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Average rating:
3.7 out of 5
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Had mine for about a year and a few months now (or is it two years now... hrmmm), still playing with it. The MC303 was my first piece of gear, and still remains a staple of my sound source (although abit limited). I don't know why everybody bitches so much about the MIDI situation. I synched up a fatman up to it, using the the first track to boost up the "analogue-ishness" of the box, and I had no problems with it. Used my friend's sampler on the end of the fatman and I controlled the sampler from the MC. I have yet to run into a problem with memory space. Simple solution for all your memory problems with the MC303.... Use a damn midi interface for your computer and dump it. It's not that hard people. Also, store any muted parts in the earlier sections *ala L01 etc*. Saves space for those who don't have an interface. This is also pretty cool.
RPS sets CAN be re-written.... It's easy. Friggen RTFM. Big fun for live stuff, esp. when sent to another synth, sampler, etc.
I love the programming interface, step-time is still my favorite way to record, rather than real-time, mostly because I'm prone to screw up playing. Note: Make sure you edit the sounds LAST. That way they'll stick when you record them... They do stay.....
Sounds: I still use them. And like them. I'll put them in 32nd notes, and set the attack to zilch and have a nice zzztt sound. The onboard effects can be quite useful for de-toning them.
Overall: It's what the price you pay for it is.... All this: "Oh, just go out and buy such and such used gear" is a load of shit. When you live in LA, and music toys are everywhere, it might not be too bad, but if your scene sucks for used gear, and costs quad-digits for all that "retro" gear(like mine scene in MA), go for it. It's better than buying a Casio and farting on that for a while.
Oh, and BTW, Samplers blow big hairy goats. Can you say "Uncreativity"?
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Unknown, Are you sure you want a TB-303? Is this your first piece of gear, or do you have your sights set on something specific to add to your current setup. One thing that I as a professional user would have to disagree with is the comment that as a first price of gear this isn't a good instrument. Those of you who like me, started making electronic music as a hobby, and didn't have the capitol to invest in a complex setup should understand that having access to a piece of gear that encompasses basic sound synthesis concepts (ie. vcf, vca, lfo, effects processing, etc.), 8 track sixteen step and real-time sequence programming (for drum and synth sounds), and a half decent sound engine all for around $500 (now under $200) is really an amazing thing considering these are almost all of the concepts you need to be familiar with before you get into the big power. I admit, mine is gathering dust now, but it did serve its purpose, and i still occasionally pull it out at gigs to play some of my older tracks that I sequenced on it. An extremely under-rated machine, but definately not a TB-303.
Peaceout
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damn, can sombody try to explain that thing to me ? i've never heard that many different oppinions about a synth ... never had one, looking for a kind of tb303, with not that many keys u know ;)
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Now we are finally getting some very intelligent remarks here. The last rack of six or so (maybe 8) comments have inspired me to speak up too. YES I'm so glad to hear all these positive words from some astute musicians out there. I absolutely do agree the MC-303 is BIG FUN when you know what you are doing and you use it with other good gear like a MC-50 or an MMT-8 and perhaps a decent sampler. Throw a cool R-8 into the works and you've got a hell of a band going. These are all fairly cheap used pieces of gear that will rock together very well.
I am a sequencer & drum machine freak and this 303 does both very nicely. Of course it has it's limitations but hell it's cheap and it works. The main thing it does so well is to give you endless creative ideas, motivation and buzz to get your ideas from inside into the outside easily without going through too much massive programming (which in my case kills my spontaneity and enthusiasm.
Don't let anyone tell you this box isn't worth it- and don't let anyone tell you this is all you need It is one hell of a funky band member though who does not get tired and who's full of new possibilities for pros and hobbyists alike. The key is to HAVE FUN & KEEP IT SIMPLE and this unit will help you do just that. Keep on Jammin'!!!!!!
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The alternative uses of this machine justify it's existance, if you're simply going to use this as it was probably intended aka, cheese rave patterns etc, presets galore, and techno which is worse than the awful Whitney Houston/Cher etc. endeavours into dance music.
But as a sequencer and drum machine it seems this machine can be an intresting and in my opinion a very useful tool. Just a word to the wise, i'd buy other gear before I'd buy this box, as it will never be the epicenter of your midi studio, moreover it can and will be a useful tool for quickly getting ideas/beats sequenced, heck for the price nothing beats it (pun intended.). Heck even a used mc-50 will cost you probably more than what these go for.
My pluses: Useable drums/drum computer, quick easy sequencing, buckets of pcm sample (most are decent to average), good/fair midi timing, some good efx, real time controlls, and really just ease of use.
My negatives: Weird and sometimes erratic timing (can be a benefit too), sounds are ok but a lot will sound very stale, worst complaint: lack of external storage and only 30k notes held within, and if you add any filter or setting changes real time the 30k notes goes down to a measly 4 or 5k of notes, which is pathetic. why on earth did roland stick 80 million cheesy presets in the machine, and limit the internal storage to almost nothing, seems to me they wanted to please everyone from kids with no musical knowledge or skills (preset mongers), and at the same time offer just enough features to make it useful to real gigging and original artists like myself. Also the filters are quite bland and weak, not bad but not as good as they can be, see a waldorf synth for an example of a really good digital filter, it can be done roland opted to cut corners I think probably in a vein effort to save money.
All in all this box has as much going for it as it has going against it, sort of a yin yang affair, only thing I suggest is to ignore all of the ridiculous hype and make your own decisions about it.
-Nubey
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