My last post on this topic, hope it gives you laugh...
Roland, I've made a tune using only the MC707. It's a worldwide, global number one hit. It's absolutely fantastic, everyone will love it. All it needs is a bit of sidechain compression to be ready for release. The one off the T8 would be fine. The tune is called 'Buy A Roland MC-707! (New Fantastic Sidechain Compressor Remix - Edit).
If that don't do it, people, nothing will. 😄
This is where you can tell Roland what you want from the next MC707 firmware update
Re: This is where you can tell Roland what you want from the next MC707 firmware update
There's already a master compressor on the MC707. All it needs is a few more params and a trigger input, make-up gain etc and it becomes the much sought-after Sidechain Compressor. Two new params on each pad/tone/looper, 'Use Master Compressor (Yes/No)' and 'Send to Master Compressor (0-100). That's all the MC707 requires to be our favourite-ever piece of Roland gear.
Re: This is where you can tell Roland what you want from the next MC707 firmware update
The biggest thing that would make the 707 so much easier to program would be the addition of a shift 'switch' that changes the function of the 24 knobs to either preprogrammable or user programmable synth controls. Allowing you to use those knobs to edit the ZEN core engine parameters.
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WarriorLite
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 08:44, 8 September 2022
Re: This is where you can tell Roland what you want from the next MC707 firmware update
There are a couple of performance related improvements that I would like to see.
Momentary buttons for an interrupted flow
-pad mode buttons could be also momentary when pressed longer excellent way to quickly access mute menu without getting out of the process you're in
-pressed notes - and arpeggios! - to persist throughout pad mode menu changing, so once you play a long node and want to mute some track the note doesn't get cut. I think it is some of the flagship electrons had this but I'm not shown out. Likewise, you may be playing around with arpeggios when the machine is stopped. Come up with some great arpeggio, and you may want to restart your clips, or even improvise on different channel, then and some drums in this could all be building up beautifully without you having to think how to preserve happy accidents
-muting a single drum pad with track select button pressed is a killer feature already, however the track select button could be operating as momentary in such a case, so that you wouldn't lose the focus of the track you were on before muting a kick for example.
The pro launchpads and some firmware mods for the non pro make it possible, and it's very useful with no side effects.
There is an extra that would be possible if the above are implemented.
-when in note mode, press several keys to play a chord and without releasing, long press chord pad mode button to learn the chord :)
SCALES
MC 707 already has the bunch of useful scales and the implementation is nice, however it can be further refined with this simple trick.
When in note mode on a tone track, pressing mute and a key could mute this key for every octave for this track (or even maybe for all tracks?)
As a result you have this button inactive and greyed as in drum mode by the way, so you can trim the existing scales to obtain even more scales, at no extra cost. This would prevent you from playing notes that simply don't match the project you're in.
Project scale building potential
You could create a scale of your own from scratch by getting into a scale builder menu and lighting up the notes you like.
Rather than select your key and then scale and then see what comes out which, if you are not a musician familiar with scales by heart, is a trial and error process every single time, you could select the notes that you like and make them into a scale. Rolands affiliated musical theorists may here suggest whether the root note is of any use still in such a case.
Light feedback of the played notes
-just like in drum mode, lighting up the notes that are playing would give you instant idea of what's happening
-in case of arpeggio being on, it will be the input notes that light up, so that you can easily pick it up and maybe add another note or mute by pressing one that is playing on the input.
Recording an arpeggio onto a MIDI clip
-Whether playback is on or off, if you just struck the arpeggio you like, pressing record could lay it down into a new midi clip.
-the length of the clip could be said to maximal, because it's easier to crop if needed, or it could be set to the length that correlates with the number of notes played in the sequence
Octave selection per-track
-if you're improvising on two tracks in different octaves alternately, you end up having to switch octaves back and forth. A simple solution would be for the machine to remember which octave you are in for each track.
-there is a workaround, you can simply select the octave manually I think, but in the creative process you may end up in different octaves than planned and you shouldn't be pushed around as you get creative.
MC 707 already feels like pretty amazing piece of hardware, but those little tweaks could make the experience even more tactile, even more intuitive, the best theories on the market in terms of hands on experience.
Other improvements:
-duplicate clip in clip edit menu, as in ableton, so that you don't have to fiddle around with copy and paste to be in sync with clip matrix navigation.
Momentary buttons for an interrupted flow
-pad mode buttons could be also momentary when pressed longer excellent way to quickly access mute menu without getting out of the process you're in
-pressed notes - and arpeggios! - to persist throughout pad mode menu changing, so once you play a long node and want to mute some track the note doesn't get cut. I think it is some of the flagship electrons had this but I'm not shown out. Likewise, you may be playing around with arpeggios when the machine is stopped. Come up with some great arpeggio, and you may want to restart your clips, or even improvise on different channel, then and some drums in this could all be building up beautifully without you having to think how to preserve happy accidents
-muting a single drum pad with track select button pressed is a killer feature already, however the track select button could be operating as momentary in such a case, so that you wouldn't lose the focus of the track you were on before muting a kick for example.
The pro launchpads and some firmware mods for the non pro make it possible, and it's very useful with no side effects.
There is an extra that would be possible if the above are implemented.
-when in note mode, press several keys to play a chord and without releasing, long press chord pad mode button to learn the chord :)
SCALES
MC 707 already has the bunch of useful scales and the implementation is nice, however it can be further refined with this simple trick.
When in note mode on a tone track, pressing mute and a key could mute this key for every octave for this track (or even maybe for all tracks?)
As a result you have this button inactive and greyed as in drum mode by the way, so you can trim the existing scales to obtain even more scales, at no extra cost. This would prevent you from playing notes that simply don't match the project you're in.
Project scale building potential
You could create a scale of your own from scratch by getting into a scale builder menu and lighting up the notes you like.
Rather than select your key and then scale and then see what comes out which, if you are not a musician familiar with scales by heart, is a trial and error process every single time, you could select the notes that you like and make them into a scale. Rolands affiliated musical theorists may here suggest whether the root note is of any use still in such a case.
Light feedback of the played notes
-just like in drum mode, lighting up the notes that are playing would give you instant idea of what's happening
-in case of arpeggio being on, it will be the input notes that light up, so that you can easily pick it up and maybe add another note or mute by pressing one that is playing on the input.
Recording an arpeggio onto a MIDI clip
-Whether playback is on or off, if you just struck the arpeggio you like, pressing record could lay it down into a new midi clip.
-the length of the clip could be said to maximal, because it's easier to crop if needed, or it could be set to the length that correlates with the number of notes played in the sequence
Octave selection per-track
-if you're improvising on two tracks in different octaves alternately, you end up having to switch octaves back and forth. A simple solution would be for the machine to remember which octave you are in for each track.
-there is a workaround, you can simply select the octave manually I think, but in the creative process you may end up in different octaves than planned and you shouldn't be pushed around as you get creative.
MC 707 already feels like pretty amazing piece of hardware, but those little tweaks could make the experience even more tactile, even more intuitive, the best theories on the market in terms of hands on experience.
Other improvements:
-duplicate clip in clip edit menu, as in ableton, so that you don't have to fiddle around with copy and paste to be in sync with clip matrix navigation.