After watching the loopop video between the 707 and 101, I’d definitely pick the 101. Seems more worth the price, imo.
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stiff pads are not a problem for those with Command Stations background 
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seems to be common practice to use stiff pads. Only ableton, native and akai getting it right.
Edit: On the audiobus forum somebody wrote that the pads are better than those on his machine mk1 and on par with the push2 pads. Opinions seem to differ on pad quality 
I loved the pads on the push
Portability wins for me.
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Even with a lot of menu diving, it seems you can’t access all the synth params on the 101, so that’s a big no for me… don’t want yet another circuit. 707 way to go.
i have enough small machines (Electribe 2, DSI Tetra, PreenFM2, Blofeld).
i want ONE do-it-(almost-)all live/jam box with multiple audio & MIDI outs, so 707 is perfect for me.
well, actually, 101 would be a perfect machine for live finger drumming. but i can’t afford both.
Like cameras you can have ones with thousands of menu features. In reality how often do you ever use them?
Sure, I probably use a tenth of the feature… you probably do too. But the point is that the features you’re interested in are not necessarily the ones I’m interested in, that’s why it’s important to have access to all of them.
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Could 707 replace butique boxes? I asked this to loopop and would be curious on what do you guys think. I also have many boxes and was thinking to sell few of the butiques. I do not used them as my main kits, rather here and there . . . maybe even 101 can take care of the sh 01as or tb03 duties. No question 808/909 but these are already on my DT/OT.
No. Unless you never touch the controls on yours.
A great buddy for 101 could be the Korg Volca keys or bass. Two tiny units huge sound.
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No way for the TB-03 because of the 303 peculiarities. Even specialized units fail this sometimes (looking at you TB-3)
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Also, there is no accent, so while you could approximate that with velocity, you won’t get the same behavior and sound of the 303.
I’ve had the 707 for 2 weeks and have a decent grasp of it. Got the 101 today and was super excited for it, I wanted it more than the 707. Granted it’s only been half an hour, so this is kind of a pointless observation, but the learning curve is a little steep on this. The size and number of knobs buttons and screen on the 707 make it very easy to navigate. Right now the 101 is really tricky to know what’s where or to go through screens. I have no doubt it’ll improve as I spend some time with it, but I think it’s interesting to see how things feel right away with no manual reading.
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I’ve had another go at these now yesterday, when they showed up at the local dealer’s.
As much as I like what Roland’s doing here, I don’t see myself being fluid with any of these two. One can learn anything, of course, but it’s kind of like that feeling I had with the Deluge. I wanted to learn it not because I enjoyed working with it, but because I wanted to access its powers. But I never enjoyed it all that much. My experience with say the Elektrons, has always been different. I’ve wanted to learn them just as much because I just enjoyed playing them as I enjoyed writing the music.
Essentially, this is how I learned the piano as well, when I was a kid. Just sitting down and doing something with it, was something I enjoyed so much that getting to the point where I could play it, was almost a side effect. I don’t get this vibe with the 101 and 707.
Mind you, this is my very personal experience. It’s not a statement of fact or even a micro review, it’s just me sharing where I’m coming from.
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101 arrived today!
Had t0 get used to the system ( shortcuts etc): but after an hour got it… the options are still a bit overwhelming.
WHY WHY… is the Roland software developer still living in 1994 ?! Anyways really great machine:
- great sounds… both drums and synths
- usb powered from usb battery pack
- every track has variable length: direction frwd, bckwrd, inv etc…
- great effects
but…
- build quality: kind of dissapointing for a 500€ pricetag (very plasticy and center rotating knob… will it last ??
- NO METRONOME (wtf)
- the preset browser: why do u get init tone everytime, and please more categories
- i thought the row of 4 knobs wold be track selected based, they are however not: after every track selected: it does k1 = ch 1 k2 = ch 2 etc…
- no filter on looper channel (only as an MFX)
- master MFX not assignable to tracks 1-4
- usb recording from pc: is still a bit buggy, needs some restarts of ableton…
- pots have no centre dent (click middle)
needs editor + sample loader
Also velocity sensitive pads must be possible on the 101
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check for firmware update.
metronome function for 707 appeared in the latest firmware, so i think it should be so for 101 too.
p.s. also: backup your SD card content just in case, and better use another SD for updating firmware.
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not on the 101 : (
I also hope the main knob on the 101 is quality to last for a long time cause this knob is used for everything. Roland quality is pretty good yeah? Every product I’ve had of there’s has been really good build quality wise.
I felt the same about the deluge. I the 101 and 707 feel a lot less cumbersome and more immediately rewarding than the deluge did for me. But yeah I know what you mean re: elektron and piano! If you’re not having fun relatively soon, it isn’t worth it.
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