Hey Gabe, I'm honored that you took the time to listen to the jam - as you may know, you're the main reason I gave the MC-101 a go. :) We had fun recording this jam but I won't sugarcoat it, the workflow isn't really made for live jamming. It feels more like a fun sketchbox or device you use to create stems to build into DAW projects, not really a thing to stand on its own (like, say, the Syntakt). Hope you'll have a chance to listen to some of the other jams too at some point. Appreciate you dropping by!
I really love this track. And the Third Hand humor. As a newer MC head, I totally get the ‘Tao of Gentle Suffering’ on the run-up to achieve Take 21. 😊
Thanks for your comment, Joe! I'm glad you liked the track. It's funny because, looking back at this jam, the extra effort to get there made us like the end result more in the end. 😊
It's great to watch how you've worked out a way to make this sound like a complete track, not just a set of clips played in sequence. I agree that the MC-101 is kind of frustrating to perform with! There's lots of tools in the little box, but you can't always find a way to change several things at nearly the same time, like running a scatter as a transition into a scene change. I've ended up automating some stuff, but then that makes it less spontaneous, so you might as well play a recording. On the plus side, I find it quick for capturing and extending musical ideas, because of things like the polyphony, the preset library, sample playback, different sounds for each clip, copying clips, step editing, partial editing and motion recording. Most things are possible, if not always easy, but if it was easier, it wouldn't be so satisfying!
That's an interesting take on the inverse correlation between ease of use and satisfaction! Maybe it changes over the years too? I find it to be more satisfactory to get it to sound the way I want than to invest the effort into performing it. But then I think of myself more as a producer than a performer/musician, so maybe that's part of it? I gravitate more towards those tools that let me get things to sound just like I want, and preferably quickly. In that sense, the Syntakt is closer in that it's so quick to use (for me), but then it still leaves something to be desired in the sound department (I wish it had a wider palette of sounds). I'm sort of tempted to try the Push 3 for those reasons. Anyway, thanks for listening and sharing your thoughts!
Thanks for the intel. Going to stick to plan A. Have the same problem with the Polyend Tracker. Nice box, but soundwise a bit limited and unclean. Great for lofi, but I like contrasts, so now I'm using Zenbeats on a tablet, or Maschine on i9 rig, or MPC 2.whatever on an i5 rig. All to create loops for my SP404 mk2 to chew on. The MC 101 could replace the lot. Then my setup could be dawless. More instant. More portable. Less polluting. Food for thought and happy beeps.
I read that the Polyend Tracker is getting soft synths this summer. That should help with it not sounding so lofi maybe? I'm intrigued by the Polyend Tracker Mini myself actually, but I have heard that their quality control isn't great so I'm not sure if it's worth taking a chance on it.
Glad we can relate! Maybe you are also a perfectionist like me? It doesn't help here. 😂 I see you're doing a lot of live playing on the pads and keys, and, reading this comment, I'm assuming that it's all rehearsed and not necessarily improvised. Regardless, well done! Really appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment.
Nice jam! I was wondering how do you play this and listen without latency over USB? Max i can get in audtition is 30ms, i feel its just a tad behind if i need to live perform, finger drumming etc. Anyway nice to see other peoples workflow on the MC101, really is a very capable piece of kit, although slightly clunky due to its small formfactor 😅
Hey there, thanks for the feedback on the jam! As you can see on the video, I don't really use it in a way that requires zero latency since my "jamming" basically amounts to twisting knobs and pressing some performance buttons in time for transitional effects. I don't play any notes live here. My jams are recorded straight into the DAW so any latency in the actual recording is easily fixed by just aligning the recorded stems to the beat. So unfortunately I don't have any ideas on how to work around the latency. I agree that the MC-101 is slightly clunky due to its small size, but also due to Roland's inherently clunky user interface. They just don't know how to streamline things in the way companies like Elektron do. All in my humble opinion, of course. Thanks for stopping by and listening to our music!
@@sinewaymusic the workflow is still something I wrangle with, I really wish it was something more like a MC 505 but yeah there's definitely potential for those who can just snap to it like you can, one day I hope to make something actually cool with mine!
@@summerlaverdure I couldn't agree more about the workflow. I'll be posting a video that talks about its workflow vs the Syntakt shortly. Happy holidays!
Hey there! Good question. I'd say that the MC-101 can absolutely be used as a live performance tool but it probably depends on what kind of music you make. Most of the struggle in this jam was because we had a specific song structure that we wanted to perform and I sometimes missed switching pattern in time and didn't know how to set it to progress automatically (I think there's a way). By the looks of it, the Ableton Move seems to be even more of a sketchpad than the MC-101 actually. It's meant to be used on the go to make song sketched that you then bring into Live. Technically you can certainly perform on it though, including even using it as a controller for Live. Between the MC-101 and the Move, I'd pick the Move without hesitation because the workflow looks much more straightforward. But if you love the Roland synth sounds, that might tilt you over to the other side. 😊
This is an awesome jam. Interestingly, in my humble opinion, it seems like a lot of the sound design doesn’t seem to play to the Roland flavor, and would be similar to what you could achieve on your syntakt, but without the easier workflow that the syntakt would have. Probably contributes to your frustration with it. Idk. Maybe.
Thanks for the feedback and for listening! You are probably right that you could get close to these sounds on the Syntakt, but the point is that it has no polyphony, so even when playing a melody with the sound, it wouldn't allow the release tails of the notes to ring out in the same way. The melody was "discovered" randomly by just playing around, and I don't think I would have landed on the same notes if I had to think the melody up in my head and program it across two separate Syntakt tracks (to retain the note release tails). So, you are technically right that I could have programmed the end result on the Syntakt (minus the chorus effect on the lead), but I don't think I would have came up with the idea with that 12-track monophonic workflow. Hope that makes sense!
@@sinewaymusic Interesting. I didn't think about it from that aspect. That really illustrates why, as a consumer of this gear, it's so hard to figure out what gear will best fit your needs. It's stuff like that, for me, that simply isn't readily apparent looking at a spec sheet. I appreciate you taking the time to clarify that. Thanks!
@@JayM928 This is very true. I think this is why people like me are curious to explore multiple grooveboxes and synths because their different workflows lead you to different creative explorations. I've noticed that the Syntakt has nudged me to focus more on melody rather than harmony because of its monophony. And I almost never reach for sound presets because the synth 'machines' invite you to just dial in the sound you're looking for. I find that this makes me more focused on nailing the melody rather than browsing for sounds, compared to eg the Digitone or Digitakt.
regarding jumpimg knobs value when you switch to other pattern and tweak - isn’t there possibility to set different knob mode ? midi controllers often have option like “snap mode” which basically means turning knob does nothing until you don’t cross acrually set value and anly from there value starts change with knob move … anything like that on mc101 ? btw great tune and 21 take is not that bad, i sometimes mess up lot more takes before i’m satisfied with result lol
Haha that's great to know that 21 takes is nothing to feel ashamed of! :D Really appreciate your feedback on the tune! Regarding the knob modes, there are two of them on the MC-101: Jump or Catch. I chose Catch for this jam, and you can see towards the end how I'm struggling to 'catch' the filter value of the lead around 4:08. At that point it was midnight and we were determined not to do another take. :) Thanks for listening and have a great rest of your weekend!
@@sinewaymusicabsolutely didn’t noticed anything unusual around 4:08 when it was listening first time 😂 Those are exactly the kind of “issues” we think are annoying and obvious when we play live but actually nobody ever notices them :-))) Learned that really 90% things which i am like “fuck, i again messed this, should i stop and record it again?” are actually something which most listeners either doesn’t notice at all OR they think it was intentional part of performance 😂
@@raysubject Yeah that's great to know and you're absolutely right! The reason for most of the retakes was actually missing the scene switch points. I'm struggling to figure out how to set a minimum clip/scene length so I'm forced to do the switching at the very last bar, and sometimes that's hitting up against another live twist of a knob. I know there's supposed to be a way but all I can find is the clip length, which seems to be per-track and, at least here, ignored when I set it. If you know the solution to this so I can queue up a scene change something like 4 bars before the change, that would be super helpful!
@@sinewaymusicorry don't have 101 so can't help.. honestly considering to add 101 to by Digitone/Digitakt setup but still not sure if that's good idea, iam afraid different workflow on 101 when compared to eletrons will bother me when using them together :-)
@@raysubject I have to read up on the manual. What do you miss about the DT/DN combo to make you want an MC-101? I'd feel pretty compete with that duo!
There are so many ways you can use it. As a sound module, as a live performance device twisting the knobs, playing the pads live like a two octave piano keyboard, as a sound design tool. It's up to you and what your needs are. 😊
Definitely a bit of both there, time and both being perfectionists! 😂 You are right, it is part of the process of learning, and none of it should feel like a wasted effort. Really appreciate your comment on the song itself. 🙏
Haha the hand slap caught me off guard. Also very tasty switchup midway through
Hey Gabe, I'm honored that you took the time to listen to the jam - as you may know, you're the main reason I gave the MC-101 a go. :) We had fun recording this jam but I won't sugarcoat it, the workflow isn't really made for live jamming. It feels more like a fun sketchbox or device you use to create stems to build into DAW projects, not really a thing to stand on its own (like, say, the Syntakt). Hope you'll have a chance to listen to some of the other jams too at some point. Appreciate you dropping by!
I really love this track. And the Third Hand humor. As a newer MC head, I totally get the ‘Tao of Gentle Suffering’ on the run-up to achieve Take 21. 😊
Thanks for your comment, Joe! I'm glad you liked the track. It's funny because, looking back at this jam, the extra effort to get there made us like the end result more in the end. 😊
I spied a third hand in the mix! Good stuff, thanks for sharing.
The helping hand made all the difference. 😂 Thanks for listening! 🙏
It's great to watch how you've worked out a way to make this sound like a complete track, not just a set of clips played in sequence. I agree that the MC-101 is kind of frustrating to perform with! There's lots of tools in the little box, but you can't always find a way to change several things at nearly the same time, like running a scatter as a transition into a scene change. I've ended up automating some stuff, but then that makes it less spontaneous, so you might as well play a recording. On the plus side, I find it quick for capturing and extending musical ideas, because of things like the polyphony, the preset library, sample playback, different sounds for each clip, copying clips, step editing, partial editing and motion recording. Most things are possible, if not always easy, but if it was easier, it wouldn't be so satisfying!
That's an interesting take on the inverse correlation between ease of use and satisfaction! Maybe it changes over the years too? I find it to be more satisfactory to get it to sound the way I want than to invest the effort into performing it. But then I think of myself more as a producer than a performer/musician, so maybe that's part of it? I gravitate more towards those tools that let me get things to sound just like I want, and preferably quickly. In that sense, the Syntakt is closer in that it's so quick to use (for me), but then it still leaves something to be desired in the sound department (I wish it had a wider palette of sounds). I'm sort of tempted to try the Push 3 for those reasons. Anyway, thanks for listening and sharing your thoughts!
Thanks for the intel. Going to stick to plan A. Have the same problem with the Polyend Tracker. Nice box, but soundwise a bit limited and unclean. Great for lofi, but I like contrasts, so now I'm using Zenbeats on a tablet, or Maschine on i9 rig, or MPC 2.whatever on an i5 rig. All to create loops for my SP404 mk2 to chew on. The MC 101 could replace the lot. Then my setup could be dawless. More instant. More portable. Less polluting. Food for thought and happy beeps.
I read that the Polyend Tracker is getting soft synths this summer. That should help with it not sounding so lofi maybe? I'm intrigued by the Polyend Tracker Mini myself actually, but I have heard that their quality control isn't great so I'm not sure if it's worth taking a chance on it.
Very nice demo of mc101 capabilities.. thinking of getting one.. 🤔
Watch @GabeMillerMusic's latest video and you might be even more tempted. :) Thanks for listening to the jam!
Hey this is great.
Really appreciate it! Thanks for listening.
This is great. Felt deeply seen in terms of how many times you need to record to get a take you actually like.
Glad we can relate! Maybe you are also a perfectionist like me? It doesn't help here. 😂 I see you're doing a lot of live playing on the pads and keys, and, reading this comment, I'm assuming that it's all rehearsed and not necessarily improvised. Regardless, well done! Really appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment.
This is really good. Sick track.
Thank you so much!
Nice jam! I was wondering how do you play this and listen without latency over USB? Max i can get in audtition is 30ms, i feel its just a tad behind if i need to live perform, finger drumming etc. Anyway nice to see other peoples workflow on the MC101, really is a very capable piece of kit, although slightly clunky due to its small formfactor 😅
Hey there, thanks for the feedback on the jam! As you can see on the video, I don't really use it in a way that requires zero latency since my "jamming" basically amounts to twisting knobs and pressing some performance buttons in time for transitional effects. I don't play any notes live here. My jams are recorded straight into the DAW so any latency in the actual recording is easily fixed by just aligning the recorded stems to the beat. So unfortunately I don't have any ideas on how to work around the latency. I agree that the MC-101 is slightly clunky due to its small size, but also due to Roland's inherently clunky user interface. They just don't know how to streamline things in the way companies like Elektron do. All in my humble opinion, of course. Thanks for stopping by and listening to our music!
love to see the MC-101, you got this down excellent :3
Thank you, really appreciated your comment. 🙏 The MC-101 is definitely a groovebox that punches way above its weight!
@@sinewaymusic the workflow is still something I wrangle with, I really wish it was something more like a MC 505 but yeah there's definitely potential for those who can just snap to it like you can, one day I hope to make something actually cool with mine!
@@summerlaverdure I couldn't agree more about the workflow. I'll be posting a video that talks about its workflow vs the Syntakt shortly. Happy holidays!
@@sinewaymusic happy holidays to you as well!
So would you recommend AGAINST using this as a live performance tool? Would something like an Ableton Move be better for that?
Hey there! Good question. I'd say that the MC-101 can absolutely be used as a live performance tool but it probably depends on what kind of music you make. Most of the struggle in this jam was because we had a specific song structure that we wanted to perform and I sometimes missed switching pattern in time and didn't know how to set it to progress automatically (I think there's a way).
By the looks of it, the Ableton Move seems to be even more of a sketchpad than the MC-101 actually. It's meant to be used on the go to make song sketched that you then bring into Live. Technically you can certainly perform on it though, including even using it as a controller for Live. Between the MC-101 and the Move, I'd pick the Move without hesitation because the workflow looks much more straightforward. But if you love the Roland synth sounds, that might tilt you over to the other side. 😊
Love it,l listen to it twice.
That made my day, thank you for the lovely feedback!
I bought a faderfox ec4 to avoid to much fiddling with those 4 knobs!
That's a great tip! Any midi controller work a few extra controls would make jamming easier indeed. 😊
This is an awesome jam. Interestingly, in my humble opinion, it seems like a lot of the sound design doesn’t seem to play to the Roland flavor, and would be similar to what you could achieve on your syntakt, but without the easier workflow that the syntakt would have. Probably contributes to your frustration with it. Idk. Maybe.
Thanks for the feedback and for listening! You are probably right that you could get close to these sounds on the Syntakt, but the point is that it has no polyphony, so even when playing a melody with the sound, it wouldn't allow the release tails of the notes to ring out in the same way. The melody was "discovered" randomly by just playing around, and I don't think I would have landed on the same notes if I had to think the melody up in my head and program it across two separate Syntakt tracks (to retain the note release tails). So, you are technically right that I could have programmed the end result on the Syntakt (minus the chorus effect on the lead), but I don't think I would have came up with the idea with that 12-track monophonic workflow. Hope that makes sense!
@@sinewaymusic Interesting. I didn't think about it from that aspect. That really illustrates why, as a consumer of this gear, it's so hard to figure out what gear will best fit your needs. It's stuff like that, for me, that simply isn't readily apparent looking at a spec sheet. I appreciate you taking the time to clarify that. Thanks!
@@JayM928 This is very true. I think this is why people like me are curious to explore multiple grooveboxes and synths because their different workflows lead you to different creative explorations. I've noticed that the Syntakt has nudged me to focus more on melody rather than harmony because of its monophony. And I almost never reach for sound presets because the synth 'machines' invite you to just dial in the sound you're looking for. I find that this makes me more focused on nailing the melody rather than browsing for sounds, compared to eg the Digitone or Digitakt.
Very nice!
Thanks for listening and for your compliment! More jams to come in 2023. 😊 Happy new year!
Awesome! :)
Thanks! 😊
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😁😁😁
Appreciate it! 🔥🙏
regarding jumpimg knobs value when you switch to other pattern and tweak - isn’t there possibility to set different knob mode ? midi controllers often have option like “snap mode” which basically means turning knob does nothing until you don’t cross acrually set value and anly from there value starts change with knob move … anything like that on mc101 ?
btw great tune and 21 take is not that bad, i sometimes mess up lot more takes before i’m satisfied with result lol
Haha that's great to know that 21 takes is nothing to feel ashamed of! :D Really appreciate your feedback on the tune!
Regarding the knob modes, there are two of them on the MC-101: Jump or Catch. I chose Catch for this jam, and you can see towards the end how I'm struggling to 'catch' the filter value of the lead around 4:08. At that point it was midnight and we were determined not to do another take. :) Thanks for listening and have a great rest of your weekend!
@@sinewaymusicabsolutely didn’t noticed anything unusual around 4:08 when it was listening first time 😂
Those are exactly the kind of “issues” we think are annoying and obvious when we play live but actually nobody ever notices them :-))) Learned that really 90% things which i am like “fuck, i again messed this, should i stop and record it again?” are actually something which most listeners either doesn’t notice at all OR they think it was intentional part of performance 😂
@@raysubject Yeah that's great to know and you're absolutely right! The reason for most of the retakes was actually missing the scene switch points. I'm struggling to figure out how to set a minimum clip/scene length so I'm forced to do the switching at the very last bar, and sometimes that's hitting up against another live twist of a knob. I know there's supposed to be a way but all I can find is the clip length, which seems to be per-track and, at least here, ignored when I set it. If you know the solution to this so I can queue up a scene change something like 4 bars before the change, that would be super helpful!
@@sinewaymusicorry don't have 101 so can't help.. honestly considering to add 101 to by Digitone/Digitakt setup but still not sure if that's good idea, iam afraid different workflow on 101 when compared to eletrons will bother me when using them together :-)
@@raysubject I have to read up on the manual. What do you miss about the DT/DN combo to make you want an MC-101? I'd feel pretty compete with that duo!
Excellent jam, I loved it !
Really appreciate it! Will be uploading more jams as well as a comparison video between the MC-101 and the Syntakt soon. Happy holidays!
so the mc-101 is just knob turning and fader sliding? no actual playing? u just create loops and press play?
There are so many ways you can use it. As a sound module, as a live performance device twisting the knobs, playing the pads live like a two octave piano keyboard, as a sound design tool. It's up to you and what your needs are. 😊
Sounds great to me. The previous 20 versions are all part of the process. Maybe you're a perfectionist, maybe you have a lot of time to experiment?
Definitely a bit of both there, time and both being perfectionists! 😂 You are right, it is part of the process of learning, and none of it should feel like a wasted effort. Really appreciate your comment on the song itself. 🙏