If you have an SH-201 could you please let me know if you have the USB audio working properly, thanks.

Ok, so I got the Roland SH-201 on wednesday for £419 brand new + 3 year warranty.

The box was really big but light and easy to carry. I opened up the box and straight away realised there is no USB cable, so if you buy an SH-201 get a USB cable too. Luckily I had my Radium 49 USB cable to use.

I got updates for the driver and vst editor from the web and installed them.

Then I started playing the synth to see if the audio would go through the USB to my soundcard and out my speakers/headphones. This never worked - there was no sign of any audio going into my PC. I started up cubase thinking that maybe an audio app would have to be running in order for the USB audio to work. The instructions said I had to select 'Roland SH-201' as my master ASIO driver in cubase so I did...

What this did was basically make the SH-201 take over as my soundcard - meaning my main soundcard (ESI Juli@) no longer worked while using the SH-201. I spoke to the techie at roland who said I should try and look for a way of running multiple soundcards/ASIO drivers in cubase (like he does in logic). After some investigation I found that cubase (every version) does not support multiple ASIO drivers, so that might be the problem.

Because the synth is acting as the soundcard, all audio from cubase is played through my SH-201 outputs, not my computer! If I play my waldorf pulse at the same time (using midi thru the SH-201) I can't hear it because the audio goes into my ESI Juli@.

So basically if you want to take advantage of the SH-201's USB audio:

1. Use a sequencer that supports multile ASIO drivers simultaneously... or
2. If it's your only hardware you can just monitor from the SH-201's outputs.
3. If you have other hardware you can constantly switch ASIO drivers... or
4. Don't use USB audio, get a mixer and use the analog outs instead to free up your soundcard.

(If there are other options I'd love to know)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But...

The synth is simple to use and well laid out, but can produce a wide variety of sounds. It's basically a JP8000 with one or two features added and one or two lost.

The Vst editor works fine and offers more functions that aren't available on the synth itself.

Hopefully Steinberg will add support for multiple ASIO devices. Hopefully Roland can update the driver or software to enable the SH-201 to function as easily as the Virus TI. In the mean time I'll need to go for the awkward workaround or a mixer.

I think I'll be happy with this synth, I still think I made the right choice over a used JP8000. There was a Virus B going on ebay but I had no way of telling how much it was gonna cost, I also was attracted to the SH-201 because it's brand new with warranty. - I'll upload some samples in a week or two, and share my experiences.

Last edited by Synchronicity on Sep-13-2006 at 22:32

yeah, i've tried the synth myself too. i must say the supersaw waveform is a magic tool. however i've not tried hooking it up to a pc tho, so not sure how it would sound like. anyway, it's a good synth... i would've got 1 for myself too if weren't for the high price tag...

quote:

Originally posted by Synchronicity 1. Use a sequencer that supports multile ASIO drivers simultaneously... or 2. If it's your only hardware you can just monitor from the SH-201's outputs. 3. If you have other hardware you can constantly switch ASIO drivers... or 4. Don't use USB audio, get a mixer and use the analog outs instead to free up your soundcard. (If there are other options I'd love to know) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.asio4all.de/

You can add multiple audio interfaces into that driver (go to it's control panel and select all the interfaces you want the virtual driver to control). Just select the asio4all driver in your sequencer and it should show all the combined i/o's of your hardware (provided there's no compatibility problem between your hardware and the asio4all software).

BTW, Logic Mac lost the multiple interfaces option too (excluding Digidesign HW, which can still run at the same time) since it went OSX. That's kinda why they made the Coreaudio Aggregate Devices appear, in OSX Tiger I believe. Anyway, works the same way, one driver takes the different hardware "under it's hood", and that's the driver you use in your program.

quote:

Originally posted by LENG yeah, i've tried the synth myself too. i must say the supersaw waveform is a magic tool. however i've not tried hooking it up to a pc tho, so not sure how it would sound like. anyway, it's a good synth... i would've got 1 for myself too if weren't for the high price tag...

Well I've found as well that the supersaw can be used in a lot of ways e.g. you can take the 303 preset, swap the saw for a supersaw and then make osc 2 a modulated pulse and detune. Or you can use it for a pluck like someone mentioned recently - lot's of stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Dj Thy http://www.asio4all.de/ You can add multiple audio interfaces into that driver (go to it's control panel and select all the interfaces you want the virtual driver to control). Just select the asio4all driver in your sequencer and it should show all the combined i/o's of your hardware (provided there's no compatibility problem between your hardware and the asio4all software). BTW, Logic Mac lost the multiple interfaces option too (excluding Digidesign HW, which can still run at the same time) since it went OSX. That's kinda why they made the Coreaudio Aggregate Devices appear, in OSX Tiger I believe. Anyway, works the same way, one driver takes the different hardware "under it's hood", and that's the driver you use in your program.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.

Aahh.. Fuck it

Mixer it is then. You wouldn't believe the hours I have spent setting up external instruments/hardware in cubase - delving through preferences, googling and reading posts from literally hundreds of forums, e-mailing people, PMing people, Reading The Fucking Manual, phoning people, asking at college, trial and error, more trial and error...

The help's appreciated DJ Thy, I gave the ASIO4All a shot but I still can't get either all the audio through the SH-201 or all of the audio through my ESI Juli@ Soundcard. Maybe it can be done, I dunno, but I can't face another midi menu so I'm just gonna get a mixer.

Cheers

I wanted to post up props for this post. Awsome to let people know whats going on and giving ones own input on hardware they just got. I dont mean this in a sarcastic kind of way either! PEOPLE LEARN FROM THIS!

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Don't blame Cubase.. Access can do it, why can't Roland?

Virus TI can also work as your soundcard/asio driver, and then all audio even your computer audio comes out of the TI analog outs, but you don't have to use it that way.

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quote:

Originally posted by michaelconway I wanted to post up props for this post. Awsome to let people know whats going on and giving ones own input on hardware they just got. I dont mean this in a sarcastic kind of way either! PEOPLE LEARN FROM THIS!

Yeah, I was thinking how I would have liked a trance related review before I bought it.

quote:

Originally posted by mysticalninja Don't blame Cubase.. Access can do it, why can't Roland? Virus TI can also work as your soundcard/asio driver, and then all audio even your computer audio comes out of the TI analog outs, but you don't have to use it that way.

I agree with you here, I was probably too quick to point the finger. Maybe I should speak more with Roland and see if something can be sorted out.

How does the Total Integration work? I have three questions if that's ok.

1. Is it a simple case of install the editor, driver and plug in the USB?

2. Does it use USB audio?

3. In Cubase SX3, do you still use your own soundcard as ASIO master - being able to run your external instruments and other hardware etc. as usual?

Yup you can use it with nothing but usb cable plugged in. Once you install it you just load the VST like any other vst. You get two audio outputs through USB, so you can put different vst effects on them. and yeah I use my M-Audio Delta ASIO as the master ASIO drivers, and I have also a JP800 and Pulse hooked up through external instruments.. Now if only I could figure out how to use the analog outs with the TI at the same time as the USB outs.. then i'd have 5 different outputs to put dfiferent effects and such on.. I can never get them all on time together though.

Total Intergration isn't 100% yet though. It still gets off synch every hour or so at least and you have to reset the midi clock. The new OS VSTi takes literally 40% more CPU, but in general it used to be alot worse, sometimes you'd install a new OS and it wouldn't work at all and you have to go back to an old one. Newest OS seems ok for my TI, they all react different to updates though it's so strange.

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Last edited by mysticalninja on Sep-09-2006 at 22:42

Nice one, that's a pretty mean setup

Just hoping to get the facts before I get back to Roland...

So can you play the TI through your PC without cubase being open, like I tried at first with the Sh-201?

Also when you mention the USB having two Audio tracks - do you mean the audio goes through the VST channel in cubase like a VSti would?

Cheers

Yup audio comes through like any other vsti. Theres 2 outputs for it in the mixer.

Cubase has to be open, theres no stand alone vsti. Unless you have it hooked up with analog outs like a virus D, then cubase doesn't have to be open.

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Last edited by mysticalninja on Sep-10-2006 at 03:45

might get this

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