One of the 307's basic features is its ability to bring percussion parts in and out using the Rhythm Mute function. It's great for adding drama to a track, but there's a limitation that is useful to know about before you begin any serious percussion programming, especially if you work with User Rhythm Sets (which I recommend).
For background, see Manual page 159, first column, where it reads "Rhythm Group". This lists each key's drum tone assignment (B1 - D7) and tells you that if you want to silence any and all tones in its Group, hit the corresponding Mute button. Those keys with, say, hihats in one Preset Kit (F#2, G#2, etc.) also have hihats in all the others, making life easy...if you limit yourself to the Presets.
But what the manual doesn't tell you is this:
It is not the sounds themselves that are covered by that particular Mute button, but the KEYS the Mute button is assigned to.
In other words, the BD Mute button only covers these six keys -- B1, C2, B2, C3, B6 and C7, as the Rhythm Group column indicates. And the CLP button covers three, TOM/PERC covers 25, etc.
Why is this important?
Because if you create a User Rhythm Set and assign, say, a kick drum tone to key F#2, you will not be able to mute that kick with the BD Part Mute button, because it's the HH button that covers F#2.
Now you can certainly mute that kick just by hitting the HH button instead. But...what if you've got hihats playing too, and you don't want to mute both them and that kick drum simultaneously? Sorry, you're out of luck.
If you don't work with User Rhythm Sets, this is less important to remember, since (as I say above) all the Preset Kits have the same basic layout. But you will probably decide eventually that you'd like to get more creative with percussion, and this will become an issue.
Since Roland does not allow us to change the way the keys and Part Mute buttons interact, it makes sense either 1) to assign your drum tones according to the same layout the Preset Kits have, or 2) to create your own system that somehow takes this layout into account.
...Why consider this? Because I've learned from embarrassing gig mistakes that the less I have to think onstage, the smoother a performance goes. If I know I can always mute my hihats with the HH key, I can concentrate on the music, not f@[king logistics.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Percussion tuning, toning and timing
Had a good beatmaking session last night. Really good. A couple of hours after I started, I had a polished eight-bar loop that had my head bobbing and my hands drumming like a sixth-grader's on my knees, my thighs, my tabletop, finally getting me off the couch, bopping around in my underwear as far from my 307 as my headphone cable would let me go. Still sounded great this morning; listening to it again (and again) made me late for work, but it was totally worth it. ...Yeah.
Thinking about it en route to the dayjob, I realized that what allowed me to get to this point was what I'd been doing the previous few nights: Accumulating a good set of percussion tones in a User Rhythm Set, and then tweaking each one so that they all go together -- i.e., when played as a group they sound like music, not just a bunch of individually awesome yet poorly matched noises.
Now this task took a lot of time and patience, and doing it was not fun in and of itself. But it was absolutely critical to making me enjoy what I heard both while composing and afterward. And that has to happen if an audience is ever going to enjoy it.
So for those of you who have been making EM for years, this may be old hat, but it's worth repeating something I learned years ago:
A good drum part is a complete composition in itself. It has more than just good rhythm -- it has good melody and harmony too.
Listen to any great techno composer, someone who can combine just four or five drum tones and still somehow make you enjoy listening to them loop for minutes on end. Some of the reasons this magic happens? Each drum hit 1) has a pitch that harmonizes with the others, 2) has a tone and volume that make it heard clearly but in balance with the others (i.e. it doesn't overpower), and 3) takes up just the right amount of time and space...it fills up some air but lets the rest of the pattern breathe.
Much of achieving this balance is an art that can't be quantified. But one key to controlling your art is by tweaking each and every tone you use, which on the 307 means creating and fine-tuning a User Rhythm Set. Once you've gathered your drum tones, the number of parameters available for fine-tuning them (pp. 105-112 in the manual) is a bit overwhelming, but you can do a lot with these four:
-Coarse tune: Each +/-1 you change it adjusts the pitch by a semitone, or the difference between two adjacent keys on the piano. If you know even a little about harmony, you can tune your percussion hits so they don't clash with one another or the synths. (Only mess with Fine tune if you get close but can't quite tune a drum hit perfectly.)
-Filter type and cutoff: Allows you to adjust how bright a drum tone is. Using an LPF with a cutoff of 80 or higher will usually give you a darker sound, for example. Filters can help to minimize those frequencies/overtones that can annoy the ears over time.
-Amp envelope time: Gives you control over how long a drum tone lasts. Cranking these down appropriately can turn a cymbal crash into, say, a short click.
-Amp tone level: Gives you far greater control over the tone's volume than you get through the Wave/Key: Gain parameter alone, which only gives you four choices (-6, 0, +6, +12 dB). Experiment with adjusting both parameters for a better mix/balance.
If these ideas seem relatively new to you, first get comfortable with what these parameters do, then try this experiment:
Take a cool but simple two- to four-bar percussion loop -- one that uses only 4-5 drum tones and preferably no distracting synths -- from a track you like. Copy it into your sampler/looper (if you have one) or keep your player's rewind button handy so you can listen to it and your 307 simultaneously. Now: How would you go about reproducing this loop on your 307? What drum tones would you bring into a User Kit in order to remake it? If the drum tones aren't quite the same as the loop's, how would you adjust them?
...I find that not only is it great practice and ear training to see how close I can get, but the beauty of it is that I rarely remake that loop exactly. I learn a lot, and I also end up with a loop and balanced set of percussion tones I can recast as I like for use in my own tracks.
Thinking about it en route to the dayjob, I realized that what allowed me to get to this point was what I'd been doing the previous few nights: Accumulating a good set of percussion tones in a User Rhythm Set, and then tweaking each one so that they all go together -- i.e., when played as a group they sound like music, not just a bunch of individually awesome yet poorly matched noises.
Now this task took a lot of time and patience, and doing it was not fun in and of itself. But it was absolutely critical to making me enjoy what I heard both while composing and afterward. And that has to happen if an audience is ever going to enjoy it.
So for those of you who have been making EM for years, this may be old hat, but it's worth repeating something I learned years ago:
A good drum part is a complete composition in itself. It has more than just good rhythm -- it has good melody and harmony too.
Listen to any great techno composer, someone who can combine just four or five drum tones and still somehow make you enjoy listening to them loop for minutes on end. Some of the reasons this magic happens? Each drum hit 1) has a pitch that harmonizes with the others, 2) has a tone and volume that make it heard clearly but in balance with the others (i.e. it doesn't overpower), and 3) takes up just the right amount of time and space...it fills up some air but lets the rest of the pattern breathe.
Much of achieving this balance is an art that can't be quantified. But one key to controlling your art is by tweaking each and every tone you use, which on the 307 means creating and fine-tuning a User Rhythm Set. Once you've gathered your drum tones, the number of parameters available for fine-tuning them (pp. 105-112 in the manual) is a bit overwhelming, but you can do a lot with these four:
-Coarse tune: Each +/-1 you change it adjusts the pitch by a semitone, or the difference between two adjacent keys on the piano. If you know even a little about harmony, you can tune your percussion hits so they don't clash with one another or the synths. (Only mess with Fine tune if you get close but can't quite tune a drum hit perfectly.)
-Filter type and cutoff: Allows you to adjust how bright a drum tone is. Using an LPF with a cutoff of 80 or higher will usually give you a darker sound, for example. Filters can help to minimize those frequencies/overtones that can annoy the ears over time.
-Amp envelope time: Gives you control over how long a drum tone lasts. Cranking these down appropriately can turn a cymbal crash into, say, a short click.
-Amp tone level: Gives you far greater control over the tone's volume than you get through the Wave/Key: Gain parameter alone, which only gives you four choices (-6, 0, +6, +12 dB). Experiment with adjusting both parameters for a better mix/balance.
If these ideas seem relatively new to you, first get comfortable with what these parameters do, then try this experiment:
Take a cool but simple two- to four-bar percussion loop -- one that uses only 4-5 drum tones and preferably no distracting synths -- from a track you like. Copy it into your sampler/looper (if you have one) or keep your player's rewind button handy so you can listen to it and your 307 simultaneously. Now: How would you go about reproducing this loop on your 307? What drum tones would you bring into a User Kit in order to remake it? If the drum tones aren't quite the same as the loop's, how would you adjust them?
...I find that not only is it great practice and ear training to see how close I can get, but the beauty of it is that I rarely remake that loop exactly. I learn a lot, and I also end up with a loop and balanced set of percussion tones I can recast as I like for use in my own tracks.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Online 307 Music, #2
Here are a few tracks I've found that were made solely or primarily with the 307. The first two producers are 307 Beats readers.
As I've mentioned, I'll primarily post tracks that are made with the 307 alone, so that users can hear what can be done with it. But a few extra sounds are OK as long as we know what's what. Enjoy!
Gastón
...who says: "Two ideas made with the 307 only."
www.beatncore.com/mp3/exp/307jam.mp3
www.beatncore.com/mp3/exp/307jam2.mp3
Ytrium
...who says: "This industrial hardtek track entitled '29,4 km' was partly done on the 307 (the sound at the beginning, the beepy loop starting around 01:50, the pad in the middle part, another beepy sound starting at 04:18 and some drums -- the complete R part can be heard at the very end)."
rapidshare.com/files/307066372/2007_12_29_4_km.mp3.htm
Tek&Mat
A French producer who describes himself as a beginner. His MySpace tracks are all made with the 307 except for a few vocal samples.
www.myspace.com/tekemat
As I've mentioned, I'll primarily post tracks that are made with the 307 alone, so that users can hear what can be done with it. But a few extra sounds are OK as long as we know what's what. Enjoy!
Gastón
...who says: "Two ideas made with the 307 only."
www.beatncore.com/mp3/exp/307jam.mp3
www.beatncore.com/mp3/exp/307jam2.mp3
Ytrium
...who says: "This industrial hardtek track entitled '29,4 km' was partly done on the 307 (the sound at the beginning, the beepy loop starting around 01:50, the pad in the middle part, another beepy sound starting at 04:18 and some drums -- the complete R part can be heard at the very end)."
rapidshare.com/files/307066372/2007_12_29_4_km.mp3.htm
Tek&Mat
A French producer who describes himself as a beginner. His MySpace tracks are all made with the 307 except for a few vocal samples.
www.myspace.com/tekemat
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Checking your Operating System version
The manual does not indicate how to check which OS version your 307 uses, but it's easy to do:
With your 307 turned off, simultaneously hold the [SONG] + [SYSTEM] + [BPM] buttons. Then power up while holding them, and in a few moments the screen will reveal your OS version.
To the best of my knowledge, the latest version is OS 1.03.
NOTE: I recently discovered that my 307 runs OS 1.02. I bought my 307 used, and so far I have not found 1.03 online...Roland probably does not provide it anymore. Consequently, readers of this blog should be aware of two things:
1. Comments I post will reflect my experiences with OS 1.02. If you run version 1.03, there will probably be occasional differences.
2. If anyone knows where to find OS 1.03 online, please contact me and I will post on the topic, along with download instructions.
UPDATE: To find OS 1.03 online, see my post here. (As of April 2010 I have not updated my OS yet however.)
With your 307 turned off, simultaneously hold the [SONG] + [SYSTEM] + [BPM] buttons. Then power up while holding them, and in a few moments the screen will reveal your OS version.
To the best of my knowledge, the latest version is OS 1.03.
NOTE: I recently discovered that my 307 runs OS 1.02. I bought my 307 used, and so far I have not found 1.03 online...Roland probably does not provide it anymore. Consequently, readers of this blog should be aware of two things:
1. Comments I post will reflect my experiences with OS 1.02. If you run version 1.03, there will probably be occasional differences.
2. If anyone knows where to find OS 1.03 online, please contact me and I will post on the topic, along with download instructions.
UPDATE: To find OS 1.03 online, see my post here. (As of April 2010 I have not updated my OS yet however.)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Using effects on individual drums
Here are a few thoughts on applying the effects (reverb, delay, & M-FX) to individual drum tones:
In general, effects apply equally to every tone on the Rhythm part; each tone's effects are not individually adjustable from the SETUP menu. However, I've found two ways to get around this.
The first way is to create your own User rhythm set (see manual pp. 105 - 113) and then choose how its individual drum tones receive each effect (page 112). This isn't too hard if you're only planning to adjust the effects on one or two tones -- say, your snare and kick drum. It's a bigger pain to do this for a large number of drum tones, but it can be done, and I suspect the extra effort could inject a lot of personality into a track. But if you do it, keep in mind that your new rhythm set's drum tones will now possess these same effects settings in every other pattern you create with it -- so plan ahead.
The second way is to dedicate one of the other parts (1-7) to the percussion sound you want, and then adjust the part's effects from the SETUP menu. This way is unquestionably easier and won't affect how the rhythm set sounds in other patterns. It also allows you to adjust the tone's volume, pan, etc. more directly. But in doing this you sacrifice a part, so be sure you can live with fewer synth voices.
...Thanks to reader Drewzle for his question about this.
In general, effects apply equally to every tone on the Rhythm part; each tone's effects are not individually adjustable from the SETUP menu. However, I've found two ways to get around this.
The first way is to create your own User rhythm set (see manual pp. 105 - 113) and then choose how its individual drum tones receive each effect (page 112). This isn't too hard if you're only planning to adjust the effects on one or two tones -- say, your snare and kick drum. It's a bigger pain to do this for a large number of drum tones, but it can be done, and I suspect the extra effort could inject a lot of personality into a track. But if you do it, keep in mind that your new rhythm set's drum tones will now possess these same effects settings in every other pattern you create with it -- so plan ahead.
The second way is to dedicate one of the other parts (1-7) to the percussion sound you want, and then adjust the part's effects from the SETUP menu. This way is unquestionably easier and won't affect how the rhythm set sounds in other patterns. It also allows you to adjust the tone's volume, pan, etc. more directly. But in doing this you sacrifice a part, so be sure you can live with fewer synth voices.
...Thanks to reader Drewzle for his question about this.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Fun with drum tweaking
My recent string of houseguests has made it difficult for me to find much quality time to experiment with the 307...and I am still very much in the experimental stage.
When time is limited, I give myself a goal to focus on for those moments I have to spare. Still, many recent opportunities got squandered on digging into amp envelope settings and other less-than-useful minutiae, accomplishing nothing other than dragging me far into the synthesis weeds. (They're both tall and deep, folks.) But as the frustration grew, I finally had an epiphany, which was:
If I've only got 45 minutes, avoid scrolling through menus as much as possible, and see what can be done with the "surface" of the 307.
...This, it turns out, was wisdom. And it led me to a fun session of drum tweaking.
Some of the below ideas you may recognize from previous posts, but it was satisfying to put them all together.
Setup:
1. Choose a favorite pattern, and mute all the parts except the drum part. Save this "new" pattern to the adjacent slot (i.e. original at U.025 and drums-only at U.026, or whatever).
2. Using Knob Assign, set one user knob (F1-4) to adjust Key Shift.
3. On the drums-only pattern, using Part Select, choose the R part. Then hit Rhythm Mute so you are ready to bring the different drum parts in and out easily.
4. If you've got a Multi-FX setting you like to use on drums (Lo-Fi, Flanger, etc.), choose it via the Setup -> Part Mixer menu. Make sure that the R part is channeled through M-FX, and that the Grab switch is also enabled to affect M-FX.
What's cool about setting up this way: You now have lots of controls set to change the drum tones, and all you have to do to get at them is mess with the Red Arrow button occasionally. Tweak for drama:
-Cutoff and Resonance provide those "classic" filter sweep sounds
-F1/2 Reverb adds/cuts depth, F4 Delay adjusts echo feedback
-F1/2/3 M-FX adjusts that effect's sound
-The Grab switch is available to bring the M-FX in/out
-Whatever Knob Assignment you've set for Key Shift lets you create breaks (see previous post, "Easy breaks with Key Shift") and/or change the drum tones across the board
-The Rhythm Mute buttons are ready to cut/cue drum parts
-If you want to go back to the original drum sounds, hit DEC then INC in quick succession while the pattern is playing. When it loops back to measure 1, all your tweaked changes will vanish. Start tweaking again and head off in a different direction...repeat as desired.
-If you want to go back to your original pattern, all you have to do is hit DEC, and the synths come back in when the pattern changes.
With a bit of thought, a lot of these ideas can probably be applied pretty easily to synth soloing too. Enjoy...I did.
P.S.: If you really want to make things easier on yourself, select your four favorite parameters using Knob Assign, making sure to include Key Shift and a couple of Reverb/Delay/M-FX parameters. Then you won't even have to touch the Red Arrow Button.
When time is limited, I give myself a goal to focus on for those moments I have to spare. Still, many recent opportunities got squandered on digging into amp envelope settings and other less-than-useful minutiae, accomplishing nothing other than dragging me far into the synthesis weeds. (They're both tall and deep, folks.) But as the frustration grew, I finally had an epiphany, which was:
If I've only got 45 minutes, avoid scrolling through menus as much as possible, and see what can be done with the "surface" of the 307.
...This, it turns out, was wisdom. And it led me to a fun session of drum tweaking.
Some of the below ideas you may recognize from previous posts, but it was satisfying to put them all together.
Setup:
1. Choose a favorite pattern, and mute all the parts except the drum part. Save this "new" pattern to the adjacent slot (i.e. original at U.025 and drums-only at U.026, or whatever).
2. Using Knob Assign, set one user knob (F1-4) to adjust Key Shift.
3. On the drums-only pattern, using Part Select, choose the R part. Then hit Rhythm Mute so you are ready to bring the different drum parts in and out easily.
4. If you've got a Multi-FX setting you like to use on drums (Lo-Fi, Flanger, etc.), choose it via the Setup -> Part Mixer menu. Make sure that the R part is channeled through M-FX, and that the Grab switch is also enabled to affect M-FX.
What's cool about setting up this way: You now have lots of controls set to change the drum tones, and all you have to do to get at them is mess with the Red Arrow button occasionally. Tweak for drama:
-Cutoff and Resonance provide those "classic" filter sweep sounds
-F1/2 Reverb adds/cuts depth, F4 Delay adjusts echo feedback
-F1/2/3 M-FX adjusts that effect's sound
-The Grab switch is available to bring the M-FX in/out
-Whatever Knob Assignment you've set for Key Shift lets you create breaks (see previous post, "Easy breaks with Key Shift") and/or change the drum tones across the board
-The Rhythm Mute buttons are ready to cut/cue drum parts
-If you want to go back to the original drum sounds, hit DEC then INC in quick succession while the pattern is playing. When it loops back to measure 1, all your tweaked changes will vanish. Start tweaking again and head off in a different direction...repeat as desired.
-If you want to go back to your original pattern, all you have to do is hit DEC, and the synths come back in when the pattern changes.
With a bit of thought, a lot of these ideas can probably be applied pretty easily to synth soloing too. Enjoy...I did.
P.S.: If you really want to make things easier on yourself, select your four favorite parameters using Knob Assign, making sure to include Key Shift and a couple of Reverb/Delay/M-FX parameters. Then you won't even have to touch the Red Arrow Button.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Contacting the blog author
If you want to contact me, please read this...
Several readers have sent messages regarding previous posts. Thanks for your comments everyone! I started this blog hoping it would be a resource for everyone who creates with the 307, and I'm glad to see it helping.
As the readership grows, some entries will need to be updated... especially whenever I discover I am wrong about something. If you see something that needs to be changed or expanded, it's OK to comment below the entry. I'll test your idea and if it works, I'll correct the original entry as soon as possible.
A few notes:
1. I'd rather not force readers to go through every comment to find the information they need. For this reason, if you comment directly, especially about my errors, I will change the blog entry text, but I may not post your actual response...I don't want to seem rude, so please be aware of this.
2. Blogger does not allow me to reply privately to comment authors. So if you need to talk offline, please email me instead. You can reach me at NOSPAMdubathonic (at) gmail (dot) com
3. I'm very interested in tips/tricks from readers. If you send any, I'll blog about them and will credit you as the discoverer.
4. If you have created any music with the 307, please post it on another site (MySpace, Virb, etc.) so I can link to it. Blogger does not allow me to post mp3s directly.
I'm always happy to hear from you -- thanks again for your input!
Several readers have sent messages regarding previous posts. Thanks for your comments everyone! I started this blog hoping it would be a resource for everyone who creates with the 307, and I'm glad to see it helping.
As the readership grows, some entries will need to be updated... especially whenever I discover I am wrong about something. If you see something that needs to be changed or expanded, it's OK to comment below the entry. I'll test your idea and if it works, I'll correct the original entry as soon as possible.
A few notes:
1. I'd rather not force readers to go through every comment to find the information they need. For this reason, if you comment directly, especially about my errors, I will change the blog entry text, but I may not post your actual response...I don't want to seem rude, so please be aware of this.
2. Blogger does not allow me to reply privately to comment authors. So if you need to talk offline, please email me instead. You can reach me at NOSPAMdubathonic (at) gmail (dot) com
3. I'm very interested in tips/tricks from readers. If you send any, I'll blog about them and will credit you as the discoverer.
4. If you have created any music with the 307, please post it on another site (MySpace, Virb, etc.) so I can link to it. Blogger does not allow me to post mp3s directly.
I'm always happy to hear from you -- thanks again for your input!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Two notes on moving patches and parts
Two recent discoveries I've made concern moving patches and parts from one pattern to another. There are limits to what we can do here, but it's possible to use them to our advantage.
1. If you want to copy a part from one pattern to another pattern (see manual page 76), you have to copy it to the same part number it occupied in the first pattern. It is evidently impossible* to copy it onto a different part in the new pattern. (In other words, if you want to move the melody you wrote for pattern U.001 part 4 to pattern U.002, you can only move it to U.002's part 4.)
This limitation makes a good case for laying your tracks out in the same general way every time. So for example: If you always use part 1 for bassline, parts 2-5 for melody and pads, and parts 6-7 for extra percussion and sound effects, you'll be able to move parts between patterns with less restriction. It also means less to think about when you're muting parts on the fly for dramatic effect.
*UPDATE: Apparently you CAN move data to different parts if you run OS 1.03 (my 307 runs 1.02, unfortunately). Thanks to Gastón for pointing this out in the comments below.
2. If you're planning to make a series of patterns that will use the same group of patches, but that nonetheless are going to sound very distinct from one another (i.e. different rhythms, melodies, time signatures, etc.), here's a quick way to create the blank patterns using an easy MIDI trick. See manual page 126:
Get into the SYSTEM:MIDI menu and turn RX.PROG CHANGE to OFF. Then whenever you switch patterns, the patches you used in the previous pattern will be retained -- but not the rhythmic and melodic data. You can save this new blank pattern as many times as needed. (If, however, your patterns are going to be fairly similar to one another, it's easier to make one finished pattern, copy it, then alter the copies...this is just another trick for your bag.)
NOTE: Don't forget to switch RX.PROG CHANGE back to ON when you finish...or all of the 307's patterns will use the same patches, whether you like it or not!
1. If you want to copy a part from one pattern to another pattern (see manual page 76), you have to copy it to the same part number it occupied in the first pattern. It is evidently impossible* to copy it onto a different part in the new pattern. (In other words, if you want to move the melody you wrote for pattern U.001 part 4 to pattern U.002, you can only move it to U.002's part 4.)
This limitation makes a good case for laying your tracks out in the same general way every time. So for example: If you always use part 1 for bassline, parts 2-5 for melody and pads, and parts 6-7 for extra percussion and sound effects, you'll be able to move parts between patterns with less restriction. It also means less to think about when you're muting parts on the fly for dramatic effect.
*UPDATE: Apparently you CAN move data to different parts if you run OS 1.03 (my 307 runs 1.02, unfortunately). Thanks to Gastón for pointing this out in the comments below.
2. If you're planning to make a series of patterns that will use the same group of patches, but that nonetheless are going to sound very distinct from one another (i.e. different rhythms, melodies, time signatures, etc.), here's a quick way to create the blank patterns using an easy MIDI trick. See manual page 126:
Get into the SYSTEM:MIDI menu and turn RX.PROG CHANGE to OFF. Then whenever you switch patterns, the patches you used in the previous pattern will be retained -- but not the rhythmic and melodic data. You can save this new blank pattern as many times as needed. (If, however, your patterns are going to be fairly similar to one another, it's easier to make one finished pattern, copy it, then alter the copies...this is just another trick for your bag.)
NOTE: Don't forget to switch RX.PROG CHANGE back to ON when you finish...or all of the 307's patterns will use the same patches, whether you like it or not!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pattern editor for Windows
While surfing Web pages that mention the 307, I came across a French-language forum* dedicated to the groovebox. One post led to a site whose owner has created a free pattern editor for PC's.
To download it, visit http://glausinger.free.fr/ (site uses Flash) and look under the "Liens" menu for the "MyMC307" entry.
I'm a Mac user, so I'm curious to hear if anyone has downloaded it and knows what it can do -- please leave comments if you have. Whenever I manage to check it out, I will update this entry.
*More on the forum itself here.
To download it, visit http://glausinger.free.fr/ (site uses Flash) and look under the "Liens" menu for the "MyMC307" entry.
I'm a Mac user, so I'm curious to hear if anyone has downloaded it and knows what it can do -- please leave comments if you have. Whenever I manage to check it out, I will update this entry.
*More on the forum itself here.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Online 307 music, #1
When I find tracks made with the 307 as the sole or primary sound source, I'll post them for anyone who wants to know what the groovebox can do...and what others are doing with it.
For starters, four tracks are here: http://www.wat.tv/trancelucide
Check out savage garden, silent world, eagle, and key of dream. The producer describes them as trance / house / techno.
For starters, four tracks are here: http://www.wat.tv/trancelucide
Check out savage garden, silent world, eagle, and key of dream. The producer describes them as trance / house / techno.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Save new patches first. Then new patterns.
Once you know the 307 well enough to make your own patterns, you will probably want to use customized synth patches too.
Cool. But there's something you should know before you start doing these two things together. The idea is obvious after you get used to it...but I'll post it here as a quick tip, in the hopes that you won't lose that nice pattern you just spent hours tweaking to perfection:
Before you can save a pattern using any new patches you have just created, you MUST save them to the 307's patch memory first. (Then of course you should also save the new pattern.)
If you don't save your new patches, the next time you turn the 307 on, the new pattern will sound different. It will default to the patches that were there before you started tweaking them...all your hard work will be lost.
...Like I said, obvious in retrospect. But if you're new to the 307, learn this now and save yourself some late-night frustration.
Cool. But there's something you should know before you start doing these two things together. The idea is obvious after you get used to it...but I'll post it here as a quick tip, in the hopes that you won't lose that nice pattern you just spent hours tweaking to perfection:
Before you can save a pattern using any new patches you have just created, you MUST save them to the 307's patch memory first. (Then of course you should also save the new pattern.)
If you don't save your new patches, the next time you turn the 307 on, the new pattern will sound different. It will default to the patches that were there before you started tweaking them...all your hard work will be lost.
...Like I said, obvious in retrospect. But if you're new to the 307, learn this now and save yourself some late-night frustration.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Knob assignment for Multi-FX
Each of the 25 Multi-FX's has several tweakable parameters, and you can use the assignable knobs to control them. The manual (page 48) has a memo indicating this, but as usual, I wish it explained the process better. For anyone figuring out why and how to assign M-FX knobs, this entry is for you.
You have probably noticed the second row of knob labels, reading M-FX CTRL 1-3. Now, if you look at the descriptions on pp. 48-61, you'll see below each M-FX that its parameters are listed with [CTRL 1], [CTRL 2] and so on. Roland has decided that the first three parameters in each list are the ones you probably will want to tweak most often while playing live, so they've made it easy for you by dedicating the second-row knobs to them.
If tweaking these three is enough for your needs, you don't need to do anything; just point the red arrow to this row and go to it.
But you may want to adjust other parameters instead, and there are many options. For example, M-FX 1, the 4-band EQ, has 11 parameters, the most of any list. To tweak [CTRL 4-11] easily during performance, Knob Assign is useful.
Before you do anything below, keep two things in mind: 1) Whatever changes you make to the knob assignments get saved to the User Set you have chosen without an easy way to Exit out if you change your mind. So if you're not completely sure you want to reassign something, remember what your original knob assignment was so you can change it back. (I like to reserve one User Set for experimentation.) 2) If you're not planning to tweak these parameters live, the knob assignment effort probably isn't worth it.
Procedure:
Hit Knob Assign, and you'll see the User Set (#1-10) listed up top along with its four current knob assignments. Choose the knob you want to reassign with button F1-F4. Scroll left-right until you highlight MULTI-FX, and hit its F button. Whatever M-FX you have assigned to the current pattern, its list of parameters will appear. You can then scroll down to the parameter you want assigned to that knob; hit Knob Assign and bang, it's saved to that User Set until you change it again.
Other notes:
1) This procedure assigns the knob a CTRL number, not an M-FX set. So if you assign it to CTRL 9 and then switch to another pattern that uses a different M-FX set, tweaking that knob will adjust the new M-FX set's CTRL 9 parameter (if it has one).
2) You can of course assign CTRL 1-3 to these knobs too, if it's more convenient to have them in your User Set (i.e. if you don't want to keep messing with the red arrow button).
3) If you tweak the knob and nothing seems to be happening, make sure you've got the M-FX Switch turned on for the Parts you want it to affect (via the Setup -> Part Mixer menus).
You have probably noticed the second row of knob labels, reading M-FX CTRL 1-3. Now, if you look at the descriptions on pp. 48-61, you'll see below each M-FX that its parameters are listed with [CTRL 1], [CTRL 2] and so on. Roland has decided that the first three parameters in each list are the ones you probably will want to tweak most often while playing live, so they've made it easy for you by dedicating the second-row knobs to them.
If tweaking these three is enough for your needs, you don't need to do anything; just point the red arrow to this row and go to it.
But you may want to adjust other parameters instead, and there are many options. For example, M-FX 1, the 4-band EQ, has 11 parameters, the most of any list. To tweak [CTRL 4-11] easily during performance, Knob Assign is useful.
Before you do anything below, keep two things in mind: 1) Whatever changes you make to the knob assignments get saved to the User Set you have chosen without an easy way to Exit out if you change your mind. So if you're not completely sure you want to reassign something, remember what your original knob assignment was so you can change it back. (I like to reserve one User Set for experimentation.) 2) If you're not planning to tweak these parameters live, the knob assignment effort probably isn't worth it.
Procedure:
Hit Knob Assign, and you'll see the User Set (#1-10) listed up top along with its four current knob assignments. Choose the knob you want to reassign with button F1-F4. Scroll left-right until you highlight MULTI-FX, and hit its F button. Whatever M-FX you have assigned to the current pattern, its list of parameters will appear. You can then scroll down to the parameter you want assigned to that knob; hit Knob Assign and bang, it's saved to that User Set until you change it again.
Other notes:
1) This procedure assigns the knob a CTRL number, not an M-FX set. So if you assign it to CTRL 9 and then switch to another pattern that uses a different M-FX set, tweaking that knob will adjust the new M-FX set's CTRL 9 parameter (if it has one).
2) You can of course assign CTRL 1-3 to these knobs too, if it's more convenient to have them in your User Set (i.e. if you don't want to keep messing with the red arrow button).
3) If you tweak the knob and nothing seems to be happening, make sure you've got the M-FX Switch turned on for the Parts you want it to affect (via the Setup -> Part Mixer menus).
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The data in 'Microscope'
(This entry should be subtitled, "Places the manual isn't clear, part 1 of 3,267,894,50...")
The "Microscope" feature lets you examine the data saved to each part in detail. However, page 72 of the manual, which discusses this topic, leaves out a couple of important things a new user would find helpful.
In the chart there, when you see...
1-1-00 A 4 104 0-22
1-1-24 C 4 104 0-22
...what's all this telling you? Simply, this says that the part is to play two notes in succession: A then C, both in keyboard octave 4. They sound on the first and second 16th-notes of measure 1, and they both should have the same volume ("velocity") and note duration ("gate time").
The manual is sketchy in two respects:
1) It doesn't remind you on this page that each quarter note is divided into 96 "ticks", meaning the 16th notes fall at clock points 00, 24, 48 and 72. So for example, a note falling on the upbeat of measure 2, beat 4, would register here as 2-4-48. (Notes do not have to fall right on a 16th note; change the third number to one that is not a multiple of 24 if you want to move the note slightly.)
2) Gate time is given in the two numbers on the far right, which correspond to the beats and ticks the note lasts. So a note with 0-22 gate time lasts a bit less than a full 16th note in duration (i.e., a full 16th note would be 24 ticks long).
Other information can appear on this screen as well. One of the most common types is a CC (Control Change) message, which can mean, for example, a knob tweak. Look at preset pattern #112, part 3, and in addition to the note names, you'll see the CC messages that give the synth line its "wah" effect. (CC message numbers are listed under MIDI Implementation in the appendices.)
You can get a feel for what all these numbers mean by choosing a pattern, muting all parts except one, and then changing the data for that part in Microscope to see what happens. UPDATE: As Gastón mentions below, you have to exit Microscope to listen.
The "Microscope" feature lets you examine the data saved to each part in detail. However, page 72 of the manual, which discusses this topic, leaves out a couple of important things a new user would find helpful.
In the chart there, when you see...
1-1-00 A 4 104 0-22
1-1-24 C 4 104 0-22
...what's all this telling you? Simply, this says that the part is to play two notes in succession: A then C, both in keyboard octave 4. They sound on the first and second 16th-notes of measure 1, and they both should have the same volume ("velocity") and note duration ("gate time").
The manual is sketchy in two respects:
1) It doesn't remind you on this page that each quarter note is divided into 96 "ticks", meaning the 16th notes fall at clock points 00, 24, 48 and 72. So for example, a note falling on the upbeat of measure 2, beat 4, would register here as 2-4-48. (Notes do not have to fall right on a 16th note; change the third number to one that is not a multiple of 24 if you want to move the note slightly.)
2) Gate time is given in the two numbers on the far right, which correspond to the beats and ticks the note lasts. So a note with 0-22 gate time lasts a bit less than a full 16th note in duration (i.e., a full 16th note would be 24 ticks long).
Other information can appear on this screen as well. One of the most common types is a CC (Control Change) message, which can mean, for example, a knob tweak. Look at preset pattern #112, part 3, and in addition to the note names, you'll see the CC messages that give the synth line its "wah" effect. (CC message numbers are listed under MIDI Implementation in the appendices.)
You can get a feel for what all these numbers mean by choosing a pattern, muting all parts except one, and then changing the data for that part in Microscope to see what happens. UPDATE: As Gastón mentions below, you have to exit Microscope to listen.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Online manual / documents
More housekeeping: In case anyone's looking for a copy of the manual or other documentation from Roland, see below.
Manual: http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/MC-307_OM.pdf
Quick Start: http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/MC-307_QS.pdf
Manual Addendum, though it doesn't say much: http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/MC-307_AD.pdf
...The Wikipedia entry on the 307 has them as well, along with some other useful links.
Manual in French: http://manuals.roland.be/Francais2/MC307_fr.pdf
Manual: http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/MC-307_OM.pdf
Quick Start: http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/MC-307_QS.pdf
Manual Addendum, though it doesn't say much: http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/MC-307_AD.pdf
...The Wikipedia entry on the 307 has them as well, along with some other useful links.
Manual in French: http://manuals.roland.be/Francais2/MC307_fr.pdf
Monday, October 19, 2009
Terms, abbreviations, etc.
If you're unfamilar with the jargon I sometimes forget to avoid using, have a look below.
307 - What I'll call this groovebox, cos I'm too lazy to type MC all the |)@%^ time.
BPM - Beats Per Minute. What some old geezers still refer to as "tempo".
DJ - don't make me smack you.
EM - Electronic Music, or what we all want out of our 307s.
LFO - Low-Frequency Oscillator. An important modifier for altering EM sounds, and found on many synthesis devices.
MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The electronic language that allows most electronic instruments to communicate with one another. A huge topic in and of itself.
OS - Operating System. The software that runs the 307. To the best of my knowledge, the latest -- and probably last -- is version 1.03.
TR-REC - REC stands for "recording" of course; TR is a reference to Roland's TR series of drum machines. Using TR-REC turns the pads of the 307 into a sequencer.
UI - User Interface. The knobs, buttons, screen, etc. on the face of the 307 and its internal organization, which is accessed frequently through menus. A source of hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing at 3:30 AM, and the inspiration for this blog.
NOTE: Some posts (like this one) will grow as I learn from readers' comments and my own experience, so I've labeled the likely entries as "Expanding". Other labels are hopefully self-explanatory.
307 - What I'll call this groovebox, cos I'm too lazy to type MC all the |)@%^ time.
BPM - Beats Per Minute. What some old geezers still refer to as "tempo".
DJ - don't make me smack you.
EM - Electronic Music, or what we all want out of our 307s.
LFO - Low-Frequency Oscillator. An important modifier for altering EM sounds, and found on many synthesis devices.
MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The electronic language that allows most electronic instruments to communicate with one another. A huge topic in and of itself.
OS - Operating System. The software that runs the 307. To the best of my knowledge, the latest -- and probably last -- is version 1.03.
TR-REC - REC stands for "recording" of course; TR is a reference to Roland's TR series of drum machines. Using TR-REC turns the pads of the 307 into a sequencer.
UI - User Interface. The knobs, buttons, screen, etc. on the face of the 307 and its internal organization, which is accessed frequently through menus. A source of hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing at 3:30 AM, and the inspiration for this blog.
NOTE: Some posts (like this one) will grow as I learn from readers' comments and my own experience, so I've labeled the likely entries as "Expanding". Other labels are hopefully self-explanatory.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Things to do first/early on
Fresh out of the box, a 307 can be bewildering. The manual isn't the clearest, lots of the functions are buried in menus, and the knob labels are heavy on unfamiliar abbreviations. So in this post I'll list a few things that you can try right off to help get a feel for it. (Think of this post as a simpler version of the Quickstart Guide.)
1. The obvious one: Hit play and listen to the preset patterns. Yes, most of them you probably won't like, but they will give you an overview of the 307's raw sounds. (They'll all play at the same BPM if you play them without hitting stop before switching patterns, so they'll likely be slightly easier on the ears if you hit stop each time.) If you want to scroll through them one at a time, use the Value wheel or adjacent Inc/Dec buttons; but if you'd rather skip between them by style & genre, hit the Left/Right buttons in the Cursor section.
2. Some portions of the 307, like the "Stop-Play-Rec" section, make intuitive sense from the get-go; others, not so much. One section of the user interface (UI) that can bring fairly instant gratification is the three buttons labeled "Part Select, Part Mute, Rhythm Mute". I'd get comfy with these early on, as they affect the drum/synth parts (R, 1-7) in fundamental and cool ways, allowing you to create a full-length track from a single pattern if used tastefully. To wit:
-Part Select: Hit it, and then hit one of the eight part buttons. That one alone will light up. Until you choose another one, whatever you do to the seven filter knobs up above (#1-4, LFO depth, Filter Cutoff and Resonance) will affect the sound of that part alone. Tweak away while the pattern plays. Also, playing the keyboard at bottom will sound that part's synth voice (but see #3 below).
-Part Mute: Hit this button and all the parts in a pattern that have something recorded on them will light up. If they're currently muted, they'll light up and also flash. Hitting each part button will mute and unmute it. This includes the R part, which governs all the rhythm (percussion) parts as a group. But if you want to mute, say, just the snare drum, hit...
-Rhythm Mute: ...which is organized the same way as Part Mute, only now you can mute and unmute each of the eight percussion parts individually.
Annoyingly, it's impossible to mute/unmute just some of the percussion parts at the same time that you do synth parts 1-7, but at least there are a couple of tricks available to create drama. One is to mute a couple of parts first, and then hold down the Part Mute button while hitting Part Select. Each time you do this it reverses the muting assignments: Every part that's muted gets unmuted, and vice versa.
3. The white & black buttons along the bottom are set up to function as a piano-style keyboard -- as long as all four buttons under "Pad Select" are dark. Whatever part you've selected with Part Select will sound when you play on these buttons. But if you hit one and hear something other than a single tone (i.e. a long complex riff) or nothing at all happens, check to make sure none of the Pad Select buttons are lit red (which means the 16 buttons are being used for other functions I won't get into here).
4. Certain effects can be set to activate/deactivate with the three-position "Grab" switch right near Knob 4. How to program this switch is of course too complicated to detail here, but you can get a fairly decent intoduction to its capabilities as you go through the preset patterns by toggling it On and Off.
5. A related idea: As you work your way through the preset patterns, try isolating individual parts by muting most or all of the others and then play with the keyboard, knobs, grab switch, etc. to get a better idea of what's happening to that particular part. (I know lots of producers are philosophically opposed to doing anything with presets, and when it comes to live performance, I'm right there with you. But since Roland, in its wisdom, decided to make presets we can't erase, we might as well learn what we can from them.)
6. "Turntable Emulation" over on the right is an easy way to adjust a pattern's tempo and/or overall pitch somewhat, either if you're a DJ who wants to sync the 307 with spinning vinyl or you just like the effect. But if you're a klutz like me, your hand will have a tendency to knock into the slider and move it accidentally, so while you're learning the ropes it might help to hit the Pitch and BPM (beats per minute) buttons to darken them right after you turn on the 307, just to avoid the annoyance.
7. If you've tweaked a pattern beyond recognition and want to get it back to the way it was when you started, switch to another pattern and then switch right back to the original one. But if you like the monster you've created, first save it to one of the 200 User patterns...a good way to start accumulating ideas for your own stuff.
...There! That ought to keep you busy for awhile.
1. The obvious one: Hit play and listen to the preset patterns. Yes, most of them you probably won't like, but they will give you an overview of the 307's raw sounds. (They'll all play at the same BPM if you play them without hitting stop before switching patterns, so they'll likely be slightly easier on the ears if you hit stop each time.) If you want to scroll through them one at a time, use the Value wheel or adjacent Inc/Dec buttons; but if you'd rather skip between them by style & genre, hit the Left/Right buttons in the Cursor section.
2. Some portions of the 307, like the "Stop-Play-Rec" section, make intuitive sense from the get-go; others, not so much. One section of the user interface (UI) that can bring fairly instant gratification is the three buttons labeled "Part Select, Part Mute, Rhythm Mute". I'd get comfy with these early on, as they affect the drum/synth parts (R, 1-7) in fundamental and cool ways, allowing you to create a full-length track from a single pattern if used tastefully. To wit:
-Part Select: Hit it, and then hit one of the eight part buttons. That one alone will light up. Until you choose another one, whatever you do to the seven filter knobs up above (#1-4, LFO depth, Filter Cutoff and Resonance) will affect the sound of that part alone. Tweak away while the pattern plays. Also, playing the keyboard at bottom will sound that part's synth voice (but see #3 below).
-Part Mute: Hit this button and all the parts in a pattern that have something recorded on them will light up. If they're currently muted, they'll light up and also flash. Hitting each part button will mute and unmute it. This includes the R part, which governs all the rhythm (percussion) parts as a group. But if you want to mute, say, just the snare drum, hit...
-Rhythm Mute: ...which is organized the same way as Part Mute, only now you can mute and unmute each of the eight percussion parts individually.
Annoyingly, it's impossible to mute/unmute just some of the percussion parts at the same time that you do synth parts 1-7, but at least there are a couple of tricks available to create drama. One is to mute a couple of parts first, and then hold down the Part Mute button while hitting Part Select. Each time you do this it reverses the muting assignments: Every part that's muted gets unmuted, and vice versa.
3. The white & black buttons along the bottom are set up to function as a piano-style keyboard -- as long as all four buttons under "Pad Select" are dark. Whatever part you've selected with Part Select will sound when you play on these buttons. But if you hit one and hear something other than a single tone (i.e. a long complex riff) or nothing at all happens, check to make sure none of the Pad Select buttons are lit red (which means the 16 buttons are being used for other functions I won't get into here).
4. Certain effects can be set to activate/deactivate with the three-position "Grab" switch right near Knob 4. How to program this switch is of course too complicated to detail here, but you can get a fairly decent intoduction to its capabilities as you go through the preset patterns by toggling it On and Off.
5. A related idea: As you work your way through the preset patterns, try isolating individual parts by muting most or all of the others and then play with the keyboard, knobs, grab switch, etc. to get a better idea of what's happening to that particular part. (I know lots of producers are philosophically opposed to doing anything with presets, and when it comes to live performance, I'm right there with you. But since Roland, in its wisdom, decided to make presets we can't erase, we might as well learn what we can from them.)
6. "Turntable Emulation" over on the right is an easy way to adjust a pattern's tempo and/or overall pitch somewhat, either if you're a DJ who wants to sync the 307 with spinning vinyl or you just like the effect. But if you're a klutz like me, your hand will have a tendency to knock into the slider and move it accidentally, so while you're learning the ropes it might help to hit the Pitch and BPM (beats per minute) buttons to darken them right after you turn on the 307, just to avoid the annoyance.
7. If you've tweaked a pattern beyond recognition and want to get it back to the way it was when you started, switch to another pattern and then switch right back to the original one. But if you like the monster you've created, first save it to one of the 200 User patterns...a good way to start accumulating ideas for your own stuff.
...There! That ought to keep you busy for awhile.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Easy breaks with Key Shift
Just discovered an easy way to make drum breaks using Key Shift. It just takes a single knob assignment...no other programming hassles required.
Setup:
First hit "Part Select" and choose the R (rhythm) track. Then hit the "Knob assign" button up top, choose a knob using F1-F4, and then hit "Set up (F1)". You'll get a list from which you'll be able to choose from reverb, delay, etc. Scroll down and choose "Key Shift" by hitting "Enter", and then exit out of the menus.
(One thing to note: Your knob choice will then be saved to the U.01 group of knob assignments, meaning it will be available right when you boot up the 307, as long as you move the red arrow to the left of the four knobs up to its topmost position. You can save it to U.02 - U.10 if you'd rather this not happen.)
Now for the fun part:
While a pattern plays, tweak the knob you chose (again, make sure Part Select is set to R and the red arrow is at the top). You'll get some cool percussion effects. I tried this with the preset pattern "Hiphop East 3" and found that tweaking it down gave some heavy big-break style drum hits, while all the way up resulted in a bunch of reverse percussion/scratching. To get your original sound back, return the knob to its center position.
Setup:
First hit "Part Select" and choose the R (rhythm) track. Then hit the "Knob assign" button up top, choose a knob using F1-F4, and then hit "Set up (F1)". You'll get a list from which you'll be able to choose from reverb, delay, etc. Scroll down and choose "Key Shift" by hitting "Enter", and then exit out of the menus.
(One thing to note: Your knob choice will then be saved to the U.01 group of knob assignments, meaning it will be available right when you boot up the 307, as long as you move the red arrow to the left of the four knobs up to its topmost position. You can save it to U.02 - U.10 if you'd rather this not happen.)
Now for the fun part:
While a pattern plays, tweak the knob you chose (again, make sure Part Select is set to R and the red arrow is at the top). You'll get some cool percussion effects. I tried this with the preset pattern "Hiphop East 3" and found that tweaking it down gave some heavy big-break style drum hits, while all the way up resulted in a bunch of reverse percussion/scratching. To get your original sound back, return the knob to its center position.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Basic beatmaking video
Are you a noob just getting started making beats? Check out this 7.5-minute YouTube video from a 307 owner.
He demonstrates how to put together a basic beat in Realtime Recording, which starts on page 63 in the manual. But before you dive into the written explanation, it might be easier to watch him do it, then use the manual to figure out which buttons he's pushing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zQXGQ7n4zo
One thing I'll mention: I'm not sure why at around the 2:15 mark he apparently tries to make the hihat sound on every 16th-note, but then it ends up only sounding some of the time. My guess is that he's got the hihat set to be part of a "mute group", which means that if another percussion sound in the same group is playing simultaneously, it overrides the hihat (for details, see manual page 105.) UPDATE: Below, Gastón says I'm likely right about this.
He demonstrates how to put together a basic beat in Realtime Recording, which starts on page 63 in the manual. But before you dive into the written explanation, it might be easier to watch him do it, then use the manual to figure out which buttons he's pushing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zQXGQ7n4zo
One thing I'll mention: I'm not sure why at around the 2:15 mark he apparently tries to make the hihat sound on every 16th-note, but then it ends up only sounding some of the time. My guess is that he's got the hihat set to be part of a "mute group", which means that if another percussion sound in the same group is playing simultaneously, it overrides the hihat (for details, see manual page 105.) UPDATE: Below, Gastón says I'm likely right about this.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Return to 'original values'
I bet you're expecting this post to be all about good ol' fashioned baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie, aren't you? C'mon, admit it...
Sorry to disappoint :) but the real subject is: How to get a 307 pattern to revert to the state it was in before you started tweaking knobs, muting parts, etc.
At this point in my learning curve, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to do it with one pattern. (This is annoying for anyone who has spent time with the "compare" feature on the Korg EMX, but I'll try not to wax nostalgic.)
However, there is a workaround. Maybe it can't be done with ONE pattern, as I said...but it can easily be done with TWO. So if you have a pattern you like to tweak during live performance, read on.
The solution:
Save the pattern twice, to two different positions in memory (say, U.050 and U.051). While you're performing, tweak U.050 as much as you like, then when you're ready to go back to what you started with, switch to U.051 and you're there. (No-brainer: I recommend saving the pattern to adjacent locations in memory, so you can use the DEC-INC buttons to toggle between them).
This obviously takes up twice as much memory space as a single pattern, so it's probably best done sparingly if you need lots of patterns for your live set. But it works well for breaking down a pattern completely and restoring it on the fly.
If anyone has other/easier/better solutions, please comment below.
UPDATE: Since writing the above, I discovered the memo on page 30 of the manual, which says that you can also return to the pattern's original settings by switching to the another and then switching back, but BEFORE the pattern actually changes. This is good news (if well hidden), but I think the method I found has its benefit: In case the pattern you switch to is not suitable to follow the first one, you risk making the change right when it becomes impossible to switch back (i.e., the pattern button starts flashing). If you're on stage thinking about half a dozen things, this is a potential danger. If you *know* you plan to do lots of tweaking to certain patterns, saving two copies of these might still help you.
Sorry to disappoint :) but the real subject is: How to get a 307 pattern to revert to the state it was in before you started tweaking knobs, muting parts, etc.
At this point in my learning curve, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to do it with one pattern. (This is annoying for anyone who has spent time with the "compare" feature on the Korg EMX, but I'll try not to wax nostalgic.)
However, there is a workaround. Maybe it can't be done with ONE pattern, as I said...but it can easily be done with TWO. So if you have a pattern you like to tweak during live performance, read on.
The solution:
Save the pattern twice, to two different positions in memory (say, U.050 and U.051). While you're performing, tweak U.050 as much as you like, then when you're ready to go back to what you started with, switch to U.051 and you're there. (No-brainer: I recommend saving the pattern to adjacent locations in memory, so you can use the DEC-INC buttons to toggle between them).
This obviously takes up twice as much memory space as a single pattern, so it's probably best done sparingly if you need lots of patterns for your live set. But it works well for breaking down a pattern completely and restoring it on the fly.
If anyone has other/easier/better solutions, please comment below.
UPDATE: Since writing the above, I discovered the memo on page 30 of the manual, which says that you can also return to the pattern's original settings by switching to the another and then switching back, but BEFORE the pattern actually changes. This is good news (if well hidden), but I think the method I found has its benefit: In case the pattern you switch to is not suitable to follow the first one, you risk making the change right when it becomes impossible to switch back (i.e., the pattern button starts flashing). If you're on stage thinking about half a dozen things, this is a potential danger. If you *know* you plan to do lots of tweaking to certain patterns, saving two copies of these might still help you.
Why are you here?...wait, why am I here?
So I recently picked up a used MC-307, a groovebox that Roland released about a decade ago. Why start a blog on such an antiquated piece of hardware, you may ask?
Web research has turned up very little to help me get going with the 307, which obviously has a lot of power but a less-than-ideal user interface. When I was getting started with EM, I got a lot of help from other, more experienced producers; without the forums and user groups I found, it would have been more difficult, even with the far less steep learning curves I encountered on my other gear.
But for anyone diving into the 307, it appears we're out of luck in that department: The Roland groovebox forums have next to no posts on the 307, the Yahoo Group was overtaken by spammers years ago, and there's precious little elsewhere. We're on our own.
However, I refuse to give up on the 307 too quickly, primarily because it's already impressed me in a few important ways. So here's what I'm planning to do with this blog:
I'm going to chronicle my efforts to make the 307 rock, and exactly how to use the interface to make this happen. I dislike the manual, to put it mildly, so I'll try to translate what I discover into comprehensible English.
Readers of this blog (which I'm beginning in October '09) are of course welcome to use what techniques I find, pass them along and post comments.
If anyone has suggestions on topics I might cover, hit me up. I'm hoping this will turn out to be a useful resource. I've posted a note about contacting me here.
A few parting thoughts:
-I'll be posting ideas and discoveries as I come upon them, so reading in chronological order will seem a bit haphazard; check the post titles for subject matter (I'll keep them simple and descriptive).
-Posts will limited primarily to immediately usable tips. With few exceptions, I won't waste your time with descriptions of what buttons and knobs do, general discussions on synthesis, or much else that you can find elsewhere. When I think of something off-topic that might help, I'll try to link to it.
-I'm not a MIDI god by any means, so beyond the basics I probably won't be much help with figuring out why the 307 won't talk to other digital gear. Until this blog gathers enough followers that I can start throwing questions out randomly, your best bet on effective interconnection will be forums dedicated to the other device.
-Comments are welcome and solicited. Trolls aren't.
Web research has turned up very little to help me get going with the 307, which obviously has a lot of power but a less-than-ideal user interface. When I was getting started with EM, I got a lot of help from other, more experienced producers; without the forums and user groups I found, it would have been more difficult, even with the far less steep learning curves I encountered on my other gear.
But for anyone diving into the 307, it appears we're out of luck in that department: The Roland groovebox forums have next to no posts on the 307, the Yahoo Group was overtaken by spammers years ago, and there's precious little elsewhere. We're on our own.
However, I refuse to give up on the 307 too quickly, primarily because it's already impressed me in a few important ways. So here's what I'm planning to do with this blog:
I'm going to chronicle my efforts to make the 307 rock, and exactly how to use the interface to make this happen. I dislike the manual, to put it mildly, so I'll try to translate what I discover into comprehensible English.
Readers of this blog (which I'm beginning in October '09) are of course welcome to use what techniques I find, pass them along and post comments.
If anyone has suggestions on topics I might cover, hit me up. I'm hoping this will turn out to be a useful resource. I've posted a note about contacting me here.
A few parting thoughts:
-I'll be posting ideas and discoveries as I come upon them, so reading in chronological order will seem a bit haphazard; check the post titles for subject matter (I'll keep them simple and descriptive).
-Posts will limited primarily to immediately usable tips. With few exceptions, I won't waste your time with descriptions of what buttons and knobs do, general discussions on synthesis, or much else that you can find elsewhere. When I think of something off-topic that might help, I'll try to link to it.
-I'm not a MIDI god by any means, so beyond the basics I probably won't be much help with figuring out why the 307 won't talk to other digital gear. Until this blog gathers enough followers that I can start throwing questions out randomly, your best bet on effective interconnection will be forums dedicated to the other device.
-Comments are welcome and solicited. Trolls aren't.
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