Recording - November 2010 - 46

Roland GAIA SH-01
expect from a modern keyboard, except that the only multitimbral capacity is with its on-board GM (General MIDI) sound set, not with sounds from its own synth engine. It can be the receiving sound module or the controller, with key velocity on or off, on any MIDI channel, it can transmit clock data, and it can talk to your DAW via USB 2.0 and/or via the 5-pin MIDI ports. Programming and studio integration will become even easier with the GAIA Synthesizer Sound Designer software package for Windows and Mac ($99) that will come out in October and was not yet available to me at the time of writing in September. To sum up The sound is what sold this synth to me. Rich, “analog-like” in the best sense of the metaphor, and in the fine

The point behind the phrase recorder is to record the way sounds are molded so it can recalled and used with any sound you please. Keystrokes can be recorded, but knob and slider tweaks are recorded as well. The power of the phrase recorder comes into play when you begin overdubbing. For example, you can record a four bar loop, make some slider tweaks, and then add some more knob tweaks on the second pass. Using the phrase recorder in this way allows you make many more parameter changes to a sound than you could do with only two hands in a live setting.

~ Ext In. The mini stereo jack in the top right corner accepts any external sound source that you wish to monitor, on its own or mixed into the sounds you play on the SH-01. Signals from this input always appear at the audio output of the SH01; this signal path has its own level knob and mute button. Lots of applications come to mind, not just play-along and practice uses, but even a vocal mixed into your playing if you make the correct connections and level matches from mic to input. But here’s the kicker: Roland has included a circuit that can attempt to

~ Arpeggiator. If you hold a chord and press the Arpeggiator button, the notes are played in one of 64 preset sequences that you can choose from. Hit the Key Hold button and take your fingers off the keys—the arpeggio continues. Each patch has one of the 64 arpeggiator sequences assigned as one of its patch parameter data, so if you want to stay with a patch but alter the arpeggio type, do your homework beforehand, lock into memory two versions of the same patch, identical in everything except the assigned arpeggio pattern. Then make a patch change when required. The arpeggio tempo is set with the Tap Tempo button and can be changed on the fly, or it follows external sync if such is brought to the SH-01.
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remove a portion of the audio spectrum on that external signal. It does that by cancelling content in the center of the stereo field. If you wish to remove, say, the voice on a recording you’re bringing in, hit the “Center Cancel” button and listen.You have 3 chances—eliminating mid/highs (button unlit), lows (red), or full-frequency (green). Your mileage will vary according to the source material you’re working with. V-Link. Never having used this feature or seen it in action, I’ll quote this sentence from the manual: “The GAIA SH-01 can control images on a V-LINK compatible video device that’s connected via MIDI.” Studio integration The SH-01 plays as nice with your DAW and the rest of your studio as you’d

tradition of the Juno/Jupiter line of venerable Roland keyboards. From a user point of view, the open knobs and sliders architecture is fantastic, but it has its downside: While every data selection and data entry can be done with simple combinations of buttons, it will still be a challenge to memorize those combinations, and somebody— Roland, or a users’ group member, or anybody better come out with a cheatsheet to go on a nearby wall... It plays great, sounds fabulous, comes with excellent documentation, fits in and goes anywhere—in my book the GAIA SH-01 is a winner! Price: $799 (MSRP—look for lower street prices) More from: www.rolandus.com

http://www.rolandus.com

Recording - November 2010

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