RS7000 v.s. MC-505

[Fab Claxton]

Hello there,
I'm considering buying the RS7000. How does it compare with the
Roland MC-505 (apart from the fact that it has a built-in sampler).
I'd like to know the following things:

1) How do the on-board sounds (voices, presets, patches, whatever
Yamaha calls them) sound compared to the MC-505? Are they better/worse/about the same?

2) How many on-board sounds does the RS7000 have?

3) How do the drums in the RS7000 compare to the MC-505? My
dissatisfaction with the MC-505's drums were the main reason I sold
it.

Thank you very much to anyone who replies.
Fab

[mungo]

1) How do the on-board sounds (voices, presets, patches, whatever
Yamaha calls them) sound compared to the MC-505? Are they better/worse/about the same?

2) How many on-board sounds does the RS7000 have?

3) How do the drums in the RS7000 compare to the MC-505?

Who cares? you have an onboard sampler so the onboard sounds are just a bonus.

[Fab Claxton]

I care, actually. I don't have a whole lot of spare time to work on music, so when I do, I like to get right down to business. I like to tweak presets and try to program new sounds. I don't really dig sampling anything other than vocals. That's just the way I work. I'm looking for a machine that has some great, tweakable on-board sounds that I can manipulate. The sampler is just a bonus for me. So once again -

1) How do the on-board sounds (voices, presets, patches, whatever
Yamaha calls them) sound compared to the MC-505? Are they better/worse/about the same?

2) How many on-board sounds does the RS7000 have?

3) How do the drums in the RS7000 compare to the MC-505?

Fab

[Cruel Hoax]

Perhaps a better comparison would be the RS7k vs. the MC-909, which is Roland's sampling beatbox with built-in synth engine.

In any case:

Roland's synth engine is deeper and allows for more tweakability. Not such a big deal in your case.

Roland expansion cards stomp all over Yamaha's years-old expansion card offerings. Better sounds, more of 'em, better programming. No contest.

The 505's "Megamix" mode is very similar to the RS7k's normal sequencer mode. It's the best feature of the RS7k, in my opinion. You can mix and match 16 different mini-parts by using a separate instrument sequence on every track. Sweet. The MC-909 omits this ability.

The sounds in the RS7k are, in my experience, a bit cheesy and "happy", in the vein of the RM1X. They can sound good with programming, but it sounds like that's not what you're after.

Unless the sequencer features are key for you (and yes, the RS's sequencer rocks), I'd suggest getting a used MC-909 for the same price as a new RS7k.

-Hoax

[lasher]

1) How do the on-board sounds (voices, presets, patches, whatever
Yamaha calls them) sound compared to the MC-505? Are they better/worse/about the same?

can´t compare it really on this point at least not with better/worse/about the same.
as you know roland has the architechture of a "multi voice patch".
the RS ist not as "tweakable", but still it´s sounding very good imho.

2) How many on-board sounds does the RS7000 have?

an a$$full- never counted them.

3) How do the drums in the RS7000 compare to the MC-505? My
dissatisfaction with the MC-505's drums were the main reason I sold
it.

the drums are very good, but still i don´t want to compare them with the MC cos, same thing as mentioned before- different "type" of synthesis / and if you have routed the MC drums to the individual outs you could get them sound real fat.
what i like about RS on the drumside is, that the whole drum section isn´t captured on one MIDI channnel, so you may tweak the individual drum elements to your gusto, while the MC had all the drums on MIDI 10.
another advantage imho is you can program whole kits on one track and add other percussive elements or drums on other tracks- quite different than MC.

main point for me was the superior sequencer that allows you crazy things to to, compared in this point RS wins hands down.
different meters in the same style, different phrase lengths possible...

the sampler that is onboard is limited, yes, but on the other hand it gives you some really interesting features that give you a high amount of operating possibilities which increase the fun factor.

if you´re looking for further information just do a search here, we´ve discussed this already.

[deSelby]

I once considered buying the RS7000 over the MC-909, but a number of factors made me lean towards an E-mu command station instead.

If you won't be sampling much, as you say, then load up with ROMs and you're in heaven.

I have mine hooked up to a laptop running Fruity / energyXT and it kicks arse.

Check it out before you buy.

[RanCIDmilk]

drop that mc505..
consider one of three..

emu commandstation(4-500usd) with of roms..

rs7000(899usd) with maxxed out ram(40usd) scsi zipdrive or HD..

mc909(1300usd)

what kinda music do you do..?

[lasher]

drop that mc505..

he did already:

My dissatisfaction with the MC-505's drums were the main reason I sold
it...

[Fab Claxton]

Yeah, I dumped the MC-505 a few months ago. In that time, I bought an E-MU XL-7 off of eBay, but the morons at Canada Post "lost" it. I'm still waiting for the insurance claim to go through to get my money back. The problem is, all the musical instrument retailers up here in Canada have stopped dealing with E-MU altogether, so it's damn-near impossible to get my hands on a Command Station. I could buy one on eBay and have it shipped up here from the States (the one I bought was from a fellow Canadian), but the hassle you have to go through with customs (not to mention the ridiculous price they make you pay) is hardly worth it. I thought that if I couldn't get my hands on an E-MU, that I might as well try the RS7000, which is readily available up here. I think I'll just keep my eyes open (and my fingers crossed) for another XL-7 on eBay in Canada. It seems to be the best machine for my needs, and everyone raves about it. Thanks for all the advice, guys.
Fab

[lextraffik]

My vote is for the rs7000. I like it a lot better than my buddie's Emu mp7. It has the grid mode like fruityloops which is very easy to use if you were once a FL user. I like the setup of the rs, it's not cluttered at all, and none of the buttons feel cheap. The only bad thing about it is that there are only 2 touch sensitive pads. The manual that comes with the machine is very simple to understand and includes tutorials. Anyway, have fun.

chief.