The SH-01 is a portable analog synthesizer based on Roland\’s proprietary virtual analog synthesis tehcniques, Unique features include three oscilators (\”tones\”) per patch, with separate LFO/FILTER/AMP sections per oscillator.The separate sections turn each patch into mixing three synthesizers together into one note. This can be a little tricky to deal with, but the results are worth the effort. Unfortunately, there\’s no way to copy just one part to a different tone, so this has to be done by hand. You can copy an entire tone to another tone, however.Getting used to it just means playing with it for a while, learning about the new possibilities offereed by this architecture. It generates a wide variety of sounds, from beautiful strings and pads to excellent leads.All in all, a good synth for beginnners and pros.

If you are looking for an affordable keyboard that allows you to capture that 80s analog synthesizer sound, look no further. Roland has included lots of easy & fun analog-like features into its GAIA SH-01 portable digital synthesizer. Three independent tone generators (featuring familiar LFO, Osc, Filt, Amp & ADSRs) can be layered in limitless combinations. Lots of knobs & sliders allow you to create infinite patches & save/recall them using onboard or USB storage. The synthesizer output can be routed through an effects section with distortion, flanging, delay-line & reverb before producing its stereo, mono & headphone outputs.There is a powerful preprogrammed arpeggiator & a phrase recorder/player with tap-tempo capability. The 37-key, velocity-sensitive keyboard has good action & is solid. A pitch bender & modulation lever and an optical hand-sensor allow you to add expression & special effects. As a hidden bonus, there is an additional polyphonic General-MIDI tone generator built-in which can be commanded from an external MIDI sequencer or keyboard.The package is only about 11 Lbs and will run on 8 NiMH AA 1.2V rechargeable batteries & the unit comes with an AC adapter. There is a stereo input jack to input music (e.g. from MP3 player) which you can mix in with your performance & this input has a basic vocal-eliminator option built-in. There are standard MIDI-IN & MIDI-OUT/THRU jacks & the USB PC connection supports USB-MIDI-IN/OUT as well as capture & playback of streaming audio. There are so many great features on this keyboard, it\’s hard to list them all.Just to be fair, there are some very-minor negatives I have noticed, most probably due to trying to keep the price affordable & I will list them here: Cannot use regular 1.5V dry-cell batteries; PC software sold separately (~$80); Lightweight plastic case gives less of a professional feel; Cannot easily use onboard GM tone generator locally; No readouts of the current \”analog\” settings; System settings & secondary features are accessed by cryptic button sequences.In summary, the Roland GAIA SH-01 Synthesizer is a fun, feature-rich keyboard with great sound & expressiveness in a portable, affordable package. It is ideal for anyone wanting to recreate that distinctive analog-synthesizer sound & still remain compatible with current MIDI, USB & PC-based instruments. I think Roland has a real winner here & I am having a lot of fun with it.

Amazon is, perhaps, not the best forum for this review, but what the hoo. I\’ve done so many reviews here that i may as well not stop now.I acquired this instrument about a month ago and have taken it through its paces (including updates). You\’ll read elsewhere that the SV-1\’s sounds are mostly superb with the minor disappointment being its organ sounds. I do agree with those reviews and because of the updates I\’ve been able to replace some of the sounds. The two transistor organs (the Vox Continental and Farfisa) are history. I have no need for \’em. The 6 organ sounds I now use are three of the Hammond jazz type and three of the 3/4 to full bar/registration type. In essence I can go from Jimmy Smith/John Paul Jones cool to Jon Lord/Rick Wakeman thunder.I haven\’t replaced the stock pianos (Yamaha C7 & Steinway) because they sound fine – not great but fine. I still recommend these ppianos because I\’ve auditioned several hi-end sampled pianos and NONE of them sound like the real thing. About the only \”electronic\” paino I\’ve heard that makes me shiver me timbers is the modelled piano Pianoteq. It\’s chock full of character, depth and warmth that simply cannot me \”snapshot\” sampled. At least Korg makes an attempt by using a \”hologram\” 3D sound concept. Which brings us to their electronic pianos.The included clavs (a little thin but still recommended), the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer 200A sounds will make you **** your pants. They sound so realistic – warts and all – that it\’s scary. When you play a tune on one of the pianos then switch, for instance, to a Wurlitzer it\’s as if you\’ve simply just played a real piano, turned on your bench to the right, and started playing a Wurlitzer. Eerie.Much has been said about its digital effects and real tube sound. A keyboard with an actual built-in tube pre-amp/power amp. How cool is that? So far I\’ve made this keyboard sound like the holy grail of stage pianoss, right?It\’s of personal taste but some organ players might be turned off my the real weighted piano keys. They might also be turned off by the lack of drawbars. I\’m confident that as more sound sets are developed by Korg, and as its editor gets improved upon, the shortcomings in the organ will be lessened.Unlike, say, Korg\’s own M50, you need a computer to edit the internal sounds. Kinda inconvenient if you\’re not attached to one out in the field. It\’s, of course, impractical to build that many knobs/parameters into the SV-1. Korg is hoping that you\’ll simply edit the sounds to your liking at home then take it out on stage as is. That concept may or may not appeal to all. This particular keyboard suits me (and my band) perfectly because its focus is real organic sounds not synthesized ones. I actually did have the 73-note version thinking I wouldn\’t miss the other 15 notes from the 88 version – but I did. I couldn\’t live without the full piano-sized version. I felt like I was selling myself short.So, really, just for the Wurlitzer and Rhodes sounds alone the SV-1 is worth the price. The 88-note Yamaha & Steinway is simply icing on the cake. Highly recommended.P.S. One final but extremely important note. It doesn\’t matter how great your keyboard sounds if it\’s played through a crappy or inappropriate system. I\’ve read where users have lamented about the piano\’s one-dimensional sound on a guitar amp. Duh! Actually, even through some keyboard amps, the sound is still lacking. In my home I plug the SV-1 directly into a pair of Alesis powered monitors (USB 520). The sound is excellent. Live on stage I plug into the mains so the sound is clear. I can\’t understate the importance of a good sound system. \’Nuff said.Addendun: January 15, 2011. Oops! Amazon has a photo of the Korg SP-250 above instead of the the SV-1.

I bought this amp a year ago, or so. I found it to be very well made, not cheap in any way; lots of features and flexibility. Even though this is a keyboard amp, I bought it for use with mic, acoustic guitar, and bass. It handles all well, with no distortion. So far, I have not used this for any gigs, just for home practicing. The only reservation I have is that, for the advertised 300 watts, it doesn\’t seem all that loud. But for small venues that I typically play, it should be be adequate. I have another small Behringer practice amp that has proven to be a real workhorse. I have had no disappointments with Behringer products so far.

I bought this amp over at Guitarcenter in December 2007. I have had it for over a year now and it has not dissapointed me. It has been used as a bass amp, keyboard amp, floor monitor for vocals and instruments. It\’s been kicked, fiddled with and abused. It\’s been used regularly for a year now and it\’s been a great amp with no problems at all!I totally recommend it. It was $360.00 last year at Guitar Center, so the price has dropped…..GET IT!I\’ll probably get another one next year so I can use them as a PA system