Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

I currently own an MC-909 and was thinking of selling it to purchase 
the MP-7 and three roms. (Protean Drums ROM, Beat Garden ROM, Vintage 
Collection ROM) Im thinking this would give me more sounds than the 
MC-909 currently has. But I have a few concerns. 
The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this way?
ALso the mc909 can sequence up to 16 peices of gear. This is useful 
for my collection of synths. I see that the command staion has two 
midi outputs but can I still midi chain my synths together to 
controll more than two pieces of gear? 
                         thank you

On 9/25/04 7:18 PM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@...> wrote:

> I currently own an MC-909 and was thinking of selling it to purchase
> the MP-7 and three roms. (Protean Drums ROM, Beat Garden ROM, Vintage
> Collection ROM) Im thinking this would give me more sounds than the
> MC-909 currently has. But I have a few concerns.
> The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this way?

the Command Stations are very stable. i've never had one crash, ever.

> ALso the mc909 can sequence up to 16 peices of gear. This is useful
> for my collection of synths. I see that the command staion has two
> midi outputs but can I still midi chain my synths together to
> controll more than two pieces of gear?

the Command Station can control up to 32 pieces of external kit (32 MIDI
channels over two MIDI Out ports). MIDI Thru works if your external gear
passes MIDI to a Thru port.

much as i love the Command Stations, i wouldn't trade an MC-909 for one,
especially since the 909 has sampling and a USB connection to transfer
samples to/from a computer. plus Roland's effects are better and more
varied.

however, if you're not so hot on sampling and are mainly a "preset tweaker"
type of person, the Command Station would suit you well,  as with 4 ROMs
you're talkin' a good 2048 presets. if it were me, i'd try to get a PX-7
(which has the Protean Drums ROM) because it is a more neutral gray and has
the OS 2.0 shift functions stenciled in above the sequencer controls. the
MP-7 is nifty purple but can be too dark (as mine was) and thus difficult to
read. i switched back to an XL-7 for the bright yellow - good contrast in
low-light situations.
--
Bruddah Max
Lord of the Dance

Thats a good idea. I think the PX-7 color would also suit my tastes. 
As far as presets I am not nesisarily a preset player. I like using 
presets (slightly tweaked)on boxes like the mc909 and cammand station 
but I own a few synths that I make my own patches always. (jupiter 6, 
Korg mono/poly, Juno 106, Korg MS2000) Im am more of a down tempo 
kind of guy and the mc909 just doesnt do that style as well as i 
would like. I also love acoustic cymbals on my music and it doesnt 
have as much as i need. I could get an expansion board for acoustic 
drum sounds but them ill be maxed out because the mc909 only has one 
slot. As far as sampling goes that is one thing I would defility miss 
in the mc909 but im thinking i can purchase a good sampler 
afterwards. For the money I could get for the mc909 i could purchase 
all those roms and the command station so im thinking it might be the 
right dirrection.


--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, Bruddah Max <bruddahmax@c...> wrote:
> On 9/25/04 7:18 PM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@h...> wrote:
> 
> > I currently own an MC-909 and was thinking of selling it to 
purchase
> > the MP-7 and three roms. (Protean Drums ROM, Beat Garden ROM, 
Vintage
> > Collection ROM) Im thinking this would give me more sounds than 
the
> > MC-909 currently has. But I have a few concerns.
> > The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this 
way?
> 
> the Command Stations are very stable. i've never had one crash, 
ever.
> 
> > ALso the mc909 can sequence up to 16 peices of gear. This is 
useful
> > for my collection of synths. I see that the command staion has two
> > midi outputs but can I still midi chain my synths together to
> > controll more than two pieces of gear?
> 
> the Command Station can control up to 32 pieces of external kit (32 
MIDI
> channels over two MIDI Out ports). MIDI Thru works if your external 
gear
> passes MIDI to a Thru port.
> 
> much as i love the Command Stations, i wouldn't trade an MC-909 for 
one,
> especially since the 909 has sampling and a USB connection to 
transfer
> samples to/from a computer. plus Roland's effects are better and 
more
> varied.
> 
> however, if you're not so hot on sampling and are mainly a "preset 
tweaker"
> type of person, the Command Station would suit you well,  as with 4 
ROMs
> you're talkin' a good 2048 presets. if it were me, i'd try to get a 
PX-7
> (which has the Protean Drums ROM) because it is a more neutral gray 
and has
> the OS 2.0 shift functions stenciled in above the sequencer 
controls. the
> MP-7 is nifty purple but can be too dark (as mine was) and thus 
difficult to
> read. i switched back to an XL-7 for the bright yellow - good 
contrast in

> low-light situations.
> --
> Bruddah Max
> Lord of the Dance

On 9/25/04 9:15 PM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@...> wrote:

> Thats a good idea. I think the PX-7 color would also suit my tastes.
> As far as presets I am not nesisarily a preset player. I like using
> presets (slightly tweaked)on boxes like the mc909 and cammand station
> but I own a few synths that I make my own patches always. (jupiter 6,
> Korg mono/poly, Juno 106, Korg MS2000) Im am more of a down tempo
> kind of guy and the mc909 just doesnt do that style as well as i
> would like. I also love acoustic cymbals on my music and it doesnt
> have as much as i need. I could get an expansion board for acoustic
> drum sounds but them ill be maxed out because the mc909 only has one
> slot. As far as sampling goes that is one thing I would defility miss
> in the mc909 but im thinking i can purchase a good sampler
> afterwards. For the money I could get for the mc909 i could purchase
> all those roms and the command station so im thinking it might be the
> right dirrection.

well the PX-7 is running expensive and the ROM is even more so compared to
the other ROMs. cheaper to buy the PX-7 and get the other ROMs. also, you
can probably still get the Beat Garden from Soundfont.com for less than eBay
prices.
--
Bruddah Max
Lord of the Dance

Has Beat Garden been discontinued?

--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, Bruddah Max <bruddahmax@c...> wrote:
> On 9/25/04 9:15 PM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@h...> wrote:
> 
> > Thats a good idea. I think the PX-7 color would also suit my 
tastes.
> > As far as presets I am not nesisarily a preset player. I like 
using
> > presets (slightly tweaked)on boxes like the mc909 and cammand 
station
> > but I own a few synths that I make my own patches always. 
(jupiter 6,
> > Korg mono/poly, Juno 106, Korg MS2000) Im am more of a down tempo
> > kind of guy and the mc909 just doesnt do that style as well as i
> > would like. I also love acoustic cymbals on my music and it doesnt
> > have as much as i need. I could get an expansion board for 
acoustic
> > drum sounds but them ill be maxed out because the mc909 only has 
one
> > slot. As far as sampling goes that is one thing I would defility 
miss
> > in the mc909 but im thinking i can purchase a good sampler
> > afterwards. For the money I could get for the mc909 i could 
purchase
> > all those roms and the command station so im thinking it might be 
the
> > right dirrection.
> 
> well the PX-7 is running expensive and the ROM is even more so 
compared to
> the other ROMs. cheaper to buy the PX-7 and get the other ROMs. 
also, you
> can probably still get the Beat Garden from Soundfont.com for less 
than eBay

> prices.
> --
> Bruddah Max
> Lord of the Dance

On 9/25/04 11:38 PM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@...> wrote:

>> well the PX-7 is running expensive and the ROM is even more so compared to
>> the other ROMs. cheaper to buy the PX-7 and get the other ROMs. also, you can
>> probably still get the Beat Garden from Soundfont.com for less than eBay
>> prices.

> Has Beat Garden been discontinued?

yes, but there is still stock left. eBay prices on some of the ROMs that are
still available are outrageous - $119 or something for ROMs that still sell
for only $69. check it out:

http://www.soundfont.com/roms/index.html

--
Bruddah Max
Lord of the Dance

Sounds of the ZR (Q-ROM) is amazing.

X-ROM is ok, pretty good. Protozoa has some weird stuff as well. I 
may take out the Protoza at some point and put in my Beat Garden 
instead.

If you are looking to buy, don't sleep on the QROM.

--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, Bruddah Max <bruddahmax@c...> wrote:
> On 9/25/04 11:38 PM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@h...> wrote:
> 
> >> well the PX-7 is running expensive and the ROM is even more so 
compared to
> >> the other ROMs. cheaper to buy the PX-7 and get the other ROMs. 
also, you can
> >> probably still get the Beat Garden from Soundfont.com for less 
than eBay
> >> prices.
> 
> > Has Beat Garden been discontinued?
> 
> yes, but there is still stock left. eBay prices on some of the ROMs 
that are
> still available are outrageous - $119 or something for ROMs that 
still sell

> for only $69. check it out:
> 
> http://www.soundfont.com/roms/index.html
> 
> --
> Bruddah Max
> Lord of the Dance

The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this way?

>>>It depends, there have been a few of us that have had the occasional 
hiccup with the XX-7's. A few random lockups, nothing too serious 
though.<<<

ALso the mc909 can sequence up to 16 peices of gear. This is useful 
for my collection of synths. I see that the command staion has two 
midi outputs but can I still midi chain my synths together to 
controll more than two pieces of gear? 

>>>Yep! <<<

rEalm
 






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--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, erik_magrini@B... wrote:
> The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this way?
> 
> >>>It depends, there have been a few of us that have had the 
occasional 
> hiccup with the XX-7's. A few random lockups, nothing too serious 
> though.<<<

I made my XL7 hiccup by setting the note resolution to 1/128 in step 
recording mode, then playing each note while tweaking knobs to 
emulate a granular synth sound.  The amount of realtime MIDI 
controller data going was just too much for the processor to handle.  
The XL7 handles the same idea fine, though, in 1/64 note resolution.

I doubt most people are going to push it to such extremes, though, on 
a regular basis.  To do the same thing, that is, create a dense 
sequence of 128th notes with lots of realtime modulation and 
filtering going on, I'd just sequence straight MIDI note numbers and 
fed the XL7 output into an external processor (like my Nord 
Micromodular).

Paolo

Even an occasional lockup can mean a whole lot of embaresment when 
your on stage. As far as it not being able to handle alot of CC midi 
data due to prossesing speed this is also not good. I would like a 
box to turn knobs for me on multiple tracks if needed. hmm 


> The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this way?
 


>> It depends, there have been a few of us that have had the 
occasional 

>> hiccup with the XX-7's. A few random lockups, nothing too serious 
>> though.

>> rEalm

On 10/4/04 5:24 AM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@...> wrote:

>>> It depends, there have been a few of us that have had the occasional hiccup
>>> with the XX-7's. A few random lockups, nothing too serious though.

>> The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this way?

> Even an occasional lockup can mean a whole lot of embaresment when your on
> stage. As far as it not being able to handle alot of CC midi data due to
> prossesing speed this is also not good. I would like a box to turn knobs for
> me on multiple tracks if needed. hmm

i've never had any Command Station ever lock up on me, though, so i'm
curious what the situations were that rEalm speaks of here. anyone care to
share a lock up situation with us?
--
Bruddah Max
Lord of the Dance

Bruddah Max how hard do you push the unit? in terms of is the command 
station controlling multiple peices of gear? And do you have the 
command station controlling CC data? EX: knob movements of other 
synths. I remember the mc505 was stable when sequencing within its 
own sounds but once you hooked to to other gear it was crashing left 
and right.
                        analoggeek

--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, Bruddah Max <bruddahmax@c...> wrote:
> On 10/4/04 5:24 AM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@h...> wrote:
> 
> >>> It depends, there have been a few of us that have had the 
occasional hiccup
> >>> with the XX-7's. A few random lockups, nothing too serious 
though.
> 
> >> The mc-909 is rock solid. Doesnt crash at all. Is the MP-7 this 
way?
> 
> > Even an occasional lockup can mean a whole lot of embaresment 
when your on
> > stage. As far as it not being able to handle alot of CC midi data 
due to
> > prossesing speed this is also not good. I would like a box to 
turn knobs for
> > me on multiple tracks if needed. hmm
> 
> i've never had any Command Station ever lock up on me, though, so 
i'm
> curious what the situations were that rEalm speaks of here. anyone 
care to

> share a lock up situation with us?
> --
> Bruddah Max
> Lord of the Dance

I've had it happen a few times while editing a pattern at home.  I'll be 
flying through the list edit changing this or that (very quickly I might 
add), and it'll just freeze completely, requiring a reboot.  Had it happen 
to me live once too while in the middle of an XMIX, so I definitely 
understand the fear of that!  The only other issue I've had with it in a 
live context was related to the mains power feeding my XL-7.  They had the 
extra outlet in the DJ booth tied in to the same breaker as the lights, 
and for some reason once the lights came on my XL_7 starting completely 
acting weird, playing the wrong sounds (just madness), not going back to 
the right screen, etc.  This was partially my fault for not having a UPS 
at the time to buffer the line, something that was remedied the next day.

rEalm




i've never had any Command Station ever lock up on me, though, so i'm
curious what the situations were that rEalm speaks of here. anyone care to
share a lock up situation with us?
--
Bruddah Max
Lord of the Dance





 
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On 10/4/04 7:15 AM, "analog_geek" <marsholie@...> wrote:

> Bruddah Max how hard do you push the unit? in terms of is the command
> station controlling multiple peices of gear? And do you have the
> command station controlling CC data? EX: knob movements of other
> synths. I remember the mc505 was stable when sequencing within its
> own sounds but once you hooked to to other gear it was crashing left
> and right.

well right now i have my XL-7 driving just two pieces of kit - a Roland
XP-30 and an Alesis QS-R module.  in the recent past i've run more than six
modules off of it without any major problems. MIDI itself starts to choke on
things before my XL does. i'm not much of a CC tweaker (not a very good
player either - :-| ) but when i control external gear with the knobs (or
Reason) it seems to be fine. i've never had the XL actually lock up before.

i haven't really put an MC-505 through its paces, nor an MC-909, so i can't
really compare them. the MC-909 does have quite a fast processor for a
Roland unit, though - if it is anything like the Fantom S as far as
sequencing goes, it should be relatively crash free.
--
Bruddah Max
Lord of the Dance

On 10/4/04 10:33 AM, "erik_magrini@..." <erik_magrini@...>
wrote:

> I've had it happen a few times while editing a pattern at home.  I'll be
> flying through the list edit changing this or that (very quickly I might
> add), and it'll just freeze completely, requiring a reboot.  Had it happen
> to me live once too while in the middle of an XMIX, so I definitely
> understand the fear of that!  The only other issue I've had with it in a
> live context was related to the mains power feeding my XL-7.  They had the
> extra outlet in the DJ booth tied in to the same breaker as the lights,
> and for some reason once the lights came on my XL_7 starting completely
> acting weird, playing the wrong sounds (just madness), not going back to
> the right screen, etc.  This was partially my fault for not having a UPS
> at the time to buffer the line, something that was remedied the next day.

that's interesting - i haven't had any lockups but i haven't done much
"quick editing" during pattern creation (i'm rather slow, darnit) and
haven't really delved into X-Mix just yet. most of my sequencing on the
Command Station these days is in trying to recreate older (pre-1990) Depeche
Mode / Erasure / (insert New Wave band name here) songs for a cover band
project i'm hoping to kick off in the near future, so not much "live
mixing", although i'll probably get into that once that project starts
coming together.

i love the XL-7 - i'm on my fourth now - i keep thinking i can do without
it, but just like i GODFATHER PART III, it keeps pulling me back in...

--
Bruddah Max
Lord of the Dance

Just to clarify my point about the XX-7 locking up earlier, I'm also VERY 
familiar with the MC505 (I'm a moderator of that email list as well), and 
I would say that the XX-7 is as stable as the MC505.  I've had both crash 
on me a couple times, but probably not one more than the other.  Hope that 
helps.

rEalm



i haven't really put an MC-505 through its paces, nor an MC-909, so i 
can't
really compare them. the MC-909 does have quite a fast processor for a
Roland unit, though - if it is anything like the Fantom S as far as
sequencing goes, it should be relatively crash free.










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use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by 
entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you 
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