MC 707 / 101 : Roland Grooveboxes

The Lounge Other Gear
#874

Updated just now. Happy to report that the pads indeed play MIDI now even on the 101! Pgm chng also works, but with a catch: when you change a clip, the pgm chng gets sent as soon as you select the next clip, which is awkward cuz the MIDI synth will change patch while still finishing to play the pervious clip… This behaviour is nowehere ideal, but at least its workable and means that I don’t have to bother manually memorizing which patch to select for my first 16 pattns.

Hmm, actually not sure if this is a good solution for ext pgm chng woes… I wish the pgm chng value could be tied to the clip data instead of its placement on the grid… because this means headaches a coming as soon as you’ve burned through your first 16 pattns :zonked: Roland needs to come up with a more elegant solution!

But at least now I don’t need to lug a MIDI keyboard around just for auditioning my ext MIDI sequences before actually recording them in.

EDIT: I think I figured a workaround for the awkward MIDI pgm chng behaviour. If you select an empty clip before switching to the next clip, pgm chng gets sent OK and sounds do not change in the middle of a pattn. So always leave one blank clip on every MIDI track folks :wink:

3 Likes
#875

Hmm having trouble updating my MC-707 I’m doing all they say below:

STEP 1: Updating the MC-707 System Program

Use the following procedure to update the MC-707 using and SD card.

  1. Download the “MC707_UPA_up.bin” to you computer.
  2. Copy the “MC707_UPA_up.bin” file to the root folder of the SD card.
  3. If you’re using a new SD card, format it on the MC-707 first.
  4. Safely remove the SD card from your computer and carefully insert it into the MC-707.
  5. With the unit switched off, hold down the [ SHIFT ] button and turn the MC-707 on. The update will then start.
  6. The message “Complete!!” will appear on the display once the update process is complete.
  7. Restart the unit.

When I hold shift and power up I get a message No update file

Anyone?

Cheers

#876

Sorted… it just worked :+1:

#877

Hi!

I want to make a smol setup. I plan to use the deluge for synth stuff, a drumcomputer for… yeah, drums, and my octatrack for prepared stuff, mixer, performance sampler.

Now I use in this mini setup an tr-8s as drums. I love it - i really love my tr-8s. But it is also a bit big and takes place on tables that might be too small.

I’m trying to find something that replaces the tr-8s if I want to keep that setup smaller, and I don’t want to use the digitakt for that.

That’s where I thought of the 101. the small faders and 4 performance knobs, the scatter fxes (and if i really need a synth… theres something there) looks appealing to me - if i only look at this box as drumcomputer.
I thought of track1: kick, track2 short perc like: snare, claps, etc., track3: hats, track4: long percussion…

What do you think about that - would you miss something from the 101 if you only want to do drum stuff with it?

#878

Selling my MPC Live now cause of the bad midi sync… Getting an 707 tho, to go with the octa. Love those jams you posted btw!

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#879

I have both TR-8S and MC-101. It’s funny because I have mostly been using 101 for drums. The thing you’d be missing would be ACB because 101 is all samples. However they sound great plus some drums not included w/ TR-8S (CR78 etc.). 101 only has 4 channels but you can have an entire kit on a single track if desired. You can mute sounds within the track (kicks, snare, hats, etc.). Also there’s a looper not to mention the great tone tracks.

Another cool thing is the ability to record unquantized drums on 101 :sunglasses:

2 Likes
#880

… and the 101 FX & scatter make a pretty good alternative palette to the SP404 type effects for feeding other samplers or just being itself by itself, navigation being a little fiddly but not too bad.

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#881

Yeah, that sounds great! I guess I would feed it with samples from kits I have on tr8-s and octatrack.

#882

I just picked up my 707 on Tuesday after work. I haven’t had much chance to play around with it, but I have a 3-day weekend starting today (Friday) to get to know my new toy (early Christmas present)! :christmas_tree:

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#883

Took receivership of a novation launchkey mini mk3 today to pair with the 101. Absolutely delighted :grinning:.

My whole setup can run off a usb power bank for hours on end.

Despite my frustrations with Roland. I’m still in love with the 101. Never have I been able to put a track together this quickly. Being able to dedicate my drums to one track and use the other 3 how I please is just awesome. Plus this box is just a lot of fun. I can see a future where I may explore getting a 707.

I’m actually excited to see what Roland do to develop the MC line in the future. I think they have actually made a sweet little box with this one

2 Likes
#884

Hey - how do you connect the Launchkey to the 101?

Right now I’m using Push 2 via Ableton Live. The Push 2 fires clips off which in turn triggers the clips.

It’s kind of nice because I can rename the tracks (and color code the clips) on the Push

#885

I’m just connecting via midi. The launchkey defaults it’s midi channels to the tracks on the 101 which is really convenient. So channel 1 controls track 1 and so on.

I haven’t figured a way to map the pads on the launchkey to the same midi channel though. Not a major issue for me as I mainly need the launchkey just to play notes using the keys. But I do like the idea of using the launchkeys pads to add velocity sensitivity to my drums on the 101.

#886

Sorry. Does the Launchkey have a 5-pin or is it usb?

If it’s USB, how are you connecting it.

Thanks!!!

#887

Apologies if I misinterpreted your question.

I’m using a midi cable. The launchkey has a midi out which is a 3.5mm TRS type A. So I needed to purchase an adapter to use a standard midi cable. They cost just a few pounds, dollars euros or whatever.

I don’t use a computer anywhere in my setup.

#888

Word word! Thanks

To the group: If I went with one of the Launchpads that just has USB, how would I connect it to the Mc707

#889

You’d need a USB MIDI host box. IIRC Kenton sells these.

Another option would be to go for the launchpad pro. It has a DIN MIDI output. I’ve actually often thought about getting one just because of the DIN port.

2 Likes
#890

that’s exactly what i’m using.
since LP Pro got scale mode, i never ever used piano style keyboard.

#891

Being able to put my drums all on one track (maybe two if I want to get fancy) is one of the reasons why I like the 707. :butterfly:

1 Like
#892

You can use a Raspberry Pi as a MIDI Host/Router as well. There’s a tutorial with an image file online. It’s dead simple and works really well. Proly much cheaper than the Kenton too.

#893

Anyone using the 101 with the Digitakt? I’m curious as to how they play together. I’m thinking of selling my 404 and replacing it with the 101. I know the 101 doesn’t have audio in but I usually use Ableton for my external FX now anyways so the 404 hasn’t seen love in quite a while.