SH-2

Name: SH-2
Price: 99 USD
Author: Roland

by Roland · Synth · SH-2 analog monosynth emulation

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SH-2 is Roland's software version of its 1979 SH-2 monosynth, with two VCOs, sub-oscillator and a self-oscillating filter.

It adds two ADSR envelopes, auto-bend, an arpeggiator, reverb, delay and bit-crusher; it comes with Roland Cloud membership.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Bass, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap.

Keywords: monophonic, hardware emulation, analog, basses, arpeggiator, 70s, leads, licensed emulation, tempo-synced, vintage, 80s, sound design, subtractive.

What it does

SH-2 is Roland's software model of its 1979 two-oscillator monosynth, which Roland calls an "authentic sonic reproduction" down to the interaction between individual circuits.

VCO-1: saw, square and sine waves with ranges from 64' to 2', pulse width, and PWM from manual, LFO, auto-bend, the VCF or VCA envelope, or the sub-oscillator.
VCO-2: saw, square and noise over the same ranges, with fine and coarse tuning; the 64' range is an extension for very deep bass.
Mixer: separate levels for VCO-1, VCO-2 and the VCO-1 sub-oscillator.
Filter: a self-oscillating VCF with resonance, envelope depth, modulation depth and keyboard follow, driven by its own ADSR.
VCA and envelopes: gate, amp-envelope, filter-envelope or hold modes, with a tone control and a second full ADSR; the original had only one envelope.
LFO and auto-bend: an LFO with rate, delay and sine, triangle, saw, square and random sample-and-hold shapes, plus auto-bend with depth and reverse action.
Arp and effects: a tempo-synced arpeggiator with 1- and 2-octave patterns and steps from 1/4 to 1/16 triplets, plus reverb, tempo-synced delay and a bit-crusher.

It is monophonic, has portamento and a bend range control, and stores 64 patches per bank with user banks. It runs at sample rates up to 192 kHz. It is offered through Roland Cloud membership, which has a 30-day free trial.

Source: Roland product page

When to use it

SH-2 is a focused two-oscillator mono synth for deep, fat basses and leads, with a sub-oscillator and an extended 64' range for sub lines. Compared with Roland's own SH-101, it has a second VCO and a sine wave, so it gets thicker and detuned sounds more easily, though it is less known for snappy sequenced lines. Against Diva it is much simpler, with one voice and one filter type, but it is faster to dial in a vintage mono sound. Serum 2 and Vital can make heavier modern basses but do not give you this synth's analog behaviour out of the box.

Best for: deep mono basses, sub lines, detuned leads and squelchy filter sweeps.
Genres: electronic, techno, house and hip-hop.
Look elsewhere if: you need polyphony (JUNO-60, JUPITER-8 or Diva) or wavetable-style modern sound design (Serum 2 or Vital).

Where to buy

Plugin Boutique: $99
Roland: see store

Tutorials and reviews

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