Roland MC-303
the original GrooveBox
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The Roland MC-303 is the original GrooveBox.
It came out in 1996, when Trance was at its apex, and - as you
can tell from several of its factory preset patterns - Goa
Trance is particularly well represented. The term "Groove Box" was created by Roland, and then several other manufacturers started producing their own versions of grooveboxes, from Yamaha's AN/DX200, to Korg's very popular Electribe series. A Groovebox is basically a portable unit that features sounds in ROM, a sequencer, the ability to program patterns from the unit itself, knobs/sliders and other controls, arpeggiator, and other functions. It's particularly useful for live performances. A very good addition on the MC-303 is the inclusion of the "RPS" (Realtime Phrase Sequence) - you can play back phrases from the onboard buttons. Arpeggiator and sequencer are also very complete and effective. |
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The MC-303 also works via MIDI as a standard PCM sound module (similar sounds as on the Roland JV-series, but tailored for dance/electronica. |
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Factory Demo Songs:
Here is the Factory Demo Song sequence. It's pretty long at 12:00 minutes, but represents well what you can do with this machine.
Individual examples:
Stream all the patch examples below as an .m3u playlist
| Pattern name with audio demo | My comments |
| A-01 Goa Trance Pattern 1 | Classic mid-1990s Trance busy pattern |
| A-05 Goa Trance Pattern 5 | Typical Goa Trance interweaving synth lines, a la Astral Projection. |
| A-21 Goa Trance Pattern 21 | Another typical Goa Trance pattern |
| A-23 Goa Trance Break Pattern 1 | Another Astral Projection, Infected Mushroom type pattern. |
| A-30 Trance Pattern 2 | Nice dancey pattern. |
| A-40 Trance Pattern 12 | Jumpy good. |
| A-45 Trance Pattern 17 | Techno-heavy. |
| A-48 Trance Pattern Break 3 | Nice 16th bass drum a la New Order's "Blue Monday" |
| B-06 Techno Pattern 6 | Warm-sounding. |
| B-09 House Pattern 1 | Super-groovy and soulful House |
| B-12 House Pattern 4 | Reminds of Haddaway's "What Is Love" |
| B-18 House Pattern 10 | Nice '90s British House |
| B-19 House Pattern 11 | Curiously '80s sounding. |
| B-26 House Pattern 18 | Nice Techno-House |
| B-28 House Pattern 20 | Very stilish |
| B-33 Hip Hop Pattern 3 | Funky goodness, 1970s-flavor |
| B-35 Hip Hop Pattern 5 | Hip Hop happy |
| B-39 Jazz Funk Pattern 3 | Good quality sounds on this machine. |
| B-41 Jazz Funk Pattern 5 | Nice Fender Jazz bass sample |
| B-43 Jungle Pattern 1 | Dreamy Jungle/Drum 'n' Bass pattern |
| B-47 Jungle Pattern 5 | More aggressive version of D 'n' B. Excellent resonant filter synths. |
| C-14 Jungle Break Pattern 3 | Dark and ominous |
| C-21 Trip Hop Pattern 3 | Nice relaxed pattern |
| C-25 Trip Hop Pattern 7 | Nice British pattern, a bit a la 808-State |
| C-31 Trip Hop Break Pattern 3 | Mysterious |
| C-32 Salsa Pattern | Happy Salsa beat. The MC-303 is versatile! |
| C-33 Samba Pattern | More versatility here... a succulent Samba rhythm! |
| E-10 Goa Trance Drums Pattern | Banks E through I are "building blocks" - percussion, bass, synth lines to mix and match into your songs. This is a straight Techno beat. |
| E-15 Goa Trance Drums Fill In | Groovy fill |
| E-44 House Clavi Phrase | Nice Clavinet sound |
| F-01 House Piano Riff | Typical modern House electric piano pattern |
| F-08 House Snare Roll | Standard rising 909 snare, heard in (too) many songs. |
| F-14 House Bass Line | Gluey resonant bass line. |
| F-49 Jungle Synth Riff | Washy synth. |
| G-14 Jungle Oboe Riff | The oboe! |
| H-02 Trip Hop Wah Wah Guit | Nice sampled wah-wah guitar. |
| i-11 Trip Hop Sound Effects | Classic electronica "impossible" 32nd sequenced drum roll. |
The MC-303 can obviously also be used as a sound module via MIDI. Its sounds are typical Roland JV/XP ROM, but leaning toward the electronic side. Here is an example of the MC-303's internal sounds being played by a keyboard:
| Year of release: | 1996 |
| Polyphony: | 28-voice |
| Sound generation method: | PCM |
| Preset memories | |
| MIDI: | in, out |
| Sound expansion capabilities: | no |
| Sequencer | yes |
| Arpeggiator | yes |
| Effects | yes |
| Velocity | yes |
| Aftertouch |
A few years after the MC-303, after the introduction of the MC-505, several artists used a groovebox for the "At Home With The Groovebox" compilation, that received good reviews and featured artists from totally different backgrounds - with in common only the fact they used solely a groovebox for their song.
available at www.rolandus.com
| SITE | Type of resource | DESCRIPTION |
Roland MC-303 review with audio demo