This machine is very powerful, and it has many possibilities for live performances, but I believe it can't be compared to the analog sound of an A4. On the other hand, the workflow of Elektron machines is one of those things that you either love or hate, and I suppose I'm one of those who love them.
@@ChumpyDumps I think the same when people tell me that the A4 (or AR) is overrated. It requires spending many hours in front of it trying to understand how everything works and then how to use it to create amazing things. However, the reward is tremendous.
I'm not sure if the Elektron Analog Four is a fair comparison as its engineered with the limitations of analog design. The Korg Minilogue is limited to four voices as well due to its analog design. The Roland SH-4d I think is DSP based and allows for the polyphony on each part or track.
Bad review by this girl. She's just all jacked up and caffeinated. Completely irrelevant products. I'm exhausted just listen to her 180bpm narration here.
Of course it's DSP based. You practically can't get such a big analog polyphony using just 4 AA batteries. Operational amplifiers can be very power hungry. Even Korg didn't changed this in their Volca analog synths although their approach to the minimisation of analog gear is outstanding!
Roland will just cut the support in 3 years, while on the other side Elektron delivered an update for their Machinedrum in 2016 - that's 15 years after release - in 15 years there won't be anybody in Roland's support even knowing there was ever an "SH-4D"
Glad to see an old friend who likes the SH-4d as much as I do. It’s been my favorite piece of gear since I got it in March. It’s nice to have something so portable, with a great control layout, and such a breadth of sound. I do agree on the performance features, more immediate variety needed. A great casual synth/groovebox.
The thing you pay a premium for with Elektron *is* the workflow. Compare that against this Roland product and it's easy to feel the difference: Non-endless knobs on a synth that share them across 5 tracks?! Patterns and preset save workflows that make you want to throw it out the window? No song mode? No ctrl+all? Etc etc. Because of this, it's unfortunately not even close to the Elektron we've always wanted. Yes, polyphony and the sound engine is great of course, and the usb-c power is nice, but that's about it.
It slaps electron for me endlessly encoders don’t even notice and song mode the mpc don’t have one ya have to play it like use mutes get creative and record live it still has 64 steps 4 pages ya can chain anyways ya like and the sound to me is way better
I will just stick with my laptop if we're talking workflow. I've tried so many of these grooveboxes over the years and they always feel like programming an alarm clock.
@@m.richards6947 lol I was just using iPad production ditched a lot of gear but ultimately missed the gear ⚙️ kinda think I need a mix of gear and daw to be happy both have pros and cons
This is why the octatrack is elektron crowning achievement . It actually the best sampler/groovebox to come out in the last 12-15 years. To bad the engineers left who help put it together .
@@Nothingspeshalwaysfreshdifferent engineer made octa and are doing opal. ess seems to have had a helping hand but seemed to be the digitone fm dude and you can see that in the fors products pretty clearly
Another great call from you. Got my SH-4d delivered today, all of about an hour ago. GREAT sounds and SO easy to use… I‘ll agree with other reviewers in that the sequencer may be a bit limited, but I can drive it with my Oxi One if I need more than the internal sequencer provides. At $650? A decent deal. At $500 courtesy of the Roland Spring Sale? Absolutely a no brainer. Thanks again for the pointers - my tabletop rig is taking shape. :)
Love the SH-4d! Glad you featured it. The drum section would be better if you could change whole patterns like you said but you can adjust them in real time which is cool for live performance. You can mute and unmute any drum sound on the fly. I have built up some nice drops by bringing in drum sounds I had muted then unmuting them in real time. It's actually pretty fun to do. If you hold down the Pattern/edit button you can mute/unmute any individual drum sound or any of the 5 parts on the fly. Great for live performance.
I own an Elektron A4 mk 1 (bought it this year). I agree with a lot of your comments on the usability of it, but the analog sound from it is a bit unreal. Actually surprised me how good the basses are. For me the sound is what I want and so getting the mk 1 allowed me to save more than $1000… get the sound and sequencer I wanted. I do still own a mc 707 and so integrated a lot of the Roland classic sounds too. Agree they are still worthwhile!
Roland did a good job here, that 64 step limit a bit limited haha but yeah you are saying always exactly what I was thinking. This could be lots of fun. I been using the SP404MKII and an ipad with my sample library and a huge synth and fx collection, I like the portability a lot and I know the apps like Gadget, Cubasis, Beatmaker3, it goes fast , its simple, sounds good, I am pretty happy. Lately I been sampling Massive into a microsampler so I have all my fav synths available in one place.
I can't front on Roland! My SH-4d is everything I hoped it would be! I can make layers of acid.. the filter sounds perfect to my ears!! The LFO is all at my fingertips and plays well with heavy drones bass... just as it should!! So the night I got my SH-4d, the marriage made in heaven was consummated by midi coupling it with my Korg Drumlogue and OG Polyend Play. It took about a half-hour to get the midi routing figured out... but now, I can make the same level of breakcore and acid that I was doing in Ableton... complete with film-clip samples and all. TheCurrent Setup: Drumlogue: I use mine unconventional to play chopped up breaks, layered upon each other as deemed necessary by the track/atmosphere/build-ups/breakdowns Polyend Play: atmosphere and chopped speech/film-clips/news-clips SH-4d: The Primary Melodies and Basses, Layers of Squelchy Melodic Rephlexian Acid, Wobbly LFO Bass, Droney LFO Bass, Some Drums The SH-4d was exactly the missing element for making the type of acid/IDM/breakcore that I wanted to make. I was on the fence about it... but goddammit!! I'm glad I went with the knowledge from watching Loopop's tutorials, because it was exactly what I was missing! Pros... sound and ease of use Cons... no song-mode I'm getting by okay without a song-mode, but using three devices with only two hands... c'mon Roland... help out yer customer base... throw us a bone... let us chain 64 patterns... meh... why stop there? Make it 128 patterns... just like my Polyend. So, now-a-days, with the SH-4d, Drumlogue, Polyend Play trio, I can finally make the level of 100% DAWless jams that I always wanted to make... about one or two a week. But to do it live in one take, it gets dicey with only two hands and no dedicated song-mode. Still... I can't front on Roland!!
Has room for obvious improvements which is starting to seem quite deliberate with Roland gear. It's like they miss off a few things they already figured out to make it look like they're still working on it. 128 steps, pattern chaining, count in and more PCM/wavetables amongst others.
I love my SH-4d and use it all the time for sound design and laying down ideas with the pattern sequencer. This synth is so easy to program and tweak, sounds great, and is battery powered - and you can use it in the bright sunlight outdoors or in a dim studio. Best $449 I've spent the last few years. This one is a keeper. Also, don't sleep on the effects - this has a track effect, a tone effect, reverb and delay sends, and is 5 part multi-timbral. Bottom line is productive fun in a solid metal box.
I could be totally wrong, but the maschine mk3 (not mikro) is a controller that has a built in interface with instrument jack that you can put guitar through and essentially use it as a guitar effects processor and record a riff right to your track. I don’t know of any other controllers that have the interface with instrument jack built right in but would not be surprised to see more interfaces combining with controller type boxes in the future.
So use the elektron as a midi input to the new synth and the you can leverage the elektron sequence into the Roland. Or just use a computer to midi and use that.
Biggest problem in this unit is the... Roland sound. And i don't mean an oldschool Roland sound (like Juno or Juno Alpha). It's a "new-ish" Roland of Zen fame (or infamy). But let's give props to Roland, while Korg fanboys (me included) waiting on Electribe 3, Roland be making them grooveboxes one after another.
Roland gets pretty dicey after the 90s. I think they coast on the reputation of the Jupiters and Junos and drum machines too much, cause most of their gear reminds me more of the Gaia. Cheap, silly sounding VA. I did love the JD-800 though.
PRO TIP: plug a Polyend Tracker to the SH-4d, use the possibilities of the Tracker MIDI sequencer in addition to the SH-4d sequencer, and you'll never start again a sentence with 'if Elektron...' 😊
Each of the four parts as well as the drums has its own master effect and then the entire “project” has its own master effect. The reverb, delay and chorus are all sends for each of their four tracks and can be done on an individual basis for the drums so you can apply reverb to just the snare for example.
The SH-4D is great. P-locks would be nice, but it will record four lanes of automation. It's also very easy to copy patterns and make variations that way. My only real gripe with it is I wish you could explode the drum tracks when recording over USB-C into a DAW.
It was supposed to be when they only had MD and MNM but since their new business models is about multiplying the products and making sure each one doesnt have an overlap of functions with the other it's def the case now.
@@Andronicus2007exactly what roland does and its super obvious the functionality could be there, but roland's UIs are blech. Its like they don't even spend time using their own gear...
why didn't ROLAND make a sampling engine, standard digital voice to accompany the synth engines, one hits and phrase sampling etc, especially with elastic audio and their DBEAM technology for performance.
I think the SH-4D with a Digitakt and a MIDI controller will cover a lot of ground for a long time as a DAW-less setup. You could even add another synth to this without even having to use a mixer.
To get around the 64step you can use external sequencing or just use the “scene” function. There’s some midi issues that glitch in and out. And some of the effects are kinda lame.
Been curious about this one since it dropped, think it’s because the first synth I fell for but couldn’t afford at the time was the Roland sh09, back when I thought anything analog with faders meant it was good! This seems pretty awesome for out and about jams and they’ve certainly packed a lot in there. If one pops up on eBay at the right price I’m in… Thanks for the reminder👍
This synth is very powerfull. If people complain about noise with the connection they just have to invest in a powerd usb device and viola. Experience...
Nice review, can't wait to have a play with the Sh4d, seems like roland have nailed it here, barely anyone is bringing out multitimbral synth atm. Just a tiny shame it isn't zencore. Interesting outlook on kit though- with you being an elektron fan I don't get why you said if a piece of kit isn't working, just lose it... I find I get a new bit of kit, play with it intensely at the start, hate it, then come back to it a month plus later and know what to do with it.. it's all a personal journey though!
A little bit as the MC-101 ;) Only MC-101 is more a groovebox than drum machine (it doesn't have for example parameter-lock functionality to be a real replacement for drum machines).
BTW: MC-101 have sequences up to 128 bars long... and with sidechaining of scenes you can have really long recordings (not the same long as on Synthstrom Deluge... but definitely Zen Core in MC-101 is the winner in comparison to synth engine built in into Deluge).
@@JAdeWii_ seriously take a look at it. When you were talking about you wish you had live control to manipulate and change up the pattern in real time etc. Thats exactly what this mixer is for. Especially if you have Roland Aira stuff. Live faders, scatters, rolls, delays, filter controls.. makes things very DJ-y and electronic-y. I just wish it had a noise wash like other DJ effects and a dedicated reverb knob.
Very different machines. Sh4d is like a multitimbral synth with lots of hands on controls and easy sound design, paired with a convoluted sequencer and patch/pattern management. Great to create sounds and some limited jamming when you want to be off the grid and battery powered. Mpc has TONS more flexibility for creating loops/beats/songs and lots of control for this, but it's a lot more like a DAW in a box. You're going to be using the touchscreen a lot, any sound design will require you to jump between touching the screen to get to the tab or column where your controls are and twisting the qlink knobs to modify the parameters. Also if you want great sounds from the MPC you either need to upload your samples/keygroups or purchase the paid plugins (Jura, fabric, stage instruments etc). I have both and like them for different things. If I want to create sounds or have some mobile fun, the sh4d is my go to. If I want to create more sophisticated arrangements or draft song ideas or just do some finger drumming , the MPC gets my time.
I have been thinking about pairing this with my digitakt. I have a dawless setup that is basically an ipad,keystep, small modular and digitakt. If the wealpoint of this machine is the sequencer then the digitakt should pair nicely. My question is can each synth be on a different midi channel or is the unit on just a single channel?
Yeah that’s a great combo and each track has its own MIDI channel, the only limitation would be the polyphony on the digitakt, that won’t allow you to take advantage of all the SH-4D voices.
O heard that it has another issue about the need of saving to avoid loosing parameters and edits. My English is a lil limited. Maybe someonelse could explain better. Ricky Tinez has made a nice video talking about pros & cons. And , yes, drum sounds are not “fantastic”, but nice. Kink (artist) made a nice video . That video just made me want this sh 4d
favorite synth right now: Sonicware Liven Texture Lab - really immediate and fun, kind of the great grandkid of the Yamaha VSS-30 😃 nice (and hyper) treatment of the SH-4d! I might have to check one out used eventually... honestly, Roland was my jam way back, but I've gone through a string of their synths from the last 25 years and I dunno. For what it is, I really enjoyed the SH-32. I'm seriously considering the S-1 as another flexible and fun toy to play with. That is, after I sell a bunch of stuff to finance my new modular habit... 😮
Sonicware lowkey killin it. Smpltrek has been updated to a great little unit. Really like it as a controller. Thinkin bout trading up alot of my systo a pro800 and sh4d
I don't really agree with this, I have a Digitakt, Digitone and Syntakt. I'm particularly in love with the Digitakt. For me, the ability to easily adjust microtiming, ability to play samples chromatically on the "keyboard", the conditional trigs on each step, the sound of the effects, the feel of the quality hardware, the screen size, which is perfect, not too big or small. It just feels SPECIAL!
According to the roland rep on andertons channel, it has like 15 tracks of audio over usb. I think marketing it as a groovebox kinda turned me off to it. If i looked at it as a grovebox, id want AT LEAST 6 analog outs, performance features, and more steps. But when i think of it as a synth w a built in sequencer, its much more intriguing. Then its a one track powerhouse w a single stereo output, or a hard panned, layered, 2 synth setup w some really nuce effects included. Thats a great value. I still wish it had more analogue outs to connect to my portable multitrack, but i guess thats a me problem since it does have multitrack w usb. May have to upgrade my recorder to one w a usb audio in.
The beauty of the a4 is all about the sequencer. Also an A4 isnt 1700 bucks... you can find the og one for like 500-600. Also with p-locks every you can have a completely different sound per step on every track so despite the fact that its only 4 voices, it can sound like so much more. Elektron stuff rules for good reason
Yeah it is audio over USB, and multitracks too! I do a lot of song recreation and I can have RUclips coming through the device's headphones at then dial in the synth sounds I'm trying to recreate over the top. It's very cool! My main criticism is that the aliasing in the upper registers is HORRIBLE. Like... REALLY HORRIBLE. I've owned devices like the JP8000 which is notorious and older Novation digital synths and they sound "delightful" compared to this.
I wish Elektron would make a 4x4 16 pad sampler. I know they have the octatrack and it might be product cannabalism woth all the products they already have out, but woth all the features they they pack into their products, i think they have the potetnial to make a 4x4 grid 16 pad sampler thats better than anything thats out there.
@@vaiman7777 Not crying at all - in fact, the situation today is pretty much perfect for musicians, we can have anything we want, in great quality, and pretty cheap. I remember a time when I could choose between not being able to afford the originals, and buying a pretty expensive MC-909 that sounded like crap^^
I think this and the S-1 best gear 2023 for the money. Really great gear to get started. Also jupiter x great step up from there. It is menu divy but a great value for the money. Roland is probably still the best in the game. Just imagine they whould make a mv xl to go after mpc market share. They def have the skill to make it.
Agreed on the MV revival, the verselab didn’t quite cut it. I think all they would really have to do is make a “fantom desktop” by chopping the keys off and condensing the controls.
No its not this one is ACB, MC707 is Zencore, I recently sold MC707 because of its sounds otherwise its great box.. unfortunately MC707 sounds too thin, this one is better I would expect... Recently I bought JX08 and I love it, it really sounds great! And I definitely love the multitimbral approach in those new boxes
The problem it has with FX cutting out as you change patterns is really preventing me from seeing this as a valid option. I keep checking updates but roland is not making this a priority ( yet ).
I HATE the keyboard and I do not like the sequencer... BUT... 4 synths and a fully fledged drum synth? and think of this: Duplicate your patch onto a second track and assign the same midi channel. Pan track 1 to the left and track 2 to the right: BOOM! Binaural synth baby. That is my update wish: a dedicated binaural function where you can tie two tracks together more easily.
Yes sequencer sucks. If it had an Elektron style sequencer, with song mode and a decent screen, polyphonic stereo sampling, solid build and decent screen, it would be an Elektron killer!
I LOVE my Pyramid. It lets me use all of my gear at once. Also, while it’s a bit big to describe as portable, it is lightweight and will run for days off a power brick.
It has always seemed like a preset machine. Insanely powerful synth engine, but, like, you need a whole crew to steer that ship, there's too many moving parts to control it all yourself.
This machine is very powerful, and it has many possibilities for live performances, but I believe it can't be compared to the analog sound of an A4. On the other hand, the workflow of Elektron machines is one of those things that you either love or hate, and I suppose I'm one of those who love them.
I feel like it’s either a love or didn’t learn situation tbh lol.
@@ChumpyDumps I think the same when people tell me that the A4 (or AR) is overrated. It requires spending many hours in front of it trying to understand how everything works and then how to use it to create amazing things. However, the reward is tremendous.
@@pablodiegomusic yeah, the A4 is underrated if anything. It’s one of the best Elektrons and a hell of a synth.
Overpriced
Elektron is either love or "I can't fukin remember how to use thing because I have a life and can't sit with this thing 3 hours a day 7 days a week".
I'm not sure if the Elektron Analog Four is a fair comparison as its engineered with the limitations of analog design. The Korg Minilogue is limited to four voices as well due to its analog design. The Roland SH-4d I think is DSP based and allows for the polyphony on each part or track.
Bad review by this girl. She's just all jacked up and caffeinated. Completely irrelevant products. I'm exhausted just listen to her 180bpm narration here.
Of course it's DSP based. You practically can't get such a big analog polyphony using just 4 AA batteries. Operational amplifiers can be very power hungry. Even Korg didn't changed this in their Volca analog synths although their approach to the minimisation of analog gear is outstanding!
I caught myself reading "polygamy"😂
@@Neoris_Bandummm. Uno synth.
@@Neoris_Bandmodal
Roland will just cut the support in 3 years, while on the other side Elektron delivered an update for their Machinedrum in 2016 - that's 15 years after release - in 15 years there won't be anybody in Roland's support even knowing there was ever an "SH-4D"
How much support do these things need though? You often get users making custom firmware too
Buy gear for what they are now, not what they might be in future. Also tr8s, mc707 are still getting updates.
Analog 4 has had an insane lack of support in recent years - so much unused potential:(
Dudes seething
Elektron is overpriced
Glad to see an old friend who likes the SH-4d as much as I do. It’s been my favorite piece of gear since I got it in March. It’s nice to have something so portable, with a great control layout, and such a breadth of sound. I do agree on the performance features, more immediate variety needed. A great casual synth/groovebox.
I can confirm this is an OG Dawless friend 😎
i have both I love the fact that sh-4d has batteries
It does support audio over usb, separate tracks in fact!
The thing you pay a premium for with Elektron *is* the workflow. Compare that against this Roland product and it's easy to feel the difference: Non-endless knobs on a synth that share them across 5 tracks?! Patterns and preset save workflows that make you want to throw it out the window? No song mode? No ctrl+all? Etc etc. Because of this, it's unfortunately not even close to the Elektron we've always wanted.
Yes, polyphony and the sound engine is great of course, and the usb-c power is nice, but that's about it.
It slaps electron for me endlessly encoders don’t even notice and song mode the mpc don’t have one ya have to play it like use mutes get creative and record live it still has 64 steps 4 pages ya can chain anyways ya like and the sound to me is way better
I will just stick with my laptop if we're talking workflow. I've tried so many of these grooveboxes over the years and they always feel like programming an alarm clock.
@@m.richards6947 lol I was just using iPad production ditched a lot of gear but ultimately missed the gear ⚙️ kinda think I need a mix of gear and daw to be happy both have pros and cons
This is why the octatrack is elektron crowning achievement . It actually the best sampler/groovebox to come out in the last 12-15 years. To bad the engineers left who help put it together .
They are now FORS and Opal is available to us all now for under $100. Not hardware but this makes their departure not so bad.
@@Nothingspeshalwaysfreshdifferent engineer made octa and are doing opal. ess seems to have had a helping hand but seemed to be the digitone fm dude and you can see that in the fors products pretty clearly
@@illegalgiant_ ah thanks for the clarity! 😀
@@illegalgiant_ Yeah, Ess started working there in 2016, long after the Octatrack.
I honestly prefer Drambo with a controller over my Octatrack these days. WAY more convenient and unlimited tracks.
Another great call from you. Got my SH-4d delivered today, all of about an hour ago. GREAT sounds and SO easy to use… I‘ll agree with other reviewers in that the sequencer may be a bit limited, but I can drive it with my Oxi One if I need more than the internal sequencer provides. At $650? A decent deal. At $500 courtesy of the Roland Spring Sale? Absolutely a no brainer.
Thanks again for the pointers - my tabletop rig is taking shape. :)
$399 on amazon right now bouta have to get one just on the price value now
Love the SH-4d! Glad you featured it. The drum section would be better if you could change whole patterns like you said but you can adjust them in real time which is cool for live performance. You can mute and unmute any drum sound on the fly. I have built up some nice drops by bringing in drum sounds I had muted then unmuting them in real time. It's actually pretty fun to do. If you hold down the Pattern/edit button you can mute/unmute any individual drum sound or any of the 5 parts on the fly. Great for live performance.
I own an Elektron A4 mk 1 (bought it this year). I agree with a lot of your comments on the usability of it, but the analog sound from it is a bit unreal. Actually surprised me how good the basses are. For me the sound is what I want and so getting the mk 1 allowed me to save more than $1000… get the sound and sequencer I wanted. I do still own a mc 707 and so integrated a lot of the Roland classic sounds too. Agree they are still worthwhile!
Roland did a good job here, that 64 step limit a bit limited haha but yeah you are saying always exactly what I was thinking. This could be lots of fun. I been using the SP404MKII and an ipad with my sample library and a huge synth and fx collection, I like the portability a lot and I know the apps like Gadget, Cubasis, Beatmaker3, it goes fast , its simple, sounds good, I am pretty happy. Lately I been sampling Massive into a microsampler so I have all my fav synths available in one place.
I can't front on Roland! My SH-4d is everything I hoped it would be! I can make layers of acid.. the filter sounds perfect to my ears!! The LFO is all at my fingertips and plays well with heavy drones bass... just as it should!!
So the night I got my SH-4d, the marriage made in heaven was consummated by midi coupling it with my Korg Drumlogue and OG Polyend Play.
It took about a half-hour to get the midi routing figured out... but now, I can make the same level of breakcore and acid that I was doing in Ableton... complete with film-clip samples and all.
TheCurrent Setup:
Drumlogue: I use mine unconventional to play chopped up breaks, layered upon each other as deemed necessary by the track/atmosphere/build-ups/breakdowns
Polyend Play: atmosphere and chopped speech/film-clips/news-clips
SH-4d: The Primary Melodies and Basses, Layers of Squelchy Melodic Rephlexian Acid, Wobbly LFO Bass, Droney LFO Bass, Some Drums
The SH-4d was exactly the missing element for making the type of acid/IDM/breakcore that I wanted to make. I was on the fence about it... but goddammit!! I'm glad I went with the knowledge from watching Loopop's tutorials, because it was exactly what I was missing!
Pros... sound and ease of use
Cons... no song-mode
I'm getting by okay without a song-mode, but using three devices with only two hands... c'mon Roland... help out yer customer base... throw us a bone... let us chain 64 patterns... meh... why stop there? Make it 128 patterns... just like my Polyend.
So, now-a-days, with the SH-4d, Drumlogue, Polyend Play trio, I can finally make the level of 100% DAWless jams that I always wanted to make... about one or two a week.
But to do it live in one take, it gets dicey with only two hands and no dedicated song-mode.
Still... I can't front on Roland!!
Limited by the number of tracks how do you layer tracks
Has room for obvious improvements which is starting to seem quite deliberate with Roland gear.
It's like they miss off a few things they already figured out to make it look like they're still working on it.
128 steps, pattern chaining, count in and more PCM/wavetables amongst others.
I love my SH-4d and use it all the time for sound design and laying down ideas with the pattern sequencer. This synth is so easy to program and tweak, sounds great, and is battery powered - and you can use it in the bright sunlight outdoors or in a dim studio. Best $449 I've spent the last few years. This one is a keeper. Also, don't sleep on the effects - this has a track effect, a tone effect, reverb and delay sends, and is 5 part multi-timbral. Bottom line is productive fun in a solid metal box.
I feel like the Roland SH-4d is like the Electribe MX 2 should have been.
Yes, drumlogue mixed with ESX
3:50 It is capable of functioning as a USB audio and MIDI interface, and is capable of transmitting 12 channels of audio to a host computer.
I could be totally wrong, but the maschine mk3 (not mikro) is a controller that has a built in interface with instrument jack that you can put guitar through and essentially use it as a guitar effects processor and record a riff right to your track. I don’t know of any other controllers that have the interface with instrument jack built right in but would not be surprised to see more interfaces combining with controller type boxes in the future.
They've been doing that a long time. M-Audio Venom for example
So use the elektron as a midi input to the new synth and the you can leverage the elektron sequence into the Roland. Or just use a computer to midi and use that.
Somewhere between this, the digitakt, and the model samples is what I want.
Tbf the electron synths are analogue so ofc they are bulkier, antiquated with less polyphony etc
I've been wondering about this synth. Would love to see you do some demos of it.
i love mine. the drums are great. the synths are even greater. the fx are ok too.
Biggest problem in this unit is the... Roland sound. And i don't mean an oldschool Roland sound (like Juno or Juno Alpha). It's a "new-ish" Roland of Zen fame (or infamy). But let's give props to Roland, while Korg fanboys (me included) waiting on Electribe 3, Roland be making them grooveboxes one after another.
The funny thing is that Behringer is the brand that comes closest to the original Roland sound, even more than Roland itself.
So easy to throw a pedal in the sound chain or use the 90 effects to alter the tones.
@@pablodiegomusictrue!
Sounds terrible.
Roland gets pretty dicey after the 90s. I think they coast on the reputation of the Jupiters and Junos and drum machines too much, cause most of their gear reminds me more of the Gaia. Cheap, silly sounding VA. I did love the JD-800 though.
I want it, sounds great indeed with it's own engine! For a cheaper buck the Roland S-1 looks pretty capable as well!
Probably sounds much better too
PRO TIP: plug a Polyend Tracker to the SH-4d, use the possibilities of the Tracker MIDI sequencer in addition to the SH-4d sequencer, and you'll never start again a sentence with 'if Elektron...' 😊
I've tried them all over the last 10 years and The MC-707 is currently the best groovebox in the world - hands down imo.
....if you like menu diving.
Correct me if I am wrong: the effects on the Sh-4d are just 3 send effects with the possibility of mfx to be used just on the master..
Each of the four parts as well as the drums has its own master effect and then the entire “project” has its own master effect. The reverb, delay and chorus are all sends for each of their four tracks and can be done on an individual basis for the drums so you can apply reverb to just the snare for example.
Where did you get the colored Knobs!
The SH-4D is great. P-locks would be nice, but it will record four lanes of automation. It's also very easy to copy patterns and make variations that way. My only real gripe with it is I wish you could explode the drum tracks when recording over USB-C into a DAW.
I don’t think the Elektron stuff was ever supposed to be an “all in one solution”
Yeah, they wanna make you addicted, but will only give a little taste per product! 😅
The A4 does. Sort of. But not really. It’s a weird box. I love it, but it isn’t great as a groove box, but not a fantastic synth either.
It was supposed to be when they only had MD and MNM but since their new business models is about multiplying the products and making sure each one doesnt have an overlap of functions with the other it's def the case now.
@@Andronicus2007exactly what roland does and its super obvious the functionality could be there, but roland's UIs are blech. Its like they don't even spend time using their own gear...
Yea they very purposefully make them so you need some piece of each.... really kinda slimy. But whatever.
why didn't ROLAND make a sampling engine, standard digital voice to accompany the synth engines, one hits and phrase sampling etc, especially with elastic audio and their DBEAM technology for performance.
i miss the roland mc505 megamix feature where u can mix dif parts from diff tracks
Love your passion and cool insight, SH4D has a lot of potential.
I think the SH-4D with a Digitakt and a MIDI controller will cover a lot of ground for a long time as a DAW-less setup. You could even add another synth to this without even having to use a mixer.
Currently running a MC-101 w/the Digitakt for this
To get around the 64step you can use external sequencing or just use the “scene” function. There’s some midi issues that glitch in and out. And some of the effects are kinda lame.
Using external sequencer? So bypass the internal sequencer? Should I say duh?
I love that you posted this video today! I just borrowed one from a friend today! I’m so excited to get to know it!! :)
So cool!
Do you want real DCO analog or Roland's simulated analog? No judgment. It's just a question of comparison.
I think the very high treble region on these sounds digital but they are very usable. RUclips flatters them.
on a groovebox I don't mind the digital sacrifice for the polyphony
Main things I miss are pattern chaining and song mode
Other reviews said they want it to be more like Elektron. I don't know because this still has not been available in Europe.
Best and happiest performance of the year! Saludos desde Madrid
I’m loving the hell out of my SH-4d and my Fantom 07
Been curious about this one since it dropped, think it’s because the first synth I fell for but couldn’t afford at the time was the Roland sh09, back when I thought anything analog with faders meant it was good!
This seems pretty awesome for out and about jams and they’ve certainly packed a lot in there.
If one pops up on eBay at the right price I’m in…
Thanks for the reminder👍
Great vid. Are you still using this? Thinking of pulling the trigger on the over the Syntakt. I have plenty of sequencers already.
It sounds really good
This synth is very powerfull. If people complain about noise with the connection they just have to invest in a powerd usb device and viola. Experience...
But violas can be expensive.
@@simonyricools 🤣😜
I started with Korg and eneded up with nearly all Roland devices.
Good review, thanks.
This is the only groovebox ive been interested in since 2014. 💀💀💀💀
Nice review, can't wait to have a play with the Sh4d, seems like roland have nailed it here, barely anyone is bringing out multitimbral synth atm. Just a tiny shame it isn't zencore. Interesting outlook on kit though- with you being an elektron fan I don't get why you said if a piece of kit isn't working, just lose it... I find I get a new bit of kit, play with it intensely at the start, hate it, then come back to it a month plus later and know what to do with it.. it's all a personal journey though!
A little bit as the MC-101 ;)
Only MC-101 is more a groovebox than drum machine (it doesn't have for example parameter-lock functionality to be a real replacement for drum machines).
BTW: MC-101 have sequences up to 128 bars long... and with sidechaining of scenes you can have really long recordings (not the same long as on Synthstrom Deluge... but definitely Zen Core in MC-101 is the winner in comparison to synth engine built in into Deluge).
@@SmallWorldBigThings128 steps(8bar).
@@ghanezu Sorry... you are absolutely right. Anyway - Deluge doesn't have any limitation and it works great as a drum machine
I am so thinking about to get the sh-4d! I have a keystep Pro that I was thinking to control it with.
That's how I use it. It's a beautiful combo! 👍🏻
Really love that you've been posting more often, kno You're doing outta love, hope you post vids of just music creation again 👊 👊
Music jams are happening on the other channel! ruclips.net/video/JJBiXNg8uc0/видео.html
And doing it out of love AND grind lol
Hi, can you do a video sequencing the Sh4d with the Analog 4?
they new s1 sounds dope too, so this is prob just 4x +
You need to check out the duscontinued Roland MX-1 Perfornance Mixer. Switching up the feel, SCATTER effects, TR STEP sidechaining.. so much fun.
that one never caught my attention when i got into synths, but now its looking good hmmmm thanks
@@JAdeWii_ seriously take a look at it. When you were talking about you wish you had live control to manipulate and change up the pattern in real time etc. Thats exactly what this mixer is for. Especially if you have Roland Aira stuff. Live faders, scatters, rolls, delays, filter controls.. makes things very DJ-y and electronic-y. I just wish it had a noise wash like other DJ effects and a dedicated reverb knob.
First time to watch a video of yours in a while. Looking great Jade!
I appreciate your jam. Keep it dope kidd 💯
This seems like it would be a slice of pure heaven with my SQ-64
I wonder if my life would be so cheerful, if I wear rose glasses.
Absolutely love my SH4D!
Would this be a good replacement for a novation circuit?
yes
How would you compare this to an MPC ONE plus?
Very different machines. Sh4d is like a multitimbral synth with lots of hands on controls and easy sound design, paired with a convoluted sequencer and patch/pattern management. Great to create sounds and some limited jamming when you want to be off the grid and battery powered.
Mpc has TONS more flexibility for creating loops/beats/songs and lots of control for this, but it's a lot more like a DAW in a box. You're going to be using the touchscreen a lot, any sound design will require you to jump between touching the screen to get to the tab or column where your controls are and twisting the qlink knobs to modify the parameters. Also if you want great sounds from the MPC you either need to upload your samples/keygroups or purchase the paid plugins (Jura, fabric, stage instruments etc).
I have both and like them for different things. If I want to create sounds or have some mobile fun, the sh4d is my go to. If I want to create more sophisticated arrangements or draft song ideas or just do some finger drumming , the MPC gets my time.
I have been thinking about pairing this with my digitakt. I have a dawless setup that is basically an ipad,keystep, small modular and digitakt. If the wealpoint of this machine is the sequencer then the digitakt should pair nicely. My question is can each synth be on a different midi channel or is the unit on just a single channel?
Yeah that’s a great combo and each track has its own MIDI channel, the only limitation would be the polyphony on the digitakt, that won’t allow you to take advantage of all the SH-4D voices.
Would you consider using this as a single live performance tool? Or do you feel like you need to add anything?
Looking forward to pairing it with the MPC and Digitakt. Also looking forward to seeing what you do with it.
where did you get the custom knobs for the keystep37? Look so good
dj tech tools!
@@JAdeWii_thanks!!
O heard that it has another issue about the need of saving to avoid loosing parameters and edits. My English is a lil limited. Maybe someonelse could explain better. Ricky Tinez has made a nice video talking about pros & cons. And , yes, drum sounds are not “fantastic”, but nice. Kink (artist) made a nice video . That video just made me want this sh 4d
favorite synth right now: Sonicware Liven Texture Lab - really immediate and fun, kind of the great grandkid of the Yamaha VSS-30 😃
nice (and hyper) treatment of the SH-4d! I might have to check one out used eventually... honestly, Roland was my jam way back, but I've gone through a string of their synths from the last 25 years and I dunno. For what it is, I really enjoyed the SH-32. I'm seriously considering the S-1 as another flexible and fun toy to play with. That is, after I sell a bunch of stuff to finance my new modular habit... 😮
Sonicware lowkey killin it. Smpltrek has been updated to a great little unit. Really like it as a controller. Thinkin bout trading up alot of my systo a pro800 and sh4d
I don't really agree with this, I have a Digitakt, Digitone and Syntakt. I'm particularly in love with the Digitakt.
For me, the ability to easily adjust microtiming, ability to play samples chromatically on the "keyboard", the conditional trigs on each step, the sound of the effects, the feel of the quality hardware, the screen size, which is perfect, not too big or small. It just feels SPECIAL!
Never said it wasn’t 😁
According to the roland rep on andertons channel, it has like 15 tracks of audio over usb. I think marketing it as a groovebox kinda turned me off to it. If i looked at it as a grovebox, id want AT LEAST 6 analog outs, performance features, and more steps. But when i think of it as a synth w a built in sequencer, its much more intriguing. Then its a one track powerhouse w a single stereo output, or a hard panned, layered, 2 synth setup w some really nuce effects included. Thats a great value. I still wish it had more analogue outs to connect to my portable multitrack, but i guess thats a me problem since it does have multitrack w usb. May have to upgrade my recorder to one w a usb audio in.
No song mode though right?
The beauty of the a4 is all about the sequencer. Also an A4 isnt 1700 bucks... you can find the og one for like 500-600. Also with p-locks every you can have a completely different sound per step on every track so despite the fact that its only 4 voices, it can sound like so much more. Elektron stuff rules for good reason
How are they converters do they sound like 1980s roland?
Not bad, similar to 404, probably like 70%.. yea we on % today 🤣
how many synthesizers again? :)
FOUR!!!
Cost aside, how would you compare with Syntakt
I don't like the sounds coming out of it, personal opinion.
Yeah it is audio over USB, and multitracks too! I do a lot of song recreation and I can have RUclips coming through the device's headphones at then dial in the synth sounds I'm trying to recreate over the top. It's very cool! My main criticism is that the aliasing in the upper registers is HORRIBLE. Like... REALLY HORRIBLE. I've owned devices like the JP8000 which is notorious and older Novation digital synths and they sound "delightful" compared to this.
🤔does it have a scale mode?
Yea this is way up on the wishlist right now
the room is awesome I love it
I wish Elektron would make a 4x4 16 pad sampler. I know they have the octatrack and it might be product cannabalism woth all the products they already have out, but woth all the features they they pack into their products, i think they have the potetnial to make a 4x4 grid 16 pad sampler thats better than anything thats out there.
I want a RYTM the size of a Digitakt with extra voices and all mentioned above.
Something like the heat+fx with a 4x4 pad sampler attached would be dope and a unique addition to their lineup.
it is audio over usb. 14 channels.
So Roland put out another VST in a box that emulates the sound of their analog classics?
Yet they've had no recent devices cloned... and people wonder why they do it. Cry all you want about digital, but there lies your answer.
@@vaiman7777 Not crying at all - in fact, the situation today is pretty much perfect for musicians, we can have anything we want, in great quality, and pretty cheap.
I remember a time when I could choose between not being able to afford the originals, and buying a pretty expensive MC-909 that sounded like crap^^
I see you brought the Roland family out to play !! we need more jade sound efx's in the videos 😂😂 great up load.
Imma drop a sample pack, watch out
Great ENERGY 🫡🔥🇨🇦💪🏿
I think this and the S-1 best gear 2023 for the money. Really great gear to get started. Also jupiter x great step up from there. It is menu divy but a great value for the money. Roland is probably still the best in the game. Just imagine they whould make a mv xl to go after mpc market share. They def have the skill to make it.
Agreed on the MV revival, the verselab didn’t quite cut it. I think all they would really have to do is make a “fantom desktop” by chopping the keys off and condensing the controls.
Is it the same exact engine as the MC707?
No its not this one is ACB, MC707 is Zencore, I recently sold MC707 because of its sounds otherwise its great box.. unfortunately MC707 sounds too thin, this one is better I would expect... Recently I bought JX08 and I love it, it really sounds great! And I definitely love the multitimbral approach in those new boxes
Good video, my opinion and problemn with this device : No unqantized recording, only ~50 Pcm - Sample import, ahh
Great if you can find one.
Please put the name in the title
is it true that it's not actually 60 voices simultaneously but 60 oscillators...
This is how to review music gear! Thanks!
I know I am late to the game, but I just picked mine up today!
The problem it has with FX cutting out as you change patterns is really preventing me from seeing this as a valid option. I keep checking updates but roland is not making this a priority ( yet ).
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Elektron engineer: (screams in IKEA).
Are you mad?
You literally have insane control over every single drum sound on the shd 4 d!
I HATE the keyboard and I do not like the sequencer... BUT... 4 synths and a fully fledged drum synth? and think of this: Duplicate your patch onto a second track and assign the same midi channel. Pan track 1 to the left and track 2 to the right: BOOM! Binaural synth baby. That is my update wish: a dedicated binaural function where you can tie two tracks together more easily.
I pair it with my Squarp Pyramid and it's like a full studio.
Yes sequencer sucks. If it had an Elektron style sequencer, with song mode and a decent screen, polyphonic stereo sampling, solid build and decent screen, it would be an Elektron killer!
Pyramid FTW!
I LOVE my Pyramid. It lets me use all of my gear at once. Also, while it’s a bit big to describe as portable, it is lightweight and will run for days off a power brick.
Roland should have just licenced the elektron sequencer.
I'd be sequencing this with an MPC. Problem solved for what I do
Seeing this makes me feel like the mc707 is so underrated and unknown.
It has always seemed like a preset machine. Insanely powerful synth engine, but, like, you need a whole crew to steer that ship, there's too many moving parts to control it all yourself.