Roland MC-303: Driving this classic Groovebox

[@NickyMitchell85]

I have one of these. Got it for Christmas in 1997. Only 12 yrs old at the time! Therefore it takes me back to sweet childhood memories!

[@peterarmstrong3298]

Bought one of these 2 years ago from a guy who bought it new. Immaculate, with manual and a new internal battery and for some reason I have never used it once. It's about time I had a play with it!

[@gearfacts]

It's a compelling instrument. Sounds severely dated from the get-go, but it's really worth reading that manual to see how you can adapt it to your own creative style. Could come to nothing, could be awesome, who knows.... /GF

[@Ozrictentacles87]

Watching your video gave me confidence In making the right choice by ordering it . Cool stuff man

[@gearfacts]

Great to hear, RB, thanks for watching :) #gearfacts

[@christopherfarrell-artist3557]

The MC-303, although mocked, is actually quite good when you dig into it and read the comprehensive manual. The samples are cheesy but when modified can produce good sounds. I use mine a complex drum machine. Some of the new kit in 2019 doesn't come close to the MC-303 capabilities....the initial samples are crap though, just have to work at making them sound good.

[@gearfacts]

Yes I agree. The drum samples, particularly in their default form, are really kind of awful and that's what put me off keeping this item. But yes, with the right attention to detail this thing can produce gold :) Gearfacts

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

@@gearfacts ..let them laugh at the mc303 let them buy moogs only mc303 on my tracks kzbin.info/www/bejne/mX27gKiMpLhsl8k

[@50NewEyes]

Well said may I ask you to check out a couple of my songs from back in the day...

[@Ozrictentacles87]

totally agree

[@buster9915]

Just waiting on a power pack to arrive and then I'm dusting mine off to use as a drum machine, and to fire off arpeggios into my new td-3 and Uno synth.

[@jonathan1976xxx]

It's good with the td3

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

@@jonathan1976xxx dont buy any gear just use what you have learn the mc303 only mc303 on my tracks kzbin.info/www/bejne/mX27gKiMpLhsl8k

[@sheepkillindog]

Good combo there!

[@Pulse2AM]

I had one about 10 years ago, they're awesome!

[@gearfacts]

Yep. The 307 was my favorite in the series :) #gearfacts

[@Pulse2AM]

@@gearfacts I'm not familiar with the 307, I'll have to check it out.

[@transforminggravity15626]

Wow that’s really awesome

[@Pan6888]

Nostalgia this is the word to describe this.

[@gearfacts]

Totally. The mid 90's was a time like no other in pro audio technology :) Gearfacts

[@RosalvoParadella]

Ah como me arrependo de ter vendido meu Roland Mc 303. Uma máquina incrível.

[@gearfacts]

Noooooooooooooooo!

[@russelmurray9268]

Thank you

[@gearfacts]

You're welcome 👍

[@iosifkalpaktsoglou2045]

303 or 307? Only interested in beats/ drums. Thank you.

[@NickyMitchell85]

Man I feel like a 12-14 year old again. I know this cuz I own one myself. Got it for Xmas in 1997. Had hours and hours and hours and hours...................................and hours and hours and hours of fun on it!! I still use it now.

[@gearfacts]

Wow, how many of us can say that we're still using a bit of gear that we got 22 years ago!? Amazing

[@NickyMitchell85]

Gearfacts Over the years I acquired more equipment. The next year (1998) I got a Yamaha DJX (that I eventually sold in 2015). It was good in its day but I had to sell it cuz I got better equipment that could shame the DJX. My MC-303 is the only music box I still have from the '90s. Christmas 2001 saw me get an MC-505. The MC-505 was waaaaaaaayyy better than the MC-303. So much so, it's LCD panel had to be replaced (in 2016). That year (2016 to clarify) I got a Roland FA-06 from Kenny's Music Glasgow, a Korg Krome-61 & MicroKORGfrom Red Dog Music Edinburgh (which, alas went into administration). I also got a second hand MC-808 from eBay. Finally, in early 2017 following an upgrade to an iPhone 7, I acquired an Easter egg; an abundance of sounds on GarageBand. My MC-303 from Christmas '97 and MC-505 from Christmas 2001 are still in my set. How cool is that. As stated, my Yamaha DJX was sold. Talking about that, I've seen the Gearfacts video of that keyboard-I enjoyed viewing it..........

[@banyarling]

Make a vid please. I got one in 1997 as a kid and got a few great beats out of it.

[@cedricblavier7002]

Wow ! Could you explain how you realized your groove at 7min25 please ? I like it so much !

[@gearfacts]

It's a preset beat. I just started changing the sound on the bass track :)

[@dedytron]

It is hard to find a simple yet informative review videos of this beast nowadays. I have this since last 5-6 years and this beast is my favourite synth of all time! I won’t mind those haters as they’re all a fake purists. All you need is to just squeeze your valuable creative juice in order to make this a mighty beast. Thank you man for this awesome video! Really enjoyed mine here (hope you all do too); kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJq2inxvfZ2Zf6s

[@stream102new8]

I know ur one of my top fave KZbinrs but how come your MC303 is so much flashier than mine? Great video just watching now.

[@gearfacts]

Haha thanks for the compliment! I guess the 303 qualifies as 'flashy', yeah... Also slightly to VERY frustrating to use!

[@ianedmonds9191]

THose red knobs beg questions? Is that unit modified?

[@gearfacts]

Not modded, just fixed up from previous damage.

[@orangeflipflop485]

Got one of these from a flea market for 10 bucks a few days ago... Coincidence? I THINK NOT! All jokes aside, really cool vid!

[@gearfacts]

One of the best bargains ever posted on my channel! Love them :) GF

[@lookapi]

@@gearfacts i bought my roland sh 1000 for 15 bucks 😁😄😄

[@autolysisrecords1821]

I recently got mine at a charity shop for 5 bucks!

[@TommaurerMaurer]

Jealous

[@djbonne1]

hello friend how are you ?, do you know how I record when I'm in the RPS / SET function?

[@gearfacts]

I'll be honest with you, I don't ...All I can suggest is googling the PDF manual, but that's an ordeal as well :/ #gearfacts

[@djbonne1]

@@gearfacts no problem man thanks for you attention

[@xumzoop7913]

I traded this for a pss 380 about a week ago lol idk I thought it would've been fun but my manual was in Chinese and that menu diving wasn't fun. My brain was too smooth for that so I opted for something with slider and fixed rhythms.

[@gearfacts]

I understand your frustration. If it's any consolation, I think you made an awesome swap though! GF

[@xumzoop7913]

Thought it was gunna be perfect. Great 808 and 909 samples with basses and synths but that don't mean much if I kinda hate using it. I pretty much use an ht 700 and a couple of Volca boxes now lol

[@maruobandai]

Hi this or the beringher TD3?? Why? Thanks

[@gearfacts]

I think I'd choose the Roland. It's annoying in many ways but for me, those sounds are unforgettable and indispensable relics.

[@maruobandai]

@@gearfacts and do you know the Roland mc 307? Do you prefer 307? I like to manipulate real-time sounds :) filter cut off

[@gearfacts]

@@maruobandai the 307 is my favorite workstation. A warning though: the sound of the filter knobs is quite rough, so if you’re looking for super high-res filtering you might not like it.

[@t55a2]

It's actually very good, should have kept mine

[@leftofthedial4760]

I was just thinking the same thing

[@t55a2]

@@leftofthedial4760 If you go beyond dreadful techno, it's got a lot of nice sounds and at low tempo, you can make some nice patterns

[@gearfacts]

Yeah I think there's a lot of potential in it despite its age. Just got to start those patterns from scratch and stay as far away from those presets as possible... I would have liked just a couple more effects, too. But I guess that's when we move up to the 505 /GF

[@SynfinityMSP]

Are you on the floor of a bowling alley? Lmao

[@gearfacts]

Oh you mean the crazy space fabric? Yeah it looks like a bowling alley I guess!

[@wayneanderson2866]

I bought one in 98-99 & was so intimidated to learn how to use it...(KZbin tutorials weren’t around 20 yrs ago)..never did much with it except hit play...😂.....sold it around 2005. In late 2019 I decided to buy one off eBay again & am determined to learn what I can do with it. It will never be as functional as my Digitakt but hardware groovebox’s will always have value imo.

[@gearfacts]

I totally hear you, and I think many people were in the exact same situation. I do wish I'd tried a bit harder with mine though :) #gearfacts

[@50NewEyes]

I have some old songs you might like to checkout...

[@gearfacts]

Hmmm I'm not much one for checking things out, but ok send a link :)

[@joproductions2009]

Is that a musical calculator ? 😅😅😅😅

[@shamman303]

Aciiiiiid 😂