Roland’s approach to revisiting its back catalogue has become rather scattershot. Between the Aira, Boutique, Zen-Core and Cloud brands, there seems to be no corner of the Japanese brand’s history left unexplored. We’re at a stage where many classics now have a multitude of modern equivalents across different ranges: you can, for example, currently buy upwards of eight different drum machines or grooveboxes that purport to offer an official recreation of the TR-808.

Into this fray enters the SH-4d, a new digital synth module and groovebox that comes equipped with various emulations of vintage Roland gear. In a typically disjointed fashion, it doesn’t fit neatly into any of the product lines mentioned above. We’re told its engine is based on the Zen-Core format but isn’t compatible with Zen-Core expansions. Conversely, it’s not Aira-branded but will sync with other gear in the range via the Aira Link system. It’s also, however, one of Roland’s best hardware instruments in recent years.

The SH-4d is a five-part groovebox, with four polyphonic synth channels and one multi-track drum machine. Its sound engine makes use of a mixture of virtual analogue, digital synthesis and sampling in order to offer a spectrum of sounds that range from vintage gear emulations to modern tones and an array of percussive kits.

The hardware is compact but not as small and fiddly as the Boutique range. It has a sturdy-feeling metal body with robust-seeming knobs and faders that handle sound design duties. Below these sit a 16-step sequencer and two-octave ‘keyboard’ both of which are made up of shallow, clicky buttons that lack the satisfying heft of a proper TR-series sequencer, but are responsive and spacious enough in use.

The whole unit has a wonderfully retro style, loosely based on vintage SH synths (most notably the late-’70s SH-02). Combined with its sleek, angled profile and restrained black-and-white design, it makes the SH-4d one of the most stylish synths in the current lineup.

On the back panel, there’s a stereo pair of jacks for the main output, a headphone output, and two mini jacks for audio input and an analogue clock input. These are joined by MIDI in and out ports, plus a USB-C port for both power and connection to a computer. Surprisingly, given its size and how much there is going on, the SH-4d can also run on four AA batteries, with a lifespan of around four hours.

Original article:
https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/roland-sh-4d

More info:
https://www.roland.com/global/products/sh-4d/

 

Loopop Review:

 

Not gonna lie, this thing is giving me a stiffy. I owned an SH-32 for years and it was a lovely desktop synth. A lot people disliked it because of the layout but I loved mine. This is similar but way more robust in the feature department. I know I dont need more gear, especially Roland sounds but man this thing looks so much fun.

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2023

This seems very interesting: A lot of great features in such a small package.

No doubt Roland is going to sell a truck load of this thing at such a low price point.

 

Alex Ball really showing how capable and beautiful this thing sounds: