Roland MC-101

Tengo varias groovebox , Electribe2 ,es1 ,Arq96 , arq48 , akai mpc one , mc-707. Y La verdad que cada una tiene sus virtudes y desventajas . Pero la Mc-101 con las ultimas actualizaciones se ha convertido en la que mas estoy usando primero por su portabilidad y su gran librería de sonidos clásicos Roland , Aunque parezca que solo tiene 4 pistas en la pista de tambores podemos cargar 16 samples al estilo de la electribe y encadenar con 128 escenas que de 128 pasos , tiene unos efectos impresionantes , looper y tambien podemos cargar archivos en formato Midi de percusión y tono así como archivos SVZ ya sean comprados por 0,99 en Roland Cloud o creados con otros instrumentos que soporte Zenology , también me gusta que al guardar el proyecto te crea un archivo que contiene todos los samples midi etc.. y secuencias que hemos usado sin tener que mantenerlos en la tarjeta SD . Lo negativo de esta maquina es la construcción todo plástico pero robusta después de dos años sigue aguantando bien ahora tenemos también arpegios y el esperado modo canción convirtiéndose en una máquina muy completa .

Roland acierta con sus pequeños instrumentos musicales que contienen una enorme cantidad de detalles, son muy intuitivos y nos ofrecen la posibilidad de crear nuevos proyectos musicales , asi es la MC 101 muy pequeña pero dentro lleva algo gigantesco que no termina de sorprenderte, mucha diversion si se conecta a un teclado a traves de midi, yo la utilizo en jam con la caja de ritmos RS-6 y la mitica Roland MC 909 groove box -synth-sampler, pues imaginar lo que se puede hacer con estos intrumentos juntos.Bueno, diversion a tope y tener la MC 101 ha sido un acierto.El precio es razonable.Ocupa poco espacio.Estoy muy contento de la compra.

I am in synths and grooveboxes for the past year starting from 4 Volcas and a SQ64 and NTS-1 and then moving to an Elektron Syntakt and an Elektron Octatrack. I am in my late 40s and I admit that I do have some money to spend for a hobby like this.
Nevertheless, I have been still searching for a truly portable option. Well this device is just perfect for this and in many ways its beats the two time more expensive Elektron Syntakt while overall leaving too much to be desired from Elektron's workflow. No comparison with Volcas in terms of workflow, even though Volcas sound is unique.
So my comparison and reference is these devices - please don't feel offended for your favorite brand if I am doing too many comparisons!

The bad first: I understand that there are a lot of Quality Control issues with devices breaking. Also, this looks and feels like a toy - but not in a good way. Where Volcas look and feel fabulous and Elektrons are built like a shiny tank this feels like a cheap toy. Design-wise I don't know what Ronald designers are thinking or what is their target group. Maybe "DJs"? The device looks like a patchwork of leds over a high contract b/w background.
But all these are mainly cosmetic. The fantastic news now: ultra-light, lighter than a Volca. Fantastic sequencer with motion sequencing and a Clip-based approach that makes the famed Elektron sequencer and workflow really feeling limited. Versatility? Only 4 tracks but one of them is a Drum track. This again means that you are having potentially as many or more tracks to work than a Syntakt. Maybe the Syntakt or the Octatrack can deliver a more polished sound -but for a beginner and a portable device does it matter?
Effects? On track on output or even on the Scatter pads reminding the Octatrack slider. Effect quality and configuration much more straightforward and meaningful compared to my other devices.

The things that I don't like so much: there is lots of menu diving but at least what you can configure a lot right from the encoders without menu diving with preselect options that make sense musically. If you go deep into sound design there are too many options (and also too many presents) and not the best experience from a sound design perspective.
Handling? The most insane shortcuts - probably not documented - really the only device that you need to have besides you a manual or built extensive muscle memory. As mentioned I have an Octatrack and the octa shortcuts do make sense in comparison to this.

Overall this device is criminally underrated, it can replace a bunch of volcas and an external sequencer (maybe not in terms of sound but in terms of music making) and it's very competitive with Syntakt that costs almost double than that and its much less portable. Syntakt might have an edge on some sounds (synths definitely not drum ones) but for a prototyping and fun to use device does this mattter?

Again I can not understand what Roland design team was thinking - this simply looks mediocre at best ugly at worst. But what a great device.