Roland SH-1000 Vintage Analogue Synthesizer – Pre-Owned with Hard Case

Here's a lovely piece of synthesizer history – an original Roland SH-1000, the very first synthesizer Roland ever produced, released back in 1973.

The SH-1000 is a rather unusual instrument, even by vintage synth standards. Instead of the familiar pitch and modulation wheels, it has a bank of colourful preset tabs running along the front, with a selection of knobs and sliders on the left for shaping your own sounds.

Originally designed to sit on top of an organ, the SH-1000 combines preset instrument sounds with hands-on analogue synthesis. It's a distinctive bit of early Roland engineering, and quite different from the synths that followed it.

This particular example comes with its original-style wooden cabinet, Roland music rest and a fitted hard case with a bright yellow interior.

What does it actually sound like?

The SH-1000 has that unmistakable early-1970s analogue character. It's a monophonic synthesizer, meaning it plays one note at a time, and is particularly good at bold lead lines, rounded bass sounds, quirky electronic effects and those wonderfully old-fashioned attempts at recreating acoustic instruments.

There are preset sounds for piano, harpsichord, strings, brass and woodwind instruments, alongside controls for creating and modifying your own sounds.

The filter, envelope controls, vibrato, portamento and modulation options give you plenty to experiment with. It's not as flexible as some later analogue synthesizers, but that's part of its appeal. There's something rather enjoyable about working with its slightly unconventional layout.

Key Features

• Original Roland SH-1000 analogue synthesizer from the 1970s

• Roland's first commercially produced synthesizer

• 37-note keyboard

• Monophonic analogue sound generation

• Colour-coded instrument and waveform preset tabs

• Adjustable filter cutoff and resonance

• Attack, decay, sustain and release envelope controls

• Vibrato, tremolo, glide and portamento functions

• Built-in noise generator

• Pitch and tuning adjustments

• Wooden cabinet with vintage Roland styling

• Includes fitted hard case and Roland music rest

Condition – Pre-Owned Vintage Instrument

This is a genuine vintage instrument dating from the 1970s and shows signs of age and previous use.

The wooden cabinet appears to be in good overall cosmetic condition for its age, with some surface scratches, small marks and general wear.

The black control panel has visible scratches, paint wear and marks, particularly around the controls and rear Roland logo. The keyboard has some age-related discolouration and minor marks, while the colourful preset tabs appear to be present.

The fitted hard case also shows external wear from storage and transportation, although the bright yellow interior appears reasonably well preserved.

Please study the photographs carefully, as they form part of the description and show the instrument's cosmetic condition.

What's Included

• Roland SH-1000 vintage analogue synthesizer

• Roland music rest

• Fitted hard carrying case

The keyboard stand shown in the photographs is not included.

Not sure if this is right?

Vintage synthesisers are quite different from modern keyboards, especially when it comes to their controls, connectivity and general maintenance. If you'd like more information about this SH-1000, please get in touch and we'll be happy to help.