I do have trouble to connect my jacks. I now use extensions I had at hand. They are thinner. So you have to pay attention when buying cables.
I wonder how the new Roland mc-101 and mc-707 will compare with the blackbox. Iām definitely interested in them, I love my blackbox too!
That little one looks fun and convenient. They definitely deserve their own thread.
Would love your thoughts on how you think the mc-101/707 measures up to the blackbox as far as features. I think itās safe to say youāre one of the more knowledgeable people about the blackbox and I certainly look to you for tips advice and feedback about this stuff! I love the blackbox. But do you think these will replace it for you? From what you read and what you can see in videos, I would love your thoughts!
Thatās very kind of you to say, I really appreciate your appreciation
On the 707, I donāt know. Thereās so much to the workflow in a groove box and the Blackbox has that in spades. The Box also caters much to the live player in me, itās like a tape recorder on speed. But Iāve put myself up for a demo with the 707, so weāll see. I can share my thoughts once I have them, for sure.
And on that note, I might as well share my latest Blackbox jam - my favourite so far.
Canāt wait to listen when Iām off work! Youāre absolutely right, features aside, the workflow trumps all for groovebox usefulness. Could you see yourself keeping the blackbox regardless of how these MCs turn out? Is that just redudant?
I have 1 day left for my blackbox return period. I really like it, I donāt want to be someone that trades something just for the shiny new thing. But if these really do everything the blackbox does with great workflow, Iām worried itāll be silly to keep it. I really like Roland workflow, the tr-8s is a lot of fun and great to jam on!
This is excellent. Are any of these elements chromatically sequenced or were they sampled that way?
Portability is a big deal for me. Iām bringing this little guy around everywhere and sample one shots, riffs, live playing and whatever and itās so easy to string something together from that. Itās like a hub to pour all your ideas in, again like carrying around endless amounts of tape with super convenience.
So Iād imagine however the 707 turns out, these two boxes are quite different from each other and fulfill different needs. I canāt see myself any producer with a more DJ-like act in mind preferring the blackbox. I can see a lot of experimental or instrument-playing (piano, guitar and stuff) musicians prefer the blackbox, though.
Thank you. The bass lines are chromatically sampled and played from the blackbox sequencer. The drums are a mix of loops and one shots, the one shots being stuff I sliced up within the blackbox. The leads are sequenced longer sections from a Tempest and a Prophet Rev2. So it really is a mix of a lot of things, and the blackbox sequencer is at the heart of it all.
I should add that Iām using the granular feature that was part of the latest update, to pour in some dust and scratch in the track. So thereās that, too.
The thing is Iām comparing the mc-101 to the blackbox. That I think is the real comparison. 2 AA batteries super portable and the same sound engine as the 707. 500 bucks too!! Have you looked at the mc-101 info and videos?
Yep. Thatās a no go for me. Doesnāt sample, only four tracks, and from what Iām seeing, a fairly awkward workflow (but before I tried it, I could stand corrected over and over).
If I was going for a portable groove box of the more classic kind, then this one is pretty great. But the blackbox does something entirely different for me, so even if I had a 101, Iād not consider it a competitor to the blackbox.
Here I go, as if I knew much about the MC-101. I donāt. Iām just ranting
This rant is going to be the reason I keep my blackbox as well as get this 101!! Iām a total groovebox addict and the more the merrier! But itās hard for me to pick apart features and Iām relatively new to this game so itās really nice to get your thoughts!
Just listened, I selfishly wish you made a video showing your work flow and making a track cause all your stuff that you share is a cut above! Great job man!
Not there yet. Iāve been with the OT for a long time. Thereās so much you can do with the OT, that just wonāt happen elsewhere.
But it rarely amounts to anything, so itās mostly a sweet distraction.
Also, for live purposes, the OT is still superior.
Thanks honestly, thereās not all that much going on when I do stuff. I record, mix and match and with some luck, it amounts to a track. I could jot down a few best practices Iāve learned with the blackbox, though.
Thereās something really singular and special about the blackbox workflow. Iām playing with it tonight and there isnāt anything else like it really. Itās so focused itās almost a mediative process just exploring and making sounds. More than any other gear I have I find myself just calmy exploring and finding myself surprised where I end up.
Other gear can do this too of course, but it usually has a more anxious twitchy energy about it. That or the workflow is complicated that it doesnāt allow for this relax and float downstream Zen quality this box does. Does that make sense to other users?
Iām gonna hang onto this for sure. Regardless of how awesome the Rolandās are (and I canāt resist Iāll definitely be trying them both) thereās something undoubtedly unique and cool about this blackbox.