Make a Song in Under 10 Minutes with the Roland VERSELAB MV-1 Song Production Studio

Roland, the creator of the TR-808, brings you the VERSELAB MV-1, an all-in-one song production studio to help you capture, refine, and finish your ideas from start to end. The fluid, hands-on workflow simplifies song creation with modern vocal recording and effects, intuitive song-writing tools, a curated ZEN-Core sound library with over 3000 sounds, on-board mixing and mastering, and so much more. VERSELAB has everything you need to make radio-ready tracks without all the complications, so you can focus on what matters most: your music.
In this video, Blackillac’s Zeale walks you through VERSELAB’s workflow, quickly creating a beat, arranging a song, recording vocals, and mixing it down. Follow along with the timestamped chapters below.
00:00 - Introducing VERSELAB MV-1
00:40 - Workflow
01:12 - Tracks
01:44 - Creating the Beat
03:16 - Bass, Melodies, and Chords
04:17 - Song Sections
05:42 - Song Mode
06:02 - Vocals
06:25 - Recording Vocal Takes
08:17 - Mixing and Mastering
08:42 - Mix Down
If you’re a VERSELAB owner, make sure to update to the latest firmware to enjoy all the latest features, and register your VERSELAB at Roland.com/backstage to receive an invite to the Roland Cloud Academy, a real-time online learning platform to help you master your instrument.
For more details on VERSELAB MV-1 :
➤ VERSELAB PRODUCT PAGE: www.roland.com/global/product...
To register your VERSELAB MV-1:
➤ ROLAND BACKSTAGE: www.roland.com/backstage/
➤ ROLAND CLOUD ACADEMY: www.roland.com/us/roland_clou...
#roland #verselab #mv1

[@BlakeHeart]

This is impressive - opening the gates, welcoming the “average” musician to be able to get in there and make their own music! Really awesome, takes the old school 4 track recorder to a whole new level for sure....

[@georgegeorge4199]

Roland offers a lot of value and we have to support them. The Verselab it is a complete music production system for electronic music production, for hip hop producers and for singer/song writers in general. Some of you guys who compare this with the MPC One, do you guys realize that the Verselab has more than 3.000 top quality sounds derived from some of the most iconic synthesizers in the history of music technology? On top of that you get a sampler, a very good sequencer, a voice processor, final mixing and mastering capabilities, it even has a built - in microphone, etc, I’m not claim that the MPC One is garbage, but what I observe in general is that a lot of people focus on superficial things (big screens etc) and can’t see the substance.

[@marctronixx]

Well done Roland. Presenter was very proficient and showcased the instrument nicely.

[@KingzofSwing]

Except for the corny rap😂

[@jaimerodriguez1550]

They really made this easy to use. The workflow is explained, making a clip and mixing it down looks simple. The drum kit is easy to navigate. Simplified what can a difficult and long learning curve which ultimately keeps people from producing. Good job roland.

[@CarlitoM77]

Hey Jaime do you still have it? It looks very good as a portable sketchpad for ideas or even laying down entire songs! I recently bought the mpc One but hate the workflow and tedious song mode. 🤔

[@BlueHawk80]

Good job except that pathetic display.

[@ZEALE]

Hella grateful to be a part of this launch! Thank you Roland, the Verselab slaps! 🔥

[@recloose2041]

You killed it man. Thank you for being a part of this!!

[@rasheedgooden4415]

Great demo!

[@Happyyz]

Big up!🎤👍

[@Khordmaster]

PIN THIS COMMENT ROLAND! lol. Zeale, you crushed the demo bro. Great job. Looking you up on IG now 🙌🏽

[@HAZMATLIVE]

Very dope bro

[@locomic9125]

This was so helpful as I began looking for something to disconnect me from computer screen music production. It has all the sounds & features I needed to start and it was easy enough to learn even with minimal experience. It's pretty versatile and I'm just scratching the surface of how it can be used. The only thing I didn't care for is having to exporting tracks as WAV files instead of MP3 files.

[@lemelstudio]

1. really happy to see Roland roll this out - a very creative entry to the field. hopefully the price point allows lots of people to jump on it. 2. unfortunately, not really appealing to me. I need something much more full-featured. 3. Zeale really knocked it out of the park - one of the most concise, clear, and understandable 'quick look' demos I have ever seen for a complex new music product. he got everything into 10 minutes without unnecessary hype or fluff. well done. great editing, too.

[@mariadasdoressoaresdelima8140]

6

[@Pauluz_The_Web_Gnome]

@@mariadasdoressoaresdelima8140 7

[@davidsobel3303]

love the 1970 Panasonic SD-84 turntable in the background :)

[@neutronjockey]

If you know your gear like Zeale knows this Verselab: you’re doing all right.

[@noth606]

"She's a RAIL one" lol! Yup yup, thanks for reminding me of my granddad, he used to be a train conductor...

[@Digiphex]

Seems sensible and logical. Great to see Roland make something that considers a human workflow!

[@JorbLovesGear]

Honestly sick. Marketing it to bedroom/SoundCloud rappers is exciting, look forward to seeing what comes from it.

[@LD-eo8vc]

I can tell you already ... yet another copy paste rubbish "song" - lot of that you can already find on music TV ...

[@xaviermccloud4586]

@@LD-eo8vc I gave you a thumbs up then took it back because this is just an MPC with a smaller screen and a step sequencer.

[@LD-eo8vc]

No it is not MPC, screen on MPC is not just a screen , but my comment was more about what you do with tools like that. I can see that people just using it to make a copy - paste "songs" from same samples and loops again and again. Not very creative in my opinion. But coming back to your statement ... This tool is not even close in terms of functionality and versatility to MPC live or One .... sorry.

[@arlaniasilva5847]

@@LD-eo8vc aínda a gentes a gente vai ter q c queomprovar ou não

[@user-kp3hw5ny6f]

@@LD-eo8vc dude -if you wanna sound liker creedence -on this box -i'm sure you can do it-easily-know what I mean -its a digital recorder

[@TheBirdHouse]

Roland definitely picked the right man for the job to show this demo! Great work Zeale!

[@MitchGurowitz]

Did Roland accidentally buy four million of these two line displays in 1985? I love the gear, love the sounds and innovation, but isn’t it time that they integrated a decent display would color and touch?

[@Sanjmaghera]

😂

[@fuzzypancake123]

I don’t want touch. If I wanted that I might as well just use my iPad.

[@DA-fn4ss]

If you want touch buy an mpc. I'm so sick of touchscreens on everything.

[@TheRealKingMidas]

Definitely don’t need another touchscreen. iPad is better than every hardware groove box with a touchscreen.

[@MitchGurowitz]

@@TheRealKingMidas Okay, how about a color screen with enough character space that they don’t need to abbreviate or shorten any words. (Reminds me of the European company that shorted Analog to AnaL!

[@GregoryMarkel]

An amazing demo of a very impressive box, well done to all!

[@rodneycarterakaice2281]

This track goes hard. Keep up the great work. Roland has created a winner with this.

[@hoodoojones3919]

I like. Great to watch a pro attack the machine.

[@biapedroso2941]

Wallpaper

[@ariannabellavia4852]

A?1 p

[@SynthgodXXX]

Very cool, Roland! I'm looking forward to checking this out! :)

[@astrazenica7783]

Should call it the Roland AR -- Aspiring Rapper box

[@michaeltrenier]

🤣🤣🤣🤣👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾comment of the day sir

[@187onasimp]

Sponsored by Soundcloud

[@lambd01d]

And do a Special Edition.

[@mortexdreammusictv5020]

😅 This kid watch too much "EMPIRE"

[@dg9576]

hahahaha with weak preset backing band

[@Musical.Maze.1]

We are still waiting for a new version of a MV-8800 a MV-9000 maybe? With HDMI port to connect 32", 48" or 55" screen! USB2 port, 8 1/4 TRS outs, PHONO/LINE inputs, pro-effects, sampling, PLUS 8 & 12 bits sampling rate, mastering specs, built like a tank production studio, quite big OLED display 5" x 7" OLED has very low cost, CDRW, REAL drum libraries of all Roland's drum machines NOT emulations please, synth bass & bass guitar sounds, 16 large pads, full midi & heavy duty knobs & buttons. Many thanks for your attention!

[@billykatsoulakis8258]

WoW. I want one! Don't know if I'll be as quick but practice makes perfect. Great Demo!

[@davidsharp3110]

Love the workflow. It's logical.

[@Pm-qp6tb]

A Very good deep demo that explain from the beginning to the end an instrument, well done 👍

[@rolandglobal]

Glad you liked it!

[@ZEALE]

Thank you!

[@kennethbeavers6903]

@@rolandglobal I play keys,Guitar,and Bass. Can I record my instruments to a track and does it have a Sampler? One of my Favorite ol skool Drum Machines is the Roland R-70 Human Rhythm Composer. Mine just started fading on me. Do you think a revamped version of that would ever return? I really would love to come up with a Design for a new version. I loved the acoustic and latin kits on it

[@UKULELERIGA]

@@kennethbeavers6903 Hei, there is a sampler, and you can also add the instruments in Vocal Takes. Instead of vocals.

[@kennethbeavers6903]

@@UKULELERIGA ok thank you

[@CUEME]

Great job Roland.

[@kerzwhile]

I absolutely LOVE the departure from the typical DAW. About time..

[@pauls-audiolabor]

Lets hope for a new Roland MV-8 with big screen :)

[@WaxDat8800]

Let’s not.

[@Neurotypique]

Not a product for me but really glad to see a new kind of machine opening the market!

[@doktorduch]

Hello, could you pan individual takes on pads to the left and right or pan is just for whole vocal track? And can you export takes on each pad somehow? Peace!

[@Wagoo]

No d-beams :(

[@shabbee]

you made me smile lol

[@1970dianalynnbrown]

Great instructions! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@fpham8004]

This is how 10 minute demo should be done!

[@ArthurStone]

Looks/sounds good. Nice segue for small studio creativity.

[@TheFakeMikeLWatts]

A nice practice easel. Breaking away from the computer allows users to focus on creativity rather than a GUI because the truth is... Hip Hop beatmakers and producers don't read instruction manuals.

[@beatz04]

It's a tradeoff. With this machine you won't focus on the GUI, but you'll have to memorize the whole workflow because that little display won't really tell you where you are.

[@MrPisster]

@@beatz04 honestly if you spend a couple nights jamming it looks like you'll get it. I've got a novation circuit and it doesn't need a screen. None of the classic Rolland gear has a screen. People don't like menu-diving. That's why early 2000s gear sits on used music store shelves.

[@shabbee]

Great demo, very clear and the professionally executed

[@RachelDavis705]

This is a great demo, moves quickly and shows every step of the process

[@StevenClements]

OooOooo a dope pattern on the fly

[@spvidz]

looks fun!

[@GDNZDONNY]

Best gear demo I have seen in some time! Nicely done💯

[@lmaestro]

Roland's LCD Screen heading into 2021 like "yeah I made it folks"

[@yutube3799]

Modern LCD bad for eyes

[@XDanimalzX]

@@yutube3799 how can it be any worst then a cell phone screen.

[@severinobiu7820]

@@yutube3799 zax źvzźzhi

[@MatheusAlves-xx6wh]

Lolm9 pxrhxcg vnio

[@MatheusAlves-xx6wh]

@@severinobiu7820 kokoyjnxbk0p

[@sinwithsebastian]

I got mine today - and watched this again....Great... just a bit too fast I had to re-watch some of it... Just wondering how to import sound packs?

[@christopherfarrell-artist3557]

So good!

[@BoombapArt]

Looks dope!

[@alexandreguerrero1966]

Hello! Would it be possible to program voice effects in "Pad's"? For example, programming the "Radio" effect in Pad-1 and pressing it turns the effect on and pressing it again turns the effect off?...

[@djjohnsimmons]

Well done! Looks dope.

[@vladberry9033]

Great 🙌

[@FEM-Music]

Wouaa lourd cette machine !

[@strayferal]

On a second thought - mixing down to the existing SDCard is a killer feature. Wish my MX1 could do that! So convenient!

[@rasheedgooden4415]

Great work I like that’s it’s different!

[@baqcasanke]

Can you have audio playing liveinto the mv1 over a section? Like just singing over top or does is have to be recorded/sampled?

[@Sadiquecat]

Man spitting out sick lyrics and has a Smash pin. Mad respect !

[@cortewita4075]

This hard as hell

[@bigingram9593]

Yo this is whut i been waiting for ..i likes this platform already..gotta c about this joint

[@DamianoPistoia]

Finally something really interesting but display is still too small

[@dualtrx]

If you want a big display, why not use an iPad? or a laptop.

[@DamianoPistoia]

@@dualtrx You're perfectly right but I like to produce dawless in many situations just like other people do, and Roland knows well this kind of requests. What I don't know is why they don't use their own technology in display solutions. For example Phantom display will be perfect for so many gears. We'll see...

[@dualtrx]

@@DamianoPistoia It's another approach. more hands on, not with a lot of menu diving. Many other hardware manufacturers does it well. See Elektron, Deluge, Novation. If you want a big screen, you should see what Akai is doing with MPC series.

[@coolo73]

if you look at how most hardware use big screens, it's in place of buttons. As long as you have dedicated buttons with little menu diving, all you need the screen to show the parameter values and what mode you're in. A product like this doesn't need detailed waveform editing or a piano roll.

[@trevormalcolm4328]

I concur, please check out my comment 🙏🏽👍🏽🇬🇧

[@987654321ck]

Brilliant demo

[@PhaktTheIsolationist]

Conversely, these examples are why mainstream hip-pop is so utterly devoid of depth and artistry.

[@Cnd2Mn]

Good! Something really inspiring. The last electribe was supposed to be like this.

[@KaosEngineering]

The smartest Roland's product

[@therealone1288]

can it also sequence external gear? and is the kit track polyphonic?

[@stevewoywitka3258]

Why get this over the 707 or will it work with the mc-101 or tr6s, and do they work together?

[@asmr6773]

Can i sequence a synthesizer via midi? I was reading in the manual that the Verselab can do 128 steps. But only when using the internal tones and drum kits. If i can use it to controll external hardware, then how many steps can i build a sequence???

[@vizual06]

NICE WORK!!!

[@SRDhain]

Looks and sounds good 👍

[@darkleks2922]

Приобрёл себе на днях, с нуля тяжёло разбираться, но это мне нравится.

[@popwa6977]

Hello Roland it will be necessary to solve the problem of copy paste of the step sequencer it does not work and it must be direct without the ok to finalize the step cordially

[@PiriakaTrackwrecker]

So basically half a groovebox and half a digital 4 track recorder. Sounds fun for developing demos/ideas, I like it. Doesn't need to be for rappers, could easily be a singer songwriter building beats and and layers under a guitar and vocal track, lots of possibilities. Clearly not the same use case as a sampler, but for me would fit great alongside one, so I can track some acoustic elements and vocals. If it could outpu Ableton files, even better, to enable finalisation of the track-seems like 3 tracks plus the recording track (or two-not clear on that) is a pretty minimal composition, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[@InnerVisions68]

It’s up to 8 tracks, not 4.

[@sayerkral1864]

Nice!

[@XHALE303]

Finally i can create more room in my studio & throw out my 2 MPCs to replace them with this small unit 😄 Who needs a big display anyway when u can get a higher resolution set of eyes in the future?

[@Wagoo]

I'm waiting for the 2 extra arms upgrade before I do the high-res eyes

[@XHALE303]

@@Wagoo Let's hope they're not as buggy as cyberpunk, you might hit yourself 😉

[@NuMogulMedia]

Great Tutorial "Supa Producer"

[@derekcasanares4785]

Nice 👍

[@repeatle]

Disk Streaming?

[@Paul_Y_T]

Not my own taste in music, but that was a really excellent presentation.

[@gabrielel504]

I need to know how u connect this to and how laptop? Or computer? Or just speakers ?

[@djfreshmin2738]

Nice !!! and take my money for sure

[@DNGMaestro]

Can you do this on the Fantom?

[@LedufInfraLeDufiNFrA]

not fond of rap ,but this guys is talented , and know well this machine.

[@Jimtee16]

great demo.

[@PRODUCEDBYLILDOUG]

Great demo

[@rolandglobal]

Thank you! 🧡

[@nickdeezproductionz]

Sounds and internal samples are great on this but, I still say make the MV 9000 but get it right Roland !!!!!!

[@LaurentDiscShowMan]

uuffff estamos buenos...animo con alegrias niños...no os perdais mucho de lo que es la musica...

[@CrusaderGeneral]

This guy sounds very intelligent when he is instructing, but not so much when he is rapping.. but that is inherent to rap. Best way to describe rap, adult infantile nursery rhyming

[@sigma5054]

awesome

[@rolandglobal]

😁

[@strayferal]

So when you mix down it records directly to the SD Card? This is real convenient!! Real all-in-ine simple box. And direct competitor to the MPCs. No idea if new MPCs are better. But I see Roland is really doing their best to make useful gear for people. I own TR8s, MX1, MC707 and SP404sx. Will soon finally start to release vids too. Good job for Roland!

[@cds8137]

Can I record a TR6S into this as my drum track? (I'm a keys player and rely on drum pattern presets)

[@LilRenoEntertainment]

That’s dope asf! Where’s this song as so I can listen in the car!

[@PiriakaTrackwrecker]

Those hats hurt me deeply, but that is a tight bit of kit. I can see that tucking in nice with my Electribe sampler.

[@e.d.1642]

I was considering getting the Electribe Sampler but with this new Roland groovebox I'm doubting now. What do you think ?

[@PiriakaTrackwrecker]

@@e.d.1642 Electribe is far cheaper, maybe half the price. The Electribe is super fun and capable of creating awesome beats (and can output Ableton files which is perfect for me), but it has limits around sample time and polyphony. I absolutely love it, but can see how pairing it with something like this could take it to another level, this is kinda like the non sampler Electribe minus a bunch of instrument tracks (seems like 3 max here, whereas there are 16 on the Electribe although 4-8 would usually be taken up by the beat), but plus a 1(? Not clear here) track recorder. Having all of the zencore sounds is awesome though, the Electribes have some awesome sounds but maybe 200 usable vs 3000 odd, but of course you can send midi to external instruments... Basically I'd say you could create more sophisticated/complex/layered beats with the Electribes, given so many more tracks, but you can't do much in terms of adding vocals or other elements (you can record instruments with this instead), as you can with this. Short answer is different strokes for different folks, and you can't really go wrong with either, most likely-not being familiar with the quirks of this yet. I really love my Electribe, and actually like the challenges of its limitations, but others might find managing that tedious and want something that is more fully featured. It is a bargain for what it is, less than most cheap synths, yet capable of so much more.

[@ShazammtheProducer]

Can you upload ZenCore sounds?

[@bellavita68]

bonjour j'aime beaucoup votre tourne disque pouvez vous me communiquer la marque et la référence de votre platine disque en bois merci

[@edwardnormal]

Can't wait for the VERSELAB MV-1S with a bigger screen

[@tiatucaforever4831]

Tá 😜☺️ a

[@crazyFrankyy]

WOW! Roland hit like on comments!

[@davidmoore9385]

Looks good sounds good , MPC one v vereslab what would you recommend?

[@whatareyouselling9811]

Can this be used with a daw as well or is this just standalone hardware

[@HerrSaturn]

Surely (it has USB and midi).. but the goal of this product ist to make you independent of a DAW if you need too..

[@Phneest]

I want this !

[@ZETONEproductions]

With or without screen .. it looks fantastique.. hook it up to the iPad if u need a screen ..

[@NikyNine]

This is great! I'm doing Synthwave / Retrowave but I'll consider this gear to explore a more Hip/Hop field...

[@franciscooliveira8060]

p

[@nebula0697]

Can you connect a MIDI keyboard? Is there an instrument IN? What about sampling?

[@kennethbeavers6903]

I was hoping the same @NEBULA 069

[@Goober2023]

Do you know if this has new sounds compared with 707 or are they same sounds etc

[@rolandglobal]

Thanks for your questions. We'd love to put you in contact with our support team. Head over to this page www.roland.com/backstage/#/login Once there you'll be asked to create an account and register your product. Once you log in you'll get access to our support team for your particular case. Kind regards, The Roland Social Team

[@d1music_]

dope.

[@kingcrimez]

I ordered my Roland versus 🆚 this morning I’m so siked and can’t wait until it arrives I’m patiently waiting to make some fire 🔥 bomb 💣 beats 🎧 🔥

[@maxfabris]

hey,, how do you access the vocal patches?

[@alexshdvideo]

Very interesting... this may have to be my first grove box... I already have my Roland VT-4....This unit with my Roland VT-4 and a Shure good mic and I’m well on my way to making something worth sharing.

[@InnerVisions68]

Why a Shure, so specifically? Lol. SM7B is cool, but trust me, there are a sea of great vocal mics out there. SM7B and RE-20 are classics, and good mics, but far from seeing them in exclusion of other mics, for sure. You’d be happy with an SM7B, though.