User Reviews : Roland MC50

1. Roland MC50 - 1 year ago - poole (USA)
Purchase year : 1996        Price paid : 680 USD
I have two MC50s and two MC50MkIIs at various locations around the country for basic tracking of song material (keys, bass, drum machine, some sweetening) No problems with the floppy disk drives which have been in operation since '96. They use 720K disks but the 1.4mg disks can be used since the disk initialization process doesn't know the difference. You just end up with 720K capability on the 1.4mg disk. The unit cannot play in reverse which I would have been intrigued with at times but one can check midi velocity in real time to see how your controller is behaving from step record mode. Manuals are a must for serious editing. These units can go as deep as one needs to go regarding midi code manipulation. I do not see the need to hold out for a MkII if all you need a quick and tidy stand alone hardware sequencer to work on ideas. If you are into creating standard midifiles you most likely have already upgraded to a laptop and Band in A Box type software. As of 1/2007 the MC50 goes for about $110 on ebay.