Welcome

MV-8800

Production STUDIO

Making a Beat
3 Press PATTERN. Select your MIDI track, and then press REC to open the PATTERN RECORDING PARAMETER window. The MV-8800s click (metronome) sounds. Set
Congratulations on your purchase of the Roland MV-8800. This TurboStart contains stepby-step instructions that will quickly introduce you to the MV-8800s major features.

Creating a New Project

3 Press PROJECT. Use the CURSOR buttons to select CREATE NEW PROJ, and then press ENTER. Press F5 (Execute).
If youd like to save changes made to the current projectpress F5 (Yes). If youd like to create the new project without savingpress F1 (No). Loading a Patch
Press INSTRUMENTS. Press MENU, select Load Patch, and then press ENTER. If a hard drive doesnt appear in the upper left-hand corner of the display, press F1 (Select Drive), select Hard Drive, and then press F5 (Select). Turn the VALUE dial to select the PATCHES folder, and press ENTER to open it.
Record Modeto OverDub1. Count In to1Meas. Pattern Lengthto 2Meas. Input Quantize Typeto Grid.
Practice your beat by playing along with the click. When youre ready to record your beat, press PLAY. On the fifth click, start playing the VELOCITY PADS for two measures. At the end of the Measure 2, your beat loops around and you hear what youve recorded.
Tip: You can put the MV-8800 into Rehearsal mode by pressing the REC button without pressing STOP first. This allows you to try out extra drum parts without recording them. Press REC a second time to return the MV-8800 to Record mode. 6 When youre finished, press STOP.
Note: You can press the CURSOR button to back out of the folder. 9 Turn the VALUE dial to select the DRUMKITS folder, and then press ENTER. Turn the VALUE dial to select any drum kit, and then press F5 (Load)to open the ASSIGN TO PART/LIBRARY window. Turn the VALUE dial to select Part 1, and then press F5 (Execute). After the patch has finished loading, press INSTRUMENTSyou see the patch loaded into Part 1. Play the VELOCITY PADS to hear the drum kit.
Sampling from an External Source
Connect the left and right line outputs of a CD player, DJ mixer, DVD player, or synth to the MIC/LINE inputs of the MV-8800. Press SAMPLING, and then set
Sample Typeto Stereo. Input Selectto Analog. Start Triggerto Manual. Stop Triggerto Manual.
Assigning a Patch to a MIDI Track
3 Press PATTERN, and then press the CURSOR to select the first MIDI track. Press F2 (Track Param) to open the TRACK PARAMETER window. In the Output Assign field, select Part 1, which is your drum kit.
While playing the external source, watch the meters on the left side of the display, and adjust the SENS L/R knobs to ensure a good level. At the point where youd like to begin sampling, press F5 (Start). At the point where youd like to stop sampling, press F5 (Stop)the RESULTS window opens and displays the waveform of your new sample.
2007 Roland Corporation U.S.

www.RolandUS.com

TBS254
Assigning Your Sample to a Pad
Follow the instructions in the Sampling From an External Source section. From the RESULTS window, press F3 (Quick Assign). Press F5 (AsgnToPatch)the PATCH QUICK ASSIGN window opens. Tap the VELOCITY PAD from which youd like to play the sample. Set Part to 2 to avoid overwriting any drums in the kit assigned to Part 1. Press F5 (Execute). Press INSTRUMENTSPart 2 is automatically selected. Play the VELOCITY PAD from Step 4 to hear your sample.
Play VELOCITY PAD 1 and press F5 (Execute). Press AUDIO PHRASES. Press F5 (Edit) to open the AUDIO PHRASE EDIT window. Adjust the Start Point so the sample starts perfectly on the beat. Adjust the End Point so the sample ends perfectly on the beat. Play VELOCITY PAD 1 and count the total number of beats in the sample. Enter this data in the BPM Base Note field. For example, if the sample is exactly two measures long and each measure has four beats, select q x 8, which means four quarter notes times two measures, or eight quarter notes.
Importing Audio From a CD
Insert an audio CD into the MV-8800s CD-ROM drive. Press IMPORTthe IMPORT window appears. Press F1 (Select Drive), select Audio CD, and then press F5 (Select)the CDs track listing appears in the display. Select the CD track you wish to import and press F5 (Import) to open the SET TIME window. Adjust the In Time and Out Time to specify the section of the CD track you wish to import. Press F3 (Play) to play the section between the In and Out points. Press F5 (Execute)the RESULTS window opens and displays the waveform of your new sample.
Tip: If you know the tempo of your sample, note the Audio Phrase BPM display in the upper right-hand corner. If it shows a similar tempo, youve more than likely chosen the correct BPM Base Note value. 10 CURSOR to the BPM Sync switch and turn the VALUE dial to switch it on.

Adding an Audio Phrase to a Pattern
Audio phrases are arranged within a pattern or song on audio tracks. Press PATTERN, and then select the desired audio track. While holding SHIFT, press RECthe AUDIO PHRASE STEP REC window appears. Press VELOCITY PAD 1 repeatedly until you reach the end of the pattern. Press STOP.
If youd like to assign the sample to a padfollow the instructions in the section
above, entitled Assigning Your Sample to a Pad. If youd like to assign the sample to an audio phrasefollow the instructions in the next section.
Arranging Your Patterns in a Song
Press SONG. If your song contains a Pattern track, select it. If not, press MENU, select Add Pattern Track, and then press ENTER. While holding SHIFT, press RECthe PATTERN STEP REC window appears. Press F4 (Put Pattern) to open the PUT PATTERN window. In the Pattern field, select the pattern with which you wish to start the song. In our example, thats Pattern 1. In the Times field, choose the number of times you wish the pattern to repeat. Press F5 (Execute). If youve created more than one pattern, repeat Steps 5-7. Press STOP.
Assigning Your Sample to an Audio Phrase
Audio phrases are longer samplestypically drum loops or instrument riffsthat will automatically match the tempo of your song without changing pitch. 3 Follow the instructions in the Importing Audio From a CD section. From the RESULTS window, press F3 (Quick Assign). Press F3 (AsgnToAPhrs)the AUDIO PHRASE QUICK ASSIGN window opens.

Workshop

MV-8800 Production Studio
Using the MV-8800 with an External Sequencer
2007 Roland Corporation U.S. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Roland Corporation U.S.

MV8800WS12

About the MV-8800 Workshop Series
Rolands MV-8800 Production Studio is packed with features for making music. Its a heavy-duty sampler that can do all sorts of things with sounds you sample or import. Its sequencer has 136 tracks for MIDI sequencing and playing back audio, and its set of editing tools is deep. Its a great box for performingusing its pads or an attached MIDI keyboardand, of course, it can even burn a CD of your final master mix. Each MV-8800 Workshop Series booklet focuses on one MV-8800 topic, and is intended as a companion to your MV-8800 Owners Manuals.

If youre using a mouse:

If youre using the MV-8800s buttons:

Left click

Right click

Scroll wheel

About This Booklet
The MV-8800 can act as a powerful sample player when its used with a computer sequencing program, or with a standalone hardware sequencer. It can play up to 16 patches at a time, or 15 patches along with timestretchable audio phrases. This booklet explains how.
You select parameters and objects with a left click. You change the selected parameters value by turning the scroll wheel. You can display an objects menu by right-clicking the object.
You select parameters and objects with the 3, 4, 5, and 6 CURSOR buttons. Change a selected parameters value by turning the VALUE dial or by pressing DEC and INC.
Understanding the Symbols in This Booklet
Throughout this booklet, youll come across information that deserves special attentionthats the reason its labeled with one of the following symbols.
A note is something that adds information about the topic at hand.
The Buttons, the LCD, or a VGA?
On the MV-8800, you can work on the built-in color LCD or on an optional VGA monitor. You can use the MV-8800s front-panel controls, or a mouse on your VGA screen. No matter how you like to work, theres an easy way to get things done. Probably the best idea is to work primarily with a mouse on a VGA, using the MV-8800s buttons to quickly get in and out of MV-8800 screens. The procedures in this booklet typically assume youll be working this way. If youre not, dont worry, because the VGA windows and LCD screens are essentially the same. There are clickable VGA icons for all of the MV-8800s buttons. You can also press an onscreen button by clicking your mouse or by pressing an F button on the MV-8800. The main difference has to do with how you deal with settingsor parametersand how you select objects.
A tip offers suggestions for using the feature being discussed.
Warnings contain important information that can help you avoid possible damage to your equipment, your data, or yourself.

The MV-8800 as a Multitimbral Sampler
If you use an external sequencer, you can play MV-8800 sounds and control its MFX processor using Multi Timbre Sampler mode. In the MV-8800s Multi Timbre Sampler mode, it acts as a multitimbral sampler. This means that it can play up to 16 sounds independently and at the same timeits as if the MV-8800 contains a bunch of little samplers. Each of these little samplers is called a part. Each part has its own settings and can play its own patch.
If youve sequenced on the MV-8800, youre already familiar with the MV-8800s parts.
MIDI Channel 1 MIDI Channel 2 MIDI Channel 3 MIDI Channel 4 MIDI Channel 5 MIDI Channel 6 MIDI Channel 7 MIDI Channel 8 MIDI Channel 9 MIDI Channel 10 MIDI Channel 11 MIDI Channel 12 MIDI Channel 13 MIDI Channel 14 MIDI Channel 15 MIDI Channel 16
To learn about MIDI, you can download InFocus: An Introduction to MIDI from the Support Documents section of the Roland US website.
The INSTRUMENTS window shows you the settings for the 16 parts of the currently loaded project. To see it, press the INSTRUMENTS button.
Playing Audio Phrases via MIDI
Multi Timbre Sampler mode isnt just about patchesyou can also play any audio phrase in Pad Banks 1 through 8 from an external sequencer. You can even lock an audio phrases timing to the tempo of an external sequencer, just as you can lock it to the MV-8800s own built-in sequencer.
To learn about the differences between patches and audio phrases, see Two Ways You Can Use Samples on Page 3 of the MV-8800 Sampling Workshop booklet.
When you play audio phrases from an external sequencer, the MV-8800 borrows one of the 16 parts, leaving 15 parts for playing patches. Well explain this more later.
Each of the 16 parts receives MIDI data on its own channel. Parts 1-16 receive data on MIDI Channels 1-16, respectively. In an external sequencer, a track can record and play back the data for a single MIDI channel, which then plays the corresponding parts sound in the MV-8800.
You can play audio phrases assigned to Pad Banks 1-8 because MIDI can play up to 128 different notes, and Pad Banks 1-8 give you 128 pads.
External Sequencer Tracks
Turning On Multi Timbre Sampler Mode
To turn on Multi Timbre Sampler mode:
Press SYSTEM to display the SYSTEM menu. Select MIDI to display the MV-8800 MIDI parameters.

This is possible because the MV-8800 can be synchronizedor slavedto the sequencer using a special type of MIDI timing data called MIDI clock. MIDI clock travels from the external sequencer into the MV-8800s MIDI IN jack along with the rest of the sequencers MIDI data.

External sequencer

MV-8800
Any time-based effects you use on the MV-8800such as delays, flangers, and so oncan also be synchronized with the external sequencer tempo by simply turning on the effects Sync parameters.
Before setting up the MV-8800 as a MIDI clock slave, make sure your external sequencer isnt currently playing.
To slave the MV-8800 to incoming MIDI clock data:
On the MV-8800, press SONG. Click SONG menu, and then select SYNC to display the SYNC window.
Set the Multi Timbre Sampler Mode parameter to On. If youd like to play audio phrases from the external sequencer or control MV-8800 MFX from it, set Audio Phrase Rx Channel and MFX Rx Channel to the MIDI channels youd like to use. If you dont want to do either of these things, turn the corresponding parameter off.
When you assign MIDI channels to playing audio phrases or controlling the MFX processor, their corresponding parts no longer play patches. (With the settings shown above, those would be Parts 15 and 16.)
Locking Audio Phrases to the Sequencer Tempo
Any audio phrase whose BPM Sync parameter is turned on can be locked to an external sequencers tempo.
To learn about the audio phrase BPM Sync parameter, see Setting Up How an Audio Phrase Behaves on Page 10 of the MV-8800 Sampling Workshop booklet.
Set Sync Mode to Slave-MIDI (MIDI).
If your MV-8800s MIDI OUT A or B jack is connected to the external sequencers MIDI INor if youre using a MIDI patchbayturn off the jacks MIDI Clock Output parameter, as we have here. This will prevent a MIDI clock loop that can badly confuse your entire MIDI system.
Setting Up the External Sequencer
In the sequencer, create a track for the MIDI channel of:
To learn how to load patches, see the MV-8800 Loading Patches Workshop booklet.
each MV-8800 partthat plays a patch you want to use. the Audio Phrase RX Channelif youll be using audio phrases. the MFX RX Channelif youd like to control the MV-8800s multi-effects from your sequencer.

To sync audio-phrase playback to the sequencers tempo, set the sequencer to send MIDI clock data during playback.
The EFFECTS and MIXER Windows
As you work in Multi Timbre Sampler mode, you can tweak your:
effectsPress the MV-8800s EFFECTS button to select and edit the effects your MV-8800 patches and audio phrases use. mixer settingsPress the MV-8800s MIXER button to adjust the levels, panning, effects, and output routings of your patches and audio phrases.
You can actually control many of the settings weve just mentioned from your sequencer using MIDI Control Change messages. See the MV-8800 Owners Manual for details on these advanced operations.
To learn how to do these things, see your sequencers manual. Once youve set up the sequencer, youre ready to go.
Working in Multi Timbre Sampler Mode
As you play MV-8800 sounds from your sequencer, youll operate the MV-8800 in Multi Timbre Sampler mode.
Multi Timbre Sampler Mode Home Base
Your base of operation in Multi Timbre Sampler mode is the INSTRUMENTS windowits the place where you can load patches you need, and where you can adjust their part settings.
While your external sequencer is playing, stay in the MV-8800s INSTRUMENTS, EFFECTS, and MIXER windowsor on the PATTERN and SONG screensto ensure successful Multi Timbre Sampler mode operation.

Audio Phrase Operations

As you work with an external sequencer, you can edit existing audio phrasesor assign new oneswhenever the sequencer is stopped. Press AUDIO PHRASES, as usual, to perform any audio phrase operations you like. When youve finished, press the INSTRUMENTS button before resuming sequencer playback or recording.
You can sample while an external sequencer is playing MV-8800 sounds. This lets you sing or play along and capture your performance as a sample. You can then stop the sequencer and use Quick Assign to send the sample to a patch, or assign it as an audio phrase. See the MV-8800 Sampling Workshop booklet for more details on sampling.

Controlling MFX Via MIDI

You can control the MV-8800s current MFX settings from a sequencer by sending the MV-8800 MIDI messages:
You can tweak the same MFX parameters that are being controlled by the MV-8800s C knobs. You do this by sending the MV-8800 the same MIDI Control Change messages the knobs are using.
To learn about setting up and using the C knobs, see the MV-8800 Owners Manual.
When the MFX is using any of the Analog Modeling Bass effects, you can play and shape the basss sound from an external sequencer. You can:

play bass notesusing MIDI on/off note messages. control the way the bass soundsusing MIDI Control Change #1 messages to modulate the sound. bend bass notesusing MIDI Pitch Bend messages.

The End

We hope youve found this workshop helpful. Keep an eye out for other MV-8800 Workshop booklets, all available for downloading at www.RolandUS.com.
For the latest MV-8800 updates and support tools, visit the Roland U.S. Web site at www.RolandUS.com. If you need personal assistance, call our amazing Product Support team at 323-890-3745.