Roland SH-201 vs. JP-8000

[Kojak]

it's like I'm getting "don't get x because of a", when I really only want to know if 'x' has 'b', I already know that 'y' kicks ass.

 

[hamburgers]

it's like I'm getting "don't get x because of a", when I really only want to know if 'x' has 'b', I already know that 'y' kicks ass.

I will restate then that I did not get sounds out of the 201 that were as nice as those form my jp-8000, whether it should be theoretically possible or not. I played with it for about an hour at the store, which should have been plenty of time to give me something I'd be happy with.

It's too expensive for what it does, which is not, in my opinion, a spot-on JP-80x0 emulation.

 

[VexaDJ]

Another thing that the SH does that is cool - realtime audio input..... This is another reason why I want it, as I have a great FM synth (yamaha V50) that has no filter to speak of. Hook up that to the SH on stage and I'll be able to play matching lines on both synths and filter them both seperately!! Guru Josh eat your heart out!!!!

I think that I view this kind of thing with different eyes than most of you guys though, as I only consider what can be done on STAGE with an item, as opposed to what it can do in a studio....

Hard to compare the JP with the SH when you consider it from that angle (live use) - the JP just cant do as much...

 

[Kojak]

I will restate then that I did not get sounds out of the 201 that were as nice as those form my jp-8000, whether it should be theoretically possible or not. I played with it for about an hour at the store, which should have been plenty of time to give me something I'd be happy with.

It's too expensive for what it does, which is not, in my opinion, a spot-on JP-80x0 emulation.

Ok, thanks, I just felt like from what you said that you might have just looked at it and passed it over. I suppose I'll just have to really spend a lot of time with it to see if it does anything worthwhile. The main reason that I want it is solely as a Jp-80x0 clone, so if it can't do that, it simply doesn't justify the $600 purchase, I'll just shell out $300 for an 8080.

 

[lanlan]

I'm just afraid some of you guys might not be giving the SH a fair chance, simply because it's not a JP. I don't know a whole lot about the electronics behind a VA, but it seems like it's all software, so it would be easy to replicate exactly.

Hey Kojak, I don't think we're putting down the SH-201, I think it's a matter of most of us already being V-synth or JP-80x0 owners. However, if you are planning to get a new roland synth, with those "JP" type sounds, then the SH-201 is definitely a great deal. If i didn't own this JP-8000, I'd probably look into the SH-201 (definitely over the Microkorg hehe)...but hell, i'm looking into it now

 

[Bluedays]

Hey Kojak, I don't think we're putting down the SH-201 (...)

I am!!!
it's a freaking toy! and they're selling it for $600!!
quotes: "for the educational market"!!
"Roland announces the most friendly and fun analog-modeling instrument"
wtf! lol

what happened to Real Synthesizers?
the best synth companies are producing crapier synths every year! (Radias SH-201!)..
we should not encourage them!

get yourself an oldie and love it!! lol
because apparently there is no hope from Roland, Korg or Yamaha..
(or look elsewhere)

yo!
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[TWJMusic]

The Juno G comes close to that, doesn't it??? LMAO...Just kidding. I'm referring to the Juno 106S in the above post.

 

[VexaDJ]

The SH 201 is not based on the machines you are comparing it to. It's a pointless comparison. The synths you are comparing it to are very much 80s-90s synths, wheras the SH is very much based on the 70s approach - nothing hidden, every control right there in front of you, and useful features that actually help make dance music. If you read the literature on it, you'll see that roland have identified a demand in the market for a synth that works like an ARP or Moog (which were, you'll remember, originally only used at shcool!!). That's what it does and it does it very well. Someone said they couldn't get a decent sound out of it - I think you might just have decided it was no good before you actually tried it. When I was playing with the thing at my local shop I had people gathering within 10 minutes asking where that amazingly powerful sound was coming from??? It sounds impressive as and it's almost impossible to get an unoriginal sound from it, since it just begs to be programmed.

That's the problem I think - it does not sound like another synth. It sounds like an SH201. If you want a JP buy a JP - it's the only thing that'l sound like a JP.

As for the Juno G - not my cup-of-tea, but again, it has been designed for one niche in the market - the bedroom producer of the guitar-playing variety. It's a four-track (tascam style) recorder and a basic rythm and synth section. It serves that purpose well and is probably why they keep selling so well around my area, as the vast majority of musicians around here are guitar-playing, ballad writing, post-rockers.

comparisons of apples and oranges are always going to be pointless.......

 

[Array]

The SH 201 is not based on the machines you are comparing it to. It's a pointless comparison.

Acually the SH 201 is based on the notoriously crappy VA section from the V-Synth.

If you read the literature on it, you'll see that roland have identified a demand in the market for a synth that works like an ARP or Moog (which were, you'll remember, originally only used at shcool!!).

Please tell us which schools had Moog Modulars in 1969. I dont think Wendy Carlos' bedroom counts as an education institution. I dont think Keith Emerson is/was the dean of any universities either.

That's what it does and it does it very well. Someone said they couldn't get a decent sound out of it - I think you might just have decided it was no good before you actually tried it. When I was playing with the thing at my local shop I had people gathering within 10 minutes asking where that amazingly powerful sound was coming from???

That's probably because most people who browse music shops like Guitar Center and Sam Ash dont know anything outside the world of Tritons, Motifs, and Fantoms.

It sounds impressive as and it's almost impossible to get an unoriginal sound from it, since it just begs to be programmed.

Funny you say that, considering how it has a very limited architecture.

That's the problem I think - it does not sound like another synth. It sounds like an SH201. If you want a JP buy a JP - it's the only thing that'l sound like a JP.

As stated above, it sounds exactly like the VA section on the V-Synth.

As far as Kojak's original question.....just get the JP. You are trying too hard to rationalize your very irrational desire for the SH-201. You want to spend MORE money on something that may or may not sound like something that allready exists for much less? That makes no sense to me.

Remember, when Korg, Yamaha, and Roland are concerned, newer rarely means better. Just look at how they whored out their x0x, juno, JP, and now the SH line.

 

[Kojak]

As far as Kojak's original question.....just get the JP. You are trying too hard to rationalize your very irrational desire for the SH-201. You want to spend MORE money on something that may or may not sound like something that allready exists for much less? That makes no sense to me.

I know functionally the SH-201 has a lot more options, namely USB sync and a VST interface. This is a HUGE plus for me, that combined with the more robust arpeggiator and switchable chorus/delay makes it a good bit more verisitile than the JP-8K, but if it can't accurately duplicate the JP, I'm not going to buy it. If it can, I'll definately spend the extra $300 or so for something brand new with a good deal more options.

It doesn't seem to me that roland "whored out" the JP line. The JP-8000 followed right in the footsteps of the old JPs, it spawned an entire genre (trance).

 

[Bluedays]

(...)
It doesn't seem to me that roland "whored out" the JP line. The JP-8000 followed right in the footsteps of the old JPs, it spawned an entire genre (trance).

IMO it's deceitful! not to mention uncreative.
you obviously know the difference between the analog JPs and 8000../ 101 vs 201.. Juno106 vs D / G but newbies don't!

maybe Roland want ppl to think well of their new products?!
which is a lame way to do it!

other than that I really don't see the point of naming new products after old ones (respectable ones!)

"mynd you moose bites kan be pretti nasti..."

 

[VexaDJ]

Quote: Please tell us which schools had Moog Modulars in 1969. I dont think Wendy Carlos' bedroom counts as an education institution. I dont think Keith Emerson is/was the dean of any universities either.

The School was the SFTMC (San Francisco Tape Music Center)...Part of the uni there..

Source: 'Electronic and Experimental Music' by Thom Holmes - check it out it will help you learn a bit of history...

Another thing: Don't imply that I'm a newbie or that I shop at GC. I am older than most and I can actually remember most of these synths that young blokes drool over these days - most of them got the same cold response that the 201 is currently getting. Fact: synthesists are often guilty of boffinish behaviour. Most got bullied at school.

As for GC - they don't exist in Australia - the music shop that I shop at is a local one, run by members of a BAND (remember those? No? Then get out of your bedroom once in while). Most of the people there hate synths alltogether, so the fact that they were impressed by the sound is of some significance as it means that it sounds different to what they have heard before.... Funny that, a new synth that sounds new. What an idea!!! lol.

 

[hamburgers]

...I got bullied at school...

Funny that, a new Roland synth that sounds like garbage. What an idea!!! lol.

its fixed now

 

[Bluedays]

...Most of the people there hate synths alltogether, so the fact that they were impressed by the sound is of some significance as it means that it sounds different to what they have heard before.... Funny that, a new synth that sounds new. What an idea!!! lol.

I see ppl at music stores immpressed with Casio and PSR all the time..
you can't use that!

no offense, but if you feel that the SH-201 is worth $595, I don't trust your judgment! (even if you're older than most of us!)

 

[VexaDJ]

That's your style is it? You have NO factual information to add so you misquote people... good on ya mate....you're a real winner!

People pay what they pay for what they want to use, that's a fact for you to take home. I take the opinion of REAL musicians over spotty bedroom wallies any day.

 

[hamburgers]

You have NO factual information ...

...REAL musicians over spotty bedroom wallies any day.

aren't you too old to be masking sassy presumptions on the internet? go refill your digitalis grandpa



edit: man your battle stations!

 

[VexaDJ]

haha you have no real information so you get all personal!! what a joke.

Time for a nappy-change baby girl.

BTW - you should fix the spelling in your sig - it makes you look gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) - 'laddies' = boys

 

[whizkidtheproducer]

why do these posts always turn into back and forth quarelling...

 

[DonaldCrunk]

haha you have no real information so you get all personal!! what a joke.

man, he played one. i have a vsynth. it's the same damn thing, so i've played one too.

and i'm going to go with everyone else as far as the sound of the thing goes . . . i definitely wouldn't call it 'powerful', unless you were playing van halen's "Jump" through a damn SVT 350 or TSL or something.

not that there's anything WRONG with playing Jump through a bass amp . . .

HOWEVER - that said - i think the concept is excellent. Lack of patch storage forces people actually _learn_ synthesis. i'm all for that.

Time for a nappy-change baby girl.

...

BTW - you should fix the spelling in your sig - it makes you look gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) - 'laddies' = boys

what's wrong with gay people again?



oh, and have you ever heard of seatown350 . . . . man your battle stations!

 

[Bluedays]

That's your style is it? You have NO factual information to add so you misquote people... good on ya mate....you're a real winner!

lol, how can I misquote!?
It IS what you said. I just clicked on Quote.

People pay what they pay for what they want to use...

totally!

...spotty bedroom wallies

that is hilarious!

again, no offense!
I only said that >> I << don't trust your judgment.. that shouldn't bother you..

let's not get carried away!!