Synth Adventures

SH-01A

After the Hydrasynth’s digital depth, this stop is deliberately small: one oscillator, one filter, one envelope, one LFO and a sequencer that wants to run all night. It is the same subtractive story as Part 1 of the manual, but on a panel where every control is visible at once.

The playground and browser recipes are still being built. Read the signal map here, then try the same moves on hardware using Roland’s PDF.

Review Part 1Roland manual
Voices
4
Monophonic engine, 4-note paraphonic when Unison is on
Oscillators
1 + Sub
Saw, square/PWM, sub-octave square
Filter
24 dB LP
Classic Roland ladder character
Sequencer
100 × 4
Patterns with accent, slide and transpose

S.1

Follow the cable in your head

The SH-01A keeps the classic order: oscillator → mixer (with noise) → filter → amplifier, with the LFO and sequencer tapping in wherever the panel switches allow. No mod matrix — just normalled connections and a handful of destination switches.

SH-01A style subtractive signal pathVCOSource mixVCFVCALFOSequencer
Fig. S-1 · Subtractive path shared with the SH-101 lineage (generic layout).

  1. VCO

    One oscillator: saw or square/PWM, plus a fixed sub-octave square for weight.

    VCO · RANGE · FINE · PWM · SUB LEVEL

  2. Source mix

    Blend the main wave with noise for breath and bite before the filter.

    NOISE · (osc level is implicit in the VCO section)

  3. VCF

    24 dB low-pass with resonance that can self-oscillate when pushed.

    CUTOFF · RES · ENV · KEY · LFO

  4. VCA

    Loudness shaped by ENV and optionally the gate for plucks vs pads.

    ENV · GATE

  5. LFO

    Triangle or square modulation to pitch, PWM or filter — the ‘wobble’ knob on acid basses.

    RATE · DELAY · ROUTE switches

  6. Sequencer

    Internal 100-step patterns with accent and slide — the SH-101 party trick in Boutique form.

    SEQ · PATTERN · TRANSPOSE · REST/SLIDE/ACCENT

Sound recipes (coming soon)

These will mirror the Hydrasynth pack: read the steps, then hear them in a browser panel, then repeat on the Boutique with manual page refs.

  • Bass

    Square bass with sub

    Square wave, sub up, short filter envelope — the default acid-adjacent mono line.

    Playground next

  • Lead

    PWM sweep lead

    LFO to PWM while the filter follows ENV for a singing mono lead.

    Playground next

  • Seq

    Accent groove pattern

    Program accent and slide on steps 2 and 4; transpose the pattern live.

    Playground next

FAQ

What is the Roland SH-01A?
A Boutique-format reissue of the SH-101 monosynth: one oscillator, sub, noise, a resonant 24 dB low-pass, LFO, and a built-in step sequencer with accent and slide.
How does the SH-01A relate to the Hydrasynth pack?
Hydrasynth is digital and deep — wavetables, Mutants, a mod matrix. The SH-01A is the opposite lesson: one of everything, wired in a fixed order. If Part 1 taught subtractive synthesis, this stop shows it on a panel you can learn in an afternoon.
Is there a playable SH-01A in the browser yet?
Not yet. This page is the overview, signal map and recipe stubs. The interactive panel and Web Audio model are next.