Roland MC-101 Groovebox

Small size. Massive groove.

Produce and perform music anywhere, anytimewithout clutter or complications. The MC-101 GROOVEBOX has all the high-quality sounds, sequencing, and effects of the professional MC-707, in a compact four-track version thats go-everywhere portable. Get started with an inspiring collection of ready-to-go sounds and patterns, or easily create your own. Craft a unique style by importing custom sounds and loops that sync to tempo. And you can perform with the MC-101, triggering clips and shaping your sounds with direct, hands-on control.

V1.72 now available with new features.

HIGHLIGHTS

Pocket production studio.

The MC-101 is a professional production tool, sharing the sounds and many of the capabilities of its bigger sibling, the MC-707. And there are advantages to being small. The MC-101 is solid-yet-light and runs for about five hours on four AA batteries, so you can design sounds, create drum patterns, and compose musical phrases just about anywhere. And its not just a scratch pad for simple ideas. You can produce fully fledged professional tracks or create backing tracks and accompaniment for live performance.

Turn a creative spark into fire.

The MC-101 has a four-track sequencer optimized for creating todays electronic and dance-focused music. You can use the 16 RGB pads to create drum, bass, and synthesizer patterns and produce your own original music. Explore a musical playground where you can freely combine loops and one-shots with melodic phrases, including your own MIDI sequences and imported audio recordings. Compose and chain scenes or clips, rearrange, re-sample, record automation, and more. Or share clips with other MC-101, MC-707, and VERSELAB MV-1 users for remote collaboration.

A portable studio full of vintage gear.

The MC-101 uses the ZEN-Core Synthesis Systemthe most advanced synth engine weve ever made. ZEN-Core delivers the Roland sounds that have defined electronic and dance genres for over forty years. Legendary instruments like the TR-808, TR-909, JUNO-106, and SH-101 are all here, ready to replicate classic sounds or be combined, tweaked, and processed into entirely new sounds.

Expandable sounds, patterns, and phrases.

Compose from a curated collection of projects with built-in beats, phrases, and sounds, all expertly crafted by renowned artists and sound designerswith even more available to download.

The MC-101 is also compatible with ZEN-Core Sound Packs. So when youre ready for more sounds, or want to explore new genres and styles, its easy to change things up.

Play your own custom audio in perfect sync.

Each track contains a powerful sample player so you can import your own custom sounds. Use your own voice or the sound of a favorite instrument from your computer. Imported audio can sync with the MC-101s tempo or be processed with the arsenal of built-in effects and hands-on controls.

Produce tracks ready to stream or perform.

With the MC-101s wide range of pro effects, your music sounds polished and fully produced. Each track has independent effects processors with a huge number of variations. Lush chorus brings depth to pads and other synth sounds. Delays and reverbs create evocative spaces and add movement to delicate sequences. Overdrive, distortion, and amp simulation inject grit and intensity into synths, guitars, drums, and more. You can also run your entire mix through master effects like filters, bit-crushers, and a master bus compressor that glues it all together with punch and clarity.

Produce and share with the world. With a single cable.

When youre ready to develop tracks further or share your creations with friends and fans, simply connect the MC-101 to your computer with a single USB cable. It has advanced USB audio interface capabilities and can record an entire mix or all four parts to individual tracks in your DAW. Or sample sounds from your DAW to capture backing tracks, stems, or the sound of a favorite software synth for your next live show.

Come experience the MC-101 at The Roland Store inside Bananas.

Free live training for Roland Digital Instruments is available at Roland Cloud Academy when you register your product.

Roland Cloud Academy is an online learning platform providing free training courses for registered owners of Roland DJ controllers, TR-8S Rhythm Performer, and MC-101 + MC-707 GROOVEBOXES. In a series of live group video sessions, Rolands top product specialists will guide you step-by-step through various product features and provide tips for studio creation, stage performance, and event production. With the benefit of Cloud Academys interactive online platform, instructors provide real-time responses to your questions submitted via live chat, voice, or webcam.

SPECIFICATIONS

Sound Generator

• ZEN-Core (Tone, Drum Kit)

Track Type

• Tone, Drum Kit, Looper (Audio Loop)

Maximum Polyphony

• ZEN-Core: 128 voices (varies according to the sound generator load)
• LOOPER: 4 (varies according to the available number of Looper track)

Tracks

• 4 tracks

Clips

• 64 clips (16 clips per track)

>* Clip Type: Tone, Drum Kit, Looper (Audio Loop), it varies according to the track type.

Tones

• Preset Tone: 3,000 or greater
• Preset Drum Kit: 80 or greater
• User Sample (as a Tone or Drum Kit): available by importing form SD CARD
• Looper Sample (as a clip of Looper track): available by importing from SD CARD

* Available total time for User Sample: 12 minutes in mono, 6 minutes in stereo (44.1 kHz)

* Available format of User Sample: WAV 3296 kHz/16 bits, 24 bits (mono, stereo)

* Available total time for Looper Sample: Approx. 60 sec (44.1 kHz)

* Available format of Looper Sample: WAV 44.1 kHz/16 bits, 24 bits, 32 bits, 32 bits float (mono, stereo)

Effects

• Track Multi-Effects: 90 types
• Track EQ
• Chorus/Delay: 9 types
• Reverb: 7 types
• Master Effects: 90 types
• Master Compressor
• Master EQ

Step Sequencer

• Maximum Step: 128 steps

* Available on a Tone or Drum Kit Track

Looper

• Time Stretch, Pitch Shift

* Available on a Looper Track

Display

• 16 characters, 2 lines LCD (with backlit)

External Storage

• SD Card (SDHC supported) for saving Project Data and Audio Data

Connectors

• PHONES jack: Stereo miniature phone type
• OUT(L/MONO, R) jacks: 1/4-inch phone type
• MIDI (IN, OUT) connectors
• USB port: USB B type (Audio, MIDI)

Power Supply

• Alkaline battery (AA, LR6) x 4
• Ni-MH battery (AA, HR6) x 4
• Obtained via USB port (USB bus power)

Current Draw

• 500 mA

Expected battery life under continuous use

• Alkaline battery (AA, LR6): Approx. 3 hours
• Ni-MH battery (AA, HR6): Approx. 4.5 hours

* This can vary depending on the specifications of the batteries, capacity of the batteries, and the conditions of use.

Accessories

• Owner’s manual
• Alkaline battery (AA, LR6) x 4
• SD Card (installed in the product when shipped from the factory)
• SD Card Protector (installed in the product when shipped from the factory)

Size and Weight

• Width: 224 mm / 8-13/16 inches
• Depth: 132 mm / 5-3/16 inches
• Height: 61 mm / 2-7/16 inches
• Weight (including batteries): 716 g / 1 lb 9 oz

Includedin the box

• Owner’s manual
• Alkaline battery (AA, LR6) x 4
• SD Card (installed in the product when shipped from the factory)
• SD Card Protector (installed in the product when shipped from the factory)

Meet The Other Innovative Instruments in Roland’s AIRA Family

MC-707 Groovebox

The MC-707 GROOVEBOX has everything you need to create a song or perform a live set without a computer. Immerse yourself in eight tracks of recording, sequencing, synthesizers, and effects, plus a curated palette of sounds, loops, and phrases. Record audio and MIDIwith deep control over timingand tweak the faders and knobs for that in the moment experience. With such massive potential, youre ready to produce in any style or create your own new thing.

TR-8S Rhythm Performer

Born of the most famous and influential drum machines ever made, the TR-8S combines the best of its Roland heritage with modern production techniques and professional sound design. The result? A forward-thinking, performance-tuned instrument unlike any other. Build your dream kit from the most iconic drum sounds of all time, plus the finest selection of samples from our vast libraryor import your own custom samples. Tap, tune, and tweak with hands-on controls and production tools that make your patterns move and groove. And why keep this kind of percussive power confined to the studio?