Agree with what’s been said here, as I’ve also had both and used both extensively.
The SH is better for jamming and performance because the interface is far less cluttered and more intuitive. It’s much easier to grab faders on a dark stage.
The SE as mentioned does sound incredible and brings that alive feel that only an analog synth can provide but I found it really hard to use when jamming. You have to be very very precise with the knobs and it’s almost impossible on a dark stage.
I’d go with the SH01A. It’s a nice bread and butter synth and it’s super easy to use in any environment. Sounds good too.
So I bought that SH 01a and it was just the synth I needed for my basses, excellent advice I got on this thread. That being said, I again feel tempted to try out SE02, as its rather aggressive and phat character could be a nice contrast to SH01a’s really “round” sound for other tracks.
What keeps me at the fence so far is that several people here mentioned that the cutoff feels quite steppy. Can people with experience with SE02 expand a bit on how bad this actually is? Is it noticeable if you just open up the filter gradually while a sequence is played? Is it noticeable in a mix? Or is it something that you will only notice when cranking resonance and then playing around with cutoff to find spots where it sounds a bit steppy?
Or is it because of the size/form factor of the cutoff knob that just doesnt allow fine changes to the cutoff? That happens to me on SH01a where I’ve noticed that the cutoff slider is a bit too small to record a gradually opening/closing filter by hands without it sounding steppy.
Additional question: does SE02 require a lot of EQing/filtering to tame it in a mix due to its phat sound?
On a side note: how would you power SE02 from a power bank? MyVolts say they don’t offer a Rip Chord for it on their site, so how do people who pulled that off do it?
And some questions about issues that have been frequently mentioned - did any of these get resolved in updates?
No catch function
Low end loss when increasing frequency
And on a last side note: what does Typhon have over this one if you don’t care for Typhon effects and sequencer? Are their sounds comparable? I’m mostly afraid of envelope controls on Typhon tbh, but maybe I didn’t understand its controls that well.
IIRC, it’s due to the resolution required to keep the filter controllable via midi while it being voltage controlled. There’s only so much resolution (steps) can be had. I could be wrong on that (been a few years now) but that’s what I recall.
If I’m being honest, I haven’t used my SE-02 in a good bit, so I’m going off memory about the sound, but I didn’t find it to be a big deal and it’s not something you’d hear in a mix. Maybe on the edge case where a filter sweep is a very predominant if not outright isolated element, then possibly. I recall it being slightly noticeable on a very slow sweep by hand with the resonance cranked.
This video gives some examples of various situations, so you can decide what you’re hearing:
On EQ, I think that’s more a matter of style and what you’re after. It’s a big sounding synth and can occupy a lot of space much like anything comparable. Personally, in most cases, I’d rather have the sound there and deal with it after the fact, than not have it at all or only a much smaller version of it.
Sorry, I can’t answer the rest of your questions. I like the synth for sure, but if I’m being real, it doesn’t get much use here a few years on. A lot of that is I have too many options and not that much time. The overall sound is great if not fantastic. Originally, I wasn’t too bothered by the knobs and size, but as time has gone by, I’ve soured a bit on that. Most of the knobs feel fine, but on at least on my unit the range knobs feel pretty cheap and loose compared to the others, so that bothers me. It’s worth hanging onto though and I have no reason to part with it and not like it’s taking up a bunch of space.
Thanks for your detailed reply! Yeah, I‘ve decided that it’s just GAS and I‘m fine with what I already have. These small, relatively cheap synths trigger that impulse of just buying and trying out more easily than bigger and more expensive ones.
I’ve been there, too, several times and finally let it go (although I really liked it). But this might be one of the synths I’ll end up buying again, one day.
The filter steps due to the midi control implementation (0-127). It doesn’t step when it is modulated by an internal LFO / envelope or by external CV (this is why it has a filter cutoff frequency CV input, and why SE made the EXT-Box).
Also you can really only hear the stepping when the resonance is raised (and no, it’s not harmonic stepping).
Anyone got a workaround for the lack of knob pick-up options? When changing patch, then twiddling, the controls make the parameter jumps and I can’t find a way to make it do pick-up behaviour.
Hi SE-02 users! I’ve had mine for ages and really like it but the tuning across the octaves on my unit is really poor even after multiple auto tuning/calibration actions.
I’ve got the firmware updated to 1.10 (that had a refinement to the tuning function) but still its only in tune at C5. It slips out by 25-40 cents as you go down the octaves from C5.
Is this a faulty unit or is this something everyone has to deal with?
Edit: I wouldn’t mind as much if there was a master tune parameter so I could just downtune it a bit so the lower octaves are in tune (I mostly want it for lower note duties).
