The

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

MC-505 is a groovebox conceived in 1998 as a combination of a MIDI controller, a

music sequencer A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Cont ...

, a drum machine, and a desktop synthesizer with many synthesis features: arpeggiator, oscillators, and voltage-controlled filter, control of attack, decay, sustain and release, different envelopes and 2 Lfo. It was released as the successor to the Roland MC-303 and is a compact version of the

Roland JX-305 The Roland JX-305 Groovesynth synthesizer was produced in 1998 by Roland. It is very similar to a Roland MC-505 The Roland MC-505 is a groovebox conceived in 1998 as a combination of a MIDI controller, a music sequencer, a drum machine, and ...

Groovesynth without the full set of 61 keys. It is also the predecessor to the

Roland D2 The Roland D2 Groovebox is a performance-oriented Groovebox (sequencer/sound module). It has Roland's D-Field Controller technology. It has all of the Roland MC-505 The Roland MC-505 is a groovebox conceived in 1998 as a combination of a MIDI c ...

, Roland MC-307, Roland MC-909 and the

Roland MC-808 The Roland MC-808 was a groovebox, announced at the Winter NAMM in 2006. It is the successor to the late Roland MC-303, Roland MC-307, Roland MC-505 and Roland MC-909. Background Though cheaper than the Roland MC-909, it has a number of feature ...

Features

The key features of the MC-505 are: * 64 voice polyphonic digital subtractive synthesis engine (derived from the

Roland JV-1080 The Roland JV-1080 ( Super JV, Super JV-1080, or simply 1080) is a sample-based synthesizer/sound module in the form of a 2U rack. The JV-1080's synthesizer engine was also used in Roland's XP-50 workstation (1995). Due to its stellar library ...

) with 251 different oscillator, acoustic and drum sample waveforms * 512 built-in preset sounds, 256 user sounds & 26 rhythm sets (includes the

Roland CR-78 The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by later standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time, in particular by allowing users to program and store thei ...

, TR-808,

TR-606 The Roland TR-606 Drumatix is a drum machine built by the Roland Corporation from 1981 to 1984. It was originally designed to be used with the Roland TB-303, a monophonic analog bass synthesizer, to provide a simple drum and bass accompaniment ...

TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to syn ...

, TR-707 and R-8) * 8-track MIDI sequencer + Mute Ctrl Track * Recording length of up to 32 bars per pattern * 714 preset sequencer patterns, 200 user patterns, 50 user songs * 3 multi-effect units: Reverb, Delay and 24 different EFXs * Infrared

D-Beam The D-Beam was originally manufactured by Interactive Light, as a stand-alone unit, around 1996. It was then soon purchased by Roland Corporation, becoming trademarked and rebranded as D-Beam Controller for their own music equipment. Background Aft ...

controller for hands-free sound modulation * MEGAMix function for intuitive realtime mixing of beats and patterns * 5 volt Smartmedia card slot for doubling user patch and pattern memory

Criticisms

The Roland MC-505 has no

sampler Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

. The size of the LCD screen makes it difficult to read each feature setting, and over time the LCD screen would lose pixels (which in some cases renders the screen unreadable; this is called "display bug" by some users). This issue is due to the heat on the LCD screen-

PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * ...

board, the lamination between the crystal and the

is opening/splitting up from the little heat inside the Roland MC-505 from prolonged use. Roland has fixed this by updating the LCD screen

component Circuit Component may refer to: •Are devices that perform functions when they are connected in a circuit. In engineering, science, and technology Generic systems *System components, an entity with discrete structure, such as an assemb ...

Notable artists

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

Chicks on Speed Chicks on Speed is a feminist music and fine art ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, after members Australian Alex Murray-Leslie and American Melissa Logan met at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Though Chicks on Speed reached cult status th ...

* Cibo Matto *

Duo 505 Bernhard Fleischmann, born 1975 in Vienna, is an Austrian musician, usually known as B. Fleischmann. Fleischmann started his musical life as a drummer, although he is better known for electronic music. He has released several albums on Morr Mus ...

* Eric Prydz * Freddy Fresh * Gustavo Cerati * James McNally ( Afro Celts) * Kirlian Camera * Lasgo * The Legendary Pink Dots * M.I.A. * New Order * Peaches *

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

* Rambo Amadeus *

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...

* Sean Lennon *

Grace Ives Grace Ives (born April 3, 1995) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has been positively reviewed by publications including ''Stereogum'' who featured her on their Best New Bands of 2019 list and '' Pitchfork'' who awarded her second studio ...

https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/grace-ives-interview-janky-star/ * Juan Atkins * I-F *

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

References

External links

MC-505 PDF Manual Links:
Online Roland MC-505 PDF Owners Manual Location

Roland MC-505 Service Notes Manual Schematics
Other Links:
Roland US Corporation, MC-505 site and files.

Roland MC-505's discussion Group Forum
at Yahoo! Groups
Roland MC-505 FAQ v.1.041

"Roland MC505 - next up from the mc303 comes the 505 - same thing, more power". - (Dancetech.com "A London, UK Independent Product Reviews site". - Date: March 16, 2000)

At Home With the Groovebox
- Compilation of artists using only the MC-505 featuring

, Air,

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

, Pavement,

Jean Jacques Perrey Jean Marcel Leroy (; 20 January 1929 – 4 November 2016), popularly known as Jean-Jacques Perrey, was a French electronic music performer, composer, producer, and promoter. He is considered a pioneer of pop electronica.Gershon Kingsley Gershon Kingsley (born Götz Gustav Ksinski; October 28, 1922 – December 10, 2019) was a German-American composer, a pioneer of electronic music and the Moog synthesizer, a partner in the electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley, founde ...

, Cibo Matto, Sean Lennon and others. Released in 2000 by Grand Royal. {{Roland MC-505 Grooveboxes