Whats the closest to this?

I hear alot on the SH101, but think I would be limited to the monophonic part of it.. It does sound like a synth dream, making the analog sounds from scratch, but would really love to play chords etc and then sample them....

What would be the equivalent of the 101 as polyphonic?

Roland JX3P? something other than Roland??

Any thoughts?

Maybe a Juno-6/60/106 might be closest in some aspects, but the DCOs may leave you a bit disappointed and their prices are inflated by the ‘it’s old and analogue, so it must be amazingly good – and the guy selling it says it is’ brigade.

I’d suggest a leap forward in time to the JP-80x0 which will get you 90% of the way there and has features the SH101 never even dreamed of. The Novation Supernova does a reasonable approximation too and is vastly underrated, hence cheaper.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Juno 106 thats the one you want

JX-3P nope not one bit imo

MKS80?? Jupiter 4/6/8......If it has to be VCO's otherwise a Juno 6 will get you the SH101 sound (and simplicity). I happen to have a SH101, Juno 6, MKS80 and JX3P and they all have that Roland sound - I think the Juno 6 is fab and sounds far more powerful than it ought to!

I used to have a Jupiter 4 and a JP8080 and they are all great..JP4 is probably my favourite out of all of them but is pretty pricey.

Anonymous was me - when did this feature kick in??

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Jonny

The JP8 (and presumably the rest of the family like the 6 and MKS80) don't really sound like a polyphonic 101 to my ears. The 101 is harder and faster, with snappier envelopes. I tend to agree with Elf, a digital synth will probably be closer.

I have three Roland analogues here: SH-101, JX3-P and an Alpha Juno-2.

Not set-up at the moment to do direct comparisons, but in my mind I always think of the Juno-2 as my polyphonic SH-101. Like the other already mentioned synths, it shares the same kind of architecture (single osc with sub osc etc) as well as enhancements in other departments such as more complex envelope facilities. This or an Alpha Juno-1 (virtually the same engine as the 2 but with an octave shorter keyboard) in conjunction with the optional slider controlled PG-300 hardware programmer could be another way of getting you into the desired territory.

There have been many moments where, for instance, I’ve been sequencing the Juno 2 and thinking it may as well be the SH-101. It's also worth mentioning that the Midi equipped Juno-2 has one of the nicest synth keyboard actions you could wish for and is a major reason I have still have mine.

I agree although I don't think a digital synth would really cut it although I never played a JP8080 or 8000, the only analogue modeling Roland I owned has been a SH-32 and that don't sound like it at all although it's a nice synth.
The JX3P's envelopes don't really cut it either and neither does it's sound when up to the 101..it's more tame and week and no mono/legato mode makes playing leads an arse especially bass sounds with a long release...

106's still go for ok amounts of cash if you shop around between 3-400 GBP which is pretty much what you can pick up a 101 for any way.
Also look for the HS-60 (106 but with in built speakers)

From my experience the 106 sounds very very much like a 101 but then again that's my opinion and you know what they say opinions are like arseholes every one has one lol

Quote Anonymous:

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From my experience the 106 sounds very very much like a 101 but then again that's my opinion and you know what they say opinions are like arseholes every one has one lol

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I've got both. Very similar but the Juno is much more anemic.

ken

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I'm All Ears.

Quote fatbenelton:

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Anonymous was me - when did this feature kick in??

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Not a feature. It's a bug. And very annoying it is too!

Paul

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Paul

I have a 101 and a juno60 and both are very different beasts. I reach for the 101 when I want some sub bass and the juno 60 for midrange polyphonic filter sweeps.

Additionally I sample the 101 (into an ASR10) a lot more more than the juno 60 which I tend to trigger and control live.

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Sabbs

If you want the sound of a 101 get a 101 end of, it's not like they are super rare or cost a small fortune which can't be said for a moog at least..Mono synth's are great...Moog is a very expensive one note wonder but what it does it does very well and when played by a good player it's truly a wonderful instrument.

The Juno 6 and 60 sound the same just that the 60 has patch memories, the 60 sounds different to the 106 and the Alpha's sound different from all the juno's but are around that juno ball park. Although still some sounds the 106/60 produce just can't be done on a alpha and the reverse for the alpha. The Alpha's is the least 101 like out the lot imo and a pain in the ass to program unless you have the over priced PG programer..also that envelope generator annoys me cos all I want is a simple ADSR lol I don't mind multi stage envelopes but on a Alpha Juno..don't really see the point.

The 101 is surrounded in a LOT of hype at the moment, I say look at the others like the SH09 and earlier SH synths which imo sound nicer and things like the Korg Mini700S which I would rather own than 1000 SH-101's lol

Quote vinyl_junkie:

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The Juno 6 and 60 sound the same just that the 60 has patch memories

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Just to be picky, I'll add the Juno 60 has a 4-step switched HPF rather than the 6's continuous slider, and the 60 also has an extra VCA level slider that both cuts and boosts from a nominal zero=normal, which allows the introduction of some useful grit when necessary.

The 6/60 are two of my long-time favourites, and I agree they don't really sound the same as a 'poly 101'... no glide, no mix control over the 3 waves (only switches), limited modulation...

Given the 101's CEM oscillator and 'regular' Roland filter circuit, I can't think of anything off the top of my head that uses those in a poly configuration - the nearest I can think of is the Jupe 6, but it's not not really the same as 6 101s in a box. Cheaper, but not pocket money.

We are pretty spoilt for choice these days for polysynths. Great! But not for the wallet...

I also wanted a poly synth that had the SH101's sound. I thought that that would be the perfect analogue poly for me at the time.
I had an SH101 since the mid 1980s & loved its character, but unfortunately it was stolen in 2001.
I decided to get a Jupiter 6 , as I thought that could probably cover similar ground sonically ,with its similar CEMS ,albeit polyphonic with 2 oscs & multimode filters, but I was disappointed in that regard.
Whilst I do love the Jupiter 6 & find it a very interesting synth for what it does, & it does sound great in its own way, it just doesn't have that lovely SH101 filter resonance / self oscillation , that I was hoping it had.
I would be very interested in an analogue poly that did have the SH101's characteristics.
Im thinking now that an Oberheim OB8 or OBXA might be closest, but I havnt had enough hands on experience to validate that. Nor have I had the pleasure of playing a Juno 60, though I have played a 106 & didnt find that similar in sound ( to the SH101) .
I wonder would the Korg Poly 6 or Monopoly also maybe be in a similar sonic range to the SH101,with obvious differences taken into account.

I'll second the Alpha 1 / 2 comparison.
You do need a programmer though, or a computer editor, most times if I am working on bass sounds I keep feeling that 101 / 202 sound.

However, the 101's VCO's would sound better polyphonically than the Alpha Juno. In fact single OSC synths that are great for bass can all sound dissapointing polyphonically - hence the reliance on a good chorus or ensemble on board. Again a VCO synth will be a little richer.

If you think of it the other way round, can a Roland poly do good mono bass, then the answer in most cases would be yes. However having both is the better solution, a machine that does bass well 09/101/202 etc , plus a Juno *** / JX** for poly sounds - sorted!

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The 101 has super snappy quick envelopes making ace at bass too

Although I find the JX3P my most disposing bass synth as it's far from fat or has that low end thump, it's no Juno either...It complements the Juno sound as it's more mid rangy but i'll tell you this I used it for low end bass last week and it surprised me..I even had to eq some bass out of it..don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that I forgot and left it on for 2 weeks by mistake hahah

JX3P doing low bass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExJ612DxGK8

And here are a bunch of 80's sounding JX-3P sounds (All sounds JX but have some kind of processing on them this time like Reverb)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flqd18NW4VM

Edited by vinyl_junkie (25/08/10 06:42 PM)

I don't think any of the Roland polys have quite the same snappy envelopes as the 101.

A band I was in had a 101 and a Juno 6, which is probably closest to a poly 101.The Juno just did not cut through the same as the 101 for bass.

I have a SynthPlus 10(alpha juno in disguise) and can sound quite like a 101 , but not as aggressive.

Probably the JP6 is the closest to 12 101's, as I think they have the same envelopes.

Also you have to take into account the freq range of the filters

JP6= 5Hz-30KHz
101= 10Hz-20Khz

Not quite the same thing, but this post reminded me of a video I just saw on Youtube.
A Polyphonic 303! Sort of.. Or to be more precise, x0xb0xes. 5 of 'em!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkCbU9k7r8

Paul

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Paul

if you are planning on sampling these chords, why not just use the 101 and multitrack it then sample the chords - not too much more work. plus you can add different modulation amounts to each note for added texture.

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