MC 707 / 101 : Roland Grooveboxes

The Lounge Other Gear
#914

Update for the MC-101 and MC-707 GROOVE-BOXES will be available in Q2 2020.

Roland has announced the ZEN-Core Synthesis System , which they describe as a powerful new engine found at the heart of their latest (and future) electronic instruments.

A spokesperson told us, “With ZEN-Core, Roland applies the wisdom gained from nearly 50 years of making world-leading analog, digital, and hybrid synthesizers to create an adaptable new platform that both embraces the legendary and looks to what’s next.”

Here’s the details directly from Roland…

Through ZEN-Core, Roland assures a consistent level of sonic quality and expression regardless of instrument. With the confidence of access to the same, growing library of compatible sounds that they can share and exchange, musicians and producers can focus on choosing hardware with features that best suit their application, playing style and workflow, from performance and production synthesizers to GROOVEBOXES, stage pianos, and more.
With the forthcoming system updates, owners of FANTOM 6/7/8 Synthesizers (Version 1.50*), JUPITER-X Series Synthesizers (Version 1.10) and RD-88 Stage Pianos will be able to start using the same compatible sounds across all models, adding a new collaborative capability to their instruments. Roland has announced the ZEN-Core Synthesis System , which they describe as a powerful new engine found at the heart of their latest (and future) electronic instruments.
ZEN-Core supports instrument-specific ZEN-Core Expansions including Analog Behavior Modeling for the JUPITER-X series and V-Piano for the new FANTOM Series. Further ZEN-Core expansions will soon arrive for other instruments in the Roland ZEN-Core family.
ZEN-Core base engine tones created on one instrument can be shared with other users or transferred into completely different compatible Roland hardware. Performers can take sounds made on a FANTOM and play them in the spotlight on an AX-Edge Keytar, or perform a JUPITER-X synth patch on an RD-88, dramatically simplifying setup and expanding tonal options. Sounds are easily shared with a bandmate or co-creator, even when using different compatible Roland hardware. With ZEN-Core, users have access to the sounds they want, in the format they want, wherever they produce or perform.>
The Roland ZEN-Core multi-timbral engine combines the latest Virtual Analog and PCM (up to 256 voices) synthesis techniques with powerful DSP effects. Advanced synthesis features include new VA oscillators, precisely modeled filters, ultra-fast and smooth LFO and envelope modulators, and high-resolution control of primary editing and performance parameters. Sounds created for the base engine will be compatible across all ZEN-Core instruments, opening-up a world of opportunities for creators and sound designers alike.
*Beta version as of today. Official release is planned in late January 2020.

More information:

2 Likes
#915

I’m liking the MC-707. While not perfect, or as feature rich as using a dedicated MIDI Sequencer with a bunch of drum machines and synths/samplers, it does a really good job of covering all of these needs in one box. Once you get to know the synth engine it’s really deep and the workflow is pretty fast. There’s not actually as much menu diving as you think, most of what you need is there in front of you and you only need to go deeper if you want.

For me it replaced my Social Entropy Engine, Roland MX-1, TR-8S, JU-06, Digitakt, Electribe 2 and Micromonsta (all sold to help fund a new car!)

I now just use the MC-707 and replaced my SH-01A with an MS-1. I also have a couple of TD-3’s arriving this week (to replace the TB-03 and MB-33 Retro that I sold). This will be my setup moving forward - 707+MS-1+TD-3 - no sequencer, mixer, sampler, effects, drum machines or other synths needed (or the spaghetti junction of audio and midi cables, patch bay, midi thru boxes etc.) :slight_smile:

I do wish the MC-707 had song mode and an Arpeggiator though. Of course there’s lots of other refinements and new features I’d like to see but these two I feel should be at least be present in any groovebox. Saying that I have found that using the 16 rows as scenes (on top of the 8 scenes available) does make it fairly easy to jam out a complete song once you prepared everything into clips and rows/scenes.

So I now have no electron gear! Although how long this lasts I don’t know. There’s a little niggle telling my to add an analog4 to my new rig LOL gonna try and resist though!!

2 Likes
#916

707 with arpeggiator [WIP at the moment]

arp-axo
arp-axo960×720 164 KB

2 Likes
#917

I’ve been using the arp from the MS-1 to play the MC-707

1 Like
#918

Now that it’s been some time, what’s the consensus on the MC-101? I haven’t seen a lot of talk or usage from anyone lately which can be a good and bad thing.

I recently had to sell all of my hardware so now all I have is Live with a Push, which is great of course, but I miss being able to chill in bed with my 404 or digitakt and I think it looks pretty interesting. I miss my Digitakt like crazy but I’m not about to buy it for the third time. At this point I’d like something new and the 101 seems like the Circuit I wanted but never had. Any cool user experiences or serious criticisms?

Fwiw I make hip hop mostly, not strictly sample based though.

#919

Hi. Does anyone have freezes with the 707. I had some freezes when I use some samples. My project is 1 row of clips for 1 song. So I Can jam with 16 songs. I use now 4 rows of clips and only 3 loops and maybe 10 short samples but now he says out of ram. The sample browser is so slow also project load and save. But now the Maschine is freeze sometimes and I can do nothing, only power of work. But I lost all the stuff I programmed. I can not use for live with this. It’s 2020 and my old Amiga is faster. Sometimes it freeze when I browse samples. That’s frustrating me really hard. Anyone have the same issue?

#920

The MC-101 is regarded as pretty good in general. It received some praise from Dibiase for example.

1 Like
#921

Hello, i think about buy roland mc 101.

How about sound and quality? I have octatrack and analog four,

I’m going to play samples from MC 101 on Octa Track.

#922

I had it for awhile. I returned it but I actually miss it. I’ve been thinking about getting another one.

The workflow kinda sucks. It’s like a calculator. Nothing like Elektron at all!
But the sound quality is amazing and so are the fx.
Not much sound shaping but there are thousands of preset sounds.
It’s a really fun little box.

1 Like
#923

yeah, the 101 is the best sounding little “couch sketchpad” box that I know of. Huge selection of presets combined with your custom samples, with a DAC, interpolation and output stage which reminds me of the MPC 4000 (so a bit on the HiFi side, but not sterile).

I could imagine a hiphop head with a decent sample collection loving this one. Assuming they get on with the UI and workflow, of course.

#924

I was in a clinic with both machines two weeks ago. They both sound great. Apart from the track number I don’t remember any other difference than usability between the 101 and the big one

#925

Aside from track count, the 101 does not have inputs nor sends/returns, only 4 tracks vs. 8 tracks, and the Zen-Core synthesis controls are severely limited on the 101, almost to the point of 101 being more of a rompler than a synth.

There’s a chance that Roland releases an editor for Zen-Core. And editor would unlock full synthesis also on the 101.

Significant update coming in Q2/2020 according to Roland. Might be the editor, or might be something else entirely.

1 Like
#926

And not to forget: If you limit yourself to 4 tracks on the 707 you can copy the project onto the 101 and it will sound same. I only can say the 707 is great!

1 Like
#927

I’m seriously considering the 707 as a swiss army knife in my setup, can you have 2 seperate ext line ins running into 2 of those tracks?
Loving the sound of having nice effects, time stretching, audio interface and arranger on one box.

2 Likes
#928

I love my 707. It’s currently not plugged up because I’m messing around with the Models, but the 707 is great.

The midi editing could use some love, but hopefully that’ll come in a future update.

I’d like to be able to copy midi notes, define the number of steps of a midi note on a drum track, shift the pattern left and right…stuff like that

1 Like
#929

That would be great but as far as I understand, it is not possible to route the external audio to an insert at all. You can record it to an insert, but I think not just audio through like a mixer.

#930

I thought I saw a video of guy running the TR8s back into one channel
EDIT: it’s return input goes to master only not a channel

1 Like
#931

You can send a return to a channel. Check the manual.

It’s great

1 Like
#932

I think Roland should make an MX-1 successor with the sequencer and FX of the MC-707 and sidechain of the TR-8S.
Now THAT would be something!

4 Likes
#933

I actually checked the manual, but can’t find it?

you mean the external input? Or only the fx return?