SH-32 Synthesizer on Display at Winter NAMM





January 21, 2002

Roland is showing the SH-32 Synthesizer, a nod to Roland's past with an eye on
the future. This attractive and powerful desktop synth serves up to 32 voices of
fat synth waves and brand-new sounds using breakthrough Wave Acceleration
Synthesis technology. Sporting a full complement of knobs and sliders,
analog-style drums, DSP effects and a killer arpeggiator, the four-part
multitimbral SH-32 simply begs to tweaked and played.

The SH-32 employs all-new Wave Acceleration Synthesis to overcome the
limited polyphony of modeling synths. This proprietary technology allows the
SH-32 to play up to 32 voices at a time--using up to four different
patches--and produce a wide range of waveform variations, from traditional
analog waves to brand-new waveforms like Spectrum and Noise. The SH-32 has
two main oscillators and two sub-oscillators, plus a Subsonic mode for thick
bass tones and new sounds that simply aren't possible on traditional
synthesizers. It can do pulse width modulation and its oscillators can be
hard-synced to produce fat monophonic patches. The SH-32 even contains
drum sounds from the classic TR-808/909 Rhythm Composers.

For massive realtime control, the head-turning SH-32 is covered with knobs,
sliders and buttons--just like the classic Roland synths of yesteryear. This
means that there aren't any hidden menus or complicated displays, just a simple
3-digit LED and lots of fun. If musicians want to go beyond the great factory
presets, they'll have a blast making their own SH-32 patches.

The SH-32 has an onboard arpeggiator for generating synth lines and drum
patterns. The arpeggiator comes with a range of preset templates, and is also
fully programmable. A Chord Memory feature lets musicians create complex arpeggios for modern techno styles, from trance to 2-step.

For effects, the SH-32 provides two independent effects processors. The Loop processor provides 10 varieties of reverb/delay-type
effects, and the Insert processor offers 35 multi-effects algorithms, including distortion, compressor and pitch shifter. The SH-32 also
has unique Groove effects like Slicer, Lo-Fi and Isolator.