Bad Gear - Roland MC-307 - Do DJs hate it???
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
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Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about the Roland MC-307, yet another MC-505 offspring. Do DJs hate it?
"required the patience of a DX7 programmer" that might be the best review I've read in my life lol
I found that one hilarious, too
Same.
That's exactly the one that my attention too. The DX7 lcd display is a crime against humanity :-D
@@torarinvik4920 just like the overall sound!
@@mkiswatoo I love the sound, particularly the electric piano.
Every "Bad Gear" video:
"I'm not very good at doing this thing."
*Does the thing amazingly.
"Again I'm really horrible at this thing."
*Does the thing again with masterful precision.
He should just say “I’m not very confident at this thing.” Or “I judge my skills very harshly at this thing.”
Thanks but I neither played keyboards nor did I DJ in this episode ;)
@@AudioPilz That's true you're not exactly "scratching n matching" beats or anything here. :)
he humble
Österreichisches Humblebrag 😂
I really like this concept of reviewing "bad gear". It shows that there is no such thing. Just because the design is not maybe the best, doesn't mean some people can be inspired and be creative with it :)
Agreed!
@@AudioPilz I am looking for a new cheap sampler to make beats on...i had bad gear luck and had both my eps's break(classic aswell as 16+) thinking about grabbing an ms1 maybe a sample trak....the ms1 sounds cool cause i could sequence from the eps when i get it working
The pianos and strings keeping Robert Miles’ “Dreamland” alive
the irony is that Robert Miles used Yamaha ))
Yeah, that's the sound of that time
@@chaocrator Nope, it was Kurzweil
@@synthetic24 Yup, I also remember that I at the time read that he was using Kurzweil for that "Dream Piano" sound.
@@synthetic24 definitely
The only problem with selling this box to DJs at the turn of the millenium was the fact that big name producers were pumping out drum loop albums that you could easily beatmatch with the 1200s, which the average bedroom dj could own for the princely sum of 8-10 beer tokens each. I had quite a few of them from people like Kerry Chandler and Francois K, plus my own slates, and never felt the need to add a groovebox to the equation. Especially one that only had a single stereo out.
When cdr burning reached x16 speed, the average home studio bod dj could create and burn their own fresh breakbeat cds on a weekly basis, in a vague precursor to the standard Ableton set. CDJs evolved extremely rapidly, and superceded the rudimentary Roland grooveboxes before they could ever be taken seriously in a club environment.
The 307 was a clever idea, executed ten years too late.
That sums it up pretty nicely
👌🏼
Bring back cdr’s
this poor little waldorf rocket has carried the channel LIKE A CHAMP
Yep i'm been thinking of buying one ..!!
True, it's the backbone of Bad Gear
@@AudioPilz have you ever played the Streichfett?
The Groovebox type font alone makes my hair instantly grow into curtains with an undercut.
I'd love to see that!
AudioPilz Bad Gear Jams are LEGENDARY!
Thanks!
Yes i agree wish i could do mastering engineering as good as I make tunes up
“..ticking all the... groove boxes” ugh! Too good **hits like button**
I feel guilty ;)
@@AudioPilz no, you don't, but that is why we are all here.
Your ability to actually interact with this constant influx of frustrating/confusing interfaces amazes me.
Thanks! I worked with huge ancient digital mixing consoles. I am beyond caring ;)
Roland has a work flow type
The MTV Nirvana picture drop, with Kurt playing a USB stick.... Much class!
Wasn't that the original picture? ;)
@@AudioPilz Oh yes it was. Many does not know that he played the USB-stick, and not the guitar xD
@Luke No no no.. It was call'd: Smells like you unplug'd your usb stick wrong! (You forgot to press eject mix)
sincerely hope "hiring a bodybuilder" is one of the stretch goals on patreon.
I'll put that in, great idea!
I like to think that the value on these skyrocketed because someone figured out you bought it and knew you would make sound AMAZING.
Well, there is this one Patreon benefit (no plug ;)
My estimation: There are 7 Florians. 5 work on the videos while the other 2 reply to comments.
...Oh, and the 8th one: Austria's creepiest hand model 🖐️
I wish...
@@AudioPilz You wish you had clones or you wish you were a creepy hand model?? 😁
@@einsteinx2 Hey its a bit of a stereotype that all Austrians wish they could be creepy hand models. grow up. One that is almost never always true most of the time for some people.
I feel like a dick telling you to grow up. sorry haha.
@@funkbungus137 😂
3:08: Ah yeah, that dream house piano sound that Robert Miles popularized in 1996 with Children.
I like that one so much!
I like how you put text on screen so we know what the instruments do. I was wondering which machine did stuff, turns out it was the 307! Who would’ve guessed!
Always happy to help ;)
Well I bought another one yesterday because my own died as mentioned before.
Realized that when using it 15 years ago I was just playing with the presets.
Working with the tones and fm(yes it can do fm between the tones)gave a huge smile on my face.
The envelopes also can do into very deep detail.
And all these using a patch that can go up to 4 tones(oscillators) each with their own filter type,envelope type,slope,amount and fm in between
This thing is seriously deep if you wanna give the time to it.
Musically this is one of my favourite vids of yours - must be my age but I loved the JX305 (which I borrowed for much longer than I should). Happy birthday for earlier this week young man!
Thanks! JX-305 was fun too but I can't really play them keyboards so there's no added value for me
I bought this machine back in 2000 and I made and whole rap album for my neighbors. I hope to share it one day .. I made some unbelievable sounds with the apperagator thingy. Jamming on the keyboards like a robot talking. I really like the beat you made .. you represented the 307 well . Those who down it . Does not have the patience to understand its potential. Thanks for making the 307 still relevant. You can totally create an original sound with your finger tips .
As a psytrance producer that jam made me really happy. awesome sounds!
Thank you so much!
This was my first roland, I think a friend just gave it to me after giving up with it. I got a lot of fun from it at the time but anyone else in my vicinity certainly did not. It was nostalgic to see it again.
And yes, where have they all gone?
Mine was borrowed and never returned, maybe they all contain a ring like curse that is passed on with the machine.
Great vid AudioPilz
Thanks! Gotta pass that groovebox;)
I love the Kafka book on your shelf. Really sets the tone for this channel.
You give me hope for all my crappy equipment.
Crappy gear needs love too!
Fully expected to hate the sounds from this, but somehow I don't. Great vid as usual!
Thanks!
The manatee when you said “amenities” killed me!! 😂🤣
I have a hard time understanding my own accent sometimes ;)
@@AudioPilz you'd have to hear the little I remember of my high school German to really hear a bad accent!!
That Midi-Porn-Musik beneath the Erklaerbaer-explanation is so great!!
Btw. they (Big Tech) should add micro-payment options directly on the YT page of the respective video, I wouldn't hesitate to pay some cents for the one or other minute of lightness and happiness :) Keep it going! :)
Thanks! I put the second ad before the end credits in for that ;)
307 was the first piece of hardware I owned aside from my techs in 1998. You programmed it better than I ever could !
Thank you so much!
I've owned this for 20yrs and and you can STILL get lost for hours realizing there is sooo much more!! Love it :) If you want the 90's in 1, the MC range is it!
Agreed!
I had one of these when I was a kid and I honestly loved it. Great video. Would love to see a video on the 909!
Thanks! Noted!!!
Best show on the net for me atm...big love ..always fun.
Thank you!!!
The dislikes on this video are all from DJs who couldn't get the MC-307 to sound as good as the jam in this video.
Thank you! Maybe 90s Roland executives? ;)
AudioPilz, you make such good music, I love it. I had the Roland MC-505 and struggled with it, the D-Beams were weird. I used it with my turntables and dj'd with it
I'm sitting here hugging my MC-101 like a pillow und whispering: "Don't worry little fella, you might join your brothers and sisters one day." 😉
Edit: Oh my god, that grooveboxes pun was so dry that it physically hurt, good job. 🤣
Edit 2: I've historically been very impressed with a lot of your pieces, you just nail the style and substance of so many electronic genres. But I honestl wouldn't have imagined you to churn out something that could sit on an Infected Mushroom album without standing out, holy shit dude! :D
It hurt me too ;)
@@AudioPilz That's how you know you have reached peak dad humor
I thought it sounded like infected mushroom too. 😎 ...Well infected something! 😀
Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu (experimental electronic noise band) uses the MC-307 on some of his recordings and that's enough to convince me this thing has some insane sounds to work with!
Xiu Xiu is great!
Nice video, mate.
I didn't know a "307" existed. I stopped at the mc303
I'm now waiting for the RM1x test.
(I still have mine, bought new, on a shelf)
Thanks! Yeah, RM1x will happen!
Seems like those have gone up a bit in price, along with everything else, not as much as the e-mu command stations, but they were a couple hundred dollars not long ago. I'm thinking maybe most of them have broken.
@@AudioPilz Also Electribe EA1, my first synth
My 307 was my first box! I love it and it was awesome to see this video! I am also glad you brought up the ARP, really is one of the best of the MC line to me!
Oh yeah, and I still have it and play it a few times a year.
Great sample fodder too!
'That turned out creepier than expected' bit was absolute GOLD!
Thanks!!!
I remember the MC-303 and the MC-505 well, but must've zoned out for the MC-307.
What would be nice would be a nice development for your channel would be some bad gear jam live streams. Prep some patterns, deliver a chat, intro, laughs, memes and then the bad gear jam live stream... I think everyone would watch!!
Great idea, thanks!
Audiopilz is my depression therapist on demand !! Thank you Audiopilz.
Always a pleasure, thanks for watching!
Hello, I have an MC303, an EF303, these are good products with retro sound that can be incorporated into a more modern style.
The hardest part in all of this is reading and understanding the user manuals! If you don't waste a little time learning, you won't get anywhere with this kind of machine. If you put in the effort, they are great tools. Thank you, your videos are really well done. Thanks to people like you, we learn a lot of things. +++ 👍
Thanks for watching! Roland manuals are notorious for driving people insane
I owe a lot to the 307 because it taught me music structure (beats bars phrases), time signatures, and note subdivisions through the use of the “Track Microscope” function. I didn’t know anything about producing music digitally when I bought one back in 2000, but after messing around with it for a few weeks, I was well on my way, but I quickly found it to be limiting. The sequencer lagged quite a bit, the turntable emulation was subpar and it didn’t feature any of the classic breakbeat perc sets for producing jungle, hardcore, and Drum n Bass. The preset patterns didn’t represent their respective genres very well either.
Yeah, great first groovebox!
omg I have one lying around , now the prices of the MC 307 will go crazy thank you thank you thank you!
You make it sound so good..I'll never sell it, never, never...
The prices have already gone crazy and I don't understand it
Look forward to the EG101 review and track.
I have one, built like a Sherman tank!
Speakers are great on it.
Has a low-fi sampler.
Makes an excellent door wedge! 😁
That door won't ever close again!
@@AudioPilz 😂😂😂
I want to thank you. Finally a good review plus demo of the mc 307. I recently reveived my mc307 from japan. There are no 307’s for sale here in the netherlands.
Thanks! Strangely, they all disappeared!
@@AudioPilz what could be the next groovebox to review? The mc909?
And that 90s Trance comeback is HERE
Indeed!
Yeah, a stressful week is coming to an end and AudioPilz delivers as always.
Thanks for your work.
A nice weekend to everyone
Thanks, same to you!
HAHA nice hit and run on ol' benny boy. The last 'Austrian goa mushroom loaded' track you demoed convinced me that it's not too bad of a groove box. nice.
Thanks! Loads of great basses in this box!
The only Roland groovebox I don't actually have in my collection.
I got an SH-32 instead when that released and they were still trying to offload the 307's then, so it was around for quite a while.
SH32 - I'm keeping my eyes open for one of these
@@AudioPilz it's not without it's.. "unique, unplanned and unexpected special functions".. But can sound really good if you get your head around it. It's another one that I really want to spend time on, but the RM1X is such a timesink that I never seem to be able to.
Sometimes I feel like Roland made the good gear on accident
They probably did. But even their Bad Gear is pretty awesome ;)
It's not Roland Corp that truly make the Gear , it's the particular engineer's of the moment. Look at the boss drum boxes , the older the better . Latest is dire.
Inversely proportional to the 'gear' available at the time. The better the gear, the badder the gear.
The MC-303 was the first hardware I owned outside of Radioshack and Casio keyboards or a beaten up solid state Hammond Sounder that was stuck in the corner of my basement, and I used it in my first twee synthpop band in my early 20s as the main source of beats (until I got an ESX-1). We rocked the loft parties in Montreal for years, and successfully toured to NYC, Toronto and elsewhere with it, making people dance and sweat to our pleasantly naive saccharine pop... The sounds from the OG MC series are so incredibly nostalgic to me, I can't help but smile when I hear them.
Love the track you play us out with. 6/8 house beats are almost always bangers.
Thank you!
i think you just convinced me to not sell my 307, despite only turning it on 3 times in the last 5 years.
i also wouldn't trust that pitch slider not to drift, breath on mine and it travels half the distance to the moon.
I tried to beatmatch but I still can't tell if it was the MC-307s or my fault that it didn't work ;)
Wow, I forgot how much fun it was to play with these Roland grooveboxes. I think I’m gonna hook up my 505 tonight!
They're made for playing!
I really enjoy this channel because it inspires me to put the gear i already have to better use instead of lusting after whatever the hot new product is these days. Especially in a market full of what are essentially full DAWs in a box its really refreshing to reflect on the strength of limitations. No only that but the production quality is top notch and the jams are serious stuff. I can't image how much time goes into the writing and editing process for these. Cheers!
Happy to hear that, thanks!
I loved my MC-505 until I broke it after several years. It was a lot of fun to play shows with back in the day. I remember when the 307 came out and thinking why in the world would anyone want that hardware package over the awesome hands on approach of the 505 with all of the mixer and synth controls right at your fingertips. As usual, you made it sound great!
This video reminds me of the time with my DSI Tempest, my first groovebox. I think the Tempest is a candidate for bad gear. Five years of hate/love before I sold it. A lot of hate online for it.
Great idea, thanks!
This series makes me feel very content with my simple, straightfoward gear. Great job as always !
Thank you!!!
I choose to believe that the glass of water just lives in that shelf permanently at this point.
Nope, I drink it every time ;)
You’re videos are getting better and better!!!!! Favorite synth RUclipsr!
Thank you so much!
Nice visuals on the final jam, because it definitely put out some Infected Mushroom vibes haha.
Love these two crazy guys
It was my first machine... still have it! Make my first EP with it. The deep menu diving its necessary to make good track with the machine, the filter its very nice, for a digital filter it as 2 very good sweet spots. And i like the sample quality. The arpagiator its so good, the only real lack its the bass sounds....
The filter indeed surprised me
I owned and programmed my own patches and "live sets" with this thing. The filter is actually pretty awesome and the built in waves are good quality. However! It was stupid easy to overload the thing with too complex patterns. When this happened, it would halt (and carry notes) for a half second before resuming. When I was recording the MC-307 version of "Gargoyle" I had to restart the process many times and you can still hear late cymbals in the recording itself. It's a great sample bank wrapped in a severely underpowered system.
Just pushed play on the 2009 version. Nice stuff!!!
That did sound quite good actually! Surprisingly good for 90:s VA filters...
What astounds me is the amount of different gear that has been manufactured over the years.
I had never even heard about the Mc-307 before this video. Like some other gear on your channel.
I mean there is such an enormous amount of different Synths, samplers, groove boxes, effects etc has seen the light over the years and that it somehow has been profitable for the majority of the manufacturers is to me a mystery. That the market for electronic music making has been this big for decades!
Agreed! The sheer amount of Roland gear alone would keep me busy for decades
Man that intro is hilarious lol Great work.
Thank you!
These just keep getting better! I’d love to see a review of the Yamaha RM1X!
Thank you! I got that one on the list!
Memory lane, I had a D2 and a 307 in a setup..... I have secret love for the D2, but the 307 was fun too!!! Romtastic but lacking in analogue warmth. The MC-808 also was a great machine, it has nice motion sequencing on modulation. They work well as long as you don't use the CPU to it's extreme. Thanks for some of these old sounds, they're bad, but they are good.... retro is in!!!
Love them but the CPU is seriously underpowered on all of them
@@AudioPilz I've just grabbed a 1010 Blackbox, some people mention that the CPU chokes on too many commands, just like the old Roland groovebox's. I think when Roland beta tests their machine's I don't think they push them to the extremes, and then put them into production, which seems like cutting corners considering... they are meant to be stand-alone. The Blackbox does not pretend to be a one piece gig machine. I've not had any CPU issues with the MC-101 though; which is great (what you see is what you get), but I am lending the 101 to my daughter as I feel I have outgrown it (for now). Dedicated Pilz addict
Back at 90's my music production kit was: PC + Cakewalk + Roland MC-307 + Yamaha CS1x 😃 ...and it was fun 🙂
Nice setup!!!
I had the MC-307 I made so much music with this machine.. I got mine in 2003 and I didn't get rid of it until like 2010. I found it very easy to use it has a lot of sounds and I don't think it's dated I think you can use it today.
Agreed! Many sounds on it that I would consider timeless
I completely agree with you, I also think about my MC 909, despite the fact that I have many other more modern techniques, for example Yamaha Motif XS b XF, New Roland Phantom and various VST instruments.
That FX noise at 6:20 takes me right back to my groovebox days.
Timeless classic!
I'd love to hear a compilation of all the various versions of the theme that you've made using all the different gear you've featured :-)
There's a lot of his tracks available on his Patreon.
I uploaded a bunch on Patreon, more to come (there's no bulk upload afaik)
I had a faulty 307 I’ve acquired on eBay for £50. Sadly the problem was that the buttons were broken and getting parts for it are rare as hens teeth. I’ve sold it at the end.
Sad story. Didn't know these parts were so rare
Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu swears by these, he has multiple of them and has used them on many of his records
Good to know! Love Xiu Xiu!
You made this thing sound good! I mean, you always do, but from what you showed it seems like the sounds inside of it are not bad at all, at least for a certain type of music. To me, it doesn't really sound all that dated (and that filter sounds way better than I ever would have thought), but I can see how the overuse of certain things wouldn't help its cause. I think people just need to get more creative with this type of gear and resist the urge to go the easy route and replicate common sounds. I think you've done a good job of demonstrating that possibility.
Always, always, always love your videos! Especially Bad Gear! It won't be long before you hit a million subs, I'm sure of it!
Thank you so much!
Damn, it actually sounds decent. I'm suprised
Surprised me as well
It has a very open sound. I think Omar S used a mc303/505 which i think uses a similar engine. But au natural the drums sound a bit to clean for me. That Lately bass sounded ok to me though.
You took my request!! I love you!!!🤗
Always a pleasure
would be down for an arca-ambient-reggaeton-that-becomes-drum n bass jam
It's statistically impossible not to appear on the show
Man this is one of the best channels on youtube. Keep up the sick work man.
Thank you!!!
NOTIFICATION SQUAD ASSEMBLED!
Yeah!
Oh I have one of these. I personally love it, but I'm old and nostalgic for 90s dance music.
Same here! Blast from the past
I have an MC-808 from around the same time. I absolutely love making tracks on it, it's quite the beast. That said, it's quite a step up from the MC-307. The workflow is quite similar, the aesthetics are similar, too.
Thanks for another awesome video!
Thanks for watching!
"ticking all the groove... boxes" nooo staaahp
Sorry for that. I feel guilty.
This is just an amazing video. Your review and memes and editing are so funny and entertaining. And your demo jams are hot.
Thank you!
the MC307 will always have a special place in my heart, as it was the first gear I've owned and that got me into midi, patch and pattern programming. The best MC is probably the MC909 (the newer ones are playing in a different league)
The MC909s have become so freaking expensive!
@@AudioPilz ..well, thats another story! same applies to the great Yamaha RS 7000. Those owners are well denying the existence, price and capability of the MC707
Sweet jams
Thanks!
Dunno what people are talking about, this box sounds awesome, ticks all my electronic sound likes. Or is that just your composition skillz?
There are some things you shouldn't do with it and I didn't do them ;)
I had one of these back in ‘00 it’s hitting some nostalgic sounds for me
Instant flashback!
90s revival is already here. That's the only reason anyone would ever consider any of my trash to get cut to wax. lol
It's a win-win then I would say ;)
It’s the instrument for you. Great sounding tracks you have created there.
Thank you so much!
Now I really want one to pair with my turntables
Nah. Get the pioneer efx-500. It’s everything great about pioneer effects and super fun to use live. Around a hundred bucks and easy to grab from eBay.
Just listened to a really nice hybrid set with a 307 - cool stuff
@@AudioPilz Found this one, looks pretty fun. ruclips.net/video/_Av4v4LjLlU/видео.html&ab_channel=Joshd%CC%81Louxlee
that schaffelrock goa is actually pretty cool, can you make whole album of such music please ? Would listen it daily (i mean really, unironically)
Thanks! Psytrance would be album nr. 7 on the list;)
_a...manatees!!_ 😫 Aaargh! Stop messing with my brain! 😝😂
My brain is messing with my brain ;)
It SOUNDS amazing I had one and will be buying another soon.
I liked its sounds a lot!
There's not a single 307 for sale on Reverb in my country, and the prices I'm seeing people asking for its cousins are making me hallucinate
There wasn't a single one in any Western country a few days ago. Blew my mind.
I was able to get a MC-307 in 2012 as new old stock..100% new. I don't know if I could ever sell it because it's got a museum quality thing about it given its connection to the original but with massively expanded sounds.. over 700 as I recall. For what it is, I think it's really cool, a bit funky, a bit corny, but that's also its unique charm. And there's a lot you can do with it. I've bookmarked the small handful of guys that really make it shine, but as you said, have yet to see anyone who has used it with a turntable as intended. Maybe I should be the first! PS- don't forget the bloated 909!
Nice! I actually found a nice video of someone using it as a third deck
To be honest those presets sound pretty good.
Some pretty nice patches on this thing
So much Roland, Korg and Moog stuff out there that just sounds phenomenal in the right hands! It's a great time to be a musician
Can we get a full track of that Progressive Austrian Goa Psybient Darktrance song? I would like to nominate it for best Bad Gear song of Feb 12, 2021.
Thanks! Currently trying to find a solution for the track finishing process
"Jx305 marketed toward keyboarders and Ben Jordans" lol I was like "hey I got that joke"
You can't say JX305 without saying Benn Jordan;)
That cracked me up also.
Legend has it that AudioPilz will never run out of bad gear to review.....
I never will...
My other request please sir: Yamaha RM1X
Thanks, it's on my list!
I loved the RM1x .. the best sounds it was creating when it was totally overloaded and you mashed repeat function :D
@eF Ka "Bad Gear™" is a very loose description of course… ;-)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that kind of gibblegabble.😆😆
@eF Ka My 1st thought when I read RM1x, I know plenty of people still using and loving it.
@@AudioPilz if you want to borrow mine for an episode, let me know!
Another great vid! Thanks dude. So far every time you've posted a new review there's been a 75% chance that I had the gear. Man... I bought one of these in the early 2000s as penance after I regretted selling my JX-305 a year prior. It was a cool box but I quickly moved on to using Reason on the PC for most of my work. I sold the MC-307 to a Canadian. (Not relevant.) About 10 years ago I got Roland-nostalgic & bought a MC-505. The pads were so deteriorated it was unusable and had to return it. I think any older Roland groove box will need pad maintenance. They weren't built for the military. A couple months ago I went full-circle and picked up a MC-707. Let me know when you review that. lol
Which side of Roland is the 707? ;)
I think I know who is responsible for the rising prices of failed Roland gear from days gone by. His name starts with P and ends with Z.
Who could that be...???🤔🤔🤔