Roland Clan Forums

Hi... longtime Roland user (from SH-101, Juno 106 days), first post in rolandclan. I'm considering grabbing a SonicCell for use as a backing machine and sound module for solo and duo gigs. I'd imagine that there are guys (or gals) here who already do that. Right now, I do my drum/bass/etc. tracks on my Yamaha Motif 7. At a point, you run out of sequencer memory, so you have to break up songs into lists, which becomes a pain at gigs. But what I like is the ability to play any Motif sound along with the song as a selected "traack" that is not recorded.

So, as I understand the SonicCell thus far, I could play back SMF files... I can't see anywhere where it supports Roland's proprietary sequence format (like the XP-80, Fantoms, etc.). So therefore, I would be stuck with the GM soundset for backing tracks, correct?

Also, what are your options for using its sounds while playing back? Could I play a SonicCell (non-GM) synth part along with an SMF? With an MP3 or WAV?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I've listened to the demos and really like what I'm hearing.

-- Andy

Earlier Motif systems have timing issues, so if you plan to use Cubase to sequence up midi, non-GM or otherwise, you will have issues as noted on cubase.net.

The SonicCell is Roland's latest innovation besides ARX cards, and has not been discontinued as yet.

As far as I know you can only play audio files OR music sequences but not both together, hopefully someone here can clarify.

wave/aif/mp3/smf
but only 1 type- you can't mix audio and midi.

You also are not stuck using GM.

javaj -- do I take that to mean that you can use a single playback type (out of the .wav, .aif, .mp3 and .smf choices) PLUS the SonicCell's synth engine concurrently? This is essentially what will decide whether or not I'll pick one up....

Thanks!!

If you play back Audio files- you can also play back the internal synth (single or performance). On the midi side, I believe you will need to ensure you are playing on a channel that the midi file is not using.