Oh man you got to play with the 101?! Obviously you’ve had the blackbox for a much longer time, but how do you like this compared to that?
I don’t see myself ever selling my blackbox. It’s too unique and easy to use. My mc-707 arrived yesterday and I agree, the workflow is kind of awkward but I’m getting better with it and there’s a lot I really like about the workflow. And yeah, it sounds incredible.
The 101 is the one I’m more interested in. Would LOVE any insights or observations you have about it.
Well, as far as portable instruments go, this one’s raising the bar. It’s essentially the Circuit, 2019 style. I wouldn’t say it compares to the Blackbox. The Blackbox to me is more like a portable studio and recording solution, based on classic sampling techniques for the modern age. Which essentially blurs the line between recording a session or sampling something. If it’s on tape, you can mess with it.
So it’s more like what Novation and Korg are doing, I’d say. However, what the Circuit got right, was the workflow. In terms of features, they don’t compare, but when it comes to getting stuff done, the 101 didn’t convince. It’s not like it can’t be learned. Of course it can. However awkward it is, in time there’s no instrument we can’t get a grip on, should we put in the time.
The question is more if it’s worth it. Even when you know the 101, would you enjoy working with it? That, I don’t know. Only time can tell.
I’ve never really attached myself to any Roland gear for a longer period of time. Whatever design philosophy they adhere to, it doesn’t work with my brain. So this one remains a pass for me, though I remain impressed with the accomplishment of getting this into such a small box. Given that the quality of the build itself is pretty good, the pads especially, there’s nothing holding back the idea now that a great and power-rich groove box of this kind and size can be built. Should a great design be applied to this concept, it’d be the next thing that gears of the kind would have to compare themselves to.
Does anyone who has it knows when they say “Available total time for Looper Sample: Approx. 60 sec (44.1 kHz)”. Does that mean per looper track or per project ?
I’m gonna assume it’s per project but I mean common, it means it’s 7 four bar loop and 2 more bars.
So what that means is the MC-101 is actually less limited than the 707 since you have less chance to hit the sampling/polyphony limit if you use 4 tracks. Of course there’s the different interface but if you buy two 101 you got double the polyphony and sample time for the same price.
I believe the 60 second limit is per loop. So you wouldn’t be able to load a sample longer than 60 seconds on a looper track, or record a loop longer than that. And I think that per project, it is limited to 6 minutes stereo, 12 minutes mono at 44.1khz.
Yeah, maybe Roland was like, ok, we see that few of you are disappointed in the 101 and 707, so here’s something else! And it does look like it would fall in with the JDXA.
As and edit, I now think it is only 60 seconds looping per project. I have read some varying things on this. I will have to just get my hands on one to see what it can do.
I ordered one online so I’ll tell you when I get it. It was supposed to ship today, but they have been sending me mixed message about it, so I don’t know anymore.
So according to the specs on a few websites I have seen, the looper will only record at 44.1KHz, but it can record using 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit, or 32-bit float. Hahaha, what? So I can’t even bump the looper up to 48KHz, but I can get 32 bit float? But then it will playback user loaded samples ranging from 32–96 kHz/16-bit, 24-bit.
A bit OT but I get you about the DN. It’s feels crammmed pretty quick if you fill two tracks with some dope loops and didn’t plan ahead. Still sticking to DN over DT for the simple reason that I’m not into samples …at all. (
