Omnisphere 3 Hardware Guide

Roland GAIA SH-01

The Roland GAIA SH-01 is a great controller for Omnisphere. The most interesting aspect about it is that you have independent control over three Layers using an intuitive panel. You can access multiple Filter types, Wavetables and it has a great FX section. It’s almost as powerful as the PG-1000 but with a much more friendly layout. The downsides are that it doesn’t have standard pitch and mod wheels and the keys are a bit shorter than usual. That said, for the price, this is an excellent choice.

Roland GAIA SH-01 Strengths:

  • Intuitive Layout
  • Per-Layer Control
  • Wavetables
  • Multiple Filter Types

Roland GAIA SH-01 Details:

Retail Price $400
Number of Keys 37
Keyboard Type Unweighted, Short Throw
Size of Controls Medium
Special Features Independent Layer Control
Dimensions 27-3/16” × 12-1/2” × 3-15/16”
Weight 9 lbs 5 oz
USB Powered No
Pitch Bender Yes, Roland-style
Mod Wheel No, Roland-style
Sends Aftertouch No
Sustain Pedal Input Yes
Expression Pedal Input No
Ribbon No
Non-Functional Controls Tone Copy
USB Memory – Patch
V-Link
Ext In Section
Output Section
Arpeggiator Yes
Sequencer Yes
MIDI Messages CC, Sysex

Omnisphere Sections Controlled by the Roland GAIA SH-01:

Independent Layer Control Yes
Number of Oscillators 3
Number of Wavetables 8
Number of Envelopes 9
Number of LFOs 3
Filter Types Jupiter LPF 2-pole
Jupiter LPF 4-pole
Jupiter HPF 2-pole
Jupiter HPF 4-pole
OB BPF 2-pole
OB BPF 4-pole
State Variable OB
State Variable Sauce
FX Units Global Ambience
Global Tone
Analog Chorus
Analog Flanger
Analog Phaser
Swiss Army Delay
Solina Ensemble
Stompbox Modeler
Toxic Smasher
Soundsources No
Mod Matrix No
FM No
Ring Mod Yes
Waveshaper No
Unison Yes
Harmonia No
Granular No
ORB No
Arpeggiator No

Ratings

Control of Omnisphere
Panel Layout
Ease of Use
Keyboard Feel
Build Quality