Eh, you would sacrifice a lot in analog to add poly to an SH-101. I mean It’s fine to have like crazy fusion cuisine, variety is the spice of life, but sometimes you want really authentic flavors like sushi or something. SH-101 is like sushi for me, the balance of the filter, sequencer, and modulation are perfect. Piling a bunch of notes on top of that is a different type of sound, like a sushi burrito or something. Am I making any sense?
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sure, I‘m not talking about the analog versions. The 101 is what it is.
But being polyphonic is what makes the boutique stand out as a a different nice product. This and the poly sequencer and patch memory.
I don‘t say it‘s better than the OG or the behringer, but it‘s also a nice option and space friendly option in a setup.
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There’s no difference except a decal on the case and printing on the box / quick start guide.
Don’t get fooled into thinking the ms101 is ‘limited edition’ , it’s just the first batch that got released before they had to rename it.
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An interesting take in that video although I have to say the classic sh101s envelopes sounded significantly different to me in those comparisons, more lively and snappy, like they have a totally different type of curve. The overall flat character is definitely there though. Some of this guys opinions feels biased though when he brings up the boutiques, especially considering later he is talking about drowning stuff in digital reverb, which is fine but you probably aren’t going to be able to tell the difference between it and a VA at that point. So yeah I think it probably depends on what you want but the behringer stuff is certainly a good deal… I almost wonder if the boutique would give you more accurate envelopes though.
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I think the envelopes are different (lots of analysis on gearslutz)
One is linear and the other exponential/curved or something.
The filters are different , I think mostly with high resonance.
It’s a tough call between this and the boutique…I fully expected to have one of these but I’ve held off buying one and stuck with boutique though it’s mainly due to portamento differences.
My buddy got the red one and I had a really, really fun time on it (for all of 15 minutes). It feels sturdier than a baby hippo on a rhinoceros. That FM source and FM amount thing is a fun addition that can take sounds to new places. It made me want one really bad, but I got the K2 on the way so I’ll hold off.
Disclaimer: I have no experience at all with the original SH101 or even the boutique 101. I’m just judging this thing on its own merits.
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I haven’t switched mine on yet as I’m in love with KYRA which came today too lol
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Well I had my first decent session with the MS 1 yesterday. Hooked up to the MiniBrute 2s sending clock to the MS and RD8 and gate/cv to the Neutron and Bodyssey.
First impressions - it’s chunky and reassuringly solid. Knobs feel solid but the faders feel a little free and due to their short travel even the slightest movement has a big impact, especially on the filter. Maybe this trait Is shared with the OG? Resonance starts to come in near the bottom of the slider as opposed to the Bodyssey which doesn’t get that squelchy until the res fader is pushed fight up. Oscillator sounds good, as does the sub osc. One of the best bits is the FM mod for the filter. I’ve found settings around the 1 or 2 mark to be the best in terms of the sounds I like. Less is deffo more with the FM control but the earlier poster is correct, it adds a whole new dimension to the filter.
Although I like the sound it’s not jumped out at me in the same way the Body did; given a choice between a second MS or a second Body I think I’d go with the Body, not least because I’ve only got the Axxe for ARP sounds where as I’ve got the 3340 angle covered with a few other synths. That said it’s only been one session and I’ve hardly stretched the MS’ legs. Sequencer syncs fine to both incoming clock and MiDI. I’ve not checked the software version I’m running, there is a newish OS that addresses some sync/timing issues, maybe mine is already updated?
The blue colour looks particularly good and nothing like as bright and gaudy as the marketing pics on various websites, it’s a darker metallic shade rather than the bright flat blue of the pics.
Keybed feels different to the Body, more spongy and a bit clacky but maybe I’m being unfair; it’s perfectly fine but in my mind I guess I’m comparing it (and the Body keybed) to the Fatar beds in my other synths which is an unfair comparison.
I can recommend the MS so far. It does what it says on the tin without much fuss, has a decent number of ins and outs (although a clock out mirroring the clock in would have been handy) and sounds good. It’s built like a tank too.
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Anyone know how to turn off the internal sequencer? I feel like a dummy…
I have an original, the sliders are very well scaled on the OG. Even after 30 odd years, all the sliders are still stiff, all knobs secure, all switches sturdy. Ugly as hell but built like a tank those old SH101s!
My MS-101 arrived yesterday. Really good discount on it because the shop was clearing out inventory because of the name change I suppose. Anyway, I spent hours messing around with it yesterday and I absolutely love it. The build quality seems quite good and the firmware was super easy to update using Behringer’s synth tool. It has me GASing for an RD-8 to go along with it. My only wish is that there was deeper midi integration for external sequencing, but I definitely can’t complain about that at this price!
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A couple of the videos that has been driving my GAS for the RD-8 combo. I spy an Elektron machine in the corner of the second one. Perhaps these are from someone here?
I‘m always gasing a bit for this combo myself.
Bit rather tr08 and sh01a due to space issues
have fun with your new synth 
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Sweet. Where did you find a supplier with MS 101s in blue? The only 101s I can see for sale are red.
I’m in Japan and got mine from Ishibashi Gakki. I saw one other seller online that had a blue MS-101 marked down to the same price, so I’m guessing there were a few sellers getting rid of the old MS-101 units. Almost $100 off what everyone else is selling the MS-1 for!
I’m pretty stoked as I wanted a blue one and there is something nice about having 101 on it. 
I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled now for a deal on an RD-8 now. Haha.
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I hear you man. Living in Tokyo, I always prioritize small gear. I was actually really sweating buying something this big. 
I was actually relieved that it’s not as large as I feared and it’s really comfortable to work on after years of messing with small gear. The RD-8 is pretty huge so I should honestly stay away from it, but I think I’m going to make an exception as the 808-101 combo holds a special place in my heart.
I know the world is divided on all of this but I’m a huge fan of Japanese copy guitars from the 1970s, so these particular remakes don’t bother me and I think Behringer did a great job with the MS-101. It’s beautiful and I quite like the look of the RD-8 as well.
FYI, the sequencer on the MS-101 is actually really nice! I experimented with sequencing it from the Digitakt and that was really easy to do, but for live jamming the sequencer on the MS-101 is a lot more fun to use because there are a number of live performance features: transposing via the keyboard, hold, ratcheting, backwards/forwards, changing note division, sequence restart. I just have the Digitakt providing master clock and it’s been rock solid.
Right now each pattern is just up to 32 steps, but hopefully they will beef that up in a firmware update some day.
Also, a good tip is to download the Behringer synth app they have online to update the firmware because the app has some extra midi settings in there, including disabling the auto start on the internal sequencer if you want to use an external sequencer. It also has a pattern archive function and you can import/export midi sequences.
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Hi, did any of you successfully connect an MS-1(01) to an Analog Four MK2? And if yes, what where the exact settings? I checked that the MS-101 goes down to note F1 and all the way up to C6, but if I set these as Note 1 and Note 2 with (0 and 5 V) the intervals are not correct. How should I set it? Any help greatly appreciated!