The SH-3A is a monophonic

analog synthesizer An analog synthesizer () is a synthesizer that uses Analogue electronics, analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a var ...

that was manufactured by

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

from 1975 to 1981. It is unique in that it is capable of both the usual

subtractive synthesis Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which Harmonic_series_(music)#Partial.2C_harmonic.2C_fundamental.2C_inharmonicity.2C_and_overtone, overtones of an audio signal are attenuated by a audio filter, filter to alter the timbre of ...

and also the less common

additive synthesis Additive synthesis is a sound synthesis technique that creates timbre by adding sine waves together. The timbre of musical instruments can be considered in the light of Fourier series, Fourier theory to consist of multiple harmonic or inharmoni ...

, offering mixable waveforms at different footages. Two LFOs and a unique sample-and-hold section provided capabilities not found in competing self-contained synthesizers of the time. The SH-3A was Roland's first non-preset based synth. The predecessor, the

Roland SH-1000 The Roland SH-1000, introduced in 1973, was the first compact synthesizer produced in Japan, and the first synthesizer produced by Roland. It resembles a home organ more than a commercial synth, with coloured tabs labelled with descriptions of i ...

, could also do this but didn't offer as much control as on the SH-3A. The rhythmic pulsing in the Blondie song " Heart of Glass" is an example of its sound. Contrary to common belief, the initial version "SH-3" did not infringe on the transistor ladder-filter patent of

Robert Moog Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthe ...

. It used a diode filter like the EMS VCS 3. The SH-3A does use a transistor ladder-filter and as a result can generate Moog-like sounds.

Notable SH-3A users

* Blondie * Chris Carter * Covenant *

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

* Radio Massacre International *

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...

Yello Yello is a Swiss electronic music band, which formed in Zürich in 1979. For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank; founding member Carlos Perón left in 1983. Their sound is often charac ...

Image:roland_sh3a_controls.jpg, Close-up of SH-3A controls

References

External links

Roland SH-3A review by Bruce Gibbs
on ''

International Musician and Recording World International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

'' (December 1975)
Demo of SH-3A on YouTube
SH-3A Analog synthesizers Monophonic synthesizers Musical instruments invented in the 1970s {{Electronic-musical-instrument-stub