SG01v
Vintage Sound Module
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The SG01v is a little (half-rack) synthesizer module produced in 1995 by AKAI, together with other half-rack modules. It is a "vintage synth module", hence you won't find realistic grand pianos, saxophones or acoustic guitars here; instead, you will be treated to a series of classic synthesizer and keyboard patches. I was pleasantly surprised by this synth - because it sounds really good, and even though this is not a super-programmable module, it still is a lot of fun and a nice addition to any musician's studio. The SG01v features 256 patches in its memory, all inspired (and/or sampled) from classic instruments such as Roland Juno and TB-303, Moog Minimoog, Oberheim OB-X, PPG, Solina etc. There are also two banks of classic-sounding drums (a la TR-808 and Simmons).
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The polyphony is 32 notes, and it is 16-channel poly-timbric. The editing capabilities are a bit short (Shape - attack & release- , Tone - filter cutoff -, Special - depends on the tone selected), but you can do more via MIDI editors - for instance, via NRPN you can change the reverb settings (the module comes with a set of 30, but will need an external fx module to really make it "shine".) Other very useful features include the mono/legato mode (used in a lot of the synth bass presets), and most importantly, the aftertouch - that adds incredible expressivity to this module. Check out the AKAI SG01v audio demos here below. |
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AKAI SG01v factory demo songs:
Hear the five on-board demo songs:
AKAI SG01v audio demos in mp3:
NOTE: I recorded these SG01v demos going through a T.C. Electronic M300 effects processor to "help out a bit", since the SG01v on-board reverbs are a bit short. Different reverb/delay settings were used, according to the type of sound played.
| BANK 00 | |
| Patch name with audio demo | My comments |
| 001_MEGA_BRASS | Classic '80s synth brass |
| 004_HP_SWEEP | Magnificent resonant synth sweep |
| 006_BIG_PAD_SWP | Very nice and warm synthesizer pad. |
| 008_BAND_PASSING | Typical band-pass filter synth |
| 010_DRAMA | Beautiful syn pad |
| 015_BIGSYNTH1 | Quite nice. |
| 019_TRILL-PAD1 | Super late '70s poly |
| 020_JX3P-POLARIS | From Roland's warm synthesizer JX-3P |
| 023_KUBOTA_BASS | Outstanding analog synth bass, with plenty of (tamed) attack resonance. |
| 025_OCTAVE_BASS | Mega-Moog syn bass |
| 026_SYNC_BASS1 | Useful for D 'n' B |
| 030_JUNORGBASS | Classic Techno Juno patch |
| 031_AN_BIGBASS1 | Incredible synth bass - with the superb mono-legato mode. |
| 032_MM_BASS1 | Classic Minimoog |
| 035_MM_BASS4 | And another one |
| 041_STACK_EPF1 | Typical Yamaha DX7 FM electric piano patch. |
| 044_LA_E.PNO1 | Beautiful, warm Roland D-50 style electric piano |
| 048_HYPER_CLAV | Realistic Hohner Clavinet |
| 051_P5+SOLENA | Beautiful sound! A mix between Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, and ARP Solina. |
| 052_PADDING | Fantastic analog synth/pad - perfect for mid-'80s dance pop music. |
| 053_DELICATE_PAD | Thin but good. |
| 054_HI_STR_SYN1 | Sublime analog strings... beautiful. |
| 057_SQUARE_PAD | A la Jupiter |
| 059_WARM_FILTPAD | Lots of nice LFO |
| 060_JUNO_PAD | Classic Roland Juno |
| 061_OBIE_X_PAD | Great Oberheim OB-X sound |
| 064_MATRIX_PAD | And here's Oberheim's Matrix-12 |
| 068_PROFIT_PAD | This is the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 |
| 070_BELL_PAD | Digital niceness |
| 074_CLASSIC_PPG_2 | And the classic German P.P.G. - a digital dream machine |
| 077_PPG_PERC_VOX | Nice early PPG vox |
| 078_PPG_VOCALISE | Powerful digital sounds |
| 083_SFT_BRASS2 | Superb use of the aftertouch to open the filter. |
| 086_TRANCER_BRS | Powerful synth brass. |
| 089_AFT_BRASS | The aftertouch doing its job. |
| 091_STACK_ORGAN | Ok |
| 096_MWHL_LESLIE2 | Pretty realistic Leslie effect obtained with filter and LFO settings assigned to modulation wheel |
| 098_CHURCH_ORGAN | Very good pipe organ patch |
| 101_VP330+SELINA | Beautiful - two classic instruments: Roland VP-330, and ARP Solina String Ensemble. |
| 105_RHAPSODY_STR | And here's a fantastic Elka Rhapsody string machine |
| 106_SOFT_SERINA | Softer version of the Solina... |
| 110_OMNI_STRINGS | And here's the ARP Omni. Beautiful. |
| 111_FUNK_LEAD1 | Typical 1970s Funk monolead. |
| 115_FLUTEY | Analog lead |
| 117_PORTASYNC | Nice oscillator sync |
| 118_FIFTH_SYNC1 | Progressive sound |
| 121_HOWELLING | Very good wind fx |
| 124_COMPUTER_SH1 | Typical sample & hold sound |
| 125_COMPUBLEEP | As most notably used by Kraftwerk |
| 126_SPACE_BELL | Intriguing, atmospheric |
| 128_SFX_PAN | Cool special effect |
| BANK 01 | |
| Patch name with audio demo | My comments |
| 002_MYSTIX_PAD_1 | Sparkly digital pad |
| 004_SQUARE_WOW | Mysterious and fascinating synth |
| 008_INVERT_FILT1 | Nice inverted filter envelope. |
| 010_EPIC_SYNTH1 | Incredible polysynth, very useful for many genres. |
| 011_JUNOTRANCER2 | More Roland Juno cool. |
| 014_JUNOTRANCER3 | And some more. |
| 016_JMJ_POLYSYN | Jean-Michel Jarre inspired sounds. |
| 017_M500SYNTH1MW | The cute Korg M-500 monosynth |
| 020_SWEEP_BASS | Mega-powerful sweeping filter bass |
| 021_FUNK_BASS | Typical '70s funky synth bass |
| 022_KNOCK_BASS | Good '80s synth bass |
| 022_RUBBER_BASS | Beautiful Moog, similar to the sound used by John Barry in "The Persuaders' Theme" |
| 028_TB303_1 | The classic silver acid box - Roland TB-303 |
| 029_TB303_2 | More TB-303 awesomeness. Realistic. |
| 032_BASS_9 | Nice, solid synth bass |
| 033_BASS_10 | Techno |
| 039_MM_BASS_12 | Another cool '70s Minimoog bass |
| 040_KIMINIAITA1 | '80s goodness! |
| 045_E.PIANORGAN | Nice, melancholic |
| 050_HARPSICHORD | Realistic, classic harpsichord. |
| 051_EPF_STRPAD | Beautiful Yamaha FM electric piano + analog strings pad |
| 056_DETUNE_PAD | Warm and nice. |
| 060_TOMITA_STR | Quintessential analog string ensemble. |
| 067_PORY_MOGUE | Wavy Moog |
| 068_ALMOST_VOCAL | Digital larynx |
| 069_ROUND_PAD | Early '80s analog pad |
| 071_SPIKE_BASS | Digital bass |
| 072_PPG+ANLGBASS | Classic mix. |
| 074_PPG_BASS1 | Typical "cold" PPG bass |
| 077_FM_BASS1 | Yamaha DX7 standard |
| 080_FM_BASS4 | A variation |
| 081_ANA_BRASS1 | '80s polysynth |
| 090_MONSTER_BRAS | Polka dream. |
| 094_MAGIC_BELLS | Spacious, dreamy wind-bells. |
| 096_ORIENTL_BELL | Nice analog bells |
| 101_TOMITA_VOX1 | Classic Tomita synvox |
| 102_VOX_HUMANA | Another classic analog vox patch |
| 105_VOICES1 | Early digital choir |
| 106_SOLO_SOPRANO | Magnificent analog vox patch |
| 112_ANA_WHISTLE | Beautiful, useful analog vox lead |
| 114_ONDES_MARTIN | Inspired from the Ondes Martenot, an early synthesizer like the Theremin. |
| 115_HAMMER_LEAD | Warm lead |
| 118_AWAKE_MAN | Typical '70s Progressive lead, a la Yes' Rick Wakeman |
| 123_MISTY_STORM | Cool synth sci-fi fx |
| 125_FLANGED_NOIZ | Yep |
| 126_VCS_SWEEP1 | From the EMS VCS3 synthesizer, an early British monster synth used by many famous acts. |
| 127_S+H_DRONE_MW | Classic sample & hold on the filter. The mod wheel speeds up the effect. |
| Drum banks | |
| Patch name with audio demo | My comments |
| Drums 1 & 2 | Solid offering of classic drum samples - a la Roland TR-808, Simmons, and others. |
| Features at a glance | |
| Year of release: | 1995 |
| Polyphony: | 32 |
| Presets: | 256 |
| Rhythms: | 2 drum kits |
| Keyboard: | n/a |
| Responds to velocity: | yes |
| Responds to aftertouch: | yes |
| Sound generation method: | Sampled |
| MIDI: | in, out, thru |
| Sound expansion capabilities: | no |
| Effects: | Reverb (30 types, not editable) |
| Controls: | buttons |
| Outputs: | one stereo pair |
| Display: | alphanumeric, backlit red |
| Misc: | |
AKAI SG01v pictures
(click on thumbnails to enlarge)
AKAI SG01v manual
available at http://laboratorio.tku10.net/
Reset the AKAI SG01v to factory
Power on the SG01v while pressing the DATA "UP" and "DOWN" buttons at the same time.
Links
| SITE | Type of resource | DESCRIPTION |
| home page | ||
AKAI SG01v review with audio demo