Roland MC 303 Tutorial Five - Step Recording for Instrument Parts

[@mattheximer8299]

I've owned my 303 for over 25 years... this is the best series of tutorials I've ever encountered to explain my machine on a DEEP level. Thank You for showing me features I never knew existed.

[@LousyFacelift]

That's the kind of reaction you hope for when making these videos - thank you so much! All the best and have fun with the MC-303! 🍀😊

[@dosomethingelsenow]

​@@LousyFacelift You are indeed awesome, sir! Thank you 🙏

[@LousyFacelift]

Very nice of you! Thanks for watching! 😊

[@camk7990]

This series of tutorials is awesome bringing some features I never knew about to light thanks 😊

[@LousyFacelift]

Great! Thanks for the positive feedback!😊

[@Tobias_in_the_act]

I just got the mc 303 for Christmas you're videos help alot

[@LousyFacelift]

That's great, I'm wishing you lots of fun with your MC-303!

[@9neplacednb]

man! you are explaining this instrument so gooooooood, and watching your vids made me buy one, I always thought this machine sucks badly (at least comparing to my octatrack/machinedrum), but this instrument is so friendly and good sounding, its amazing. Great channel!

[@LousyFacelift]

What a sweet comment - thanks for the love! Makes my day! 😊👍

[@meklootngerard1496]

You explain it better than all the other tutorial vids,can ask you how long it took you before you could work fluently with the mc303 thx respect bro

[@LousyFacelift]

Thank you! There is no easy answer though. I bought the MC-303 as one of my first machines in 1997 but never fully understood its concept and traded it for an MC-505 in 2000 I think... But I didn't fully understand the 505 either and sold it at some point. Then I got the Korg EMX which is a great sounding but completely different concept and much more limited. It is much easier to use and while programming it I became aware of its limitations and thought back and compared it with what I knew the MCs could do. And suddenly many things that the MC boxes have started making sense, so much that I got curious to use them again. So I bought them again, now with a much better understanding of how to use them. The Roland MCs and the Korg Electribes are all fantastic machines! Ironically dealing with the limitations of the EMX taught me how to use the MCs but it was a long process. One thing that I feel is important is understanding these different beat scales and always knowing exactly where to place notes. I usually shorten the length of the pattern to only one or two bars first and add on to that later after diving into that "microcosm" that a pattern can quickly become. 😊

[@meklootngerard1496]

Thx for sharing your experience and hoe you started learning,i first bought the mc909 but its missing some buttons and cannot fix it myself and dont findthe parts but hangon to it till i can fix it,then started with the korg volca sampler;great little machine ideal for starters,i use reason on pc but i dont know how to connect my mc 303 to it through my extrnlsoundcard,reason doesnt pick it up , cause i read the comment from the guy who was slaving the303 with Ableton,and now im wondering if i could slave my mc909 with reason so i can use it without having play ,Rewind and ffwd buttons,thx for your reaction

[@LousyFacelift]

@@meklootngerard1496 I also have an MC-909 and like it a lot. I had to take it apart and change the pads because they didn't respond well anymore, one of the few repairs I managed myself. When you wish to control these boxes via MIDI you may have to set them to slave mode and go MIDI out on your computer to their MIDI input.

[@meklootngerard1496]

@@LousyFacelift thank you bro really helped me

[@juanballesteros9569]

amazing, thank you very much

[@LousyFacelift]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching! 😊

[@jozefaubainmarie5410]

Great video, thanks for uploading it. I was wondering which pedal you are using and whether it is possible to use to pedal to start and stop your patern. I'm rehearsing a live performance in which I use a synth set up and simultaneously play guitar. Being able to stop the sequence and start it again by foot would be a massive help.

[@LousyFacelift]

@@jozefaubainmarie5410 Unfortunately I don't think that's possible. The pedal functionality settings are listed in chapter 11 on page 72 of the manual. It can be used as a hold pedal, to switch to the next pattern or to replace the knobs Shift, Function, Tap and Transpose.

[@jozefaubainmarie5410]

@@LousyFacelift thanks for your reply. I'll have to figure out something else, but that's part of the fun always. Different question, is it possible, in settings, to alter how the play button works? Now, if you press stop and then play again, the pattern starts again right where you pressed stop. I'd like it to start from the beginning of the pattern, is that possible? Sorry for all the questions!

[@LousyFacelift]

@jozefaubainmarie5410 No problem! To start a pattern from the beginning press Shift and BWD/tie and then Play.

[@anthonyk5496]

Aha, good to see you found out about the pedal! 🎛✌

[@LousyFacelift]

Yes, one of my viewers let me know.😊

[@Digiphex]

I liked the styling of this box. It looks very rave.

[@LousyFacelift]

Yes, I think it's a real beauty. Thanks for commenting, Digi!😊

[@SE-144]

It'll be very useful to learn how you particularly transcribe all the patterns on all the tracks into a daw.. for me it's been very frustrating because I am refusing to put it in sound module mode

[@LousyFacelift]

Sorry, but I've never done that. I don't use a DAW at all. I have an MPC Live but so far haven't done much with it...

[@andrewverran3498]

Hi LousEE, you mentiobed in an earlier video that the MC303 sounds more PUNCHY with drums/percussion than the MC505, have you any idea why? (Circuit board differences( PeaceFromOZ😊

[@LousyFacelift]

Hey Andrew, that's a good question! The sounds in the MC-303 overall seem a bit more compressed and the bass boost seems to affect different frequencies but I don't know this for sure.

[@andrewverran3498]

@LousyFacelift just I know where there is one pretty cheap, and if you reckon they are tighter and punchier on breakbeats etc...do you ever bounce them into a DAW.?

[@LousyFacelift]

@andrewverran3498 No, I have an MPC Live but so far I haven't done that. The sounds in the 303 sound great but the 505 is more flexible with its editing features, so you can adjust the sound more to your liking. It can be interesting comparing the two but the MC-505 is so much better... If you want a smaller sequencer to control other gear and are curious how they compare buying an MC-303 is worth it.

[@andrewverran3498]

@LousyFacelift thanks for the reply, I will try programming some break beats etc on my MC505 and if necessary try some processing on the individual outs..a nice valve compressor would be dope..imagine if the 505 had sidechaining.. ✌️

[@LousyFacelift]

Yes, that would be cool but you can try using the compressor to create a similar effect. Send a bass part and the kick to the compressor using a rather low level for the bass and a higher level for the kick. The compressor will raise the level of the bass up and only level it down again when the kick comes in, so you get a nice pumping effect even without a sidechain.

[@andrewverran3498]

In one of your videos you mention 96 ppq type sequencing /quantising , are these the same as RATCHETS ? Cheers m8

[@LousyFacelift]

It leads to the same result as ratchets if you place the notes right. In the MCs it's called microscope editing. While in step recording or TR mode you can press [REC] again and use the value dial to find the exact place you wish to insert a note or MIDI event and write it there. It's a great feature, I should make another video...

[@andrewverran3498]

@@LousyFacelift thanks for the reply.. it is indeed a great feature. ✌️

[@jamjamjamw]

👍👍👍

[@qrdnk]

...es wird definitiv Zeit, mich ´mal wieder an die Kiste ´ranzusetzen. Sehr gut erklärt; gut gemacht(e Reihe), klasse! 🙂

[@LousyFacelift]

Vielen Dank, das freut mich sehr! 😊