Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

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southpaw
Posts: 10
Joined: 19:59, 4 May 2009

Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by southpaw »

I'm impressed with the sound and abilities of the SH-201 based on youtube demos, articles, etc.. but I have a question of you current users which would pretty much seal my decision: Can the SH-201 create a clean, convincing 808 bass sound? That long round tonal "kick" thump that's in a lot of r&b & hip hop these days.

Thanks!
Yuri
Posts: 5
Joined: 16:05, 30 April 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by Yuri »

Yes, just use sine oscillators and adjust the pitch envelope. It's a pretty basic sounds. Why not use samples?
Igglethorpe
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Location: Arizona, USA

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by Igglethorpe »

Not as much fun as rolling your own?
southpaw
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Joined: 19:59, 4 May 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by southpaw »

Well, that, and I just want the real deal.. A sample will never be as good! Well, as I'm new to the world of "rolling your own", so to speak, how exactly would I go about doing so? I definitely need a primer in sound crafting.. Does the manual really help in this regard?
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Artemiy
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Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by Artemiy »

Like Yuri suggested, all you need is a low-pitched sine wave, and then you apply a pitch envelope onto it. All these actions are made with 201's knobs and sliders, there is nothing hard here.
southpaw
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Joined: 19:59, 4 May 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by southpaw »

Awesome. Done deal! Thanks guys.
ryanmoffett1
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Joined: 02:17, 29 March 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by ryanmoffett1 »

If you are pretty new to synthesis, this synth and the manual are pretty close to as good as it gets to helping you learn the ins and outs of how to create sounds. Nearly everything you'll learn on this synth translates directly to nearly every other analog or virtual analog synth out there. That's not to say the SH-201 isn't deep in what it can do. You can get quite complex about the sounds you make. An 808-bass would be a good initial experiment and the SH-201 can certainly nail that sound with only a little bit of tweaking.
southpaw
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Joined: 19:59, 4 May 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by southpaw »

So, I got it.. and it's a lot of fun, but I couldn't really nail that 808 sound down- that initial round bassy attack followed by the decay.. can anyone take me kinda step by step thru it?
southpaw
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Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by southpaw »

No one?
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Artemiy
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Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by Artemiy »

Initialize the patch (CANCEL + WRITE, I think), then set one of the oscillators to a sine wave, and apply a pitch envelope with minimum attack, short decay and minimum sustain.
southpaw
Posts: 10
Joined: 19:59, 4 May 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by southpaw »

Well that was simple enough..! Knowing the general sound of your basic sine wave, will I get that "boom" so characteristic of that 808?

btw, I downloaded the SH-201 tutorial from the Roland site.. and I must say that while it is spot on for giving you the basics on creating a lead/bass, what is that drum sound they have you supposedly create? It's like if you crossed something resembling an open hat sound with a breath or blowing wind.. I'm pretty sure I did it right...
dumeril7
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Joined: 19:03, 2 April 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by dumeril7 »

I spent a half hour last night working on an 808 kick from memory (didn't have time to find a sample). I think I got close and I think I could come close to nailing it if I had an 808 sample to compare to while I worked.

Anyway, the trick to emulating the 808 kick is to pretty much ignore the oscillator and get the basic tone by causing the filter to self-oscillate by cranking up the resonance, believe it or not. Here's the recipe:

- On the filter: Crank the resonance all the way up. Set the cutoff almost all the way down; maybe the 2nd to 4th mark on the dial

- Filter envelope: The filter envelope will work as a pitch envelope in this case because the filter is oscillating. You want to shape the pitch change like a real drum: Instantaneous attack -- i.e. the slider all the way down. Release about 40% - 50%. Sustain set low. Release set to around 40%.

The critical thing is you'll have to tweak the Filter envelope depth and the filter cutoff frequency in order to dial in the right pitch. On my patch I think I set the envelope depth to a few increments above the halfway detent, and the cutoff stayed down low.

Set the amp envelope to similar settings to the filter envelope, only with a higher sustain level if you want that long-sustaining boom sound.

You can add some keyboard tracking to the filter if you want different pitched drums for each key.

Oddly, I found that adding some overdrive helped make it more punchy without adding a lot of fuzziness since the pitch was so low. Activating the low boost helped too. I set the oscillator waveform to sine, but the differences between the various waves are more subtle with this patch.

The patch I put together could have been more powerful, so I'm thinking about giving it another go and creating a similar or even identical patch in the other tone slot and layering them. Next time I try, hopefully I'll have time to find an 808 sample to compare to so I can dial it in better. I'll upload it if that happens...

D7
southpaw
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Joined: 19:59, 4 May 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by southpaw »

Nice! I'm going to give that a shot.. If you want a wav sample, I can email one to you..
joenemeth1
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Joined: 01:22, 24 October 2009

Re: Considering picking up the SH-201 TODAY.. question-

Post by joenemeth1 »

i made a really nice one doing pretty much what was described above
how did yours turn out?
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