Fantastic, thanks for that. Think it will be going on my āthings to consider after NGNYā listā¦ who knows maybe there will be a firmware update by thenā¦ 
Thanks, always good to see something next to a digi to judge its size. Would have been great if it was OT MK II size 
. Itās quite a lightweight, right?
Yes, Itās light enough to carry for sure
looks good to me too
For the price, I will defintely get thisā¦the MC101 is just too small with too few hands on controllsā¦this will stay with me indefinitley.
Folks with the device, can you describe how does the 2+ octave buttons feel like. Is it the exact same as the ones found on the XM? Thanks.
What do you mean when you say feels like?
it doesnāt look bad, it just looks like one of those analog synths that smaller companies design, relatively barebones in style, reminds me more of an Analog Solutions synth aesthetic than a Roland groovebox.
Finger touch-feeling. Is it hard plastic buttons like the XM. Noisy, clackety, etc. Is it rubbery. Whatās the travel like, how does it feel to be using it for quick swipe to punch in hi-hats, etc.
The buttons certainly arenāt anything amazing, just a hard plastic that is more rubbery than clicky.
Yep they are hard plastic with only a little bit of travel, no clickiness. I havenāt tried a finger swipe, will report back!
Iām wondering how much finger-jutsu is needed to navigate around during a live performance. Looks like global mixer mode is 2 button presses away? PATTERN, then SOUND?
In the midi implementation chart in the manual, page 204, Sliders 1-4 receive CC 85-88, but i think those are the sliders for the osc models, not the global mixer onesā¦
If I wanted to map dedicated external faders for part levels as a global mixer, would that be:
Control Change 7: AMP LEVEL (Pattern Part Level)?
Or is that simply a CC for the LEVEL knob in the AMP section?
CC 7 volume for each track.
From the mixer you can select any track and the knobs on the right will control the current track parameter. During a live performance, you shouldnāt need to switch to anything other the global mixer view too often, unless you need to change the oscillator settings of course.
Nothing new I guess, and it sounds pretty outdated 
What would not sound pretty outdated? Iām genuinely curious. I mean itās an subtractive synthesizer Iām not sure how else itās supposed to sound?
And itās marketed as having the sound engines of two classic synths, so being āoutdatedā is literally what itās trying to be (in part)
This is actually my point. The Roland sound was ānewā about 40 or 50 years ago, if not earlier, and probably since then, they have been making remakes.
Same machines from Analog to VA. I guess there arenāt a company that has evolved since their golden era, are they?
Iām struggling to put my finger on it, and it could well be because of the particular sound demos, but Iāve watched pretty much all of the SH-4d demos and all of the Minifreak demos, and to me, the Minifreak sounds a bit more ācrispā and āfuturisticā to my ears. Itās just modulated in more interesting ways to my ears. Unfortunately Iām not competent enough about synthesis to tell whether thatās because of particular oscillator or filter characteristics, or if itās simply because Minifreakās UI/UX, sound presets and guides for reviewers expose more of those exotic modulations, whereas Rolandās preset are flirting more with the past. In other words, Iām definitely not claiming that the SH-4d canāt replicate all of those Minifreak presets in the hands of a competent sound designer, but I just havenāt heard them in any demos yet.
By the way, the Minifreak was just an example. I thought of it because I literally binge watched a number of SH-4d reviews and demos and then I stumbled over one Minifreak demo and immediately went āwow, that sounds very differentā. So, thereās that.
Iām hoping I can push some of those newer osc models - especially FM and wave table - along with the mod matrix to new sonic territory, maybe not hydra or Minifreak levels of complexity, but at least beyond typical Roland subtractive stuff.
Having a good balance of recognizable classic sounds sprinkled with more experimental elements is what seems to work with the dancefloors i play to. 100% experimental / new and the crowd doesnāt have enough familiar anchors. 100% classic and it gets boring quick