 |
I am a studio owner with over 40 synthesizers, new and vintage. This piece is a great addition to that collection. There are so many good things to say here. My only complaint is that it is only 2 Oscillators (mixer wise) and sub oscillator volume has to be allowed for making you have to lower Osc 1 and 2 but I am being a little picky also I would have liked it to be 3 Oscillator like a minimoog but I digress. The unit is nice looking and functionally nice from the lighting perspective and gives good visual feedback on controls being used as well as controls in action. My studio owner partner and I determined that it seems to be a true analogue synth in the respect that in manual mode it performs as a synth should in that in setting controls it returns to the front panel current settings when switched between memory slots and manual mode the only exception being the arpeggiator which is global (no big thing there.) Speaking of the arpegiator there are many choice types and the scatter and twist knob settings and the whole pitch bend shuttle knob took some time to get used to but it sure is fun and useful. The key bed is a little strange at first but when you get used to it is great. Nice and tactile and a good amount of "feedback." The synth engine is incredibly powerful for a "slab" like this and I salute roland for putting in the thoughtful time on this one. The big grumble I hear is the 8 memory slots and I too balk at this but as many have pointed out in forums this can be easily gotten around by making sure after programming sessions to save off the results to an editor librarian/ sequencing program etc. and you should be good to go. In minutes I was up and going with dozens of hard sync leads and fat growling bass parts, this thing is terrific. I can't decide if it will stay near me at my workstation control area or be set up so everyone at our synth jams can enjoy it. I paid nearer to 300.00 than 350.00 for mine and I find it to be an incredible value for the buck, now, Who wants to jam!?Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The Roland System-1 is one of my favorite synths. I feels very underrated to me. It has a filter that sounds Roland but very modern at the same time. The oscillators sound good and two my ears have an analog phase to each new note as opposed to a consistent phase start to each note. Analog style phase offset is always welcome. The oscillators have numerous options which gives this a lot of possibilities. Some are only accessible through shift functions as are some other controls which is annoying because I use the software version more frequently and always forget the hands-on shift functions. The built in effects sound fantastic. It features delay, a very lush reverb, and sample reduction that at times can be too much but at other times sounds wonderful. One interesting thing about this synth is that, when installing updates on a Mac, the driver becomes glitchy and it starts screwing with note starts and random parameters especially the delay. I actually LOVE this random element and do not plan to reinstall the driver. If I want a properly tracked MIDI performance I can just record using the standard MIDI din connections. I also have the SH-2 plug-out installed on mine and for the money this does so much. It’s a great synth that I programmed fully on the software and then dumped my patches in over USB. I plan to get all the available plug-outs which are currently SH-101, Promars, and System-100 as well. You can even try them out with a Roland Cloud subscription for almost nothing. I do find that setting even slightly rolled back amp envelope attack and release times is always more pleasing that fully gated sounds. This sounds WAY more natural to my ears as sounds occurring in nature don’t just come on. They rise and fall. The System-1 sounds great and like nothing else I’ve heard. I imagine having mine forever.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
Nice Synth! Great Pads and basses!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I love many different synth brands, and Roland never lets you down. I love all the features, it's super easy to use, and I even love the green color which got my attention at first. It's portable and has a wide array of more sounds when plugged into your computer. If you are still reading this you just should have bought it rather than read my review, and see for yourself! :-)
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The synthesizer has tons of control over your sound scape. It's amazing at making Celestial Everlasting pads. It has quite an itch at making iconic vintage bass sounds! I played with one that was loaded with the sh-101 and it was really fun. It appears not to have a pitch Bender but it does you use the knob on the left hand side and there are a few other functions that it works for also. I personally think these are amazing little synthesizers but they do have cheesy feeling very lightweight keys. I would not recommend this as your main controller but it is quite a nice little base unit with 25 keys for nailing down a crushing groove. I think they are a steal for anywhere near $325. It has some pretty convincing acid sounds along with beautiful pads you just can't go wrong specially with all the knobs and sliders! 5 stars all the Way *****Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Synthesizers
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Synthesizers
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
