So..I'm keen to get more hands on with my music and move out of the box and into hardware.

I've been looking at the Bass Station II or the Roland SH101, tbh right now the original SH-101 is out of my price range but i have seen the SH-01A but it seems very small so I'm more swayed towards the Bass Station II as a first hardware synth.

I'm keen to hear people's thoughts or recommendations, ideally what I get will need to also act as a midi controller which I am aware most if not all do. Size is also a constraint, it'll need not be any bigger than 1000mm x 36 mm which is the size of my keyboard pullout tray and also 100mm high. The tray can hold up to 40kg

 

ROLAND every time. Period.

SH-01A or JU-06A.

Roland SE02 would be favourite, but it's mono but sounds amazing.

Consider a Roland TR6S too, very powerful, cheap as chips.

 

Ultra-flat MIDI keyboard with a powerful synth engine: ESI XSynth

• dimensions: 387mm x 148mm x 27mm, weight: 634g

www.esi-audio.com/products/xsynth/

 

I have both Novation and Roland synths and if I had to choose again, I think it would either be a Novation *Nova for the synth engine or a Behringer DeepMind for hands-on control. Both work well for monophonic and polyphonic sounds. The DeepMind would fit in your tray perfectly if you remove its feet.

 

Novation MiniNova - 399 €
Maße (B x H x T): 560 x 75 x 250 mm
www.thomann.de/de/novation_mininova.htm

Novation Bass Station II B-Stock = 345 €
www.thomann.de/de/novation_bass_station_ii_b_stock.htm

Behringer MS-1 MKII Grey = 249 €
Behringer DeepMind 12D = 490 €

Waldorf Blofeld, Desktop-Synthesizer = 549 € --> www.thomann.de/de/waldorf_blofeld.htm
Waldorf Protein, Desktop-Synthesizer = 329 € --> www.thomann.de/de/waldorf_protein.htm

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2026 at 11:07 AM

I really like the Donner L1, it really nails it but you cant go wrong with any of the other clones, I've tried them all. You might want to consider waiting for the Behringer Juno clone.

 

I would pick the Roland sh01-a over the novation as well. it sounds super rough and edgy. the Roland though, doesn't work as a midi controller. it doesn't have a keyboard. you can play it through your daw only or need to connect another midi keyboard to it.

if you need a keyboard and want a 101 like sound, go for the behringer mk2 replica of the 101 or get the novation. it sounds different, but still nice.

 

TR6S can act as MIDI controller.

Just been messing with Galaxias from sister site, amazing to have all that in a stand alone it's inspiring, and i dont need no inspiration, couple that with the VSL stuff and like me, you'll have a massive sound, check my lastes EP as confirmation of that. R2R and the guys who supplied all that deserve a knighthood, hmm, arise, i dub thee Sir R2R.

Then you have 'hands on' with TR, but also, SH01A, 303, 606,909, 106 you name it, in the plugin. To have the great Boss pedals too is almost unbelievable

Hands on, generally, is the way forward for writer producers.

Novation, others too, market their stuff as sounding like Roland etc.

 

Yeah, this would be my pick per my taste. I know it doesn't have a keyboard (well, it's dock does, but that kinda blows), and I would just get a cheap Arturia Minilab 3 or something which seem to be found on sale frequently for under $100usd (I think I got one for around 70usd for traveling)... which also doubles as daw/arturia/nks control and has mod wheel, er "pad", and pitchbend etc, and has arguably the best keybed in that price/model range.

 

Synth related:
Bassstation II - easy to understand, very handson, good sound.

Roland SH-01A - typical SH sound, but tiny sliders. Not very good for accurate sounddesign. More for tweaking the presets. Otherwise it’s for happy accidents.

Donner L1 - SH-101 Layout, SH-101 Sound. Optional Keyboard. Very „cheap“. But it also works soundwise.

But: for an 1st synth I would suggest the Bass-Station. The entry level is low and you get fast invidual sounds.

 

The Bass Station II is cool. I owned the original rack unit 25 years ago, and bought the new one like 6 years ago. I sold my Bass Station Rack to a guy ages ago, and he GAVE me an SH-101 which I still have and will never part with heh. The Bass Station can do 'more' but it's not an SH-101, if you love the 101's sound.

The SH-4D is a pretty awesome little 'Roland library in a box'. More expensive, but you get 4 instruments+drums at once, and it just oozes out the Roland sound. It's not ACB software, but the Zen stuff is pretty damn close. This things got a model of the Juno oscillator, the 101, a chord oscillator for instant techno chords, etc. The SH-4 and SH-3 oscillators have the Alpha Juno's 'PWM Saw'. First thing I made out of the box was a legit hoover hah.

Not the greatest MIDI Controller though. It's got a 'keyboard' on it that works great in a pinch, but I wouldn't use it solely as a controller heh.

 

Novation for me.
I found Roland price / sound ratio not good enough.

Behringer or Arturia come to my mind as far as "starter synth" goes.