MC 707 / 101 : Roland Grooveboxes

The Lounge Other Gear
#814

As a rompler-groovebox 707 has a lot going for it to distinguish it from the pack - but it needs rompler-groovebox firmware TLC from Roland; sequencer features, navigation, workflow.
And they have a well established habit of shortsightedness - bespoke drivers, abandonment, etc.

The 101, though relatively expensive, I suspect might be the long term prized item. Very small, huge sound palette in its patches, versatile FX and enough tracks for on-the-go compact composition. Sounds great and makes a great elektron sequencer sound module.

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#815

A lot of people use the OT as a multitrack recorder on steroids, and don’t care much for mangling stuff to bits. To them, that comparison would make sense.

They’d still be wrong, given the limited memory :slight_smile: but conceptually, it makes more sense.

2 Likes
#816

Yeah, I was surprised that such a narrow vision of what the OT is all about seemed shared by so many.

But then, my way of using the OT (mpc on crack) might seem stupid to others as well.

Back on the MCs… not too sure I’m seduced by the 101: sound edition seems super restricted, and editing the fx on a 2 lines screen can get tedious fast. What bored me with the otherwise pretty cool Circuit was the macro system, and deep editing on the 2 lines screen of my mpc500 made me rage frequently.

1 Like
#817

I produce hip hop beats myself using the 101

From a drum and sequencing perspective it’s Faster than any mpc I’ve owned.

The sheer amount of sounds is incredible.

5 Likes
#818

I find it easy to come up with arrangements fast. Going through the presets is super fun. I’m marking down a list of favorites.
-N

#819

But, and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, you can’t slice and assign samples on these new Roland boxes, like you can on an MPC; and isn’t that the essence of HipHop?

Cheers!

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#820

There is lot more to hiphop than just the chopped-vinyls-on-MPC. There used to be a time when most hiphop was made by romplers, believe it or not. Late 90s - 00s IIRC

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#821

and now there is a time where most hip hop is made with 808s, cheesy synths and autotune

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#822

Slicing works just fine on the MC 707. You have to do it manually, but it’s not like it can’t be done. Map your samples to a drum kit and start chopping. Anyone who’s been on an SP303 or SP404 will still be in heaven on the MC 707, compared to how slicing’s done on those (pretty funky) kits.

Or not, cause the no nonsense approach on the Boss samplers and part of their appeal, I suppose. But that’s for the SP heads to say, I guess :slight_smile:

#823

The 101 can’t sample and there is no way to chop up samples that are user loaded, so you would be correct.

As far as vinyl sample based hip hop being the essence of hip hop, I think many people would disagree with you about that. An important part of the genre yes, but not the defining methodology

#824

Well, I certainly don’t claim to be an authority on HipHop at all, so fair enough. Despite owning an MPC Live myself, the SP-404 still has a place in my workflow… I’m actually surprised the 101 can’t do at least that much. That’s Roland for you though. :wink:

Cheers!

#825

What sucks is the fact that you can’t really sample directly with the mc707 and affect the sample to a drumkit to chop it, from what I gather.

3 Likes
#826

it can sample! route the mix to a looper channel or over usb from ur daw!

1 Like
#827

mc-101 : super annoying u can t change the clip/pattern change time. it has a weird feel t oit now… cant get it on 1/4 or 1/1 or 1/2

#828

Quick question to other users : is it possible to create drones, with the sequencer holding down continuous notes without any re-triggering ?

#829

IIRC you can edit the notes to be longer in step edit. But if droning for you means infinite decay time, hmm, not sure if it can be done… Perhaps with the aid of some fx?

#830

I’m thinking more about infinite gates. So far, I was able to hide re-trigs by using long release times.

#831

Can you sidechain an external input On the 707 like you can on the tr8s?

#832

not really, but there are workarounds.

#833

This whole 707 thing seems to come out of the mind of a homer simpson person or may be dr. frankenstein…
Lots of good ideas and parts rammed into one unit…

image https://media.wired.com/photos/593252a1edfced5820d0fa07/master/w_660,c_limit/the-homer-inline4.jpg

Obviously not my instrument… But the car came into my mind instantly after I played around with the 707…

1 Like