Is the S-1 good for beginners?

Yes. The knob-per-function layout and built-in sequencer make subtractive synthesis easy to learn by ear. The small keyboard is the main adjustment.

How many voices does it have?

Four-voice polyphony, with chord modes that let one key trigger several notes. That is enough for pads and chords but not dense arrangements.

Yes. It sends and receives USB MIDI and has MIDI In and Out, so it can be a controller or a sound module in a setup.

Yes. It runs on batteries and weighs about 11 oz with them, which is the point of the AIRA Compact format.

It recreates the SH-101 sound through modeling rather than analog circuits, and adds a step sequencer, arpeggiator and effects the original lacked.

The synth itself with batteries; a USB cable and MIDI adapters are typically sold separately, so check before buying.

At B&H Photo-Video-Audio, for $229.99, as of our latest check.

Rated 4.8 out of 5 from 218 ratings.

15 stores we checked sell it, including Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Best Buy, eBay, Sam Ash Direct.

$229.99at B&H Photo-Video-AudioChecked 15 h ago

Compared across 16 stores. Prices are checked against each store and labelled with when.