Roland AIRA Compact S-1: The SH-101 Rides Again?

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As Roland has continued to explore the AIRA Compact series of portability-minded instruments, they’ve been able to use their groundbreaking Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) technology to breathe new life into their iconic synths without the risk of feeling like a lazy retreading of old territory. Deep within the S-1 Tweak Synth beats the heart of the legendary SH-101, reborn and reimagined for the modern musician. Heritage instruments like the JUNO line and JX-3P are a few synth-siblings whose presence is felt in the numerous polyphonic tone-crafting tools that make the S-1 a formidable force of sonic power. Join Daniel Fisher, Sweetwater's patron of portability, to hear it for yourself!
After you watch, check out Sweetwater.com today for all your music instrument and pro audio needs! 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/shop
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - Roland AIRA S-1 Specs
2:41 - Roland A-49 MIDI Controller
3:48 - S-1 Synth Parameters
3:57 - S-1 Oscillator Waveshapes
4:47 - DRAW Your Own Waveshape
6:06 - MULTIPLY the Waveshape
6:54 - CHOP Each of the Waveshapes
10:38 - S-1 4-Pole Lowpass Filter
11:40 - S-1 LFO
12:08 - S-1 Unison Mode
13:39 - S-1 Built-in Keyboard
14:47 - AIRA S-1 Patterns
16:43 - AIRA S-1 Wrap-up
17:43 - Thanks for Watching!
#Sweetwater #Roland #AIRACompact #S1 #DanielFisherSweetwater #Demo #DanielFisher

[@sweetwater]

Which iconic Roland synth would you like to see reinterpreted for the modern musician by way of their AIRA Compact series? Sound off in the comments, and be sure to stop by Sweetwater to grab an S-1 for yourself! 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/RolandAIRACompactS-1

[@LilZombieFooFoo]

The thumbnail really gave me Walter from Big Lebowski vibes 😂😂

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

Dude's still rockin' the flattop!

[@flyingfrogofdeath9616]

He just pulls out the S1 instead of his Beretta 🤣🤣

[@RobbekenSynthMusic]

MARK IT ZERO

[@gooneybird808]

You’re out of your element Donny

[@Rompler_Rocco]

Crazy, I was JUST saying that about something else! I had never seen the very weird final season 9 of "Roseanne". John Goodman isn't around for most of it. The reason becomes clear when Dan Conner shows back up rocking the *full Walter look* 🤯

[@darrell5228]

Man you have the most incredible tech. You blow my mind because the sounds you make with your equipment , you are very very good at what you do.

[@DetroitMicroSound]

In some ways, it really reminds me of a cross between my long lost JX-3P, and an SH-101. I gotta have it.

[@axs203]

I love the fact your back light is the same colour as the synth !

[@deadlights6743]

I listen to 3 guys in the world on synths, Loopop. Nick Batt and Daniel Fisher. A fantastic demo as always

[@WVandellHarris]

Oh my! As soon as I saw this this morning on another channel I ordered it. I’ve been wondering should I have ….. THIS PARTICULAR REVIEW from a SYNTH perspective just proved THAT I DID THE RIGHT THING ! thank you again !

[@WVandellHarris]

I’m loving this synth! Please PLEASE give us a deep dive episode on this wonderful wonder in the future! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@jjrusy7438]

Kudos to Roland for actually having stock available at the time of introduction. Waiting for indeterminate lengths of time for availability after the intro is mental abuse haha. Edit: After watching the Roland vid, I think I need that little korg oscilloscope. When will that be in stock?

[@Dobroz99]

Love your reviews, thank you Daniel!

[@EarlyMist]

Wow, sounds so good. Very authentic 101 to my ears.

[@glenesis]

Thanks Dan, great demo.

[@4matcollectiva847]

These aira serries are really beasts 🎉 I have so mich with all those S1 ,G6, T8 highly recommended! Worth every penny!

[@acefstripe]

Very cool little box

[@JAAPIOJO]

What if you connect this in a SH-101? You can do even more interesting sounds in that combo and also with a drumcomputer

[@MrTPF1]

Great demo! I'm not a synth player or user, but just a mediocre guitar player at best. This video blew my mind though! I grew up in the 60's and 70's, and back then, synthesizers were HUGE and VERY expensive. That Roland could pack this much sound generation in this small of a package, and at this low price, is just incredible to me.

[@Icedout4real]

looks insane!

[@scoobydog411]

Great video again. I’m guessing that i plug in any keyboard to play notes with?

[@afreezaphorogiancossack2194]

LOL Dude I want to thank you, a bit late but yes I finally figured out it came with MIDI set at Channel 3. And that that setting the channel for MIDI has very little mention in the manual. But I finally got there and it was worth it. So you are my man bud. And anyways, I have the S-1 plugged into the laptop which is running REAPER, with a drum machine going and the S-1 also sending MIDI to a VST plugin on the DAW, and everything synced really easily, it comes with 16 presets you can start with, instant fun!

[@seedmole]

Lol they managed to outdo the D-Beam with that motion/tilt control

[@systemfehler]

is it possible sending midi signals beside note on/off?

[@danisolediego2719]

Hey! Just a quite noob guy here with synths. I've just get it and I freaking love it. However, there's still some technical synth basics I don't understand. Any video talking about the S1 or synths in general for doomies?

[@surrogatemarker]

Sounds nice for a little synth. It could be great for a small desktop multiple synth ensemble controlled over a multi channel and track MIDI controller like the Arturia keystep pro

[@mikemartin1894]

I just got mine today..sounds great with a few korg volcas and the keystep pro!! Also amazing with circuit tracks

[@unclemick-synths]

I see that face, I watch the video 👍 Strange having the motion control in this synth but it's a must-have feature in my Roland AE-30 wind synth so why should I have all the fun?

[@RuiGon1]

A great sound in a litle box.

[@akdm82]

I want them to make a Jupiter 8 version, a JD800, and JX8P. I already have all three of the older Aira compacts and will be ordering this S-1 soon

[@tompotter1275]

Behringer are allegedly 🤔

[@jsaleh415]

Good Idea

[@akdm82]

Correction. I have ordered it now. Finally convinced the wife unit yesterday and it will be here Wednesday. 😬

[@akdm82]

Of course, I ordered it from Mike Singer at Sweetwater, the best rep ever! He’s parted me from thousands of 💵, but I don’t mind at all. LOL

[@jjrusy7438]

Grandmother: I have a real spring reverb that you can thump. S1: Hold my saki Edit: My wallet is sobbing again. Nobody makes my wallet cry like this guy. "sorry wallet, you lose..again"

[@floyd101954]

You mention about 1:57 into this video that you can drag and drop songs into the S1, can you be more specific as to how to do this. I just purchased the S1 from Sweetwater about 3 weeks ago and am very new to it. Thanks

[@sweetwater]

Hi @floyd101954. Check out page 63, "Backing Up and Restoring Data". It lists all the steps and button pushes. -_Daniel_

[@floyd101954]

@@sweetwater Daniel, thank you. That answered my question

[@xorthontech]

So you have to set the Roland synth setting itself to midi channel 3 when hooking up a midi keyboard? I don't have any Roland midi keyboards but have Arturia, Akai, and most of the others. Hopefully it's not too much menu diving to get the midi keyboard to function properly!

[@surrogatemarker]

The roland is set to Midi Channel 3.. you set your Arturia key step or other midi keyboard to send notes over MIDI channel 3 .. check the Arturia manual for your keyboard as to how, if you don’t know. It’s very easy

[@xorthontech]

@Mark Williams Ok gotcha thank!. As far as hooking midi keyboards up, I'm used to simply plugging it in and maybe sometimes having to set the synth settings to an external keyboard. In the video I heard him say that about midi channel 3, but I wasn't sure if he meant setting the Roland synth or the keyboard itself. He means the keyboard then. Thank you!

[@schmapps1]

@@surrogatemarker The other Roland compacts can be set to any midi channel. I wonder why the heck this one is locked to channel 3??

[@Reis_mit]

​@@schmapps1 the midi channel can be changed from what i see in the manual. I think it's just channel 3 by default (instead of channel 1 like most Synths) so You don't need to change the default values when using multiple different Synths of the Series.

[@midisynthminds]

Very impressive. Roland does it again.

[@MinaBoktor2]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jjrusy7438]

How many recharges do the batteries take before they need replacing? Is that user serviceable or is this a paperweight after 2 years?

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

This was my main concern when I bought the E-4 Voice Tweaker. Luckily, you just unscrew 6 screws at the back, and the battery is held in a black plastic casing held to the back with an additional 2 screws. It takes a standard, inexpensive AS-553640 3.7V 850mAh Lithium-polymer battery.

[@valuemastery]

The battery can easily be taken out (screwdriver needed to open the housing). Probably they won't sell replacement batteries, but it should be easy to glue any small Li-Polymer battery in.

[@GtarAdam13]

@@Rr0gu3_5utureIs it connected with a standard JST connector? Or is it a different connector that’s less common?

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

​@@GtarAdam13 Yeah, it was just a standard JST connector.

[@rakazamra148]

Hi there!! Its the same sound engine as the sh01a boutiqe ? Thank u

[@valuemastery]

Yes, except it's a digital emulation of it. But all parameters from the SH-101 are there as well (plus some more).

[@rakazamra148]

@@valuemastery hi thomas ,thank u for your comment. My meaning is between the sh1a boutiqe,not the awsome original sh 101

[@crasheffort]

​@rakazamra148 it has the same modeling engine the boutique used, but adds more features that it did not have.

[@albertocastillo7686]

Can the patterns be saved?

[@sweetwater]

Hi Albert. Yes, the patterns can be saved per preset. Thanks for watching! -_Daniel_

[@Pbenter]

Guy really just stole my $200

[@riseofthemachine2623]

Daniel - Not sure what you are referring to with MIDI channel 3 on the S-1. are you referring to the controller? My S-1 plays on any of the 16 channels.

[@sweetwater]

Hi riseofthemachine. It's possible that they've changed it but, at least when they were first released, the S-1 was set to receive MIDI Channel 3. This was so that it could immediately connect with the other AIRA Compact Series modules (that came with other MIDI Channels as their default). You can always set any of these modules to whatever MIDI Channel you like. -_Daniel_

[@riseofthemachine2623]

@@sweetwater Got it - Thanks! The S-1 is truly a little magic machine.

[@TheCruisinCrew]

I really wished they would add an equivalent VST versions in their Roland cloud, just like Arturia did with the MiniFreak... it just makes tracking in the studio so much easier while still offering fiddling with all the hardware knobs and create cool sounds and sequences when away from the computer!

[@joebrewer4529]

The Mx-2 should be battery powered for this line.

[@billspectre9502]

Wonder how much you can shake that around before the audio out develops problems.

[@The_Invisible_Man]

Not so hot on this s1 but God bless Sweetwater’s Daniel Fisher

[@adamntbk]

You can’t change the midi channel? That would be dumb

[@sweetwater]

Hi adamntbk. You can change the MIDI Channel. It just comes out of the box set to MIDI Channel 3 so that you can you connect it with the other AIRA Compact instruments right away. -_Daniel_

[@SuperRingoffire1]

WTAF

[@beatsbyjiro8291]

make it $150 like the volcas and i'm in

[@patriciaoudart1508]

Exact👌this is a toy spirit not for me an instrument for music but automation. So I will no more comment. I've an original SH2000 and I will keep it. Wound totally different indeed those toys sounds.all numeric clones.⚡💥

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

I own a bunch of vintage Roland gear, but I bought the stuff when it cost pennies from the local Junk Shop (my first SH-101 cost £89). If you're a performing musician/on a tight budget, or just looking for a fun, reasonably flexible cheap synth, these types of devices make a lot of sense.

[@christheghostwriter]

Based ON, not "based off"

[@kevinclose5840]

Just noise to me

[@glass.tapper]

White or pink?

[@rickr.mortis4821]

Dynomite comes in small rectangular packages. 😀😀

[@superblondeDotOrg]

How to change the internal battery, because it will go bad, eventually..

[@8superben]

I believe it’s fairly simple, Roland will probably do it for free if you ship it to them 👍

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

You unscrew 6 screws at the back, and the battery is held in a black plastic casing held to the back with an additional 2 screws. It takes a standard, inexpensive AS-553640 3.7V 850mAh Lithium-polymer battery.

[@ChrisP3000x]

@@8superben BS. Stop making up lies.

[@8superben]

@@ChrisP3000x Roland will PROBABLY replace it. It’s easy to DIY tho.

[@ChrisP3000x]

@@8superben You are simply making up nonsense, bro. There is no precedent for Roland replacing batteries and/or replacing them for FREE. Stop lying.

[@lescobrandon8045]

Roland is like Hollywood, they keep "reimagining" old synths, and jacking the price up to where it's just undesirable, and unlikeable. I thank God every single day for the MIDI keyboard and VSTI. Moog Model D is the only synth I own and it's the only one I'll buy in the future reimagined.

[@gctechs]

LOL the most nonsensical comment award.

[@connor_flanigan]

@@gctechs he has lucky best synth. Many Moog disrespectful to koRgolandaha - sends to last of wind and ghosts. can you do any less?

[@lescobrandon8045]

@@gctechs Roland is plastic Chinese junk, and so is Yamaha.

[@lescobrandon8045]

@@gctechs Yeah I bet you have a bunch of their boutique synths.😂

[@gctechs]

@@lescobrandon8045 HAhah, "have" is the right word. I bet you paid for software licenses.