I have had the pleasure of playing with my roommates SH-10, a MS-10 (on loand to him), and a Pro-One (mine).
The SH-101 is a single osc monophonic synth with a "sub-osc". It is easy to use (patch creation was a sinch), vintage c/v gate type synth. Out of the three synth mentioned, I would feel most comfertable taking it on the road. While is not built like a tank... it can take some abuse! From what I can remember the sound was, smooth, deep, and powerfull. Oh, and it had a self-oscillating low pass filter. (Personally I am on a the look out for a SH-2)
The ms-10 is also a single osc monophonic synth, with a LPF. I loved the RAW bass that came from this synth. I am on the look out for one of these too. The only bad thing was the pots were worn, and changing a value of a knob almost always caused some scratchy sounds.
The Pro-One is a great dual osc monophonic synth. I can get some awesome sounds out of it, and always enjoy playing it. However, its keyboard sucks. I got the j-wire version, and while it is more reliable than the membrain, it still is not reliable. I like the filter on the Pro-One, and the Env is quick! The sound is by far one of my faves, and I have recently descovered how much fun it is to run it threw my Future Retro Revolution's (TB-303 type synth) filter! Acid bass in a instant!
CV/Gate is the common controll for all of the above vintage synths, and thus a MIDI to CV/Gate converter will be needed. Or you can go with a synth that has a CV/Gate converter built in and save some cash. The Waldorf Pulse+ is a nice option, as well is the Future Retro Revolution.
I own the Pulse +, and have used the MIDI to CV/Gate converter on it. Works great! However the Puse + is not a easy synth to program. The user interface is not easy to navagate, and thus a externel controller would be prefered. It is built like a tank, but beware of knob abuse. (Mine has a knob that still works but appears to be floating, and not connected to the PC
As I wanted a synth that had MIDI to CV/Gate, DIN sync, and was easy to program. I picked up the Future Retro Revolution. It is easy to use, the filter is amazing, and the overdrive is wild. While I am not a big fan of the digital effects on the unit. I do like the sound. The build on this synth is great, I do wish it was a bit smaller, but over all the layout is easy to use. Now all I got to do is learn to program acid lines... anyone got some input on that?
