Ten Of The Best: Synth Mods

Roland SH-101 Nova Mod

Produced from 1982 to 1986, the 101 was the final model in Roland’s SH series of analogue monosynths, which was launched in 1973 with the release of the SH-1000 (also Japan’s first synthesiser, just beating Korg to the punch). In standard form, it’s still a great buy. With just one oscillator, a low-pass filter, an LFO and a single envelope generator, the 101 might not seem particularly powerful, but its bare-bones setup is one of the most deceptively versatile synth architectures you’ll find on any keyboard.

But the simplicity of the SH-101’s circuits also means that it lends itself really well to being upgraded, tweaked and improved. As a result, the 101 has long been a favourite of synth modifiers and remains a great choice for anyone looking to get into modding. With a few carefully chosen mods, you can get a whole lot more out of the 101 than Roland would ever have imagined.

The best starting point to see what can be achieved with a modified SH is to check out Phil Pilgrim’s Nova Mod, documented here (PDF). Adding features including filter FM, CV control of cutoff, variable LFO rates, external audio input and additional sources for PWM, the 101 becomes an even more versatile tool.