Roland MSQ-700, Bit 99 and TR-505
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2024
- Jamming with the Roland MSQ-700, a simple but effective hardware sequencer from 1984. A (Crumar) Bit 99 offers the synth sounds, and a Roland TR-505 provides the beat.
In the days before DAWs, hardware sequencers were often used to build the structure of synth-based songs of the '80s.
I actually bought a lot of my vintage stuff back in the '80s and '90s via "old school", pre-Internet newspaper ads. It was much cheaper, back then (i.e. my TR-909 cost $250, PolySix $100, JP-8 cost $1,200 w/ MIDI etc.) These days, I buy and sell on eBay / craigslist like many other people do.
yep.." the recycler" and the "pennysaver" were gold mines
505 sounds good to me.
Yagga97, good point about the technical "limitations" of the devices of the '80s - gear back then was much less complex and powerful, but that didn't prevent the users to make great music. Actually, you can replicate the feel of hardware sequencers with a PC by hard-quantizing (8th & 16ths are the common quantize resolutions used in the '80s) and keeping arrangements "simpler" and less busy than today's music. Very cool that you are 10 :) I have a son of your age.Thanks for watching the channel.
It it just me or is the MSQ-700 really pretty? I just love that Roland 80s look. 505 luv! :)
+Die, Master Monkey (Die, Master Monkey) I agree.
You're not alone in that thought!
I agree! I had one.. lovely machine
The 505 might be the most underrated drum machine ever. I love mine so much :-)
with some effects , like in this vid, it is great indeed!
I had one back in the 80s. Useless - the tempo drifted all over the place.
@@chockergram Thats crazy because it doesnt, lol.
@@kensmechanicalaffair I guess some do and others don't.. Mine does have a little tempo drift going on, but i usually just use a sequencer so it doesn't do much for me. Love the sounds though
This is the most accurate reproduction of 1980's sound ever recorded on youtube. Very well done!
The Crumar bit series synths are instant Italo Disco in my opinion. Great demo!❤️🎹
Thank you - not that I play Italo style only, but it's the music of my teen years in Italy so I remember it fondly
Thanks and yes, the MSQ-700 has input quantize - see that horizontal slider in the middle of the unit? You can set it to real-time, 1/32, 1/24, 1/16, 1/12, 1/8, 1/6, 1/4, 1/2 . Of course for this it was set at 1/16 so I could do the typical fast sequenced lines in the last part of the video.
Thanks - yep, it was much simpler back then - now we arguably have too many options in our DAWs! :-)
They certainly make it very easy to add loads and tons of *things* into a song that the song doesn't need.
Helps to take a step back every so often to think and make sure you know what it is that you're making, so that you can keep making the ever-so-important decisions of what it's not.
And while I'm not in a position to say what writing or production was like before my time, I am pretty sure that thinking makes most things better.
Thank you - they are different (arguably "colder"), they remind me more of the alpha-Juno / JX / MKS series - however they are more versatile with two oscillators, velocity, split etc.
love that bit 99 brass sound..... (mucho 80 ties !!)
Heck yes!!!! Its great!!
I have always loved the sound of the BIT99. Those are very hard to find!
The Roland MSQ-700 was one of if not the first polyphonic multitrack hardware sequencers available. Quite useful given its equipped with Rolands DIN Sync and MIDI. At one point Greg Hawkes (keyboardist with "The Cars") used two MSQs to drive "The Cars" many sequence based songs. I moved onto the Roland MC-500 (later the MkII) which was/is an amazingly piece of hardware being powerful and rock-solid reliable. Ten years constant use performing and it never failed not once - amazing.
I just bought the MSQ-700. I'm excited to make some good old 80's music now. Thanks for all the inspirational videos. You do such a great job. Take care, Sam.
Hi, the sequencer played back what I had recorded in real time - I cut half of the video frames of the recording phase from the video because it would have taken too long to show at low speed, but then it plays back the complete jam at fast speed at the end. I'm only using one MSQ channel out of eight, I could have made it more complex by using the other channels but didn't have much time to record yesterday. I'll do another video soon
in 1986 I had the same instruments, but i used Yamaha MX computer as sequencer .... great !!!
Thank you - I used just one channel ouf of eight due to time constraints - I plan to do another video using all eight channels and more synths / drum machines.
Very cool, looking forward to reading the interviews! thank you
I agree, the MC-500 series software was great and rock-solid
mmmmm love that sound!!!! i grew up in this era and the synthesizer always my favoirte and it still is :-)
Absolutely brilliant demo. Loved it. Italo disco ftw.
Super cool vintage sounds and vintage sequencing :)
No TR-505 on the Roland Soundcoud.. awwww! Nice Jam, I was born in 1971 and I heard the 505 all the time on the radio. Now I know where some of those drum sounds came from. Keep up the good work! Very inspiring stuff on Synthmania.
Thanks for listening
The last part is definitely sounds like The Flirts - Passion. Love this.
Cheesy 80's synth pop is definitely the order of the day with these retro gear. Modern music seems to be drawing itself back to these analogue synth bass rhythm.
The Roland TR 505 in full glory,it sure packed a punch for its size.
Thank you
Grazie - ho comprato la maggior parte della mia attrezzatura negli anni '80 e '90, prima che scoppiasse il boom del vintage, comunque roba come per esempio l'MSQ si trova benissimo - e a poco - sul mercato dell'usato, perche' nessuno li usa piu'...
I got up and danced lol
Think ya betta DAAAAANCE Now!
I'm back in the 80's love the 80's...thanks!
Very nice. Bit 99 sounds great! :)
Thanks
what a great machines
Could be a sound track to most 80's movies...nice work
many use a SX 64 as midi sequencer with lengeling or steinberg sequencer on stage. SX64 was a portable C64 with include display
I haven't tried connecting more than two keyboards yet (no time until December...) but it should work - you might want to get a MIDI hub or patchbay so you don't have to constantly swap the MIDI cables
i had a white crumar bit99. i didn't keep it because it wasn't an oberheim but it did have some good sounds on it.
Thank you very much for the info :)
Why am I not subscribed to you? This is the jam.
At last, a playback video of this rare sequencer! Very nice!
Mindbogglingly brilliant! Keep up the great videos! :@D
i think its more fun to record like how they did in the 80s than easy abelton or pro tools i believe
The later MC-80 is extremely advanced compared to the MSQ-700 however the aesthetics of the MSQ-700 are incredible, love hitting those chunky big buttons!
Love it! And the sound that comes of the TR-505 makes me go wild. :D
Thank god I'm not the only one slowing down the tempo so I could play it easily and not having to quantize anything haha GREAT TUNES!
This is great, very inspiring. Reminded me of the Kavinsky record. Must...resist...urge...to buy...everything!!
I used an MSQ-700 back in the early 80's, but quickly moved on to the C64 "SuperSequencer" (from "Sonus"), then a few years later found myself using the Kawai Q-80. I find it interesting that I went from hardware to software, then back to hardware. From the Q-80 I moved on to Emagic Logic on the Mac in the mid-1990s, which is, in my opinion, as close to perfection as a MIDI sequencer can get.
Great demo, great tunes!
This is so great
you got the groove ! great melodies
yes, I used MIDI to sync the 505
505 for life! So sick. That MSQ-700 is so sexy lol 😝
SO SICK
nice tunes
thanks for posting these videos.
awesome man! i still want a msq-700
More MSQ videos please!
those are some really nice tunes you made!
Again... Excellent!
nice melodies by the way.. soo good like always
very fun session
Love it
Ha :-) I remember Falco very well. Which of the three parts in this demo reminds you of him?
So awesome
Yo this goes so hard bro srsly
Very instructive and nice! Thanks! :-D
Bravo!!! 🙌🙌👏👏👏
Grazie!
thank you!! great video!
amazing piece of kit :) I know howard jones used 2 of these the 500 version on tour
Nice....thanks for sharing.
Simple set-up, good sounds.
You rule! This video is great.
Brilliant!
Awesome man!
very nice
Nice Roland,thank you Dave Smith!;-).
Actually there is quantization, the MSQ was set up at 16ths -
i love the italo vibes of your vids !
Yowza, thems some funky fresh beats yo!
Would you say that the 'sound' of Italo changed when MIDI sequencers came out? I guess it was easier to create Italian Hi-NRG with MIDI in the mid to late 80s than it would have been with CV and gates at the beginning of the 80s.
nice sound man
Did that thing have input Quantizing? My first sequencer was the Alesis MMT-8.. My sophomore year in HS! Amazing machines! I STILL use hardware sequencers! My K2600 runs everything in my studio! Post is on the Puter! This is an excellent video into Midi sequencing history!
That was my very first sequencer. I think I still have it somewhere.
Larry Wilson if you want to sell it, I'm here. lol
Bravo!
Yes. In the following year, in 1986, my friend Gerson Ortega bought the MC500 Roland sequencer. In 1987 I bought my MC500. In 1988 I made a video giving a class to a friend. See: ua-cam.com/video/QXjAua0V588/v-deo.html
Very much reminding me of Scotch
via MIDI clock
awesome
great italo sound!
I agree: A huge number of resources is not the best for creativity.
omg!!!
Cool!
Wonderful!!! ^_^
i got a chance to grab one of these.. im kinda thinking i should just grab it.. the msq that is
+Chris Nova777 Do it
I was looking for hardware MIDI sequencers, and I stumbled across your video. Your video triggered kind of some nostalgia in me (a neat thing!). I am a church organist and pianist, and I'm hoping to find a set-top MIDI sequencer that is more universal, to where I can work on things at home and play them in church when needed.
I was also listening to your music. It really ain't too bad. I MUCH rather listen to your music than that awful heavy metal and other CRAP using the stupid distorted electric guitar!
May God's peace be with ya--in the name of JESUS!
From John Nozum, a fellow musician
Faved
Thank you midi;)
Yes :)
Do you have the source of that info, like an article, book, interview etc? I'd love to read it