This is a common complaint and one of the few negatives of buying an MMT-8; I own three of them, it has happened to two of the three...One of which has done it a couple of times. I back them up old-school using an Alesis DataDisk. I've checked battery voltage on them and the batteries were OK. As an aside, the last bug-fix ROM - V. 1.11 - is readily available on the web for around $15 USD and pops right in...That version of the O/S doesn't clear the occasional memory wipe, however. That said, it is a wonderful machine and an easy to use song sequencer that doesn't allow tedious button pushing and owners manual hand-holding, the stuff that is the enemy of creativity.
I actually clicked on this video to warn folks about that bug. In the early 90's I had MMT-8 and enjoyed it...except for when it would crash and completely wipe the memory...lol. From what I remember it was a common key combo accidentally pressed while playing that would make it freak out. I'd ended up upgrading to a Atari ST with Hybrid Arts Edit Track. Still have the Atari and it works. Also noteworthy someone made a MMT-8 clone that ran on Windows years ago that was pretty accurate. Really any of the later keyboard workstations like a Triton, Motif, or an MPC (even the tiny MPC-500) or Emu Command Stations are going to give a similar hardware workflow as the MMT-8.
Thank you, this is a very helpful video! I've had an MMT-8 which was stored away for a long time. I tried to sell it but even Guitar Center wouldn't take it. So I just pulled it out recently and hooked it up. I learned more in the few minutes of your demo than trying to read the manual.
yeah, i never knew you could record cutoff, etc, like he showed. The question is, can you bounce that to the original track or does it have to take up its own track?
LOVE THE MMT-8! Just wanna say that if it could be modded with 1. overdub recording 2. USB/SD card saving (still haven't gotten a DataDisk and while I've backed up via Sysex, I've never gotten mine to accept/record my Sysex backups) 3. Automatic Quantize (to the settings it is set at) it would absolutely be my favorite, simple sequencer. I'm a real time sequencing kinda guy and it just brings out amazing stuff, its so simple for scratchpad-like sequencing. It's one of the only real time HW sequencers that allows multitimbral input, and my favorite feature is fact that you can quantize the Note Start AND End points. This is soooo rare in Hardware and while it can create video game-y ultra perfect sequences, its incredible for basslines especially if you're not that great at the keys. And the timing of it is truly special, I have a lot of sequencers new and old, MPC60 being my favorite but completely different groove. As a midi sequencer, the timing of the Octatrack reminds me most of the MMT-8 actually.
It's a pleasure! You seem to have a pretty cool dad :) I'm using the MMT-8 very regularly in my studio. If you have a couple of hardware instruments, it's still a good hardware mastermind in 2020 once you've figured it out. Just remember that you should save your sequences regularly via sysex if you want to save them, it loses its memory occasionally
@@SynthsandSounds if you need any more info on my dad, he’s got a Juno 106 I’m gonna get repaired (and steal). I got a fair bit of hardware, so it’s good to have the mother brain sort of deal to sync all of it
@@fermiLiquidDrinker Oooh that sounds awesome! My dad helped me repair some of the stuff that I got myself, he's not a musician but he's good at alectronics.so I at least got that going for me :) I wish you all the best for your juno! Without a Juno-106, this entire channel wouldn't exist. If I hadn't put my hands on a Juno-106 (of a friend) a couple of years ago, I probably would never have gotten any vintage gear. Playing on it for an afternoon really changed my appreciation for vintage gear!
Just took mine out and dusted it off! Thanks for that. I thought I had to buy a modern sequencer for my live performances but turns out already have the perfect one.
@@SynthsandSounds I ordered power supply should be here in couple of days. I do live improvised electronic music using analog gear, me on synthesizers and my friend on modulars. Thanks again!
I had one if these and used to do perform many duo performances with my sister. It is a great machine for immediate sequencing and human feel capabilities. I used the chromium cassette storage option for many years with great success. After reading the MIDI spec firm the quintessential book “Using MiDI” I dived right in even though there was much resistance from ‘live’ players especially drummers. The ability for the sequence to create super-human passages made the music of the era truly distinctive as so-called humans resisted the demand for repetition that the sequencer lent itself to rather easily. I have yet to find a machine with a on-site menu and such intuitive ease-of-use.
Old tower clocks like the ones in this video are freaking COOL! In the early 90s my studio was a 4 track cassette, MMT-8, and HR 16 with Alesis Monitor One speakers. I still use the speakers, but the rest are long gone. These days I'm running Logic Pro, but I have very fond memories of the MMT-8.
I like the fact that these old MIDI sequencers don't keep a perfect tempo. It's these slight tempo variations that give them part of their personality, a little bit of "human" in that machine! Same thing with old drum machine sequencers. Computer based MIDI sequencing has perfect timing, no fluctuations at all. There really is something charming about the old MIDI clocks.
I have been looking for a sequencer for a couple weeks, and was leaning towards a Beatstep Pro as I'm fairly new to the world of synths. Then I saw this video and you talked me out of it! Happened to find an MMT-8 on ebay for 100 USD in working order. Thank you!
Ayy congrats on the good find! As long as you use it as studio equipment the slight lack of reliability really isn't that bad, it really does what it needs to do. Once you want to go live i'd recommend going with something modern and reliable like a Beatstep pro or keystep pro
The volatile memory can be defeated if turned back on faster than the memory whipe function. Knowing this can help you in the advent of a power cable getting plucked out. I normally keep mine on all the time and back up the MMT-8 sequences so that I can rerecord the sequences back to the MMT-8 (for traveling usually)
Greta video! I've returned to hardware MIDI sequencing as well. I chose the Kawai Q80. It is one of the last hardware sequencers but a real powerhouse with 32 tracks of which 16 can be recorded at once. I even use it to records poly aftertouch performaces by using a MIDI splitter in front of it which distributes the played notes to multiple channels. I mostly use 8 tracks for that, thus giving me 8-channel poly touch. And then I still ahve 24 tracks left! Of course DAW's give more edit options but that tends to get in the way of your workflow. And no mouse is involved! As you also show every function is at most a few button pushes away. The argument about the Keystep I do however not agree on. They are hardware as well and will be the MMT's of the future. Not as versatile but very hands on as well.
I just bought that! Do you have to record weired doing the weired tape style bouncing thing or can I start with the drums on track1 from roland mt32, record bass from dx7 on track2, strings from microkorg on track3, counter melody from yamaha fb01 onto track4, other drums from akai xr20 onto track5, and samples from akai mpx8 onto track6? Is that enough to overload it? Would it work even? What is a motif? I just got this thing yesterday, rebought it since I sold mine originally the same year I bought it in 2017 because of college books. I got it that spring and sold it that same fall. Was so sad I never got to use and explore it and so happy to have one again! I hope it was worth rebuying it as I would like to do some no-pc recordings, I have ADHD so might be worth it cause of that alone. I payed $100 for mine on ebay think it was worth it?
@@coolelectronics1759 To me that sounds like an excellent buy. At the time I paid EU 200 for mine. You can do everything as you describe and more. As long as you do not run out of memory it will do everyhting you want over all those 32 tracks. The most important thing with long compositions is to be economical. I explained the poly AT solution I use. Aftertouch however uses a lot of memory. So if you never use such extra controllers switch them off on the sequencer. Then you will not record such data without being aware of it. Motifs are another way to save memory. For instance: If you use a steady drum pattern you only have to record it once as a motif and then use copied instances of that motif. This way only the 2 bars or so that you need for your drum pattern use up memory! The rest of the data then only exists of pure repetition instructions. Did you already find the user manual on the internet?
Very inspiring video, and an excellent review/demo. Very clear and i loved the dry humour. it's not a piece of gear i have use nor need, but can see the appeal to musicians/producers back in the day, and the vintage enthusiasts too. I'm not ruling it out for me, it's only i don't have a need currently for it. i do like the sense it feels like an early DAW, or more like another 8 or 16 track the way it records and can be amended after shall we say... anyways, this was more of a brain fart than a decent comment, my apologies!
I had one of these. It was good live, fun to just loop and mute tracks, but the memory wiping was a real issue. If the power stuttered, the MMT8 would come back on, but blank. If you didn’t have the external disk thing, mentioned on the insert in the box, you were out of luck.
I used to save my data transfer onto chromium cassette tape. I still have them today. The impulses sound like data on a fax machine. This was the alternative if one didn’t have an Alesis Data Dump.
Hi, awesome review! Do you know if it Is possible to have the click come out only from the dedicated output? I thought the speaker would be muted if I connected a plug on the click output.
I was working in music stores when these came out and we sold a ton of them. I never owned one myself because I was using a Mac with MOTU Performer at the time. However, like most people involved with music at that time I certainly got a lot of hands on time with the MMT8 because they where EVERYWHERE. I remember being underwhelmed by the features and build quality, but then you really could not do better for the price! What is surprising to me is how hard it is to find hardware sequencers with real time recording these days. I have been looking for something my son could mess around with up in his room away from multi purpose devices, and was shocked to discover that almost ALL the compact music devices that feature sequencing are exclusively step sequencers. I really expected to find something that was similar to the MMT8 but maybe with a sound engine included for about the same price as the MMT8 or maybe even less. I guess people are not really interested in making midi tracks with natural feel. We used to complain about the PPQN on the Alesis, but I would take that modest resolution in a heartbeat on a low cost device. I am not really sure why they don’t offer step sequencing and real time sequencing as an option. It can’t be a problem of not having enough processing power. 😂
There's a guy on vintagesynth forums who converted his MMT8 to run off an internal 9volt rechargable lithium battery pack... complete with a charging port where the 9volt power plug used to be...
One thing I don't get. "Changes part top" is supposed to add notes at the beginning of a part. I can't figure out how to do it. You re supposed to be able to use the pageup button and enter notes but it doesn't work.
I got you. In this case, You will use the MIDI in and MIDI out of your sequencer. Connect your Q49 to the MIDI in of the sequencer. Only like this, your sequencer will be able to get the note information to create a sequence. At the same time, you want the signal to be continued to your D-110. Usually you would use MIDI thru for that - but then, your D-110 will only get the Information of the Q49, not the sequencer. If you want your D-110 to receive the sequencer's information, you must use the sequencer's MIDI out, not MIDI thru - but then your D-110 would only receive the sequencer's information, not the direct Q49 signal. The MMT-8 has a special option for this use case: You can activate "MIDI echo" by pressing the corresponding button. In this mode, the MMT-8 will both send its own output signal (as it's normal for MIDI out) and continue the original signal (as it's normal for MIDI thru) at the same time. Long story short: Q49 OUT -> MMT-8 IN ; MMT8-Out -> D-110 IN ; activate MIDI echo on MMT-8.
@@SynthsandSounds ok, it worked but now how do I trigger my drum machine, I have the midi thru on the sequencer connected to the midi in of the drum machine but it’s not working
@@glenndavis1132 Via the sequencer's MIDI thru, you will only continue the Q49's signal. If you also want to connect the drum machine, you will need to continue the sequencer's signal from the D-110. This means you need to go out of the D-110's MIDI thru to your drum machine. Keep in mind that every instrument you add this way stacks a bit more of latency, it will get recognizable after 3 instruments or so. For the moment you're fine, but If you want to avoid long daisy chains you would need a midi splitter that multiplies the sequencer's signal.
regarding receiving midi clock on the mmt-8. wouldn't it be possible to use a midi merger or router to send both midi clock and midi note input at the same time to the midi in?
Can you explain how you use the Casio as the master clock? I don't know what you mean by the "sync in jack". I'm currently trying to use an MMT-8 with an Electribe ES-1 as the master clock. Great video, thank you!
Hey d m! Before MIDI existed, some gear used minijack connectors that send/receive a tic signal to synchronise the tempo to each other. That's what I meant with "sync input jack", but outside eurorack it has become a rare feature (the korg volcas have it). Clock is one of the parameters that are sent via MIDI. Once you're using more that one piece of gear that creates a sound pattern (sequencer, looper, arpeggiator, drum machine), you need to synchronise your gear so your patterns will run together over the whole length of your track. MIDI is perfect and partly made for that. So in your case, you first need to run a MIDI cable from your Electribe's MIDI out to your MMT-8's MIDI in. Then you need to make sure that your ES-1 will send the clock via MIDI and that your MMT-8 is set to receive clock via MIDI. Usually it's the default setting, but you might double check with the manual. Then it's just as easy as hitting play on your ES-1. Your Sequencer will start in tempo automatically. Since your MMT-8's MIDI in is used for receiving clock, you need have recorded your sequences beforehand. But for playback mode it should work perfectly
I have an Arturia keystep. I can play my synth with keystep to midi input of mmt-8 and then midi thru to synth. I hear nothing when its midi out. Only thru. I can record but I then have to change the midi thru to midi out on the mtt-8 to hear the synth being sequenced.
Hey Frank! I'm not quite sure if I understood Your issue correctly, but I think it is this: The MIDI out normally doesn't forward any signal. It only does if you activate the "MIDI ECHO" mode by hitting the corresponding key, which means that the Midi out works as a midi thru as well. That should fix your problem
Ive gone through 5 of these over the years! I really love this sequencer, I don’t know of any sequencers that quite have the functionality and easy interface as this. Does the arturia have the same functionality as the MMt8? I bought my first MMt8 like you said on Craigslist for $75 US dollars ten years ago and fell in love. Other common issues are the battery dying after regular use, and the button contacts becoming faulty and wearing away. Both of these issues are VERY common! I will be selling my “broken MMT8s on EBay soon, most only need a battery replacement, but 2 definitely have the button contact issue. Cheers and thanks for the great video!
Hi there I just bought a mmt8. I will use it as my hardware sequencer in my setup. So far I recorded some tracks with my drum machine . However I noticed when I record lets say 3 different tracks with my synth and I play them back ,they have all the same sound as my last recorded track. I would like for example have track 1 as a bassline, track 2 Melodie, track 3 ambient all recorded from one synth one midichannel. I'm sure it's really easy but I seem to struggle to find the right way to do it. With my drum machine it works well though. Thank you
in the example you mention, you would have to have a multi timbral synth first of all. Secondly change each track via the midi channels button on the mmt8.
sounds like a good price! The Midiverb only has one MIDI out, but if you use a MIDI splitter or if you daisy chain your MIDI devices, you can control more than one easily. Unfortunately you are a bit limited in terms of real-time recording, so I think it's not too good as a live looper. But I use it all the time to play my previously saved sequence loops whenever I'm having a live gig
Hola gracias por el video, yo utilizo una roland mc500 mkII y hasta hoy me es muy util, estos sistemas "dawless" ayudan a concentrarse mejor y muy puntualmente en un paso a la vez de la secuencia, a pesar que es más lento lo prefiero sobre cualquier secuenciador actual. Es mi humilde opinión.
Bummer Dude! If You Run Out Of Memory, Also If The Battery Dies, Good Luck On Replacing It. Still, I Have Made Some Great Songs Using My MM-T8 And A Multi-Timbral Synth And My Teac -144 Which I Still Have And Will Never Sell Them. Thanks For Inspiring Me To Whip It Out And Use It Again With Some New Synths.
MIDI. Real MIDI, not the MIDI via USB thing. It uses its own Din 5-Pin connector which unfortunately isn't integrated in some low budget products. Take your cable from the "MIDI out" socket of the sequencer to the "MIDI in" socket of the keyboard.
Hello! Thanks for the video! There is few info about the mmt7 on youtube :) I have one question: Do you know how to reproduce 2 different patches in the microkorg at the same time using the alesis mmt7? I have merged two different patches into a single one by using the “layer” function of the microkorg. By changing the layer I can reproduce one patch or the other. However, when recording the sequence with the mmt7 (record 1st layer in one track, record the 2nd layer in another track), the mm7 only reproduce one layer and not both layers at the same time.
Hey Borja! That's quite an interesting idea you got there! Unfortunately, I think there is no easy way to use the layers separately at the same time. On my nord stage, i can assign different voices/layers to different midi channels. With each layer on another midi channel, you can play them as indiependent instruments via midi. Unfortunately, the microkorg has no such setting. You only have one global midi channel setting which will always be used for both layers. So due to technical limitations of the microkorg, there is no possibility for the microkorg to distinguosh between different midi sequences at the same time. There was only one (terribly wonky) workaround that came to my mind: via midi, the microkorg can receive patch change signals. So if you only record one track and add a patch change in between the notes, you can get the microkorg play different patches alternating, but not at the same time. In case you figure out something different, let me know! But so far no possibility for your problem came to my mind
@@b0rjax327 just the way as you record the keys - you can record much more than key presses in real time, for example you can record tge cutoff level by turning the microkorg's cutoff knob. If you change the patch while recording a sequence, that information is recorded as well. Just give it a try, you'll fogure out a way!
Thanks for making this video, I found a mention of it in the Atari Hotz manual and was curious as a result. Looks to be quite a powerful unit for what it is and would probably help me a ton throughout my music writing process using old gear.
It definitely helps you! Since I haven't yet had the money to afford a good modern Synthesizer, it joins my setup for every techno gig I have. It's solid, affordable and does what it needs to do. If it wasn't for some reliability issues I really wouldn't want to replace it!
@@SynthsandSounds After some research it looks like a ton of people still swear by it, which is a huge testament I suppose to the device. I have two parts or areas of my studio, one digital and one analog, with no current sequencer on the analog side, so I think this just may do the trick.
Those old hardware sequencers are arcane but kinda fun. I have a Roland MC500 MKII and Roland Sequencer software on a S330, as well as some Ensoniq Synths with sequencers built in. Are they easy? Nope. But they make you think differently than a DAW which is good. Ultimately I sometimes just play each part live into a 8 track tape or MD recorder with no external sequencing- maybe just the drums, this is how I used to record in the 80’s, all live no computers and it was more fun and gratifying actually.
I had the following Synths from around 1994-2002: Yamaha SY35/ 55 Alesis SR16 AKAI Sg01v Im not sure if this can be called Vintage! I seriously miss the AKAI sg01v! Your channel is great!
I'd say anything older than roughly 25 years can be considered vintage. Never heard of the Sg01v, but it looks very interesting! There is so much amazing old gear beyond roland Junos and yamaha DXs that has been almost forgotten!
OMG, is that a Casio CX5000 in the background?? I used to have one. Anyway, I have always LOVED my MMT-8(s). It's just so easy to use. But lightning struck and caused a power spike. Bye bye sequences. Bye-bye songs. Years later I bought another one but that one developed a faulty power cord. Same thing... bye-bye hard work. Well, you can back your sequences up via tape out, HAHAHA. From what I remember not many tape machines even had the ability to record that data. ...or maybe it was the strange 'midi-like' output to 1/8" jack that was hard to find... I forget. What I would give to get all those sequences/songs back I want to get back into music again and I'm researching new devices but the MMT-8 was just so simple and I could make songs so fast. I don't know if I should buy something new, or just get yet another MMT-8. One downside is all the outboard gear. It's kind of a hassle to pack up all that gear and bring it to a live venue.
After many buttons on my MMT-8 failed, I replaced it with an Akai MPC 1000. If you’ve had years with the MMT-8, then the adoption is gonna be a real breeze. And your able to save your data onto a CF card.
Would you recommend using one of these as a live performance tool? I’m looking for something to trigger or loop my drums, maybe some synths, noise or ambient tracks and one shot samples. But I’m looking to ditch the computer in a live setup. Looking for a budget sampler/sequencer similar to the SU700 with a lighter price tag and decent sound quality
Hi Robert! Yes, I would recommend using the alesis sequencer live. But I don't know if it is the right one for you. From what I've seen the SU700 goes in the direction of an Akai MPC, meaning a combined sampler and sequencer. The MMT-8 is only a MIDI sequencer that doesn't produce any sound. This being said, it is not thought to be used as a pad-based sampler/sequencer. The buttons will only turn on and off the sequences that remain fixed to the beat (mute and unmute basically), you do not have the choice to do a one-shot. If you say that that is all you need, the MMT-8 will surely do a good job. If you're okay with controlling your sampler only via MMT-8, you can get a high quality 90's akai rackmount sampler (S series) for little money. But if you want a pad-based sequencer, you gotta look elsewhere and it's probably gonna be a bit more costly. Maybe you can find a good deal on a MPC if you can't find an affordable SU700?
Can you set which tracks should be muted per step in song mode? What I find annoying in most sequencers is that you have to manually clone the same pattern several times and then chain them in song mode. Would be way easier if you could just have say pattern a repeat 8 times, but 4 times with a different mute than than 4 times following afterwards.
@@SynthsandSounds From page 15 of the mmt8 manual: "Automatic TRACK selection and muting at each step of aSONG: You can select which tracks will playback at each step of a song by turning off the tracks you don't want to hear (LED's off) and leaving on the tracks you wish to hear (LED's on). The MMT-8 will store inmemory which tracks were selected for playback at each step." Sounds like it can?
@@RandomProductionszsz Oh apparently it does! Unfortunately I can't go test it since my studio is in an attic and I cannot make music there during the european heat wave
Helloello and g reetings from England. I liked your review of the MMT-8. I wonder have you considered the Yamaha QX3 sequencer? very similar but with 720K DD floppy disc. I know such disks are hard to come by but there is a way if you use black insulating tape to cover up one of the write holes you can fool the QX3 into using high density 1.44MB floppy disks.Best wishes
Hey, I've never had a look at it. Since my MMT-8 is still working properly and it's not as interesting as equipment that actually creates sounds, I've sticked with it so far. I guess my next upgrad is going to be a modern arturia keystep pro as a more reliable piece of gear for live music and my budget to spend on gear has been quite limited. But I might have a look into it in the future!
Don Buchla made the sequencer first, Bob just visited the tape music studio to learn about them . BTW still have my MMT8 from 1990 pretty much fresh off the press in austin tx lol , going to use it for my new album!
I am trying so hard to NOT buy an MMT-8 again. Honestly, nothing on computers is as easy or focuses on just MIDI anymore. Everything's a DAW... God, I loved my MMT-8.. If only it could save .mid files.
Hi again, I have two more questions: 1. Is there any way or workaround to be able to record new tracks without stopping the mmt8? like doing live loops :) (I guess no, a big pitty...) 2. What does "midi echo" really do? I still don't get it Thanks in advance, Borja
1. There is no live mode 2. Midi Echo means, that whatever you send to the midi input will be continued to midi output. So basically , your midi out becomes a 2 in 1 midi out and midi thru at the same time
I assume you have never had a look into MIDI. Midi does only transmit digital note information, not audio. A guitar on the other hand does only emit a sound signal and never emits any digital note information. The MMT-8, being a digital MIDI signal processor, can not process any audio signal, hence it will never be able to process a guitar audio signal. This confirms your assumption of your question being kind of stupid ;) There's some effect units that can interpret a guitar signal (the empress zoia for example). At the moment where you convert your guitar signal to midi, it will lose all its tonal quality of the actual instrument, what remains is only note information (a specific note being played at a specific timing). All these conversions from guitar to midi are kind of wonky, chords are almost impossible to be converted into midi information. You will then need some device to interpret the midi information to create audio out of it, which usually would he a synthsizer. There's no way to reproduce a midi signal on a guitar at all.
Usually, when I record a sequence, I have both in and out connected to the same keyboard. That makes it easy to quickly check if there weren't any mistakes. But you can easily choose another master keybard as well
Can You Tell Me How to Sync the MMT-8 to Ableton Live? I've Got More OUTS (hardware) than I've Got INS (on my mixer), ha. I'm Sequencing MIDI Hardware on the MMT-8. R-8 Plays the Drums--they're sync'd. Everything Runs Through My Soundcraft MTK22, 22 Channel, USB Mixer. USB into Ableton. I Am Recording--easily. I Understand I Will Need to Use My Interface to Sync Live via MIDI. I just Don't Know How to "Hook the Hardware, Sequencer & Drum Machine (R-8)" into the MIDI Interface. I've found how to set-up Ableton (which buttons to push), I just don't know how to Set-Up the Hardware--with the MIDI Cords. I'm Seeking a MIDI Clock, or Sync Tone, to Set This Up to Record Additional Parts, on separate tracks in Ableton, and I Need the Tracks to "Come in" when They're Supposed to so that Everything is Recorded Where It's Supposed to. Like- If the Sound Comes in on Measure 65, I Want It to Sync to Measure 65. Please Advise. Many Thanks. Matt Detroit
Hm, that's a difficult task you're demanding of a standard that came out in 1983 and hasn't been changed since. So obviously you can use ableton as your midi clock if you send the midi signal to the MMT. I'm not really sure if MIDI does support the feature of jumping to a certain measure. What I know is that midi clock sends start/stop and restart from measure 1 signals. So if you want a sequence to start on measure 65, you could go in song mode and program in a loop of 64 empty measures before having the measure played. But then I think you still could not start somewhere in the middle
Apparently the design looks like an office gadget because the casing was originally intended for just that, Alesis bought loads of b-stock cases for this machine and the hr16 I believe? The drum machine that looks just like this sequencer....
You're right, the HR-16 is the drumming brother of the MMT-8. Amazing, I didn't know alesis got the cases from something else! But it makes totally sense! The buttons don't look similar to anything I've seen on music gear.
As long as it's in production, you will always pay less for a second hand one than for a new one. So if you get one now and want to get rid of it within a year, it will be a loss. If you're reselling it after it has gone out of production, it might be another story
Well, to send out sequences, you can only use MIDI out. What comes next is usually called 'daisy chain': MMT-8 out -> synth1 in, synth1 thru -> synth 2 in, synth 2 thru -> synth 3 in and so on. Arrange all sequences and use the 'MIDI chan' key to give each sequence another MIDI channel, now you only have to set your synths to receive only on the corresponding midi channel. If your synths don't have MIDI thru or you want to avoid latency in long daisy chains, put a midi splitter (additional gear) between the MMT-8 and your synths to multiply the signal. I hope that explains your question!
I'd argue that buying a basic Keystep is a whole different affair than a (now) vintage multichannel midi sequencer/looper with ability to chain songs. You can't really compare the two from a feature point of view. Plus, think about that basically any pristinely kept device will be vintage in half a century. Unless of course you're already in the 50s now - in which case your heirs will likely get more out of it.
It's sad they don't make these sequencers anymore with USB upgrades. I love this machine years ago and start using the Ensoniq line, another company that ended. Good things never last.
I recently experienced a spontaneous memory loss with my MMT-8! Make sure to save your sequences via tape out or sysex
This is a common complaint and one of the few negatives of buying an MMT-8; I own three of them, it has happened to two of the three...One of which has done it a couple of times. I back them up old-school using an Alesis DataDisk. I've checked battery voltage on them and the batteries were OK. As an aside, the last bug-fix ROM - V. 1.11 - is readily available on the web for around $15 USD and pops right in...That version of the O/S doesn't clear the occasional memory wipe, however. That said, it is a wonderful machine and an easy to use song sequencer that doesn't allow tedious button pushing and owners manual hand-holding, the stuff that is the enemy of creativity.
I actually clicked on this video to warn folks about that bug. In the early 90's I had MMT-8 and enjoyed it...except for when it would crash and completely wipe the memory...lol. From what I remember it was a common key combo accidentally pressed while playing that would make it freak out. I'd ended up upgrading to a Atari ST with Hybrid Arts Edit Track. Still have the Atari and it works. Also noteworthy someone made a MMT-8 clone that ran on Windows years ago that was pretty accurate. Really any of the later keyboard workstations like a Triton, Motif, or an MPC (even the tiny MPC-500) or Emu Command Stations are going to give a similar hardware workflow as the MMT-8.
so this is the reason why daft punk had three of them on stage
@@lownrgy it was probably solved with a firmware update, but since this was before the internet, I never checked or contacted Alesis.
This happened when I had one in the '90's also, so perhaps not age related.
Thank you, this is a very helpful video! I've had an MMT-8 which was stored away for a long time. I tried to sell it but even Guitar Center wouldn't take it. So I just pulled it out recently and hooked it up. I learned more in the few minutes of your demo than trying to read the manual.
yeah, i never knew you could record cutoff, etc, like he showed. The question is, can you bounce that to the original track or does it have to take up its own track?
Absolutely - my 30 year old Roland W30 is still my favourite hardware sequencer... I still prefer it to several newer models !
D-20 was my first sequencer. But i always coveted the W30.
Ditto. Prodigy
LOVE THE MMT-8! Just wanna say that if it could be modded with 1. overdub recording 2. USB/SD card saving (still haven't gotten a DataDisk and while I've backed up via Sysex, I've never gotten mine to accept/record my Sysex backups) 3. Automatic Quantize (to the settings it is set at) it would absolutely be my favorite, simple sequencer. I'm a real time sequencing kinda guy and it just brings out amazing stuff, its so simple for scratchpad-like sequencing. It's one of the only real time HW sequencers that allows multitimbral input, and my favorite feature is fact that you can quantize the Note Start AND End points. This is soooo rare in Hardware and while it can create video game-y ultra perfect sequences, its incredible for basslines especially if you're not that great at the keys. And the timing of it is truly special, I have a lot of sequencers new and old, MPC60 being my favorite but completely different groove. As a midi sequencer, the timing of the Octatrack reminds me most of the MMT-8 actually.
Awesome video. I'd looove to see a longer documentary like in the beginning. Loved the whole vid tho.
Thanks for the demonstration. I’ve been trying to learn how to use my dad’s old MMT-8 for weeks
It's a pleasure!
You seem to have a pretty cool dad :)
I'm using the MMT-8 very regularly in my studio. If you have a couple of hardware instruments, it's still a good hardware mastermind in 2020 once you've figured it out.
Just remember that you should save your sequences regularly via sysex if you want to save them, it loses its memory occasionally
@@SynthsandSounds if you need any more info on my dad, he’s got a Juno 106 I’m gonna get repaired (and steal). I got a fair bit of hardware, so it’s good to have the mother brain sort of deal to sync all of it
@@fermiLiquidDrinker Oooh that sounds awesome! My dad helped me repair some of the stuff that I got myself, he's not a musician but he's good at alectronics.so I at least got that going for me :)
I wish you all the best for your juno! Without a Juno-106, this entire channel wouldn't exist. If I hadn't put my hands on a Juno-106 (of a friend) a couple of years ago, I probably would never have gotten any vintage gear. Playing on it for an afternoon really changed my appreciation for vintage gear!
Just took mine out and dusted it off! Thanks for that. I thought I had to buy a modern sequencer for my live performances but turns out already have the perfect one.
I also used it live recently! During the last months it really became a trusted helper for me in all kinds of situations
@@SynthsandSounds I ordered power supply should be here in couple of days. I do live improvised electronic music using analog gear, me on synthesizers and my friend on modulars.
Thanks again!
Nice t-shirt man. Love the notwist!
One of my all-time favourite Bands! Unfortunately, the shirt ist quite worn out by now :(
Thank you for your thorough video.
I had one if these and used to do perform many duo performances with my sister. It is a great machine for immediate sequencing and human feel capabilities. I used the chromium cassette storage option for many years with great success. After reading the MIDI spec firm the quintessential book “Using MiDI” I dived right in even though there was much resistance from ‘live’ players especially drummers. The ability for the sequence to create super-human passages made the music of the era truly distinctive as so-called humans resisted the demand for repetition that the sequencer lent itself to rather easily. I have yet to find a machine with a on-site menu and such intuitive ease-of-use.
That's because most amateur drummers can't keep time so we'll but expect the whole band to follow them, thus hate playing to a click
Nice job! I enjoyed your history of sequencers section.
Thanks!
This piece was awesome! I replaced mine with a MPC 1000 after many buttons stopped working.
Old tower clocks like the ones in this video are freaking COOL! In the early 90s my studio was a 4 track cassette, MMT-8, and HR 16 with Alesis Monitor One speakers. I still use the speakers, but the rest are long gone. These days I'm running Logic Pro, but I have very fond memories of the MMT-8.
I like the fact that these old MIDI sequencers don't keep a perfect tempo. It's these slight tempo variations that give them part of their personality, a little bit of "human" in that machine! Same thing with old drum machine sequencers. Computer based MIDI sequencing has perfect timing, no fluctuations at all. There really is something charming about the old MIDI clocks.
Best sequencer I ever owned. And soon I will own one again.
Der Steuerwitz war gut :D Danke, für den inspirierenden Content!
I have been looking for a sequencer for a couple weeks, and was leaning towards a Beatstep Pro as I'm fairly new to the world of synths. Then I saw this video and you talked me out of it! Happened to find an MMT-8 on ebay for 100 USD in working order. Thank you!
Ayy congrats on the good find! As long as you use it as studio equipment the slight lack of reliability really isn't that bad, it really does what it needs to do. Once you want to go live i'd recommend going with something modern and reliable like a Beatstep pro or keystep pro
6:55. Lol! Gold.
I've been waiting for this comment for almonst wo years. Thank you!
The volatile memory can be defeated if turned back on faster than the memory whipe function. Knowing this can help you in the advent of a power cable getting plucked out. I normally keep mine on all the time and back up the MMT-8 sequences so that I can rerecord the sequences back to the MMT-8 (for traveling usually)
I had an HR16 and that had the clock issue as well. It slaves from a DAW clock just fine though.
Thanks for your nice job! My setup is Roland MC 505 + RolandJV 1010 + Morodernova + Akai Rythm Wolf and i want to buy this Alesis MMT 8.
Thank you for the information!
Greta video! I've returned to hardware MIDI sequencing as well. I chose the Kawai Q80. It is one of the last hardware sequencers but a real powerhouse with 32 tracks of which 16 can be recorded at once. I even use it to records poly aftertouch performaces by using a MIDI splitter in front of it which distributes the played notes to multiple channels. I mostly use 8 tracks for that, thus giving me 8-channel poly touch. And then I still ahve 24 tracks left! Of course DAW's give more edit options but that tends to get in the way of your workflow. And no mouse is involved! As you also show every function is at most a few button pushes away. The argument about the Keystep I do however not agree on. They are hardware as well and will be the MMT's of the future. Not as versatile but very hands on as well.
I just bought that!
Do you have to record weired doing the weired tape style bouncing thing or can I start with the drums on track1 from roland mt32, record bass from dx7 on track2, strings from microkorg on track3, counter melody from yamaha fb01 onto track4, other drums from akai xr20 onto track5, and samples from akai mpx8 onto track6?
Is that enough to overload it? Would it work even?
What is a motif?
I just got this thing yesterday, rebought it since I sold mine originally the same year I bought it in 2017 because of college books. I got it that spring and sold it that same fall. Was so sad I never got to use and explore it and so happy to have one again! I hope it was worth rebuying it as I would like to do some no-pc recordings, I have ADHD so might be worth it cause of that alone. I payed $100 for mine on ebay think it was worth it?
@@coolelectronics1759 To me that sounds like an excellent buy. At the time I paid EU 200 for mine. You can do everything as you describe and more. As long as you do not run out of memory it will do everyhting you want over all those 32 tracks. The most important thing with long compositions is to be economical. I explained the poly AT solution I use. Aftertouch however uses a lot of memory. So if you never use such extra controllers switch them off on the sequencer. Then you will not record such data without being aware of it. Motifs are another way to save memory. For instance: If you use a steady drum pattern you only have to record it once as a motif and then use copied instances of that motif. This way only the 2 bars or so that you need for your drum pattern use up memory! The rest of the data then only exists of pure repetition instructions. Did you already find the user manual on the internet?
Very inspiring video, and an excellent review/demo. Very clear and i loved the dry humour. it's not a piece of gear i have use nor need, but can see the appeal to musicians/producers back in the day, and the vintage enthusiasts too.
I'm not ruling it out for me, it's only i don't have a need currently for it. i do like the sense it feels like an early DAW, or more like another 8 or 16 track the way it records and can be amended after shall we say...
anyways, this was more of a brain fart than a decent comment, my apologies!
I had one of these. It was good live, fun to just loop and mute tracks, but the memory wiping was a real issue. If the power stuttered, the MMT8 would come back on, but blank. If you didn’t have the external disk thing, mentioned on the insert in the box, you were out of luck.
I used to save my data transfer onto chromium cassette tape. I still have them today. The impulses sound like data on a fax machine. This was the alternative if one didn’t have an Alesis Data Dump.
Hi, awesome review! Do you know if it Is possible to have the click come out only from the dedicated output? I thought the speaker would be muted if I connected a plug on the click output.
?
Sure enough, got mine on Craigslist for $50, in similar condition as the one in the video (w/box, etc...but the black version). Love it.
Man you got lucky!!
A very good video finally on using their vintage,and simple sequencer,thanks.!!!
Thanks! Who needs modern age gear anyway?
I was working in music stores when these came out and we sold a ton of them. I never owned one myself because I was using a Mac with MOTU Performer at the time. However, like most people involved with music at that time I certainly got a lot of hands on time with the MMT8 because they where EVERYWHERE. I remember being underwhelmed by the features and build quality, but then you really could not do better for the price! What is surprising to me is how hard it is to find hardware sequencers with real time recording these days. I have been looking for something my son could mess around with up in his room away from multi purpose devices, and was shocked to discover that almost ALL the compact music devices that feature sequencing are exclusively step sequencers. I really expected to find something that was similar to the MMT8 but maybe with a sound engine included for about the same price as the MMT8 or maybe even less. I guess people are not really interested in making midi tracks with natural feel. We used to complain about the PPQN on the Alesis, but I would take that modest resolution in a heartbeat on a low cost device. I am not really sure why they don’t offer step sequencing and real time sequencing as an option. It can’t be a problem of not having enough processing power. 😂
Thanks for the great video! You helped me decide....I just bought one!
Congratulations! I hope you'll enjoy it
Thanks for the vid! Inspired me to put an offer in on Reberb for one of these bad boys.
Que Belleza de video!! donde conseguiste esa Joya .Saludos desde Mexico yo mismo hice mis primeros discos con uno de estos.
Muchas gracias por las amables palabras! Saludos desde Suiza a México!
There's a guy on vintagesynth forums who converted his MMT8 to run off an internal 9volt rechargable lithium battery pack... complete with a charging port where the 9volt power plug used to be...
One thing I don't get. "Changes part top" is supposed to add notes at the beginning of a part. I can't figure out how to do it. You re supposed to be able to use the pageup button and enter notes but it doesn't work.
I confirm this tracker is a quick way to jot down ideas. Faster than clicking on a mouse. Use a pedal for start stop.
So far so good, now how do I trigger the Sr16 drum machine, so far I have the thru from the sequencer going to the in of the drum machine
Its all good now, thank you very much, is there something I can do to support your channel
The Alesis Q49 the controller is plugged into the midi in on the D-110 synth so where do I plug the out of the sequencer
I got you. In this case, You will use the MIDI in and MIDI out of your sequencer. Connect your Q49 to the MIDI in of the sequencer. Only like this, your sequencer will be able to get the note information to create a sequence. At the same time, you want the signal to be continued to your D-110. Usually you would use MIDI thru for that - but then, your D-110 will only get the Information of the Q49, not the sequencer. If you want your D-110 to receive the sequencer's information, you must use the sequencer's MIDI out, not MIDI thru - but then your D-110 would only receive the sequencer's information, not the direct Q49 signal.
The MMT-8 has a special option for this use case: You can activate "MIDI echo" by pressing the corresponding button. In this mode, the MMT-8 will both send its own output signal (as it's normal for MIDI out) and continue the original signal (as it's normal for MIDI thru) at the same time.
Long story short: Q49 OUT -> MMT-8 IN ; MMT8-Out -> D-110 IN ; activate MIDI echo on MMT-8.
@@SynthsandSounds ok, it worked but now how do I trigger my drum machine, I have the midi thru on the sequencer connected to the midi in of the drum machine but it’s not working
@@glenndavis1132 Via the sequencer's MIDI thru, you will only continue the Q49's signal. If you also want to connect the drum machine, you will need to continue the sequencer's signal from the D-110. This means you need to go out of the D-110's MIDI thru to your drum machine.
Keep in mind that every instrument you add this way stacks a bit more of latency, it will get recognizable after 3 instruments or so. For the moment you're fine, but If you want to avoid long daisy chains you would need a midi splitter that multiplies the sequencer's signal.
regarding receiving midi clock on the mmt-8. wouldn't it be possible to use a midi merger or router to send both midi clock and midi note input at the same time to the midi in?
that might quite well be possible
Cool review man!
Can you explain how you use the Casio as the master clock? I don't know what you mean by the "sync in jack". I'm currently trying to use an MMT-8 with an Electribe ES-1 as the master clock. Great video, thank you!
Hey d m!
Before MIDI existed, some gear used minijack connectors that send/receive a tic signal to synchronise the tempo to each other. That's what I meant with "sync input jack", but outside eurorack it has become a rare feature (the korg volcas have it).
Clock is one of the parameters that are sent via MIDI. Once you're using more that one piece of gear that creates a sound pattern (sequencer, looper, arpeggiator, drum machine), you need to synchronise your gear so your patterns will run together over the whole length of your track. MIDI is perfect and partly made for that.
So in your case, you first need to run a MIDI cable from your Electribe's MIDI out to your MMT-8's MIDI in. Then you need to make sure that your ES-1 will send the clock via MIDI and that your MMT-8 is set to receive clock via MIDI. Usually it's the default setting, but you might double check with the manual. Then it's just as easy as hitting play on your ES-1. Your Sequencer will start in tempo automatically.
Since your MMT-8's MIDI in is used for receiving clock, you need have recorded your sequences beforehand. But for playback mode it should work perfectly
Thankyou very much, I will get back to you
just ordered one! thanks
Is there a modern equivalent piece of portable sequencing hardware?
There is! The Retrokits RK-008 is a modern recreation of the MMT-8!
Does anyone else have a problem with the buttons not working? How did you fix it?
Thanks for the simple guide, I had one 30 years ago and loved its simplicity. Where it went I do not know.
Aw, what a pity! It's still very useful and it's a fixed part of my studio, all time
I have an Arturia keystep. I can play my synth with keystep to midi input of mmt-8 and then midi thru to synth. I hear nothing when its midi out. Only thru. I can record but I then have to change the midi thru to midi out on the mtt-8 to hear the synth being sequenced.
Hey Frank! I'm not quite sure if I understood Your issue correctly, but I think it is this: The MIDI out normally doesn't forward any signal. It only does if you activate the "MIDI ECHO" mode by hitting the corresponding key, which means that the Midi out works as a midi thru as well. That should fix your problem
@@SynthsandSounds You were right. Midi echo
The Retrokits RK008 works pretty similar to the MMT-8 and was released 2022. Of course the RK008 is much smaller (Dize of a pocket calculator).
Ive gone through 5 of these over the years! I really love this sequencer, I don’t know of any sequencers that quite have the functionality and easy interface as this. Does the arturia have the same functionality as the MMt8? I bought my first MMt8 like you said on Craigslist for $75 US dollars ten years ago and fell in love. Other common issues are the battery dying after regular use, and the button contacts becoming faulty and wearing away. Both of these issues are VERY common! I will be selling my “broken MMT8s on EBay soon, most only need a battery replacement, but 2 definitely have the button contact issue. Cheers and thanks for the great video!
Hi there I just bought a mmt8. I will use it as my hardware sequencer in my setup. So far I recorded some tracks with my drum machine . However I noticed when I record lets say 3 different tracks with my synth and I play them back ,they have all the same sound as my last recorded track. I would like for example have track 1 as a bassline, track 2 Melodie, track 3 ambient all recorded from one synth one midichannel. I'm sure it's really easy but I seem to struggle to find the right way to do it. With my drum machine it works well though. Thank you
in the example you mention, you would have to have a multi timbral synth first of all. Secondly change each track via the midi channels button on the mmt8.
Thanks found one on reverb for 120 bucks going to by it now. Wondering if you can hook up multiple instruments to it and use it as a live looper?
sounds like a good price! The Midiverb only has one MIDI out, but if you use a MIDI splitter or if you daisy chain your MIDI devices, you can control more than one easily. Unfortunately you are a bit limited in terms of real-time recording, so I think it's not too good as a live looper. But I use it all the time to play my previously saved sequence loops whenever I'm having a live gig
Had two. I had too many issues with the contacts of the buttons - ended up getting an rk-008
How do You like the RK-008? Any complaints?
@@SynthsandSounds there’s no note editing. Otherwise it packs a lot of features (at a price).
Hola gracias por el video, yo utilizo una roland mc500 mkII y hasta hoy me es muy util, estos sistemas "dawless" ayudan a concentrarse mejor y muy puntualmente en un paso a la vez de la secuencia, a pesar que es más lento lo prefiero sobre cualquier secuenciador actual. Es mi humilde opinión.
Bummer Dude! If You Run Out Of Memory, Also If The Battery Dies, Good Luck On Replacing It. Still, I Have Made Some Great Songs Using My MM-T8 And A Multi-Timbral Synth And My Teac -144 Which I Still Have And Will Never Sell Them. Thanks For Inspiring Me To Whip It Out And Use It Again With Some New Synths.
I've been using the MMT-8 for years now, great for live sets. The only 2 downsides for me are the limited memory and only 1 midi out.
Does it have a click count off feature?
How did you connect your Sequencer to your keyboard
MIDI. Real MIDI, not the MIDI via USB thing. It uses its own Din 5-Pin connector which unfortunately isn't integrated in some low budget products. Take your cable from the "MIDI out" socket of the sequencer to the "MIDI in" socket of the keyboard.
Can it respond to (not record) Program Change messages?
Owned one and loved it. Had an HR-16 as well
Owned? What happened to it?
Synths and Sounds Sold ‘em in the 90s, when everyone moved to software. Ironically, I now use a Beatstep Pro to recreate my setup from 1987
@@rodneyanonymous666 Who knows, maybe it was your MMT-8 that I bought recently?
Synths and Sounds I sincerely hope so!
the ONLY sequencer I'll ever use live
Hello! Thanks for the video! There is few info about the mmt7 on youtube :)
I have one question:
Do you know how to reproduce 2 different patches in the microkorg at the same time using the alesis mmt7?
I have merged two different patches into a single one by using the “layer” function of the microkorg. By changing the layer I can reproduce one patch or the other. However, when recording the sequence with the mmt7 (record 1st layer in one track, record the 2nd layer in another track), the mm7 only reproduce one layer and not both layers at the same time.
Hey Borja! That's quite an interesting idea you got there! Unfortunately, I think there is no easy way to use the layers separately at the same time.
On my nord stage, i can assign different voices/layers to different midi channels. With each layer on another midi channel, you can play them as indiependent instruments via midi. Unfortunately, the microkorg has no such setting. You only have one global midi channel setting which will always be used for both layers. So due to technical limitations of the microkorg, there is no possibility for the microkorg to distinguosh between different midi sequences at the same time.
There was only one (terribly wonky) workaround that came to my mind: via midi, the microkorg can receive patch change signals. So if you only record one track and add a patch change in between the notes, you can get the microkorg play different patches alternating, but not at the same time.
In case you figure out something different, let me know! But so far no possibility for your problem came to my mind
Synths and Sounds
Thanks for the quick answer!
Cool! Do you know how to send via midi patch changes? :)
@@b0rjax327 just the way as you record the keys - you can record much more than key presses in real time, for example you can record tge cutoff level by turning the microkorg's cutoff knob. If you change the patch while recording a sequence, that information is recorded as well. Just give it a try, you'll fogure out a way!
Synths and Sounds ok! I will try. Thanks!
Thanks for making this video, I found a mention of it in the Atari Hotz manual and was curious as a result. Looks to be quite a powerful unit for what it is and would probably help me a ton throughout my music writing process using old gear.
It definitely helps you! Since I haven't yet had the money to afford a good modern Synthesizer, it joins my setup for every techno gig I have. It's solid, affordable and does what it needs to do.
If it wasn't for some reliability issues I really wouldn't want to replace it!
@@SynthsandSounds After some research it looks like a ton of people still swear by it, which is a huge testament I suppose to the device. I have two parts or areas of my studio, one digital and one analog, with no current sequencer on the analog side, so I think this just may do the trick.
@@mindthreatx Remember that it's still a digital synthesizer if that is a problem. But it definitely shines with analog midi equipment
I’ve used one of these since 1995. Still use it, but my early backup tapes have detoriated badly...
What a pity! Maybe you should try backing up via MIDI. Midiox is a great software to do all kinds of backups
@@SynthsandSounds great! please show a video how to do it. I never had any luck backing up via tape or sysex
Those old hardware sequencers are arcane but kinda fun. I have a Roland MC500 MKII and Roland Sequencer software on a S330, as well as some Ensoniq Synths with sequencers built in. Are they easy? Nope. But they make you think differently than a DAW which is good. Ultimately I sometimes just play each part live into a 8 track tape or MD recorder with no external sequencing- maybe just the drums, this is how I used to record in the 80’s, all live no computers and it was more fun and gratifying actually.
Archaic, not arcane.
@@ZenMountain i specifically typed Arcane on purpose.
I had one in 1989. I loved it. And I sold it 😭
I had the following Synths from around 1994-2002:
Yamaha SY35/ 55
Alesis SR16
AKAI Sg01v
Im not sure if this can be called Vintage! I seriously miss the AKAI sg01v!
Your channel is great!
I'd say anything older than roughly 25 years can be considered vintage. Never heard of the Sg01v, but it looks very interesting! There is so much amazing old gear beyond roland Junos and yamaha DXs that has been almost forgotten!
Synths and Sounds: Like the Casio CT-670. Aber die MMT-8 ist einfach fabelhaft! Ich liebe es!
OMG, is that a Casio CX5000 in the background?? I used to have one.
Anyway, I have always LOVED my MMT-8(s). It's just so easy to use. But lightning struck and caused a power spike. Bye bye sequences. Bye-bye songs. Years later I bought another one but that one developed a faulty power cord. Same thing... bye-bye hard work. Well, you can back your sequences up via tape out, HAHAHA. From what I remember not many tape machines even had the ability to record that data. ...or maybe it was the strange 'midi-like' output to 1/8" jack that was hard to find... I forget. What I would give to get all those sequences/songs back I want to get back into music again and I'm researching new devices but the MMT-8 was just so simple and I could make songs so fast. I don't know if I should buy something new, or just get yet another MMT-8. One downside is all the outboard gear. It's kind of a hassle to pack up all that gear and bring it to a live venue.
After many buttons on my MMT-8 failed, I replaced it with an Akai MPC 1000. If you’ve had years with the MMT-8, then the adoption is gonna be a real breeze. And your able to save your data onto a CF card.
I learned something new today thank you dankashein.
I had one of these and miss it. I did one worse and bought a 40 year old Roland MC4!!! So I feel your pain in regards to random amnesia!
Would you recommend using one of these as a live performance tool? I’m looking for something to trigger or loop my drums, maybe some synths, noise or ambient tracks and one shot samples. But I’m looking to ditch the computer in a live setup.
Looking for a budget sampler/sequencer similar to the SU700 with a lighter price tag and decent sound quality
Hi Robert! Yes, I would recommend using the alesis sequencer live. But I don't know if it is the right one for you. From what I've seen the SU700 goes in the direction of an Akai MPC, meaning a combined sampler and sequencer. The MMT-8 is only a MIDI sequencer that doesn't produce any sound. This being said, it is not thought to be used as a pad-based sampler/sequencer. The buttons will only turn on and off the sequences that remain fixed to the beat (mute and unmute basically), you do not have the choice to do a one-shot.
If you say that that is all you need, the MMT-8 will surely do a good job. If you're okay with controlling your sampler only via MMT-8, you can get a high quality 90's akai rackmount sampler (S series) for little money.
But if you want a pad-based sequencer, you gotta look elsewhere and it's probably gonna be a bit more costly. Maybe you can find a good deal on a MPC if you can't find an affordable SU700?
@@SynthsandSounds thanks for clearing it up for me! cheers!
Great video!
Can you set which tracks should be muted per step in song mode? What I find annoying in most sequencers is that you have to manually clone the same pattern several times and then chain them in song mode. Would be way easier if you could just have say pattern a repeat 8 times, but 4 times with a different mute than than 4 times following afterwards.
No, I think you don't have a setting for that. Muting/unmuting is a global setting that can only be triggered manually
@@SynthsandSounds From page 15 of the mmt8 manual: "Automatic TRACK selection and muting at each step of aSONG:
You can select which tracks will playback at each step of a song by turning off the tracks you don't want to hear (LED's off) and leaving on the tracks you wish to hear (LED's on). The MMT-8 will store inmemory which tracks were selected for playback at each step." Sounds like it can?
@@RandomProductionszsz Oh apparently it does! Unfortunately I can't go test it since my studio is in an attic and I cannot make music there during the european heat wave
Helloello and g reetings from England. I liked your review of the MMT-8. I wonder have you considered the Yamaha QX3 sequencer? very similar but with 720K DD floppy disc. I know such disks are hard to come by but there is a way if you use black insulating tape to cover up one of the write holes you can fool the QX3 into using high density 1.44MB floppy disks.Best wishes
Hey, I've never had a look at it. Since my MMT-8 is still working properly and it's not as interesting as equipment that actually creates sounds, I've sticked with it so far. I guess my next upgrad is going to be a modern arturia keystep pro as a more reliable piece of gear for live music and my budget to spend on gear has been quite limited. But I might have a look into it in the future!
Don Buchla made the sequencer first, Bob just visited the tape music studio to learn about them .
BTW still have my MMT8 from 1990 pretty much fresh off the press in austin tx lol , going to use it for my new album!
Can you undo the quantize?
As far as I know, You can't
The clock issue: do you mean it drifts over time or just that what it thinks is a specific BPM, other machines don't!
I am trying so hard to NOT buy an MMT-8 again. Honestly, nothing on computers is as easy or focuses on just MIDI anymore. Everything's a DAW... God, I loved my MMT-8.. If only it could save .mid files.
does the mmt8 have to be master? Id like to use it with my mc-4 with tape sync. But I want the mc-4 to be master
Of course, you also can sync your MMT-8 to external clock via tape in or midi in
@@SynthsandSounds How do you sync with tape in? With something like an 808? Could you sync it with a drum machine? Thanks
Hi again,
I have two more questions:
1. Is there any way or workaround to be able to record new tracks without stopping the mmt8? like doing live loops :) (I guess no, a big pitty...)
2. What does "midi echo" really do? I still don't get it
Thanks in advance,
Borja
1. There is no live mode
2. Midi Echo means, that whatever you send to the midi input will be continued to midi output. So basically , your midi out becomes a 2 in 1 midi out and midi thru at the same time
This might be a stupid question but can you play guitar through one? Can’t find an answer anywhere
I assume you have never had a look into MIDI. Midi does only transmit digital note information, not audio.
A guitar on the other hand does only emit a sound signal and never emits any digital note information.
The MMT-8, being a digital MIDI signal processor, can not process any audio signal, hence it will never be able to process a guitar audio signal.
This confirms your assumption of your question being kind of stupid ;)
There's some effect units that can interpret a guitar signal (the empress zoia for example). At the moment where you convert your guitar signal to midi, it will lose all its tonal quality of the actual instrument, what remains is only note information (a specific note being played at a specific timing). All these conversions from guitar to midi are kind of wonky, chords are almost impossible to be converted into midi information. You will then need some device to interpret the midi information to create audio out of it, which usually would he a synthsizer. There's no way to reproduce a midi signal on a guitar at all.
Casio has produced guitars that have a MIDI output.
Roland also has solutions for guitar MIDI control (e.g. Roland GI-20).
Do you record midi in and midi out to same keyboard?
Usually, when I record a sequence, I have both in and out connected to the same keyboard. That makes it easy to quickly check if there weren't any mistakes. But you can easily choose another master keybard as well
Can You Tell Me How to Sync the MMT-8 to Ableton Live?
I've Got More OUTS (hardware) than I've Got INS (on my mixer), ha.
I'm Sequencing MIDI Hardware on the MMT-8.
R-8 Plays the Drums--they're sync'd.
Everything Runs Through My Soundcraft MTK22, 22 Channel, USB Mixer.
USB into Ableton.
I Am Recording--easily.
I Understand I Will Need to Use My Interface to Sync Live via MIDI.
I just Don't Know How to "Hook the Hardware, Sequencer & Drum Machine (R-8)" into the MIDI Interface.
I've found how to set-up Ableton (which buttons to push), I just don't know how to Set-Up the Hardware--with the MIDI Cords.
I'm Seeking a MIDI Clock, or Sync Tone, to Set This Up to Record Additional Parts, on separate tracks in Ableton, and I Need the Tracks to "Come in" when They're Supposed to so that Everything is Recorded Where It's Supposed to.
Like-
If the Sound Comes in on Measure 65, I Want It to Sync to Measure 65.
Please Advise.
Many Thanks.
Matt
Detroit
Hm, that's a difficult task you're demanding of a standard that came out in 1983 and hasn't been changed since. So obviously you can use ableton as your midi clock if you send the midi signal to the MMT. I'm not really sure if MIDI does support the feature of jumping to a certain measure. What I know is that midi clock sends start/stop and restart from measure 1 signals. So if you want a sequence to start on measure 65, you could go in song mode and program in a loop of 64 empty measures before having the measure played. But then I think you still could not start somewhere in the middle
Great video
Awsome video!!!:-D
Apparently the design looks like an office gadget because the casing was originally intended for just that, Alesis bought loads of b-stock cases for this machine and the hr16 I believe? The drum machine that looks just like this sequencer....
You're right, the HR-16 is the drumming brother of the MMT-8. Amazing, I didn't know alesis got the cases from something else! But it makes totally sense! The buttons don't look similar to anything I've seen on music gear.
Yeah, definitely worth it...A lot, lot of people love it...
And for a 20 years old one, Yamaha rm1x, the cheap MIDI treasure...\\\
omg, i have a rm1x in storage. Is it really that good? what are the strengths? Do you use it as a main sequencer?
Sick t-shirt
Alesis hr16. And an Akai s900 sampler combo was. The poor mans. MPC 60 in the early 90’s
mmt8 + hr16b here!
I want one lol, looks like fun!
I don't think the Beatstep pro will lose its value.
As long as it's in production, you will always pay less for a second hand one than for a new one. So if you get one now and want to get rid of it within a year, it will be a loss. If you're reselling it after it has gone out of production, it might be another story
your sooo rad!!!
awesome , can you explain how we can connect 2, 3 , 4 ... different synths with MIDI cables to the MMT-8 using MIDI IN /OUT/THROUGH
Well, to send out sequences, you can only use MIDI out. What comes next is usually called 'daisy chain': MMT-8 out -> synth1 in, synth1 thru -> synth 2 in, synth 2 thru -> synth 3 in and so on. Arrange all sequences and use the 'MIDI chan' key to give each sequence another MIDI channel, now you only have to set your synths to receive only on the corresponding midi channel. If your synths don't have MIDI thru or you want to avoid latency in long daisy chains, put a midi splitter (additional gear) between the MMT-8 and your synths to multiply the signal. I hope that explains your question!
@@SynthsandSounds Thanks very much and well understood
I'd argue that buying a basic Keystep is a whole different affair than a (now) vintage multichannel midi sequencer/looper with ability to chain songs. You can't really compare the two from a feature point of view. Plus, think about that basically any pristinely kept device will be vintage in half a century. Unless of course you're already in the 50s now - in which case your heirs will likely get more out of it.
Do you make commercials for Colgate?
It's sad they don't make these sequencers anymore with USB upgrades. I love this machine years ago and start using the Ensoniq line, another company that ended. Good things never last.
The end of Ensoniq messed up my music work flow big time
I got a roland pr100, kawai q80, roland mt32 and yamaha fb01
How about buy a new sequencer, which has about the same features as the 30 year old sequencer!
If only it was that easy... I'm planing to make a video on that topic.
a roland mc303 is the same but will do much more including bulk dumps
Just saw one with manual at a shop for $99. I resisted GAS and left it 🏅
bad mistake 😁