The Roland SH-1000, introduced in 1973, was the first compact synthesizer produced in Japan, and the first synthesizer produced by Roland. It resembles a home organ more than a commercial synth, with coloured tabs labelled with descriptions of its presets and of the "footage" of the divide-down oscillator system used in its manually editable synthesizer section. It produced electronic sounds that many professional musicians sought after whilst being easier to obtain and transport than its Western equivalents.
The Roland SH-1000, released in 1973, was Roland's first synthesizer. This monophonic preset instrument offered 10 preset sounds with limited editing. The SH-1000 established Roland's entry into the synthesizer market, preceding their more famous designs.
