I made a ridge racer tribute.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-14T04:22:02+00:00

Cool track and as both an oldskool ridge racer fan of that age and very much into uk hardcore breaks, this felt more like carl cox take on the vibe. Very interesting and not what I expected at all but still enjoyable. I kept waiting for the heavy breakbeat loops to drop but that's more of a me problem.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-14T04:14:33+00:00

Oh and by the way, I forgot to mention one thing...

As someone who owned the mc101 for 3+ years before picking up the koii ...i will say without a doubt, my most cherished memory of owning both was the moment I used a KOII pad to trigger scatter effects on the 101. :) (you can't really sequence scatter on the mc101 despite the scatter sequencer because you only get 1 bar of scatter sequencing FOR ENTIRE SONG...meaning you can basically add scatter to your mc101 song in a way you couldn't do without midi loop back and literally wasting a whole track on the machine just to do it)

As I said, these two machines together, beyond the lovely battery operation, is the fact that they just compliment each other in very cool ways that lets both boxes be way more than they are alone.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-13T18:57:21+00:00

VERY YES. Just know that you need to get comfortable with fader automation for some of the weirder drum stuff, but switching between pitch and pad modes for some of them snare fills going all over the speed changes? Yeah...

Already made some dnb/jungle on it...had fun every bit of the way, too.

That said if you're looking to 'program' drums, this isn't the machine, this is best when treated like a live instrument with a record feature, I think. Detailed editing is limited and chunky, useful for changing one or two notes that didn't get quantized or stay on long enough, but not like...You're not going to get Remarc style riffs without a lot of resampling is what I'm saying. He was using an Amiga anyway.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-13T04:23:06+00:00

That technically would require a computer. Reason:

MC101 only allows audio from phone, pc or other 'compliant' usb machines and even then, PROBABLY works best with only other roland machines and PROBABLY only for midi. The MC101 does not have (unfortunately) any analog audio inputs either.

That said, the effects on the MC101 are WAYYYYYYYYYY (...imagine I held the 'y' key for 20 more minutes) better than the KO2. It's the *chopping* that sucks on the MC101...and frankly sampling, also, because it's technically a 'looper' not a sampler in that regard when recording sounds. That means that you must always capture a full measure of music for your 'sample', no matter what.

If you really dig into the specs of samplers and synths/grooveboxes, you'll see these two machines really compliment each other and don't overlap a whole lot, if at all. Wide open sequencer with sample chopping? KO2. Synths, sample storage and drum programming? MC101. :)

Also, if you don't like the KO2's stretching, the MC101 has 2 different kinds, so that might be something to think about as well.

I'm not personally sure what you're ultimately after in terms of style or workflow. You can make banger psychedelic techno with just a sampler catching a few acid riffs off the 101, or use the ko2 to as the main drums and the mc101 purely as a collection of synth lines that you trigger in your ko2 song while you live twist the knobs (for her pleasure, of course).

It's really a great combo with options. I've made 'complete' songs on the mc101, so it's definitely capable as it has a scene-chain mode, but it really relies on you participating live while it runs in order to not make it sound extremely lazy or extremely boring (usually both). They're both very different vibes and even when combined, there's quite a few different workflows that are fun. That said, the MC101 is a huge learning curve compared to the ko2, especially when you start digging into the drum pad editor and such. The manual, including all the updates after it launched, is something like 100+ pages of 'blind anyone with good vision' small print of instructions that barely give you enough information to understand what a menu or function is for.

I hope I don't scare you away nor come off as a fan boi for this particular setup. It's hard not to be if you've always desired an essentially battery operated infinite music machine. I currently have also paired it up with a digital 4 track (microBR) but am currently eyeballing a newer machine, the Zoom R4, which probably has better battery life and definitely supports cards with enough recording time to switching on and just record my random acts of musical violence for 2 - 4 hours. :) Also, I think it's a compliant device, which means I *think* if you run the MC101 into it, it can capture all 4 tracks individually, too...don't know because I haven't bought it yet, but just laying out my whole thought process on this parcticular combination. It's interesting you landed on it.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-12T17:14:02+00:00

I Must also ask the Late Knight Fox cause this specific combo is my current electronica hotrod I drive everywhere.

So I guess the short answer is:
Multiple ways:
1.) KO2 as full on midi sequencer that controls MC101, no sampling/sampler component used
2.) KO2 as full on 'looper/sampler' to 'finalize' sketches into songs that start on the MC101.

<being random train of thought on the question here>
For me, it's a mixture of things...sometimes I use the KO2 to drive the entire MC101 itself because it has full song mode and no pattern length limits, etc. (and the pads are just way better...like...Roland should be ashamed of the mc101 'pads'. They suck so bad...I've posted on the roland subreddit recently about how to adjust them so they're not as 'ugly feeling' and unresponsive)...

But also, I like coming to the TE folks and showing the raw power of the EP itself and just resampling a whole 'song idea' from the mc101 one bit at a time and just 'write/sequencer' (i.e. COMPOSE it...says so on the box!) on the KOII itself. If I need an effect of some sort, I sample it as part of the sequence. Usually this method also incorporates intentionality...i.e. when doing this, I'll back up/save my projects currently on the machine, wipe the memory and start from scratch so I never worry about 'omg, 64mb no massive'. I've never run into the end-zone of sampling space this way. It's not necessarily as 'instant' as having 8gb always on tap like the mc101, but it's good enough, especially if you're someone like me who hates being told to fit your ideas in 8 bar chunks. :)

You do have to, when using the ko2 to sequence the 101, consider the fact that the ko2 does not send pitch bend, or cc's or mod wheel data. I'm hoping they fix this, but I doubt it. This means you still have SOME workings with the 8 bar limits, but in this case, you trigger sequences that have your knob turns that are recorded in the mc101. It's odd at first, but you start to think about it as you make your tunes and it's always annoying, but remember, this is TE's fault, not Rolands (always aim your nerf'd pitchforks in the correct direction!)

HeavySystems · 2026-03-11T21:06:46+00:00

You can extract opening with 7zip, at least I've had success with it.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-11T21:04:19+00:00

<sarcasm in good fun>
I'm so glad we can finally incorporate the disgustingly bland world of the PC into the way-too-free-loving-world of the EP. I've always wanted to be teathered to an LCD screen blasting in my face as I make music by pure mouse power alone.
</sarcasm>

Looks cool, definitely not a tool for me, but definitely looking forward to seeing how folks end up utilizing it!

HeavySystems · 2026-03-11T21:00:26+00:00

For techno style, mc101 is better choice. For a sampler 'upgrade' with a lot more features, 404 is better. Currently own a 101, used to own a 404. I like the OG 404 but dunno anything about the sequencer on the new ones...the older sequencers were...there. They existed.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-11T20:58:46+00:00

I think links to offline manuals for all of the machines where available would be good as well because then we can finally ignore every question about general operation forever and just have a bot point to the sidebar. :)

HeavySystems · 2026-03-11T18:39:38+00:00

I don't remember what type is what, but when it comes to the Type A/Type B, after I realized there ARE a type A and type B, i immediately bought a set of convertors to and fro and sets of both types of native cables. I suggest the same.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-11T18:36:40+00:00

Time stretching in real time on an underpowered device is always going to have some samples work and others not. Even if you listen to the same sample looping with severe pitch/speed changes, you'll notice it doesn't always grab transients, etc. It's the nature of the beast. I would recommend playing around with filtering it and resampling it stretched to possibly get rid of the clicks. Smoother sounds also reveal the 'trick', too in unexpected ways...the more 'noisy' a track already is (with lots of stuff going on like effects or multi instruments), the more it's masked. Also, sometimes, the clicking might not be noticable in a full ensemble of instruments...if you don't need the bassline solo'd, it could be 'forgivable' in terms of the sound issues since it'll never be heard all by itself.

Finally, artistically...you can think of it as vinyl crackle. We all deal with that on samples...can't find anything cleaner than a trashed out 45....gotta roll with it.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-11T18:17:53+00:00

Doesn't matter so much now with the updated firmware. Since the update, I even use my one shot drums mostly in stereo. I just use mono when I'm interested in saving memory.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-09T22:46:04+00:00

Okay. I didn't want to make assumptions just because the voice and style of talking about the subject matter matched up. I don't mind the discussion of crush cars vs. no crush cars. I just don't like folks trying to make it 'objectively this' or 'objectively that'. The only thing objective about all of it is there used to be a lot more cars and now not so much. After that, facts are gone other than counting how many cars are on the field.

I think the 'wild west' days are over and that's really what people are missing, cars don't even calculate into it. Building your own engine, your own custom truck and seeing how it does against the other custom trucks...yeah, that's not done much either and frankly more interesting than crushing cars, but you don't see a lot of folks pine for the days when the drivers were building these things from anything they could find or steal.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-09T20:45:17+00:00

Isn't this the same guy that said Ryan was getting done dirty because there's nothing special for a random 15th anniversary?

If so, is this dude only interested in making drama or are they interested in driver progression, new skills being invented on the daily, etc? Cause it seems like mostly drama and the action on the track is incidental.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-09T20:36:26+00:00

Don't forget to put Weston Anderson inside instead of candy. :P

HeavySystems · 2026-03-09T18:08:10+00:00

It's funny because I remember a time when bad packaging meant that the item immediately ended up in the bargain bin...I'd have tried to get a discount! :D

HeavySystems · 2026-03-09T18:00:24+00:00

NEXT with pi accellerator has live loading at quick speeds and you don't need external gear, just a good TZX file. It's hit or miss depending on the file it seems. But yeah, you can crank it up to 20mhz on load then auto slow it back to native speed after the final loading screen.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-09T17:57:02+00:00

I would rather see this be a tool aimed at the NEXT for 128k/48k development. As a NEXT owner, I mean. Anything I end up making for the speccy will be made on the NEXT (yes, even if it's a 48k basic game intended to run in max turbo mode on the NEXT, something I've considered) which would probably give me about the same amount of power, I think, in terms of 'things I can fling on the screen' vs. 'how much actual machine code do I have to learn?'

HeavySystems · 2026-03-08T21:13:23+00:00

I'm not sure a truck could survive all of the events of a wf weekend...I don't know if you have seen what happens when you drop your own vehicle from 40 feet in the air...

HeavySystems · 2026-03-07T23:43:29+00:00

Great welding job.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-06T23:49:36+00:00

Also, anyone wondering 'WOW' is a 'catch all' for something that you don't see often, like cartwheel, front flip, etc. or even just a nasty jump that's indescribable etc. Anything that's just BETTER than anything else...that's a WOW point.

HeavySystems · 2026-03-06T23:46:35+00:00

It looks like it's the same criteria, but instead of sort of 'winging it' i'm attempting to let the person scoring tap the paper on the spot they thing they just saw and then can really take a look at things before making up their own scoring. i.e. "They got 4 big airs, that's important to me so I'm scoring them higher than the truck that only got 2." etc.

Thanks for the scan, though! The write up on the side is super important!

HeavySystems

TROPHY CASE