Roland Gaia SH-01 Synthesizer

Great product

Great little synth. Lots of features at a great price.

My original instrument is bass guitar. I've always wanted to get into key bass but wasn't sure which board to go with. This was the most suggested board from bass players. I was nervous because I know with authentic synthesizers you have to create your sounds and I'm totally new to this area of LFO, FILTER, OSC, etc! I was also nervous because there is no display...I never realized the comfort I found in a display until I found myself heavily considering the Roland Gaia. But I found sooooooo many tutorials on YouTube that made me feel like I knew the Gaia inside and out before I even received the shipment! It is so easy and fun seeing how endless your creativity can be! The first time I used it for key bass along with my actual bass guitar, I didn't even pick up my bass guitar! It's AMAZING! The Roland Gaia has opened me up to the world of authentic synthesis and I'm growing an interest in creating more than just bass sounds!!! Even if you're a beginner...THIS IS FOR YOU!!!

I bought the Gaia a couple months back for the fact it is a portable, powerful synth, with all the charm of old school Moog's, and the power of modern digital VSTi's. First, I have a Minimoog voyager, and the Gaia is quite comparable to it. Both have 3 oscillator's, the Moog has 2 filters and LFO'S. The Gaia has 3 of each. The are similar in size (The Gaia is however somewhat smaller than the Moog.) The Gaia is also lighter. The control layout is also similar. However The Gaia uses mostly Linear Pots, which reminds me a lot of older ARP synths(The Odyssey, Axxe, Quadra)Nor does the Gaia use a flip up panel like the Moog, so I would classify it somewhere between a Voyager, An ARP Odyssey, and maybe a VSTi like NI Massive. This thing has incredible power, and the effects are insane(The Bitcrusher is great for dubstep type wobbles)But no matter how modern it really is, you can still riff and solo on it like Keith Emerson. Its my favorite synth, every synthesist out there should have one.

I�ۡ���ve owned the Roland Gaia for about two months now. I learned to program synth on a Korg MS2000 first and later on the microkorg using the midi based sound editor, which I find quite strait forward. I�ۡ���m throwing this in there because most of this review is going to be a direct comparison of the Gaia to the MS2000/microkorg. The first thing I did when I got the Gaia was to try and recreate all my favorite patches from the microkorg/MS2000 on the Gaia. So, here the Gaia has one really big problem: when you use the sync mode it puts the filter into bypass mode!! This really bugged me, I have this cheesy patch on my microkorg that I just can�ۡ���t duplicate without the oscillator sync. So practically speaking the Gaia doesn�ۡ���t �ۡ��̏really�ۡ�ݕ�_ have the sync feature because you can�ۡ���t shape the sound you get from the oscillator. It�ۡ���s kind of like advertizing a new car that has a great stereo, only when you take it off the lot you realize that the stereo only works when the car is in neutral; not very useful! The ring modulator doesn�ۡ���t have this problem and works as expected. The next difference (advantage or disadvantage depending on taste) are the options you have with routing the envelopes and LFOs. I happen to respect how the Gaia was designed with simplicity in mind, however there are a quite a few patches on the MS2000 that you won�ۡ���t be able to get on the Gaia because you can�ۡ���t route the envelops (e.g. the �ۡ��̏GoldenSynth�ۡ�ݕ�_ patch on the MS2000). I do like a few things about the Gaia and it would be unfair not to mention them. First off, I love the 80s look of the Gaia, which goes along with the great layout (easy to use sliders and knobs, OSC->Filter->FX). I like the feel of the Gaia, both the microkorg and the MS2000 have these really spongy keys that just don�ۡ���t satisfy, the Gaia has some snap which I appreciate. Like the microkorg, the battery use feature is great; a real life saver if you�ۡ���re touring. Also, I haven�ۡ���t really experimented yet with the capabilities of having three oscillators with three independent filters and envelopes. The microkorg has two oscillators that route into the same filter and envelope. So, it�ۡ���s fair to assume that there are some patches on the Gaia that are going to be impossible to make on the microkorg. Overall, I would be satisfied with the Gaia if it didn�ۡ���t have the problem with the oscillator sync; that kills it for me. If you own �ۡ��̏Welsh�ۡ���s synthesizer cookbook�ۡ�ݕ�_, check out how many of the patches use the oscillator sync�ۡ��_.lots. I feel cheated in general by my purchase of the Gaia; its borderline false advertizing in regards to the sync function. If you�ۡ���re deciding between the Gaia and a Korg, get the Korg, it is much more versatile and a better value. Finally, I don�ۡ���t buy the sales guys rebuttal that at this price point you can�ۡ���t expect the chips to handle too many features. A few months back I bought a laptop computer for less than I paid for the Gaia! At this price point they could use Intel chips and my Gaia could run Windows 7!

Love the look, NASA meets TRON. Very cool patches that you can alter to your tastes. Controls are smooth and responsive. This synth looks amazing and sounds the same. Very happy with this synth all around. It's very light but has a solid build. Get it at Guitar Center! They ship fast and are very nice people! Thanks Roland.