Anyone using the MC-307 as a sequencer?

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dj Frantik

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I"m looking at getting an MC-307 to use strictly as a sequencer. Just curious if anyone else is doing this? Just need to know if the arp sends midi out, do the mute buttns send midi out, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Well. i could give a crap less about the sounds, i won't even have audio outs plugged in, i wanna just use it as a sequencer.
 
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I wouldnt go near any groove box at all. They are not worth the hassle.

For a decent hardware sequencer try the Yamaha RM1x.

:D
 
I own a RM1x, and it is a great sequencer.

First off, the screen is nice and big, so you can see lots of information. The menu system is graphically done too, so you can scroll through menus, instead of having the options flash by your face.

There are three different ways to sequence too. You can sequence live, where you play the music into the machine live. You can step record, where the RM1x displays a grid on the screen and you punch in what notes go for what step. Then there is the X0X mode, where the mini keyboard turns into a 16step TR X0X style sequencer.

On top of that, you have different user banks to store and name your sequences. These are all easilly accessed from the instant you turn on the unit, simply by turning one of the knobs under the display. Now, each of your seqences is divided into 16 sub sequences. This is probobly one of the greatest features on the RM1x, because it allows you to rearrange your music in real time.

For instance, in sub sequence A, i can lay down some drums, a bass line, strings, and a piano, then I can copy all of these over to sub sequence B except for the strings. Then I can copy all of those over to sub sequence C, and change up the drums adding a fill. Now I can use A as my chorus B for somebody to flow to, and C for transitions.

THEN you can take all of these, and arrange them in the song editor. All you have to do is select what sequence you want to use, then arrange all the sub sequences in the order you like. ON TOP OF THAT you can even record live stuff into the song that wouldn't fit into the sequences!!! Like, yeah throw a piano solo in after 15 bars, but keep sequence B looping the background.

Then you can save it all to a disk!!! There are so many editing tools in this box too, its crazy. Wierd functions like Random PAN, where notes are randomly panned for a channel. Great onboard effects too, that are pretty much FULLY CUSTIMIZABLE!!! You can edit your reverbs, change the delay, etc, or edit your choruses, edit your distorion effects, edit your EQ effects, its nuts man.

The sounds on the RM1x are pretty decent too. They have some great basses, and the drums are alright too. Definately not totally synthy techno oriented, but rather techno, hiphop, dnb, pop, jazz, almost any modern music genre.

I'd recommend you go try it out someplace. Ask any Roland MC Groove box user how easy it is to sequence and do things on their unit, and they will tell you it is a pain.

Here are a few tracks I have sequenced using my RM1x.
(Deep Gangster Story Beat)
(Rap Instrumental #33 (Mellow))
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/xxn1927music.htm
 
In fact, I give an opinion about the MC 307 because I have one, and I made my homework with it.

I can't give an opinion about any gear without using it hardly. some people says the Roland groovebos series sucks, only because they heard or read that from another person...:rolleyes: and spread the voice


I've taken this machine to the extremes on stage, is powerful and weak on several points.

Good points: Excellent pattern settings. If you need a sequencer to play continuosly without stopping like a DJ, with the MC 307 you can make 30 user maps of 16 patterns each one. You can store the same pattern on 480 different forms if U want it. This is useful for pattern changes on dance music, saving a lot of memory and increasing the hability of variations of patches, MFX, coarse, delay and reverb settings, etc...

Three programmable knobs, U can store 10 different settings for each one, big LCD, fast acceses to parameters on each track. It has more than 800 sounds, lot of them sucks, but there are a really cool patches on banks E, F and G.

Now, I can say why this machine could "suck":

It has about 30.000/40.000 events capability.... This decrease your user capabilities, but some features like pattern set or RPS set can help U to save memory. Also, the remix feature doesn't come on MC 307

It sucks like a THRU device. IF you need to add this machine to a MIDI setup, U can't use it as a MIDI THRU device. You have to add it at the end of a sequential synth network.

I like this toy. The new sounds works a lot better with LFOS like S & H, random and SQR.

If you want to make sound this machine U will have to work with it, not just play it a couple of times and reject it.

I found a place for it on my MIDI setup, and it works for me.

Besides, it costs $200, and the RM1X is about $300.

But the RM1X is a better sequencer, nobody doubts about it. The sequencer capabilities are great, the lead and bass patches rocks, and MIDI implementations are better. But the MC 307 is more flexible on stage than the RM1X.

If U can spend $100 more, wait and get the RM1X. The MC 505 has the same memory capabilites of the RM1X, but it costs equal to RM1X...


The MC 307 is a DJ oriented synth. A synth for a DJ who wants to perform original music on stage without an strong musician background, but also a big producer can obtain good results from it.
 
I keep hearing that the RM1X has a bug where it skips as it changes patterns. IS this true? That would be a big no no in a live situation. This is what's holding me back from getting one of these, they seem perfect on paper, but i always hear of this bug.
 
I know what U mean.

I have the YAMAHA EX5. It's from the same year of the RM1X. They are pretty similar.


The EX5 has a 50.000 notes sequencer, but it colapses when its memory is 75-85% full. If you save this on a floppy, next time you load it, the file will be corrupted. Reseting the synth its the only solution.


When you change from one track to another, playing a song or a pattern sequencer, there is a disgusting cut of the overall sound. This really s*cks, I can't believe a serious company like Yamaha offers products to its costumer with this serious performing problems.

They took the EX5, fixed most of its problems, and created the MOTIF.

check this link....
www.ex5tech.com/articles/tj.html
 
The RM1x doesnt skip on the entry of each pattern. IT send a huge amount of setup data on the midi out and this floods external devices with too much data and leaves them with a slight stutter. Its not a problem if you use a midi filter or simple external equipment.
 
I don't think it should be up to the user to have a work around for such a stoopid bug. It's the perfect live sequencer....except for that.
 
But also you only get the stuttering if your external synth has a slow midi processor, eg my s2000 has no problems with it and most synths allow you to filter in-coming data anyway.
 
mungo said:
The RM1x doesnt skip on the entry of each pattern. IT send a huge amount of setup data on the midi out and this floods external devices with too much data and leaves them with a slight stutter. Its not a problem if you use a midi filter or simple external equipment.
Click to expand...

Did you check out your system exclusive interval data?
You can adjust this parameter on several Yamaha devices. It stablish a tiny time interval between each MIDI message.

RM1X has a lot of tracks. While the market offers grooveboxes with 8 tracks, RM1X offers 16, but MIDI functions on Yamaha synths are very good,
Maybe when U record, all the events on all the tracks start on 01 00 000.

You could go to microscope edition, and move the events slightly, move them to locations like 01 00 001, other track to 01 00 003, and then, all the tracks won't start at the same time when you switch the pattern, so the machine will have enough time to process all those control changes
 
Its not the sysex thats the problem, when it switches a pattern it sends out all the program change data for all the tracks on the midi out along wit some controller messages where appropriate. All this data fills up the midi buffer on external devices and has to be processed befor it can get the note messages, hence the stutter. You can fix it by placing all the notes just before the end of the pattern but this doesnt work if you start jumping between patterns live :(
 
I understand.

Do you need the program changes of the Rm1x for something?

I suposse this cutoff all the sound of the devices the RM1X are controlling.

But the Yamaha have better MIDI options and you can modify it on specific details like those. Tty with all the MIDI setups until U find the solution. I did this with the EX7 performance mode.
For example, I turn of all the program changes output off, and leave the internal program changes on, and made other changes and I fixed a similar problem, set the MIDI output to OMN. I'm gonna check out how I fixed this because I'm not sure.

The EX7 is RM1X's brother. In a 16 patches performance set, I can specify the output of Program changes for each one of the 16 MIDI channels. I don't know if U can make this for the RMX1 patterns.

Check out the SEQ output, or you must turn off the program changes output, they must work internally but not externally.

Yamaha haven't improve the loop functions on their synths. I had several headaches for this problem . This really s*cks, I only play on stage, I produce music for playin continuosly, so stopping for making a program change is forbidden.

that's the reason I decided to buy the MC 307 instead the RM1X last christmas. The RM1X has better sounds and more tracks, but the MC 307 can play continuosly without cuts of the sound, and make many program or control change on the fly without affecting other devices connected to it...
 
The midi filters onboard wont let you get rid of it. It really isnt that much of a problem.
 
Hi.
I know this question has nothing to do with your discussion, but i am thinking of buying a roland mc 307 for dj purposes, and I was wondering about its turntable emulation.
Does it have an adjustable pitch/tempo sensitivity for the slider? If not, what % is it set to?
Is it possible to temporarily change the speed of the beatbox to align beats? You know, similar to giving a turntable a push when the mix drifts out of sync, since a "perfect" beatmix is kind of... impossible. Does it have a jog-wheel or something for this purpose?

Do you know of any other sequenzers out there with beatmix abilities similar to this one?
 
dj Frantik said:
I"m looking at getting an MC-307 to use strictly as a sequencer. Just curious if anyone else is doing this? Just need to know if the arp sends midi out, do the mute buttns send midi out, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
dj Frantik said:
I"m looking at getting an MC-307 to use strictly as a sequencer. Just curious if anyone else is doing this? Just need to know if the arp sends midi out, do the mute buttns send midi out, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...


Hello there... after more than 17 years since your post... I can fully acknowledge that the MC-307 IS SENDING MIDI OUT with the ARP. A very cool feature and possibly one of the few reasons (the sequencer is also not that bad to be honest) to keep it. It's one big device for one small ARP button, but hey... it works ;-)
 
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