Just wanted to share that I ordered my new Roland SH-4d and will be here, hopefully, before the next weekend. I am trying to find some good video tutorials to be ready for my new baby next week! Super excited!
I love it.
I am not experienced in synthesis but am able to make some sounds as they come from my mind. I find it much easier than my JD-08, which feels complex even though I understand its main principles. I have used so far my Yamaha MODX6, which has plenty of menu diving, even though it is fantastic and software plugin synths. Having direct control with all the knobs over simpler synths is a different feeling. All 11 synth engines are relatively straightforward and not too deep, while it is possible to create complex sounds. Although the JD-08 can create more complex sounds with a single engine, I totally prefer the SH-4d.
sounds like a blast - I was just watching some videos on it. I've been doing a little messing around with SurgeXT and bitwig - having something you can work with on the desktop like that would be the way to go though.
SurgeXT is definitely a lot stronger and combined with the grid of bitwig (which I haven't used much) is a killer system. While I am pretty sure that you won't get any more synthesis capabilities with the SH-4d, it feels fantastic using it and I have only scratched the surface. It feels great that Roland gives you good old SH-101 and Juno-106 with plenty of presets to get you going with tweaking.
Overall, while I cannot justify having it, considering everything we can do with the software synths, I really love it. To me, it has this "real-thing" feel that I cannot put down in words.