You can sync your imported audio with the Roland MC-101 and process it with the varied built-in effects and tools this awesome Groovebox gear has to offer. Professional Production and Performance An array of filters and other effects are also on board for you to run your entire mix through them for an overall polish on your music. These include filters, bit-crushes and a master bus compressor for really getting the most out of your projects. Connect To Your DAW

For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Resampling The default Easy mode gangs all the filters, VCAs and mod sources. This is a stroke of genius, making the synth mimic a more traditional architecture of multiple oscillators mixing into a single shaping stage. In Advanced Edit all layers are independent. A final EQ and Effects stage is shared. There's so much to choose from on the effects front, with classic modulation effects, filters and newer multi-step rhythmic effects. Saturation and distortion effects are also very well catered for. For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Using Scatter The default Notes pad mode represents a piano key layout across the pad layers. Thankfully, you can select from a comprehensive list of scales and see two octaves on the pads. There's also a chords mode and you can create your own chords. If I had to find fault, I'd say that an arpeggiator seems an obvious omission. I'd love to see the amazing Jupiter X arpeggiator on here. The MCs do have an SH‑101-esque step advance sequence entry mode, although you can't transpose it from the keys.Sounds: The Circuit’s two Nova engines have certain applications where they sound great (such as cold wavetable pads and harsh Massive-style leads,) however they do have a reputation for sounding cold and harsh. I did have some difficulty In addition, there is no way to design sounds from scratch on the Circuit (relying on tweakable preset sounds instead,) which is a huge turn-off for many advanced synthesists. Because of this, other competing devices such as the Electribe or MC-101 may better serve those looking for polish or tweakability in a synth engine. As well as multiple LFOs and Envelopes there's a Mod Matrix with four further patch points. By default the sources for these are four 'SYS CTRL' parameters which are designed to be assigned to knobs as macros. The parameters for the effects in a patch also show up as available Knob assignments. For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Quantize But then there are plenty of downsides compared to the MC-101. First of all, I can’t help but feeling that the overall sound is a lot more limited. While the synth “machines” are tweakable, I find it hard to dial in really lush sounds. There is no chorus, no gritty distortion (the overdrive is actually pretty gentle), there’s no compressor, there are no lofi effects, and there’s no way to layer any sound with samples. The biggest omission of all is some form of polyphony, and an arpeggiator. I owned a Digitone last year and loved the way it implemented this. It’s frustrating that Syntakt doesn’t offer the same voice stealing and arp functionality as the Digitone. The Digitone also has a great chorus. So my comparison and reference is these devices - please don't feel offended for your favorite brand if I am doing too many comparisons!

For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Changing Tempo You can combine loops and one-shots with melodic phrases and even important audio files and input MIDI sequences. You can use these to replicate the sounds of these legendary instruments or tweak them to create entirely new sounds of your own. My biggest struggles were the menu and project structure (absolutely unintutive navigation) and the sequencer. I got used to the Elektron’s workflow, it’s quite natural, I got used to jamming and composing and editing on a fly (A4, Octa, MnM). Here I did not even finish any usable loop or pattern in several months. Roland has their own views on how the sequencing should look for a musician and for me it looks they did not evolve much from the programming of tb303’s or anything digital from that era.A powerful new arpeggiator livens up your productions with tasty melodic lines and real-time control over motif, rhythmic variation, octave, and hold on/off. Lastly, it’s more power efficient and can more easily run off of a powerbank and birdcord (the Syntakt will require a more potent PD-compatible powerbank).

At the surface level, the Syntakt and MC-101 are both similar in that they’re both an interesting combination of groovebox, drum machine, sequencer, and synthesizer. But they’re also very different from one another.There are trace resemblances to the earlier MCs, but in terms of functionality and workflow Roland appear to have embraced contemporary concepts. The 101 and 707 combine ideas from their Aira range with others found in Live, Maschine, MPC, Circuit and the Elektron devices. Scope For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Changing Clip Length For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: System Settings

One more thing... Like the Aira MX‑1 performance mixer, the new MCs can tie particular Scatter effects to individual steps within a measure. These are triggered simply by holding the main Scatter mode button. This can be used to create a bonkers effect sequence or buildup. I used it to tie a simple repeater to the last four steps, so I could drop in a fill without switching to Scatter mode. Performance For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Saving Projects I find the Digitone (and A4mk2) to be the most musically inspiring, both in terms of the sonics they give and the melodic approach rather than rhythmic (like the Syntakt).This may be a slightly ridiculous comparison and choice, but I currently own both the Syntakt and the MC-101 and I’ve decided I need to downsize my hardware setup and focus more on music making again by leveraging the DAW as the main production center instead of my MPC. I had a really good run with the MPC but I feel done with that now. I also have a couple of other hardware synths that are just collecting dust and probably need to go as well. This can vary depending on the specifications of the batteries, capacity of the batteries, and the conditions of use. Accessories Owner's manual For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Working With Clips I have an MC707 that I use as a sound module, so that’s my reference. I’ve got a Syntakt too that I’m about to sell. For more information, please visit: https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/ Watch video. Roland MC-101: Advanced Drum Sequencing