Roland SH-4d

Very good and deep machine. Either you use it stand alone with the internal sequencer... or as a sound module with an external sequencer.
I use it as a stand alone "lap" machine, sitting on the couch and playing around with it until I have a good composition. Depending on your music style, it can be that one box to make all the tunes you want, without needing anything else. Underrated machine... totally capable of doing EPIC things!

The SH-4d is a little, black beast. Yes, it’s powerful, with 4 parts + drum part, lots of hands on control, even though the lcd screen is small, the variety of knobs and thoughtful interface balance it out. Yes, it’s demands some learning curve but it’s actually easier than you think… take few hours to read the manual and you will be rewarded instantly. As this is written, a new firmware has recently been released, 2.0 (go to Roland website to download, few steps to update). There are lots of new features that many have called out for and I understand Roland listened... After this update, the SH-4d has 13 synth variations, instead of 11. The two new variations are ‘Step’ and ‘Harmony’ that emulates organs, I’m actually impressed! Well done Roland! The retro look is great, looks cool, only thing I could complain about is size of knobs.. bigger would have been better but not at all a problem.
The sound. With built in multi effects and sounds that derive from Roland’s decades of development, like the Zen core engine, you get to the real thing, can be cold, digital and warm analogue as well. Finally, this machine wants your full attention. For me it’s got it!