Roland MC-500

The MC500mkII with the Super MRC software is very easy to use but you will have to get used to that LCD screen if you know your way round a nice big monitor with a software sequencer.
I actually didn't bother with the manual and dived right in at the deep end with ocasional looks in the manual - it works for me anyway.

Features? I wish I could just list them all but I haven't got time. I'll tell you one thing it doesn't feature and that is 'patturn' style sequencing (like on a alessis MMT8) It's linear style sequenceing but because it features 'copy' you can fake a patturn style sequencer. I like the fact with this you can get different software (super MRC) being the best system - it's very versitile. Its features are in the MODE section. This is stuff like errase, copy, merge, delete, datethin, shifting, transpose etc etc. It has alot of disk functions too.

this is a little thing I love (not really a feature) but the bleep sound (there must be an internial bleeperspeaker - make sure you got the tiny knob on the back up or you won't hear it) That bleep really helps you compose in the step-recording mode as when you skip/rest in favour of a note with a space, it will bleep giving you a bit of subconsiness rhythm in your head so you don't loose your self < sorry if that made no sense at all!

In appearance it also features these lovely hunky clunky oldskool amiga style buttons/keys which go kaBONK! when you hit them! plenty of flashing coloured LED's to make it look like a discolight in the dark! also the alpha dial is a cool idea.

It doesn't make a sound - you make the MC make other gear make sounds so it depends what other gear you go with you. I've got a roland juno2 and a casio hz600 synth but this isn't relevent to you. I recomend you get a MIDI-Thru box. Although the MC has 2 MIDI outputs, you never know, you might look on the back of your synth to find no MIDI thru socket and thus no daisy chaining. (daisychaining should be avoided IMO)

It's build like a sh*t brick house. super thick plastic. I've actually dropped it onto hardfloor, made a big CLUNKdddunk! as it hit but i fired it up, check EVERYTHING and nothing had gone wrong and no cosmetic damage either!

I don't think roland care about their oldstuff which is sad. infact it's a non-roland site where you can get the SuperMRC software for #50ish so there you go.

now I know why when I see other reviews on gear they all go "if it were stolen" it's cause they influence you this question when writing this review. anyways... IF it were stolen, i'd find the person who stole it and kill it and grab it back - I love this machine and I'm not going back to software seqs now, PCs crash too often, well... mine did anyway. Don't listen to people who say it's no good, if you see it BUY it! as soon as you take it home with you though, make a backup copy of the systemdisk just in case!

Actually I right now I'm useing the MC 500 Mk II. I'm useing SUPER MRC V2.0. I was lucky enuff to find an old Mk II upgrade brand new in a box about 8 months ago. I had been useing it as a regular MC 500 with MRC V1.10 software for recoring and editing along with the seperate MRP preformance software witch is just for play back and performance(song chain, sequencing play lists, next song auto load ect...). It is my main sequencer and I do most of my recording and editing on it then dump it to the computer for a fresh perspictive and then put it back in to the MC 500 for the finishing touches.
Basicly it easy to use once you get the hang of how it works. the SUPER software is much more complex and powerful than the regular MRC software and there was a bit of a learning curve when I made the upgrades. I dont recomend useing the SUPER MRC software unless you have the MK II the super software takes to much memory in a regular MC 500. Every time you change modes (edit, disk, midi, micro, play, utility, and function) an MC 500 has to read the new functon from the disk drive into memory this is hard on the disk drive and takes to much time ; record a part load the new mode ,playback the part load a new mode ,edit the part ,load a new mode listen to the edits load a new mode . . . you get the idea. Its tedious. Better just to use regular MRC with the MC 500 if its not a Mk II that way all the modes are ready to go at the touch of a button.

The SUPER MRC software combines both the MRC and MRP software and adds a bunch of new features. It takes advantage of the memory upgrade of the Mk II so there is none of that back and forth with the disk drive. It allowes for 8 tracks, much higher level of virsatility, output routing, song length, and more advanced editing. It will give all these features to a regular MC 500 but like i mentioned above i don't think it was ment to be used that way.
The Mk II upgrade is a whole new main board and adds four times the memory to the MC 500 and it seems a bit faster too. maybe faster prosser was added too ? (also slightly changes the sound of the metronome beep :)
On the back panel are 1 MIDI in, 1 thru, and 2 MIDI out jacks. tape sync in, and out. foot switch jacks for start/stop and a metronome signal output. The MIDI outs can also be used as a merge, kind of an out/thru for sending the input up to 3 different places without any of that nasty dasiy chaining.
Any MIDI channel and/or the MIDI clock can be routed to eather 1 or both of the 2 outs.
Any of the 8 tracks can be switched on and off for mixing thing up in groove box style.
The micro edit mode give single event control down to a resolution of 96 parts per quarter note.
The reason decided to buy this over any other sequencer when i was looking at the MC 500 in the store about 5 years ago was actually for the metronome output. I was hopeing to use it to trigger the arpeggiator sync on my akai AX 60 or to trigger the filter envelope on my korg delta but it didn't work for eather one of them. but it does send the auto tune message to the AX 60.
The buttons on it are just like the buttons on you computers keyboard.
It will transmit and recieve sysex as part of a song only if the other device is made by roland. but there is yet another operating system for sysex dumps of gear that is not made by roland called Bulk Librarian. but unfortunatly you can only load 1 OS at a time.
there is one more cool feature i think is worth mentioning that is the rythem track and the temop track. tempo traks controles any time changes ; if the song goes from 4/4 to 5/4 and the tempo drops from 133 bpm to 90 over sixteen measures all this is done in the tempo track.
The rythem track is sort of a built in drum machine but with out sounds. almost making this a 9 track sequencer but its not super useable. there is some software called "rythem bank" that lodes some really excelent drum patterns into the rythem track but from what i have been able to figgure out so far you have to record them to a different track to edit them and there is no way to put them back into the rythem track once you take them out. maybe i just havent used this feature enuff to really figure out how to work it best , anyway , im not hurting for drum tracks so . . .

well . . . it dosnt make any sound.
it easier to edit the expression things like control change values can be done graphicly on the computer. It wont save standard MIDI files even with the conversion software but it will load a standard MIDI file if its small enuff to be converted to MRC format. but longer song or songs with alot of MIDI events will have to be recorded in to it in real time.

i use it constantly. it is the whole brains behind every thing i do.
i have giged many times with it. Its like a member of the band that never helps cary stuff back out to the van after the show, but it hasn't tried to steal my GF yet so i can over look it.

roland sent me both MRC and SUPER MRC operating systems for free. but the manuals cost me. great company

I have no plans on getting rid of it but , if it was lost or stolen i would get eather an XP 80 or the MC 90.
again, im sorry about my grammer and spelling

Am I the only one that purchased a MC-500. It's not even listed in the "products category". (Neither is my Synth Plus-80.)