Just a little correction for whatever it's worth - the function is not called Partial Edit because it is incomplete (although I think there are a couple of utility parameters that are missing from the full engine) but because the architecture of Zen Core and other Roland digital synths is based on Partials, which are essentially each of the four oscillators along with most of the other synth parameters that can be applied globally or on a per-oscillator basis. For example you mentioned that there were 2 LFOs - there are actually 2 per partial so in effect up to 8 depending on how you use them (same with envelopes, etc.). You can enable or disable which partial you're editing using the buttons below the knobs. The manual doesn't really make this clear at all - you could call it a "partial manual" 🙂.
These aren't new machines at this point by any means, so it's awesome and highly appreciated that Roland are still updating the firmware for them. Also, congrats re: Roland sponsorship!
Should I buy the MC 707 or wait for a new drum machine. How soon do you guys think before Roland will release a new drum machine with updated features. Is there a chance they’ll update the Mc 707 to work with their WC-1 adapter.
@@TeleporterM11 The MC707 is more of a groovebox than a drum machine. The TR-8S is the drum machine so shouldn't you be asking when is a new TR-8S coming out? Ether way nobody knows that but Roland. The real question is: what do you feel is lacking in the current devices which are both really amazing as is especially after alllllllll the wonderful updates, that makes you rather wait for something newer that don't exist & may never exist or may come to exist but wayyyyyy in the future - remember the 707 is an update to the MC909 from 2002? 🤔
One thing about the Partial Editor Settings: you can hold the button under one of the four C knobs to use the Value knob to change some of the sounds & parameters
Love to see the MC-101 and MC-707 getting new updates. Been rocking the 1.8 update on my MC-707 but the 101 definitely got the biggest update to bring its sound design capabilities on par with its bigger brother. A hybrid setup of MC-101 for on the go sound design and clip creation then share to the MC-707 might be the way 😀
One of the things I found the partial editor didn't have which is essential for fun rhythmic play of filters and such in designing bassline sounds is retrigger the lfo when a new key is pressed so that tempo sync'd lfo's can be triggered in a pleasing way. HOWEVER, the machine is FULL of presets and some of them have retrigger LFO enabled! So what I did was find one of them and create an INIT of my own with all the oscillators off, all the matrix routings off, etc. etc., a blank slate, but has the lfo retrigger set to on 'invisibly' then saved that project alone so I can just load it up into a track by loading a sound from 'project'. One thing I also found while experimenting with 'resetting presets' is that there is some kind of phase inversion option or something to that effect (It's been over a year since I even looked at an MC707, i sold it that long ago and got the 101 instead) which is also something that can be found by scouring presets built into th emachine if that's something that might be useful for a synth idea. I'm sure there's other things I'm forgetting that might be findable but the general gist is "If you want it and the partial editor doesn't have it, pull it from a preset and bend the preset around to your idea with the things you CAN edit." Happy sound hacking!
This update finally got me fully off the fence about the MC-101, it's inability to be programmed on board was always my largest complaint with the thing. Now that you can dig into Zen Core on the device itself easily I plan on picking one up in the next few months. For what I want it's about the best option in my budget range for a device like this. I've found most the other sub 600$ options either too sample focused or not flexible/powerful enough for my needs. Even if the synth editing suffers from a bit of painting through the letterbox, but hey I'm masochistic enough I've programed a DX7 on hardware before in the past so it's got to be easier than that. EDIT: Update I ended up going with an MC-707 instead, love the thing.
You def have the silliest thumbnails of all the 'surprise, shocked, reaction" selfies on RU-vid. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you're taking pics of yourself and designing them.
Messing with the partial editor in the update, it made me realize that the Zenololgy seems heavily inspired by the JD-800, which recently became one of my favorite synths. The mc101 would be my number 1 groovebox hands down if I had better ways to read & break up audio for sample chopping
Maybe some of my expectations were a bit lofty when I first heard about this update. But, undo/redo is cool. It’s nice that they’re not abandoning this updatable gear.
You did it! Props to roland for this update, it really feels like they listened to us ❤️ This is def a video i'll come back to as a reference (along with Ben Coe's in depth tutorial) I wonder, can you design a sound and then save it as a preset? Thanks!
I have to say that the partial editor isn't nearly as fiddly as I would have expected. It's actually pretty easy to dial in the changes you want on a patch. Haven't tried sound design from scratch yet but for perfecting already good presets, it's really smooth. By the way I think they mean partial as in the partials (the four oscillators) of a patch, not that it's not a complete editor. One thing you missed is that you can hold down Shift and press the four buttons under the knobs to choose which partials you are editing the envelopes and LFOs on. It's almost like a JD-800 in there. 😊
Yeah it's pretty well implemented. My experience with the 101 is that, while there's lots of menu diving, it's really well designed, they made lots of smart decisions about the workflow
@@rorz999 Today I agree with you more than I did a month ago, but I'd say they should copy a few more pages from Elektron. The MC-101 is in desperate need of more sequencer workflow shortcuts, like holding down one or more steps and pressing copy (no Shift) and pasting with the same keys. Or non-chromatic Clip transpositions. Or the ability to set the default length of steps before entering them. Etc etc. But yeah, with some usage, you get faster at it.
@@rorz999 The sound module part of it is great. My only wish would be to have more dry/wet knobs on the effects. Some of them, like the Guitar amp simulator, is a bit too much, but if you make a copy of a tone track and apply the effect on the parallel track and dial in the amount just a little bit, it sounds very cool. I wish they allowed you to dial in that mix on one single track instead. It would be especially useful on the Compressor effects, i.e. parallel compression.
Feel like this is a step ahead from Roland to show they're supporting the system. Feels like Novation could learn a thing or two after it feels like no updates coming for the Tracks or Rhythm anytime soon...!
That’s a little bit of an unfair statement , considering that Novation has provided a lot of updates to the OG Circuit, Bass Station 2, Peak and SL MK3. You’re right about Tacks and Rhythm though.
@@ftc_music it's a mixed bag with Novation. As you've noted, their support for some products like the BS2 has been great. But they have other products they totally abandoned, like the Monostation
I think what we're seeing isn't an update, but the box's original design finally being finished. I wish people would stop clamoring for updates because it encourages bad business practices from these companies that can keep selling the public unfinished machines and software. It's pretty insulting, to be honest. I mean, you can tell they weren't finished when a friggin metronome came in 'update 1.3' or some crap. I mean, if your car got updated with wheels, you'd be overjoyed, but also wondering why you got sold a car with no wheels.
@@heavysystemsinc. Bit like Ridley Scott and Blade Runner 25 years or so later we get the real movie lol. Gabe covered Ben Jordan's "don't support unfinished products" video. And it's true, if you're waiting on a fw to come out when you already own the product, you're doing the wrong thing. I only purchased an Akai Force when it was deemed finished in my eyes. 3.1 was when I wanted the features, prior I was not buying an ecosystem which did not do all I wanted. Sends a clear message to companies when we decide with our wallets.
@@dankeplace I still don't think the Force is quite finished. When it first came out there was hype about it being able to blur the lines between a clip launching hardware DAW & a DJ controller ( a crossover I'm interested in), but AFAIK, the DJing side of it was never developed. I've seen a few kinda hacked workarounds, but nothing intuitive.
As this is based off the Zenology /Zen Core synth engine each Partial should have a key note range so in theory you could make each track be a multitimbral split across the key range , four single OSC synths , two duo OSC synths , one three OSC and a Single OSC synths etc. Obviously each Track will still be constricted to Mono or Poly for the over all track so this isn't a quadrupling of tracks per-se , but it should be able sneak in an "extra part" here and there to expand compositions past a strict 4 tracks . Food for thought .
Hey there! Thanks for your great videos ;) Just one question: Does the MC 101 have INIT Tones like pure Saws or Sines to start with and, if yes, are they also located in the preset section? Or is it necessary to create INIT tones as wavefiles in my DAW and the export them to the MC 101?
man, i wish there were just an accompanying phone app to give direct and realtime access to the tone editor so you could just have the phone sitting next to it giving you that extra bit of control
Roland are just killing it with continued support and firmware updates. I sold my 101 for a 707, and no doubt the 707 is very very awesome... Now I have the itch for the 101 for the portability.
Yeah it's great to see these devices just keep getting better. I'm maybe in the minority, but I actually prefer the compactness of the 101, it feels less laborious/overwhelming to use for me.
@@GabeMillerMusic Yeah that's fair, there is a certain amount of "how the hell does this thing work again?" coming back to the 707 after any length of time away.
The MV-1 got the update as well, but 1. didn't include partial editing, and 2. broke the ability to load drumkits from SDZ files. It did add a bunch of cool features, though, so hopefully they release a bugfix update soon!
Cool news! Thanks Roland, it seems like you are headed in the right direction, this makes more sense, there was no need to make this purposely restricted. I like that they seem to be making this into the smaller PORTABLE product rather than the smaller poor persons product….. Now they are free they can fix the SP404MKII’s inability to import samples from card because it sees 1/2 of them as “unsupported file” and other obvious things like the missing sustain from the ADSR, the odd things like only being able to have one single custom pad color arrangement….. The SP404MKII is fast becoming the best sampler to ever land on Earth, just a litttttle bit more 💙 please 👻
Agree with you, lots of my files are showing as unsupported and I really don't know why, they should in theory load because they have the same properties as other files that do load!
MC101 has 'unsupported file' issues as well. Basically, if it's bit depth is out of the range or the sample rate is out of range, it will kick back an error. For instance, try loading an 8bit sound from a classic sampler into the MC101 and watch it get angry. :) I suspect the 404 gets pissy with the same files the MC101 does.
One thing I really wish it had are the model expansions. My guess is that it has hardware limitations and won’t ever get the expansions. Dare to dream though!
Heya, I'm just getting started with my 101 and I was wondering, if there is any possibility to save a patch created in the partial tone editor or a drum kit that I've made as a preset?
I can’t get my head around the 3 letters for modulation destinations in the matrix. I can’t find what I’m looking for and I don’t even know what I’m looking at when I see the 3 cryptic letters. But this synth is sick. I’ve made some nice 303 sounds with the TB303 HD waves.
Amazing that they don't include an editor for desktop for this thing 😂. My Korg Micro-X from 2009 has a fullfledged desktop editor with all parameters editable/save able. So dis many synths back then, like Virus TI. I own the Verselab and it's only editable partly through Zenbeats. Still I love the Zencore engine since it's enable you to compose and then transfer the exact same synthpatches to a live unit.
@@GabeMillerMusic I know about Zenology Pro, I work a great deal in Zenbeats. I also own the Verselab. But still, to easily manage hardware patches, there should also be a proper editor I think. Independent of Zenology Pro.
I know the MV-1 got a lot of these same updates; does the Zenbeats app for the MV-1 reflect/work with the deeper sound design capabilities? If it does, I think that'd push me to getting that over a 101; as much as I loved the 101 when I had it, this editing workflow looks like trying to paint a room through a keyhole.
Hello Gabe and Thanks for your usefull tutorials. I have a question: With this new 1.8 update, is it possible to assign Sys Ctrls to other parameters than the ones pre-assigned?
Hi Gabe. I often watch your videos although i am not a groove-machine kind but ... curious. I want just to ask you if the mc101 has the "chord" function like the jd-xi wich allows to change riffs and melodies of a pattern following the chord fingered on the keyboard. Becoming a kind of "arranger" almost like the bk roland series. Does it has this mode ?
Hey Gabe! Kind of an odd question for you from a total noob whose interest in grooveboxes has recently been sparked. I have watched quite a few videos about these machines the last couple days but don't recall this being mentioned anywhere. Can you, on most if not all grooveboxes, (currently mostly curious about the mc101 and 707 tbh), switch track positions? For instance, when you have a Drum track on 1, a Tone track on 2, and another Drum on 3. Can you swap the positions of track 2 and 3 so that the two drums sit next to eachother? For me personally it's this kind of basic visual organisation that can kind of make or break my creative thinking sometimes
Fantastic videos! Thank you! I was about to buy one of these when I saw that currently the Verselab MV-1 is actually cheaper than the 101? Are there many differences - it looks to me they are basically the same but the Verselab has vocal recording etc options? Would it make sense to get this instead? Cheers - awesome reviews thanks again
Great to have the option for sound design. I wish they go down the Modal route and just give us a app and iPad connectivity to design patches as the menu diving is to much and fiddly. Maybe add the option in Zenbeats.
Exactly - the editing on this is hopeless, I can't begin to imagine designing a patch on this from scratch. But an app would be an absolute game changer.
@@robinr22 Roland's Zencore software editor is just as cryptic. It's literally just a lot of options one has to navigate in general. Considering that, it's pretty clever how they've managed to get most of the engine editable with so little language on the screen and so few knobs. But the software is pretty bad in a different way and most of it comes down to the fact the synth is just meaty as hell that there's really probably not any good way to make an instantly understandable interface for it.
I believe the EQ isnt' global, but per oscillator? Selecting the particular partial you want using shit+sound/filter/mod/fx will only edit the EQ on that partial. Same with the LFO, envelopes, filter, everything that isn't the oscillators themselves basically.
Shift+Button(Sound, filter,mod,Fx) selects which partial get edited esp. for different Filter/ENV/EQ/LFO parameters per partial ... wish Gabe, you had more time get into 1.8 and understand the MC101 new features and controls deeper. sorry ... normally your content is top notch and I like your style. Looking forward to your next MC videos.
The sound editing experience seems kinda similar to a brown DX7 to me, so noting really crazy. For a real 80s experience (like on the Poly 61 or JX 3P), they could have replaced the parameter name in the display with just a reference number. Lost opportunity really...
I had the MC707 and found it too much focus where my sets were concerned. The stupid screen is way too small for something like this, compared to my Force or SP16, it is too hard to navigate the menus. 101 is more forgiving as it is a much smaller unit, I may reconsider this in the future for a simple hands on drum machine.
I think 101 is the way to go. You can use it primarily as a sound module controlled by the Force. You could do that with the MC-707 as well I guess, but the size/price and inputs outputs etc suggest it should be the centrepiece/brain of a studio. Maybe they'll do an MK2 which actually has a large, useful screen, but given that it's Roland, it seems doubtful
@@rorz999 I wanted to do exactly this with the 707, use it as a sound module but found it too convoluted. Size matters too when using a device. 101 seems more user friendly for my purposes.
I'd consider the TR-6S instead of this if you're looking for small compact drum machine. Same form factor but intentionally geared toward being a drum machine with pretty good sound as it's using the same audio engine/synth engine, etc.
@@heavysystemsinc. I had a TR8 and enjoyed it, not too complicated and got things done quickly, my mistake with the 707 was trying to use the Zencore engines as modules x 8, with no real way of controlling them without some assistance of a MIDI controller or software. I have a Nord Drum 3P which does great sounds but the 101 has the ability to change volumes on the fly which is great.
Does anyone know if you can split two sounds across a midi keyboard? The 101 would be a great little sound module for a live keyboardist if this was possible..
Coming from the OG Circuit, I loved the sound of the 101. The interface? Not so much. Powerful, yeah, but not fun to work with. Sold mine and added a Circuit Rhythm to my setup.
I have a micron and it's about on par with the MC101 IF you are used to the shortcuts to the different sections of editing the Micron. It's basically kind of the same level of headache...it's just the MC101 has 4 value knobs/buttons to edit 4 values per screen vs. micron's knob and micron has a 'jump to section' short cut combo that the MC101 doesn't have. Two different ways to get tedious! lol
@@heavysystemsinc. That's a good point. I'm renting an MC101 right now, but it's not updated with this latest update. Will probably make that happen soon.
@@helicoid9415 It's definitely, for me, a bit quicker to edit, but there's a lot more options for sound on the 101 so it gets bogged down, primarily with it's rompler/PCM sounds because there's a eleventy billion of them and they're not exactly sorted in any logical order. I've been taking some notes of the sounds I like and writing the bank and sample numbers down. The VA stuff, though, it's pretty straight forward. The only thing I don't jive with is XMOD2 which is closer to sounding like traditional FM ONLY works with VA synth settings for the oscillators. Using PCM doesn't work and XMOD is extremely unpredictable as far as FM is concerned and dare I say practically unusable so far as I've found but DOES work with any oscillator type. It's a little frustrating, but...you know, you gotta roll with the punches since every synth's got it's quirks.
Is there a way to use the MC101 zen-core synth engine for sound design but, instead of menu diving, hook it up to a computer and design the sounds there and then save to mc101?
Imagine if they added a more visual view of all settings, tracks, and zencore via your phone, iPad or computer via Zenbeats and with that being able to finetune it all and bring it to the next level and vocals, guitar, other synths..... etc etc etc they can kill competition if they really want to
As someone who owns both, I'd say they serve very different purposes. The MC-101 is a groovebox meant to be played live. Yes, you can make clips (sequences) in advance but the magic lies in performing them live, meaning, making use of the in-the-moment playback modes, spontaneous note transpose, Last Step, Scatter, twisting the knobs, etc etc. The MPC is much more of a production environment, while *also* being a highly playable instrument. Basically, are you looking to make complete songs down to the nitty gritty of intros, bridges, drops etc with full control over the transitions and how that song flows from start to finish? Or are you looking for something where you can certainly plan the different parts of the song, but where your intention is to jam on it live and "perform" your song? If the former, the MPC is the ideal environment. If the latter, the MC-101 is one of many groovebox options (the Digitakt, Syntakt, Circuits etc bring other alternsrives). I have both, and I use the MC-101 for some fun song sketches because it's such a portable device and its synth engine sounds *really* good. I use the MPC to make full tracks and it's certainly the hub of my setup. I sample from all my other instruments into it, including the MC-101. Hope this helps you somewhat.
I don't know that there's an official way to do it on the unit, but you can import user patches from projects. So I have a couple of projects that became my dumping ground for my favorite patches that I use over and over.
If you can swing it, I'd recommend keeping the Tracks and using it in conjunction with the MC-101 with the Tracks as the brain, and the 101 as a sound module that just got better.
I have bought four Boutique synths so far, probably will buy a 5th this year the Juno JU06a. All these synths have hands on control, with little need for a menu, all for $400, and they have absolutely incredible sound. Now I would like to try the ZenCore Roland sound, for $500 it not much more than a Boutique. Is buying the MC101 worth the cost of just the sound engine and access to 4 instruments? Is the ZenCore sound that good and equal to the FantomO?
I think the MC-101 is worth the price just to use it as a sound module. Tbh I just use the presets (there are hundreds) and tweak the parameters a little bit, but I will give creating sounds from a scratch a go with this update
I just dont understand.....how much would it cost to just put knobs everywhere that are even clickable that could even just be assigned to what ever u want? Like the 101 but with 6 extra "user knobs" that you can set to what ever you want...... what another inch width at most and $6 worth of parts.
I can not believe that Roland hasn't made an software editor for the MC101/707 yet. Keep adding new features in crazy deep menu, not connected to a computer or DAW in any way that reflects we're living in the 21st century??? LoL Whut?
Using the circuits have spoilt me workflow wise...everything else feels so convoluted in comparison...if only novation would make a Flagship circuit model...also, can not BELIEVE you can not mute/stop individual patterns in the pattern view mode, would think it should not be too difficult to accomplish...just tap a pattern to play or stop it, or maybe a shift+press would stop the pattern....would make it actually work as a cliplauncher...just hit record and tap away!!!!!!.....NOVATION!!!¥€$¥€$¥€$
