Roland MC-909

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Roland MC-909 samplinggrooveboxDate Produced - 2002
Roland MC-909 samplinggroovebox
Date Produced - 2002

The Roland MC-909 groovebox combines the features of a synthesizer, sequencer, and sampler. It was released by Roland Corporation on October 08, 2002. This Products was Announced at the AES Fall in 2002. It is the successor to the Roland MC-303, Roland MC-307 and Roland MC-505. The predecessor to the new Roland MC-808.

Contents

[edit] Sound Generation

The MC-909 has a ROM based sound generator (sometimes referred to as a rompler.) Its patches are built from up to four tones. The tones are based on waves stored in the machine. Patches can also utilize user created samplers. Roland's literature states that the MC-909 has "new-generation XV synthesis". The synth in the MC-909 is very similar sound engine like the XV-5050 64-Voice Synthesizer Module.

The number of PCM waveforms is 693, ranging from vintage synths to strings, drums, guitars and pianos. It can be expanded by adding one SRX card from 12 different cards available.

The MC-909 is the first Roland groovebox to feature a sampler. It can record audio from any of the external audio inputs, SPDIF connectors or to import wav and aiff files from a computer using a USB port. The sampler can be upgraded up to a total of [16 MB User + 256 MB PC-100 or PC-133 168-Pin DIMM Module] = 272 MB RAM and the samples can be also be stored in a 128 MB 3.3 volt Smartmedia cards. The unit is able to store also on two 128 MB Smartmedia cards, if you have larger DATA in its user memory of 256 MB. Plus there are Tricks from other user forum sites that have found ways to go beyond this limitation using xD-Picture Card as other means for storage memory.

[edit] Sequencer

The MC-909's sequencer is based on pattern based composition. Each pattern has 16-tracks (called parts.) Each part is set to a specific patch. There are a variety of editing modes. The main modes allow realtime recording, step recording and TR-REC recording. In step recording, note or chords can be added one at a time. In TR-REC mode, each of the 16 pads represents a point along a musical measure. This speeds up the entry of percussion tracks. Patterns can be strung together into songs.

[edit] Performance

The MC-909 includes a number of features for real time performance. These include:

  • Muting/unmuting parts
  • Adjusting the level of parts
  • Turning on and off effects
  • Adjusting the tempo
  • Playing notes
  • Adjusting various parameters such as filter cutoff
  • Playing phrases on the fly (RPS mode)

[edit] Features

  • Sound generator with 64 note - voice polyphony
  • 16-track sequencer+Tempo/Mute Ctrl Track
  • 16MB sample memory
  • Effects generator (24-bit reverb, two multi-effects processors, compression/EQ and mastering effects)
  • Large LCD screen
  • Expandable with SRX-Series wave expansion boards
  • USB port for MIDI and transfer of data
  • S/PDIF output
  • Dual D-Beam controllers
  • Turntable emulation
  • Velocity sensitive pads
  • V-LINK (Which trigger's clips, perform video effects and transitions from sequencer) connecting audio & video in performance

FACTORY BOX COMES WITH: Accessories - [Quick Start, Owner’s Manual, SAMPLE SHOW CD, Power Cord, Card Protecter].

(In the interest of product improvement, the specifications and/or appearance of this unit are subject to change without prior notice).

[edit] Upgrading from the MC-505

If you are planning to upgrade from your MC-505 synth, you'll get the following:

  1. Sampling ability.
  2. A huge editing LCD screen.
  3. A second D-Beam controller.
  4. Two extra filter modes.
  5. Stereo waveforms for your patches.
  6. Matrix Control, Random Modify and Fat controls.
  7. A mastering stage that features three-band compression and equalization.
  8. Turntable emulation.
  9. Morphing LFO waveforms.
  10. Sample machine gun feature.
  11. Velocity sensitive pads.
  12. Fully editable arpeggios.
  13. Chord memory.

However, you will lose some features, like:

  1. The MEGAMix function.
  2. The Portamento knob.
  3. The Groove knob. However, the groove/quantize functions are preserved under an editing menu.
  4. The ability to control the individual amount of delay assigned to each part.
  5. The Ad-Lib function from the D-Beam.

Most MC-909 users agree that both machines are different enough to justify keeping both of them and integrate them using a MIDI cable.

[edit] Criticisms

The Roland MC-909 received good reviews at tech magazines like Future Music and Sound on Sound. However it faced serious competition from the cheaper and more intuitive Yamaha RS7000. Many MC-909 users complained about several operating system bugs at the Yahoo! Groups forum and at the Roland forums, obtaining little response from Roland Corporation. In fact, even when the machine was released in 2002, it took 5 years until some of the more complex bugs (like the inability to store RPS patterns) were fixed in the operating system upgrade v1.23 in early 2007.

Another common complaint refers to the size of the unit, that makes it less portable than a laptop with a midi controller.

The sampler, although powerful, lacks the ability to set keyboard ranges for different samples, making it difficult to create realistic sounds from a set of multisamples. There is, however a work-around for this via an external editor on the PC & Mac called: MC-909 Editor Update v3.1, that is freely available for download at this site.

While no longer in production, the MC-909 can be bought these days second-hand at places like ebay for values closer to US$550.00 dollars or higher still if in mint condition.

  • Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) US$1,795.99 on October 08, 2002 - when they were first released by Roland Corporation**

[edit] Unsolved bugs

Several operating system bugs were gradually solved over time; the last operating system upgrade (Version 1.23) was introduced on March 30, 2007.

The current unsolved problems at the present moment are:

  • Many users complain that there is no sustain in Song Mode, resulting in a noticeable audio gapping between patterns. This is most noticeable as slower tempos. (see also: MC-808[1])
  • Even when a part is set to EXT, the internal sound engine will continue to produce sounds. You can work this around by assigning a blank patch to that part; however this is not the expected behaviour described in the manual.
  • Going into MENU (e.g. USB transfer) resets the 909 to Preset Pattern 1 when you come out of menu.
  • Tracks 6 and 13 will not mute/unmute when pressed at the same time (introduced in v1.22)

The Roland MC-909 is no more built by Roland Corporation (it was entirely built by a small team of enthusiasts people, at the end of 2005, they were laid off by Hewlett Packard). The Roland MC-909 is consequently called to become a legendary star, as Mellotron or the Casio SA-1

[edit] External links

MC-909 PDF Manual Links:

Other Links:

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