Unique Roland SH-3 with EXT INPUT LEVEL Knob in Place of PHONES LEVEL Knob

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"This unit is much more rare than the SH-3A. This is the SH3, Serial number in the mid #1700's Very few of the SH-3 were made. Notable players were Vangiles and Human League. The photos show some wear on the case itself. Otherwise excellent condition and everything functions correctly. All pots, sliders and buttons, keys work perfectly no scratch static noise when engaged. Best price for a fully functioning SH3 on the Web. I've been able to program 303 to 106 to 808/909 sounds and more."

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Rare 1974 Roland SH-3 Synthesizer SN 240400

via this auction

Note this is not the the more common SH-3A model. Surprisingly a few have come up in the past.

Update: see this post regarding the Moog filter. Apparently the SH-3 does not have a Moog filter as stated below.

"Vintage 1974 Roland SH-3 Synthesizer - one of less than 50 [see update below] made. First model. (Lawsuit model)...

The following is a blurb I found at the wikidot forums (wikipedia):

The Roland SH3 was produced in 1974. It is more rare than the SH3A which was put into the market after Moog sued Roland for the original SH3's filter design. It is believed that less than 100 of these were ever made. The replacement SH-3a is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Roland from 1974 to 1981. It is unique in that it is capable of both subtractive synthesis and additive synthesis. Two LFOs and a unique S&H section provided capabilities not found in contemporary self-contained synthesizers of the time. The rhythmic pulsing in the Blondie song "Heart of Glass" is an example of its sound." SH-3 vs. SH-3A

Updates via otto in the comments:
"info on SH-3: here"

"There were probably closer to 700+ of these made. The less than 50 seems to be a myth spawned from a sound on sound article. Still not all that common."

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Roland SH-3 Vintage Analog Synthesizer Demo

YouTube Uploaded by tekdeus on Oct 16, 2011

"Rare vintage 1973 Roland SH-3 pure analog monosynth running through some mild effects. Rumor has it that only a very small number of the SH-3's were made before Roland had to redesign the circuitry and release the SH-3a model because of Moog patent infringement. Because of this, many feel that the filters in the SH-3 are much fatter, nicer, and warmer than the SH-3a."


via this auction

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Roland SH-3

Title link takes you to shots via this auction.

"RARE ROLAND SH 3 ANALOG SYNTHESIZER. Roland infringed on Moog's filter design and was forced to cease production of this model very early resulting in very few being made.They then released the much more common SH 3 A with a different filter design.Consequently the SH 3 has become a very collectable and rare synth."

Anyone know the story behind this? True?

Original Roland SH-3 with Kenton CV Mods

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
via this auction

"In excellent condition and 100% working order.
As you can see from pictures very clean, a couple of small scratches here and there, has the Kenton 3 socket gate/cv/filter installed. With a midi to cv converter like the Pro Solo you can control the cv/gate and filter of the synth. Has been overhauled, all capacitors replaced, all sliders pots and switches cleaned and re-lubricated, plays wonderfully..."

Update: The auction mentions the SH-3 had the Moog ladder filter. It actually did not. Via wikipedia & Keith Kniveton on Facebook: "Contrary to common belief, the initial version "SH-3" did not infringe on the transistor ladder-filter patent of Robert Moog. It used a diode filter like the EMS VCS3. The SH-3a does use a transistor ladder-filter and as a result can generate Moog-like sounds.  [edit]"  Also see this post.

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Vintage ROLAND SH-3 Analog Synth

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

Note this is the rarer SH-3, not the more common SH-3a. Some info from fanwander in an archive post: "The SH3 has a diode based ladder filter with five stages. The SH3a has Ladder Filter with four transistor stages (more moogish than the SH-3).

The rumours that the version change of the SH-3a were caused by a law suit with moog, are wrong. In fact the SH-2000 is the only Roland synth which used a quite complete clone of the moog cascade filter. According to several knwoledged people on Analogue Heaven maillist the SH-2000 was the instrument that caused infringment of Robert Moogs patent."

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Vintage Synth Scans

Click here for pdf scans of various synth brochures and articles. I tried to list all models below. Apologies for the long list but if you are searching for this stuff via your favorite search engine, this is the only way it'll come up, and finding that oddball rare scan can be absolute gold.


Roland
JX-8P and PG-800, JX-3P and PG-200, Jupiter-6, Juno-106, Synth Plus-60 (HS-60), SH-101 and MGS-1, EP-50, MPU-101, MPU-103, TR-707. TR-909, TR-606, TB-303, CR-8000, CR-5000, SBX-80, MSQ-100, MSQ-700, JSQ-60, BOSS Dr. Rhythm DR220A and DR-220E, Alpha-DRUM DDR-30/PD-10/PD-20, Alpha Juno-1 and Alpha Juno-2, DEP-5, DG CMU-810 Compu Synth, Juno-106, Juno-6, Super JX JX-10, MKS-100, MKS-50, MKS-7, MKS-70, SBX-80, SDE-3000/1000/2000, TR-505, Octapad PAD-8, TR-727, Jupiter-8, MC-8, System 700, CPE-800, VCA-800, System 100M, System 100, Jupiter-4, Promars, SH-2, SH-09, CSQ-600, CSQ-100, SH-1, SH-5, SH-2000, SH-7, SH-3A, SH-1000, VP-330, RS-09, RS-505, SA-09, SIP-300, SIP-301, SPA-240, SPA-120, SPV-355, SVC-350, SBF-325, SDD-320, SPH-323, SMX-880, SRE-555, RE-502, DC-30, DC-20, CR-78, CR-68, TR-66, MKB-1000, MKS-30, MKB-300, MKS-10, MKS-80, MPG-80, JX-3P, MC-4, MM-4, MC-202, MIDI-DCB, MTR-100, CV Interface, Piano Plus-400 HP-400, Piano Plus-300 HP-300, RE-150, RE-501, RT-1L, MPU-104, MPU-105, Cube-100 (CK-100), Cube-60 (CK-60), Cube-40 (CK-40), KS-2, KS05, KS-6, KS-11, KS-1000, TB Series Carrying cases, PSA AC Adapters, KS-1100, SC series soft cases, AB series resin-molded cases, MR-1, RH-10, DP-2/6, FS-1/2/3, M-16C/64C, BR-2/3, RD-1000, MKS-20, MKB-200

Yamaha (note the documentation adds the - in the descriptions. So you CS70M in the title, but CS-70M in the body). I thought that was interesting.
CP-30, CP-20, GS-1, CP-10, CP-11, CS-70M, CS-40M, CS-20M, MQ802, CP-80, SK-50D, SK-15, CS-15D, CE-20, CS-01, CS-15, CS-5, SK-30, SK-20, SK-15, SK-10, GS-2, CE-20, MA-10, MM-10, MH-10, KS-50, KS-100, E1005, E1010, MQ802, CP-80, CP-70B, CP-35, CP-25.

Korg
PS-3300, PS-3200, PS-3100, PS-3010, PS-3040, PS-3050, PS-3001, VC-10, MS-10, MS-20, MS-50, SQ-10, MS-03, MS-02, MS-01, 800DV, 700S, 900PS, M-500SP, PE-2000, PE-1000, KA-180, FK-3, FK-1, V-C-F, Mr. Multi, SE-500, SE-300, EM-570, SP-2035, SM-20, Mini Pops 120W 120P, Mini Pops 7, Mini Pops 45, Mini Pops 35, Mini Pops Junior, Korg Quartz, WT-10A, GT-6, RT-10,

Vintage Synth Story - magazine scans
Crumar DS2, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, RSF Kobol, Roland TB-303 and TR-606, TR-808, PPG Wave Computer, PPG Wave 2, Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar, EMS Polyvoks, Oberheim OB-X, Octave-Plateau Voyetra Eight, EMS Polysynthi, Moog Minimoog, LinnDrum, Korg PS-3100, Korg MS20, EMS Synthi AKS, ELKA Synthex, ARP Sequencer, ARP Quadra, Korg Polysix, Korg PS-3200, Moog System 3P, Korg Trident mkII, Moog Liberation, Memormoog, Mutron Bi-phase, Oberheim 2 Voix, Oberheim Xpander, PPG Wave 2.3, Roland CR-78, Roland VP-330, RSF PolyKobol, Moog 960 and 961, Sequential Circuits Prophet 10, Vox Super Continental, Yamaha CS-15, ARP, Chroma, Sequential Circuits Drumtraks, EMS Vocoder 5000, E-MU Drumulator, Korg Story, Yamaha CS70M, Korg, Synton Syrinx, Roland MC-4, Oberheim 6 voix, Simmons SDS V, Simmons SDS.3, PolyKobol RSF, Keyboards Synthe Story Part 1 and Part 2.

Two Roland SH-3's on the *bay

Update: Via this Sound and Sound article.

"Not everything was plain sailing, and it appears that Kakehashi infringed one of Bob Moog's filter patents when he designed the SH3. So a new version appeared in 1974. Externally, the SH3A was almost identical to the SH3, but it sported a new VCF and VCA, and it was this model that Vangelis and a handful of other famous keyboard players adopted in the mid-1970s."

Also, the SH3 was originally released ast the ACE Tone SH3, not the Roland SH3:

"Then there was Japan's first synthesizer, the SH1000 (see the box on the previous page) and its more powerful sibling, the SH3, which appeared as both the Roland SH3 and the Ace Tone SH3, and remains highly sought-after to this day."



Update: In via the comments. Thanks Shoontz!

"The Sh-3 is worth WAY, WAY more. Some have even gone for around $10,000.

The SH-3 was the original model, but it plagiarised Moog's 4-Pole filter design. After a lawsuit it's production was halted, so only a few were ever made, (some say around 100, others say less). It's supposed to sound much nicer than the 3A too. "

Link to auction. Title link takes you to Sonic State's page on the SH-3a. Two things stand out with the SH-3a. One, it was Roland's first programmable, non preset mono synth. It came out in 1974, the year after Roland's first synth, the SH-1000 (see this post for a Roland timeline). And two, it had a form of analog additive synthesis in which you used sliders to adjust stages of the different analog waveforms. Click through title link for more. Thanks goes to Ben Shannon Illustrator who sent this my way.

Two shots pulled form the auction.

Roland SH-32 Shapeshifta Soundset

video by Soundsauca

"Shapeshifta for the Roland SH-32 features 64 luscious synth ambiences and rich analog strings. Trippy leads and sound effects mutate into ear bleeding slabs of weaponised audio.

Open that cupboard and grab that box, blow the dust off and wipe the early naughties from your Roland SH-32’s brain. With Soundsauca’s SH-32 life extension plan you too can inject some new sysex into this unappreciated little fella. Often maligned and misunderstood, the SH-32 is an experimental hybrid of a synthesizer.

Sometimes it feels like a long lost cousin of the JV/XV and JP8k series, other times it spits out D-50 and JD-990 memories. However the SH-32 is it’s own thing and I had a blast getting to know it again. As you might guess, I love the character of the SH-32. It has bags of personality, an enticing blend of lo-fi goodness and tripped out sonic vocabulary.

I hope you enjoy the Shapeshifta, please like and/or subscribe if you do - it sounds cliche, but it really does!

https://www.soundsauca.com/sounds/sha...​

Patch List:

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Another SH-3 Shot & Early Synth Clones

The SH-3 with Moog filter, not the SH-3a. Roland Polyphonic - 505 and Yamaha CS01.

It's interesting, I never knew the original SH-3 had a Moog filter. Now I'm wondering what the SH-1000 had before it. I also wonder how many synths had cloned features from other manufacturers in the early days.

So far I am aware of the following:

- Ionic Performer - clone of the EMS Synthi
- ARP 2600 with Moog Ladder filter clone
- Octave CAT - said to be an Arp Oddyssey clone
- SH3 with Moog Ladder filter clone

I'm sure I've heard of others, but I don't remember. : ) If you know of any, feel free to share and I'll put them up.

Update via the comments:

Almost everything Multivox put out for several years was a complete Roland ripoff. I had the MX-202 string synth for a while, and it was a part-for-part copy...it sounded very good, too.

Image via http://www.ph.k12.in.us/~drew/ahmw/pics/2001/P1010217.gif

Stefano Mattia Sequences

Published on Dec 6, 2019 Stefano Mattia

Spotted #5 on discchord. Decided to make a playlist with the 6 to date. There's some SH-01a in here as well. If you are seeing this post off the homepage you might want to expand the post (click the "Click More" more link below) for the descriptions and patch notes before starting the player.

Playlist:

1. Sequence #1 // 0-Coast, Specular Tempus, Fugue Machine

I came up with this nice patch while jamming with my 0-Coast and decided to record a little sequence with it. I'm feeding midi data from Fugue Machine and Rozeta Arpeggio on my iPad, and recording the audio from the 0-Coast, through the Specular Tempus, directly in AUM. There is an additional delay send effect on the track.

Patch notes

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Roland Museum Germany Massive Synthesizer Selloff - Most Gear for Sale in a Single Auction

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

This one in via Marko of Retrosound.de.

26.000,00 Euro gets it all.

via this auction

Someone needs to contact the Guiness Book of World Records. Longest list of gear for sale ever:

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Roland SH-101 Overview Videos by Marc Doty aka AutomaticGainsay

Published on Mar 15, 2018 AutomaticGainsay

"Support the creation of this video and all of the Automatic Gainsay videos that have helped you by becoming an Automatic Gainsay supporter on Patreon!"

Playlist:

00-The Roland SH-101-Introduction/theme

Here is the answer to the question posed by the last video... what synthesizer was used to make the music in that video? Well, it was the Roland SH-101. Here is the theme of the upcoming Roland SH-101 series wherein you can see each part of the multitracked performances that comprise it.

01-The Roland SH-101-Part 1-Oscillators Part 1

Here is a demonstration of the sound and functionality of the oscillator on the Roland SH-101.

02-The Roland SH-101-Part 2-Oscillator Part 2

Here is part two of a two-part demonstration of the sound and functionality of the oscillator found on the Roland SH-101.

03-The Roland SH-101-Part 3-Filter

Here is a demonstration of the sound and functionality of the Roland SH-101 filter.

04-The Roland SH-101-Part 4-Modulation

Here is a demonstration of the sound and functionality of the modulation section of the Roland SH-101.

05-The Roland SH-101-Part 5-VCA and Envelope

Here is a demonstration of the sound and functionality of the VCA and envelope present on the Roland SH-101.

06-The Roland SH-101-Part 6-Automation (sequencer, etc.)

Here is a demonstration of the functionality of the digital sequencer, etc. present on the Roland SH-101.

ROLAND SH 1000 Videos by djtricks1

Published on Jan 6, 2014 djtricks1·24 videos

Playlist:

1. ROLAND SH 1000 WITH OVERDRIVE PEDAL
"*QUICK DEMO*

"RELEASE THE ACID"...REAL ANALOG NOISE 4 U.

ANOTHER VID,THIS TIME USING THE SH-1000 ,AND THE ROLAND SH 201 SENDING MIDI DATA TO CONTROL THE SH-1000 VIA 201 ARPEGGIO. EXTRA EFFECTS TO THE ROLAND SH-1000 (BOSS OVER DRIVE PEDAL , CHORUS PEDAL.,EQ, GATE REVERB AND COMPRESSION)

www.djtricks.co.uk"

2. ROLAND VINTAGE ANALOGUE SH-1000 - Published on Sep 28, 2013
"*PLEASE NOTE* JUST A QUICK DEMO,MIDI SET-UP, ROLAND SH-1000 (Kenton cv/gate/filter socket upgrade fitted) MAKING THE (1980's IMAGINATION )BASS LINE CLONE SOUND,OTHER HARDWARE INCLUDES.. THE ORIGINAL BASS STATION, USING AS A MASTER KEYBOARD,MIDI SEQUENCE THROUGH CUBASE,CLASSIC DRUM RY30,I-PAD 2 WITH SUNRIZER APP,TX81z AND AS YOU CAN SEE LOTS MORE CLASSIC GOODIES ."

3. ROLAND SH -1000 (ACID BREAK BEAT) - Published on Jul 2, 2012
"Demo by DJ Tricks: http://www.djtricks.co.uk an upgraded Roland SH-1000 also drum machine is the classic RY30
Some effects to the sh-1000 sound via a Alesis digital processor,sequence using an app on the I-Pad2"


4. ACID BASS LINE ( Roland SH-1000) - Uploaded on Feb 27, 2012
"'ACID BASS LINE' by DJ TRICKS http://www.djtricks.co.uk
a little demo to see if this can sound like the TB 303 & SH 101,well it can :0)
Drum Machine is the Yamaha Ry30
Upgraded SH-1000 to midi "Release the ACID" sounds of this vintage analogue synthesizer !"

5. Roland SH-1000 Synthesizer and midi set-up via IPad 2 - Uploaded on Feb 19, 2012
"Another demo with an upgraded Roland SH-1000 Synthesizer ,using iPad and the little Midi app to sequence the Yamaha Ry30 and the Sh1000"

Roland SH-3

Title link takes you to shots via this auction.

Details:
"Roland infringed on Moog's filter design and was forced to cease production of this model very early resulting in very few being made. They then released the much more common SH 3 A with a different filter design.Consequently the SH 3 has become a very collectable and rare synth."

Via Johan

Roland SH 3 Vintage Rare Diode Ladder Filter Model - SN 230296

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Condition -
Physical - Few body marks and scuffs (40+ year old synth, see pictures)
Functional - LFO #1 is not responding, however the LFO #2 is working fine
All other paramaters, sliders, switches, knobs, and buttons seem to be functioning fine.

Sold AS IS -
Buyer understands he is purchasing a product with the LFO#1 not working.

Synthesizer works fine other than what I started before about the LFO issue. SH3 has the 1st version Ladder filter that is a very rare SH 3 not the SH3A version. SH 3 version is more sought after compared to 3A"

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The Joy of the Roland SH-2 (Featuring Hainbach)

video by Alex Ball

"A quick look at the Roland SH-2 from 1979 , logically the 8th in the SH series ;)

Huge thanks to Hainbach for stopping by.

0:00​ Intro
0:18​ How The SH series got their names
2:07​ SH-2 Demo 1 Ware's Martyn?
2:46​ SH-2 Demo 2 Kettle's On
3:09​ SH-2 Demo 3 Hold My sample
3:39​ SH-2 Demo 4 Follow My Envelope
4:39​ Hainbach's Favourite Monosynth
5:50​ Hainbach Sound Demos
7:30​ Rounding Up
8:09​ SH-Twoet (Joint Demo)"

$18,000 Roland SH-3 w/ EMS Synthi Diode Filter

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Collector grade Roland SH-3. There were less than 300 SH-3 made, equipped with the Synthi diode filter.

It has been fully serviced by the broker I acquired it from earlier this year with great detail. Power supply, electrolytic caps, and keybed have all been serviced and it sounds brilliant.

As you can see it’s virtually in mint condition with the only imperfections being some very minor tape residue on the lid which would probably come off with a magic eraser or something similar. With a deeper detailing it would be a museum quality piece."

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Roland SH-3 + Sherman Filter Bank 2 (Phat!)

Via shagghie: "Here's one of two videos I did last night with a Roland SH-3 (not a 3a, but a real straight 'SH-3'), along with a Sherman FilterBank II sitting on top of it. I tried to do a tounge in cheek spoof on the Sherman demo videos....'this is coming in......this is coming out'."

Roland SH-2 | Black Box Skank

Published on May 23, 2019 Alex Ball

"The Roland SH-2 from 1979 is one vintage piece I’d never seen in the flesh and one that wasn’t physically in my 'Land of the Rising Sound' documentary, so it’s great to be able to cover it on the channel.

Huge thanks to Ian Livingstone for the loan.

It reminds me of the SH-7 and SH-1 in terms of sound and the “auto bend” is very much in keeping with the early SH models, but then it’s also quite clearly a step towards the later SH-101 in terms of its layout. Quite an interesting one!

The SH-2 has Sine, Sawtooth, Square and PWM available on oscillator 1 and Noise, Sawtooth, Square and PWM on oscillator 2. There’s also a sub-oscillator, which really beefs things up.

It has one LFO (Sine, Square and S&H) with delay that can modulate pulse width, oscillator-frequency, filter cut-off and also trigger the one envelope. The filter is low-pass and can self-oscillate. There’s also portamento and adjustable auto-bend as mentioned earlier.

The SH-2 had a little brother with a single oscillator, the SH-9 (which I’ve never played). I’m guessing it’s very similar in a kind of Korg MS-20 / MS-10 sibling way. If you’ve played both, let me know!

There’s a few specific things I did such as taking the CV/Gate out and hooking up the SH-101 that ran back through the “Ext Audio In” of the SH-2. That gave me 3 oscillators and 2 sub oscillators so that I could mix and detune footings and waveshapes.

I also ran midi to my TB-303 and fired on CV/Gate from that to the SH-2. The 303 also ran through the Ext Audio In so that the whole effect came through the same filter / envelope / VCA.

Instruments Used:
Roland SH-2 (1979)
Roland SH-101 (1982)
Roland TB-303 (1981)
Roland TR-606 (1981)
Sequential Drumtraks (1984)
DSi Prophet REV2 (2017)
Yamaha U3 Piano (stereo mic’d)
Ibanez JEM 7DBK / Fender Blues Junior II / Mic’d with an SM57
Some EMU Emulator and Fairlight stabs
Couple of Project Alpha Sounds
There’s also a Pro~One and Korg MS-20 doing some cameo FX that I added after and didn’t film."