Been really enjoying this groovebox for a while now. I would love to see a few features in a firmware update: - Paraphonic Mode for the VA engine - Applying send/return effects to the assignable outputs (same signal path as master out) - Being able to chain more than one effect per track. Might be processor heavy, but I'd be willing to sacrifice a track or two for more FX. (One effect plus a couple master fx is a bit restricting) - Send program changes to external hardware per clip (preferably more than 1-127 slots. The Minilogue XD has 500 program slots, for example.) - Double the step length to 256 (I was already pleasantly surprised by the 128 steps, double the average sequencer. Why not go a bit further and get rid of the techno guardrails?) - Arpeggiator Also, I would love to see an expander/controller with MIDI in/out/thru that's compatible with this enabling fast hands-on access to the synth parameters and minimize menu diving, like filter knobs, ADSR faders for amp and envelope, FX parameters, pulse width, cross/ring-mod knobs, pitch, LFO faders/knobs, etc. Personally, I'd buy a Roland expander/controller in a heartbeat to get way more life out of this nice groovebox.
I love this machine! I had a Fantom x6 years ago and it was powerful but when it came to making patches I hated it. I traded it for the V-SYNTH with vocal card. The V-SYNTH is awesome but always lacked sample memory which really made no sense for the sample mangling power they gave it. This box is so awesome because it feels like my Roland Fantom x6 and my V-SYNTH had a baby! It’s the best groove box I’ve owned! You’re not locked into only making dance music with this, you have an extremely powerful workstation sitting on your lap while watching TV! They need to add a vocoder, sample per key sampler, and more sample time for the looper! I was worried about 8 track limit but they did something so cool it’s no problem. I can set a different patch per clip on a single track! Track 1 can be 16 different synth sounds! And you can send patch change per clip to your external gear! I love it! Maybe add count in for recording but please add the sample per key sampler or at least sample zones so we can add a bunch of samples per synth and please add mire looper track time so we can do mix downs
Frank Manhands This is a very exciting new product, I’ll definitely pick one up for myself. Hardware synths have always felt more alluring and instrument-like to me than computer software. The limitations, tactility and performance functions of groove boxes have always inspired me musically. I’ve owned two MC-909s in the past, very fun machines. They were also around 2k USD in the early 2000s. Good to see that MC707 is a half of that and feature rich as well! Demos sound awesome too. Great work Roland!
Once I make a beat , how do I export the files so I can import them into protools ? Do I just write the project and insert the sd card into my computer and pull them that way?
Just record the audio live into your interface. It sounds great. Sync clock with DAW for multiple single tracks. But I personally get my song complete on the 707 and just do a stereo bounce down.
@@THEREALTWISTEDINSANE I've done this like this. Connect a 5 Pin Din MIDI cable to the 'Midi Out' of the DAW interface. Put the other side into the 'Midi in' of the 707. Go into the 707 menu via project button and select 'slave clock mode'. I think 'Auto' may also work. You should notice the BPM on the 707 sync to DAW if it worked. Hit play on your DAW and it should start the 707 sequencer. On auto mode it usually automatically knows what you want to do. It's worked beautifully for me using a midi keyboard to perform my parts and I have never had to change a setting. Clever design. But again, all this to get track separation on your DAW? If you intend to use your 707 live, don't you want your mix to be as close to perfect on the unit itself? It's so easy to make/ save micro adjustments. Also, because you have faders, I have found that I am able to use these to get the mix right when I am performing on other PA systems. I have found that I am able to process any sound exactly as intended all internally on the 707. It's worth learning the capabilities. I only use my DAW for creating vocal samples. And finally, there is also an assignable out where you can also send one part out at a time (but you would need to be midi synced to do this). Anyway, hope that helps.
707 and tr8s are my basic live pa brains 🎉 Thanks Roland for that and dude you better go get one . A powerfull drum machine a sampler a looper a virtual synth ! Do you need more ? Nah believe me only with this groovebox you can compose an entire album! At least ive done it multiple times. Highly recommended ❤
I still have my Roland MC-505 and still use it to this day and won't be getting rid of it any time soon ( more like never! ). A decade ago I was shocked that the MC-808 was discontinued seeing an end to the Groovebox series but the Groovebox has now made a comeback in a much more compact black desktop unit in the form of an MC-707. The MC-202 kind of formed the backbones of the Groovebox series. I bet the MC-707 also has TR-707 drums.
I loved my mc 505! It had the best modulation and could do so much amazing stuff you almost need a college course to understand it all! I miss that thing so much.....
I wonder if a battery pack could make this portable)(works with a digitakt) but as an ex mc505 user, this is a must get. Hope the real store price is a tad lower than the Roland price. (799-899 for the 707and 399 for the 101). Can't wait to load my maschine expansion packs into it, the way ni is going I want options now, and this came at the best time ever. Digitakt no sampling and mono with very limited fx, deluge too exotic for me, Tr8s was on my list but this one whipes it away in terms of functions. Had the live for a while but that was one big bugfest at 1.2. On-board synths sound great and are a must for a groovebox, sh101,303 and juno are standard and great choice if I read correct, others will probably be sold via the shop, I think.
@@bungeechord1 the tribe is good, but not up to date anymore. Too little flash memory etc. MC707 has everything I would have expected from the new TRIBE3. That remains a dream. KORG is sleeping! ROLAND does it .... Only sell the TRIBE to get some money for the MC707. The E2 RD works fine too ... but a bit limited :-) Workflow, no fader, only 24 MB flash memory ... etc
@@creategraphics1570 I didn't even see the MC-101 now that is the circuit killer. the 707 is a whole new unit. I'm just glad roland is toning down their style a bit because those overly green LEDd synths from a few years back just seemed soo off putting.
@@tubadude0 not a Circuit killer. Either new groovebox is much more in specs, yes, but they also cost more. That aside, Roland overdoes it when watering something down to make a cheaper version, so if they released a groovebox at the Circuit's price, it would probably suck. They could make a true Circuit killer at the Circuit's price but they will not, I think.
hi guys, is there any chance to implement the song mode in the near future? and if not, then I suggest you to think about something like programable scene sequencer. i think it may be helpfull tool. for example 128 steps with cells switchable 1-8 or something like that :) you can use actual clip grid to make it happen... guuuuys please 🤪. btw mc707 is dope as hell 🤪
Picture they made an mc808… analog filter, combo input jacks with phantom power, actual sampling, and actual looping, with ample memory to loop and sample? I would actually buy it
Anyone know if the MC-707 can handle live sampling? edit: didn't read the vid description, sounds like it can - "... has a powerful sampler with on-the-fly recording". Sold.
Does it have kind of TR-8S built-in (inside)? I mean I know it has a lot more additional features, but I'm asking is there something that the TR-8S has and the MC-707 doesn't have? (Except the 8 outputs). Btw, can I export the MC-707s tracks to the tracks of Ableton like I can do it with TR-8S via USB?
No it doesn't. But you can definitely make some very detailed beats with all the classic sounds and no limitations if you know what you're doing. I have both and I just completely stopped using my TR8S because I can do everything on the MC-707.
MC-707 rocks so far, but the Scatter Effects are fiddly to try and get sounding good or not sounding like your average stutter effect. The Shift button needs an option in the system settings to be able to change it between being a hold button (as it is) and a toggle button. If in toggle, Shift functions are accessed simply by pressing the Shift button once then messing with the rest of the interface, then pressing Shift again returns controls to normal. This would make single-handed operation easier and would be convenient when using a Juno-DS or SP-404 in the other hand.
0:48 pause here and look at the wasted space on the right side of this unit which could have accommodated a slightly larger screen. If the gaps between the buttons, knobs, value jog wheel etc were tighter you could have had added at least an inch to both dimensions of that screen. I just look at a design sometimes and think.. why? why is that like that? what was the designer thinking? it doesn't have to be like that, not at this price Roland. I want to love this machine and of course buy it but there's so many issues bugging me.
Agreed. Not everyone playing this thing has 30-year-old vision. Too bad they didn't have an additional display out via HDMI or USB-C. That would have been a game changer.
Could you please please add an EQ visualization like Elektron has. This would make my live so much easier and so much more fun 🤩 also for ADSR this could be nice 👍
I have almost all Roland grooveboxes. I am getting this one too! I love the common synthesis language spanning all their products, nice to see partials are back as well as the MC familiarity.. is there an Analog Feel parameter for the samples? ..(It's killer)
Vince Riley I’d like to know that too. I heard the DJ looper like on my SP404, but if there was an analog sim or vinyl sim for the samples like the 404 that would make me smile.
Nice review. How are the options for live performance? Can you cue and listen (edit) a workspace without affecting the main audio output? Also, how easy is it to play in time signatures other than 4/4? Thanks!
@@new-world-soul That was a whole other era too..Back then when the 909 dropped people didn't have access to tons of free vsts, samples and beat kits. To me that price was kinda steep too for the 909 But people used it for actual production back then. i doubt that the 707 will see a whole lot of studio use nowadays.
@Divinital ok if you say so. At the end of the day you're returning yours, and smarter buyers won't even buy it. It's not always about spec, it's about making music. Best songs ever were created 4 track, so WTF is you talkin 'bout Willis ? !
It doesn't appear to have an 'auto chop' function. But an easy workaround would be to load a short breakbeat as a 'Drum' engine, copy the same sample to multiple pads, then just set different start points. I agree though, auto chop should be added in the future. static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/MC-707_Reference_eng01_W.pdf
Hi there' Can I use MC-707 to sequence my E-A7 arranger as there is no sequencer on board? I’m using a lot of ethnic sounds with different time signature, so I wonder all my MIDI data like pitch bend, modulation….CC, PC etc can be recorded on MC-707. Is there a song mode to play back E-A7 along with MC-707 tracks for live playing. I hope Roland can answer these quotations as I believe a lot of customers looking for these kind of features on this incredible machine. Thank you
Powerful machine, I just wish I could have a more flexible step grid system that allows me to start writing 16th notes for a basic pattern and then switch to triplets or a higher resolution grid later on in the process, to combine different note values within the same track or clip, without converting what I've already written before. I wish the MC-707 would allow me to program notes in a way that emulates the strumming effect of a guitar for example. Is there a way to do that with the MC-707?
Nope, we're screwed, but start off with those 16ths anyway as you can go back in and change the timing and duration to mix in whole notes, half notes, quarters, and eighths as you'd like. You can do triplets this way, too, but it is a hassle, it is not designed to let you punch in triplets or quintets with any ease. There are some other very odd limitations with the sequencer.
The new setup looks easier than the akai-mpc... 2x8 pads with the fader knobs above, (instead of the 4x4 grid(akai)) helps me visualize the music better. As long as it has the preset original tr808s and tr909s, i can ASDR any 808 to hit like Metro...
hi there! love your gear- but i have a question to mc707... im tryin to change banks in my tb3 with mc 707 sending program change messages, but the tb3 sticks to bank A patch 26... what do i miss to change banks or is that point of a future update? can u help? king regards
I'm a little confused? Roland sells the 707 for $1,000 and it only has a tiny little screen? Also only a 8 track sequencer which seems very limiting. Average sequencer is 16 tracks. Also minimal amount of trigger pads, which limits how many clips variations you can play back. I don't know but it seems pretty empty on features for a $1,000? Better off with older mc Roland stuff like 909 & 808?
Wait wait wait...999€ and NO Arp, NO Song Mode, NO Sample Slicing in 2019??? Is this a joke or what? The first 2 features are "standards" since the very first Groveboox. The third is a standard in any sampler nowadays. Quite disappointing...unless a software upgrade will add those featrure soon.
and all samples in one folder...and no usb import...and no kit loading...and and and....many basic features missing and all this for 1000 bucks...cheesy!
Damn. I was getting a mean chubby for this thing. Considered selling my Korg electribe (which I like, but I want to control multiple voices at once) you had me unsold a No ARP. and then I kept reading further. Yeah, I'd hope they'd do an update. Novation is killer at listening to the people and giving us what we want in firmware updates.
I probably would like it to be a true analog box, but could that do all this stuff? probably not. You kind of have to go with the product as if it were an art piece. You take it for what it is. And this little sucker is really a state of the art product in terms of sound and use. I've found that boxes that do a whole lot, (like the Octatrack for example) are just too dense to use. For me that is. People rave about all Elektron boxes. But while they can be deep, that comes at a price. And I don't want to pay that price. I want to get on with the thing. If I need a feature, I'll wait till the next box comes along. BTW, if you ever had a little 303. Those things are a pain in the ass and don't have many features. So no love lost there for me. Their mojo factor is out of this world, I'll admit.
Is there any way to transpose tone tracks in realtime using the choosen pad as root key of a sequence (like JD-XI do)? If so, does the transposition goes through midi out ? (JDXI let's you transpose in real time but transposition doesn't goes to midi out. Are scatter fx working on midi out to control hw synths? Thanks in advance.
It's deeper than you think. This is a direct competitor to Digitakt , so yeah $799 probably makes more sense, but we'll see. I started on an MC-303 so this is very nostalgic for me.
This is what most in the "groove box" and synth community are saying also. Its kinda pricey. Maybe give it a few months and see if the price drops. I will get this at some point. But i already have a digitkat and digitone. Nothing here i dont have already. But the sounds are very cool. Eventually i will own it.
This thing looks amazing. Now, if it only came with Native Instruments sample packs I could get rid of my Maschine Mikro 😂 Not likely, but I may have to spring for this unit!
I tried loading my Maschine drum samples, and they get "neutered". They lose all punch. They don't sound distorted or anything, but they sound piss weak. My new Polyend Tracker has turned out to be my cheap way of using my Maschine samples with my hardware while leaving out my PC.
PLEASE ADD "SOLO" function in the drumkit! For example by holding "funct"+ PAD or other key available. It has non sense to have 2 ways of working for muting an instrument: "MUTE" + PAD or "SEL" + PAD that works based on a different logic between them and with one method is impossible to unmute the other one. please give me a feedback
I tried contacting them to be able to make feature requests, a rep told me to contact some lady to forward feedback to Roland Japan, and then I later try contacting customer service again and they tell me that they can't have any random Joe talking to that person. Geez. Where do we make feature requests? I'd love a "SOLO" function for the drums like you describe as well, plus having a System setting that allows me to make the Shift button a toggle button instead of hold, so you press Shift once and shift functions are enabled without you having to hold Shift, making one-handed operation far easier while I use my Juno-DS61 in the other hand. I also tried nagging them about JD-Xi front panel shortcuts because that front panel scheme is just so terrible. I made a list, but ultimately, I have no way of getting my opinion to the devs in any way. We're screwed, it might be that only the Japanese get to submit feedback.
There are more kits then you'd ever need. Plus, you can alter/ process every aspect of every sound. This has the biggest library of sounds any Groovebox has ever had.
The machine looks so cool, but the sounds chosen sounds so extremely boring and are not selling the device. Btw, how do we get in contact with Roland/Boss development department of the cool RC-505 LoopStation?
Im only seeing Roland responding to very positive comments here. Not a good sign. Can this chain patterns together into songs? If so, how many patterns and songs can it store? Not all of us do everything live on the fly. I need something that I can write drums, bass, synth etc into a complete song so I can play guitar and sing over it live. Can this do that?
Is this an inhouse joke I don't get? Being from Melbs I had to google Adam Burns. Did the dude from Melbourne on Linkedin and such really steal your 303???
You can't switch between projects, but you can have up to 128 loops on one single project. So the question is, how many songs can you make out of 128 loops? FYI, I made a 30 minute video rushing through 16 songs and that was HALF of the capacity of one project used. You could do an hour to 2 hour set easily. So this is not really a limitation to the unit in a live scenario.
Man I’d pay $1,001 if this thing just had song mode, would love to program whole sets and play my bass to it live. Maybe I’ll have to look at an older model.
@@danicsibra1951 i mean there's a huge amount of great, unique midi controllers that only use usb midi that i imagine a significant portion of ppl interested in the mc-707 already have and would like to use especially if they're moving from DAW workflows
Yes but not much at all. It's just a slightly different approach to drum and bass/ beat design. But the 707 can do way more (like WAY more) overall and also features kits the TR8S doesn't have.
How many clip can you have per track in each song? And is there a way you can just chain them together with a knob into a song order? And is there a way to erase notes in real-time with only holding down 2 buttons or keys like on older Roland drum machines (Dr-660)? And is there a way to get individual sound out of the box through digital connection for professional use to a daw?
so no more media Roland ? no specific videos about how its sampler works? you call it a powerful sampler, all i see is a start/end point sampler which is not powerful - please show us more.
The MC303 changed my life in the 90s, for real. Still have that little tank.
Lol oh yeah!! It was a beast!
MC BOB lots of late night fun 2000!
Been really enjoying this groovebox for a while now. I would love to see a few features in a firmware update:
- Paraphonic Mode for the VA engine
- Applying send/return effects to the assignable outputs (same signal path as master out)
- Being able to chain more than one effect per track. Might be processor heavy, but I'd be willing to sacrifice a track or two for more FX. (One effect plus a couple master fx is a bit restricting)
- Send program changes to external hardware per clip (preferably more than 1-127 slots. The Minilogue XD has 500 program slots, for example.)
- Double the step length to 256 (I was already pleasantly surprised by the 128 steps, double the average sequencer. Why not go a bit further and get rid of the techno guardrails?)
- Arpeggiator
Also, I would love to see an expander/controller with MIDI in/out/thru that's compatible with this enabling fast hands-on access to the synth parameters and minimize menu diving, like filter knobs, ADSR faders for amp and envelope, FX parameters, pulse width, cross/ring-mod knobs, pitch, LFO faders/knobs, etc. Personally, I'd buy a Roland expander/controller in a heartbeat to get way more life out of this nice groovebox.
I love this machine! I had a Fantom x6 years ago and it was powerful but when it came to making patches I hated it. I traded it for the V-SYNTH with vocal card. The V-SYNTH is awesome but always lacked sample memory which really made no sense for the sample mangling power they gave it. This box is so awesome because it feels like my Roland Fantom x6 and my V-SYNTH had a baby! It’s the best groove box I’ve owned! You’re not locked into only making dance music with this, you have an extremely powerful workstation sitting on your lap while watching TV! They need to add a vocoder, sample per key sampler, and more sample time for the looper! I was worried about 8 track limit but they did something so cool it’s no problem. I can set a different patch per clip on a single track! Track 1 can be 16 different synth sounds! And you can send patch change per clip to your external gear! I love it! Maybe add count in for recording but please add the sample per key sampler or at least sample zones so we can add a bunch of samples per synth and please add mire looper track time so we can do mix downs
This machine is amazing,
can't wait for the 1.7 Roland Team
#hardwareonly Nice to see a newborn of the MC-series.
Well done, Roland!!
im happy the return of the Groovebox ^^ !!! but much better than my 303, especialy the multiout jack ^^ and the fact that we can use sample.
The features seem pretty solid and a nice addition to the Aira range, but until they add song mode/arranger I'm not getting it.
Great to see more grooveboxs on the market. I just bought a MC909 last year, so it's gonna be a while before I get it's grandson 707.
Frank Manhands
This is a very exciting new product, I’ll definitely pick one up for myself. Hardware synths have always felt more alluring and instrument-like to me than computer software. The limitations, tactility and performance functions of groove boxes have always inspired me musically. I’ve owned two MC-909s in the past, very fun machines. They were also around 2k USD in the early 2000s. Good to see that MC707 is a half of that and feature rich as well! Demos sound awesome too. Great work Roland!
If there is a song mode i am sold .
Not exactly. But you can create combinations of clips and save them as Scenes which you can easily switch between.
@@rolandglobal WHY NO SONG MODE. This is live use only then :( not like MC 909. You dropped the ball there seriously
Once I make a beat , how do I export the files so I can import them into protools ? Do I just write the project and insert the sd card into my computer and pull them that way?
Just record the audio live into your interface. It sounds great. Sync clock with DAW for multiple single tracks. But I personally get my song complete on the 707 and just do a stereo bounce down.
@@danielsommariva I am doing that now but can't figure out how to sync my 707 to my daw
@@THEREALTWISTEDINSANE I've done this like this. Connect a 5 Pin Din MIDI cable to the 'Midi Out' of the DAW interface. Put the other side into the 'Midi in' of the 707. Go into the 707 menu via project button and select 'slave clock mode'. I think 'Auto' may also work. You should notice the BPM on the 707 sync to DAW if it worked. Hit play on your DAW and it should start the 707 sequencer. On auto mode it usually automatically knows what you want to do. It's worked beautifully for me using a midi keyboard to perform my parts and I have never had to change a setting. Clever design. But again, all this to get track separation on your DAW? If you intend to use your 707 live, don't you want your mix to be as close to perfect on the unit itself? It's so easy to make/ save micro adjustments. Also, because you have faders, I have found that I am able to use these to get the mix right when I am performing on other PA systems. I have found that I am able to process any sound exactly as intended all internally on the 707. It's worth learning the capabilities. I only use my DAW for creating vocal samples. And finally, there is also an assignable out where you can also send one part out at a time (but you would need to be midi synced to do this). Anyway, hope that helps.
707 and tr8s are my basic live pa brains 🎉
Thanks Roland for that and dude you better go get one .
A powerfull drum machine a sampler a looper a virtual synth !
Do you need more ?
Nah believe me only with this groovebox you can compose an entire album!
At least ive done it multiple times.
Highly recommended ❤
I still have my Roland MC-505 and still use it to this day and won't be getting rid of it any time soon ( more like never! ).
A decade ago I was shocked that the MC-808 was discontinued seeing an end to the Groovebox series but the Groovebox
has now made a comeback in a much more compact black desktop unit in the form of an MC-707. The MC-202 kind of formed
the backbones of the Groovebox series. I bet the MC-707 also has TR-707 drums.
I loved my mc 505! It had the best modulation and could do so much amazing stuff you almost need a college course to understand it all! I miss that thing so much.....
Good job Roland! But please, ADD SONG MODE!!!
omg no song mode?!?!?!
I wonder if a battery pack could make this portable)(works with a digitakt) but as an ex mc505 user, this is a must get. Hope the real store price is a tad lower than the Roland price. (799-899 for the 707and 399 for the 101). Can't wait to load my maschine expansion packs into it, the way ni is going I want options now, and this came at the best time ever. Digitakt no sampling and mono with very limited fx, deluge too exotic for me, Tr8s was on my list but this one whipes it away in terms of functions. Had the live for a while but that was one big bugfest at 1.2. On-board synths sound great and are a must for a groovebox, sh101,303 and juno are standard and great choice if I read correct, others will probably be sold via the shop, I think.
Tr8s and 707 are great together tho ,
Those 2 are my main brains on my live set up !
Highly recommended
Song mode?
How expandable is the drum sounds
Well done Roland. Looks great. Hope sample slicing will get added soon.
I like it might be a winner
Looks very cool and and sounds great. Definitely will add this at some point to my set up in the future. Great job roland!!!! 👍
Definitely going for Elektron Digitak neck with this one.
I was thinking Octatrack, but with hopefully an easier to understand workflow.
GH I pre ordered the sp2400. 🤷🏾♂️
Cool groovebox! But can it be connected to midi software through a computer? And if so, how?
USB
Good stuff, Roland! Next up: SP909.
When we finally get an updated MV ?! please :)
That's what I'm waiting for.
@@mutanthorrorshow me too, for years, I havent found anything comparable yet and I tried anything available :) Yeah things come close but that's it.
@@AnsolasDe same here. Sucks cause they must know there's a market for it.
@@mutanthorrorshow yeh it is sad :(
No audio export on SD Card like the electribes?
Yes, can not wait :-) GREAT new stuff for my ROLAND-SET. my TRIBE E2 RD is now for sale ;-)
I was just about to order an Electribe 2 Sampler. Hmmm, think I will save my ducets!
@@bungeechord1 the tribe is good, but not up to date anymore. Too little flash memory etc. MC707 has everything I would have expected from the new TRIBE3. That remains a dream. KORG is sleeping! ROLAND does it ....
Only sell the TRIBE to get some money for the MC707. The E2 RD works fine too ... but a bit limited :-) Workflow, no fader, only 24 MB flash memory ... etc
Thanks!
Its true that the mc-707 dont need computer for live playing?
Yes
;)
got my attention
Roland, please bring a new MV8800 to the world.
Fero Povazan good luck with that.
@@WaxDat8800 I would love to have old 8800 with fast cpu/internal guts...never know
yeah please !
Roland just killed the Novation Circuit with this one. sheeshh
agree! i going to sell my circuit and take this one :)
@@creategraphics1570 I didn't even see the MC-101 now that is the circuit killer. the 707 is a whole new unit. I'm just glad roland is toning down their style a bit because those overly green LEDd synths from a few years back just seemed soo off putting.
Not with a thousand dollar price it won’t lol
4tytw0 yeah I hate it when companies use bright cheesy red or green lighting or paint
@@tubadude0 not a Circuit killer. Either new groovebox is much more in specs, yes, but they also cost more. That aside, Roland overdoes it when watering something down to make a cheaper version, so if they released a groovebox at the Circuit's price, it would probably suck. They could make a true Circuit killer at the Circuit's price but they will not, I think.
I would love to see a second layer of assignable/motion recordable knobs added in a firmware update! Maybe by holding Function and turning a knob?
hi guys, is there any chance to implement the song mode in the near future? and if not, then I suggest you to think about something like programable scene sequencer. i think it may be helpfull tool. for example 128 steps with cells switchable 1-8 or something like that :) you can use actual clip grid to make it happen... guuuuys please 🤪. btw mc707 is dope as hell 🤪
Nice. Can you import the Audio during its playback or do i have to stop the machine?
Picture they made an mc808… analog filter, combo input jacks with phantom power, actual sampling, and actual looping, with ample memory to loop and sample? I would actually buy it
Anyone know if the MC-707 can handle live sampling?
edit: didn't read the vid description, sounds like it can - "... has a powerful sampler with on-the-fly recording". Sold.
would be cool if they demo'd that functionality in this video tho no?
Does it have kind of TR-8S built-in (inside)? I mean I know it has a lot more additional features, but I'm asking is there something that the TR-8S has and the MC-707 doesn't have? (Except the 8 outputs).
Btw, can I export the MC-707s tracks to the tracks of Ableton like I can do it with TR-8S via USB?
Probably not. I'm still wondering if they decided to put a metronome on this thing, UNLIKE the tr8s.
No it doesn't. But you can definitely make some very detailed beats with all the classic sounds and no limitations if you know what you're doing. I have both and I just completely stopped using my TR8S because I can do everything on the MC-707.
There are many things which appeal to me about this...
MC-707 rocks so far, but the Scatter Effects are fiddly to try and get sounding good or not sounding like your average stutter effect. The Shift button needs an option in the system settings to be able to change it between being a hold button (as it is) and a toggle button. If in toggle, Shift functions are accessed simply by pressing the Shift button once then messing with the rest of the interface, then pressing Shift again returns controls to normal. This would make single-handed operation easier and would be convenient when using a Juno-DS or SP-404 in the other hand.
Amazing⚡️
0:48 pause here and look at the wasted space on the right side of this unit which could have accommodated a slightly larger screen. If the gaps between the buttons, knobs, value jog wheel etc were tighter you could have had added at least an inch to both dimensions of that screen. I just look at a design sometimes and think.. why? why is that like that? what was the designer thinking? it doesn't have to be like that, not at this price Roland. I want to love this machine and of course buy it but there's so many issues bugging me.
Agreed. Not everyone playing this thing has 30-year-old vision. Too bad they didn't have an additional display out via HDMI or USB-C. That would have been a game changer.
Could you please please add an EQ visualization like Elektron has. This would make my live so much easier and so much more fun 🤩 also for ADSR this could be nice 👍
I have almost all Roland grooveboxes. I am getting this one too! I love the common synthesis language spanning all their products, nice to see partials are back as well as the MC familiarity.. is there an Analog Feel parameter for the samples? ..(It's killer)
Vince Riley I’d like to know that too. I heard the DJ looper like on my SP404, but if there was an analog sim or vinyl sim for the samples like the 404 that would make me smile.
Nice review. How are the options for live performance? Can you cue and listen (edit) a workspace without affecting the main audio output? Also, how easy is it to play in time signatures other than 4/4? Thanks!
It's a beast for live performance. Just watch any of my live videos. Yes you can cue and it is very easy to play in any time signature.
Can it record Samples ?!
I like the sounds and I have the 808 and 909 but 1000 bucks is way too steep for this...
The MC-909 cost $1700 new!!
@@new-world-soul That was a whole other era too..Back then when the 909 dropped people didn't have access to tons of free vsts, samples and beat kits. To me that price was kinda steep too for the 909 But people used it for actual production back then. i doubt that the 707 will see a whole lot of studio use nowadays.
Roland's about 2 yrs behind the curve with real players in the industry like Elektron, Tempest, etc.
@Divinital ok if you say so. At the end of the day you're returning yours, and smarter buyers won't even buy it. It's not always about spec, it's about making music. Best songs ever were created 4 track, so WTF is you talkin 'bout Willis ? !
@Divinital retourn the unit because plastic = not focused on creating music, just an hardware fetish
Like to hear the 303 inside.
Are you guys going to add loop slicing to the sampling track? It seems like a bit of a waste to only have static looping.
It doesn't appear to have an 'auto chop' function. But an easy workaround would be to load a short breakbeat as a 'Drum' engine, copy the same sample to multiple pads, then just set different start points. I agree though, auto chop should be added in the future.
static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/MC-707_Reference_eng01_W.pdf
Its on the list, yes!
Hi there'
Can I use MC-707 to sequence my E-A7 arranger as there is no sequencer on board? I’m using a lot of ethnic sounds with different time signature, so I wonder all my MIDI data like pitch bend, modulation….CC, PC etc can be recorded on MC-707. Is there a song mode to play back E-A7 along with MC-707 tracks for live playing. I hope Roland can answer these quotations as I believe a lot of customers looking for these kind of features on this incredible machine.
Thank you
I had the mc-303, mc-307, mc-909 they were awesome machines... I never really got a chance to play with my MC 909 I had to sell it
Can you create a complete song with the 707?
Yes you can (quite easily)
Manually yes
can I use it as an audio looper in realtime?
The mc-505 is my favourite toy ever! Might have to sell a kidney soon.
Whats best choice even for a synth only specs - MC 707 ou SH 4D ?
Powerful machine, I just wish I could have a more flexible step grid system that allows me to start writing 16th notes for a basic pattern and then switch to triplets or a higher resolution grid later on in the process, to combine different note values within the same track or clip, without converting what I've already written before. I wish the MC-707 would allow me to program notes in a way that emulates the strumming effect of a guitar for example. Is there a way to do that with the MC-707?
Nope, we're screwed, but start off with those 16ths anyway as you can go back in and change the timing and duration to mix in whole notes, half notes, quarters, and eighths as you'd like. You can do triplets this way, too, but it is a hassle, it is not designed to let you punch in triplets or quintets with any ease. There are some other very odd limitations with the sequencer.
I still have my 505
Me too. I still use my MC-505.
Hey Roland have you heard this unit back? Does it not sound flat or is it just the video?
Groovy.
The new setup looks easier than the akai-mpc... 2x8 pads with the fader knobs above, (instead of the 4x4 grid(akai)) helps me visualize the music better. As long as it has the preset original tr808s and tr909s, i can ASDR any 808 to hit like Metro...
hi there!
love your gear-
but i have a question to mc707...
im tryin to change banks in my tb3 with mc 707 sending program change messages, but the tb3 sticks to bank A patch 26... what do i miss to change banks or is that point of a future update?
can u help?
king regards
Looks great! Is there a song mode?
Not at this time. But you can create Scenes that are are a configuration of clips and easily switch between these various configurations.
@@rolandglobal you need a song mode or i can't sell mc 909 and buy this instead
needs song mode or i stick with mc 909. Screen tiny too like mc 808 :(
I'm a little confused? Roland sells the 707 for $1,000 and it only has a tiny little screen? Also only a 8 track sequencer which seems very limiting. Average sequencer is 16 tracks. Also minimal amount of trigger pads, which limits how many clips variations you can play back.
I don't know but it seems pretty empty on features for a $1,000?
Better off with older mc Roland stuff like 909 & 808?
is it possible in a future update that it could play PureData patches, mapping hands-on controls to PureData parameters for live jaming?
How many loops can the unit hold in a project? What are the limitations? Can't find it in the documentation.
60 seconds Looper Mode, up to 6 minutes stereo samples for «Oneshots»
Just got mine and with full sampler, (1.20 firmware) a great machine. BUT please next update, SONG MODE!
It’s absolutely crazy that there isnt
Wait wait wait...999€ and NO Arp, NO Song Mode, NO Sample Slicing in 2019??? Is this a joke or what? The first 2 features are "standards" since the very first Groveboox. The third is a standard in any sampler nowadays. Quite disappointing...unless a software upgrade will add those featrure soon.
and all samples in one folder...and no usb import...and no kit loading...and and and....many basic features missing and all this for 1000 bucks...cheesy!
@@effex75 I think much of this has been added in the last update.
Damn. I was getting a mean chubby for this thing. Considered selling my Korg electribe (which I like, but I want to control multiple voices at once) you had me unsold a No ARP. and then I kept reading further.
Yeah, I'd hope they'd do an update. Novation is killer at listening to the people and giving us what we want in firmware updates.
I probably would like it to be a true analog box, but could that do all this stuff? probably not. You kind of have to go with the product as if it were an art piece. You take it for what it is. And this little sucker is really a state of the art product in terms of sound and use. I've found that boxes that do a whole lot, (like the Octatrack for example) are just too dense to use. For me that is. People rave about all Elektron boxes. But while they can be deep, that comes at a price. And I don't want to pay that price. I want to get on with the thing. If I need a feature, I'll wait till the next box comes along. BTW, if you ever had a little 303. Those things are a pain in the ass and don't have many features. So no love lost there for me. Their mojo factor is out of this world, I'll admit.
no ARP :(
Gonna wait til it has a song mode
Is there any way to transpose tone tracks in realtime using the choosen pad as root key of a sequence (like JD-XI do)? If so, does the transposition goes through midi out ? (JDXI let's you transpose in real time but transposition doesn't goes to midi out. Are scatter fx working on midi out to control hw synths? Thanks in advance.
they may add it later - the feature was not available on JD-Xi upon release, it came later
lets hope in the future,we can control the clip or scene with external grid controller like novation LaunchpadPro 😍
Nice to see Roland making Grooveboxes again but 1000 bucks is a joke.
Well, it's not only groove box, but also a nice VA synth. So, an introduction price seems to be ok.
lol u can get mc909 under 1k on ebay... (atleast i saw few on sell few years ago..)
It's deeper than you think. This is a direct competitor to Digitakt , so yeah $799 probably makes more sense, but we'll see. I started on an MC-303 so this is very nostalgic for me.
Microphunktv the MC-909 is like 15-16 years old. It better be under $1000! And it sold for over a grand when it was in production.
This is what most in the "groove box" and synth community are saying also. Its kinda pricey. Maybe give it a few months and see if the price drops.
I will get this at some point. But i already have a digitkat and digitone. Nothing here i dont have already. But the sounds are very cool. Eventually i will own it.
Only 8 tracks ... why not 16 like the oldies?
Is it MX1 compatible?
ChasingDogma yes
This thing looks amazing. Now, if it only came with Native Instruments sample packs I could get rid of my Maschine Mikro 😂 Not likely, but I may have to spring for this unit!
I tried loading my Maschine drum samples, and they get "neutered". They lose all punch. They don't sound distorted or anything, but they sound piss weak. My new Polyend Tracker has turned out to be my cheap way of using my Maschine samples with my hardware while leaving out my PC.
PLEASE ADD "SOLO" function in the drumkit!
For example by holding "funct"+ PAD or other key available.
It has non sense to have 2 ways of working for muting an instrument: "MUTE" + PAD or "SEL" + PAD that works based on a different logic between them and with one method is impossible to unmute the other one.
please give me a feedback
I tried contacting them to be able to make feature requests, a rep told me to contact some lady to forward feedback to Roland Japan, and then I later try contacting customer service again and they tell me that they can't have any random Joe talking to that person. Geez. Where do we make feature requests?
I'd love a "SOLO" function for the drums like you describe as well, plus having a System setting that allows me to make the Shift button a toggle button instead of hold, so you press Shift once and shift functions are enabled without you having to hold Shift, making one-handed operation far easier while I use my Juno-DS61 in the other hand.
I also tried nagging them about JD-Xi front panel shortcuts because that front panel scheme is just so terrible. I made a list, but ultimately, I have no way of getting my opinion to the devs in any way.
We're screwed, it might be that only the Japanese get to submit feedback.
Can anyone recommend a walkthrough video on how to use the effects on a track?
brother upto wht measure the phrase can sequence pls reply
How many loop tracks con you have? and how many different audio loops per track?
128 independent loops with any selection of 1-8 channels simultaneously per project.
@@danielsommariva so you can have 1024 different audio clips? Is there any clip duration for that many?like 4 bars or 8 bars
Looking at the sound list there are very few percussion sounds... only one drum kit. Am I missing something?
I think there's 132 drum kits, few of them are percussion kits, but I'm sure the other kits include some percussion sounds as well.
There are more kits then you'd ever need. Plus, you can alter/ process every aspect of every sound. This has the biggest library of sounds any Groovebox has ever had.
The machine looks so cool, but the sounds chosen sounds so extremely boring and are not selling the device.
Btw, how do we get in contact with Roland/Boss development department of the cool RC-505 LoopStation?
I agree. Not the best sounds in the demo vidoes
Much like with Korg and Yamaha, Roland wants for you to program whatever sounds you prefer.
Im only seeing Roland responding to very positive comments here. Not a good sign. Can this chain patterns together into songs? If so, how many patterns and songs can it store? Not all of us do everything live on the fly. I need something that I can write drums, bass, synth etc into a complete song so I can play guitar and sing over it live. Can this do that?
Can this chop samples?
Does import midi files?
I had an MC-303. Adam Burns in Melbourne, Australia stole it. Probably to buy some crystal meth.
Is this an inhouse joke I don't get? Being from Melbs I had to google Adam Burns. Did the dude from Melbourne on Linkedin and such really steal your 303???
Hi Can you switch between projects on the fly live?
No. And that's a huge liability when it comes to the 707.
You can't switch between projects, but you can have up to 128 loops on one single project. So the question is, how many songs can you make out of 128 loops? FYI, I made a 30 minute video rushing through 16 songs and that was HALF of the capacity of one project used. You could do an hour to 2 hour set easily. So this is not really a limitation to the unit in a live scenario.
Man I’d pay $1,001 if this thing just had song mode, would love to program whole sets and play my bass to it live. Maybe I’ll have to look at an older model.
jlchavi I just got one,I’ll sell my 307 if ur interested
roland love a menu diving machine
so does Korg, and Waldorf, and Yamaha
oh wait-
Try the Elektrons..
not having usb host on a main production machine in 2019 is a ridiculous oversight
Not if you are trying to move away from such .
@@danicsibra1951 i mean there's a huge amount of great, unique midi controllers that only use usb midi that i imagine a significant portion of ppl interested in the mc-707 already have and would like to use especially if they're moving from DAW workflows
Any way to add side chain compression to duck a track with the kick?
The folks over at the @RolandChannel HATE this drum machine because they Never talk about or any of the updates.
Are there any sounds or things the TR8s can do but the 707 cannot? @Roland
Yes but not much at all. It's just a slightly different approach to drum and bass/ beat design. But the 707 can do way more (like WAY more) overall and also features kits the TR8S doesn't have.
Is there the option of note duration on it?
Of course there is!
When this will be available in indonesia??? year 2050??? :-D
Ebay....maybe
Is that a Juno-DS screen on MC-707? That's kind of funny.
Not as funny as the screen on the TR-8S
How many clip can you have per track in each song? And is there a way you can just chain them together with a knob into a song order? And is there a way to erase notes in real-time with only holding down 2 buttons or keys like on older Roland drum machines (Dr-660)? And is there a way to get individual sound out of the box through digital connection for professional use to a daw?
so no more media Roland ? no specific videos about how its sampler works? you call it a powerful sampler, all i see is a start/end point sampler which is not powerful - please show us more.
👏👍👌☑️💯
LOVE. 😍🤗😉
jeahhh!!!! :)
I think the synthesizer only gives you a one oscillator poly synth per track. One oscillator is not enough if I'm right.
The manual says it is 4 oscillators per poly synth, very typical of Roland digital synths in general.
1 oscillator would suck royally.
@@Jason75913 . Your right I read the Roland manual online. New tracks online sound warm and full.
4 osc and you can use your own samples as an osc.
Make it Beige!
What about a new dj 808 (?)
Does the MC101 do chord progressions like the 707? Wish we had a side by side comparison.