Forum for all other samplers & synths such as Maschine, MVs, Akai S & Z series, Roland, Korg, OP-1, analog synths etc.
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By g4s Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:21 am
MC909 is a great machine and it's a real shame that Roland didn't do at least one more OS update for it. If I could add only one feature it would be to easily set locator / loop points on any bar for editing.

Get yourself the latest OS and the free software tools, such as the editor software that runs over MIDI. This unlocks an extra feature associated with keyboard splits that's not available directly from the 909 user interface. There's also a utility for bulk sample transfer available. Mc909.org is currently a good resource available (via Google Translate) and has both OS and usage tips. There's also a Yahoo Group which will be worth searching archive-wise.

Ian mentioned a USB MIDI discussion he'd had on another forum but I think that this is maybe crossed wires with the other person actually using a USB MIDI cable rather than using the 909 USB port to send and receive MIDI data. The 909 has a USB port but I'm pretty sure it's just for file transfer rather than realtime MIDI control. Happy to be proved wrong if I've missed something though.

There's an instructional DVD available which is bound to help you learn at least one thing you may have missed. Have a search - picked one up cheap years ago. Also, it's worth keeping a look out for cheap SRX expansion boards. I bought the SRX05 which is specifically designed for the 909 and adds a lot of new sounds.

The 909 is an extremely powerful synth that Roland didn't market as well as they maybe could have. In an era where the Maschine and Renaissance are regularly compared, it's a real shame that Roland have stalled with MC909 and MV8800 type products as, even after all this time, a JJ OS approach to these machines could make things very interesting for the competition. I say this as someone who has high hopes for both the NI Maschine and Akai Renaissance. Really wish Roland would get back in this area of the game and the same with the Yamaha RS7000 which could be close to perfection if Yamaha ever revisted the Desktop synth-sampler market.

Hope this helps. Give me a shout if you need any more info re: the 909.

G4s
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By saltmcgault Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:00 pm
My friend brought over his roland mc-307 last weekend. If the roland mc-909 is anything like it, which I'm assuming its better then that's a pretty neat toy to get working for almost nothing.