There are 8 (may be wrong about the number) parameter locks per step AFAIK.
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Youāre right, bad phrasing on my part. I mean the MCās ability to display the āmotionā/āperformanceā/āknob movementā params . Like, at once, on the screen, per step. The S-1 only lets you add a motion to a step or delete all motions. You canāt really see what they are or edit them. Of course, one of the reasons this is possible on the MC is there are only the four macro motions to keep track of, so this is another trade-off.
Itās worth pointing out that, apart from motion, both machines are capable of viewing/editing note properties per step (the MC can do this at once on the screen where as the S-1 requires a hold-a-step-and-cycle-through-numbers-one-at-a-time approach, but itās at least possible). Itās mostly the same properties available on each: Note, Velocity, Gate, and Sub-step (retrig). The MC has an additional āstartā (microtiming) property. And the S-1 has a Probability setting that the MC only has on drum tracks (MTE). But otherwise the same.
EDIT: Oh, and the MCās āstartā time brings up another important difference: I believe the S-1ās sequencer is always on the grid? Even when recording live, it quantizes to the step. Or, at least, I havenāt found a way to make it not do that, yet.
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It has least 14 controls to tweak vs MC-101ās 4 knobs. Rechargeable battery.
The MC-101 is a nice little workstation as we both know but the menu diving does not encourage synth tweaking like a machine with lots of knobs/faders.
I would not use this as a replacement for my MC-101.
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If Roland did that, Iād sell my SP-404 MKII in a heartbeat and switch to something more portable with a step sequencer.
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EBM = Electronic Body Music
And Goa comes from djās playing early Eye Q/Harthouse/early trance records out in Goa and people recreating the sound when they got home.
Andy Weatherall played trance when it first appeared, you can hear the influences on early Sabres of Paradise label releases:
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I think I may re-opt for a MC 101 as for 50 Euro extra second hand is the best choice to pair with my DN live set
I keep hearing about these 250ā¬ MC-101s but I only saw it close to that price once on NYC Craigslist, and it was gone almost immediately.
In Europe there are avail around 300 but probably is the Shipping the main issue?
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Iām in Europe now but have no idea where to look for resales. Anyway, I have ordered a new S-1. I was always on the fence about the MC-101; there were enough perceived downsides that kept me from pursuing it vigourously.
Not the same context but a Korg SQ64 makes a great sequencer for SP. and itās pretty cheap. Itās also one of the most well made pieces of gear I own surprisingly.
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I was badly tempted myself for the S-1 but I already had an MC101 and did not mind the Zencore library at all and the latest Firmware is so much better on the Synth Egine control from the Device itself rather than from the Zenology Pro software editing, still love what I hear and love portable machines, eventually with a T-8 but againā¦ MC 101 has drums and patchesā¦
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Designing a patch on the S-1 is a joy, and takes seconds
Designing a patch on the MC-101 is a menu diving horror show, and takes a long time
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Really enjoyed my 1st couple of hours with the S-1, quick and easy workflow.
Roland on a roleā¦.
ā¦And some new knobs for the Roland twins:
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Looks fun ā¦ GAS attack coming back
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You urgently need a fifth synth track for your 101 
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Had my first go around with the S-1 last night. An absolute joy to use with my M8 Tracker handling the sequencing duties. Sounds great and easy to dial in. Mono, Poly, and Unison really round out the package. Donāt care much for the chord mode though. Still have to learn some of the shift functions and deeper capability, but so far itās been really fun! Iām getting on better with this than I did with the SH01A that I previously owned (maybe I prefer knobs) Does anybody know if the unit gives any indication of battery level when not plugged in? Thanks!
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I seem to recall a demo when the original three were released where someone let it play and then showed the bit where the box said ābattery lowā and then quit a minute or two later. It seems absurd to not have a battery indicator but then again we are talking about Roland. [Edit: itās possible this imperfect memory was about the MC-101 or TR-6S.]
The charge light comes on and turns red when it needs to be recharged. I would estimate that I got about four hours out of it. No idea how much longer it would have lasted.
I do the same, with m8, and enjoy it as much!
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