I’m having second thoughts on my SH4D purchase… but not for the reasons some might think.
Bought an SH-4d to replace a Digitone, Minitaur, and AS-1 as a kind of all in one multitimbral box for live performance. However after a really nice gig last weekend I realized:
I’m too in love with the Minitaur to let it go. It really sounds so good on any system. I’m not sure I’m gonna get that level of Moog bass out of this and even if i did, psychologically I wouldnt feel the same.
I might be too in love with the AS-1 too… though I could live without it…
This leads me to only really needing to replace the Digitone on poly duties and I think the SH-4D might be overkill on the form factor front. I actually don’t need that many knobs in a liveset. Filter cutoff, level fader, and a macro or two are enough. Knobs are great for sound design or evolving performance, but live, I’m usually loading presets or sounds I’ve designed in the studio and going from there…
Which leads me to… MC-101?
Compact, battery powered, presets module with way more PCM and instrument sounds than the SH-4D…
I guess i’d lose wavetables and the ability to enjoyably design my own unique sounds on the new SH-4D models and engine, which might mean i end up sounding more rolandy-generic, but that’s up to me to work against
Never thought I’d consider an MC-101, but here we are. Might pick up a used one just to compare over the next few months. I’m in full on “swap in swap out” decision fatigue mode as I’m sequencing everything externally anyway
Received mine yesterday. Enjoying it so far. As soon as you connect a proper keyboard, it’s good fun to play. Pretty easy to create new sounds. Will be interesting to see what’s on the roadmap in terms of planned new features.
Nice size. Light weight. Runs on batteries. More tactile than some devices Roland have released in the last few years. Like it. Haven’t needed manual yet but will take a look at some point to see if I’ve missed anything.
i have both and the sh4d feels way better if used as a stand alone device. It’s less menu divy and more hands on. But using the 101 with other gear might be a better experience, since it has way more sounds than the 4d.
To be honest, the Roland sound is pretty easy to avoid if you turn off the chorus fx. The pure oscillators are so diverse and it’s actually easy to build most reasonably complex subtractive sounds in a pinch using the Partial Editor. And, Roland sounds great anyway.
The good news is that they’re fairly easy to come by in the second hand market. Sounds like a thing to try and see if works out for you.
Price is another factor. The MC-101 can be had for half the SH-4d price used.
Which of these parameters are most important? How much hands-on sound design do you need? If we’re talking about changing the filter cutoff or decay and things like that, it’s easy enough to set that up on the MC-101. Also, the MC can be set to control all four tracks at once (one parameter at a time) using the C1-C4 knobs. So for example, you could open the filter on track 1 while changing delay send on track 2 simultaneously. To my knowledge, the SH-4d won’t let you do that. So, depending on what aspects of hands-on control is most important to you, both devices have their pros and cons.
What kind of sounds do you look for? MC-101 can play samples and has more PCM sounds with “real” instruments like guitars, trumpets etc., so if you need any of this, it’s a no brainer. It would also be a no brainer if you needed powerful sequencer, but looks like you’re not.
SH-4d has wavetable and drawing oscillators and is much faster and easier to program and tweak. In this regard it’s closer to MM2 that you’re replacing than MC-101, which is very menu divey and only has VA engine, but this engine can do all that SH-4d VA models can and much more.
Don’t under estimate how menu dive-y the MC-101 is.
I mean the MC-707 is pretty bad in this regard to begin with, but now cram ALL those hundreds of menus & options into a tiny 2 line display.
People’s tolerance for this obviously varies widely but it’s impossible to ignore.
(Full disclaimer I like the MC-101 and have made plenty of tracks using it)
Mc101 is a great machine. hard to find another compact box with as many sounds
But i sold mine because it was a pain to alter the sounds much. What i did was loaded it with sounds from Roland cloud and samples then find close to the exact sound i wanted then only ever needed light tweaks anyway.
Sh-4d looks like a lot more hands on control and better for live. MC101 is great for live also but more as a box full of excellent sounds to play and sequence
Muscle memory kicks in pretty quickly though. And as a sound module sequenced by other gear, it’s not that bad at all. As a standalone groovebox, anything Roland will have a Roland workflow. Love it or hate it.
Yes, you can decide what each knob controls, but only one parameter at a time per knob. There are four configurable parameters per track.
There are two modes:
All four knobs control the same track at once. You select which track to control via the track buttons.
Each knob controls a separate track. C1 corresponding to track 1, C2 to track 2 and so on. You select which parameter (1-4) to control via the four buttons underneath the knobs.
In both of these modes, you can freely select which parameter each knob controls. Simply hold down the corresponding button underneath the knob and then twist the knob.
You toggle between the two modes by pressing all four buttons at once.
@tha_man MM2 is a great sounding unit and compact. I may not sell it. If it was 4 way multitimbral I’d keep it!
Having 4 synth tracks to match the 4 (relatively weak) synth tracks on the op-z is very appealing and requires zero mental gymnastics. One portable box for writing, drums and sampling, another portable box for big synth sounds (plus bonus drums). Otherwise with the MM2 I’m left with two op-z synth tracks to make good with (and limited sampling capacity on the op-z complicates sampling from MM2) but if I want to switch track assignment on a per song basis (for example MM2 sometimes does bass and lead and other timesarp and pads) I get stuck into some complicated midi routing and planning rather than just making music.
Something else I’ve realised is a nebulous desire around each box I own having a sequencer or at least note input method and/or battery power. MM2 has neither of these. If each box has its own sequencer then they are independent but can also play together.
I’m only a hobbyist and likely making music in a spare hour once a week or on a trip somewhere. Quick and portable is key, with good presets and the ability to tweak and go deep when desired. SH-4D and MC101 both seem ideal, but I’m leaning towards SH-4D.
