Inhibition of evasion: Roland MC 303 demo #4 groovebox ambient chill electro

[@telekollektiv]

like boards of canada, love that!

[@KingSkullie]

I love hearing all the different things people make with their 303's. This was truly awesome. I was laying in bed listening, wishing it was longer than 5 minutes. Such a relaxing chill track. Great job!

[@MIDERA]

Thank you :) Often my songs drag on far too long, so I try to keep them short. This is one track I've always felt was just right in length and development. Sometimes the song seems to just end too abruptly or is really too repetitive. Because I only use one pattern per song with this device, it's hard to make it last too long without sounding monotonous. Thanks :)

[@KingSkullie]

True, it really is the right length. I guess I just wanted to hear more you know. Like the next song on a album!

[@MIDERA]

King Skullie Ah, yeah... I do have this on an album, linked above ;) If you're interested. I also have a more recent album also available, and will soon have another one out. Thanks :)

[@GoonieBushcraft]

Just recently dug my old 303 back out. It was your videos that inspired me so much years ago man, you showed just what you can get out of this machine with the right skills, I've put all your 303 vids in a small playlist to listen whilst a work, giving me new idea's/inspiration to make beats on it. I'm starting from scratch with mine again, just replaced internal battery, and cleaned all contacts, and even retrobrited the white keys that had turned yellow over time. So basically just want to say thank you for your music mate, been subbed for years but hardly ever comment haha. Cheers buddy : )

[@MIDERA]

Hey thanks for the kind words - I'll tell you what, your comment lead me to pull my MC-303 out. About to post a new video... don't feel it's as good as the old ones, but at least it's still fun to use. Thanks again - that means a lot to me :)

[@GoonieBushcraft]

MIDERA That’s awesome mate! Will certainly look forward to watching it later : ) Thanks again for all the great music buddy

[@chocolatewheelchair]

That’s rad mate.

[@bromy2251]

Just bought one of these, the few songs I've seen you make with them are by far the nicest sounding I've come across. Sounds amazing

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Bromy. This was my favorite track I wrote on this - I was in a bad place, but I listen back and enjoy what I created in that time.

[@mysticstylus]

I've owned an MC-303 for a few years now and have only recently started to feel comfortable programming patterns into it after a long time of confusion and frustration. Videos like yours have been a huge inspiration for me to stick with it and learn its quirks/secrets, thank you for sharing.

[@MIDERA]

I remember it being very frustrating to use. Then I use it again and continue to be confused. It has some weird things going on, but it’s still a very good sounding groovebox.

[@simul808]

Love how you make the 303 take centre stage! Your timing is spot on, love it cheers for sharing. hope i get to this level on my machine one day

[@tessatris]

wow your roland mc 303 tracks are beautiful

[@ratface1987]

This is totally on the first page of results for MC 303! That's exciting. Sorry to double comment. Haha.

[@larsjaederlund3708]

MAN...that was beautiful... very contemporary electronic mood. Loved it

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! :)

[@ratface1987]

Another inspiring track. I agree with your comment above that if you embrace the MC303, it's quirks can be endearing and interesting. Great use of delay. Knowing how meticulous you must have been to sculpt such a beautiful track on the MC303 makes listening to it all the more enjoyable. Hopefully I'm not gushing too much. ;)

[@CALITRIXfitness]

Very well done. Really enjoyed this

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@benjiwill]

Happily suprised to see how much depth you're getting out of the MC-303, i don't remember it sounded that good, nice one

[@PgTrAxX]

Great track from this little box! nice work man!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@tessatris]

Oh wow, that's really really nice thing to do of you.. I feel somewhat flattered and don't know what to so say.. thx a lot

[@DharmaTechster]

Great job, dude. You take a machine that no one really thinks very highly of at all, and you make it sing. Nice.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@chocolatewheelchair]

Awesome man. Never seen anyone use the 303 this way.

[@MIDERA]

chocolatewheelchair thanks! I can’t use it like this anymore either, hahah.

[@chocolatewheelchair]

MIDERA how come you can’t use it that way anymore?

[@MIDERA]

Family, a kid, more responsibility and less time, I think.

[@chocolatewheelchair]

MIDERA oh right on man well it was really dope to hear and see what you did

[@peakssound]

This sounds great. Reminds me of a Trentemoller track or something. Very impressed you got such a great sound out of an old piece like that.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Peaks. Yeah, I'm also surprised that the roland could sound like that! Really, for $100, it's a no-brainer!

[@simul808]

Excellent track really enjoyed it.

[@stevedesmadrijl]

Finally a video with someone actually creating music on this cool unit! And it sounds great! :) Just got me one second hand and trying some combo's with Korg Kaoss pad and Kaossilator!

[@MIDERA]

+steve desmadrijl Thanks! Yeah, this instrument got in my hands at the right point in my life. I think back and realize that this music wouldn't exist if I hadn't been where I was emotionally. I wish I could still write music like this with the 303, but then again, I don't think I'd like to be where I was in my head either, heh. A bit of a tradeoff I guess. Good luck with yours. The combo with the other gear sounds great too! Good luck!

[@jjgabbana]

i love this so much from the opening seconds

[@MIDERA]

Thanks JJ!

[@tessatris]

thx a lot for adding it, that's really kind!! and also thx for the compliment (again) :)

[@davidtehle6093]

this is absolutely amazing

[@MIDERA]

Thanks again!

[@kraftzug66]

fantastico...!! complimenti

[@MIDERA]

kraftzug66 Thank you very much :)

[@MIDERA]

Thank you +supermrbeatz! KZbin and their awesome partnership with Google wouldn't allow me to respond to your comment directly. Sorry about that.

[@MIDERA]

supermrbeatz Funny... now I can respond to you. So thank you for your comments!

[@dgl1012]

i fuxxin can;t believe it. Really great man

[@MIDERA]

Thanks :)

[@GIANPRODGIANPROD]

Like ocean...Good job man.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks GIANPROD :)

[@moogdome2562]

Another great demo my friend. I bought one about a month ago. great piece of kit, great sound. Hope you are ok. best wishes. moog.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! Yeah, I’m shocked by how good the MC-303 can sound (it can, of course, sound terrible too).

[@moogdome2562]

Hi friend. I haven't had time to get to use mine yet, but I guess it's true, you only get out what you put in. Same as synths in general, it's not always the synth that counts, but the operator who uses them, bringing the best out of them. hope you have a great weekend. Take care. best wishes. moog.

[@Riktenstein]

Brilliant - and the MC 303 was the first of it's kind.

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! And yes, it definitely was!!!

[@762x39-q]

this song is just beautiful! you are a very high-skilled and awesome musician! keep the good work up! greetings from austria :)

[@MIDERA]

Thank you very much 762x39 :) Greetings from Minnesota, US (-11 degrees C over here!). Hopefully it's warmer over there!

[@762x39-q]

youre welcome! its as cold here as there where you are and its getting worse the next days - perfect for listening to music like this! for how long do you do this? i just ordered my mc303 and i hopefully can start soon with working on it.

[@MauricioPiomboChanel]

Muy bueno!!!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!!

[@ratface1987]

Yeah it isn't always the most sophisticated machine, but that forces you to live in the moment. Sometimes you just have to sit down and record what you've got when you have it because the 303 won't remember your filter or delay or whatever. No worries. I was worried my comments were too long. So ours average out! ;)

[@StudioF]

great track.

[@deauvillevrienden]

Marvelous, i really want to make stuff like this once i get my MC-303

[@MIDERA]

Just don't push play on any of the preset patterns! They sound like crap. Scroll backwards to track U01, delete everything, and start from there! Thanks :)

[@deauvillevrienden]

***** I received my MC-303 today an did as you suggested, deleted the User tracks and start from scratch but it's a long learning curve as it's not really user friendly

[@MIDERA]

Berten Majeu I have yet to meet a groovebox that was user-friendly. I think it becomes powerful only after you work with it for some time. I think it's worth it. The drums are great and you can get some decent pads/leads/etc from this box. It's cheaper than any of the other MC's that are 'better' but none of them sound as dirty as this one. I still maintain that it was the best $100 I ever spent.

[@AlexBaranets]

Amazing track

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Alex!

[@blackyb27]

fantastic i have "her" from 1996 i love, it's pratic, fast to create new ideas.

[@MIDERA]

Yeah, it’s still a great synth. My particular unit is almost impossible to press buttons with though. Not sure it’s worth repairing or just buying another unit!

[@NOCKER513]

my first baby.... good job man

[@NOCKER513]

would've kept it all these years but only 1 midi channel as a slave erk'd me. maybe I was wrong maybe not. I dont read music or manuals

[@MIDERA]

1 Midi channel? really? That is absurd, they never fixed that? Glad I just use it stand alone and a clock for external drum machines. I don't read music, though manuals interest me to some extent. Thanks :)

[@NOCKER513]

yea I'd get a hot track started with my mpc and try to mpc channel 2 and start the next and uh uh nope. I'll dive into the microkorg for one sound tho of that arp vibe. the mpc would save that patch settings data or a mod wheel effect, you just need the beat to loop once after you load ( one track of course since the mpc is the master and the roland slave).

[@nexus246]

Nice one, gj!

[@christopherhenderson7303]

Beautiful! You've got a new subscriber!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! I've been getting a lot of comments on my MC-303 videos recently, I wonder why...

[@christopherhenderson7303]

'Cause they're awesome! I like them all, but keep coming back to this one. If you get a chance, check out my channel. My latest has MC303, guitar, and a little Kaossilator. My MC303 skills aren't up to your level, but you'll get to see my stupid inadvertent guitar faces....

[@MIDERA]

Thanks for the kind words! I'll check out your channel :)

[@MrFricoco]

so nice! I want your skills!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks :) just takes practice, I'm sure you've got the skills :)

[@els1f]

Thank you for this!

[@MIDERA]

Elsif You're welcome :) Thanks for watching!

[@davidbaizan]

Is the best track I've listened on a MC-303

[@MIDERA]

+David Baizán It's my favorite track too on this thing. Reminds me of mid-summer. A slight, warm breeze. But I was majorly depressed/anxious. Lol, so yeah, it was weird. Beauty seems to be easier to see when you're miserable.

[@2andrea6]

@@MIDERA Beauty seems to be easier to see when you're miserable. EPIC!

[@Mega3iD]

amazing how you use old mc 303, Respect ! me 2 want your skills :)

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! I just wanted to avoid everything else in my life at the time. This was my escape.

[@ChasRochfort]

Awesome track! Thank you for sharing :-)

[@MIDERA]

Thank you for listening :) Glad you enjoyed it!

[@UnauthorisedService]

instant classic !

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@DeRex9]

I like this track

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@justinfishberg7133]

do you need a program for this? like to get the actually drum kits or beats per say

[@MIDERA]

No, everything in here is from the device. You can't import anything into the unit, other than songs, I suppose, but even those are only MIDI-relevant data (meaning, no sounds, just timing/pitch/etc).

[@sambanks6709]

Hello, I have just recently purchased a Roland MC 303. I'm into electronic artists such as Boards of Canada (which is the vibe I'm getting from this track) - Could you perhaps give some advice? Thank you.

[@MIDERA]

Hmm... I guess the only thing I can say is just delete the first pattern (A01) and start recording. I just started dinking around with it and it is pretty intuitive. I'm not sure I have too many tips, at least at night! Maybe I can come up with some things later!

[@ultraxmusic]

what do you think about MC303 compared to the others MC307, 305, 909?

[@MIDERA]

The 303 is my favorite, but I have realized it's pretty basic. Some issues I have with it are 1) the sounds are not very good, so you need to tweak them a lot but 2) there are not a lot of ways to tweak the sound (you only sort of have control over ADSR settings), 3) saving is really weird, When I go back to a pattern, none of the settings are the way I set them previously. I didn't like the mc808, the mc909 was pretty nice, but I traded my Korg Radials for it and totally regretted it afterwards so that sort of stained my feelings of it and I sold it shortly after.

[@MIDERA]

I forgot to mention that I actually really don't like any of the other MC series, because they have, what I feel, to be a pretty major flaw. Patch edits are not saved within a pattern. So if you tweak a sound, that doesn't get saved and the sound reverts to what it was when you first loaded it. You have to save the sound as a separate patch and use that. To me, that's just an extra step that's unnecessary. Maybe it's just a rompler's way of doing things (but the MC-303 and RS7000 do not do this, patch edits ARE saved in the pattern). Sure, if you like how something sounds and want to save it for later, then save it, but I feel like that info should be left in the pattern. Synths are different and saving a patch makes sense because that's all you have to work with, grooveboxes have patterns that should save that info.

[@aurax4]

***** mc303 or mc307 ? What should I buy and what is the difference ?

[@MIDERA]

MC303 is the oldest. MC-307 is similar to the MC-505, but has less physical knobs. I personally liked the MC-303 better, but I had the MC-307 for a little while and could see where it was a benefit. I'd say if you can get either for around $100, get one of them. The MC-307 is going to be a lot deeper of a machine, but it will also require a lot more menu-diving. If you can find an MC-505 for the same price as an MC-307, I'd get the 505 instead.

[@aurax4]

Thanks buddy. I did really like this board of canadish demo :) . Hows the sound design perspective of the machines? 303 and 307?

[@MIDERA]

Sound design on the 303 is mostly non existent. You have control over an ADSR, but sometimes I'm not even sure what that's controlling. Same with the cutoff and resonance. The sounds might be multilayered and the filter might only affect part of the sound. The mc307 is much better. Full control over the sounds, but requires menu diving to get to most parameters.

[@aurax4]

Thanks again buddy. Well i wanted to have a machine that makes and design sound. (Drums and synth sounds) but after seeing your performances. Which is btw really good. I dont know what to buy again lol its all sounds really good under your hand

[@MIDERA]

Thanks. I think you might be frustrated with both of them. I'd suggest looking at the MC-505 or RS7000 (my favorite) if you can afford them. Yeah, I wrote some tracks I like with the MC-303, but in the last year, I haven't written much with it. The buttons are wearing out and the sounds are not that great. Don't get me wrong, if you get it and really put some time and effort into it, you'll enjoy it. Good luck. I'd avoid the older EMX or ESX, as they're monophonic. The new Electribe is 'better' in polyphony, but only goes up to 4 bars per pattern (older go to 8 bars). Other grooveboxes (like the MC-505 and RS7000) allow for more bars per pattern. The RS7000 is big and ugly though, that's its only downside.

[@regend762]

Niceness

[@MIDERA]

Thank you :)

[@Chrispy33340]

It sound like Boards of Canada

[@chocolatewheelchair]

Truth

[@MIDERA]

Thanks 😊

[@Andonchoto]

this is nice :)

[@MIDERA]

Thank you :)

[@livetoskate111]

This is unreal

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@IIrandhandleII]

Sick wrist band

[@MIDERA]

Thanks.

[@Cloroqx]

Weird queston but you seem to be one of the better MC-303 users out there. I've just recently bought one and I've yet to figure out how to get it to do live step sequencing while also changing parts. Is that at all possible in a live setting for programming individual parts without stopping playback (i.e. program hats, kick, snare, synth without stopping at all)?. Thanks.

[@MIDERA]

Cazaq Hmm, I wish I knew. I was pretty sure you could record different percussive sounds during live play, because they're all from the same part. You might have to hold down shift and one of the notes to find a drum sound you want. I don't know that I've ever programmed individual parts during recording. I usually stop and play back, then figure out the next part to record, then record it, then stop... etc. It might be in the manual too. There's also a few tutorials out there, which might help better :/ Sorry, I actually haven't touched mine in about a year. Thanks for the kind words. Take care.

[@Cloroqx]

Cheers and thanks for trying to answer.

[@MIDERA]

Let me know if you find the answer. If I bring my 303 out again soon, I'll see if I remember how it all works.

[@Cloroqx]

I'll dig into the manual when I've got the time.

[@DaveDaves]

Perhaps the best MC-303 work I've ever seen (heard) on youtube! I've got MC-307 & MC-909 tracks on my youtube if you're interested

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Dave - much appreciated :)

[@TimGn]

Love your vids. What did you use to film this with?

[@MIDERA]

I think I used the Nikon D5100 when I had it. Thanks TIm!

[@lairdtomfrenchelectromusic2545]

How musically hijack an MC-303? I think only MIDERA can do it, and it does it very, very, very well !!! Si !!!

[@MIDERA]

Hehe, I've seen some others do some good stuff with the MC-303 though. It's a fun little synth :) Thanks!

[@mikaras]

It is a old track but I have to let you know that your mc303 videos are truly amazing and inspiring. I got the 'in absence of expression' album on bandcamp. How much is mc303.. Is i really only mc303? It's amazing what you can make with it.. ( i have one arriving this week that need a little care and I cannot wait to start learning to play it.) Thanks for the sounds and inspiration. :-)

[@MIDERA]

Thanks Mikael :) Yeah - it's funny that it's considered 'old' - it doesn't feel too long ago that I was in the throes of preparing my grad school thesis, the ascension of my anxiety and panic disorders, and of course, the MC-303 on my lap, with the wind blowing the curtains near my head, the sound of the crickets outside... The night I wrote this is pretty memorable - so it seems so recent. But 5 years is quite some time I suppose. Thanks for buying the album! I hope you enjoy it. Yes, 99% of that is just the MC-303 - you can find all of my tracks on youtube where I recorded them. One track only features the Eventide Space. I certainly wish, looking back, that I'd have not included that FX pedal in the track so I could claim it 100% MC-303, but it's good enough. Good luck with the MC-303, it is a pretty fun groovebox!

[@spaceboxtd3720]

Sounds good r kid

[@MIDERA]

Thanks

[@tessatris]

oh that's a sad thing indeed.. :(..

[@spaceboxtd3720]

God is ecstasy consciousness and enlightenment 😀❤😀

[@MIDERA]

No argument here :)

[@am5790]

It's already a classic... Tho short:)

[@MIDERA]

Thanks!

[@chillbraah684]

the name of the song sounds like u got it from song name generator

[@MIDERA]

Ok.

[@zagorowsky]

Boards Of Canada fan ? :)))

[@MIDERA]

Yeah :) definitely. Hah

[@blackyb27]

really

[@HowIQuitCrack]

[@tessatris]

hmm i placed a video response to your video, but accidentaly without text... i wanted to write something to it. i'm sorry about that

[@Torrente70]

Everybody wants to imitate BOC! Why??? Because of its unique sound...

[@MIDERA]

Who said I was imitating them?

[@Teddysk89]

plaid alike

[@MIDERA]

I'm not quite familiar with that meaning.

[@Teddysk89]

I mean this track reminds me some of the Plaid tracks

[@MIDERA]

Ah, I see. Yeah, I have limited knowledge of other artists (mostly listen to a few electronic artists and a lot of european rock). I'll definitely have to check this band out. Thanks.