impressions for those of us waiting?
I think he was generalizing about samples and typical drum engines. I thinkā¦
Why do I feel like thereās going to be something weird or uninspiring about this box once it gets in my hands.
Iāve had a couple of 707s and there was always some little thing that bugged me.
But the 707 is a beast of a machine. I donāt know. Hyped to play with it though!
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??? You press shift and turn the knob.
Re āvaluableā: it is good to keep in mind that not everyone is a consumer. Some of us use these on releases and have developed preferences for, say, certain waveform TVF combinations from the 5080. It is very useful to be able to access them in more modern hardware (even if it means wading through a bunch of marimba waves firstā¦ 
)
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That doesnāt sound fun to me 
.
Your point is totally valid though, I can see how that is very useful to you and others. You didnāt need the āIām a producer with actual releases and youāre just a consumerā comment to get that across.
No it isnāt
Apologies, that came across wrong!! What I meant was: the ability to withstand some (many?) annoyances is high when the something like the X is just a tool in service of a specific aim.
On the other hand, a full Zencore engine with 100+ parameter menus is not useful if one is looking for an instrument to play / enjoy (edit: <<-- this is what I should have said instead of āconsumeā)
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Got it, thanks for clarifying. I was also thinking about whether this is what you meant after I posted. Makes total sense! Sorry for snapping.
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One thing I didnāt think about yet: does the SH-4D give you a dedicated filter envelope for Juno and SH101? That could be really cool! On Jupiter XM, the controls for filter envelope didnāt do anything on these models.
My initial impressions are mixed, and Iāve only used it for a couple of hours so far.
As an MC707 owner, it feels like a more hands on version of that. The size and the feel of it is really nice too, but I do find the controls a touch cramped.
Thereās a lot I like, the sounds and concept of it being the main ones.
Things I donāt like straight awayā¦ 5v power coming over USB C is the main one. Not only does it make it feel toylike to me, trying to drop it into my setup, with that Bluebox youāll see in shot, meant it created an instant noise situation.
I appreciate the Bluebox will be a part of this issue too, but there was no issue before I introduced the SH4d.
(EDIT- I āsolvedā this by removing it from my USB hub and giving it an isolated USB power supply. Ok for standalone, but would stop me getting it within my DAW.)
Then thereās still the Roland frustration of soooooo many āshift+ā combos to get to.
TBCā¦
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When connected to the DAW, wouldnāt you just use the USB for everything anyway (power, audio, midi)? Thatās how I use the MC-101 when recording and it works flawlessly.
Compared to the MC-707, is it an improvement though?
what does the midi implementation for the rhythm part mean?
that i cant controll anything except note and velocity?(in this case the volume of the notes?)
was thinking to use a Launch controll XL to make it like a little tr8s(controlling volume,sends, pitch etc.), but i guess it wont be of much use in this case?
ThereĀ“s an X for control change, so no midi cc control of parameters from a midi controller. Only midi notes with velocity.
Is there a mod matrix for the rhythm part? ThatĀ“s only for the synth parts, right? Then velocity could be mapped to additional parameters, not just volumeā¦
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Yes and no, thatās not how I work personallyā¦ I have a signal path where my synths run through- into the Bluebox (which Iāll use for EQ/filters, Rev and Del, and recording the clean/dry signal), BigSky (which is on a cue send within the Bluebox) and then into either an OTO Boum or an Analog Heat.
So if Iām working ITB, Iāll use that chain to sculpt individual sounds on the way in.
If Iām working standalone Iāll record ideas/parts into the Bluebox or a 2-track stereo recorder at the very end of the chain, and Iāll eventually import/develop these in Ableton.
The beauty of the setup is that I can be up and running, and recording, from power off in 20-30 secondsā¦ without the need of a computer. This is of huge value to me.
Given that the SH-4d canāt slot into this role, thatās almost a non-starter for me.
But this is very specific to my setup and approach.
It does sound good though, and I do like itā¦ but it would have to be a standalone groove/ideas/fun box for meā¦ and Iām not sure Iād swap the MC707 for it now.
But;
Yesā¦ even though it has that general Roland annoyance, itās way more streamlined than the MC707 (and MC101 Iād presume).
Itās quite intuitive by Roland standards, and having the fixed filter/amp/lfo/fx section is a massive step up.
Iām giving it a run out in my main studio setup today tooā¦ just to see how it lives sonically with the big boys;
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Seems like theyāre expecting stock on 25 May and are taking pre-orders: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/roland-sh-4d-compact-desktop-synth
Great setup! Is the USB audio and MIDI class-compliant? For example, can it be connected to an iPhone or iPad with multichannel audio support?
was saying āin stockā āorder now for delivery tomorrowā so maybe a few units now gone! (Or a Scan goof!)
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Itās said in stock for next day delivery when I ordered. Ordered has been accepted, expected delivery date is tomorrow
Thanks @yokermoon for the heads up
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Thanks for the detailed answer! Your setup always amazes me and gives me some envy. 
Maybe itās not what youād prefer, but have you thought about AA batteries? Good 3000 mAh rechargeables should give you over 6 hours on the SH-4d and youād only really need to use it when recording (i.e. when noise is a dealbreaker), other times you could just plug in the usb cable to save the batteries. I find that my MC-101 batteries lasts for weeks when used this way.
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Please please can you confirm or refute whether the Ryhthm section has a mod matrix or not?
With no lfo on Rhythm section as per the manual itās looking like the most attractive section of the device is a total wash out for me!
Oof!