Pretty entertaining/informative review of the MC-101.
How many samples can you put on the SD card? Is there a maximum number of files you can browse since itās only one folder?
func button does not exist on the 101
Sorry I thought you were talking about the 707ā¦
Btw, the folderless sample management is a PITA 
no idea on max sample file limit
Xferred some loops in today. Iām digging the timestretch algo, sounds nice and stuttery at extreme settings, and pretty legit at moderate BPM changes.
Already incorporating this to my latest rig. It replaces two other boxes, so I get to add in one extra 
Just need to stick to a template project (using 2 tracks for MIDI sequencing) so all the content will be easily recyclable across projects.
The MIDI doesnt send pgm chng now does it? If clips had their own pgm chng, itād make life easier
I just tried to put about 6000 single shot drum samples (about 1 GB in total) in one folder on the SD-cardā¦ but navigating so many files is just really slow on the 707, if you scroll too fast it shows a spinning star and you have to wait for it to catch up againā¦
We need support for folders in the file system! And a faster way to audition the samples with the padsā¦
Update: I tried two different 32GB SDHC cards formatted FAT32 on Windows 10 but the MC-707 keeps saying āNO CARDā and wonāt even let me format itā¦ have you had any luck with SD-cards other the than the factory 8GB card?
Update 2: The way the screws over the SD-card slot just go into the plastic says it all for the build quality, I wish it was less plasticky at this price pointā¦
Update 3: Got a 32GB working by formatting it on a Mac. I was hoping it would be faster than the stock card, but it actually seems slowerā¦ 32GB should last forever thoughā¦
I got a nice little micro workflow going on here now.
I write a song on the 707. Make it as good as I can, given the severe limits of my talent and time, but blessed with ignorance on the lacking of both.
Then, once Iām happy with the track, I connect the 707 to my Rev2. All the synth parts, I use Midi out from the 707, pick a sound that I like on the Rev2 and record those parts as loop to replace the synth parts of the 707. While the Roland kit has solid sounding synths, it doesnāt come close to a solid Sequential, hence the replacing of midi parts with looped takes from the Rev2.
Once I got that mix where I want it, I slap on the Heat for final aweseome, and then Iām done.
Working on a (very) short set using this approach now. While the 16 times 8 track limit isnāt exactly a blocker, itās no Octatrack when it comes to creating marathon sets.
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You can use your current project as a shell and load clips/parts from other projects in real time if you wanted to do a longer set.
Yep, that works. Tho a bit messy for me. Iām not that dexterious in live situations and tend to freeze up for just about anything, lose my balance, trip over the table and fall on my face, usually into someoneās beer and turn over his bowl of peanuts while Iām at it.
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Only thing that is a bottleneck there is the 60 second looper RAM, which you might need to purge between loading new clips (?)
Has anyone stress-tested this to a reasonable degree btw?
As much as this is a viable option, itās not a solid substitute for mixing and matching clips or even stems, or a project structure that allows for more substantial work. Iāve used it to swap clips to try out when I work on the music, but even if this did work all right for a live situation, itās not just a great option for it.
One thing puzzles me with the 707 - given that Roland has streamed samples from SD cards since the 404SX, not to mention that other actors have done this for quite awhile too, I donāt quite get why theyāre not doing it here, too.
I can understand if itās a firmware thing and they just couldnāt get it right before launch, and thatās okay. But the architecture behind file structures and loading doesnāt exactly inspire confidence that the pieces are in place for SD card streaming in the near future. In terms of sample management, itās quite arcane.
I was early on the Deluge train and for awhile, there was no streaming going on there. However, loading and project swapping was instantaneous, so once streaming was in place, it didnāt really surprise, as great as it was. You could tell that the platform was already solid enough for that kind of development.
Whateverās in place now would have to be completely replaced for cued project loading as well as streamed samples. And maybe thatās the plan, that itās a primitive place holder platform for basic sample handling until they finish the version that does this properly. Or not. I wouldnāt bet on it.
But it is puzzling that such a powerful machine with such a clear purpose, doesnāt apply a technology for sample management that Roland themselves have used one way or another, for more than ten years.
Indeed, I hope Roland will improve the whole file system handling in a firmware update. In the current state loading samples from the SD card is really painfully slowā¦ I did some testing (the contents of both SD cards is exactly the same):
- Stock Micron 8 GB card takes about 3 seconds to show the contents of the project folder
- Sandisk Ultra 32 GB card takes about 8 seconds just to show the contents of the project folder
Importing a sample takes 10+ seconds just show what samples are on the card and if you scroll to āfastā it goes back to loading for 10+ seconds, in the mean time you canāt do anything and have to wait for the unit to finishā¦
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Yeah, this just makes no sense. It doesnāt block me, but given that everything else in the MC 707 makes sense - one doesnāt have to like it, but stuff makes sense - this part just doesnāt. Iām accepting it since I like everything else about it, and it still gets the job done.
But still. Seriously. Whereās the guy in quality control who just says āNoā, when you need him?
Got my MC-101 mid last week after handling one in person, but have only had a little time to put into it. There are some things I like, but tone handling is not one of them - which is a shame, because I already have a million little things that can handle drums really well.
The thing that is killing me is the lack of very rudimentary waveform handling - like, I looked for way too long for a place to start/end a loop within a sample in the middle of a WAV-based tone. Seems like you can do this on loop tracks - but you canāt really sequence those or even play/audition them chromatically from what I can tell unless itās playing. Just seems like everything regarding tone handling ALMOST does what I want it to, or I can do what I want to do in a non-tone track, which then precludes playing it chromatically.
I really like drum sample handling and effects, thatās quite nice. So I guess itās a preset machine for any tone based stuff, and thatās probably fine. Just seems like it wouldnāt take much to vastly improve tone handling - the little box seems like itās more than capable, even if itās just a monophonic tone track at that point.
The SD samples all-in-one-directory is, as many of you have said, completely nuts. Iāve actually managed to have the unit just go blank if I have more than 230ish samples in there (it seems to have been at sample 231 every time I tried) - sometimes I can exit the screen and return to it and its fine at that point.
Iām honestly more OK with the poor directory handing over lacking the ability to loop a tonal sample at specified start/end points, something that even the meager volca sample allows.
At least the presets sound pretty good, itās just the usual groovebox problem of ātons of samples that are worthless and considerably less good ones.ā May be just me, I have yet to find a āgrooveboxā Iāve really been able to get into. I will say that this is miles beyond the current gen korg electribe, but thatās not saying a ton.
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Say, does anyone else have problems using the MIDI sequencer? I only hear the MIDI output when a clip is playing back its sequence, but I canāt play the MIDI tracks directly with the pads of the 101?
Do you need to enable a setting somewhere or something? Does even a MIDI keyboard play through if I connect one to the MIDI input?
Well, I can definitely play back tones on the MC-101 real time with an external midi controller if everything is the correct channel. I can play back a sequence on an external midi device as sequenced on the MC-101. But I cannot seem to use the pads on the MC-101 to act as a real-time midi controller, it seems to only send midi when the sequence is playing.
I hooked my keystep up to the midi in of the MC-101, and then hooked the midi out of the MC-101 to an external device, and I could control the external device with the keystep as long as soft midi thru was on. So that all works as expected.
Thereās possibly a setting to allow what you want buried in there somewhere, but Iām definitely not seeing it.
Yes, I just did the same. So with soft thru on, you can play the MIDI track, and you can record to the 101 like Iām used to doing (like with digitone, for example). However, there is no auto channel for recording into the seq, so you need to switch the track on the 101 first before you can record on to it. Also, with the playthrough being based on MIDI thru function, you can only play the MIDI targets by referring to their MIDI channel. Not ideal.
First off, there should be a setting for MIDI playthrough even when using the internal pads of the 101. Furthermore, without any notion of auto channels or ch routing for the input, I need to first set the MIDI keyboard to send the correct ch for the destination to audition, and then I still need to switch a track on the 101 in order to actually record anything in.
I am not sure this box is going to be for me anymoreā¦ Some typical Roland ish preventing me from getting a fluid workflow going 
As it is now, I am not seeing a finished product. It needs some firmware love. However, I am not sure Roland will indulge me, it isnāt Rolandās MO to add much features to a product post-release (and it is clear already that the 101 is intentionally crippled so everyone would buy the 707 instead)ā¦
First the Akai force and now thisā¦ Iāve bought two products this year which I need to āwait to matureāā¦ This is where things is at in 2019?
And hey, lets talk about the looper trackā¦ Why can I only get a loop going from start to finish? It would be great if I could sequence the audio clip somehowā¦ Right now Iāve got two options - burn a lot of RAM and make long (breakbeat) loops or cut up the loops into slices on a drum track, and be then tied to a fixed BPMā¦ And the looper even supports the much-praised ārepitch modeā which is sorely missing from the OT! Doing my head in 
And why cant you loop a custom sample on the 101? How am I gunna make long pads from my fave M1EX patches?
The manual doesnāt say where the scatter data is storedā¦ guessing its stored on a project level? Is there a way to duplicate a scatter setting to another slot? no copy/paste?
While there is undeniably something fun to the 101, a further dig reveals quite big omissions in basic features.
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Hmmm - I appreciate you sharing your experience with the 101.
As much as I want to play with something new, I donāt know.
They look fun, but really arenāt necessary. Iām waiting for the gas to die down, then see if itās something Iām interested in.
Thanks!
Right now, I am starting to think that the 101 is primarily meant as a standalone piece. It works best when you use the internal sounds, with maybe a few select drum samples / oneshots and static loops. If version 1.0.2 introduced a 210 sample limit to the system, that further complicates matters a bit as you have to be mindful of what PCMs you want to tranfer to the unit.
When you have everything set up, writing patterns is a breeze, but editing of polyphonic stuff is clunky, and there is no undo if you mess up a recording passā¦ you have to clear the clip and start again. Its workable, but really makes me want to use some other sequencer first and then just capture a āperfect patternā by recording the other seq into the 101 (MPC, force or elektron) in sync.
I was really hoping to use the 101 a bit like how I use an MPC: Run a few internal tracks and sequence 1 or 2 tracks externally. Both use cases seem to lack some things I am very used to having on other machines.
I do like the sound of this thing though.
It seems you canāt do program changes with the MC-707 Iāve been trying to use my Mpc X to control it but no joyā¦ Does this thing even do program changes? Midi implimentation chart suggest not unless Iām getting dumber in my old ageā¦