The Roland S-1 synthesizer complete Deep Dive guide tutorial

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timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
0:22 - Patterns & Presets
06:22 - Oscillators
11:12 - Filter
14:22 - Envelopes 101
18:29 - AMP
19:49 - Mono/Unison/Poly/Chord
25:06 - Env trigger
27:33 - LFO
32:59 - EFX
41:31 - OSC Draw
46:31 - OSC Chop
49:58 - Riser
54:36 - Sequencer
01:12:54 - Key Transpose
01:14:21 - Step Loop
01:15:55 - Seq Functions
01:20:42 - Motion sequence
01:25:09 - Arpeggiator
01:28:24 - Save/Copy/Paste
01:31:17 - Conclusion

[@michael7018]

I have a multitude of analog and digital synths some expensive and what not, I have to say, this S1 is the most fun and packed with everything one needs to create complex sounds and music along side its capabilities and build in effects and multitude of sound design capability makes this a complete winner. This is my number 1 synth of 2023. I recommend this highly to anyone, thanks for the great walkthrough.

[@msauc3637]

Just what I needed to hear

[@Ninzumecha]

Just got the S1 and this guide is a godsend! No way I was learning all these functions through a pdf on my phone. Thank you!!!

[@claudiaandalex4354]

Right?!

[@ultramet]

Thank you. Bought this like 3 months ago but there hasn’t been a proper tutorial..until now. Thanks a million.

[@floyd101954]

You always create the best, most complete videos/tuturials on Synths. As experienced as I am (have owned and worked with almost every Synthesizer since 1972) I still learn something from your videos.! Thanks for all of your efforts.

[@NathanChisholm041]

What about Loopop?

[@floyd101954]

Loopop also does excellent reviews and demos. @@NathanChisholm041

[@scottlerocin]

For the price, size and features this synth is amazing, also rated it the best synth of 2023. Great deep dive video btw, thank you!

[@XNBeatsMusic]

Totally, for the money, it is a very very good synth. Portable, Battery, good sounds. Roland knocked it out of the park with this one.

[@alwinvanderlinde5913]

At last a video with a comprehensible and detailed feature guide. Thanks!

[@andybeta1971]

This video really helped me find my feet with the S-1. Thanks so much! I'll be bookmarking this and returning often.

[@XNBeatsMusic]

Thank you !!! Glad you liked it, and thanks for the comment.

[@raff1981]

Thank you for this great tutorial! 👍

[@bobbybird3677]

Thanks so much for this. I have watched this a lot

[@ps7365]

This was nicely done. Thank you for doing it.

[@ryanwallace7243]

Very In depth and well explained! Nice one

[@Reis_mit]

Your tutorials are the best - Thank You so much

[@mikemartin1894]

Thank you..been looking everywhere for a proper tutorial!!

[@gameaudioshaman]

Well made tutorial. Enjoy it very much.

[@dochness]

This video taught me everything I know about the s1, thank you!

[@antarturgay]

That's brilliant tutorial video. Thanks for the time and effort for making it.

[@rainermarkiefka4839]

No 1 Tutorial. THANK YOU !

[@CrittendenIV]

You are an excellent teacher! Thanks Duder!

[@paulzavadski1565]

Very good tutorial. Just got my S1 yesterday ;)

[@VersatileRecords]

Best video i've seen on that synth,very very clear.Thank you

[@Rizzle280]

Thank you for this video! ive had the s-1 for a month and absolutely love it, but ive struggled to really dive into it. cant wait to get home and put some of this knowledge to use!

[@raskinlex]

like always excellent job

[@yovavshefler1268]

That’s a very good tutorial thx very much it helped me a lot

[@merlinworzel5445]

This and your other deep dive videos are super helpful. Sent you a few coffees! Keep up the good work!

[@fredduchene1949]

Awesome tutorial. I just bought a S1 and this video has been a huge time saver. Thank you.

[@slowneutron6163]

I bought one of these units a couple of months ago. Absolutely love it. Thank you for this comprehensive dive. Definitely hipped me to some features that I passed over.

[@yodycastro]

One cannot thank enough these videos. They are simply a huge gift!!🙏

[@Kilian308]

brilliant video that makes learning the S1 so much fun!

[@bizc5678]

I just bought this thing and right after that a had to check if you did a video to it. And of corse you did. Thank you very much again & keep up the good work!

[@RomeAround]

Just got the S1. Very informative video

[@scorpionleader1967]

I haven't seen ADSR explained like this. Your videos are long, but they are worth it to stay until the end.🥰

[@skydevaaben]

Excellent tutorial, thank you, 😁😁😁

[@nathantharper]

Thanks for these great, comprehensive walkthroughs. We all swap gear out and forget workflows. These videos are a godsend. I appreciate all your hard work!

[@revisethedream8406]

Great video! Thank you!

[@vaaksvakuums]

Superb tutorial! I already own S-1 already am familiar with it, but now i know even more and deeper :D as always your review is 200%

[@noodlingaround2023]

Super helpful. Many thanks.

[@johngalvin6352]

Just like to say thanks for the best tutorial for the S1 tweak on You tube, your knowledge is vast, thanks for sharing.

[@Legpestibb]

Big up maaan You have the best beginner complete guide on the S-1 I love your channel I couldn't miss your behringer MODEL D 83 presets sheets so I bought it Thanks for all of your work🙏

[@Chris-ng9vz]

At long last a video of how stuff works Thank you

[@consciousamonggiants2885]

Thanks a ton Brother 👊🏽 Big Ups 🙏🏽 The S-1 is a Beast! Appreciate your time!

[@tollelaemmer7434]

Very good tutorial. Now I know a lot more about the S1 and I´m also aware that 2 shortcuts and the step audit function on my machine were not working. Firmware update and now its perfect.

[@bauschnlomb1]

Wow , thanks so much ! I’ve watched a few other videos and it was hard to follow them . Been playing around and got some good patterns through trial and error . Only 25 min into your tutorial and need a break now lol , but I’ve learned so much already ! This is my very first synth without any prior music instrument experience and it’s allot of fun !

[@RBAOLP]

Tremendoooo! sos un crack!

[@Laze-Mz]

great video

[@mikemeengs5720]

I have quite a few synths...analog, poly, mono, digital...I love them all. But my S1 is one of my favorites...it just has a fantastic sound! And the sequencer is great for creating parts that act somewhat like a rythm guitar's role in a band. Add some modulation and it really creates an organic-like rhythm part. Thanks for this excellent video!

[@michaelc1723]

Thanks bro!

[@mr.buzz-e7223]

Thanks a lot for this Amazon video. You have a new subscriber here!

[@cymaticCS]

I bought one like a year ago and like a week later I returned it to the retailer because I wasn't getting anywhere with it. Now I'm thinking of buying one again. lol

[@user-rk2xj8gr3h]

Well done, dude🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@XNBeatsMusic]

Thanks brother !!

Thank you so much ☺️

[@technic7762]

The s1 was all new to me i was winging it lol got into most of the features wasn't sure what they were had a ruff idea but now i no i have had some great sounding patterns out this tiny little machine running through the roland mx1 it sounds great

[@rggeiger1]

Thanks!

[@evelic]

You are missing the most important part; ¿how do I connect it to something that makes it sound? ¿What cable is the one your are using?. Everything else in this tutorial is gold.

[@HermesAndroidProject]

Awesome guide, shows well how the S-1 has so many full synth features all packed into this little box. Really fun to use. I agree with the chord creation, it would be better to have a visual guide using the keys rather than the menu diving method, having a root note and then selecting the chord notes by pressing the corresponding keys.

[@Moz3l]

I LOVE HOW YOU TEACH THE HARD WAY FIRST

[@manuelfernandez2174]

Impresionante……..felicidades y mil gracias

[@user-rk2xj8gr3h]

By the way, earlier in the USSR the KGB used SW jammers to jam Western radio stations. These sounds of yours reminded me very much of the past...

[@KD20XX]

Please do the other models in the compact series! This video has been super helpful

[@thomasspremberg5282]

Danke!

[@Garnassium]

Well I guess im lucky, you did a tutorial of the Behringer pro 800 soon after I bought it and now the roland S-1 as well!

[@jeevespreston4740]

Nice video, nice song, good descriptions!! Important to note, you must be on latest (v1.02) firmware for the tie function to work as represented here...

[@sy_chev]

I watched the whole thing, thanks a lot! I didn't think that this synth had this much in it, and honestly I only bought it because I'm borderline autistic and I like to play with fiddly instruments

[@enelaoszafetas9300]

Thank you so so much for doing that and the Syntakt tutorial. A lot of work to be done from your side and we definitely acknowledge that. A question i have if you may although i have the unit for 3 days. If i change the settings of a step, it changes all the next steps with this setting. If i stop and play it sounds ok but with the second repetition again it follows the last modifications. Is it possible each step to have different settings and play flawlessly? Maybe I miss something. Thank you for your inspiration and hard work! 🙏

[@4estral]

S-1 is arriving tomorrow, thanks for this great in depth walkthru! Can you do a similar one for the NTS-1 (Mk 1) sometime?

[@acidtrancejunkie]

Hi XNB, excellent tutorial, I learned so much thank you. Could you please tell me what oscilloscope/spectrum analyzer you use to display the time signature of the drawn waveform?

[@spacedinos]

Awesome video! thank you so much. I am new to this and this has helped me a ton. This is probably a naive question of me, but during your walkthrough you are showing the spectrum analysis (I think thats the correct term) to occasionally show how the change is effecting the sound. How are you achieving this? is this done through your daw or do you have a physical oscilloscope?

[@Ferrous_Bueller]

I really really wish Roland would come up with a utility (or anyone for that matter) to easily share and load patches.

[@XNBeatsMusic]

TOTALLY !!! I really liked the boutique and Aira range. But the loading and backing up patches is the worst part. I mean, they are great products. It's 2024, any other digital synth can import/export very easily. Why not Roland's ? Beats me.

[@Threeleggedyoyo]

Awesome video. Do you know if it's possible to have the LFO affect the pitch of one osc but not another?

[@lectraw3787]

Very nice! Is there also panning?

[@reneraymond7807]

Fantastic!Now do you know if i can use my YOU ROCK GUITAR AND MY MISA TRI-BASS AS A CONTRO LER?

[@raff1981]

Don‘t know if it was mentioned…some functions only seem to work with the latest Software v1.02 - for instance single note edit in chord mode at 1:05:53

[@CATS_IN_WATER]

Amazing tutorial and synth! I have a question, is there a possibility to play automatically two or more sequences or I need each time to select the manually, as you showed at the beginning of the turorial? Thank you

[@Maintenancebay]

Does any software exist where I can program this thing from Mac on Logic? I bought a 3rd party one that only controls the front and not the note input and comes with a bunch of patters that only seem to be for ProTools

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

Can you please do one for the Fantom?

[@vladimirkirillovskiy8056]

As I understand you can make 4 patterns on S-1, can you switch them on the fly? Or chain them?

[@igory36]

With what did you connect the S-1 in the MIX-OUT section?

[@StefanoZeni]

Thank you so much for this video tutorial! I have a question for you: is it possible to import a midi track from logic pro X to Roland S-1 (when the device are connected)? I tried but without success. Tx

[@rossmitson]

You can't import midi tracks to the S-1 (as far as I can tell) but you should be able to play them if you connect your computer via midi cable.

[@GuichetStudios]

how to change the pattern without changing sound parameters?

[@FullUmbra]

complete confused on how to save patterns. i tried using init and rlod but it keeps coming back as the preset. please tell me how i keep the pattern that made on the preset

[@quintenoorschot3500]

When im in the delay menu and i adjust the time, I cant hear any of the notes when I hit them. Any solutions?

[@ARTEMIYNIK]

When I change waveform nothing changed , what I must to do?😊

[@MoonWalkersbin]

is a scope packaged for this as well? :-)

[@ARTEMIYNIK]

How to decrease input signal?because everytime in studio one it hits above zero , no matter what preset, everytime. I don’t know what to do volume not working

[@vanessalouzon]

When I press shift+rec, I only get REC, not MrcP or any other ones you mentioned...

[@NotBenCoultry]

Something I didn't see you cover that is giving me fits: in the regular menu you can only tune it down to 433, not 432. It seems ridiculous enough that I don't even believe it, I'm assuming there's a shift-mode for master-tune that I'm missing

[@ud4458]

Hi XNB , do you know why I would not hear the preview when scrolling through the steps? @1:04:39

[@igory36]

What software did u use for the sounds?

[@cnfuzz]

Does lfo shape work on the env retrig or just the rate

[@ambrosiajam8008]

I think there’s a retrigger option in the menu somewhere…But I could be wrong. This lil thing is almost overwhelming so I could be wrong lol

[@rosariopassaro5551]

Wow

[@angelusmaker]

Hey, sorry to bother you, but I've been unable to find a solution in either the manual or my search engine. I'm having a problem with my S-1, in that when I turn it on instead of the tempo indication as usual, all I get is "---.-". While notes are playing when I hit a key, when I hit play, nothing happens. The play button doesn't even turn green. I must have changed a setting unwittingly, but even after a factory reset, the issue persists. Is that something you might know how to fix?

[@Rizzle280]

do you have anything plugged into the Midi IN port? the ---.- screen shows when its being controlled by another device (slave mode). i dont know if there is a menu option to put it in that mode but maybe you turned that on?

[@angelusmaker]

@@Rizzle280 Well butter my biscuit, we figured it out. Between your suggestion that it's in slave mode (something that I, oddly enough, have not managed to get working intentionally, as I wanted to hook it up and sync from a Novation Circuit) and a look in the manual that the sync in ALWAYS overrides the clock, even if set to internal, I figured "Why not unplug this right angle jack that I've had in due to space constraints" and voilá, I have control of the tempo back. It's odd, as I've had all the 3.5mm jacks populated by these right angle jacks for weeks with no issue. At any rate, thanks for helping me out! Now to see if that means I can finally sync it to the Circuit ...

[@ambrosiajam8008]

This little synth almost has too much packed into it, it’s actually kind of insane how much customization is available

[@dr.ryanbland6973]

can you hook it up to a keyboard

[@Eceptes]

So Chopping is removing harmornic?? Br

[@jahomiehiphop]

The only thing I’m upset about and don’t understand is the inability to detune the 4 voices in unison. I guess there’s no function to change pitch, just the pitch range, so maybe it was just too much to put into dis amazing box

[@croay]

I wish it had microtuning support

[@UrbanGarden-rf5op]

An important finding, if you’re a Logic Pro user. Since Roland doesn’t seem to know this (May 2024), I will post this through my favourite electronica KZbinrs. Having owned the S-1 for about 5 minutes I began thinking about how I could integrate it into my UA/Logic Pro set up. USB-C connection to the Mac. First try resulted in the S-1 taking over completely, no access to UA. The Roland “support” site said that it wasn’t possible to use it with multiple audio interfaces! Accepting the challenge I created an Aggregate Device in the the Mac’s Audio MIDI set up, with the UA as master device. Let there be audio! The MIDI part was a brain twister though. Audio still working fine when I started the S-1’s internal sequencer. But no MIDI triggering the S-1. Double checking the MIDI setting on the S-1 revealed that I had adjusted the chorus, Cho, mistaking the o for a zero. The correct parameter is called CH. Why it wasn’t already set to channel 1 is anybody’s guess. Cool box, lousy support site, as usual. Roland, please fix your extremely slow and unhelpful site Thank you for sharing a helpful video.

[@VJFranzK]

3:30 wow, thats way too much menu diving just to clear a pattern!

[@user-rk2xj8gr3h]

The best is to use via MIDI

[@sakkemakke]

Kenny Gioia anyone? It sounds so same than Reaper tutorials 🤗

[@cnfuzz]

That chord mode is weird , why didnt they just let you press the rubber keys to make the chord

[@ambrosiajam8008]

I think there actually is a way to do that but I could be wrong… there’s so many different ways to do things on this lil machine that it can start to all blur together 😅