Roland SH 201 or Vst's

[TechMouse]

"Analog" VSTi's and VA (Virtual Analog) hardware synths sound pretty much the same.

This is because they're both doing the same thing: simulating analog circuits with digital technology.

Genuine Analog hardware synths have a character (read: unpredictability) which VSTi's will never be able to recreate completely, but they're getting closer and closer to the extent that it doesn't really matter.

For my money, I'd say get a good controller keyboard and a couple of VSTi's.

[loopdon]

i'd get a dave smith evolver, instead. seriously.

[judas_beast]

i'd get a dave smith evolver, instead. seriously.

I want the poly evolver, quite badly.

[loopdon]

I want the poly evolver, quite badly.

i'd prefer that one as well. fo shizzle. and this program will massively improve the evolver experience i reckon (make it usable as a vst-plugin):

http://www.psicraft.com/Purchase/index.php

[Andy]

The Roland SH 201 is pretty much JP-8080 with a few extras. It'll deffinetly sound better than vsti's but dont be fooled into thinking its analogue.
A VA is soft synth in a box, they sound better because their processors are dedicated to the synth, rather than your pc running soft synths that can only use a small % of your CPU

[TechMouse]

The Roland SH 201 is pretty much JP-8080 with a few extras. It'll deffinetly sound better than vsti's but dont be fooled into thinking its analogue.
A VA is soft synth in a box, they sound better because their processors are dedicated to the synth, rather than your pc running soft synths that can only use a small % of your CPU

With the advent of super-fast processors and dedicated DSP chips (e.g. Powercore, UAD-1) this really isn't the case anymore.

[t-dj]

The SH-201 is (like some of the ominious MC groove boxes) under-equipped in terms of processing power.
Its a shame Roland Company abuses their reputation they gained with their classic analog machines for putting out such failed constructions.
The 201 is not even near the JP 8000 (which I consider a halfway decent VA synth), I would not recommend spending any money on it.
The last considerable Roland machines were the JD 800 and JV 1080, came out around 1995 (these were digital synths but still used in loads of classic electronic music tracks).
The real (analog) deal: SH-101, JX-3P, Alpha Juno.
For VA synths, look for a used nord lead or virus, should be the same price as a new SH-201 and are waaay better