Whats the best route from a JV1000?

[CptAardvark]

Hi. Curious if there’s a consensus on the most logical successor to the JV1000. I’m referring specifically to the sequencer side of things, as there seems to be no linear sequencer functionality on the FA or latest Fantom workstations. I’d love to stay in the Roland family as I’ve owned the JD800, JV80 and CM20 over the years and would rather not have to now fight with Logic etc. or a DAW.

Any comments appreciated.

Thanks.

[GMayle]

Not sure what you mean by linear sequencer. The Fantom 6 has a step-sequencer and a 'play a whole song' quantised sequencer. The FA series has no step sequencer but has a fairly easy to use editor to correct errors, and you can record in loops. Might I recommend the quite brilliant MC707? It's 8 track but you can bounce several tracks to one through on the onboard sampler and play them back on a drum pad (no limit on the number of drum tracks). The MC707 works in sequenced 128 step clips and can include samples in the tone tracks, but no multisamples. Each tone has 4 completely separate partials with separate envelopes, EQ, filter, and each partial has 2 mod slots, plus the 2 LFOs can additionally globally modulate Cutoff, Pitch, Pan, Amp. You can plug a midi k/b in and play the tone on each track by selecting it, or play the tones/drums/samples with the pads. I've used the MC707 non-stop since its release in 2019 and I would recommend it.

[CptAardvark]

Thanks for the response. In all honesty I had not even considered anything like a 'beatbox' unit and frankly, that's the opposite of how I like to work. I was mulling the Fantom but as it's geared towards using a TR style step and pattern sequencer entry, it's not going to work for me. By "linear" I mean like sequencers of old used to work; it's the 'tape model' where you can hit record and let it run, playing your part until you decide to stop. It's the complete opposite to building patterns and clips and assembling them into a song. While that may work for (increasingly!) some people, that mode kills my creative juices, so I am leaning towards a Korg Nautilus now, which does have a linear sequencer. (Even the Yamaha MODX units have a sequencer that can run longer than 32 bars but it's not like a true linear sequencer).

However, I do appreciate your showing me that a 'cheaper' way into accessing the great Zencore sounds might be by using an MC series device. I wouldn't use it to do any sequencing but it'd be cheaper than an Integra 7!

[GMayle]

The FA-06 has what you call a linear sequencer. I've got one and it has half the Integra 7 sounds (about 3500), a great arp and 'old style' but great-sounding drum machine. It's 16 track and plays samples, but you can't put them into the tones. It's nowhere near the Fantom or Kronos but the FA06 is pretty cheap now second hand. By the way if you just want the Zencore sounds, buy the MC101 instead, it's half the price and has all the same sounds as the 707. A standalone copy of Zenology Pro has 7000 plus Zencore sounds but is VST3 and not all DAWs support it. It has deep editing too. Good luck friend, hope you find your perfect workstation.