ROLAND MC 101 TUTORIAL - Sequencer, Sounds and Scatter

Tutorial showing how to make a complete track on ROLAND MC 101 GROOVEBOX from start to finish. We'll cover creating a project template, choosing track types and sounds, recording drums and synth parts in realtime and on the step sequencer. We'll play the track and use the global scatter effects to add some variation to the performance. Relates also to ROLAND MC 707 groovebox.
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[@thomaslearn1136]

FYI, if you hold 'SEQ' and use the MEASURE '< or >' arrow buttons you can double or half the sequence length... so to go from 16 to 64 steps, hold 'SEQ' and tap '>' twice.

[@BendApparatus]

Nice! This thing is full of shortcuts on top of short cuts...

[@edwingamesandmusic]

The step by step helped me get going on this device. Bounced off the mc-101 many times when just using the manual, but this vid worked for me. Thanks!

[@moisa123]

Finally the vídeo which encourages me to start playing my MC 101. That was great! Now the workflow starts to make sense for me. Thanks you for this video!

[@btaylo24]

I brought the MC-707 and really like it. Great for just laying something down quick. The amounts of preset sounds available is just crazy, PLUS it has a synth engine!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i totally agree, congrats on your 707 Mr taylor!

[@symbiat0]

Though the 101 is truly portable.

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

That’s the one I was looking at because I want to play guitar into it.

[@jmcoffin1]

Best beginner tutorial that I’ve seen for the MC - 101. Many thanks!

[@adelinrapcore]

Hold clip button to enter scenes mode, also shift + clip allows you to chain clips

[@gabrielemariotti5780]

do you also happen to know how to replace a tone track with a drum track? (when you start a new project the scene number 2 is always set on Tone....and i would like to make all 4 scenes as drum tracks)

[@adelinrapcore]

Gabriele Mariotti i don’t think you can

[@blazrodic]

Delete the tone track first. Then setup a drum track in it's place.

[@heavysystemsinc.]

@@gabrielemariotti5780 Delete track: SHIFT+PROJECT+TRACK BUTTON

[@willjosef8087]

Thanks for the video! To get to scenes on the 101 press and hold the "clip"-button - now you have 8 scenes on the top row of the pads, where you can combine clips from the 4 tracks.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

superb, just what i was looking for!

[@7177YT]

Thank you for this and the 707 content as well! subscribed! Cheers!

[@1000Crickets]

Thanks very much for this video. Is exactly what I was looking for.

[@ALTARBEATZ]

Well done !! Specially that Undo/delete function to clear a phrase of a particular track afterwards. @ 17.00 min. Brilliant..

[@denekawa]

Awesome video, thanks for posting!

[@sakespeelt]

Very nice way, just follow this video en learn to work with the mc 101! Thanx man!

[@deejay5719]

Great video,woody!

[@rabevier8071]

Great video just grabbed one few days ago really love it surprised me!

[@ZukiBiker13]

Thanks for the tips. Enjoyed your presentation.

[@aptudo]

Lovely track, Woody. The patches you chose complement each other very well and are so pleasing to my ears. Like the JD-Xi, this device seems to be bursting with smooth, professional-sounding tones! Thanks for sharing your discoveries and music with us.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

thanks, my pleasure!

[@SamNiverba]

Woody's got the good goods.

[@vertigev]

Really liking your teaching style 👍

[@ViperKillerWannabe]

That scatter mode is lovely... sometimes.

[@JoseVGavila]

Thnaks Woody, it seems you are having fun with that groovebox :-)

[@trevorbrown8737]

Brilliant vid woody!! A lot of other people start a vid like you and then within minutes become kids in a sweet shop twisting too many knobs getting too advanced too quickly trying to cram too much into a 10 minute video lol. You convinced me to get this because of your videos on the 101!! Just like you did with your great Korg electribe vid a couple of years back so cheers mate great stuff.👌👍

[@WoodyPianoShack]

cool, have fun with it!

[@trevorbrown8737]

Woody Piano Shack cheers mate👍

[@TheMrdrumhead]

Very nice video. Thank you 👍

[@MikeH_PR]

It's good to see the MC101 misbehaving for other people too haha! That cymbal reverb thing was a real annoyance. Great video - thanks.

[@lowlevelretro]

Thank you for the awesome walk through! I was totally not getting it from reading the damn manual!! lol

[@doublevries]

Thanks for sharing this! Yesterday I ordered the MC101. I am very curious. I can use a tutorial like this.

[@80iesDude45]

25:27 Use «Scenes» for different variations (Hold «Clip» & Part). With version 1.6 you now get 128 scenes which is equal to Song mode.

[@essemusic3491]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4rNf4KmaaeCa8k&ab_channel=ProductSupport

[@leesimeone]

Tony Mansfield likes the New Musik you're making ;)

[@ndguardian]

Hey Woody! Only halfway into the video and I am learning a ton from it already. I've had an MC101 sitting on my desk since January and have had a hard time figuring out how it all works, and luckily stumbled onto this video. This has been so helpful already. Thank you so much for posting it! Do you have plans for more videos on it like this?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

glad it was helpful, no i should probably move on and cover some new topics!

[@ndguardian]

@@WoodyPianoShack fair enough! Any idea what you're wanting to do next?

[@BendApparatus]

Good video tut. I'm sure you figured it out. You need to enable the fx sends in the master fx section by pressing the multifx button next to the master fx knobs.

[@dRew-something]

Great video,is there anyway to activate just one scatter effect without having to hold it down?

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

Could you RE sample clips to track 4? Like part 1 then have part 2 etc

[@christopherfarrell-artist3557]

Really cool. I have an MC-303 and I am thinking of getting one of these. My dilemma is should I get a 101 or 707?

[@djgalawak]

hello for live act, part 1: different bass clip and different bass texture ? just 16 clips for that, we can change tone of each clip ? changing project cut the sound i read. for live act we need many seq with many tone, call them quick without stop sound or sync .. best vibes ;) cool mc101

[@RetroDan16]

Had my eye on the 101 for a few months now, I want something to make some backing tracks to play along with, particularly drum tracks and a bassline. I think this might be the ideal thing for me!

[@rdoetjes]

You can get probably some cheaper and imo more user friendly options. But the mc101 is small! I still have a Yamaha RM1X it’s from early 2000s. They are easily available and cost around 150 bucks used and powerful. Most groove boxes don’t do odd time signatures this does. And it allows you to have the tracks have different lengths. It has a bit of a learning curve though. Or Korg Electribe (I was very impressed with that work flow and it’s about 100 bucks cheaper). It’s so intuitive. I also love Korg’s old EMX also available for cheap. Or if you don’t mind being stuck with 16 steps 4 bars. Then a Roland JDxI is very useful too. Easy to lay down drums and you have 2 digital tracks and one analog. I adore it, and it would be a true workhorse if they had provided more than 4 bars, support for odd time signatures. (Typical Roland to aways do a half job).

[@RetroDan16]

@@rdoetjes I had the RM1X years ago, loved it. I think the 101 fits my style and budget perfectly!

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

Great video! Not too bad an interface with the shift functions printed on the case. How would you compare the sound quality of this ZenCore with Roland's SuperNatural and ACB engines?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

hi, i think this has the supernatural synth sounds onboard, but not the ACB, ABM or whatever it's called these days, for that you need the Jupiter. They all sound very good to me though.

[@DJFxallMixX]

You should set up tone to be linked to clips so you can have different sounds per clip if you want.

[@trevorbrown8737]

Roland have a short video on scenes for this if that helps you with the scene part you mentioned.

[@synthlord2368]

Great video Woody! Nice to see a more formal review on it now that you've had more experience with it. Will you be doing one for the 707 soon?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i can't get on with the 707 screen, so no, don't want to use it. perhaps a review of the 101 though although the demo sort of tells you what you need to know.

[@synthlord2368]

Woody that's fine. Keep doing what you're doing. I love your channel! Hope to see another Live soon!

[@valdiskrebs566]

A MIDI keyboard for track 4! Otherwise... somewhat tedious, but fine for a trans-oceanic flight... whenever those come back!

[@ACABSTUDIOS]

How are you running midi into that tree?

[@pheotus]

Ever get the reverb to work on the cymbal?

[@QuickSticks8771]

Hi I am a singer guitarist/ live performer I currently use a Roland SPD one to manually kick out four in the floor patterns live . Im wanting to free up my foot for more looping and looking for a piece of gear that I can load kick samples or use good quality adjustable pre loaded drums Ideally have tap tempo on a midi switch and kick velocity from light to hard hits in an expression pedal to adjust on the fly live As this is a bit out of my “guitarist”knowledge base and there are sooo many sampler/ sequencers out there any advice you could give if this is possible and the best unit to use other that bringing a laptop to gigs would be much appreciated!!

[@ramacamatchee199]

Can we save some rythm ( e.g reggae) with variation. Call it when play life and add some chord when play live.

[@luke_miller]

Make a synthesizer tier list woody!!!

[@alexandrosroussos]

Great video as usually. I have it since about a year. Though I have mainly been using this as sound module when on the go. The latest firmware update have made it a very usable groovebox. If only it had that USB Class Compliant mode to sample from an iPhone, still hoping :)

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

How do you like the quality of the sounds? Are the sounds easy to find?

[@alexandrosroussos]

Wilderness Music the quality of the sounds is probably what’s best in this little box. You can browse alphabetically, through categories or inside existing projects. I find myself spending bunch of time choosing the right preset though. Maybe they should add a 4rd browsing axis or a favorite presets feature. For now I’m compensating the lack of favorites by creating template projects and naming them with the styles I want to produce/play on. You can load a preset through a project. Also, there’s something not right with the record feature it’s awful to use, I’m never on time and there is neither metronome or count to start. Very frustrating. I don’t know how hard this is to code in the firmware but it’s a big issue.

[@mik7697]

Thanks for sharing this. I also enjoyed your Korg Electribe 2 videos. So for 1st time buyer, which one do you recommend? This MC-101 or the Electribe 2? I have no plan to perform live. I like the Electribe that you can export all 16 tracks to DAW. This MC101 has only 4 tracks. I know this might not an easy thing to choose. But i want to know your opinions. Thanks.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

the 101 is far more powerful and capable, but the electribe has imho a more enjoyable workflow and has a nice lo-fi vibe to the sound that I personally like. i miss my electribe and would like to buy another.

[@mik7697]

@@WoodyPianoShack Thanks for the tips, Woody 👍

[@dRew-something]

Great video! Is there any way to have different drum kits on clips?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

sorry, i don't remember these details, I guess not...?

[@dRew-something]

@@WoodyPianoShack That's ok,figured it out..shift+track number and select track instead of clip

[@Madmohawkfilms]

Is there a simple formula for figuring out other time signatures on this thing??? Thank you

[@OttosTheName]

Press shift + a Measure button, there you can select number of steps and how long the steps are (1/8, 1/16, etc). You can have a different length for each track

[@keyfan]

Hi Woody, you test a lot of different gear in recent days - in retrospective: do you miss the MC 101? It seems to be quite a versatile tool ... drum machine and multitimbral synth with a huge amount of sounds in little space...?! 🧐🤓

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i do miss it, the sequencer was a pain iirc, but as a zencore multitimbral sound module it rocks!

[@RosssRoyce]

Very nicely presented! So the the hand of man is the Song mode with this machine?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

not sure I understand the question, but roland have added new features in firmware since I made this vid.

[@RosssRoyce]

@@WoodyPianoShack haha I mean, if chaining patterns patterns is only done by hand.

[@spectralknights2]

Woody, which is better your electribe or this one? Thanks

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i found the tribe easier to use and more expressive, but the roly has far superior sound engine, having said that, the tribe has a nice vibe to the sounds that I like. i miss my electribe, but not sure I want to go back to it, was polyphony was always on the limit.

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

@@WoodyPianoShack Locked into quantize too with no off and bad effects. I use my "2 blue" as a supplement to two other sequencers this layering is working out quite nicely. Just can't find a do-all sequencer/beat box.

[@tudoracid1812]

I really like this track it reminds me of neon lights by Kraftwerk. :-) Showed me lots of tips I didn't know - including clearing the notes. In terms of changing clips on multiple clips without scenes, press tempo, Dial to MasterStepLen, press the value knob and then dial in 64. Similar to how you were changing the clip length. That way, you have 4 bars to change clip rather than just 1. This is useful as you don't get that many scenes.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

thanks for sharing!

[@DEATH__EXE]

WOODY IS BASED

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i'm very based, yes!

[@gctechs]

Firmware 1.80 is out!

[@massiosareelhostal7025]

Dear Woody, We are looking for our first Groove box / Drum machine & we are between the Korg Electribe 2 or The Roland Mc 101, despite price and portability , both work without a computer right? Is there an obvious answer which to pick? Looking to make some Techno/House, kinda "rave-y" but also chill vibe... Thank you!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

roland much more powerful, much better features and versatile, but always thought that electribe has a nice character to the sounds.

[@massiosareelhostal7025]

@@WoodyPianoShack Thank you! will save some bucks more & go for the Roland 101, u awesome man!

[@franciscoramoncleriguesrov7187]

Lovint my Roland mc 101 & Tr6s, portable,good songs and very COOL, the quality, but my problem i not speak inglés this device have infinidad of parámetros para descubrir y aplicar, i need manual en español o castellano….

[@doublevries]

Today I received the MC-101 and started this tutorial right away. The only thing I can't figure out is the Sequezer. How can you edit notes? Is there a video of that too? I cannot delete notes. Who can help me with that. I am new in this kind of stuff.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i've never done that, easier to just delete pattern and re-record, refer to manual for note edit.

[@doublevries]

@@WoodyPianoShack Woody thanks for your response. I tested the MC-101 yesterday. Among other things, with the help of your video. It's not for me anyway. I think the pads are too small. I am too quickly beside the notes I want to play. I also find the editor very difficult. So I am returning the device in exchange for an Alesis spring multipad. That seems more like something to me. Slightly more expensive, but I think I enjoy it more. Good luck with your videos in any case, I'll come by again to watch. Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@cybernaumemusic]

Are the drums same as in jd-xi?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

no, even more choice here.

[@alexandrosroussos]

I used to be very annoyed by the C1-C2-C3-C4 control knobs which controlled the chosen parameter of track 1-2-3-4 rather than four parameters for the active/selected track. It's an option in the settings (Knob Track: Single/Multi) since firmware v1.30 and it does make a lot of sense, should have been default mode. As we now have the choice, we can still use the initial control mode for ability to tweak different tracks simultaneously. In any case, this box is not that much for live performance other than as an externally controlled sound module (if you look at the menu-diving and the audio disruptive project loading time).

[@alexandrosroussos]

BTW, just found in the documentation that you can very simply switch between Knob Track Single and Multi by pressing all four Sound/Filter/Mod/FX buttons under the knobs at the same time.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

this was in the recent firmware update i believe

[@alexandrosroussos]

@@WoodyPianoShack Yep the latest 1.3. Next big feature I guess will be ability to import ZenCore sounds. Can't wait ! Let's see if they add USB Class Compliant at the occasion :)

[@alexandrosroussos]

and the count in/metronome !!!

[@MikeH_PR]

I didn't know this - thank you Alexandros

[@digitaldividemusic]

I've been looking at one of these or an Elektron Digitakt to replace my Circuit. The Roland MC-101 is certainly more affordable than the amazing Digitakt. The learning curve on the MC-101 looks painful though. . So much menu diving needed, The MC-707 certainly has more tactile surface and controls.. Too big for the area on my dek though where I have an opening. How bad is the actual learning curve though once you get the repetitive processes down ?

[@grazstarr]

I just got the 101 off my friend yesterday and made a jam last night that I really like. It’s quite intuitive. It wont take many youtube videos to understand what’s going on with it. The Digitakt on the other hand! Forget about it. The learning curve on Elektron gear is like Everest. I borrowed the digitakt and was stressed at the amount of unintuitive options. The flow is just too different. Amazing gear but for me the system would take too long to understand it. Anyway, my ten cents

[@digitaldividemusic]

@@grazstarr Appreciate the insight. The Digitakt videos make it look easy. Will have to view some. Tutorials. Still intrigued with the MC-101. Love my other Roland gear. Old and new. Worth a try.

[@valley_robot]

It's a pain in the arse to use to be honest, I've had mine ages and it was to replace my circuit, it's very complicated to use, easy to get a four bar loop going but clips, scenes and chaining is all do e through the little screen

[@digitaldividemusic]

@@valley_robot Since I posted that question, i've already sold the circuit, Bought an MC101, sold the MC101 and bought a MC707, Digitakt and Digitone. The MC707 is way more user friendly than the MC101 was. Though I like them both. The MC707 wins hand down. Now throw out the user interface on all of them. Forget about using a DAW as I've been sequencing all of these boxes from my MPCX of late. Add a nice multitimbral keyboard in the mix with the MPCX controlling everything and its a very powerful Dawless solution. The MPCX is intuitive and musical. Off topic I know, but had to respond

[@valley_robot]

@@digitaldividemusic I use my mpc one for the big stuff hooked up to my crave , neutron and micro freak , the mc101 is just for work breaks and travelling

[@AndrewAHayes]

Is this device compatible with any DAW?

[@just_pierre9730]

Yes, in Ableton and Bitwig you can see the 4 channels and record them seperatly

[@squishmusic]

So. Did you prefer the Korg Electribe or this one...? :)

[@WoodyPianoShack]

cant decide, 101 infinitely more powerful and capable, but UI of korg is better, with a real nice distinctive sound character

[@squishmusic]

@@WoodyPianoShack powerful - looks rather limited on the face. I'll have to watch all yr vidz on it then :D

[@morten1]

7:19 I think that brain fart will happen to me a lot

[@tylon2999]

At 10'33 when you say never mind, is why I'm sorry I purchased this kit. After about 1/2 hour I just give up. I have never even been able to get one project going. I don't care for any of the drum kits and if you can make a custom kit I don't how. As you can tell from this video it takes forever to do anything.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

it's been a long time but i vaguely remember how tedious some parts of the workflow was. i think they did improve some stuff in firmware though

[@dykodesigns]

The shimmer pad has a nice classic square wave sound to it, but the track/clip selection is not very intuitive.

[@TheCuri]

Thanks for the Video now I am Sure I dont want a Roland mc 101

[@yingtong101]

This is a super powerful little device! Here's a track a made on two of them! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXWXe2BqbriGbdU

[@WoodyPianoShack]

very interesting to see and hear a pair!

[@mr_floydst]

Great demo and the track was really good! But this box clearly isn't for me. It does sound great but it's one more of those "4 or less tracks with 16 steps per pattern" devices.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

mostly yes, or 128 steps max if i recall. might be a decent sound module though, if you can live with track limit.

[@rdoetjes]

Is it just me, or do others also find that Roland’s software is archaic and unintuitive?! It has always been like that, but back in the 80s there wasn’t enough cpu and memory. But now a proper OLed screen and some widgets and a logical UI experience shouldn’t cost a lot more. And to make matters worse, their software is unintuitive but their documentation is also very sparse! I now have my JDXA for a year and I still find new things about it. Or forget things because you don’t use them frequently and you have to spend ages to find out how to do it. I’d loved to be a UI designer for Roland and let them make some intuitive products again. The exception I have to say is my FA. There’s a lot of menu diving and again the UI isn’t efficient but you can find things easily.

[@whatsupchicken]

They improved a lot actually so now already achieved the 2000's level I guess. Still super old-school. And this 2 times 8 character display they use for 40 years is something I wont be able to understand however this is maybe the only device this display actually fit into. But this select it confirm it are you sure? confirm again is super annoying. For example when you copy a clip why not just select where to copy by push the next clip pad and that's it paste bumm done. They should cooperate with the Novation guys. I don't have the Circuit but they say it is super intuitive even without a display. I hope they hear us and will have a nice update to make it easier to use...

[@reneliebregt6319]

What I can see is that this box is not so groovy to operate with this little 32 character display and little pads and NO EDITOR, while we are in the year 2022. 🤓

[@sullycliftona]

Do not describe stuff if you can’t do it

[@rhineriversurf5594]

Nah. I ll stick with the electribe

[@dicenight1512]

SERIOUSLY

[@gctechs]

Firmware 1.60 is out!