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Average rating:
3.7 out of 5
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Got one in '99 and sold it in 2000. Missed it a bit and got another one in 2001. Sold it early this year, and you know what, Im missin it again a little bit. There's somethin about this machine, that get's you hooked on it. Not sure what it is or if its a combo of things, but this machine is not something to be dissed. It DOES have a bit of Roland magic in it. It will live forever. Im thinkin about gettin another one now that they are selling for $200. Its a lot of value for only $200. btw, I've been playin with electronics since 1967 and I have never had a piece of gear like this that keeps comin back to me. Kinda bizarre, but I like it.
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I traded my SP-303 for this machine yesterday, and it is a very good machine indeed. I just made an amazing low end d'n'b track, ala Mick Harris. The samples, while dated, are quite useable, and I'm quite glad that there are drum samples from teh CR-78 and the TR-606 as well. While I suppose that everyone and their mothers have one of these by now, I'm sure that with a little time and effort one could make this box sing. I haven't quite figured out how to use it with the rest of my midi gear, but it is quite excellent just to work on when away from the studio. Even the main engineer at Sweetwater has one, and says that he'll never sell it. I'm not sure if I'll commit myself like that to this machine, quite yet.. But I am quite impressed.
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I purchased my 303 used for 300 bucks. This is a machine you must learn despite it's non threatening appearence, low cost, and whatever you think you may know about programming music. I've had this box for about three months and the more time i spend with it the more rewarding the results. I was about to return it after the first week but something told me to stick with it.
Primarily, I use the 303 as a drum module. I tune my kicks to my bass lines and/or samples which is what i used to do with my sampler until i had to sell it. You can adjust the pitch of any sound in the 303--a plus for me.
The synth sounds are left for debate as some of them are cliche or boring while others are inspiring or, at least, usable.
I don't know if this is a memory thing but when you have a lot going on(with patterns and parts) the hi hats get "sloppy". Now, actually, I love that this happens...makes my hi hats sound pete rockish. The only gripe is that when I track my beats out, the hi hats aren't sloppy when I mute the other parts out. (By them selves the hi hats are tsst tsst tsst tsst but when other parts are playing they sound like thssst thssst thssst thssst).
For 300 bucks, I understand why some people expect a toy. Those people WILL get bored as the 303 is a professional tool. It's character and power are latent and will not be unleashed by auditioning the sounds or twisting knobs. The 303 provides enough MIDI editing capabilities and sounds(though much more limited sonically) to warrant a higher price tag....arguably. And anyone willing to put a little time and effort into programming this box will be in for a beat...I mean treat.
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Hello!, I just got my MC-303 yesterday!! It's very complicated, but it's easy all at the same time. It's hard to know which buttons make the sound, and when. And which buttons you can use, and which knobs do what to which sound. But anyway, I suppose I just have to read the manual all the way thru, step by step. Overall I think it is really good though!! Cool sounds!
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A lot of the gripes about this machine are from people who have obviously not read the manual. Yes you can save settings made to a pattern by pressing shift function and 15. It does suck that you can't individually set the delay/reverb for each part and the memory is quite low. But for my purpose, which was to get ahead of the learning curve making electronic music, this machine went above and beyond. Althought, why does everyone always talk about how great the drums sound on this thing? My $200 Yamaha DJX drum sounds blow it out of the water. Now that is a fun little cheapo machine.
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