fly (which is a bummer). You can store sequences but it has no patch memory. The latter is not such a big problem because it's a fairly simple monosynth with just about the world's easiest layout. Like the Waldorf Rocket, I'd happily patch this on the fly on stage, something I will probably actually do.

Build quality is good, it looks and feels much nicer than the SH-101 ever did. It's more compact but the controls are still easy to use, unlike Roland's own Boutique take on the 101. Something I wish it had was on-board effects. Juust a simple chorus and delay would make a world of difference. It's not such a big deal for me, as I can add effects digitally through my I/O device (Yamaha AG-06), but it would be nice if they were included.

For around US$320 for the synth and keyboard, which can be used standalone as a MIDI controller, I think this is a decent enough deal. I'll probably lose interest in it before I ever get to use it on stage but I'm not disappointed I bought it.

Anyway, here are a couple of reviews from people we know and trust.

[BONES]

In case you missed it in another thread, here's a sample of what you might be able to do with it (if you were as talented as this guy) -

[Moe Shinola]

Knew it was Jay Hosking, he made a great Circuit Tracks demo. I had the Behringer MS-1(too big) and the SH01A(sold for unrelated reasons, though I did like it). One thing always bugged me was the LFO didn't seem to do anything really useful, just made wild pitch swings & other unwelcome effects. Have you experienced the noise that the display is supposed to introduce into the output of the synth? Supposedly a deal breaker for some.

[BONES]

No, I haven't noticed it at all and I've mostly been playing it on its own, so I think I wou8ld have noticed if it was really much of an issue. Even if there is something there, it will be completely lost in a mix.