@800beloved I've daisy chained my setup to the sequencer's output in this video. It goes from MIDI OUT (on the MMT8) to the MIDI In of Synth #1. Then from MIDI Thru of Synth #1 to MIDI In of Synth #2. Midi Thru of Synth #2 out to Synth #3 In, etc. You can also use a MIDI Thru box (which i think is the best solution actually) and connect that to the MIDI Out of the MMT8. The MIDI Thru on the MMT8 is more for syncing a drummachine or other sequencer.
Thanks for your reply! Though i found the manual inside the little door on the mmt8 more than just helpful, it has answered all my questions. While at the HQ, and live on stage!
When you play and record, the notes are recorded exactly as you played them, and you can quantize them to any beat you want manually, right after. You can record chords, basslines, synth riffs, knob movement, anything. The whole MMT8 consists of one big mass of looping data. If this answers your question, yes, everything you record loops, and you can trigger this by the LOOP ON/OFF button.
@kautle There's not floppy drive sadly, this beast wields the 'modulated tone' for saving to tape, or in our day in age, to computer/laptop. You can add a small jack wire from the tape out to the input of your soundcard and record and press SAVE on the MMT8. The MMT8 has no internal sounds, it's an eight track MIDI sequencer and that's all it'll do.
if you can bang the keys of your keyboard at 256 steps, then yes, you can. It's not really a programmable sequencer like for instance the tb-303 has. It's simply a device which records and sends midi data
although i don't have that much experience with triggering samples by midi using an MMT8, but i think any sampler really is able to configure a center key (mostly C-2 or C-1) and using a midikeyboard you can trigger the samples from keys C-1 till C-5 for example (hope you know i'm talking octaves here). Hope this was a clear answer :)
Oh! How I loved that thing. One of the greatest things Alesis ever made. What a lot of people didn't realize is, it worked better with the Datadisk SQ. You could back up all your sequences and play them live on the SQ unit.
@vinyljunkie07 Yes you can use it as a slave. I've used my 707 as a master midi clock on it before, so it is possible. I think you'd have to set the clock options to external and that's it, but can't look on it right now cause it's not here at the moment.
This was my 2nd Sequencer. My 1st being a YAmaha QX 21 was ok but the QX was a straight hell raiser from the beginning. I made beautiful sequences with that joint. A perfect companion to the Roland D-10.
@moldyfig I don't think that's possible by parameter but more of an internal problem... I think my clicktrack is bloody loud and i'd like it to be lower :/
simply said, i don't know :/ I believe you can look into each track to see what you've recorded into it and append it (i think, couldn't quite figure out how) but it doesn't seem to have a step sequencer... I recently got an ESQ-1 workstation, i'll make a video demonstrating it soon.
Hi, great video! will this record sound or play the recorded midi only? I mean, for example if we have only 1 synthesizer, would it be possible to record like several different presets (bass, pads, etc..) to the MMT's tracks and play at the same time? thanks!
@FORLOVEOFGOD I think that is possible under EDIT > PART and then pick a TRACK. I'm not sure, i can't look on it cause it's not in this studio, but under the lid you can find all the information you need, even what every number of data means. That should help you on alot.
..really? That's what that function does? I feel quite stupid now haha but that is how i've spend most of my time with the MMT8. I haven't used it in years though, moved onto using the ESQ-1 and then a software sequencer.
Different parts can have any different length from each other, but you can not give the separate channels different lengths. The channels i mean the 8 tracks of recording MIDI.
Does anyone know how to control the volume of the click track? Mine is really, really low. Almost inaudible. It's quite annoying. Otherwise, I love this machine.
i still have and use my mmt8 had it since the 80s now but far better than anything else out there i uue it for backing tracks from a motif then straight on to mini disk take 5 mins to make a song i wish alesis would remake it with bigger screen and cd drive it would sell all over the world
I've had a few MMT-8's over the years. Along with Ensoniq synth/sampler sequencers, i think this is the most intuitive sequencer out there. I remember getting my Alesis Fusion 8HD workstation and being a little peeved that the sequencer inside was nothing like the MMT-8's (e.g., linear and not pattern-based), and perhaps a little off-topic here but the chorus and flanger effects in the Fusion (made in 2004 i think?) were thin & plastic sounding compared to their MIDIVerb III from 1989 i think. That said, the Fusion is still a super powerful and quite affordable workstation. Alesis have made some exceptional products over the years and the MMT-8 is one of 'em, for sure.
what you need is a MIDI cable, a 3 pin MIDI or a 5 pin DIN cable. Both look the same, work the same. You can find 5 pin DIN cables at your local hardware store.
@FORLOVEOFGOD I'm afraid it's only real time, so you can't really add any notes or stuff to a recorded sequence, only remove them or change the pitch of one of the inserted notes, and velocity.
@xhilo That's right, and it's what annoys me about the MMT8. I have used a midikeyboard for that, so first i'd have to play it on that and listen to the crappy midi piano version before it goes into the synth i want that makes it a fat bassline. The thing just doesn't do it otherwise to my knowledge.
There is nothing wrong with your English. What is the best way of connecting midi instruments with the MMT-8? I want to hear when i record something but also when the MMT is playing.
Looking back at it I think with it's only MIDI output it could go into the start of a daisy-chain, and it'll work fine. Since a lot of modern synths dont seem to have MIDI thru anymore (...why?) you could instead hook it to a MIDI thru hub and then send it to all your instruments. There is an option called "MIDI ECHO" on the MMT-8 which basically passes your MIDI notes you're recording through to the instrument you're recording it for, but I don't remember if that works while it's playing. I guess it would? I might have to seek out my MMT-8 to test this out some time..
@FORLOVEOFGOD No idea actually, but isn't there an application out there that can turn compositions you make in logic or cubase or so and translate them in just 8 channels of midi so you can load them into the MMT8? I'm not sure, might've been for another device, but i haven't look that far into the MMT8 since i'm good with just recording and playing them by hand.
that's actually a good idea. Never really been to the point where i wanted drumrollsolos, but this might be a good way to do so. The less it's quantized, the better
can you set phrases to be unusual lengths as in 13 steps or 10 steps? if so, could you have one phrase playing at 10 or 12 steps and another phrase playing at the same time at 7 or 9 steps?
aha.. so midi-channel 1(part-1 for example) can have a lenght of one bar. And channel 2(part 2) can have a lenght of 3 bars, and the play at the same time?
There's no name really, you can just leave the Quantize setting on "off" when recording. (And then after recording you just do *not* quantize the track.) Myself, i only Quantize after the fact nowadays (regardless of device), and only in cases where it was an intricate part and i'm thinking maybe it was already close enough that quantizing it isn't going to knock a 16th-note over to the next 8th note slot or whathaveyou.)
thanks so much for the info. I think i might be able to do something with sysex.... the other thing im trying to do is edit the program change info after i've recorded some data. edit it not just erase it. is that possible?
i have just got an mmt8 do you eventually link back into the midi in of mmt8 so that instant playback is possible also how have you got your roland linked up to be sequenced as i have a 303. Also (sorry) i can t seem to get a click sound i have tried turning everything on in the menues and also no click sound from the click out ??? cheers G
I just got one and i believe I have it all hooked up correctly and i go to record a part it seems like it records i guess but when i hit play for playback i dont hear anything? Any help is greatly appreciated!
I just picked up an MMT8 but I cannot get it to record or play back. TRied everything but I am so confused! Using an M Audio Controller and a Roland JV88 Sodund module. the RX channels are all 01. Frustrating and the manual is not helpful. Do you know of any helpful resources?
same here, but in my case I believe it has something to do with the sound only being transmitted via the MIDI OUT after it has been recorded. If I want to listen in realtime I need to send via MIDI THRU of the MMT8...either I'm doing something wrong or a midi merger is required, joining the OUT & THRU
If your one of us folks with a wealth of older gear an Alesis Data Disk is a really convenient piece of gear to have as it'll store sys-ex data. (And then the next step would be replacing the floppy with a GOTEK floppy emulator.)
It's maybe a stupid question but when you play and record, do the notes clip on the time steps? Or they are recorded exactly as they are played? And can you record chords? Thanks!
unfortunatly you can't really. You can edit the notes recorded from the keyboard afterwards, but i find that feature very hard to use, almost impossible.
So if "track 2" is your -other- synth, that synth must be set to the midi channel 2? or no? can you change which track is assigned? are you daisy chaining the synths to the mmt-8 or do you use a thru box?
have you ever made backups via sysex on the MMT-8? I've got 4 backups from it that I recorded into Sysex Librarian (my MMT-8 crashes all the time and all parts are lost). But for whatever reason, my MMT-8 won't record these sysex backups. Midi Filter is set to receive Sysex so not sure whats going on.. any help is appreciated
Can anyone tell me how to do a program change with the Alesis MMT 8. I changed my local settings to off inside my keyboard. But every time I try and change a program my sounds I have recorded start playing piano sounds. When I have recorded drum sounds. What do I do so I can change to a different patch and not change the sound is have all ready recorded.
@@tyronebunne2220 I am using a Casio xw 1 keyboard.I can't get the tracks to add one a program change without playing the part I just recorded. Any suggestions. Thanks.
you can somewhat edit the notes being recorded if that's what you mean, but that's really ungodly awefull. The MMT8 is only capable of recording midi and quantizing it, etc.
@800beloved I've daisy chained my setup to the sequencer's output in this video. It goes from MIDI OUT (on the MMT8) to the MIDI In of Synth #1. Then from MIDI Thru of Synth #1 to MIDI In of Synth #2. Midi Thru of Synth #2 out to Synth #3 In, etc. You can also use a MIDI Thru box (which i think is the best solution actually) and connect that to the MIDI Out of the MMT8. The MIDI Thru on the MMT8 is more for syncing a drummachine or other sequencer.
Thanks for your reply! Though i found the manual inside the little door on the mmt8 more than just helpful, it has answered all my questions. While at the HQ, and live on stage!
That subtle 606 flex though.
When you play and record, the notes are recorded exactly as you played them, and you can quantize them to any beat you want manually, right after.
You can record chords, basslines, synth riffs, knob movement, anything.
The whole MMT8 consists of one big mass of looping data. If this answers your question, yes, everything you record loops, and you can trigger this by the LOOP ON/OFF button.
Excellent! I literally wore mine out, the buttons that is! This was the SHI@ back in the day! Still is quite viable! Great vid!
Can’t find these sequences on any other machine.
So dope
It's the basis of pattern mode really :) It'll always record the notes exactly as you've played them, but you can choose to quantize them to a grid.
@kautle There's not floppy drive sadly, this beast wields the 'modulated tone' for saving to tape, or in our day in age, to computer/laptop. You can add a small jack wire from the tape out to the input of your soundcard and record and press SAVE on the MMT8.
The MMT8 has no internal sounds, it's an eight track MIDI sequencer and that's all it'll do.
if you can bang the keys of your keyboard at 256 steps, then yes, you can. It's not really a programmable sequencer like for instance the tb-303 has. It's simply a device which records and sends midi data
although i don't have that much experience with triggering samples by midi using an MMT8, but i think any sampler really is able to configure a center key (mostly C-2 or C-1) and using a midikeyboard you can trigger the samples from keys C-1 till C-5 for example (hope you know i'm talking octaves here). Hope this was a clear answer :)
it depends on if QUANTIZE is on/off. if off, it records exactly as you play. Yes, you can record chords.
Oh! How I loved that thing. One of the greatest things Alesis ever made. What a lot of people didn't realize is, it worked better with the Datadisk SQ. You could back up all your sequences and play them live on the SQ unit.
Remember this came out when tracks were on tape. You would sequence then sync with recorder and overdub vocals and guitar. Some only 4 track.
@vinyljunkie07 Yes you can use it as a slave. I've used my 707 as a master midi clock on it before, so it is possible. I think you'd have to set the clock options to external and that's it, but can't look on it right now cause it's not here at the moment.
This was my 2nd Sequencer. My 1st being a YAmaha QX 21 was ok but the QX was a straight hell raiser from the beginning. I made beautiful sequences with that joint. A perfect companion to the Roland D-10.
@moldyfig I don't think that's possible by parameter but more of an internal problem... I think my clicktrack is bloody loud and i'd like it to be lower :/
simply said, i don't know :/ I believe you can look into each track to see what you've recorded into it and append it (i think, couldn't quite figure out how) but it doesn't seem to have a step sequencer... I recently got an ESQ-1 workstation, i'll make a video demonstrating it soon.
Hi, great video! will this record sound or play the recorded midi only? I mean, for example if we have only 1 synthesizer, would it be possible to record like several different presets (bass, pads, etc..) to the MMT's tracks and play at the same time? thanks!
If your one and only synth is multi-timbral then yes, you can.
(OP's question is now nine years old, but am someone else has probably wondered this.)
@FORLOVEOFGOD I think that is possible under EDIT > PART and then pick a TRACK. I'm not sure, i can't look on it cause it's not in this studio, but under the lid you can find all the information you need, even what every number of data means. That should help you on alot.
Any sampler with midi Capabilities can be connected to a computer sequencer or trigger, the midi interface is universal.
you have a point there, but i'd still want to play with it at least once in my life. I love every synth, no matter how milked out they are.
..really? That's what that function does? I feel quite stupid now haha but that is how i've spend most of my time with the MMT8. I haven't used it in years though, moved onto using the ESQ-1 and then a software sequencer.
yes you can just press quantize and choose how much and long you want to quantizie.
wow this video was made when I went to prison for ten years.
lol
What was the ten year bird for brother? MS, AR?
@Fahz0r Hi, thanks for making this video explaining the MMT-8's functionality. Is it able to play in time signatures besides 4/4?
Different parts can have any different length from each other, but you can not give the separate channels different lengths. The channels i mean the 8 tracks of recording MIDI.
Does anyone know how to control the volume of the click track? Mine is really, really low. Almost inaudible. It's quite annoying. Otherwise, I love this machine.
i still have and use my mmt8 had it since the 80s now but far better than anything else out there i uue it for backing tracks from a motif then straight on to mini disk take 5 mins to make a song i wish alesis would remake it with bigger screen and cd drive it would sell all over the world
I've had a few MMT-8's over the years. Along with Ensoniq synth/sampler sequencers, i think this is the most intuitive sequencer out there.
I remember getting my Alesis Fusion 8HD workstation and being a little peeved that the sequencer inside was nothing like the MMT-8's (e.g., linear and not pattern-based), and perhaps a little off-topic here but the chorus and flanger effects in the Fusion (made in 2004 i think?) were thin & plastic sounding compared to their MIDIVerb III from 1989 i think. That said, the Fusion is still a super powerful and quite affordable workstation.
Alesis have made some exceptional products over the years and the MMT-8 is one of 'em, for sure.
Does this sync to MIDI clock? Thinking of adding it alongside my MPC
what you need is a MIDI cable, a 3 pin MIDI or a 5 pin DIN cable. Both look the same, work the same. You can find 5 pin DIN cables at your local hardware store.
@FORLOVEOFGOD I'm afraid it's only real time, so you can't really add any notes or stuff to a recorded sequence, only remove them or change the pitch of one of the inserted notes, and velocity.
Is every sound compatible with this unit?
Not every sound. Dogs barking will cause it to crash
And... can you create very simple patterns and make them play back in loop?
@xhilo That's right, and it's what annoys me about the MMT8. I have used a midikeyboard for that, so first i'd have to play it on that and listen to the crappy midi piano version before it goes into the synth i want that makes it a fat bassline. The thing just doesn't do it otherwise to my knowledge.
i own since yesterday the mmt-8, but no manual and i can't find it anywhere. Where can i find one.
There is nothing wrong with your English. What is the best way of connecting midi instruments with the MMT-8? I want to hear when i record something but also when the MMT is playing.
Looking back at it I think with it's only MIDI output it could go into the start of a daisy-chain, and it'll work fine. Since a lot of modern synths dont seem to have MIDI thru anymore (...why?) you could instead hook it to a MIDI thru hub and then send it to all your instruments. There is an option called "MIDI ECHO" on the MMT-8 which basically passes your MIDI notes you're recording through to the instrument you're recording it for, but I don't remember if that works while it's playing. I guess it would? I might have to seek out my MMT-8 to test this out some time..
@FORLOVEOFGOD No idea actually, but isn't there an application out there that can turn compositions you make in logic or cubase or so and translate them in just 8 channels of midi so you can load them into the MMT8? I'm not sure, might've been for another device, but i haven't look that far into the MMT8 since i'm good with just recording and playing them by hand.
that's actually a good idea. Never really been to the point where i wanted drumrollsolos, but this might be a good way to do so. The less it's quantized, the better
can you set phrases to be unusual lengths as in 13 steps or 10 steps? if so, could you have one phrase playing at 10 or 12 steps and another phrase playing at the same time at 7 or 9 steps?
aha.. so midi-channel 1(part-1 for example) can have a lenght of one bar. And channel 2(part 2) can have a lenght of 3 bars, and the play at the same time?
Good demo. What is the feature called that lets you record notes in realtime as you play them?
There's no name really, you can just leave the Quantize setting on "off" when recording. (And then after recording you just do *not* quantize the track.)
Myself, i only Quantize after the fact nowadays (regardless of device), and only in cases where it was an intricate part and i'm thinking maybe it was already close enough that quantizing it isn't going to knock a 16th-note over to the next 8th note slot or whathaveyou.)
thanks so much for the info. I think i might be able to do something with sysex....
the other thing im trying to do is edit the program change info after i've recorded some data. edit it not just erase it. is that possible?
can you record from quater inch or RCA connection??
can i load midid files into the machine without playing them in, without recording them live?
when can i find some of this sequencers?
2nd hand market is your only option. This is a vintage piece of equipment, I just bought one for $75 in Spain
Any day of the week, but early closing on Sundays
Thanks for this video very helpful
and can I edit program changes or add program information after I record, it seems i can only delete program information. Thanks
@xhilo Usually on some machine there's function to turn the LOCAL on / off, is this what you're looking for?
i have just got an mmt8 do you eventually link back into the midi in of mmt8 so that instant playback is possible also how have you got your roland linked up to be sequenced as i have a 303.
Also (sorry) i can t seem to get a click sound i have tried turning everything on in the menues and also no click sound from the click out ???
cheers
G
do you need a floppy disc to save the songs? does it have its own sounds?
can diffrent parts have diffrent lenght?
I just got one and i believe I have it all hooked up correctly and i go to record a part it seems like it records i guess but when i hit play for playback i dont hear anything? Any help is greatly appreciated!
I just picked up an MMT8 but I cannot get it to record or play back. TRied everything but I am so confused! Using an M Audio Controller and a Roland JV88 Sodund module. the RX channels are all 01. Frustrating and the manual is not helpful. Do you know of any helpful resources?
Mark Albano yeah, - i have the same problem too.
DId you manage to find a solution?
also having same issue you ever resolve?
same here, but in my case I believe it has something to do with the sound only being transmitted via the MIDI OUT after it has been recorded. If I want to listen in realtime I need to send via MIDI THRU of the MMT8...either I'm doing something wrong or a midi merger is required, joining the OUT & THRU
Buy an alesis data disk. It's a rackmount. Disk drive that you can save all your songs,patterns and sequences to.
If your one of us folks with a wealth of older gear an Alesis Data Disk is a really convenient piece of gear to have as it'll store sys-ex data. (And then the next step would be replacing the floppy with a GOTEK floppy emulator.)
It's maybe a stupid question but when you play and record, do the notes clip on the time steps? Or they are recorded exactly as they are played?
And can you record chords?
Thanks!
nice vid, thank you for this short tutorial!
awsome!!! more vids!!
looking to get one for myself!
unfortunatly you can't really. You can edit the notes recorded from the keyboard afterwards, but i find that feature very hard to use, almost impossible.
Your English is actually really clear
What sort of multiple MIDI device do you prefer when connecting to multiple MIDI instruments?
Used by Autechre, nothing to blame!
Came here after seeing a pic of them using 2 lol
Does anyone know ow much ppqn the mmt8 has???
wow crazy! i love this stuff
So if "track 2" is your -other- synth, that synth must be set to the midi channel 2? or no? can you change which track is assigned? are you daisy chaining the synths to the mmt-8 or do you use a thru box?
that's a tr606, but i wish it were a tb303 :(
question, does this unit have a swing feature??
thanks :)
If the drum machine has swing it does.
have you ever made backups via sysex on the MMT-8? I've got 4 backups from it that I recorded into Sysex Librarian (my MMT-8 crashes all the time and all parts are lost). But for whatever reason, my MMT-8 won't record these sysex backups. Midi Filter is set to receive Sysex so not sure whats going on.. any help is appreciated
Can anyone tell me how to do a program change with the Alesis MMT 8. I changed my local settings to off inside my keyboard. But every time I try and change a program my sounds I have recorded start playing piano sounds. When I have recorded drum sounds. What do I do so I can change to a different patch and not change the sound is have all ready recorded.
@@tyronebunne2220 I am using a Casio xw 1 keyboard.I can't get the tracks to add one a program change without playing the part I just recorded. Any suggestions. Thanks.
cool thanks for the vid
fortunatly, you can set the amount of steps to any value you want. UNfortunatly, you cannot change the steps of every channel individually.
you can somewhat edit the notes being recorded if that's what you mean, but that's really ungodly awefull. The MMT8 is only capable of recording midi and quantizing it, etc.
I hope you haven't spent the last 2 years like this, all you need to do is press MIDI Echo and the notes play through(!)
Steenkool!
google Pete kvitek MMT-8 for a simple program that converts SMF to MMT-8 tracks
nope you can't. No prob !
yeah really. i thought it would a delay/echo effect but no, the name is pretty misleading. am glad for your sake that you moved on haha.
shame the sound is so bad