I am returning my MC-80 unit with great disappointment. I cannot believe how poorly implemented this device is. I would like to tell Roland what I don't like about it but I find that finding a path to get any input to them is not easy.

I am a long time avid MC-50 user. There is not a function or operation that I do not perform regularly. I am not only concerned with the recording and editing functions, but I use this in live perfomance. It is a good machine allowing performance possibilities. The only problem I have ever had is capacity. It will only load half a set and then I have to wait for it to load another set. This has forced me to banter with the audience longer than I like. I want to perform, not talk.

I was excited to see the release of the MC-80 for they were advertising 140,000 note capacity. What they don't tell you is that you can only use that tremendous capacity for one song and one song alone. They advertise that they have these enhanced performance functions like jump to verse/chorus/ending etc but you can only do that if you have only one song loaded. If you use chain play (which is what you would do for performing) you cannot access these functions. This is poor implementation.

The loop function can be used in chain play but it doesn't jump out of the loop when you request. It simply finishes the loop. Let's look at looping in performance mode. Many times I have a solo and I set that up in a loop. My loops are always 16 to 24 measures long because I avoid repetitious looping. I run this loop as long as I feel like soloing. On the MC-50, when I decide to end my solo, I can jump right out of it to the rest of the song. On the MC-80 you have to finish the loop wherever you are so that could be 1 measure or 24 measures. So there you are performing and you don't know when the change is coming. This is not good for performance. Now you could use the "jump to ending" function but as I said, it is not functional in performance mode (chain play).

Also, they eliminated auto-stop. Why is this useful? Sometimes, there is a break in a song where the singer adlibs a bit and then finishes the song. The auto-stop function can be used to stop right on that measure and then wait for the footswitch. This function is also useful for program changes. I am a guitarist and I use smooth jazzy sounds as well as distortion. Some tunes require that everything start with a bang. You do not want a program change going out to your guitar processor right on the down beat. Your audience will hear that. You want the program changes to go out before the tune starts so that everything is ready. Again, auto-stop is the key. I set up all program changes to occur in the first measure which I set to be only one beat long. Then the MC-50 is programmed to auto-stop at measure 2 dutifully waiting for me to start the tune with a WHAM.

So the MC-80 is an albatross. It provides no more programming capability than the MC-50 (with the exception of some special quantize features) and is useless to me in a dynamic performance situation.

ROLAND, why did you do it this way.

Anyone reading this know of a good sequencer with lots o capacity

Could someone get this critique to Roland. I would really appreciate it if they would fix it.

Mine is shipping back tomorrow.

Thank You for taking the time to review a puchase gone bad.
I too use a mc-50, and was considering upgrading to an 80. From your experience it sound's as if I would be downgrading.
Once again please accept my thanks.