VSTi Integration
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, the SH201 is the first Roland hardware synth to offer VSTi integration. When the SH201 Editor installs, it installs as two versions: the stand-alone one (activated by manually starting the program from your computer) and the VST Instrument one (a separate DLL file). The VSTi version requires a USB connection, which provides the necessary additional 'MIDI port' to the SH201 in your DAW software. The plug-in appears in your list of VST instruments as 'SH201 Editor VST'. When loaded, the Editor appears just as if it were the GUI of a software synth. The SH201 can be edited from here just as with the stand-alone version — with the additional advantage that if you save the song with the SH201 in an edited state, it's recalled exactly as you left it when the song is reloaded.
Curiously, the Editor did not support the recording and automation of its GUI elements within Sonar (my DAW of choice) in my tests during the review period (see the 'Sonar & The SH201' box. However, Sonar happily recorded changes made on the SH201's panel as MIDI control data, which is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
