Link appreciated. But unfortunately not being able to answer the questions I had in the 51 pages of that list was what led to me asking questions here 
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FWIW (the question got one like and a few answers, all much appreciated) I’m discovering more of the kind of sounds I like (leaning towards the naturalistic more than the synthetic) in this guys MC-101 videos.
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Ooo, I like those! Subscribed and thanks for the link.
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The MC-101 keeps frustrating me. There are so many great synth sounds, but you can’t really control them in your production. Take A-095 for example, a very cool, evolving sound: it has an LFO that’s controlling the timbre of the sound, but you can’t change the frequency of it, let alone how much (or what) it modifies. So you’re basically stuck with a sound preset that you can’t do much with.
It’s such a shame that they locked down this amazing sound engine they way they did on the 101. It makes it questionable even as a basic sound module for my purposes. Even though I agree with @jemmons that there’s something about the engine that just sounds so good.
And I’ve already dismissed the sequencer aspect of it, it’s just too fiddly for my taste - the more I try to use it, the more I feel I should just keep working on my MPC instead.
Not sure what to do about it yet but I’m leaning more and more towards selling it.
I’m teetering on the brink of buying one even though the menu-diving looks a bit tricky. I’ve watched a load of videos over the past week or so and although it looks fiddly it also looks like it has some great sounds that would be easy to use without much tweaking. I really like the idea of the random patch generation and it seems like that might spark a bit of creativity.
I also like the look of the drum tracks. Having proper polyphonic drum tracks on such a small device with pretty easy sample import (and in stereo, no flattening to mono) is quite surprising. I want to add some basic sampled one-shot drum tracks to my Syntakt and this looks like a good option.
I’m tempted by the 707 because it’s a more full-featured groovebox but, kind of ironically, the idea of trying to deep-dive with sound design on that interface looks awful. I feel like the relative simplicity of the 101 might be its strength.
Yeah, it’s a difficult machine to like. They took a complete thing (the 707) and then threw a boatload of constraints on it it make it portable. The result is a very opinionated device. If it doesn’t immediately charm you with its form factor, I don’t think it’s the kind of box that grows on you over time.
If you find yourself saying “it’d be so great, but…” it might be worth checking out the full 707 instead. But even that inherits quirks from the MCs of yesteryear.
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Just returned the Verselab MV-1 for the same reason (and some more like the waveforms of samples) and got the 707.
Second day now and I’m thrilled.
Just loaded a sampled C of my Minilogue XD into the synth (tonetrack), set a looppoint in the sample edit of the synth and here’s a happy fella.
I love this Roland synth, I like the sequencer and the sampling is sufficient for me.
All in all worth the price because otherwise I would have to buy a synth, sequencer and a sampler.
Maybe I will sell my sh01a but no hurry.
My favourite thing is sampling analog synth in it and let that be surrounded by sweet Roland pads etc.
If you love the sound and are used to having control over a synth there is no other option then to go for 707 or above.
You won’t regret it.
edit: If you already have a sampler and a sequencer than that’s another story.
edit: Deep diving in the synth is no hassle, the screen is bigger in reality than is seems on videos where you see the full synth.
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Believe me, it’s not that inspiring. Most of the time, it spits out a generic synth sound layered with a sampled percussion. It’s not random in an inspiring way, IMHO. It’s more of a gimmick.
For that, the MC-101 would be a good fit!
Yeah, but since I already have a modern MPC, I’m better off just focusing on that, I think. What I would love is access to the Roland Zencore, in a neat, synth friendly form factor. The MC-101 is literally perfect as a sound module, from a form factor point of view. It’s just that they decided to not grant you access to the synth engine, which is a real shame.
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Yeah, the 707 is not what I need since I already have an MPC Live 2, but I’d love the synth engine of the 707 in a smaller form factor. Unfortunately the 101 isn’t that.
Yeah to not be able to edit an LFO, annoying pitch env, etc. from an otherwise great patch sounds like a PITA ;D
Maybe just get a small laptop, put the mpc in controller mode and load up the plugin version?
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Editing on the 707 isn’t as bad as you might think - unless you want to go right down to the metal, there’s minimal menu-diving and everything is laid out left-to right and mapped to the encoders sensibly, certainly in terms of standard synth parameters (including LFOs). A lot of the time you can just quick-assign a track knob and make a tweak without having to get into the editor. You also have the simple and complex editing modes if you’re using different partials.
It’s nowhere near as fiddly as something like the Mopho, which it might seem superficially similar to. For some tasks it’s probably quicker than the MPC, just without the visual frills.
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This is what I thought in the last few days. I really love the form factor of the 101, but I was sure the limitations would have frustrated me long term, so I ended up with a good deal from ebay on a 707. Delivered a couple hours ago, and it seems a bit less convoluted from I thought. I’ve got to familiarize with the key combos, but so far a I was able to put down a simple melody and jam with it in minutes.
Now I have to think on the best way to route stuff in and out of it with the rest of the setup
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I’ve ended up ordering an MC-101 which should arrive tomorrow. I decided that I don’t want an entire new groovebox workflow. I already like my Syntakt a lot and I can integrate the little 101 quite easily I hope.
I’ve read a few posts on here lately about GAS and trying to work out what you want/need and filling gaps in your setup etc. I’ll never use a Syntakt and 707 together as I don’t have the space or the need so hopefully this will be a fun middle ground.
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Same here, as I’m going to sequence the 707 externally (now with a Pyramid, but waiting for an Hapax in September) and the idea of a tiny sound module like the 101 is where all this started for me, but as said above, I’d like the idea of create/modify patches on the machine, and the expanded I/O features of the bigger brother sold it to me in the end, as I can see the 707 replace the OT in my setup.
We’ll see.
Enjoy the 101!
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A good decision, I think. I love my MC-101 both as a battery powered mobile standalone unit and as an additional sound generator for my DT. I can imagine the MC-101 will be a very good addition for the Syntakt as well.
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Recently been looking for multitimbral companion for Digitakt, and downloading Zenology demo, I really liked the presets, i have a question thou: Is there a multitimbral Zenology powered device that is more knobby than 101/707, basically is better at programing sounds on the device itself(I’m really lost at Rolands different things like zen, acb, pcbwhatever)? Also a question that i can google, but I’m lazy 
Can 101/707 play samples polyphonically, and how many voices if the answer is yes?
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I believe it’s part of the general polyphony, which is in theory 128 voices - but just looking at the 707 cockeyed can reduce that. In practice I think tone voices always assume a second layer, which lowers the practical polyphony to 64, and then using various features like VA oscs and filters will also take a chunk off the total.
I’ve never noticed any voice stealing myself, but it does seem to be a common complaint, and I’m sure eight tracks of some of the more elaborate presets could soon trigger it. It’s really just a case of ignoring Roland’s claims and thinking tactically if you’re planning a chordfest.
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Yes, but they all have key beds attached. Look at the Jupiter X, Juno X, and particularly the Fantom line for examples.
Still waiting for my knobby desktop or rack-mount ZEN-Core device. We have an Ax and Aerophone, so fingers crossed
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but Jupiter X and Juno X aren’t multitimbral right?
edit: yes Jupiter X is multitimbral, hmmm a module would be insta buy for me!