Roland MC-909

Roland MC-909
MC-909
Mc909.jpg
Manufactured by Roland
Dates 2002–2006
Price £1156 UK, $1795 US
Technical specifications
Polyphony 64-note
Timbrality 16-part
Oscillator Yes
LFO Yes
Synthesis type sampler (rompler)
Filter Yes
Memory ROM: 800 patches, 72 rhythm sets, RAM: 256 patches, 128 rhythm sets, Smartmedia cards
Effects reverb–delay, chorus–flanger
Input/output
Keyboard No
External control MIDI in/out, USB

The Roland MC-909 groovebox combines the features of a synthesizer, sequencer, and sampler. It was released by Roland Corporation on October 8, 2002. This product was announced at the AES Fall Convention in 2002. It is the successor to the Roland MC-303, Roland MC-307 and Roland MC-505, and is the predecessor to the Roland MC-808.

Contents

Sound generation

The MC-909 has a ROM-based sound generator (sometimes referred to as a rompler.) Its patches are built from up to four tones. The tones are based on waves stored in the machine. Patches can also utilize user-created samples. Roland's literature states that the MC-909 has "new-generation XV synthesis", the synth in the MC-909 is a very similar sound engine to that of the XV-5050 64-Voice Synthesizer Module.

The number of PCM waveforms is 693, ranging from vintage synths to strings, drums, guitars and pianos. It can be expanded by adding one SRX card from 12 different cards available.

The MC-909 is the first Roland groovebox to feature a sampler. It can record audio from any of the external audio inputs, SPDIF connectors, or import wav and aiff files from a computer using a USB port. The sampler can be upgraded up to a total of 272 MB RAM (16 MB User + 256 MB PC-100 or PC-133 168-Pin DIMM Module), and the samples can be also be stored on a 128 MB 3.3 volt Smartmedia card. The unit is also able to store on two 128 MB Smartmedia cards, if you have larger than 256 MB DATA in its user memory. There are tricks from user forum sites that have found ways to go beyond this limitation using xD-Picture Cards as other means for storage.

Sequencer

The MC-909's sequencer is based on pattern based composition. Each pattern has 16-tracks (parts.) Each part is set to a specific patch. There are a variety of editing modes: The main modes allow realtime recording, step recording and TR-REC recording. In step recording, notes or chords can be added one at a time. In TR-REC mode, each of the 16 pads represents a point along a musical measure. This speeds up the entry of percussion tracks. Patterns can be strung together into songs.

Performance

The MC-909 includes a number of features for real time performance. These include:

  • Muting/unmuting parts
  • Adjusting the level of parts
  • Turning on and off effects
  • Adjusting the tempo
  • Playing notes
  • Adjusting various parameters such as filter cutoff
  • Playing phrases on the fly (RPS mode)
  • Using Arpeggiator on the fly (with editable arp presets)
  • Twin D-Beam with 4 modes (incl. assignable mode)

Features

  • Sound generator with 64 note - voice polyphony
  • 16-track sequencer+Tempo/Mute Ctrl Track
  • 16MB sample memory (expandable to 272 MB max.)
  • SmartMedia card handling (8-128 MB) to store audio and midi files and backup (16MB)
  • Effects generator (24-bit reverb, two multi-effects processors, compression/EQ and mastering effects)
  • Large LCD screen
  • Expandable with SRX-series wave expansion boards, SmartMedia cards (smf,wav)
  • USB port for MIDI and transfer of data (full duplex) and for remote editing (groovemanager)
  • S/PDIF input and output plus coaxial I/O (digital)
  • Line In with selectable sources (line in,mic) for sampling, re-sampling
  • Dual D-Beam controllers (solosynth, cut+reso, turntable, assignable(midi))
  • Turntable emulation (pitch control, BPM control, hold, push)
  • Velocity sensitive pads
  • V-LINK connecting audio & video in performance

Compared to the MC-505

The follow features are not available on the MC-505 synth:

  1. Sampling ability.
  2. A huge editing LCD screen.
  3. A second D-Beam controller.
  4. Two extra filter modes.
  5. Stereo waveforms for your patches.
  6. Matrix Control, Random Modify and Fat controls.
  7. A mastering stage that features three-band compression and equalization.
  8. Turntable emulation.
  9. Morphing LFO waveforms.
  10. Sample machine gun feature.
  11. Velocity sensitive pads.
  12. Fully editable arpeggios.
  13. Chord memory.

The following features are available on the MC-505 but not on the MC-909:

  1. The MEGAMix function.
  2. The Portamento knob.
  3. The Groove knob. However, the groove/quantize functions are preserved under an editing menu.
  4. The ability to control the individual amount of delay assigned to each part.
  5. The Ad-Lib function from the D-Beam.

Most MC-909 users agree that both machines are different enough to justify keeping both of them and integrate them using a MIDI cable.

Users

The Roland MC-909 was used by the hip hop producer RZA while working on the movies Blade Trinity & Kill Bill. RZA uses many Roland products including the Roland Fantom, MV-8000 & Roland MV-8800. Another artist that uses the Roland MC-909 is Switchfoot keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas for live setups.

Criticisms

The Roland MC-909 received good reviews at tech magazines like Future Music and Sound on Sound. However it faced serious competition from the cheaper and more intuitive Yamaha RS7000. Many MC-909 users complained about several operating system bugs at the Yahoo! Groups forum and also Roland Clan Forums. In fact, even when the machine was released in 2002, it took Roland Corporation 5 years until some of the more complex bugs (like the inability to store RPS patterns) were fixed in the operating system upgrade v1.23 in early 2007.

Another common complaint refers to the unit's size, which makes it less portable than a laptop with a midi controller.

The sampler, although powerful, lacks the ability to set keyboard ranges for different samples, making it difficult to create realistic sounds from a set of multisamples. There is, however a work-around for this via an external editor on the PC & Mac called: MC-909 Editor Update v3.1, that is freely available for download at this site.

While no longer in production, the MC-909 can be bought these days second-hand at places like ebay for values closer to US$750.00 dollars or higher still if in mint condition.

  • Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) US$1,795.99 on October 8, 2002 - when they were first released by Roland Corporation**

Unsolved bugs

Several operating system bugs were gradually solved over time; the last operating system upgrade (Version 1.23) was introduced on March 30, 2007.

The current unsolved problems at the present moment are:

  • Many users complain that there is no sustain in Song Mode, resulting in a noticeable audio gapping between patterns. This is most noticeable as slower tempos. (Although different Machine, see also: MC-808 Roland MC-808#Unresolved issues)
  • Even when a part is set to EXT, the internal sound engine will continue to produce sounds. You can work this around by assigning a blank patch to that part; however this is not the expected behaviour described in the manual.
  • Going into MENU (e.g. USB transfer) resets the 909 to Preset Pattern 1 when you come out of menu.
  • Tracks 6 and 13 will not mute/unmute when pressed at the same time (introduced in v1.22)

There are current unresolved issues with the implementation of effects when switching patterns, but the MC-909 was "designed by specification". Roland might refer to the end users' requests for effects that sustain past the point when the pattern switches as they "developing a future new product".

The last operating system upgrade (Version 1.23), corrected few issue with:

  • RPS Setting, RPS Mixer WRITE editor of the contents of operation does not save a fixed point.
  • Import BMP features and functionality Realtime Erase fixed.
  • Song editing function has been strengthened.
  • Sounds & Effects strengthened, Stable for tuning various countries. (Roland Corp. Japan Trans: MC-909 VER. History List [1])

External links

MC-909 PDF Manual Links:

Other links:

Additional MC-909 studio tools:


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